STRANGE LOG: Heart Attack City

So here we are and yet another Strange Log, however, this will be a bit of an odd one as I'll include a semi-small article in this one. Usually, I write Strange Logs to discuss what I'm doing, what I'm looking forward to, and address a few things that aren't worth full and complete articles. Full and complete articles are becoming scarce in my world anyway as by the type I get to share my opinion on the various on-goings of my teeny tiny corner of our little blue sphere it's all chewed meat and everything that needs to be said has been said...more or less. But the point is my time is becoming very limited, and as such I'm focusing on the things that really matter, mostly my wife (whenever we get time together...which is rare) and my son (who mostly just wants me to watch him play and stand in his closet with the light off...my son's weird.) The Blight that has cursed our land has made certain things impossible for me and I'll discuss all that and more below, join me, won't you?

The Failure Of "Us"

Enough time has passed for me to talk about this movie and talk about it I shall since I've been wanting to ever since I watched...or read the spoilers (I'm sorry, "Hereditary" taught me to never trust a hyped movie again) and now that we're a year and some change after its release I figured spoilers can now abound. From the title, you can tell that this won't be a flattering review but it won't be a scathing review either. Rather it'll be a review of the 2 critical failures that make "Us" an unfortunate attempt at being deeper than what it already was. So SPOILERS ABOUND, let's dive in.

My Problem With Kickstarter

Okay, buckle up, kiddos, this one is gonna be a rant. This isn't due to my own horribly unsuccessful launch (if you could call it that) of my own Kickstarter for my Blue Mist Card Game, no this has been a LONG time coming even before then and now, now it's finally reached the point where I absolutely have to write this. My problem with Kickstarter is that its NOT for independent creators anymore (if it ever was). What do I mean? Let's dive in.

What If...?: Mortal Kombat 11

So let's talk about things. As you may recall in my previous Strange Log I mentioned "Mortal Kombat: New Era" or "Chaotic" as it's called gave me an idea, lo and behold this is that idea come to fruition. "Mortal Kombat 11" for all its fanfare is a pretty divisive game, what with its storytelling, choices, and character designs or redesigns rather and (for me) the fact that it basically ended in a reboot. I'm a huge fan of "Mortal Kombat" the franchise and its one of the very few things I can speak authoritatively on as I have knowledge of the canon and a bit of the expanded universe stuff ("Mortal Kombat: Conquest", "Defenders Of Earth Realm" and both films). So in this article, I'm asking the question "What if Mortal Kombat 11" was good? No, like, really good? Join me if you will for "Mortal Kombat 11"

STRANGE LOG: Conformists!

Some year we're havin' eh? Yeah, The Blight is still 'pon The Land and yours truly dubbed a worker of the most essential service has been feverishly working ever since. Amidst the madness and chaos, I do have respites to provide you with insights into my musing on topics not worth the full breadth of an article and such a respite of my duties as both patriarch and servant yields me a most fortuitous opportunity to share with you such insights, shall we begin?

"Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" or What I Learned About Historical Fiction

I've often said that horror movies should be like telling a good joke, you have the setup and then the punchline that brings it all together and brings out the laughter (or in the case of horror the terror), but the film featured above (Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood") was neither a joke nor a horror story but ultimately resulted in what I can only describe as a "Shower Revelation". A "Shower Revelation" for those who don't know is a concept where a person is told something that they don't quite understand until one day they're in the shower and suddenly they understand it COMPLETELY so much so that the revelation blows their mind. That's what "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" did for me SPOILER WARNING and I'll explain after the break. 

Comic Book Science

So there's this concept I've been meaning to share with you lot and this is a writing concept that goes above and beyond suspension of disbelief and that is something I call "comic book science". Wanna know more, let's dive in and figure out what it's all about.

"Doomsday Clock" Review

DC Comics has been in a rather screwed-up state for a while, haven't they? At least in my humble opinion ever since 2011's "Flashpoint" series and the introduction of "The New 52" DC has been a steady decline. I have no clue if this is true or not, but again in my humble opinion, this reboot of the universe caused me to view Grant Morrison's "Final Crisis" as the series finale to The DC Universe. And DC Comics has rebooted itself once again with DC Rebirth back in 2016 culminating in the miniseries in question, "Doomsday Clock". "Doomsday Clock" serves as an epilogue to the DC Rebirth storyline as well as a sequel to Alan Moore's maxiseries "Watchmen". Talk about big shoes to fill, I need not discuss the impact "Watchmen" had on the comic book scene at large both negative and positives and I need not discuss the utter and absolute failure the HBO series was (which was itself a sequel to "Watchmen"). Instead, I'm going to focus this review on what "Doomsday Clock" tried to do, and explain what it should have done (not doing it in the first place notwithstanding). So join me in this rabbit hole of craziness we call "Doomsday Clock"...

BAM, ANIME!! The Weirdness Of Anime

I saw a meme a while back and it got me thinking about the nature of anime. I'll share the meme below after the cut but do we ever really think about just how strange anime really is. Not to say that western cartoons aren't strange, many of them are, but anime just has this other realm of strangeness that no one really points out...except for now...here we go!

"The Batman" & "Justice League" Snyder Cut Trailer Review

Just when 2020 couldn't get any more boring suddenly out of nowhere trailers suddenly appear and shock of all shocks they're DC/Warner Bros. Trailer. In today's entry, we're gonna talk about a tale of two trailers and my thoughts on said trailers and the current state of affairs within DC/Warner Bros. Let's dive in!

Interview With: FunwithPunko

Very rarely do I get jealous, especially when it comes to writing, only 3 times have I've got jealous of something someone else has written ("Chronicle" being one from recent memory) well now you can add another name to that list. While "Tower Of God" is getting quite a bit of shine these days (and it should)for putting Webtoons on the map, Webtoons is full of other gems, none more impressive than a little (currently ongoing series) called "Stagtown" drawn and written by Miss Marty LeGrow a.k.a FunwithPunko (as she's known). "Stagtown" is a currently ongoing horror series that is well-paced, well-written, and did I mention ongoing? I was lucky enough to get ahold of the author herself to ask her some pressing questions about the series, her plans for the future and whether or not she actually wears Spongebob underwear...and yes, that's important! Let's get to it!

What "L O S T" Taught Me About Writing...

I've written numerous articles about "L O S T" defending her against naysayers, explaining her finale to people who for whatever reason still believe it was purgatory all along...(Ugh!). But today I won't be defending her lady's honor, instead today I'll be sharing with you all what "L O S T" has taught me as a writer. It'd be a lie to say that the writing of "L O S T" is the contention of many as some believe they were making it up as they go, changing things at the last minute, etc. But despite all that these are some genuine things that writers should consider. Check it out.

Remembering "Xenosaga"

It's hard to think that it's been more than a decade since "Xenosaga" been released. For those of you outside of the know, "Xenosaga" is an RPG game debuting in 2003 and if it wasn't for my brother I wouldn't even be aware of this amazing series. "Xenosaga" has created many fond memories for me and in this post, I'm gonna take a walk down memory lane with my fellow "Xenosaga" fans and hopefully make people aware of this AMAZING, one of a kind series!

STRANGE LOG: Clueless For A Title And Not Happy About It...

Hey ya'll here I am once again with another Strange Log but this is a good one like the ones before because now I'm actually gonna tell you guys (all 2 of you) about upcoming articles and what's been going on lately. Truth be told, not much but let's get to that when we get to it, so...let's get to it.

Jokes From "The Sopranos" Comment Section Explained

This is gonna be kind of a weird article for the simple fact that I'm talking about something extremely niche'. If you're on the Youtubes like most of the kids these days and you just so happen to be a fan of "The Sopranos" than more than likely you've come across Youtube channels such as SopranosFan57 and the infamous Borko and you've more than likely scrolled through their comment section (and if you haven't you're doing yourself a disservice, they're freakin' hilarious) and found a bounty of Sopranos related jokes composed of mostly quotes from the series. Now while a lot of these jokes may seem old hat and obvious to make when thought is given to them these jokes are actually much smarter than you think, what am I talking about? Let's dive in.

"The Last Of Us Part II" But Done Better

So "The Last Of Us Part II" is out and much to no one's surprise (unless you've been living under a rock) it's getting raked over the coals in reviews, non-establishment media reviews that is. All of this is, of course, a result of the leaks which occurred a few months prior to the release of the game which revealed major plot points and essentially spoiled the game not to mention the involvement of a certain frequent feminist's supposed input in the game's development. All of this lead to "The Last Of Us Part II" a game that should have been a slam dunk becoming a critical failure. I decided to keep quiet on all the goings-on because for the most part, the leaks were unsubstantiated, and while we all had good reason to believe they were accurate I'm a "see things for myself" kinda guy. But now that the game is out and the leaks have been substantiated I feel the need to comment and in this article, I'm going to do "The Last Of Us Part II" even better. So join me down this rabbit hole, spoilers abound.

What If...?: Spectre

I've been on a somewhat of a James Bond kick lately. Those who know me know I'm a huge James Bond fan and I've recently acquired a James Bond boxset boasting all films (with the exception of "Never Say Never Again" and you know why) up until this upcoming release "No Time To Die". I've been a James Bond fan for a long time, longer than I can remember anyway but long enough for me to know who my favorite Bond is (Roger Moore) and to get the flavor of each Bond. Now we're in the Craig Era and just like the previous Bond he's had his fair share of duds namely "Quantum Of Solace" and more recently "Spectre". While "Quantum Of Solace" had issues because of the writer's strike "Spectre" had no such issues working against it and with a powerhouse of an actor such as Christoph Waltz playing returning villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, this was going to be a slamdunk. Sadly, the movie didn't blow anyone's mind and while it did good at the box office, fans were not impressed.

I had fun with "Spectre" but with a cliche' twist of Bond & Blofeld being "brothers" and the easiest escape in Bond history, "Spectre" goes down as being an unfortunate botch in this new series of films. That's where I come along and I posit the notion of What if "Spectre" was good? No, like really good. What if I can do it better? Let's dive in and see what we see, shall we?

Afterthoughts on "Mortal Kombat: Aftermath"

They did it again...they did it a-freakin'-gain. So here we are, friendos. The day is May 27, 2020 and I just finished playing Nether Realm Studios newest release a DLC story to "Mortal Kombat 11" titled "Mortal Kombat: Aftermath" a story that featured Shang Tsung, Nightwolf, Fujin and Sheeva as main characters. In this storyline, Liu Kang now God of Fire & Thunder has won but in order to restore time they need Kroinka's crown, luckily Shang Tsung knows how and when to get the crown. So the unlikely team of Shang Tsung, Nightwolf and Fujin venture out to save reality. Given how "Mortal Kombat 11" ended (with the literal death of everybody) the next step was anyone's guess so when "Mortal Kombat: Aftermath" was announced, it seemed like Nether Realm Studios had a plan all along, that the DLC characters weren't just window dressing they actually had a purpose and all things were gonna lead to this DLC story. Well, let's just say it sucked and I'll explain after the break.

And Now The Snyder Cut

I keep saying I'm done talking about The DCEU and every time I'm proven a liar on that notion simply by the fact that somehow The DCEU keeps popping up like a relentless game of Whack-a-Mole. Each time I think they're finally in their death throws their vitals keep spiking. So what's spiked their vitals today? It turns out that the much mythologized Snyder Cut of "Justice League" will be released on of all things HBO's new streaming service HBO Max. For those of you out of the know, The Snyder Cut is apparently a 4 hours version of the film with scenes previously removed from the theatrical cut and more intuned with Snyder's original vision than Joss Whedon's studio assembled nonsense. Am I excited about The Snyder Cut? No. And I'll get into why after the break.

Pre-Thoughts on "Mortal Kombat: Aftermath"

So its come to this...that's about as a dramatic opening as I can muster. As of yesterday (today being at the time I'm writing this Friday May 8 2020 DQ (during quarantine)...) I discovered that Mortal Kombat will have a DLC extended storyline titled "Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath" which will tell the story of what happens after Liu Kang defeated Kronika and became a Fire God...or Titan considering at this point he's the only God...since Kronika killed...erased...destroyed...the Elder Gods...either way they're gone so Liu Kang is the only God currently in existence. That being said let's dive into the trailer and see what we can see. Shall we?

STRANGE LOG: You Look Pretty Good

So it's been a while and WOW, look at that, another Strange Log...boy oh boy you guys are getting spoiled with the lack of legitimate articles here...maybe I'll get back to writing some when I manage to get a life...whenever that will be. Loads to get to, mostly movie stuff so without further ado let's dive in.

What Is "Edgy"?

Let's talk about something. So after watching "Goblin Slayer" and after reading a few comments I decided to discuss the topic of "edginess". A lot of things are accused of being "edgy", the previous direction of The DCEU for one, but a lot of people (one being myself) have watched "Goblin Slayer" and said it was "edgy" and not as a compliment. So in this blog, I'm gonna explain why "Goblin Slayer" is NOT edgy and what IS edgy. Spoilers for "Goblin Slayer", let's dive in!