A Hype To Remember, Blog

A Hype To Remember: Resident Evil (2002)

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Let’s take a walk down memory lane to a time before happiness existed, a time before we knew the fullness of Milla Jovovich’s Resident Evil series.

 

Movie trailers are interesting time capsules that don’t get enough credit for being a commentary on the past. They reflect the perceived notion of what was cool at the time, and almost always feature some kind of visual gag, trope, or thematic element that really drive it home that this movie is “of its time.” Since we’re a podcast about looking at media post-hype, I thought it would be interesting to dig into the ol’ trailer vaults on YouTube and find a piece of cinematic history:

RESIDENT EVIL (2002)

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Friday the 13th Series Ranked

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Since movies began filmmakers have been trying to scare the pants off us.

First with a train, then with a gun pointed directly at the camera, and later with a young man or woman pitted against a larger than life monster.  As these movies play out, people die, people fall in love, then die, and a hero arises, and maybe dies.  With main characters dropping left and right, producers quickly realized, people are coming more for the bad guy than the good and then… Great horror icons are born!

 

Through the years we’ve seen many villains come and go, yet, only a select few never fade away.  One in particular has steadily walked his way into nearly all forms of mass media.  After twelve movies, twenty some books, a TV series, countless comic book appearances, and one hugely anticipated video game, Jason Voorhees has sliced and diced his way into the hearts of millions of fans.  No matter how many different places Jason slaughters those pesky teenagers, movies are where he shines brightest.  Not all are masterpieces, one or two might be horrible, but they all have something special, something new to offer.  So I present to you, my ranking of the Friday the 13th franchise.

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Movies That Define Me: Scott Pilgrim

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I’ve never been able to lock down a favorite film, but there are films out there that get close. They define me through moments, themes, characters, or story, and I think that’s worth exploring. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is one such film.

 

“What’s your favorite movie?” It’s a question that people ask primarily to initiate small talk. For me, it’s a chance to project who I am out to the world. It’s a question I take very seriously, and unfortunately it’s a question I can’t seem to answer. The reason for this is because “favorite film” as a concept is weird to me. How can one film be THE ONE to rule them all? How can it be better than the thousands before and the thousands yet to come? I believe that we can find that deep, defining connection in more than just one movie, and that limiting it down to one experience doesn’t do us (or those movies) any favors. SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD is the first movie I would say defines me. Let’s unpack that.

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The Men In Black Sequel We Never Got (And Still Need)

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Men in Black is one of the best Hollywood blockbusters ever made. Director Barry Sonnenfeld and writer Ed Solomon spun an obscure comic book into a ridiculously fun piece of popcorn entertainment bursting with imagination and humor. Stars Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith gave new life to the tired tropes of a mentor who’s seen it all before and a cocky rookie eager to prove himself. The film ends with Jones relaxing in semi-permanent retirement while Smith continues forward with experience to back up his swagger.

 

Audiences were primed for more adventures.

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Go Home Movie Theater, You’re Drunk

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 When I was eight years old my parents took me to a movie.  

I wanted to see Baby’s Day Out, I mean, who wouldn’t?  It was a sure fire classic!  Alas, my parents wanted to see Forrest Gump.  Kicking and screaming, I was dragged into a sold out theater, in Davenport Iowa.  The local Showcase Cinemas, ran by National Amusements.  The first of its kind multiplex (in Davenport) with a whole TEN SCREENS!  

 

 

We were late, of course, so there weren’t four seats together, just three, next to a wall… gross.  But it had to do!  My sister, father and mother took the seats, and I got the armrest of my mother’s seat leaning against the wall.  Then the movie started.  All troubles in the world were washed away, and I was totally entranced by the movie.  The audience was quiet, they laughed when things were funny, and cried when sad.  All in all it was the perfect movie going experience.  It was the first moment I knew, I want to make movies.

 

Let’s fast forward twenty some years to seeing Neighbors 2. (I’m well aware in the vastly different quality of the two films)  First, my chair had ketchup smeared into the headrest just thin enough to not see before leaning back, but thick enough to call me ketchup head the rest of the night. Second, after moving seats, the movie starts, then the ENTIRE row in front of us starts “phoning” it up.

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5 Moments in Video Games That Nearly Made Me Quit

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I’m fairly level-headed when it comes to video games, and not the type of person to rage quit and cause property damage. There are a few scenarios where I get close, and I’d love to share these pain points with you!

Hi. You might remember me from the After The Hype podcast. I talk sometimes on that, and am responsible for the video content you see. You might also notice that I bring up video games often on our WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN DOING segment of the show.

 

If you’re thinking, “hey, this guy is a gamer,” you’d be right, except I’m not THAT type of gamer. I don’t dox anyone or threaten lives or participate in those subreddits. I do occasionally feel a sense of “black out” rage when it comes to gaming, but they’re very specific circumstances and almost always involve some kind of mechanic in the game that is just too much for me. There are also a few instances in which the content itself is a bit much for my taste, stepping over a very subjective line that just ruins the whole experience for me.

 

You’re probably thinking at this point, “wow, these games aren’t that difficult,” or “jeez, what a little whiny snowflake.” That’s perfectly fine. It’s also perfectly fine for me to murder you in my mind over and over again, so maybe let’s be on our merry way and check out the FIVE MOMENTS IN VIDEO GAMES THAT NEARLY MADE ME QUIT!

 

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2016 Tournament of Champions

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Top tens are not my favorite sort of lists really.  It’s all a matter of bias and I always feel something is being left out.  Even if the writer does a honorable mentions section.  For my best of 2016 I decided to try and show my thought process / bias in this Tournament of Champions.  Give everyone a chance to really get mad at me.

 

Tournament of Champions

 

In the process I pitted some films against each other who otherwise should never be.  I have to pause, consider details, and in the end go with the movie that brought me the most joy and or moments of thought.

 

For example Rogue One beating out The VVitch.  Two movies I thoroughly enjoyed for very different reasons.  The VVitch being such a visceral film I had a long hesitation but Star Wars wins when Star Wars is done right.

 

That left Hell Or High Water against The Handmaiden.  Two power house films about love, loss, entrapment, desperation, and good old fashioned capers.  It’s weird to think about these films being so similar, in such drastically different settings, culturally and locality.  But there they were, two desperate women fighting with two desperate men.

 

In the end I had to go with Hell Or High Water because of my own current cultural desperation.  Hell or High Water shows me the world in which Trump became president and it humbles my liberal feminist heart a little.  Just a little.  Not too much.  #dembabyblueeyes

 

So my cultural bias chooses Hell Or High Water as the best film of 2016.

 

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Top 10 Movies in 2016 That ATH Made Me Watch

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I generally dislike lists, and I can never seem to keep track of what I’ve watched in a year, but here we are.

2016 was perhaps the worst year in moviegoing for me…because I didn’t really see all that many films. The only reason I can present this dumb list to you is because I HAD to watch films for the podcast in order to talk about them.

 

Turns out, I watched JUST enough to come up with a (in my opinion) barely passable TOP TEN list. I’m sure a few of the movies listed will surprise you, but a majority of them won’t if you’ve listened to us ramble about movies all year. There’s also a television show on this list in the honorable mentions because – like I said – I’m not a huge fan of lists.

 

In order to write as little as possible for this post, I’ve resorted to using gifs from one of my favorite films – GALAXY QUEST. Turns out, you can use GALAXY QUEST gifs for pretty much anything in life. That said, let’s get crack-a-lackin’ on my TOP 10 MOVIES IN 2016 THAT THIS SILLY PODCAST MADE ME WATCH!

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2016’s Most Over and Underrated Movies

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The hype machine is an unavoidable beast.  No matter how much you want to ignore it, it’s always there, lurking in the corners of your internet browser.  Cruising by on buses as you sit at a red light.  Plastered on the side of buildings!  Everywhere you look… movies.

Being the the host of a movie podcast, I feed right into this situation.  I love talking movies, and I get really excited about them.The problem is, sometimes, I think we all get a little too fired up.  We end up launching mediocre films into the stratosphere.  On the flip side, we are so worked up about some of these movies, we totally ignore others.  In this vein I present to you, the top five over and underrated films of  2016!

 

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Least-Worst Comic Book Movies of 2016

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Hey everyone! Ryan here, emerging from the Comic Corner to bring you 2016’s TOP 7 LEAST-WORST COMIC BOOK MOVIES.

 

To keep it from being any longer, I only included the live action theatrical releases, so no mention of Batman: The Killing Joke on this list. They were easy to rank at the top, but the rest were engaged in a nosedive race to the bottom.

 

I gave it my best shot anyway, enjoy!

 

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