Blog, Blog, Bloq

 Given my indecisiveness leading up to this week's post, I decided to look at influencing in movies. A pretty general topic that let's me jump around to different things and describe what works and what doesn't work from these influences. Whether that be wholesale ripping something off, or using another piece of media or news story as a springboard. This is about the pieces that shape a work. To ease into this topic, I am going to use A Nightmare on Elm Street as an example. The film was made in response to Wes Craven seeing the deaths of Hmong Refugees in the news. Seemingly random deaths that were most likely caused by the usage of chemical weapons. But the jumping off point for Craven wasn't the horrors of war, it was the hallucinations, and unwillingness to sleep that caught his attention. So, the film was born out of this fear of a boogeyman that haunts your dreams. Even the look of Freddy was based upon a random guy Craven saw when he was a child.  The core idea b...

 Today is Halloween, and I should make another Horror post. And so I will. With the topic this time being about the sounds. As much as I like my audio design in this genre, I did want to focus more on the composition side. Whether it's Movies, Television, or Games. Horror has pretty much always been on the ball with the creaks and crunches. But the one's that can nail the composition go much further for me than those that neglect or lack in this department.  This opinion very much comes from my viewer monkey brain, and not with actual music expertise. So, some scores that sound great and move people, may not do it for me. This is all just to preface my very good opinions that no one is going to care about. But that's enough messing around, let's just dive right in. What makes an exceptional Horror score for me? Well, it mostly comes down to the emotions of the scene, and the build-up in many ways. There's plenty of media in the Horror Space that feature very talente...

 This time around I had a few ideas of what to write about. And the one I landed on involves "Side Characters". Not to be confused with Supporting Characters, who are more involved with the main cast and overall story. So, why have I decided on something like this? Well, I thought it would be fun to talk about specific cases from varying genres. This also gives me a reason to talk about an unlikely candidate.  But to ease into the topic, I am going to use One Piece as a springboard. And the perfect character for this, is none other than Curly Dadan. The mountain bandit turned surrogate parent, is without a doubt one of the most slept on characters in the whole series. There's an argument for a more in-depth look at the character, but for now, I am going to focus on what makes her so great. ( Disclaimer : If it wasn't already apparent, spoilers for everything in this post.)  Prior to Dadan's physical debut in the Anime and Manga proper, she is casually mentioned by...

 Watching through the Friday the 13th franchise and playing some of the Silent Hill 2 Remake has gotten me thinking more on the idea of remakes and reboots. This is because with movies you have many different avenues to access films whether that be physically or digitally. Like, I found a sealed DVD copy of The Matrix at a shop for super cheap. But this does not apply to games. You may have to scour multiple digital storefronts to access a specific title or even shell out loads of money for an original physical copy. That is not even taking into account the process of emulation. An alternative that does not properly serve many people.  This is because emulation runs an imperfect experience. Creating new glitches on top of needing to work with your PC setup. As well as finding the right emulator that fits your preferences. So, it's quite comical to hear people jump straight to emulation when discussing preservation or of ways to play a game. Because at the end of the day, these...

 Recently, I have been going through my somewhat frequent rewatches of the Friday the 13th franchise. This was not intentional, but it is funny that I happened to do it during an actual Friday the 13th. And my current run has stopped at the death of Jason Voorhees, otherwise known as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. And so I initially wanted to focus on Part III because of how much the formula felt phoned in and lacking. But thinking more on it, there are some aspects that I wanted to discuss in regards to the first four films.  These ideas stem from how the characters feel and just how much this franchise tends to get bashed on because they are not the pinnacle of horror. Like, there is a reason I can rewatch the original Friday the 13th, and why I don't want to rewatch most modern horror films. It has more to do with that human factor. The on-location settings, the creativity behind the deaths of the characters, and especially the deception in the shot choice that throws ...