Tag: review

The Man in the High Castle Season 2 is a Masterpiece

Posted on by in High Castle

Let me tell you how amazing Season 2 of The Man in the High Castle was.

I originally wanted to write an in-depth review that covered every single aspect of the new season right after I saw it, but I know it would take ages and be twice as long! I knew I’d enjoy it, but what I didn’t anticipate was how much I would love it and how emotional I’d get as I followed the characters along in their different journeys.

I just want to say that I feel like THIS is the show I’ve been waiting for my entire life! I know that sounds a bit overboard, but I’m being honest. It truly is a masterpiece.

I’ll just breach the surface on a few things and drop a huge spoiler alert. If you haven’t seen it yet and want to avoid spoilers, don’t read any further.

The writers nailed everything that makes an excellent story, three dimensional characters and what I call ‘beautiful tragedies’ (just to name a few things they got right). You find yourself rooting for characters you’d never appreciate otherwise.

Here are a few highlights worth mentioning:

Juliana Crain: I know a lot of people didn’t like her in Season 1, but the beauty of it was that I thought she was perfect. You have this ordinary young woman in this alternate world who is suddenly forced to question her existence—everything. Her actions and reactions are imperfect, and, above all, human. Any one of us could be in her shoes and behave exactly the same way.

To put it best, “Imperfection can be beautiful.” ~ Juliana Crain

In season 2, there were times I rooted for her, times I cursed her, and times I wondered who she was. In the end, she chose kindness, redeeming herself for getting that news reporter killed (oh, how I loathed her that episode!).

Obergruppenführer John Smith: This is someone who appears to be the typical ruthless, Nazi villain at first glance. But beneath his black uniform is a caring husband and father who will protect his family no matter the cost.

One of the beautiful tragedies I mentioned is the relationship between Smith and his son, Thomas. Season 1 throws the powerful, confident Smith a wrench in the mix when Thomas is diagnosed with an incurable disease. In the Reich, this means death.

Throughout Season 2, you see him doing everything he can to hide his son’s illness and to protect him. But in the end, Thomas decides to turn himself in to be euthanized. Thomas’s final scene brought tears to my eyes.

The writers could have gone the cheap route and had the son killed by an accident or by an angry resistance fighter, but no. They had Thomas CHOOSE for himself—after everything his father went through to keep him safe—and that is what makes The Man in the High Castle one of the best written television shows of all time.

The Man in the High Castle – A Problematic Fav!

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Once every blue moon I will discover a show that will blow me away and grip me with every emotion under the sun. [ Insert reaction gif and hashtag FEELS here! ] Before I start my review, I know full well that Amazon’s Man in the High Castle is not for everyone. I mean, an alternate reality where the Nazis won is bold storytelling right there.

Disclaimer: I do not support Nazism in any way, shape, or form. The following post is a review of a well written show with a diverse group of characters that is set in a “what if” reality. 

 
Map of The Man in the High Castle’s alternate reality
Image is from Wikipeida with all the CC information found here

The Characters
The story kicks off when Juliana Crain’s sister is shot by the Kempeitai for being a member of the resistance. Juliana finds out she was transporting some sort of game changing film to the Neutral Zone. Her life changes after she watches it.

Meanwhile, we have the Japanese trade minister (and his strange meditations) and Rudolph Wegener, a Nazi officer, plotting to even the tides between the Reich and the Japanese Empire because war between the two is inevitable if Hitler dies. Yes, as odd as this sounds, Hitler is the lesser evil in play here.

Then we have Obergruppenführer John Smith (my problematic fav) who is a loyal, ruthless Nazi officer, but isn’t your one dimensional, villain of the episode asshole. Nope. He is one of the most well written characters I’ve ever come across. He’s a family man, a loyal friend/coworker, a cunning Obergruppenführer, and carries the darkness from his past like an invisible burden—it’s always there, beneath his eyes. I do not condone Nazis, but this character was truly well written.

Lastly there is Frank. He was my second favorite. He suffers the consequences of Juliana’s actions and is forever damaged by them.

The Scenery
They did an excellent job of making the backdrops look and feel like this would actually be the world these characters live in had the Japanese and Nazis won. On the East, you’ve got the Greater Nazi Reich with all their stern architecture, propaganda, and technological advancements. On the West, you’ve got the Pacific States with a heavy Japanese influence, but they’re grittier and more rundown than their Nazi counterparts.

Every little detail, right down to the street signs, posters on the walls, and people walking around in the background, feels like it should belong in this dark, alternate reality. Women’s fashion is still stuck in the forties, but with subtle changes in their dresses and hairstyles (it’s set in 1962). There are no mini skirts or wild beehives. Everything feels right for the setting, and you find yourself immersed in it and transported to the fictitious world.

Screencaps from the show

My One Complaint
As soon as I finished the show, I scoured the Internet to see what everyone else thought. I found a common theme: no one liked void-of-personality Joe or naive-makes-mistakes Juliana and what (at first) feels like a half assed love triangle. If you find yourself in the first or second episode and wanting to stop, DON’T! There are so many awesome things about this show. You will miss out!

Their story feels secondary to everyone else.  I found myself watching it for the other characters and the danger they found themselves in. It turns out I was not alone in this. There were many people who found themselves rooting for problematic characters like John Smith and Chief Inspector Kido. Then there’s the trade minister. I haven’t come across a single person who doesn’t like him.

The End
I don’t want to drop the biggest spoiler of the universe, but the very last scene will leave you scratching your head and wondering if there will be a Season 2.

I give Man in the High Castle 5/5 stars. I recommend this show if you’re a fan of sci-fi and alternate histories.

The Force Awakens: My Spoiler-Free Review

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I had my doubts even though the trailers looked awesome. I refused to let myself get excited, and let me just say that I was blown away by how amazing this movie was!

If you are a fan of Star Wars, you’ve either seen it or are waiting for reviews to come in because you don’t want to be disappointed with yet another Hollywood “BAM, BLAM, BLING SEQUEL WITH SHINY THINGS so you better give us your money right now” sort of deal.

If you fall into the latter category, go buy yourself some tickets right now. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an exciting, action-adventure film that holds up to the original Star Wars trilogy.

It takes place thirty years after Return of the Jedi. The Empire has fallen, but a sinister group called The First Order rises from the ashes while the Resistance has attempted to rebuild the Republic. TFA picks up the pieces for a seamless transition to its own story. I promised not to post spoilers, but here is a list of my favorite things about the movie (in no particular order).

1. The Costumes
They were true to the original trilogy. The First Order uniforms were sleek, 2015 upgrades to their late 70s counterparts. They weren’t drastically changed or bedazzled with a bunch of pointless, distracting bling found in so many sequels and remakes floating around today.

The resistance had fewer changes. You could still see a strong 70s vibe going on with their collars, hair styles, and polyester vests, not to mention the x-wing pilot uniforms did not change much.

Oh, and Captain Phasma has the most badass storm trooper armor and cape I’ve ever seen.

2. Visual Effects
Everything felt right, like it belonged. As I said with the costumes, TFA feels like a 2015 version of the originals. It wasn’t infested with a bunch of lens flares or pointless CGI. For 2 hours and 16 minutes, you are transported to a galaxy far, far away.

3. The New Characters
They were three-dimensional and not afraid to show nitty, gritty emotions. Even Kylo Ren was an interesting character (I’ll leave it at that, lest I drop some spoilers!).

4. The Story
Critics say that it feels like they stole from A New Hope. While TFA mirrors A New Hope in ways, I feel that it was different and unique enough to stand on its own.

I give Star Wars: The Force Awakens 5/5 lightsabers. I felt like I was back in the old Star Wars world that I grew up with and loved as a child. This movie is a must see for Star Wars fans and sci-fi fans alike!

Review – Psi Corps Replica Pin

Posted on by in Alfred Bester, Babylon 5, Psi Corps

I am overdue for a review. I got a little Babylon 5 gem in the mail, so here’s the scoop!

This is my in-depth look at the Psi Corps replica badge you see floating around places like Ebay and Amazon. You can view Amazon’s listing here: Babylon 5 PSI CORPS Replica

Don’t be fooled by the crappy product photo. At first glance, it looks like a cheap, plastic replica not worth your time. I’m happy to say that I scoured the Internet for reviews to confirm that the badge is metal (not that cheap Halloween-bend it-break it metal either).

Imagine the way my heart sank when I pulled this out of the packaging. I was fully prepared for a broken badge.

Phew! A perfect badge.

My thoughts:
1. As I said before, it’s made of a decent metal and has a good weight to it which makes it feel like a proper badge. Sign me up for the Psi Corps right now!
2. The clasps in the back are just as the descriptions say: military style.

3. The size is perfect. It appears to be as large as the ones seen on the show. I couldn’t be happier with that aspect of it.
4. The casting/mold has dents in it to give the badge a realistic worn feel, but not to the point of being ugly and unwearable (see the large image above). 
5, There is a slight deviation from the badges on the show (I can see why this would anger people, but the product image–as crappy as it is–shows you this). The psi symbol in this badge is curvy, whereas the ones seen on the show are blocky. 
The difference between psi symbols got me curious (hey, I *am* a huge fan, after all!) Where did the curvy version come from? Take a look at the collage of screencaps I gathered below and click on the image to enlarge it:
I looked in my Babylon 5 Images folder to see if I could spot anything obvious. There was one possible deviation from the blocky version (circled in bright green). It’s hard to tell if the badge in that picture is an instance of the curvy psi, or if just looks that way due to the angle. If it is the latter, where did they pick up the curvy version from?
There it is. 
So why did they mass produce the curvy version instead of the show’s more prominent blocky version? I can only speculate…It could be that phantom badge I circled in green, an early prototype that was nixed in favor of the blocky version, but was somehow sent to the manufacturer instead, or maybe Alfred Bester didn’t like the idea of exact replicas being mass produced for Mundanes…I don’t know!
If there are any Babylon 5 fans who know the answer to this, I am all ears! 
There you have it! More than you ever wanted to know about the Psi Corps replica pin!
Conclusion
4/5 Teeps – The only reason it gets docked a point is because it is not an exact replica of the ones in the show.
Would I recommend this to a friend?
Unless you are a stickler for something that is 100% true to the original, then yes. If you are a fan of Babylon 5, it is a fun replica to have and a nice little addition to any collections you own. Get on Ebay, Amazon, or what have you and purchase one right now! 
*Tosses in more photos just for fun*

All Shiny and Chrome

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I didn’t think it was possible for a movie to completely blow me away and douse me in its flames of awesomeness, but one film recently let me bask in its glory.

Mad Max: Fury Road

Figure A

This one is worth going to the movie theater for. Trust me on this. The stunts, accidents, and flames were all real, as were the unique post-apocalyptic cars themselves. You cannot go wrong with an armada of aggressive cars, all shiny and chrome, especially if you have your own Drum & Metal Corps (please see Figure A and the flame shooting guitar).

The movie doesn’t have a lot of dialogue, but the action sequences are works of art awesome. There isn’t any pointless romance, though there is a budding relationship between two characters. It’s played out in a way that doesn’t pigeonhole any characters for the sake of a “lame” romance. It fits with the flow and story. The two characters involved are not the main characters. I liked how the writers left the main two characters alone in that regard.

The villain’s (Immortan Joe) costume and make-up was amazing….everything in Mad Max: Fury Road was amazing!

I give it infinity flame throwing guitars. This is my highest ever rating!

Glory, Pride, and the Maiden Vain

I hope you enjoyed the first little bit of it! There is more to come!

You are always free to let me know what you think by shooting me an email or sending a comment through the form on the left!

Want to see more of something on this blog? Let me know!