Devil's Advocate: Media Edition

[Palindromemordnilap_v1legacy]

The first Matrix film wants you to think it?s deep and philosophical but doesn?t really do anything with the philosophical themes it?s setting up, just using them as an excuse for how a programmer knows Kung Fu. The best Matrix film is therefore the second one which utilises the Plato?s Cave metaphor a lot more

 

[BrawlMan]

I don't know how contrary this opinion is but, I think that the MCU has done more harm to the movie industry (superhero movies in particular) than good, or at the very least has changed the industry in a negative way.
It seems to me that before the MCU started if a movie made at least twice it's budget back it was considered a success and most movies were their own contained stories that had a clear beginning, middle and end and the occasional mild sequel hook (think 'Bond Will Return' or the Joker card scene in Batman Begins. But following the MCU a lot of movies strike me as half-finished stories and setups for further sequels. And they have to make an obscene amount of money globally to even be considered an adequate film.
Plus there's the issue that any movie that doesn't follow the MCU pattern of being light-hearted and filled with sarcastic and snarky quips being thrown out by every character it's immediately lambasted as being 'grimdark' and subsequently savaged by movie critics.

As much as I like most MCU movies, this I can agree with. We are plagued by so many franchises trying to set up their own "cinematic universe" that many of them forget to do a self-contained movie first with developed characters. Sadly, it the industry following another trend without understanding why it worked. A problem with the film, gaming, and music industry as well. Also, pandering to Chinese audiences have hurt the blockbuster side of the industry as a whole. Hell, judging from Transformers: Last Knight, even Chinese audiences are getting sick of it too.

Capcom straying from survival horror makes sense as up till that point, RE5 was the best selling RE title (not best in the series). ReRemake nor the Outbreak series were not setting the world on fire. RE4 was making tuns of money no matter what console it was put on. RE6 would have been okay, had it not been for the overabundance of QTEs. While RE7 is the return of Capcom going back to its roots, they are still following another trend. Hello, Outlast and Condemned.

Despite doing well, Capcom claims 7 sold "below expectations". Whatever the fuck that means. To the big AAA companies, stop saying that. If your games aren't selling that great, either you need to lower those expectations or quit the industry and do something else. It sure as hell ain't the consumers fault.

Re2Remake seems like a better return to form for the RE series with a nice compromise between the over-the-shoulder camera system and the tension from 1 to Code Veronica.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Harley's own creator, Paul Dini, wrote her as being capable of getting over the Joker. And how much Ivy hates humans depends on the writer. She once made her garden a shelter to runaway children.

Yet we never really see it. Not in the animated series anyway. She always goes back to the guy, even when he knocks her out of a 4-story window. She could get over him, but then she wouldn't be Harley Quinn anymore; Everything about her, from her voice, her demeanor, her name, her outfit, and her face paint is all either shaped by the Joker or something she did to appeal to the Joker. That's what makes her classic outfit so great; it completely covers every inch of her to make her look like Joker's own personal toy. Even her voice is shaped to accomedate this. That's why I was never a fan of all-white skinned Harley.


And Poison Ivy not only hates humans, but her whole persona is about using seduction and sexuality as a weapon. This feels so ingrained in her mind that I don't see her ever having genuine romantic feelings for anyone. You can say it depends on who writes her, but the relationship between her and Harley is stated to be canon. Like I said, I do like the two together. I like the idea of Ivy maybe seeing Harley as this dying plant that just needs a little love, and Harley seeing Ivy as another dominate personality whenever Joker has gotten tired of her and kicked her out. But genuine romatic love.. no. I feel they're both too fucked up to be capable of that.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Despite doing well, Capcom claims 7 sold "below expectations". Whatever the fuck that means. To the big AAA companies, stop saying that. If your games aren't selling that great, either you need to lower those expectations or quit the industry and do something else. It sure as hell ain't the consumers fault.

Just breaking even is unthinkably far from enough. Making a profit is unacceptably far from enough. Making a good profit is far from enough. Only the greatest possible profit is just barely enough. And only once, because that level of profit will no longer be enough next time around. Not for their customers.

 

[BrawlMan]

Despite doing well, Capcom claims 7 sold "below expectations". Whatever the fuck that means. To the big AAA companies, stop saying that. If your games aren't selling that great, either you need to lower those expectations or quit the industry and do something else. It sure as hell ain't the consumers fault.

Just breaking even is unthinkably far from enough. Making a profit is unacceptably far from enough. Making a good profit is far from enough. Only the greatest possible profit is just barely enough. And only once, because that level of profit will no longer be enough next time around. Not for their customers.

Sucks to be them. not my fault they have overly high expectations. They can only blame themselves.

My other point to their problems.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9F96FOn3R7w

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

Sucks to be them. not my fault they have overly high expectations. They can only blame themselves.

They should, but they won't. Not while blaming the consumer remains easier and in most cases free of consequence.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

It's this season's "dark and edgy" anime, like Made in Abyss or Attack on Titan before it.

It's implausibly popular. I don't get it.

Unlike Made in Abyss and Attack on Titan though, this just seems to be popular due to the controversy. It got really popular over night because of that first episode, and it's pretty much been coasting on that. That or I just really don't get it. I mean, I've enjoyed my fair share of trash anime, like Highschool of the Dead, but it at least has some energy and flair to it. Goblin Slayer couldn't get any more flat if it was run over by a steamroller.

You don't get a full fledged TV series without already being a very popular series. You'd be in OVA territory if you were sufficiently niche.

And about the alleged quality of AoT and MiA...

 

[Casual Shinji]

You don't get a full fledged TV series without already being a very popular series. You'd be in OVA territory if you were sufficiently niche.

Well, I don't really know what bar on the popularity scale needs to be met in order to get an anime adaptation, but it was that first episode of Goblin Slayer that really got people talking about it.

And do singular OVA's get made anymore? Not that I'm that much into current anime anymore, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

And about the alleged quality of AoT and MiA...

I wasn't making a judgement on their quality, although both are certainly better than Goblin Slayer, just that their popularity wasn't due to controversy. Attack on Titan was great up until episode 8. Once you-know-what gets introduced I completely lost interest. And Made in Abyss has an absolutely genius concept, very refreshing visuals and music, but is kneecapped by its creepy fetishizing of naked children, and cute, innocent children suffering through graphic physical torture. As well as a stupid main character. Shame.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Sylens just wanted information. Yes, he was willing to make deals that would sacrifice all life everywhere including himself for it, which, yes, is somewhat illogical. But we all have our flaws.

 

[Cicada 5]

Harley's own creator, Paul Dini, wrote her as being capable of getting over the Joker. And how much Ivy hates humans depends on the writer. She once made her garden a shelter to runaway children.

Yet we never really see it. Not in the animated series anyway. She always goes back to the guy, even when he knocks her out of a 4-story window. She could get over him, but then she wouldn't be Harley Quinn anymore; Everything about her, from her voice, her demeanor, her name, her outfit, and her face paint is all either shaped by the Joker or something she did to appeal to the Joker. That's what makes her classic outfit so great; it completely covers every inch of her to make her look like Joker's own personal toy. Even her voice is shaped to accomedate this. That's why I was never a fan of all-white skinned Harley.


And Poison Ivy not only hates humans, but her whole persona is about using seduction and sexuality as a weapon. This feels so ingrained in her mind that I don't see her ever having genuine romantic feelings for anyone. You can say it depends on who writes her, but the relationship between her and Harley is stated to be canon. Like I said, I do like the two together. I like the idea of Ivy maybe seeing Harley as this dying plant that just needs a little love, and Harley seeing Ivy as another dominate personality whenever Joker has gotten tired of her and kicked her out. But genuine romatic love.. no. I feel they're both too fucked up to be capable of that.

It's been done in the comics by her own creator and the current comics are following suit. Her independence from the Joker has bern stated to be one of the best writing decisions DC has ever made.

Characters can and should be allowed to change and evolve. Ivy was initially a misandrist who targeted men before being reinvented as a misanthropic ecoterrorist. Then later writers showed she wasn't so misanthropic.

 

[Cicada 5]

Jason Todd was every bit as heroic as any other Batfamily member and blaming him for his own death is disgusting.

If Black Canary wasn't booted off the Justice League for mindwiping Batman, then Huntress should have been allowed to stay after trying to kill Prometheus.

Ultron wasn't Tony's fault. He had created AIs before and after Ultron that didn't try to commit genocide. By his own admission Ultron wasn't even likely to have become active. Wanda is far more to blame for Ultron being the one who makes Tony restart the project.

 

[Silent Protagonist]

There is no such thing as spoilers.

If knowing the plot ruins the plot, then it's a bad plot.

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's been done in the comics by her own creator and the current comics are following suit. Her independence from the Joker has bern stated to be one of the best writing decisions DC has ever made.

Is it though, because from what I've seen they seem to have just turned her into Deadpool, breaking the fourth wall and all that, when that was never what her character was about. And just because her own creator changed her doesn't mean it's a good change - there's plenty of examples of creators handling their own creations poorly.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

You don't get a full fledged TV series without already being a very popular series. You'd be in OVA territory if you were sufficiently niche.

Well, I don't really know what bar on the popularity scale needs to be met in order to get an anime adaptation, but it was that first episode of Goblin Slayer that really got people talking about it.

Having no warning whatsoever about what happens there is gonna do that, yeah. The TV:MA rating's a bit broad, as it turns out. The description and screen shots did nothing.

And do singular OVA's get made anymore? Not that I'm that much into current anime anymore, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

They certainly exist, but they're harder to monetize and exploit outside of Japan by folks like Crunchyroll. Kase-san and Morning Glories caught my eye by pure random chance, and a lot of properties from my childhood (Vampire Hunter D, Slayers, Patlabor, Tenchi, Lodoss War, etc) have got something in the works for various anniversaries, but unless they're getting a full release, there's usually just too many to actually report on. Same problem as with, say, Indie games.

https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-feature/2018/08/01/kase-san-and-morning-glories-is-a-uniquely-sweet-story-of-high-school-girls-in-love

 

[Cicada 5]

It's been done in the comics by her own creator and the current comics are following suit. Her independence from the Joker has bern stated to be one of the best writing decisions DC has ever made.

Is it though, because from what I've seen they seem to have just turned her into Deadpool, breaking the fourth wall and all that, when that was never what her character was about. And just because her own creator changed her doesn't mean it's a good change - there's plenty of examples of creators handling their own creations poorly.

Deadpool wasn't even about breaking the 4th wall when he was created. That isn't a gimmick unique to him. They've also touched on her dealing with her trauma as an abuse survivor, her relationship with Ivy, friendships she's had etc. She's become a far more three dimensional character than when she was just the Joker's minion and abused girlfriend.

As for whether it is a good move, the sales and critical reception say "yes".

 

[Casual Shinji]

Deadpool wasn't even about breaking the 4th wall when he was created. That isn't a gimmick unique to him. They've also touched on her dealing with her trauma as an abuse survivor, her relationship with Ivy, friendships she's had etc. She's become a far more three dimensional character than when she was just the Joker's minion and abused girlfriend.

As for whether it is a good move, the sales and critical reception say "yes".

No, but the 4th wall breaking feels like a pretty blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of Deadpool. And I don't feel Harley needs it, because she was always fun enough of her own.


And this might sound incredibly stubborn, but.. I don't necessarily need Harley to become a more three dimensional character. Same as I don't need it for Batman or the Joker. I "like" her as is (or was). I find the concept of her being this Gollum-esque character - doing bad things and trying to gain the favor of someone who is evil, while part of her knows how terribly wrong it and how awful her situation is - facinating enough. That doesn't mean that's all her character needs to consist of, but I like that it is at the core of her personality and that she'll always struggle with it like an addiction.

 

[Cicada 5]

Deadpool wasn't even about breaking the 4th wall when he was created. That isn't a gimmick unique to him. They've also touched on her dealing with her trauma as an abuse survivor, her relationship with Ivy, friendships she's had etc. She's become a far more three dimensional character than when she was just the Joker's minion and abused girlfriend.

As for whether it is a good move, the sales and critical reception say "yes".

No, but the 4th wall breaking feels like a pretty blatant attempt to cash in on the popularity of Deadpool. And I don't feel Harley needs it, because she was always fun enough of her own.


And this might sound incredibly stubborn, but.. I don't necessarily need Harley to become a more three dimensional character. Same as I don't need it for Batman or the Joker. I "like" her as is (or was). I find the concept of her being this Gollum-esque character - doing bad things and trying to gain the favor of someone who is evil, while part of her knows how terribly wrong it and how awful her situation is - facinating enough. That doesn't mean that's all her character needs to consist of, but I like that it is at the core of her personality and that she'll always struggle with it like an addiction.

Fair enough.

 

[EvilRoy]

Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant was a cinematic triumph and everyone was too dumb to enjoy it. Kidding. Sort of. The movie was clearly banged out in an attempt to jump on the sudden "teenagers like vampires" thing that blew up around 2010, but it had a surprising amount of heart and soul and writing that may have diverged from the book but was clearly done to improve the viewing experience for new and old fans. It got dumped on for not being Twilight, and for not being Harry Potter, and was firmly trumped by the moist garbage that was Hunger Games and Divergent which came several years later. Ultimately the story was solid and imparted reasonably good morals, and did so in a funloving non-weirdly-sexual way. However you felt about the various book based offerings of the age, its hard to deny that there was an uncomfortable number of teenage boners in the audience for basically all of the named series above, except maybe Harry Potter but even then, come on, professor mcgonagall amirite.

Spirit - the movie that looked like Sin City but wasn't and everyone got pissy about it - was a three year late attempt to cash in the moderate success of a previous edgy comic book movie. And it rocked and you all suck for not thinking that. Although the movie borrowed the cinematic style used in Sin City, it dropped the pretense of a deep dark story in favour of a fun-loving noir format, matching the Dick Tracy feel of the hero. Rather than the brooding crazy of Batman's Joker from the same year, or the attempt to uncomfortable the audience into submission found in Sin City, Spirit brings a bombastic villain with a penchant for interesting costumes and entertaining monologues. Although the motivations of all parties are fairly simple, the entertainment comes through in beloved comic book camp, without the excessive cheese found in similar offerings from the 80s/90s (ice to meet you).

 

[Gordon_4_v1legacy]

Cirque du Freak: The Vampires Assistant was a cinematic triumph and everyone was too dumb to enjoy it. Kidding. Sort of. The movie was clearly banged out in an attempt to jump on the sudden "teenagers like vampires" thing that blew up around 2010, but it had a surprising amount of heart and soul and writing that may have diverged from the book but was clearly done to improve the viewing experience for new and old fans. It got dumped on for not being Twilight, and for not being Harry Potter, and was firmly trumped by the moist garbage that was Hunger Games and Divergent which came several years later. Ultimately the story was solid and imparted reasonably good morals, and did so in a funloving non-weirdly-sexual way. However you felt about the various book based offerings of the age, its hard to deny that there was an uncomfortable number of teenage boners in the audience for basically all of the named series above, except maybe Harry Potter but even then, come on, professor mcgonagall amirite.

Tonks was where it was at, you heretic

 

[MrCalavera_v1legacy]

That little stinger at the end of "Antman and the Wasp" was more shocking, than entire ending of "Infinity War". And yes, i saw the latter first.