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Showing posts from August, 2017

DEATH NOTE (2017) - When the art of adaptation goes horribly wrong

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Death Note is a fantasy horror thriller Netflix movie directed by Adam Wingard based on the critically acclaimed Japanese manga and anime series of the same name. The movie stars Nat Wolff, Margaret Qualley, Lakeith Stanfield, Shea Whigham, and Willem Dafoe and tells the story of Light Turner, a typical high schooler who is granted the Death Note--a mysterious notebook that allows its user to kill anyone in any matter they wish by simply writing down their name. While initially using this power for good under the persona of Kira, Light slowly becomes corrupted, leading world-famous detective L to hunt him down. Ever since this was first announced, I've had very mixed feelings about this movie. On one hand, Death Note  is a truly amazing and highly memorable anime that everyone should watch. On the other hand, Hollywood has had a certain... history... with adapting anime, anime-inspired cartoons, and video games into live action (see Dragonball Evolution, Ghost in the Sh...

THE DEFENDERS season 1 - Sometimes more isn't more

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The Defenders  is a Marvel-Netflix miniseries created by Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez and is the culmination of seasons 1 and 2 of Daredevil , season 1 of Jessica Jones , season 1 of Luke Cage , and season 1 of Iron Fist . The season follows the titular characters of the four series--played by Charlie Cox, Krysten Ritter, Mike Colter, and Finn Jones, respectively--as they stumble into each others' worlds and reluctantly team up in order to fight a mysterious organization that threatens to destroy New York: the Hand. It may feel unusual to think about now in 2017, but once upon a time the concept of characters from different movies or shows coming together was unthinkable. It was a rule that there was an invisible barrier separating different movies and shows in their own "reality", and nobody ever thought that different characters meeting would be possible--which is why even very small cameos like the Disney Channel That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana ...