Ranking The Top 3 Horror Films From EVERY Decade Since The 1920’s

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October 1, 2016

Horror Films Are A Major Part Of Cinema History. Check Out The Top 3 Movies From Every Decade Since 1920.

No one can deny the role horror films has played within the film industry. From creating the first summer blockbuster to creating a cinematic universe long before Marvel, horror is just as important to movies as anything else.

This list was tough to create because limiting myself to only 3 movies over the span of ten years within each decade is maddening. Also, where do you begin ranking films? So I attempted to form this list by including films based on the film itself, the quality, the legacy, the impact to the genre, and audience reception.

Let me know if you agree with my list in the comments down below!

1920’s

3. ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (1925)
-Watching this ‘Phantom of the Opera‘ is like watching magic happen. Everything Lon Chaney brought to the Phantom is why we love horror films.
2. ‘Nosferatu’ (1922)
-Before Dracula seduced us all, ‘Nosferatu‘ was there to scare us. Still somehow very gentleman like, the creature Count Orlok is like the godfather of vampires.
1.’The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari’ (1920)
-The fact is, there would be no ‘Nosferatu‘ without ‘Dr. Caligari‘. This German Expressionism silent movie is the pioneer of amazing horror films.

1930’s

3. Freaks (1932)
-How did Tod Browning follow-up his iconic film ‘Dracula’? By making an even freakier and better film titled ‘Freaks‘. Using real oddities makes this unforgettable.
2. ‘King Kong’ (1933)
-Now, here’s the original massive monster movie. ‘King Kong‘ has a legacy in this industry that is still strong to this day. Kong is seeing the big-screen again in 2017.
1. ‘Bride Of Frankenstein’ (1935)
-The first amazing horror sequel. ‘Bride Of Frankenstein‘ makes everything great about the original even better. Boris Karloff played The Monster to perfection.

1940’s

3. ‘Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein’ (1948)
-Crossovers & extended universes are a dime a dozen nowadays. I think you have Abbott and Costello meet the Universal Monsters to thank for that.
2. ‘Cat People’ (1942)
-Psychological and sexual, ‘Cat People‘ really shines during this time for how subversive it felt. Don’t forget about the infamous swimming pool scene!
1. ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941)
-Like his father before him, Lon Chaney Jr. found a place in horror hearts as one of the best monsters ever. ‘The Wolf Man‘ started the 40’s off with an iconic piece.

1950’s

3. ‘Plan 9 From Outer Space’ (1959)
-Did any other director love making campy horror more than Ed Wood? ‘Plan 9‘ is described as one of the worst movies ever but its legacy says otherwise.
2. ‘Gojira’ or ‘Godzilla’ (1954)
-If King Kong originated the monster movie, ‘Godzilla‘ shattered all previous notions of the genre. Only one of two Japanese films on this list; that’s how amazing it is.
1. ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ (1954)
-This has to be the last great Universal Horror film. They ruled the 30’s and 40’s but after ‘Creature From The Black Lagoon‘, horror films were moving forward.

1960’s

3. ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ (1968)
-While the 60’s focused on humans being monsters, George Romero’s ‘Night Of The Living Dead‘ showed you what happens when humans become real monsters.
2. ‘Hour Of The Wolf’ (1968)
–Ingmar Bergman is a director that has influenced so many. His work was always surreal but none were more terrifying & genre defining as “Hour Of The Wolf‘.
1. ‘Psycho’ (1960)
-Move goers were forever changed in the 1960. Starting with ‘Peeping Tom‘ but escalating with ‘Psycho‘, gone were scary monsters. Now we had scary people.

1970’s

3. ‘The Exorcist’ (1973)
-‘The Exorcist‘ is not only the best exorcism movie but also one of the greatest films. What movie can make split-pea soup scary & stop people from using ouija boards?
2. ‘Halloween’ (1978)
-No one could have predicted the massive success ‘Halloween‘ would become. The film launched an entire genre and era in cinema history: the slasher movie.
1. ‘Jaws’ (1975)
-There would be no “summer blockbusters” if it wasn’t for ‘Jaws‘. Nothing pushed the horror genre further into the mainstream than this brilliant shark movie.

1980’s

3. ‘Evil Dead 2’ (1987)
-Splatter and gore got popular in the 70’s but late 80’s sequel ‘Evil Dead 2‘ turned it up a notch. In turn, it also made seeing so much blood way more fun.
2. ‘Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
-How did a disfigured child-murdering slasher become an 80’s star? It all started with this Wes Craven movie. Horror films that followed couldn’t keep up.
1. ‘The Shining’ (1980)
-Notice most “best of” list usually have a Stanley Kubrick film on it? It’s because of films like utterly terrifying ‘The Shining‘. It’s true masterclass filmmaking.

1990’s

3. ‘Silence Of The Lambs’ (1991)
-The only horror film to ever win an Academy Award for Best Picture, ‘Silence Of The Lambs‘ is the most acclaimed film of this list. The 90’s started on a very high note.
2. ‘Funny Games’ (1997)
-Like the 1960’s showing humans being real monsters, we got to see that again in 97’s ‘Funny Games‘. Michael Haneke created one of the most shocking films ever.
1. ‘Scream’ (1996)
-Nothing encapsulates a generation like ‘Scream‘. It oozes 90’s meta-humor with some great scares. It changed horror so much that slasher movies died after it.

2000’s

3. ‘Martyrs’ (2008)
-France had a major part of horror in the 00’s. French horror is unlike any other. They are nihilistic, graphic, and visually striking. Those traits sum up ‘Martyrs‘.
2. ‘Audition’ (1999/2000)
-Getting an American release in 2000, director Takashi Miike created one of of the best Japanese horror exports ever. Others have a bigger name but ‘Audition‘ is art.
1. ‘Saw’ (2004)
-What James Wan did for horror with this 2004 hit is undeniable. ‘Saw‘ became the biggest horror franchise of the new millennium and made gore cool again.

What would you add to this list?

Also, which decade do you think had the best horror films?

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Review: ‘Luke Cage’ Learns the Code of the Streets in Episode 2

By

Kris Solberg

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October 1, 2016

Luke Cage is a fascinating TV show for a key reason: it seems to pay more attention to its surrounding characters than its titular hero. This is a consequence of the show’s meticulous world building, but it’s still a bizarre experience to see two police detectives feature more heavily than the main character.

For the first two episodes, Mike Coulter’s Luke Cage is seen as a character that reacts rather than acts. He is content leading a quiet life of solitude, but is becoming more and more aware of the fact that there’s no such thing as a peaceful existence for a man with his past. The world around him continues to present him with challenges, and following the death of a close personal friend, he is ready to take the fight to the streets.

The show’s decision to focus more on world building than character building is a double edged sword. In one way you feel more connected with the world our characters live in, but at the same time you don’t really care about the characters themselves. Mahershala Ali’s suave villain “Cottonmouth” is a continuous highlight, and Coulter does a good job embodying Luke Cage, despite getting surprisingly little material to build on. Most of the other characters that survive past episode 2 feel like cut-outs of more interesting archetypes, and the plot that’s being presented feels rather cliched. The slow build-up works well in the Netflix format, and the few action sequences within the opening episodes are handled with style.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the relationship between Cottonmouth and Luke Cage develops. The ending of the second episode teased a more hands-on Cage, which should bring more action sequences to a dialogue heavy show. Hopefully the writers tones down the prominence of the detective duo, as their appearances feels more like C.S.I.: Harlem than anything particularly interesting to watch.

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Review: ‘Luke Cage’ Episode 1: Moment of Truth

By

Gary Moloney

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October 1, 2016

Luke Cage; the hero-for-hire, Power Man, Avenger, and all around bad-ass has finally gotten his own show. As we grow closer and closer to assembling to The Defenders, Marvel’s first African-American lead comes to Netflix, but is it as bulletproof as its title character?

Luke Cage is a brave show and that is a word that I do not use lightly. Marvel’s previous have not been afraid to explore the thematic depths of humanity, whether it was the nature of law and order in Daredevil or how to live with emotional abuse in Jessica Jones. Race is at the fore of its story, which This show is heavily informed by the African-American experience, reflected in choosing Harlem as its principal location. It would be impossible for Luke Cage, a character created in the wake of the blaxploitation phenomenon, to tip-toe around this issue. Instead, it makes the bold choice of embracing these origins and presents us with a character who truly representative of the history of race in America. Luke Cage isn’t a stereotype, he is a nuanced take on a very all-too familiar reality. The Black Lives Matter movement is name-checked and how could it not be? Today, perhaps more so than ever before, there is something incredibly powerful in the concept of a bullet-proof black man.

Netflix has continued is traditional of impressive villains, eclipsing their big-screen counterparts. Luke Cage finds itself overlapping thematically with Daredevil‘s examination of the corruption of the political class and the disturbing influence of gangsters over ordinary people. Yet from the start, Cottonmouth is established as a different class of criminal than Wilson Fisk, one willing to deal with matters personally, one who values their public persona. He is a symbol of the creeping influence of gangs in African-American communities, the evil that prays on vulnerable youths and turns them into killers. Cottonmouth remarks that “[e]verybody wants to be the king”, and for most young African-Americans the gangs are the only hope of achieving status. This is a social evil not so easily defeated with fists. He is supported by Shades; a hitman and former resident of Seagate prison with a link to Luke’s past. This is a living world, with a rich, interconnected history between the characters, that is slowly revealed throughout the pilot. There is no traditional origin story to see, instead, like Daredevil, our hero’s tragic past is naturally disseminated throughout and only insomuch as it is necessary to serve the wider plot.

All this would be for naught if it was wasn’t supported by a stellar cast with incredibly performances. Mike Coulter remains as charismatic as ever in the title role. Following his reoccurring role in Jessica Jones last year, it was evident that he had the acting chops to carry his own show. Thankfully, he has been given the material worthy of a man of his talents. He doesn’t seek the spotlight, but is slowly coming around to his community’s need of a hero in this opening episode. Strong turns from Simone Missick as Misty Knight and Alfre Woodard as sleazy politician; Mariah Dillard, bolster an outstanding display of acting from all involved.

The rumours are true, Luke Cage is as good as everyone says it is. It is thematically resonant in way few shows are and moreso than it probably had a right to be. This will re-invigorate the character in the way that Netflix has done for the rest of its Defenders‘ lineup. No longer to be resided to the D-List, Luke Cage doesn’t need his Power-Man moniker to be the hero that we need. It’s about time an African-American man was bulletproof.

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Greg Rucka Confirms Wonder Woman’s Sexual Orientation

By

Jonathan Bruce

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September 30, 2016

This year marks Wonder Woman’s 75th birthday, and the writers at DC Comics continue to surprise fans.

In a Comicosity interview, Greg Rucka confirms Wonder Woman has had relationships with other women in the past. When asked if Diana is gay, he responds as follows: “How are we defining “queer?” You’re applying a term specifically and talking to an ostensibly cis male (and white to boot), so “queer” to me may not be the same as it is to an out gay man. So, tell me what queer is.”

Rucka remains steadfast on the content of his series. “I believe very firmly that the answer should be in the text. It really shouldn’t matter what I say to you,” he says. “It only matters what you can read in the published work. What you can find in the text.”

He goes on to elaborate on Themyscira, saying “But an Amazon doesn’t look at another Amazon and say, “You’re gay.” They don’t. The concept doesn’t exist.”

“My personal politics are absolutely always going to influence how I write what I write. But at the end of the day, what I believe doesn’t matter. What matters is what you leave the book with.”

Rucka makes his feelings clear on the writing. “It doesn’t matter if I say, “Yes, she’s queer.” Or “No, she’s not queer”, he says. “It matters what you get out of the book. Can you find it? Is it there? Is it on the page in action or in deed? Then, there’s your answer.”

Exclusive--WONDER-WOMAN-EARTH-ONE_article_story_large — I’m sure we won’t be seeing Gal Gadot wear a chain around her neck in the Wonder Woman movie.

According to Rucka, the idea of Diana leaving home for Steve Trevor would take away from her character. He says that “if she does that because she’s fallen for a guy, I believe that diminishes her heroism. She doesn’t leave because of Steve. She leaves because she wants to see the world and somebody must go and do this thing.”

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‘War For The Planet Of The Apes’ Gets Official Synopsis

By

Aric Sweeny

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September 30, 2016

The first official synopsis for War For The Planet Of The Apes has been released, via Heroic Hollywood.

“In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.”

Along with the synopsis released, it’s been announced that the film will have a presence at the upcoming New York Comic-Con.

Director Matt Reeves, Producer Dylan Clark, and Andy Serkis are going to be in town on October 6 to show off some behind-the-scenes material; this will take place at 8:30 P.M. at the Regal E-Walk theater. Additionally, Serkis is set to take part in a Q&A at 3 P.M. at the Madison Square Garden theater.

War For The Planet Of The Apes is slated for a July 14, 2017 release date.

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From ‘Coraline’ to ‘Kubo’: Ranking Laika Animation Films

By

Robert Yaniz Jr.

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September 30, 2016

In less than a decade, Laika Animation has ascended from a studio mostly known for contract work to one of the most critically heralded storytellers on the planet. Thanks to films like their most recent effort, Kubo and the Two Strings (read our reviews here and here), Laika continues to push the art of stop-motion animation to the cutting edge, delivering poignant, multilayered stories that resonate with adults and children alike. Essentially, the studio has become second to only Pixar in creating a near-flawless track record of stories the whole family can enjoy. Here’s a closer look at each of their feature-length releases, not counting contract work on films like Corpse Bride.

4. The Boxtrolls (2014)

Just because The Boxtrolls is in last place on this list, don’t for one-second think that means it’s a substandard effort by Laika. On the contrary, the film — which takes place in a small town overrun by the titular mysterious, feared creatures — is a quirky delight. Melding together heartfelt drama, light-hearted comedy and more than a little bit surreal, The Boxtrolls in particular features a standout vocal performance by Sir Ben Kingsley as the villain hellbent on hunting down the boxtrolls.

3. Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)

This Japanese-inspired adventure features Art Parkinson as a one-eyed boy with the ability to conjure magic with his stringed shamisen. When Kubo’s past comes back to haunt him, he is sent on a quest to locate long-lost relics that can change the course of his life. If that plot description sounds a bit typical of Japanese folklore, that’s a conscious move on the part of the team at Laika. Kubo and the Two Strings is an allegorical fable of sorts full of stunning animation, a powerful message and winning voice performances by Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Matthew McConaughey.

2. Paranorman (2012)

At first glance, it may be hard to tell Paranorman apart from other spooky animated films like Monster House and Frankenweenie. What sets Laika’s film apart from its counterparts, however, is the way in which the tale unfolds. The film is a celebration of those who are different and makes an emotionally devastating point about the difficulty they face in earning acceptance. That’s a message that’s especially timely given all the talk about bullying in recent years, but it’s folded into a zombie-filled romp with genuine scares, jokes and some of the most popular characters Laika has conceived to date.

1. Coraline (2009)

Even several years later, Laika’s first feature still stands as its best. Based on the Neil Gaiman novel, Coraline — directed by The Nightmare Before Christmas‘s Henry Selick — sees its neglected heroine travel into a bizarre parallel world where everything seems perfect…at first. What she soon discovers is that sometimes you truly do have to be careful what you wish for, and Dakota Fanning’s voicework easily makes Coraline the most well-rounded hero of any Laika film. The visuals in Coraline also qualify as one of the only times 3-D was used to great effect. Let’s not forget the Other Mother, easily one of the most terrifying movie villains of the past decade. It might scare the hell out of small children, but Coraline creates such a captivating vision that they’ll be re-watching it anyway.

What’s your favorite Laika Animation film? Share your feedback in the comments section below.

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5 Horror Movie Remakes That Actually Worked Well

By

Robert Yaniz Jr.

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September 30, 2016

Horror movie remakes have a controversial history and with good reason. In the last decade or so, Hollywood seems obsessed with dusting off of all of the most beloved horror films ever made in a mad dash to cash in on the brand recognition. In reality, no one considered the Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Amityville Horror and Poltergeist remakes an improvement over the respective original classics. While not a remake in the traditional sense, Blair Witch does revisit many of the tropes that made the 1999 film such a game-changer, leading us to reconsider the few times in which a remake to a popular horror film managed to do justice to their scream-inducing forefathers. We’re disqualifying classic remakes that have easily eclipsed original films to focus on more recent releases that successfully escaped the shadows of their cinematic pasts.

1. The Ring (2002)

It’s impressive enough that director Gore Verbinski’s film managed to carve itself a place in the annals of horror history, but even more impressively, The Ring marks the rare case in which an American remake of a Japanese horror film was able to stand up next to its predecessor. Following The Ring‘s box office and critical success, a string of similar Japanese-to-American horror remakes were released, and star Naomi Watts was brought back for a sequel in 2005. Since then, the American arm of the franchise has been dormant, though it is set to return with the early 2017 release of Rings.

2. Dawn of the Dead (2004)

These days, Zack Snyder may be best known for bringing the world of DC Comics to life with films like Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. However, the filmmaker made his directorial debut with this remake of the 1978 George A. Romero classic. Snyder’s film keeps the general premise of the original intact but fleshes it out in some truly horrific. A wickedly entertaining script by James Gunn (yes, the director behind Guardians of the Galaxy) and a stellar ensemble cast that includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames and Jake Weber ensure that Romero’s legacy is in very good hands indeed.

3. The Crazies (2010)

Another remake of a film by George A. Romero, this one revisits the director’s 1973 sci-fi horror thrill ride about a virus that turns ordinary citizens into bloodthirsty killers. Timothy Olyphant and Radha Mitchell lead the film, with Breck Eisner (The Last Witch Hunter) in the director’s chair and Romero himself serving as executive producer. The Crazies earned plenty of strong critical notices for its B-movie perfection and turned a tidy profit, bringing in more than twice its production budget at the worldwide box office.

4. Let Me In (2010)

Mainstream audiences may not be familiar with the Swedish film Let the Right One In, but horror aficionados have likely seen it and can vouch for just how well this remake — which stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Richard Jenkins — capture the haunting melancholy of the 2008 film on which it is based. Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) has proven his deft ability to tell stories that combine genre tropes to convey character-driven tales that challenge and enthrall audiences. Let Me In is no exception.

5. Fright Night (2011)

Colin Farrell may have headlined the ill-conceived Total Recall remake, but we’ll try not to hold that against him. After all, Farrell also stars as the main villain in this far more successful remake. Based on the 1985 film, Anton Yelchin stars as a young man who suspects that a neighbor has just moved in next door. The new Fright Night was particularly smart to reinvent enough about the original to keep it fresh. However, it still retains the spirit of fun that made the story a cult classic back in the 1980s.

Which horror remake do you think was a success? Sound off with your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Episode 94: ‘Deepwater Horizon’ The ‘Dark Knight’ of Disaster Films

By

Matthew Sardo

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September 30, 2016

The disaster film genre is filled with guilty pleasures, like ‘Armageddon,’ ‘Independence Day,’ and ‘Twister.’ Could Peter Berg’s ‘Deepwater Horizon’ be the best disaster film of the past 40 years? That is the discussion at hand.

Strap yourself in buckaroos! Episode 94 of the Monkeys Fighting Robots podcast is here.

Do you want to be our SUPER-FAN of the week? All you have to do is comment on this podcast to be eligible.

Articles mention in the podcast:
‘Deepwater Horizon’: The Best Disaster Movie Since ‘Towering Inferno’
Controversial & Bizarre: The Top 10 Most Shocking Films Of All Time

Do you have a question that you would like answered during the show?
Email your questions to matt@popaxiom.com.

If you are looking to sponsor the podcast email matt@popaxiom.com as well.

About the Monkeys Fighting Robots Podcast:

A Gen Xer and a Millennial debate the latest topics in pop culture. One guy is a filmmaker and the other is a journalist, but both are nerds. We make your slowest days at work better. Hosts, Matthew Sardo and EJ Moreno.

Never heard of Matt Sardo?
For starters, he made the Kessel Run in less than 11 parsecs. Prior to that, he gave Doc Brown the idea for the flux capacitor and led the Resistance to victory over SkyNet – all while sipping a finely crafted IPA. As a radio host, he’s interviewed celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. He’s covered everything from the Super Bowl to Comic-Con.

Who is EJ Moreno?
Is he a trained physician? No. Is he a former Miss Universe contestant? Possibly. But what we know for sure is he’s a writer, filmmaker, and pop culture enthusiast. Since film school, EJ has written & directed several short films. He’s used his passion of filmmaking to become a movie critic for MonkeysFightingRobots.com.

Places you can find the show:
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Thank you for listening!

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Review: Amanchu! – ‘Pleasant Diving’

By

Logan Peterson

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September 30, 2016

Amanchu! is about two girls who fall in love. They want to munch each other so bad that by the end that I was beaming from ear to ear during their whole love confession. Now I know it sounds silly to describe a slice of life show about girls diving, as a romance. While most of the content is spent on anoui, and the feelings of change, I think the most driving force of the show is the two main characters Teko and Pikari falling in love. The story presents both of them coming together rather subvertly and once you realize it (unless you were looking for it as I was) it almost floods your heart with warm feelings. All things that work into the show itself and make it my favorite of the season, possibly of the year so far.

Amanchu! is referred to the anime savvy as an “Iyashikey” or healing show. It’s meant to give off a nice and warm atmosphere where the cosmic injustices of the world are nowhere present and all that is left to overcome is your own feelings, or sometimes not even that. Amanchu! also has the bonus of being from the creative mind behind Aria, the king of Iyashikei shows. It even shares some of the same idea’s about water considering the mangaka Kozue Amano seems to have a fascination with the sea. Amanchu! even opens up with a little meta phrase referencing that this is basically going to center around the same kind of thing that Aria did.

While the narrative centers around Deep Sea Diving, there isn’t much of it actually going on. Partly because its more concerned with its healing nature, and also because the main character Teko is being freshly introduced to diving. We are literally following her journey to her first dive with the friends she make in the diving club. Her only friends mind you, since she is a freshman who just moved to this ocean town. Teko’s situation comes off very relatable and her personality is often very melancholic. Sure she has a reason to feel alone and sad because she misses her friends, but later on we learn that she was always a loner type who never really had anything to hold dear. It’s not necessarily that her circumstances make her sad, she’s more prone to that as a person. This makes her feelings of missing her friends so potent because we realize it’s hard for her to find things to care about at all. It also makes the scenes where she actually starts trying and caring about things seem more meaningful, because we know how rare it is for her to feel this way. Like when she first dive’s in the pool for the first time. Up to that point she was brooding and standoffish towards everyone and just being jerked around by her classmate, made friend, Pikari. But once she enters the water with Pikari and see’s what it feels like, and the emotion Pikari feels, her expressions changes into wonderment. She wants to feel and understand what Pikari is feeling from diving and share that with her. For the first time maybe forever she discovered something she is interested in, and we get to see that growth of interest turn into love.

While Teko makes the realizations for herself, all of this is instigated by the peppy Pikari, who sits in front of Teko and ropes her into joining the diving club. She is the exact opposite of Teko with only one similarity that only really shines at the end, so i’ll get to that later. At first Pikari takes Teko with her because she’s so obedient and complacent. I honestly think it didn’t really matter to Pikari who she took to the diving club that day but it just happened to be Teko. Pikari is the kind of girl who see’s wonder and happiness in everything. She is in love with diving and the excitement of discovery and freedom it gives her, but the moment she see’s Teko’s expression while in the water for the first time, something starts to change. She see’s a form of wonder that she doesn’t really understand even though she is always finding wonder in the world. This peaks her interest in Teko and thus their love story blooms over their shared path towards diving, with Pikari being at the finish line and Teko being at the starting line. Both are experiencing the same thing from different perspectives but eventually come to the same conclusion of affection. Not just for diving, for each other as well, and the show does this in a very specific way, motivation.

Now at the get-go it feels like their relationship is a one-sided benefit where Pikari is there to help Teko along the path of finding something she can actually love and express her love for. But as we learn about Pikari more her feelings get more complicated. While her personality is peppy and optimistic, there are few things she actually cares about. As she gets to learn more about Teko she comes to realize this, then over the course of the show she finds that more and more she grows to genuinely care about Teko. While she finds her insanely attractive, she also loves her reserved nature and when that nature overflows into happiness. If Pikari’s goal is to be happy with the people around her, then Teko is the ultimate stimulation of this desire. Once she helps Teko reach that point of happiness, the genuine nature of Teko’s happiness makes her see things as more beautiful and precious. This is mirrored in both their joy when they become diving buddies. Which is symbolism of their eventual growth. In the end they stand as equal now both seeing the world from a shared perspective. They take this one step further in confessing their love for each other and wanting to share those emotions about more things other than diving.

Enough about this relationship between Teko and Pikari because I could talk about that all day, and there is more to this show, believe it or not. For one its the incredible character design. Whenever I look at a character from this show my heart overflows with love. I’d have to say Amanchu! has the most attractive characters down right. But what makes them so special is that they are never used to push fan-service. Everything is shot very modestly and when there is skin shown it isn’t treaded any different from the rest of the show. With shows that can’t seem to help but put their lovely characters in less than modest situations at lest once, its nice that Amanchu! isn’t interested in that at all and instead decides to ignore it completely. (However I wouldn’t mind it considering those character designs are gorgeous and I need more of them in my life) Also the way that each character has a certain face they make where their eye change to perfectly fits with all their personalities, is genius. Just another aesthetic choice that makes the emotion of each character really stand out and makes for some nice visual comedy as well.

Another thing Amanchu! touches on besides love is the expression of precious moments. No not those pale figurines your mom has in her glass cabinet. The idea that events in life mean something to us as humans on a deeper level. This is most prominently shown with Teko and her obsession to take pictures. She strives to capture moments in life at first to be able to treasure them dearly. Later this is seen as a problem as she equates the deleting photos to the memories not being important or relevant anymore. Amanchu! handles this with giving her a compromise. She gets a digital frame to keep old pictures, once her phone memory gets filled. Now this seems rather insignificant if you take it at face value. Teko should just get over it. Whats the big deal with just moving those photos to her memory card. Well one you have to remember that Teko has a hard time treasuring or expression love for things in general. The pictures are her way of storing her feelings on certain events. But over her time spent time with Pikari her feelings become more defined where she doesn’t need the photos to store her emotions, but to remind her of the importance of the moment. Basically the pictures end up symbolizing the significance of taking the time to snap a picture and sink in what the moment is making you feel, then being able to look back and remind yourself of the importance. Ultimately what Teko chooses is to keep her current pictures as her scrolling background on her phone and put the pictures from her middle school in her digital frame. This shows us her love for the present and how she grew from the girl who despised her new situation and was dwelling on the past. It’s a balance though because both are important, but only the present is what will affect the person you become tomorrow. And in a show about Teko striving towards something I find that rather fitting.

If I were to say what my favorite thing about Amanchu! was, the relationship between Teko and Pikari would have to be a high number one (which you probably already assumed by now). To sum up my feelings of the show in another way I’d have to quote a conversation I had with my roommate. While watching the show he walked by and said, “This seems like something really cute”. I immediately felt awkward about that word and replied, “Its not really that, its more..pleasant.” As I thought more and more about it I realized that the point of the show isn’t to be cute. The point of Amanchu! is to heal and grow. The characters aren’t supposed to be looked at in an endearing cute way, their meant to gently grow through themes that put the viewer in a pleasant mood and make them optimistic about life in general. I’d like to delve into this distinction further and partly think that is the reason I rated this show a point above New Game! (also a show I loved), which embodied the “cute” tone perfectly I think. Either way Amanchu! is a show that aims to make your life seem better by showing you the best parts of life and that will always be a recommendation from me. And if you need more incentive the theme is by Maaya Sakamoto, so their you go.

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Honey Ginger Shandy from Old Tomorrow Beer – A Honey Review

By

Michael Bedford

-

September 30, 2016

Unable to resist the call of the little guy, I’m back with another review of a brew from Old Tomorrow Beer. I’ve previously reviewed Old Tomorrow’s Canadian Pale Ale and Track 85 Lagered Ale, and I had a great time with them! So, this week I decided to review Old Tomorrow’s Honey Ginger Shandy. It might not be summer any more, but tasty brews are good in any season.

Having written about Old Tomorrow’s history and philosophy in previous reviews, I’ll devote this space to writing about their Honey Ginger Shandy instead. According to Old Tomorrow Beer, this is apparently the first Ontarian craft shandy. Honey Ginger Shandy is brewed according to the shandygaff tradition, which apparently originated in the 1850’s. Old Tomorrow also brews their shandy with Muskoka Springs Pale Ginger Ale, the recipe for which has been around since 1873. So, there’s no denying that this shandy, like its brewer, has a strong respect for history.

As usual, though, all this talk about breweries has made me thirsty! So I’m going to open this 473 mL can and pour myself a glass of this Honey Ginger Shandy!

Old Tomorrow Beer: Honey Ginger Shandy – First Sip

Old Tomorrow’s Honey Ginger Shandy is a golden colour and produces about an inch of head as I pour mine into a flared pilsner glass. I notice the sweet smell of ginger ale as I take my first sip. Its aroma introduces this brew’s complex yet subtle flavour nicely.

I taste citrus as well as ginger ale, and both flavours fade to an unmistakable honey aftertaste. This shandy has a thin, almost delicate, mouthfeel. And, with a relatively low carbonation level, there’s little chance of its fizziness overpowering its well-balanced flavour. This a very crisp and refreshing brew that’s great on a hot day or as an afternoon cocktail.

Old Tomorrow Beer: Honey Ginger Shandy – Last Sip

At a very modest 3% ABV, you’re well within your rights to have a few of these tasty beer cocktails. With its almost soda-like smoothness, though, make sure you keep track of how many you’ve had. These sweet brews tend to go down quickly.

Because of this brew’s sweet honey flavour, I, and the good people at Old Tomorrow, suggest pairing the Honey Ginger Shandy with salty foods. Fish & chips, salted nuts, and barbecued chicken are all great picks. Or, just drink it on its own and enjoy this brew’s complex flavour without any distractions.

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