Merry Christmas 2015!
Greetings, this is a quick update is to wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year as per my tradition on this blog. I should point out that I had trouble finding the time to update to the blog this month as I was writing the Misadventures of Murdoch and McKenzie. Nonetheless, I have posted a review of the comedic mockumentary ‘What We Do in the Shadows’ a few days ago in order to write at least two blog updates per month.
In Write Wise related news, I am glad that you enjoyed my latest entry and I am hoping to release a few new stories in the upcoming year of 2016. I plan to continue the Scoundrel Squad with a sequel at some point in the next year as well as returning to the Guardian series. 2015 has been the only year for the series to be absent from Write Wises site since I wrote the first Guardian story in 2012. I am aware that because it is a long running series that it has several issues such as having to remind the audience what had happened previously and to keep the reader informed as to what motivates certain characters. It is for this reason that I always release Guardian entries in pairs of two. I’m hoping to write sequels or prequels to some of my previous standalone entries such as Cogworld or the Death and Life of Ellen Smith in the future as well. One genre I haven’t touched on yet is fantasy. I would like to write one when I am ready and available to do so.
The next update on this blog will be the final update of 2015. As with previous years it will be a roundup of entertainment from titles that I have reviewed and experienced this year but were not necessarily released in 2015. As I have not written a review for a television series this year, I will have to pick one that I have watched but haven’t gotten around to reviewing. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens will not be consider for the best film of the year as I have not reviewed it yet but aim to do so as the first update of 2016. I believe that 2015 was a good year overall, in which I had plenty of new experiences that I have enjoyed, met new people, left my life as a student at Queen’s University and entered the world of work. I hope you have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Quote of the Day
Merry Christmas chaps.
Winston Jepson
Cogworld
What We Do in the Shadows
Greetings, What we do in the Shadows is a comedic mockumentary film from New Zealand that was released in early 2014. It was directed by Jemaine Clement, best known for his role in Flight of the Conchords, and fellow New Zealander Taika Waitti. The cast is relatively unknown but consists of 5 main roles, the majority of which are vampires or other supernatural creatures such as werewolves and zombies. Waitti stars as Viago, Ben Fransham portrays Petyr, Jonathan Brugh is Deacon, Jemain Clement plays Vladislav, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer as Nick and Stu Rutherford as their human friend, Stu. The film has a very straightforward plot as it merely follows several vampires as they go about their daily life in the modern world and gives an insight to the undead nightlife in New Zealand.
The storyline begins with a simple introduction, stating that four vampires have allowed a camera crew into their shared flat in Wellington to document their lives. It intially focuses on the four central characters of Viago, Petyr, Decon and Vladislav before expanding into the lives of other individuals and side characters as the film progresses. It should be noted that the characters vary in age as Petyr is 8,000 years old and is therefore the oldest in the group while Deacon at 183 is the youngest vampire. Due to his advanced age Petyr rarely talks and only has a few scenes devoted to him. While he isn’t in the film for overly long, Petyr does move the plot forward by being a central figure in starting several strands of the storyline. The backgrounds of each character, such as Deacon’s past as a Nazi vampire or Viago’s romantic struggles, are explained briefly through the interview segments in which one individual speaks directly to the camera. The interviews help the audience understand the personality and traits of the character as well as their attitude to the outside world.
The plot really picks up once Nick enters the scene. Jackie, a human who works for Deacon as she is under the impression that Deacon will bite her and make her immortal, is responsible for introducing Nick. It is important to mention that Nick is Jackie’s ex-boyfriend and he is brought to the flat under false impressions. The real intention is to let the vampires drink his blood. Once Nick is aware of the trap, he tries to flee the area but is eventually caught by Petyr. It is later revealed that Nick had been transformed into a vampire and the camera crew include him in the documentary as he tries to control his new found powers during the early stages of the movie. It is through Nick that a human character called Stu, a likable introvert with IT skills, is introduced to the group. Stu easily befriends the vampires and helps them enter the digital age of which they had been blissfully ignorant of beforehand.
I really enjoyed this movie for its outlandish premise and colourful characters. The interactions between the fictional figures, particularly their quirky friendship with Stu and their rivalry with werewolves, is one of the strong points of the film. The whimsical humour was also another highlight in my opinion and the comedic scenes are very prominent throughout ‘What we do in the shadows.’ I would encourage you to watch it if you are in the mood for a comedy film or are a fan of the Flight of the Conchords in general.
Plot=7/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
I always knew death would wear a familiar face... but not yours.
Mr White
Spectre
Spectre
Greetings, Spectre is the 24th film in the James Bond series which was directed by Sam Mendes and serves as the latest instalment since 2012’s Skyfall. It sees the return of Daniel Craig as 007 for his fourth portrayal as the character, while Naomi Harris is back as Moneypenny and Ralph Fiennes reprises his character as the new M following the events of the previous movie. Other actors and actresses include Lea Seydoux as the female lead named Dr Madeline Swann, Ben Wishaw as Q, Andrew Scott as C, Dave Bautista as henchman Mr Hinx and Christopher waltz as the primary antagonist. The song ‘Writing’s on the wall’ was performed by Sam Smith as the introductory theme to the movie but it is rather unremarkable song and pales in comparison Adele’s ‘Skyfall’ in my opinion. The soundtrack was composed by Thomas Newman who had previously worked on Skyfall, as well as other projects such as the Shawshank Redemption and Wall-E.
The plot begins in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead with Bond hunting down an assassin by the name of Marco Sciarra as a last request by his former and deceased boss, M. 007 retrieves the assassin’s ring after he manages to kill Sciarra, causing havoc in Mexico City while he does so. James notices that the ring is carved with the image of an octopus, the symbol of the secret organization to which the hitman belonged. When he returns to London, the current M is furious with Bond and suspends him from any other missions as he was acting without M’s approval. Mallory, otherwise known as M, is under pressure due to the possibility of the 00 section begin shutdown by C for being an outdated system. C wishes to join the British intelligence service to other national intelligence agencies to create a global surveillance movement known as Nine Eyes. To ensure 007 doesn’t make any further movements and damage his chances of saving his department, M orders Q to inject Bond with a substance that allows MI6 to track his every move.
Bond disobeys the orders and attends the funeral of Sciarra in Rome to further the investigation. During his time there, he manages to seduce the assassin’s widow, called Lucia, and foils an attempt to murder the widow. She is played by the Italian actress Monica Bellucia, who at 50 years of age is the oldest Bond girl to appear in any of the films to date. Lucia informs 007 of the shadowy organization called Spectre to which her late husband worked for. The British agent then infiltrates a secret meeting of the organization where he identifies the leader as Franz Oberhauser, who was thought to already be dead, but he is also identified in return. Once his identity is blown, Bond makes his escape from the area but is pursued by Spectre henchman Mr Hinx.
I believe that this film suffered from a few issues, namely having a weak plot that was rather complicated at times and neglecting to explain aspects that were never really clarified. The movie also lacked any scenes that were particularly memorable or of any noteworthy mention. Many of the characters such as Lucia were simply throw a way characters that didn’t enrich the story and I found that the villains, as well as their deaths, to be somewhat dull. For instance, Mr Hinx does not have any personality traits such as those of Jaws or Odd Job that would make him stand out as a classic Bond antagonist. I felt that the surprise twist surrounding the identity of the villain was rather lazy and the connection could be made from the trailers. I also felt that the idea of the 00 programme being outdated was simply too repetitive of Skyfall’s themes but despite its down comings Spectre has some good points such as its strong intro scene and that it was visually pleasing to watch. Overall, I believe that Spectre was a step back from Skyfall but was still better than Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale.
Plot=6/10
Characters=7/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood. However history remembers me (if it remembers me, at all) it shall only remember a fraction of the truth.
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
The Quiz Part 7
Greetings, it is that time of year again. As per tradition, I have a made blog update marking the month of November with another quiz to test the blogging community. This is the 7th version of the annual quiz which contains 10 questions based on various media such as films, television series, books and games as well as general events. As always, the answers will appear below the questions at the bottom of the updates. It will be interesting to see if you can top your scores from last year in which Joh received 8 points, Bris managed to score 7 and Aaron answered 5 questions
correctly. I hope you enjoy the latest quiz.
1. Which actor played the protagonist, Michael Corleone, in the Godfather trilogy?
2. Who said the following quote? - “What I try to tell you? This country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the woman. That's why you gotta make your own moves.”
3. Which country will host the next summer Olympic Games in 2016 after London held it in 2012?
4. How many films are in the James Bond series know that Spectre has been released?
5. What is the name of Illya Kuryakin’s fellow agent in the Man from U.N.C.L.E?
6. Telltale’s ‘The Walking Dead: Season 2’ was released between which years?
7. Name the character.
8. Which main actor is missing from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens poster?
9. What is the exact date that Marty McFly and Doc Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy arrive to in the year of 2015?
10. Which cast member from the Lord of the Rings sang the “The Last Goodbye” from the Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies?
Spoilers!
1. Al Pacino
2. Tony Montana/ Scarface
3. Brazil
4. 24
5. Napoleon Solo
6. 2013-2014
7. Owen Grady
8. Mark Hamill
9. 21st October 2015
10. Billy Boyd
Quote of the Day
There is no escape! Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You've only begun to discover your power! Join me, and I will complete your training! With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the galaxy.
Darth Vader
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Scoundrel Squad
Greetings and Happy Halloween! I’m celebrating the holiday by releasing my latest Write Wise entry, the Scoundrel Squad. It is my 22nd entry overall and is a horror themed story set during the Vietnam War. It has been a while since I had written a horror entry, the last being the Julian Crowe series from a few years ago, so I felt it was time to revisit the genre to celebrate Halloween. The Scoundrel Squad was going to be planned out as a trilogy at one point, with this story being divided into two but I decided that it flowed better as a continuous storyline. I have a rough idea in mind for how I would want to end this series but I won’t go into any further details at this time.
As for the Christmas Write Wise, I have toyed with the notion of writing a prequel to Cogworld based on the adventures of Peter, Winston and Cog’s father who was mostly absent during the original story. I already have a plot in mind for that entry but am not sure if I’ll get around to writing it for a while. I would have to read over the original story to remind myself of the lore, in order to keep a continuous world. If it were to go ahead then the main characters form the original book would be in it briefly or only mentioned in passing. I would also like to explore further into the Death and Life of Ellen Smith. I have a few ideas of what Ellen and Bart’s lives would be like after their original adventure but have no main storyline in mind for the time being. After all, it is difficult to raise the stakes after Mercer the Vile tried to destroy the entirety of existence and of course, an omnipotent God could always dispose of threats easily.
I do have a rough plan for a new Christmas entry that is unrelated to any previous instalments or series. I can say little on my project nor can I promise that it can be written in time for the deadline. I intend for it to be a light-hearted story full of quirky characters and inspired by Back to the Future. As for now, I hope you enjoy the Scoundrel Squad and have a happy Halloween!
Quote of the Day
Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold.
Boba Fett
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
Greetings, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is a South Korean film from 2005 that was directed by Park Chan-Wook. It is the concluding instalment in the Vengeance trilogy which consist of three narratively unconnected stories. While separate movies, the three do share similar themes or subjects such as revenge, graphic violence and psychologically dark matters. The first film, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, was released in 2002 and was the weakest entry in the list in my opinion. Lady Vengeance would be my second choice in the series with the cult classic Oldboy being my personal favourite. The trilogy uses many of the same actors such as Choi Min—Sik playing the protagonist in Old Boy and a main character in Lady Vengeance. The two leading actors in the first film have a smaller role in this movie while the main actress of Lady Vengeance, Lee Young-ae, was not involved in the previous instalments in the series.
The plot is somewhat complex and is difficult to write about without revealing any spoilers. As with the other two films, the movie is quite a slow paced journey and takes place in South Korea during the noughties. The main character, Lee Gemu-Ja, is released from prison after serving her sentence for over a decade. She was imprisoned following a murder case that had reached national interest in South Korea when Lee was believed to have smothered a six year old child named Won-Mo with a pillow. She was twenty years old at the time of the murder. During her time in jail, Gemu-Ja had received a reputation of being altruistic and good natured by undertaking tasks such as taking care of the aggressive prison inmate or donating a kidney to a fellow prisoner. This was revealed to be only a ploy when she left prison as the favours would be repaid and included in her elaborate scheme for vengeance.
There are many characters in this film and various storylines to follow but most of them were mainly created to progress the main plot rather than to serve as complex characters in their own right. While setting her scheme into action, Gemu-Ja is employed in a local bakery and attempts to live the life that was stolen from her buts he is constantly haunted by the ghost of Won-Mo. A large part of the film involves Lee Gemu-Ja trying to reconnect with the one particular person from her past but I cannot delve too far into it as it risks spoiling the plot. Like Old Boy, the main villain’s identity, his nature and his motives aren’t revealed to the audience until later on in the film. Despite this, he does appear in one of Lee’s surreal dreams in which she gets her twisted justice and pay back.
Lady Vengeance is a visually colourful movie, at least for the first half of the story, and contains many well shot scenes as well as interesting imagery. Like the other two films, the music consists of memorable instrumental or orchestral pieces which fits in well with the violent and graphic scenes. It was composed by both Choi Seung-hyun and Jo Yeongwook, who had conducted the soundtrack for the previous instalment Oldboy. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and the Vengeance trilogy as a whole but I realize these types of films would not be to everyone’s taste due to the dark tones.
Plot=9/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=9/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Do you see what comes of all this running around, Mr. Bond? All this jumping and fighting, it's exhausting! Relax. You need to relax... Ah well, mother's calling. I will give her a good-bye kiss for you.
Raoul Silva
Skyfall
