Wondering where the supposed Editor-in-Chief has been these last two months? Or are you curious to where some of your favorite features have disappeared? Find out the final fate of the Tournament of Champions, video reviews, and more! Also, random thoughts on the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Woo-hoo!
So, you’re probably curious why my articles have all but completely dropped from the blog.
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Wait, you’re not curious at all? You didn’t even notice I was gone? Well, for the sake of my own ego, I’m going to continue writing as if my articles mattered in the big scheme of the internet. Okay? Okay.
Since summer began, I’ve been bouncing from trips to the beach, time with my girlfriend, family issues, computer troubles, a failed podcast recording, and family issues (yes, I know I wrote family issues twice; there were a lot of them). As such, consistent internet and the time it would take for me to write and article have been premiums I haven’t had in a long time. As such, I’d like to close the books and give a final verdict on some of the several projects I’ve started and forgotten to finish over these past few months.
As is logical, all verdicts will be given using quotes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail’s famous “Not Dead Fred” scene. Don’t judge me.
Chase’s Animated Movie Reviews
What it is: I did a bunch of Vlog format reviews of animated movies that came out in 2010.
Verdict: I’m not dead yet!
I started doing these movie reviews because I love animated movies (and it’s the only genre of movie not currently covered on That Guy With the Glasses :P), but my movie making skills are…let’s be kind and say below average. Heck, I practically celebrated when I was able to do a few cuts in my review of Alpha and Omega. And let’s face it: in a sea of Internet reviewers made visible by Youtube, those reviews did almost nothing to distinguish themselves from the horde.
As such, I stopped doing reviews after yet another barely watched video and have decided not to continue until I have acquired some decent video capturing software capable of ripping video and audio a la TGWTG (any suggestions made in the comments below on cheap tech that would be good for this would be greatly appreciated). That being said, I have quite a number of reviews in store as soon as I get a hand on the resources I need, so don’t give up hope on seeing more animated reviews in the near future.
Musical Retrospective of 2011
What it is: I planned on a series of album reviews (over 50 of them, in fact) to create a unique look at the year in music across the spectrum.
Examples: Thank You, Happy Birthday; King of Limbs
Status: Of course he’s dead. Look at him!
This was probably my most ambitious plan I’d ever made for the blog. I’d originally planned on doing 26 album reviews in video format in 26 days, but I quickly learned that not only was that an incredibly stupid idea, but I had neither the time or the resources to even get one of the videos I had planned out successfully.
Then came my plan to review over 50 albums to get an idea of what music was like in 2011 and make a final verdict. The first review was of Cage the Elephant, and it went over well. My second review was of Radiohead, and it did not. In fact, that second album went over so poorly that I ended up writing an entire article just responding to the criticism I’d been given both on the site and on Facebook.
The whole mess taught me two things. First, I really, really don’t understand the appeal of Radiohead, and I never will. Second, one person is simply not enough to complete this kind of project. Not only is it a ton of work (and the time required to listen to these albums enough time and closely enough to make any intelligent analysis is way more than you think), but it’s incredibly difficult to make an intelligent analysis of music that simply isn’t in your general spectrum of knowledge.
Look, I don’t listen to Radiohead or any band like them, but just because I am not a fan of the genre doesn’t mean their music should be judged on a scale that is more appropriate for a different genre. I get rock music. I get My Chemical Romance and Bullet for My Valentine, and I understand why Ronnie Radke needed to spend an entire album giving Escape the Fate the middle finger. I know the difference between a good Rise Against album (Appeal to Reason) and a bad Rise Against album (Endgame; also, the album that would have been my next review had I planned to continue the series). That’s my wheelhouse, and that’s where I’m comfortable. While it’s good to venture out of one’s comfort zone, it’s an awful idea to then try to make an assessment of quality on that adventure, and to those who correctly called me out on that, I apologize.
Now, this doesn’t mean the blog is done with album reviews; far from it. I’m hoping to get all the current writers to pick a genre they understand, and we’ll all try to keep more up to date with the music being released so our reviews are more timely.
This will take time to organize (may even be on hold ‘til 2013), but I guarantee the wait will be worth it.
Well, I guess it’s time to move on… *Sees elephant in room*
Oh, come on. Please don’t make me do this. *Elephant shakes head*
Fine, I’ll review Linkin Park’s newest album, but only if I get to review Lostprophets’ latest album as well. I’m really not looking forward to this.
Though maybe I’m being too pessimistic. Maybe this album will finally be a return to form. Tell me, what song did they release before the album came out?
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…Fuck.
Tournament of Champions
What it is: My RA at William and Mary made a 64-seed tournament featuring the best fighters from many comic book, fantasy, video game, and sci-fi universes, and I decided to do fight-by-fight analysis of how these battles would go down.
Status: I’m getting better!
Man, did this take away all of my time last semester! I was churning out one of these articles every weekday for three weeks straight before I reached my first major hiccup: what the hell was I supposed to do with Sauron included in the Tournament of Champions? Or a balrog? Or Saruman? I mean, Middle Earth is one of the fantasy worlds most deeply mired in an incredibly deep mythos of which I have spent absolutely no time whatsoever. There was no way I was going to get this right.
I put it off while I was taking final exams. That was fair. Finals take priority over a couple blog posts. But the further I got from my daily writing, the harder it became to return back to it. Especially when I returned to family and friends I hadn’t seen in months. It just wasn’t going to happen.
I’ve talked to the Metaphysical Physicist and Spoon, the blog’s two resident experts in Tolkien lore, and we figured out how each of the major battles would go. In the end, we had Sauron and Yoda in the finals of the region, with Yoda emerging victorious. I won’t tell you why because I honestly have no idea. I don’t think I even understood it when it was being told to me, and I certainly don’t remember it now.
My plan is to let the Metaphysical Physicist take over the ringside analysis for every match-up that involves Middle Earth characters, and I’ll handle the rest. Articles will return as soon as I figure them out with him. And when you see who wins this tournament, you’ll be absolutely shocked!
…Well, I assume so. I actually have no idea who’s going to win. But that’s what makes it so shocking! 😛
A Quick Look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe
What it is: I took a look at the Marvel cinematic universe so far and tried to predict what movies would be included in “phase two”.
Examples: Supporting Characters, What CAN’T They Do
Status: *Hits articles on head with a shovel*
Well, Comic Con basically ruined any chance I had at coming back to these articles and making more guesses. My predictions turned out to be pretty well on the money. Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy are joining the Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America trilogy. So, instead of discussing future plans for a project like it, I’m just going to sound off really quickly with my thoughts on all five movies, in no particular order.
Iron Man 3: The Extremis story arc is widely recognized among comic fans as one of the best Iron Man tales ever told. Unsurprisingly, they’ve named it as the basis for the next movie in the franchise. While the movie will obviously not be a scene-for-scene adaptation, I have to admit the story alone has me already very excited. Mandarin is a great villain, and it’s a great first step towards making the Marvel cinematic universe a little darker, which seems to be their overall goal given the rest of the movies on the slate. Also, if you’ve seen Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, you already know Robert Downey Jr. works very well with Shane Black at the helm. This movie will almost assuredly be excellent.
Guardians of the Galaxy: The wait is over, everybody! Finally, a raccoon wielding a rocket launcher has found his way onto the big screen. Let’s parade in the streets celebrating this momentous occasion!
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Well, I think it’s cool.
Thor: The Dark World: You know, I always thought the purpose of putting a phrase post-colon to sequel-ize something was to clarify to the average movie-goer what the movie may be about. At the very least, a post colon phrase should be used to let the few moviegoers who are actually familiar with the source material get excited about what’s coming (we’re getting to Captain America; don’t worry). What does the Dark World tell us? Nothing! Thor’s visited nearly hundreds of worlds that could be considered dark in one way or another. I guess it encourages speculation, but it’s such a vague phrase that even that seems impossible, as it could be anything. When more details come out, I’ll decide whether or not I’m excited, but for now, I’m going to hold a memorial for my hopes that Valkyrie or Beta Ray Bill would be entering the Thor mythos soon.
Ant-Man: Aren’t we kind of past the point in which it made sense to make an Ant-Man movie? I mean, Ant-Man was one of the founding members of the Avengers in the comic universe, so it made sense that the gang put up with a selfish, insecure, mentally unstable jerk who tended to abuse his well-liked wife and never really turned his life around. They felt like they owed him something, if only their loyalty in times of trouble. Why in the world would the Avengers take him into their secret society now? They already have Bruce Banner and Tony Stark to act as the brains of their operation. I mean, it’s not hard to see how they’re going to get him in (his origins will likely include him working for S.H.I.E.L.D. already, so Fury could make his inclusion mandatory), but keeping him on the squad is going to become more and more convoluted as his personality falls out of line. I can’t really think of a situation in which Ant-Man is such a necessary member of the team that they’d keep such an obvious liability, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens, won’t we? Just know that if his inclusion on the team starts becoming more and more forced, I called it.
Captain America: Winter Soldier: I could not be more excited for this movie if I tried. I don’t want to get into the particulars of this arc in case cinema fans that aren’t big comic book people want to go into the movie spoiler free, but the story is quite possibly my favorite in Marvel history. I love the Winter Soldier; I love the story arc Captain America must take as a result of the findings he makes throughout it; and I simply adore the characters that are going to be entering the Marvel cinematic universe because of it (welcome, Falcon! Looking forward to explaining to everyone I know that you actually have purpose and are not just Marvel’s attempts to ensure no one can accuse them of trying to create a team of white-washed superheroes). Even if you’re not a comic book movie fan, you should check this movie out. The story is one that transcends the comic book genre, and I couldn’t be happier to see it heading to the big screen.
Everything else:
I’ve made a few promises to write articles or make videos about things that haven’t materialized…at all…so I’m just going to quick fire through them now:
Misfits Review: I love Misfits, and I’d love to write an article on the show, but I feel like I said everything I would have liked to say on my twitter account (@RedShirtCrew). For those of you who haven’t followed it (you should. Please? For me? I’ll be your friend. Literally. Friend the Red Shirt Crew Blog on Facebook while you’re at it), you’re probably hoping for an article you may actually read, but I’m probably going to wait for the newest season to come out before I write anything.
Misfits vs. Alphas: See above, but add in the waiting for Alphas season two to complete (also, I should probably watch more than just the pilot of season one. That would help too).
My Thoughts on the Oscars: Waaaaaaay too late on that one. I might write one next year, but more likely, I’ll turn it over to one of my best friends and a friend of the blog, Brendan, who you might remember from this podcast and article on pop music from 2011. He’s far more of an artistic movie expert (he actually understoodTree of Life and enjoyed it! That’s impressive) than I’ll ever be, and he’s got a much better sense for what the Academy’s looking. Besides, I’m already too upset that the Avengers is going to get a special effects nomination and nothing else, and they likely won’t even win that. Ugh… C’est la vie.
Let’s Play of Secret Game of Misery and Hilarity:Remember how I don’t even have the tech to record movie with sound when the movie is on my computer. You can only imagine how far away I am on recording a non-computer game and matching up an audio recording while I do it. The second I can, I’m going to do it because I loveLet’s Plays. Until I have more resources, however, it will remain a dream.
The Missing Podcasts: There are two podcasts that have been recorded yet have not appeared on the blog. The first is a podcast I did with Doc Watson, CakeVsDeath, and the Red-Headed Paramedic before we changed our format to be more interview-y with No Right Answer. That’s been lost to time, there are no back-ups, and it will likely never see the light of day.
The other missing podcast is one that’s actually been uploaded featuring two very special guests who are probably (rightfully) frustrated that this podcast hasn’t appeared on the blog yet. For now, just know that I’m working on it (there were some editing difficulties because I am an idiot and screwed up the recording), and we’ll see what happens.
My Thoughts on (Insert name of television show or movie I’ve watched): I’ve mentioned a lot of movies, video games, comic book story arcs, and other things on my Twitter and in comments on the site that I’d really like to review and likely will in the coming weeks. If there are any you remember you’d like to hear or read, let me know in the comments, otherwise, get ready for a (hopefully pleasant) surprise at least once a week until Christmas comes around.
You know, Shakespeare once said that brevity is the soul of wit. Sure does explain how I just rambled for 2,700+ words, doesn’t it? Well, I hope you found this behind the scenes look at what’s coming next from me at least a tad interesting, and I look forward to writing again soon. Until then, this is MaristPlayBoy, signing out.
Chase, aka MaristPlayBoy, is the co-founder and lead editor of the Red Shirt Crew Blog and Podcast Network. He is currently being overtaken by the Blackest Night, but until his heart is ripped out by the Black Lanterns, you can follow him on Twitter at @RedShirtCrew. You can also reach him at theredshirtcrew@gmail.com.
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