#i actually haven’t watched the trailer itself yet i’m just watching jack’s video on it jfhcsycdgvdf

[marshmellowtea]

putting aside the chris pratt thing we can all agree mario’s ass isn’t fat enough right

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

My thoughts on Bioshock 1

I just wanna put this out there. It’s 12:01 am and I find it nice that I finished it before Sunday popped up. This post is gonna have major spoilers. I’ll post the screenshots in a different post. I don’t know if I should call this a review. But yeah I didn’t wanna make this quickly. Took time making some popcorn(two bags for a bowl) and getting a Diet Dr. Pepper.

But my thoughts on the game itself. A game that gamers have considered one of the greatest video games ever made.

I want you all to know. The reason I went back to playing it because I was looking up the terrible voice acting of the original RE game. That it got me to wanting to play a older game...which is the first Bioshock on my main computer. 

But in a nutshell I thought it was a pretty nice game. The gameplay is pretty stellar. Especially the combat. But I will admit, the game didn’t really scare me. Because it was considered horror by some folks. But the way I was playing I think a way how you would describe....something out of the Doom series. 

Yet this is because I was playing on easy mode. Because I wanted to experience the story. Especially when I upgraded my weapons. I was basically a walking powerhouse. Along with the fact I didn’t use my plasmids a whole lot. But I did use them when they seem needed or when I wanted to try them out. I was mainly a weapons guy. 

But yeah upgraded weapons made the journey easier. Even during the final boss with Frank. 

The story is pretty alright. Even though some of the audio diaries I decided not to listen to except for some. Especially when the big reveal was coming. 

I will admit and I think people may know of this. But I knew of the big twist and read stuff about how Jack was basically controlled through most of the game. Where the phrase, “Would You Kindly” Atlas was saying to control him. Where this becomes more clear when you enter a room that has, “Would You Kindly’ on the wall and...those diaries crap....a dog getting it’s neck snapped....to be honest I feel like the moment Jack see’s that. I feel like he was probably confused or just wondering, “What the fuck?”.

But basically where Andrew Ryan exposes this by saying the phrase a couple of times, and asking Jack to kill him with the golf club. Gonna admit to watch that twist in motion, for some reason I wasn’t expecting it to be that dramatic. Because I was expecting it to be simply casual with Andrew explaining what Jack is actually. Where Jack realizes when Andrew asks Jack to kill him, he was telling the truth. Yet I strangely like it how Andrew was trying to showcase more that using the phrase a few time to really showcase Jack was never in control. 

Yet it was nice to finally see the scene in full motion in the original game. Since I’m not playing the remastered version.

To be honest I think the most shocking thing was the fact when I went on the Bioshock wiki. That Jack is literally 4 years old. 0_0 Just....I actually found that to be the most surprising.

Including just the whole set up of why Jack is there isn’t by chance. Honestly despite the dimension hopping that surprised me a lot. Just Jack growing up and all that...surprised me the most. 

But I find it nice how Andrew during the game as you get closer to him. He’s alluding to the fact that it seems like such a coincidence that Jack crashed near that lighthouse above Rapture. As if it was some sort of miracle. 

I’ll stop talking about the twist sorry. So I was right, Atlas who is Frank didn’t really have a family. I will admit Frank’s a pretty damn good actor. Because I feel like people who first played this and if I didn’t look into certain stuff. It would of been more of a surprise. Because I find it amazing he can change his voice. 

Including the fact when you get closer to him. He’s just talking about you and him tricking you. Including why are you even still trying to get him. When Jack doesn’t have a family. I guess I can say he didn’t disappoint me as a villain. 

Again the gameplay is wonderful, Rapture was a interesting place. Both to look at and I guess to explore. I will admit I sometimes couldn’t find some stuff right away. Such as a Big Daddy helmet after a while.

The Splicer are cool and have some variety, the Big Daddies are pretty nice too. Yet what I’m amazed by and I’m glad I couldn’t find that Big Daddy helmet right away because the last two Little Sisters that were with Big Daddies were near by. 

I actually got all the Little Sisters that I recall. Basically rescuing all of them. Meaning I got the best and what I know canon ending. Gonna admit that last scene and just watching that cutscene. Despite it’s actually very quick. I can’t believe I had tears or so....despite I don’t seem to build a connection with these girls.

There is just something beautiful about that ending. Including to see they offered Jack the key to Rapture but he denies it. 

Also there is something of just seeing all these Little Sisters just literally murder Frank and I got a shot of that actually. I saw that in a video once and it’s just intriguing. It seems kind of ridiculous but once you play the game, you understand how they are overpowering him. 

The soundtrack....I’ll be honest I didn’t think about it much. Mainly because I was so focused on gameplay and getting through the game. Also weird thing this didn’t happen a lot. But I remember one time one of Franks line was up and he wasn’t talking. 

Listen to any fans of Bioshock, sorry that I’m rambling. But I’m sorry I’m not praising it to the heavens. But I felt like I did myself a favor because this is a very loved game. It was nice to finally play it and finish it. I think it’s because I’m still processing some stuff. Including during a time in my life I thought gameplay is more important than story. Which was a thought I started having when I became a fan of Doom. But then loving Resident Evil again got me to realize liking video game stories. Considering before the gameplay thing, I would always prefer a single player over multiplayer. 

But now I like both. It’s just I was I guess annoyed by how much praised Bioshock gets and it makes it seem like 2 and Infinite are hated on a lot. Including it just...bothered me and that I’d felt rebellious to not play the original. Because people made it seem like what I like to call it, “The Citizen Kane Of Gaming”. It was a game changer and I should understand that.

Yet you can thank my good bro and buddy @pikablob for being the reason why I got into this series more. All because I was wondering why does Elizabeth in Burial At Sea look so young but in the timeline she would be 66. Until he explained to me things about dimension hopping and after my surprise and shock of what he told me. That got me basically be like, “Okay I need to play these games because holy shit”. Even though I’ve played 2 before and finished Infinite and Burial At Sea episode 1 before. 

It was just so insane to learn that I needed to experience these games myself as I’m older now. 

I feel like overtime I’ll like Bioshock more. Because I had predicted this could become one of my all time favorites. But I don’t think so right now. Maybe when I ever replay it again and maybe even the remastered version. I may love it more. But I felt like compared to games like the original Doom, Doom 2016, Halo Combat Evolved(Because I recall from my experience that game is a classic), and even the Call Of Duty Modern Warfare trilogy. Especially 1 and 2, with 3 being a fitting conclusion to it. I got more out of those games.

Which I sound stupid for mentioning. Bioshock is a whole different beast. I’m talking about a game where someone like Andrew Ryan literally made a city underwater that wouldn’t be affected by what he considered, “Petty morality” and look where Rapture ended up as....a fucking shit hole. 

That I recall I don’t feel terrible seeing Andrew Ryan die. Yet it’s probably because he wants to die and he accepts it. Including his final words and the way the scene went. Yet I was surprised that golf club got stuck in his head when Jack did the final blow. 

But I think that’s just my mind set. Including on a silly note and I’m finally gonna say something I’ve had in my head. I just miss Elizabeth. Again I may enjoy it more as time goes all. Because it is a excellent game. 

Because even though I haven’t played the remastered versions of Bioshock 1 and 2. I feel like if you want to. I’d recommend checking out the original Bioshock if you want to. It’s a well made game and I hope I think it’s genius about the fact The Bioshock Collection exists and it’s on 8th gen consoles now(Especially it got released on Nintendo Switch last month) and for PC’s if you want remastered versions of the first 2.

Basically was looking at trailers for the collection. I think it’s genius because that package seems perfect for any new fan who wants to experience the complete saga as of now. 

I think I’ve said enough on my piece on the original Bioshock.

Anyway during the making of this post. I was listening to this kick ass rap. I find it awesome I finished the game and got to experience it for my own. Here’s JT Music’s Bioshock 1 rap, “Rapture Rising”. Been listening to this when making this. Warning in case even though I talked about spoilers in here, you have spoilers in this rap. Again well done rap.

[joyofcrime-elinorhigh]

Top 10 Toonami Ad’s of the [adult swim] Era.

Hello there, everybody. My name is JoyofCrimeArt and gosh darn it, if the Nostalgia Critic and Watchmojo is allowed to review advertisements and trailers then why can't I?! This list is not to niche, YOU'RE TO NICHE!  Anyway, if you've read the title you know that this is my first every top ten list! Yay me! Every reviewers got to do one at some point, am I right? Now for those of you who do not know last Friday (March 17th, 2017) was a very special day. Besides from being St. Patrick's Day it was also the twentieth anniversary of a little known television block known as Toonami. In case your not in the know, Toonami is an action animation block that ran on Cartoon Network from 1997-2008. This block purpose was to bring action shows (primarily anime) to the television audience of the late nineties and early two thousands, and judging by how long the block ran I assume it did a pretty good job. Toonami was one of the main sources of anime entering the United States in the time before the internet was widely accessible. It introduced a young generation to action shows and anime, airing series like Dragonball Z, Naruto, One Piece, Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing, and Justice League, just to name a few. But it wasn't just the shows that made the block last so long. It was the personality.  Toonami had two things that a lot of other blocks at the time didn't possess. Aesthetic and Tone. The block started off being hosted by a Moltar, a character from the Cartoon Network original series Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. However in 1999 this changed when the block got it's new host, who was not connected to any other series. This robot's name was TOM, voiced by Sony Strait and later on (and more famously) the legendary Steve Blum. There was also SARA, an artificial A.I who would help TOM host. This is wear the block really began to gain it's identity.  One of the greatest thing about the block were the way that it did it's promo's. All Toonami had to do was air the shows, but they did more than that. They had game review, where TOM would give his opinions on the hottest new releases. They would have speeches where TOM would talk to the viewer directly about topics like courage, anger, and individuality. They had what they called "Total Immersion Events" where we got to see some of the adventures of TOM and SARA, often leading to a new redesign of the block and characters. Not to mention just the promo's they had for the shows themselves which, using a combination of masterful editing, awesome music, and often times an epic announcer voice. They even had anime music video's that They were more then just ads, they were experiences in there own right. It's something that's hard thing to explain without seeing it but trust me, these ads knew how to build up hype.  Toonami ended on Cartoon Network in 2008 after an eleven year run. But despite this the fan base was still there and in 2012 adult swim aired one last night of Toonami as part of there yearly April Fool's event. The fan support for this surprise marathon was so great that about two months later Toonami was brought back on adult swim. It stated small but since then the block has grown to heights that rival it's heights during the Cartoon Network days making it one of the only revival to actual be as good as it's original run. This adult swim era is the era that I am the most familiar with, because despite all my talk about the early days of Toonami I didn't really watch it all that much back then, and most of that stuff I mentioned was stuff that I learned about later. The adult swim era is the era of Toonami that I actually watched some of.  So thus, to celebrate the blocks 20th anniversary (or 16th if you don't count the years it was off the air) I present you with the top ten Toonami ad's of the adult swim era. Because these ad's are so thought out and epic that they warrant discussion. Plus I want to show my love for one of the last great blocks on television. Why am I only doing the adult swim era ad's though? Well, a lot of the older ads are either hard to find online or in really poor "ripped from a VHS tape" level quality. (Plus I...I can't watch 11 years worth of ad's.) Also there will be some rules to this top ten list. 1.) I won't be counting game reviews or Total Immersion Events. Game reviews, while neat, aren't necessarily going to stand out that well in the "epic or thoughtful" category and Total Immersion Events don't count because there increased budget gives them an unfair advantage. 2.) I will be judging this by the quality of the ad, not by the quality of the show or film itself. Toonami's had some not so great shows that they were able to make look great with the use excellent editing. And they've also had some great shows with less than great ads. And 3.) If there are two or more ads that I like, but like for the exact same reason, only one get's to be on the list. I want to encourage diversity on my list, plus it be boring if I had to write two nearly identical explanations on why I like two different ads. Hope that makes sense. Also there might be a little bias for shows I like, because me having a connection to the show will make me more likely having a connection to the ad.  But I'm still counting down the ad, and not the show, so keep that in mind. When your doing an opinionated top ten list, it's kinda inevitable that some person bias will leak through.  Also keep in mine that this is just my opinion, so try not to take any of this to seriously. Also keep in mind that I'm the type of guy who's opinions change really often and thus sucks at ranking things. While the list is ranked this is more designed to simply show off the best of Toonami, and the exact numbers could change day to day with me. Anyway I hope you enjoy the list. And if you have no idea what Toonami is maybe this list will help show you why I and so many people love it so much. (Cause otherwise you'll just wonder why this weeb is so infatuated with advertisements.) Anyway, onto the list! Number 10: Akira Long Promo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpJvCbXH6Hw

This ad is a great representation of what makes Toonami promo's so special. While I haven't seen it yet, Akira is one of the most well known and critically acclaimed anime movie of all time. So it makes since that the people behind Toonami would want to put there all into the promo for it, out of respect for the film and it's legacy. And it shows. Everything about is this ad just screams "epic." The ad starts off silent with only the recurring noise of an explosion in the background, only for the actual dialogue to begin at the twenty four second mark. This allows the tension to build more and more as it creates a sense of impending danger. The promo continues to slowly show more and more of the action, but doesn't go all out until the one minute twenty second mark were the music get's ramped up as the ad reaches it's climax. It's interesting to note that the announcer for the ad calls this "one of the greatest animated films of all time." not "one of the best anime films of all time" but "one of the best animated films." period. Toonami's ad's don't usual say stuff like that, only doing it for really big series and films. That line makes it feel like this film is important! You have to see it, just to know why it's ranked up there as one of the best animated films. The ad closes on another quite moment causing the whole ad to sort of book end itself. This ad honestly feels more like a film trailer than a normal Toonami ad. This is likely due to the lack of many "Toonami" elements. The words at the end aren't in the standard blue and white text, which was common in Toonami ad's that came out around this time. The ad is able to make the film seem epic and important, while leaving a lot of mystery on what the plot is. That is why it earns the number ten slot. Number 9: The Bullies Speech   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjHN52SVhE

  Stepping away from the super action heavy side of Toonami we have the Bullies Speech. Really this speech is tackles a very basic issue, and a issue that's been discussed by after school specials for decades. However what makes this speech stand out from those cliche specials is the sincerity and the realism of it. The speech doesn't feel like it's talking down to the viewer. Part of the reason for this is because unlike most of those after school specials, this speech is targeting adults. That alone brings up a point that many other things with a bulling moral doesn't point out. That bulling doesn't stop at high school. Also it takes a bit of a more realistic look at bulling by pointing out that A.) bullies are often victim of bulling themselves and not always the generically evil characters that they are often portrayed as being. and B.) Most of the time the only way to stop bulling is to stand up for yourself and not like other people decide how you live your life. It gives a valuable lesson about bulling in just one minute and doesn't come off as cheesy as all. That's hard to do. And for that it get's the number nine slot. Number Eight: Samurai Jack Final Season Long Promo 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtgXDiXr-0M

 This one is kinda cheating because this was originally made as a standard adult swim promo. However, they did make an updated version of it, with the only difference being at the end where they say "on Toonami" instead of "on adult swim" so it TECHNICALLY counts! Also in terms of editing, tone, and style it is much closer to a Toonami ad then an adult swim ad. Also this ad is great and I want to talk about it. This ad had a lot it had to do. It was the first real big look at the new season of Samurai Jack. And while hype would be there for this season regardless of the ad, people had been waiting thirteen years for this. And so the ad had to make it all seem like it was worth it, and get the show the hype it needed to justify adult swim taking a chance on it. This ad starts with long establishing shots and not a lot of action, much like the show itself. Pretty similar to the Akira promo in that regard. But then half way through the action picks up, all to Jack's narration which is a really nice touch. It manages to give hints about the plot of the season, while still leaving in the element of mystery. Like obviously it's showing that those female warriors are going to be our season big bads, but who are they? Why isn't Jack using his sword? Does he even have his sword? So many questions are brought up, that we know the answer to now, but not at the time when this trailer came out. It's in a way where it makes you excited to see where the show is going to go. There's also that bit at the end where Jack is speaking the intro to the theme song, and I can't decide if it's cool or just kinda cheesy. (Though I am leaning towards the cool side.) However, wouldn't it be great if after Jack says "Got to get back. Back to the past. Samurai Jack" we just heard Jack say "-Samurai Jack. Jack. Jack Jack Jack Jack-" in Phil Lamarr's stoic, deadpan Jack voice doing the will.i.am cover! Yeah...It not doing that is why it only get's the number eight slot.

Number Seven: Dragonball Z Kai Promo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlHQ3aCLB-M

Okay, how to do I "screaming and punching is really awesome" and make it come off as analytical and thought out....  It could be argued that Dragonball Z was the biggest show in Toonami's original run. You could make an argument for Naruto and a few others, but Dragonball Z was one of there big series. When Toonami came to adult swim EVERYBODY was waiting for them to announce that they would be airing DBZ again. And thus, when DBZ Kai did come to Toonami, it made sense for them to make a promo like this to hype people up even more. This ad does a lot of things well to encapsulate a lot of what people love about DBZ. From the slow build up as Goku charges up him famous Kamehameha attack, to the fact that we see clips from the Saiyan, Nemek, and the beginning of the Android saga. That's 64 episodes! Usually a Toonami ad will only use clips from the first couple of episodes. But, I guess since so many people have seen DBZ they didn't care about spoiling it. But the upside of this is that the ad can use clips from several of the series best fights, giving the ad an interesting dynamic compared to other Toonami ads. The ad is able to use different kinds of fights, from giant monster, ki battles, and hand to hand combat, allowing this ad to almost act as a "best of" for the series. The only part I'm not so sure about is the line where they say "and there kicking even more ass this time." To me it came off as a bit cheesy. Also there is this air of smugness when they say "The way it was meant to be seen. Right here. With us." You don't own Dragonball, Toonami. Dragonball belongs to the world! But yeah, the ad's ability to use such a massive array of clips is what gives it the edge in this countdown. They were able to highlight all the best points of the series, and show what it is that makes Dragonball Z so well known, and so beloved.  ...But let's be real. The main reason it's on here is because of all the screaming and punching. Screaming and punching are just cool! That's a scientific fact! Number Six: Attack on Titan Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH1DH8jiy5A

With Attack on Titan being one of the biggest Ha! Ha ha ha, I'm going to go fu*king kill myself now- anime series to come out in recent history, this ad delivers in selling the show to people who may of heard of the show through word of mouth as "That zombie show, only the zombies are giant naked people without genitals cause anime is weird." This was one of the last ad's to have the announcer explain the plot of the show Some still do, like the Dimension W promo, but there a lot rarer now. It's really a shame because I really like the "voice of God" style trailers, and this ad is a perfect example of why it works. The announcer explains the plot perfectly, while describing the titans in such a sinister fashion that it almost makes you forget the fact that giant man eating naked people without genitals is kinda silly! Still though, this ad is great. It tells you everything you need to know to get the basic premise of the series in just a minute and a half long run time and really works on selling the show for any new comers. The orchestration in particular has the exact right combination of both epicness and dread to really set the tone. You instantly get the story, set up, and motivation of the main character all in one minute and a half long promo. And the ad concludes with Eren Jaeger screaming like a psychopath in that classic Eren Jaeger way. There's no way you can watch this and not get even a little pumped, right? I can't be alone on this. Hey, do you know that the voice of Eren Jaeger in the English dub of Attack on Titan is the same voice as Cat Noir in Miraculous Ladybug? Knowing that makes both shows a thousand times funnier. Anyway, onto number five.

Number Five: The Positivity Speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbN6bqkfjc8  Positivity is something that I feel is something that is very easy for a lot of people to lose sight of. Especially recently, making this speech hold a lot of extra impact. So many people these days believe the cynicism or nihilism is the "smart" way of thinking. And while everybody has a right to there own personal philosophy it has never been something that I agreed with. Positivity, at least to me, has always been very important. And this ad helps show why. One thing that really sticks out to me with this ad is the music the plays throughout the first act. One thing that Toonami has always been good at, is the music. This track in particular really fits the tone of the ad. There's also some stand out moments with the clips. Like the part wear we see Eren Jaeger's face smash against the ground, only for us to see him gliding later in the ad. Symbolizing how life can sometimes feel like a giant obstacle, only for you to surpass it with the right amount of effort. This is my favorite Toonami speech, and I always feel in a good mood after watching this ad. It just has this nice feeling to it, that I just really appreciate. It's a great thing to watch when your down, to remind you to always look up. That's why it earns the number five spot. 

Number Four: Space Dandy Long Promo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWP5_WKeuE  Most of the time Toonami ad's do a great job at making a show seem epic. This ad, however, does not try to make this show look "epic" at all. Rather this ad tries to portray the show for what it is. A wacky, over the top, crazy good time. The difference in tone really helps the ad stand out from other Toonami promo's. There are also some other unique things about the ad, like how instead of having the standard Toonami narrator it has the narrator from Space Dandy. (For those who have not seen the show Space Dandy is a lot like Powerpuff Girls, in the since that the narrator is a character who interacts with the show.) Also this promo features the licensed song "I Turned into a Martian" by the band The Misfits. The songs fast pace really helps fit the wild and crazy feel of this ad and the show it's self. This is another promo that also does a good job explaining to the audience what the show is and what the basic premise is. (Basically It's Johnny Bravo in Space) My only criticism of this ad is at they end when they say "from the creators of Soul Eater, Full Metal Alchemist, and Cowboy Bebop" which I find a little misleading. It is from the creator of Cowboy Bebop but it's only from the animation studio that made Soul Eater and Full Metal. Not the creator.  Space Dandy is my favorite show that I have seen on Toonami (Trust me, the show is smarter then the ad makes it looks. I promise!) So there is a bit of a bias there. At some point I'd love to make a review for the show proper so I can talk about it in more detail there. But either way, this is a great promo for it, and it get's the number three slot! Number Three: Moltar's Transmission

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJLDK8j_HnA

So as I mentioned previously Toonami was originally hosted by Moltar from Space Ghost: Coast to Coast before switching to TOM in 1999. Moltar was voiced by voice actor C. Martin Croker, who tragically died on September 17th, 2016 at the age of 54. Thus, in tribute to him, Toonami made this little bump to honor his legacy. The third and fourth season of Space Ghost Coast to Coast is one of my personal favorite seasons of television, so it was nice to see this tribute to him (I haven't seen much of the later seasons.) Also without him there may not of even been a Toonami in the first place, so it's nice for his impact to be acknowledge. Moltar was rarely mentioned after TOM took over, as the Toonami crew wanted to differentiate themselves from the "Coast to Coast" brand, and as such we never got to see any interaction between TOM and Moltar. This ad is really are only peak into there relationship and it's great to see. Toonami's Moltar was very difference from Space Ghost's Moltar, as the crew has stated they didn't really want to use Moltar in the first place, again because they wanted there own feel. But it's nice to hear from this Moltar, who seems a bit more of an in-between between the two interpretations. The lack of music also helps with the solemn and It's nice to hear that in-universe Moltar get's somewhat of a happy ending, and isn't imprisoned by Space Ghost. The only part that is a little jarring (And this is a small nitpick, please don't think I'm a jerk) is seeing the Moltar animation from 1997 next to the 2016 animation of TOM. (Although I acknowledge that it's the best they could do, as I wouldn't want them to cut the scene of us seeing Moltar.) Anyway this tribute is great, and could be argued to being the best Toonami ad. I simply made it number three because this type of thing isn't what you tend to think of when you say "Toonami." Anyway, on to number two! Number Two: Get Busy Living (Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sT_tyeQMNr0

 And speaking off death, that brings us to our next entry, the "Get Busy Living" music video. Probably the most unique Toonami ad there is, this music video provides us with some of the most interesting visuals that a Toonami ad has ever offered us. Most Toonami music videos just use clips from the show over some music as a well to tell some kind of story, or express some kind of theme. But this ad does something completely different by having the clips on top of other clips, and having different filters on top of those clips. This trick, which sadly hasn't been done since, adds layers to the visuals and the experience as a whole. Then there's the theme and message of the music video. A rather often talked about but still important message about human mortality, and making the most out of life. There have been Toonami ad's that have touched on this topic before, like the "Live Life to the Fullest" music video, but none has done it as well and as creatively. As someone who thinks about death a lot, this video is...oddly comforting, in a weird kinda way. Also I find it kinda weird that, for a video that tackles such a serious subject matter the show that most of the audio and visuals come from is...Space Dandy. (See, I told you the show wasn't as dumb as it looks!) At times some of the visuals seem like a bit "much" but for the most part this is an excellent music video. It's amazing to look at, has a deep message, and the clips do a great job reflecting the subject at hand. And for that it earns the number two spot. Now onto number one! Number One: There About To Warp (Music Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk7Q8RVL-CY

 The "They're About to Warp" music video, in my personal opinion, is not only the best Toonami ad of the adult swim era but is also the ad that is most representative of Toonami as a whole. If I wanted to explain what Toonami was at it's core to somebody who had zero idea what it was, this would be the ad that I would show them. There are many, many ad's like this one. For example, the "Let's Fight." music video is very similar to this ad in terms of style and editing. In fact, "Let's Fight" would of made it onto this list, but I wanted to encourage diversity in my choices, and  didn't want to pick two videos that I liked for the exact same reason, and so it was not included. (If it was included, I think it would be around number 5 or so.) This ad takes what ad's like "Let's Fight" or the "Better Cartoon Show" series ad's does right, but amps it up to eleven. I honestly don't really know what to say about this ad, if you watched the video above it should be pretty obvious why it has the number one spot. From the awesome build up of TOM opening the warp gate to just the onslaught of action scene after action scene, it is everything that makes Toonami epic wrapped up in one minute long ad. It is impossible to watch this ad without getting some kind of a boner! And yes...even if you are a girl. The ad's just that good!  So that's my personal top ten favorite Toonami ad's of the adult swim era. I hope you all enjoyed it. And if you weren't a Toonami fan before reading this, hopefully I was able to show you why so many people really treasure this block, and maybe even convinced you to give it a look for yourself. As of the time of posting this review Toonami runs on Saturday nights from 11pm-3:30pm est. And if your interested and checking out any more of these bumpers  check out Youtubers CabooseJr's page. He archieves most of the adult swim era ad's and was were I got the majority of these videos from. www.youtube.com/user/CabooseJr Also keep in mind, like I said earlier, I'm very indecisive when it comes to list like this, and even while editing this I considered changing some promo's placement on the list. So really the exact number placement doesn't really matter to much, as my opinion can change day to day. So really, the order doesn't really matter to much. I just wanted to showcase the best Toonami had to offer, because I thought it would be interesting. So keep that in mind.  What's your favorite Toonami ad, adult swim era or otherwise? Are there any that I missed? Also what did you think of the top ten format? Tell me in the comments down bellow. I honestly enjoyed writing with that kind of format and I would love to do other top ten's in the future. It'll take some time before I get REALLY good at writing them, but I think there's some real potential here. Please, fav, follow, and comment if you enjoyed this review. I'd love to get a conversation started, even if you don't one hundred percent agree with me. Anyway, that's all I have for this time, so have a great day!

(I do not own any of the images or videos in this review all credit goes to there original owners.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[agentnico]

Fighting with My Family (2019) Review

Someone should explain to Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson the meaning of an independent film. All across his social media he’s been advertising Fighting with My Family as his little indie film he helped make, but who are we kidding here, this movie’s sponsored/distributed by the likes of Lionsgate, MGM and WWE Studios, it’s budget was quite solid I imagine. Yes, this might not be Johnson’s usual high budget Jumanji adventure, but it is no indie.

Plot: Born into a tight-knit wrestling family, Paige and her brother Zak are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for the WWE. But when only Paige earns a spot in the competitive training program, she must leave her loved ones behind and face this new cutthroat world alone. Paige's journey pushes her to dig deep and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star.

I’ve never been a particular fan of wrestling. By particular I mean that I haven’t watched it, so I have no problem with it but it never appealed to me. So as someone who doesn’t know much about WWE besides the overall gist I can say that that knowledge is not necessary to enjoy Fighting with My Family, as it does a good job of explaining what needs to be explained whilst also being a decent enough film in itself. The movie is brought to us by British comedian Stephen Merchant who takes on writing and directing duties, and the screenplay here is not bad, especially in the dialogue department with some fantastic comedy gold coming out in each scene. However the actual plot of the film itself is a bit of a cliche. I mean, I obviously do not know much about the actual true story of wrestler Paige (besides the fact that apparently she did some adult videos, good for her I guess, I’m sure she had a....banging time!) but the movie is very Hollywood-ized with the whole under-dog element and how the lead has to go through the motions and fail certain challenges and obstacles on the way so that then she can go back to her roots and find herself after which those same challenges become as easy as eating a pickle. So the story itself offers little to none surprises, and Merchant’s directing is a bit simplistic and banal, yet the jokes are on point and the cast really pull this thing together.

Florence Pugh stars as the main character Paige and Pugh is one of the best examples in the past few years of a rising star with a strong future. She gave a fantastic performance in Lady Macbeth, she gave Chris Pine’s hormones a kicking in Outlaw King, and she’s set to star this year in Hereditary’s director’s new horror flick as well as Greta Gerwig’s next outing. In Fighting with My Family she’s great too, portraying Paige’s self-doubt, way of speech and general physique as if they were actual twins in real life. Paige’s family is cast well too, and in fact it’s whenever we see the family together that the movie shines. Their bond and the love of the sport was captured really well here. Lena Headey rocks black and red hair like a queen whilst she’s on a break from her evil Game of Thrones doings and Nick Frost gets some of the meatiest and funniest lines and his mannerisms and expressions are a nice reminder that he can be a very good character actor and not just a comedian. Jack Lowden as Paige’s brother delivers a multi-layered performance of a loving supportive brother who can’t help but feel jealous of his sister’s success. Solid emotions there, guys! Vince Vaughn Vince-Vaughns his way through the movie throwing his usual one-liner insults left and right to our enjoyment. The Rock is in the movie for only two/three scenes, but he brings the laughs, yet honestly you’ve probably seen most of him in the movie’s trailers already,

Fighting with My Family makes me want to fight with my family. I’m kidding, but it is a fun and endearing film that is held back by an overdone plot formula and lack of taking risks, however the performances and funny script make it a worthwhile watch. Heck, it’s actually a very good watch, and if are not a picky bastard like me who seeks out problems within movie you should be a-okay!. Do check it out and see what The Rock is cookin’!

Overall score: 7/10

[bholenathvalsan]

Tumbles and Pins

I know Pinterest since around January of 2012, but I didn’t take the time to know the platform, theoretically or practically, until last year. I think that the Tumblr communities of the subjects I like have a lot in common with the ones on Pinterest.

I think those tumblogging and tumphlogging things related to horror, and those creating boards and pinning things to Pinterest, have the aesthetic sense to do it. It’s fortunate that they care to share it!

Many use Tumblr like a pinning app, and that’s okay with me, but I wouldn’t do it. The microblogging + pictures type of post of Tumblr is something cool on itself, but to me, is just too disposable kind of content. Unless the image, photo or video is cool enough to make it memorable.

Yet, to use it for regular blog posts, for me, was its killer feature, I see persons sharing pictures, some of them, for me are the pinnacle of coolness, and I wonder if they are ripped-off, original or somewhere falling in between those two categories.

I’d classify them as

Ripped-off: going through the motions of 1) downloading or screen-shooting photos or images from third parties and then sharing it without permission. To add injury to harm, not even attributing from where they were ripped-off.

Gray Area: someone that went through the motions of scanning, filming or photographing original contents like images, illustrations or photos from a third party book, magazine, flyer, circular, or similar. Then shared that content with or without attributing the source.

Original: someone that created the content and then shared it.

I’d rather let my curating of cool image/photo-based posts (that I don’t know the rights or haven’t scanned/photographed myself) to the big P, even if I want to, and will, reblog Tumblr posts that don’t have an attribution or license notice at the end, or elsewhere in the post, for that matter.

YouTube Every (Horror) Thing Goes!

I’m not a fan of the digital anarchy that Google supports. The best and fastest way to see what I’m saying is on YouTube.

A lot of infringing content is tolerated on ’tube. As I see it, Google’s YouTube changed the world, but it might have a hidden agenda. Something not told to the users. Something along the lines of a before and an after YouTube in audio-visual media.

Gray Area Content Process

An audio-visual collectible, or a part of one, gets shared on YouTube by someone that doesn’t own the rights to it.

People watch it, adds it to their playlists, shares it, even downloads it.

Channel owner, gets traffic, subscriptions, and engagements. Most probably harboring a (far from transparent) monetization-by-advertising vested interest in her/his channel.

Google delivers a monetization system and takes a cut from the channel’s owner’s work by means ad clicks. Purposely overlooking that in the content marketing mix of the channel there are a few strategically placed infringing pieces of content?

Someone empowered by the intellectual property holders finds the infringing content and sends YouTube and the channel owner take-down notices or a CaD letter in her/his mailbox.

Content is deleted, and the infringer gets one of three strikes added to his profile. But soon again something else entirely happens...

Someone else uploads the content that was just put down again. It’s just rinse and repeat from here. This takes time and resources from the owners of the IP.

I confess watching YouTube since before Google bought it. Notice I say only watching, because it was never popular with me, like something I’d like to pursue, to fulfill a work or leisure function.

But it’s a great tool to organize things if one is into curating like me. I have been curating my three lists of movies about punk rock (or in any other way related to it) since around 2011.

Movies With Punx: Full Movies With Punx: Trailers Punk Documentary

It took me one hour and a half to find again the movies on the list that after years there were taken down, when I did it yesterday.

More than a year ago I had to make up my mind about what I think of YouTube, and weigh plain ethics vs The Non-Evil World of Google, and the  G came out feeling lower in value to me.

You’re reading an elaboration on what I thought back then. I think that it’s not ethical to buy into the G’s own version of reality. I may get flak for this, but if you’re infringing just for a buck, it tells me you’re desperate.

Sorry if I’m focusing on the black sheep of the platform. It’s actually something bigger. This bad user profile may represent just a narrow sliver of the community, as opposed to those that furnish original audio-visual content.

To me, it was like junk food. It seemed richer to curate infringing collectibles than original YouTube content. What I did, let it stay there, but I will not do it anymore.

It’s like quitting cigarettes or alcohol, the day I said I was done, I stopped caring about it.

Still, I plan on curating original content on YT, and the kind of original content I want to curate deserves a post on this tumblog of its own.

Photo Attributions

Jack Zalium Lucia Casillas Mark Hillary