So recently Ryan Reynolds was campaigning for Deadpool to win an Oscar. There was nothing explicitly forbidding the film from winning. It was eligible enough but the prevailing opinion was that Deadpool wasn’t the sort of movie that’s nominated for an Oscar. Which is true, it shouldn’t be true, but it is. Now, I’m going to begin by explaining why Deadpool was unlikely to be nominated for what it was. Then I’ll get to the reason I think it didn’t get the nomination.
Category: Current Writing
What Even Is Are a Millennials?
What are millennials?
We just don’t know. Countless old opinion writers have tried to categorise them. I thought I saw one once. I don’t know. It might have been a smartphone. You know those millennials, always on their phones. What an insightful and original thought. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. My name is Zach Eastwood, and I’m a millennial. I know, don’t act too shocked. The kid in his bedroom writing about how Marvel is so great and DC isn’t doing so crash hot. He’s a millennial? Yes, the true is out.
The Pop Culture Things I’m Grateful For
I’m tired.
I’m tired of being angry all the time. I want to be positive. I’ve talked a lot of shit about stuff on this website (mostly the DCEU) but I do actually enjoy stuff. I like quite a lot of stuff. I’m not some bitter, pop culture hater. I talk about this stuff because I love it. I admonish DC out of love. They can be better. I know they can. I try and write about the problems to highlight continuing bad trends in writing that hopefully, future writers avoid. This week, however, I’m not going to flagellate the sinners of pop culture. Time to reward the good.
(By no means a comprehensive list, just a collection of stuff I love. I do have to thank my partner Zoe for actually introducing me to half the stuff on this list, my tastes would be kind of boring without her.)
Movies
What We Do in the Shadows – Recently, when introducing a friend to this movie I described it as “a movie where nothing seems to happen until the movie ends and then you realise, yeah, something did happen”. What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 mockumentary about vampires. Apparently, this is by at least some of the same people as Flight of the Conchords. So. if you liked that, this will be right up your alley.
The movie concerns three vampires who live in a share house is suburban Wellington. It’s exactly what that sounds like. It looks at and parodies every single vampire trope. It’s a movie that anyone can enjoy but have references to Dracula, Nosferatu, and other vampire fare. The movie has this kitschy charm to it and it’s worth the watch one night with friends.
Probably the best comparison would be to the Thor short that was released after Civil War except, you know, with vampires instead of a Norse God.
The film was directed by Jemaine Clement (who recently played Tamatoa in Moana) and Taika Waititi (the director behind Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and this year’s Thor Ragnarok).
Not My Superman 2: Dawn of Truth, Justice and the American Way
Come on DC, it’s not that friggin hard.
So, in my last post about Superman, I talked about how to fix Superman by fixing his villains. Essentially, I was examining the plot of potential future Superman movies. From this, I sort of made the assumption that if the villain and the conflict coalesced into a coherent plot then Superman would follow via a basic fucking understanding of the character that setting up the elements of a story would allow. I realise that that’s giving DC and Warner Brothers a little too much credit.
So, let’s be really simple to the studio that still trusts Zack Snyder with their cinematic universe for some reason. DC, like the Flash before him, you’ve already created a great adaptation of the character. Your perfect Superman story is in Supergirl (I’ve been binging the series and have enjoyed it immensely). Mild spoilers for Season 1 of Supergirl incoming.
I Have Some Very Specific Words for EA
The words are fuck and you. Seriously, where the hell do you get off?
I feel like this requires some context. So, for those who are unaware. Electronic Arts, EA for short, is a games publishing company. They are such a shitbag of a company that they have repeatedly been named one of the worst companies in America by a poll conducted on a consumer affairs website. Anyway, EA is the money behind Battlefield, Battlefront, Titanfall, Dead Space, Mirror’s Edge, NBA 2K, the FIFA series of games, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, Simcity, and most importantly for this discussion The Sims. They’re also the idiots behind game distribution platform Origin. So why do they suck?
Art is Political
So, it’s no secret that in my last piece on Superman, that I had many not so subtle digs at the upcoming President-Elect of the United States. I’ve also been critical of the P-E on my Twitter, which is connected with this whole enterprise. Also, all of my current writing available for public consumption is connected to my real-life name, and all this is connected to my social media. When crafting a public persona for your art, the fear is that you will retweet the wrong thing, say the wrong thing in social media. Fears that your career might end before it’s even begun. So, let’s talk about art and politics.
Not My Superman
(Author’s Note: I’ve only just started watching Supergirl. Will be minimal references to it in this piece)
Superman is my favourite superhero. Not a lot of people understand that. When I talk about Superman people tend to think of Henry Cavill’s turn as Superman, maybe they think of Justice League Animated, rarely they think of Christopher Reeve (blame my generation, millennials ruined Superman. What a title for a curmudgeonly click bait article). Anyway, it’s easy to see how Superman might not have aged well in the public consciousness. Stories come about when characters struggle and Superman, with his bizarre and lengthy list of powers suggest a limitless power. How could someone like that struggle?
Bioshock and Dark Souls – A Lesson in Being Careful
I have never played a Dark Souls. I don’t plan to. The series doesn’t grip me, but I want to make something clear. The reason the series hasn’t gripped me is not an issue of difficulty. Lots of people tend to think of the Souls series as a series that has difficulty as one of its core tenants. There are some people in the gaming community who unabashedly think that people just need to ‘git gud’. There are a couple of things that have dissuaded me from ever picking up a Souls game. First, is that the series wasn’t on my radar until late last year when everyone was extolling the virtues of Bloodborne, a game which completely passed me by because I no longer own a PS4. Then lots of people were talking up Dark Souls 3 this year. Before then it hadn’t been on my radar.
Our Favourite Films of 2016
Hey all, so I wanted to compile my list of favourite things for 2016. However, I’m not doing it alone. I’ve brought in some of my previous collaborators from Geeked to discuss their favourite picks of the year. You can find their social media links at the end of their pieces. Enjoy!
Zoe – Kubo and the Two Strings
(Editor’s Note: I’m so glad Zoe picked this because it just lost out to my number one by the slimmest of margins) My favourite film of 2016 was Kubo and the Two Strings. Kubo combines my love for Japanese storytelling, Japanese aesthetics and themes, and stop motion animation (but stop motion animation that is more grounded, rather than the cartoony Shaun the Sheep, which I also love but for different reasons). The story telling of Kubo was engaging, and different enough that it was hard to predict what would happen next. The standout character of Monkey was refreshing as a grouchy, old mentor who was cautious and suspicious of others, and who over the course of the movie became an interesting and complex character.
Zoe can be found on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at zebrafishdm.
Our Favourite Games of 2016
Hey all, so I wanted to compile my list of favourite things for 2016. However, I’m not doing it alone. I’ve brought in some of my previous collaborators from Geeked to discuss their favourite picks of the year. You can find their social media links at the end of the article. Enjoy!
Zoe – Broforce
(Editor’s Note: Broforce was technically released in 2015 initially. However, it was released on PS4 this year so, technically a 2016 game.) My favourite game of 2016 was Broforce. The fast-paced, side-scrolling action combined with the aesthetics of the 16-bit era made for a game that was easy to like. Playing as iconic macho action heroes of the 80s and 90s and having them die over, and over, and over again, with death being a mere slap on the wrist, made for a game that was endlessly playable. But it’s okay, because every time you die, you are resurrected as one of your favourite actions heroes. Maybe it’s Chuck Norris, maybe it’s Jean-Claude Van Damme, or maybe it’s Lawrence Fishburne.
Zoe can be found on her website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter at zebrafishdm.
Zach Eastwood - Writer 