by rodvanblake | Mar 28, 2018 | Blog, Character Journey, movie review, Storyline
First off I would like to start of by saying this film is chock full of flaws but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Secondly if you are of the generation that grew up watching reruns of the old Godzilla films, Ultraman/Specterman, Voltron or basically anything that had giant monsters fighting giant robots or giant robots against giant robots then you should be able to suspend belief enough to enjoy this movie. If none of that was ever your thing then likely you won’t enjoy it at all as the rest of the film is not going to be enough to satisfy your tastes in film. If you saw the first Pacific Rim then you should already have a good idea of what’s going on. The first film starred Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam and Rinko Kikuchi. They don’t return for this one with the exception of Rinko who plays Mako Mori, and a couple of the other supporting actors like Charlie Day, and Burn Gorman who reprise their roles as pivotal scientists. The main protagonist is played by John Boyega and I must say I was very happy with his performance and substance in this film unlike his arc thus far in some other recent films “Cough…cough Star wars”. He plays Jake Pentacost, the son of the deceased Stacker Pentacost (Idris Elba). In this film he introduces himself as the street version of his father choosing to hustle and take advantage of the apocalyptic results following the harrowing battle that cost his father his life saving the world...
by rodvanblake | Feb 19, 2018 | Blog, Character Journey, movie review, Storyline
This film was much anticipated and there were worries in some camps as to if it would be able to live up to the hype. In my humble opinion it does so easily. Is it transcendent? No. Is it perfect? No, but what it is, is inspirational and highly enjoyable because of what it delivers to many members of the African diaspora as well as everyone else on this planet. The plot is well thought out. The cast is amazing through and through. This film has a weight to it when it explores political themes without throwing everything in the viewers faces or being too preachy, and it solves what has been Marvels achilles heal when it comes to the MCU. In case you hadn’t guessed it by now I absolutely love this film! I’ve seen it twice, pre-ordered the UHD version and will likely see it a few more times while it’s in theaters. First I will go over what I had an issue with then I will continue to sing its praises and break down why I feel as I do. My one and only gripe with this film is the over use of CGI in the late battle scenes. I feel they could have inserted more practical effects to make them more visceral and up close and personal between the two main opponents. If they had done that I think they could have given us more Wakanda than we got. I know we are at the height of using pretty CGI and I love effects but...
by rodvanblake | Dec 27, 2017 | Blog, movie review, Pacing, Storyline
This review is very late to the party! I realize that yet found it hard to do this one earlier as I was trying to figure out whether I wanted to do a review of this film with or without spoilers. As stated in the title there will be spoilers here so if you have yet to check out the Last Jedi, I suggest you do so before reading any further. The fact that this movie has been so divisive within the fan base influenced me to go all out and talk spoilers contrary to how I usually go about my review blogs. I don’t think you can really talk about this movie without getting into the meat of what you do or don’t like about it to give a true review. You have been warned so here we go. This film for me was a mixed bag of overall enjoyment with a string of disappointments throughout leaving me not angry but still frustrated despite having a good time. There were stunning visuals, awesome space battles, a lightsaber fight with the red Praetorian guards with some call backs to the OT, and then there were completely stagnated or simply forgotten plot lines, wasted characters, clumsy structure and finally the spoiled icing on the cake, the mishandling of Luke Skywalker. I’ll try to be concise while going through all these things and more but it’s going to be hard as there was a lot going on or not depending on your opinion. JJ Abrams has a...
by rodvanblake | Nov 22, 2017 | Blog, movie review, Pacing, Storyline
It’s been about a week now since the much anticipated Justice League movie was released. I have seen a few other opinions on this film some good, some bad and some in between. So I figured I would offer my spoiler free review for those of you interested in the genre. There seems to be a trending movement to hate on DC films recently that I don’t understand. This film was by no means perfect. It was enjoyable despite it’s shortcomings and I believe a step in the right direction when it comes to the DCEU trying to right the ship so to speak. For those who are not in the know this film is DC’s version of the super team a la Avengers which is Marvels super team. Comic book aficionados are no doubt familiar with these characters, but I felt this was another opportunity for DC to take a page out of Marvels book with respect to how they handled their cinematic universe as all members of the Avengers or at least the most prominent ones had individual films to give each a fleshed out backstory. I say this because this may help the general audience care more about the characters and therefor make the enjoyment of the film better. Most people like to know something about the characters to make sense of why they act the way they do. When that is missing some characters may come off as jerks for no reason,and people may dismiss them or ask why they were even included. ...
by rodvanblake | Nov 3, 2017 | Blog, Character Journey, movie review, Pacing
November has begun with a bit of a bang with much more to come for fans of comic books, comic book movies which have become a trend or just science fiction and fantasy in general. The third Thor film released today with the Justice League set to hit theaters later this month on the 17th, and early next year the long awaited Black Panther hits some time in February. I must admit I was quite excited for this film after the teaser in the end credit scene of Dr. Strange which segues nicely into where this film picks up the trail of the God of Thunder as he and Loki search for their father Odin who’s missing. Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba and Mark Ruffalo all reprise their roles as Thor, Odin, Loki, Heimdall and The Hulk from the previous Thor films by Marvel studios. They are joined by newcomers to this series by Karl Urban, Cate Blanchette, Tessa Thompson, and Jeff Goldblum who play Scurge the executioner, Hela Goddess of Death, Valkyrie and the Grand Master respectively. Most of my anticipation for this film as I am sure it was for most people stemmed from the reuniting of Thor with Hulk who have had at best a rocky friendship beginning with the Avengers film which was easily one of the best efforts from Marvel studios to date. I would also add that they should do what ever it takes to give the Hulk the solo film he deserves but I understand that Universal...
by rodvanblake | Sep 28, 2017 | Ancient Illumination, Blog
I must admit I was a bit nervous coming into an event like this as a vendor for the first time not knowing how a literary author would do at a convention that primarily is about comic books and other visual forms of media. I had no prints, comic books, graphic novels or posters of well known characters to offer. I had a few placards made showing visual representations of a few of my characters and a banner behind me depicting one of the more prominent figures I had created along with one of my ships. These worked great as they gave a visual for people to look at and opened the door for me to engage them if they seemed relatively interested then I could tell them about the characters and my story. For a first experience it could not have gone much better than it did. There are a few reasons I think that helped. The visuals I already mentioned, I had a plan before going in, I actively engaged people as they walked by, and finally I was consistent. I think it also helped that my table was relatively nicely presented and organized (I had help with that). It was not cluttered and there were a few things that caught peoples eye as they passed. It just so happens that I am a large person and that helped catch some folks attention. As my size 6’9″ 350 lbs is something I cannot...
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