It seems that over the last couple of days, Entertainment Weekly and Empire Magazine have been breaking exclusive entertainment content. At the beginning of the week, Entertainment Weekly gave us an inside look at Marvel’s Doctor Strange film and now it’s Empire’s turn. Empire just released an exclusive still from the highly anticipated Disney release The Jungle Book. The Jungle Book boasts a stupendous cast: Scarlett Johansson, Idris Elba, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Ben Kingsley and Lupita Nyong’o. However, it seems that this version of The Jungle Book will once again focus on young jungle dweller Mowgli, played by Neel Sethi.
“There was a certain quality we wanted, and we knew he was going to have to carry the film,” Favreau told Empire about his leading man-cub. “So it was going to have to be somebody that had a certain charisma, a certain charm and certain qualities that I remember from the cartoon.”
As the above image shows, Mowgli isn’t alone in the jungle. The sopping wet wolf the youngling is clinging to is Raksha (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o), one half of Mowgli’s adoptive parents (the other, Akela, is voiced by Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito).
According to the Associated Press, Officials of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania have announced that Bill Cosby has been charged with aggravated incident assault, a first degree felony, for an incident that happened at his home over a decade ago. Montgomery County prosecutors hosted a press conference confirming the news Wednesday morning, saying that Cosby is aware of the arrest warrant and will be arraigned later today. Montgomery County’s district attorney-elect, Kevin Steele, said that Mr. Cosby is facing charges as a result of actions that took place during the victim’s work with the Temple University basketball team.
The warrant alleges that the victim went to Mr. Cosby’s home, and he made two sexual advances towards her,which were rejected. Mr. Cosby then urged her to take pills and drink wine until she wasn’t able to move.
“The evidence is strong and sufficient to proceed,” Mr. Steele said.He added, “A person in that state can not give consent.”
Mr. Steele went on to say that his office is examining evidence related to other alleged victims, but the charges on Wednesday are related to just one victim.
How would you feel if you wrote a book, got somebody like Alejandro González Iñárritu to make a film adaptation of it, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, but you weren’t allowed to talk about it? That’s the author of The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge, Michael Punke’s situation.
The Washington Post recently contacted Punke for an interview about The Revenant, which got a limited release in the US on Christmas Day, but working as the deputy US trade representative and ambassador to the World Trade Organization clashes with his ability to discuss the film adaptation of his historical fiction novel.
“Federal ethics rules prohibit him from doing any side work — even a little promotional campaign — that might enrich him and potentially abuse his high-ranking office in the process,” quotes Ben Terris from The Post.
Punke wasn’t able to attend The Revenant premiere on December 16 in Los Angeles because he was in Nairobi doing his job. According to his wife, this whole experience feels bittersweet for him, although he can’t complain about the success of both the book and the film. The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge book was first published in 2002 and has now gained renewed attention.
This year’s Doctor Who festive treat sees Peter Capaldi’s Doctor meet River Song for the first time and offers us one of the better Christmas Specials: being a amusing romp.
In the year 5343 on the human colony of Mendorax Dellora River Song requests for the services of a surgeon to save her husband, King Hydroflax (Greg Davies), who has a diamond stuck in his head. The man to answer the call is The Doctor, but River does not recognize him, and he is not happy about River remarrying. However there is always an ulterior motive in any plot involving River.
“The Husbands of River Song” goes down the comedic route for most of its running time and it succeeds in being a light-hearted adventure. The tone is set with The Doctor putting a note on the TARDIS to deter visitors, and he comes out with some Christmasy gear. Most of the humor revolves around The Doctor and River having witty exchanges, and the episode has some of the funniest dialogue in the series. Capaldi and Alex Kingston were brilliant together having excellent comic timing as they bicker. Kingston also has to give a speech to Hydroflax’s subject where she is allowed to ham it up. Hopefully, we will get to see more of Capaldi and Kingston together.
As well as bringing back Kingston, the episode brings in The Inbetweeners‘ Greg Davies and Matt Lucas – showing “The Husbands of River Song’s” comedic intent. Although Davies is very funny in The Inbetweeners and as a stand-up comedian, he was disappointing as the main villain. Davies was not given strong material as in the intimidating Mr. Gilbert in The Inbetweeners. He still gets to threaten The Doctor and River, but Davies was the butt of the joke rather than being funny because of his ability to insult and mentally destroy people. Davies is still an entertaining presence, which is more than can be said about Matt Lucas – who had fewer notable lines and his wimpy character wears thin relatively quickly.
While “The Husbands of River Song” is mostly a comedic and light-hearted affair, there is still emotional moments that allows for development of the relationship between River and The Doctor. River has to give a terrific speech as she describes her feelings for The Doctor and how he feels towards her. River also has to face her own mortality, that her time is coming to an end.
Some Christmas Specials have to find a way to bring in Christmas iconography, and themes are forced into episodes, such as the pilot fish dressed as Santa, A Christmas Carol and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Except for the odd joke, “The Husbands of River Song” is really a longer Doctor Who episode that just happens to be set at Christmas than a Doctor Who Christmas episode.
Steven Moffat does find ways to reference River’s past with The Doctor, showing his previous faces, getting a reading of her diary and showing some The Doctor’s items River has collected over the years. But Moffat wrote this episode as a way to finish the River Song storyline: she only knew the Doctor twelve previous forms and had the idea that The Doctor regenerated after Matt Smith. The implication being that River will not see any future incarnation of The Doctor. The Doctor also gives River a gift that becomes important during her first appearance on the show. But the timeline of The Doctor and River’s meetings is very shrewd so we should have a never say never mindset.
“The Husbands of River Song” shows what Doctor Who should normally be – be light-hearted and funny but still have an emotional center. If this happens to be River Song’s last episode, then it was a worthy send off.
Empire magazine just released three new photos from the much-anticipated film Deadpool. Featured in these stills are Ryan Reynolds , Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), and Gina Carno (Angel Dust).
“This film certainly works within the context of the X-Men Universe,”said Deadpool leading man Ryan Reynolds in Empire’s latest issue.”But it doesn’t necessarily include the sensibilities of an X-Men movie. It’s like taking an X-Men character,pumping him full of LSD and releasing him into the public.”
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts an alter ego . Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, he hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. Directed by Tim Miller, while starring Ryan Reynolds (Wade Wilson), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa Carlysle), T.J. Miller (Weasel), with Ed Skrein, and Brianna Hildebrand (Ellie Phimister), the much-hyped Deadpool is scheduled to open in theaters on February 12, 2016.
Frank Miller’s third Dark Knight story is now in full swing with its second issue. The stakes have raised dramatically, and there’s been more information given about the world, as well as a few new intriguing surprises. There’s a lot to talk about, so let’s not waste anymore time with the introduction and dive right into issue 2 of The Dark Knight III The Master Race.
Spoilers Ahead
Issue 2 starts off just where the last issue ends. Carrie Kelly has been revealed as the new Batman, and incarcerated by the police. Ellen Yindel is pressing her about the fate of Bruce Wayne, who Kelly says is dead. She manages to escape custody through an intense chase with the famous Batmobile tank from The Dark Knight Returns that’s mysteriously being controlled by someone who won’t be revealed here.
It’s bigger and badder.
Meanwhile, Ray Palmer is working with a scientist of Kandor, and Supergirl to regrow the city, and allow a new race of Kryptonians to live on Earth due to the fact that Kandor is running out of resources. Their work goes according to plan, but Dr. Palmer’s preconceived notions that the Kryptonian’s are compassionate, and benevolent was misguided due to their excessive manipulation. A religious sect led by a Kryptonian extremist named Quar, emerges from Kandor life-sized with a pile of dead Kryptonians on the ground. Quar destroys Kandor, and Ray Palmer is crushed by another Kryptonian. Their plan is to take over Earth and make it a new paradise for Kryptonians, humans be damned.
A complaint that some readers had of the first issue was that the plot didn’t seem to be going anywhere. The first issue seemed to be more about establishing the world rather than moving the plot. This issue makes up for that by moving the story forward with the rise of the Kryptonians, and Carrie Kelly’s escape. There’s also a lot more background information that starts filling in the gaps of the story. We as an audience start to learn more about what’s happening in the world, and what happened to Bruce Wayne.
Not part of the story, but still a great image.
There are still media outlets, but they’re even more underplayed in this issue. The action is contained to the car chase scene with the Batmobile, which as stated before, is a lot of fun and exciting to look at. We also start to see the internal monologues of some of the other main characters like Carrie Kelly, Ray Palmer, and Ellen Yindel again. There’s more dialogue, and slower scenes in this book; each one not only pushes the plot forward, but gives us great character moments too. One in particular is a conversation between Ray Palmer and a Kryptonian scientist that illustrates the Kryptonian manipulation, and the naivete of The Atom. It’s very well written and proves that Miller and Azzarrello are a great writing team.
Andy Kubert’s art is still phenomenal, and some of the best on the market now. He manages to give a lot of movement to the characters in the panels, and he still evokes Miller’s style as well. Brad Anderson’s colors are bright, and pop out, it’s an interesting choice, as most would assume that the colors should be dark and gritty. But, no, the colors make the art come alive.
The second issue is definitely a strong step forward. The plot moves more, the stakes have been raised, and there’s a great sense of tension throughout the book. There are some nitpicks worth mentioning, like Carrie Kelly’s inner monologue is written like the slang from The Dark Knight Returns, and it is distracting. Ellen Yindel is underused in this issue. And Wonder Woman is absent despite having a larger part in the first issue. However none of these distract from the positives of the book. It’s definitely worth continuing.
Give it a read and let us know what you think in the comics.
Bonus Review: Dark Knight Universe Presents Wonder Woman
While Wonder Woman doesn’t play as strong a role in the second issue as she does the first, she gets her own tie in book that again is given free with the actual issue. Told from the points of view of Superman’s (and Wonder Woman’s) daughter Lara, and Wonder Woman herself, the two spar each other while also analyzing how they have treated each other. There’s not much in way of plot or back story, but the artwork from Eduardo Risso shines through. The characters Wonder Woman and Lara have great dynamic poses, and a fascinating fight scene that mirrors the mental sparring and ideology each one has. It’s not as good as the Atom story, since that one gave us more backstory, but it is an interesting character study, and definitely a welcome addition to the main book.
Maybe this Wonder Woman won’t be nominated for Mother of the Year.
Kalimur is an alternative pop / rock band from Connecticut and on January 25, 2016, the band will release their second album Redemption. With a quick listen of their music you can here the influences of Coldplay, The Fray, and Imagine Dragons; but this band is not a cheap knock-off. Kalimur has a well produced, full sound that is distinctly their own.
The Redemption release show will be held at The Space in Hamden, CT on January 29.
The band released their first album Ghost We Used To Know in April of 2015. Kalimur is made up of Brett Steinberg (singer, songwriter), Tyler Berkich (bass), Alex Touren-Trend (guitar), and Jonah Profe (drums).
Monkeys Fighting Robots music reporter Sam Casale spoke with Steinberg, Berkich, and Touren-Trend about there new album and the unforgiven journey that is the music industry.
You guys have gone on record stating that the name Kalimur means nothing and is nothing more than “unique and fresh.” Do you feel as though in today’s culture people tend to judge a book by it’s cover or in this instance, a band by its name?
“Because we live in such a digital age where so many bands are present, and people don’t have to actively search for a band, it has become the unfortunate truth that many bands need a cool logo or a catching name in order to not get lost amidst the several other bands that exist today. First impressions are really important, and we took this into consideration when making our band name and logo. You could have the best music in the world but without an appealing name, people won’t find out about it. First impressions are everything.” -Tyler
“With the band name being something that isn’t a word, it gives us this clean slate. This is important for us especially with alternative music because it gives our band a new and fresh vibe and that’s what we want.” -Brett
It’s safe to say you guys are starting to become pretty successful in the world of music, a business that is unpredictable and nothing is guaranteed. At what moment did a career in the music industry go from wishful thinking into a reality?
“Over time you start to think about it, and it starts to become a little more tangible to you. When you start out, anyone that goes that isn’t doing it simply for fun have an end goal in mind of being able to pay off your bills and live off your music. We hit these milestones when we released our first record, and we had a good amount of sales and a lot of really good feedback. We were kind of like ‘alright it’s getting there’ once we were playing bigger shows and we were getting people on Twitter from places like Brazil tweeting at us and preordaining our album. I was like ‘what? Brazil? Like that’s insane!’ That was when I was like ‘alright, I think we’re getting somewhere and were going somewhere good.'” -Tyler
“Yeah, the more you see people getting on board with what you’re doing gives you encouragement and lets you know that people believe in what we from the start believed in. It makes you think that this could be bigger than just something than just us four (our drummer could not make the call today) and really motivates the movement of what we are doing.”-Brett
Speaking of your drummer, on the band website he cites Led Zeppelin as a big influence on him. How do you guys infuse each of your own different influences together to create the sound that is Kalimur?
“I think that our influences our so different from each other that they play off from each other very nicely and they kind of add together to create a broad spectrum of sound that is unique and people really like it. People have mentioned that they like this unique sound, and I think that is because of our variety of musical influences.” -Alex
“I would say when we’ve gotten feedback from people saying that we sound a certain way, they always say ‘man I can hear certain influences, but I can’t pinpoint exactly what you’re doing’ and I think this is because we bring such a large mosaic of so many different influences from all different sides that it all comes together into this sound that is something that people can are somewhat familiar with but at the same time, it draws from so many different influences of artist and our own life experiences that it creates something different from people.” -Brett
Do you feel as though that your music and the message it conveys speaks to a certain niche or group of people or would you say that your music and its motives can be understood universally?
“I think our first album Ghost We Used to Know fell into the former category. It was a very optimistic record about looking forward and about seeing the bright side in things. A lot of the time when we were writing we were thinking ‘if you are feeling this type of way, what could someone say to pull you out of it?’ This record bridges that gap because we instead wrote about experiences that everybody has been through and stuff that everyone has felt.” -Tyler
“I feel as though the message of a lot of our music is staying true to ourselves. Someone who does not love alternative music could still be able to understand and connect with the message. Our goal is to stay true to what we truly feel and balance this with music that people can really get into. One of our biggest memories is when we played at a large showcase with a bill composed of mainly metal bands, and yet the audience really seemed to like our music. This was eye-opening in the sense that we realized that as long as you really bring energy to the table it really can cross over these arbitrary dividers of fans of one genre to fans of another genre.” -Brett
In a few songs such as “Gone”, “Shadow”, and “Learn to Grow” there is a reoccurring idea of heartbreak, moving forward, and finding it hard to let go. Are any of these themes based off of experiences from your own lives?
“I think we are very experiential writers. It’s very hard for us to really get into themes that are not taken from our lives and that we are not passionate about. Every song that we write on our last record and this upcoming record have been based off something that we have gone through, and we were able to manifest this into a song. During the writing of “Gone,” Brett and I had an idea as to where we wanted the song to go, and he looked at me at one point and told me that he had never gone through this. I had to take charge on writing most of the lyrics for that one because he was unable to voice a place that I had been.” -Tyler
“A lot of the times we fill in the gaps for each other. Many of the times the experiences are something that we’ve all been through, but we come at it from different angles. As much as we kind of take influences from a bunch of different artist and bands, we also kind of take all of our different life experiences and this creates a unique outlook. We all have the same general feelings towards it but with different perspectives of how we got to that feeling.” -Brett
“I think a lot of artists write about experiences that they have gone through or experiences that someone they know has gone through. When you get something so close, it impacts you more, and it lets you write and carry it out into song.” -Alex
When you are in the process of creating a new song, do any members take more of an initiative or role in the song creating process or is it an equal contribution from all the members?
“For the majority of it, it’s Brett. Alex once said he’s ‘a machine.’ When he has free time he will just send me like twelve texts of just voice memos of him humming something random while he’s in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He just has all of these ideas in his head of the way he wants things to go. I might help him out with tweaking a melody but most of the time he makes a concrete melody, and we all just try to add on to what he has already made. The majority of the time, the theme and melody of the song always comes from Brett.” -Tyler
“That being said, everyone in the band is a songwriter. This is really interesting because we all have a creative side that influences the music. This kind of gives an interesting aspect to our music.” -Brett
(Alex then sent me a link to a video that reminded him of Brett’s voice recordings.)
How does this upcoming album Redemption differ from your last major project Ghost We Used to Know?
“The core difference between the two is that Redemption is a bit more emotionally heavy, and it gets darker at times. The big thing that we take away from it is that Ghost We Used to Know is more hindsight and more about looking at the silver linings after the storm and Redemption is more about what you feel when you’re in the middle of these intense emotional moments. Redemption feels like you’re in the moment and it is about how its ok to feel what you are feeling when dealing with these difficult experiences. That being said, no matter ow dark and heavy redemption can get at moments, there is always this sense of optimism.” -Brett
What has been the biggest motive for being a musician and for doing what you do?
“I was actually such a good professional athlete that I decided to give everyone else a chance on the court. In all seriousness, the arts have always been a place I’ve felt at home. It was only until I played a show with Brett and I saw an audience react to a band that played after us when I realized that music transcends language and different cultures which is a really beautiful thing. At that point, it was a no-brainer for me.” -Tyler
“I feel as though music is a really beautiful thing because it’s there no matter what. Your setting and family will go away, but no matter what, music will always stay. Even those who cant hear music can feel the sound waves. It’s something that seems eternal, and it’s important because of that.” -Alex
If there is one message you could tell your fans, what would that be?
“Thank you. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our fans. There words of encouragement is what keeps us going. They are the ones that come to shows and listen to our music.” -Tyler
“A huge thank you to our fans. It is really inspiring for us to have this community around us to support what we are doing. I’d also say that I hope that you always know that there is something for you. At the end of the day, at the very least you have your favorite artist and because of this, you are never completely on your own. We really appreciate you and everything you do for us.” -Brett
“We are just happy that people engage in our music and once again, thank you.” -Alex
For more information on Kalimur, checkout their website: kalimurband.com
My favorite new show of 2014 was You’re The Worst. This dark romantic comedy that centers around two young and dysfunctional people, Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash), who attempt a relationship together was still one of the funniest, most entertaining TV shows this year. Created by Stephen Falk (Weeds, Orange is the New Black), You’re the Worst has remained under the radar, but this month it received several nominations for Critics’ Choice TV Awards, including Best Comedy Series, Best Actress and Supporting Actress, and rightly so.
While you catch up on You’re the Worst‘s first two seasons, and in celebration of the news about it being renewed for a third season on FX for the Summer of 2016, you should know: Why do I think You’re the Worst is one of the best shows right now?
1. Consistence.
One of the keys to gaining a following in anything is being consistent. It isn’t an easy task, especially on television where a lot of different directors take on every episode. But all through season 1 this show kept the tone it set on its premiere, full of wacky and hilarious moments. In season 2 there was maybe one episode where the comedy took second place after more serious topics, but it still kept going strong to the finale, which was one of the best episodes of the whole show.
2. Unapologetic and bold humor.
Watching You’re the Worst feels like having those cool, bohemian parents who tell you about sex and drugs like it’s the most natural thing in the world. There’s really no taboo topic in the show and it certainly doesn’t shy away from raunchy scenes or crude humor. I love that!
3. Real vs Surreal storylines.
As much as the characters in You’re the Worst seem like they only represent an exaggerated version of people who could be real, I’m sure viewers can relate to the many traits depicted in them. The crazy situations they end up getting into, along with the boldness and honesty of this series is what makes it unique and interesting. Because the more you get to know these characters the more you realize how delusional they can be about real life, and that’s funny.
4. How it treats the audience.
One of the things I appreciate most about comedy shows (and any kind of show or film, really) is when they treat the viewers like adult human beings, capable of figuring out the punch line of sarcastic jokes and being invested in more serious topics without losing that dark humor. You’re the Worst delivers both, threading the line of being offensive… but only if you let it. They don’t have to feel the need of explaining every single thing to make people understand. They know their audience is smart enough to get it.
5. Mental Health topic.
Mental health problems are a reality. That’s why I love You’re the Worst tackling issues like PTSD war veterans and clinical depression, and always treating them fairly. It’s one thing to joke about those topics out of ignorance and another is to find the little things that represent people with mental health issues and those around them in a humorous way.
What do you enjoy most about You’re the Worst? If you haven’t, watch it!
I think its time that I eat some crow. Back in the early weeks of the summer anime season I was raving about how good Charlotte was. I think I ended every article for four straight weeks talking about how it had Anime of the Year potential. Now while I stick to some of these claims, I think I was a little blinded by the problems that Charlotte had from its onset. Problems that would ultimately take the show from a 9 or 10 down to a 6.
Charlotte is a Jun Maeda show (But what does that mean?)
So one of the biggest problems that I think Charlotte had going from its inception was having someone like Jun Maeda head the project. So I’d like to give a little context on Jun Maeda and how problems seen in Charlotte can relate back to his other works. By all means Jun Maeda is a good creator with some great ideas. Unfortunately he tends to take on projects more ambitious than what he’s capable of. As a fellow writer I see myself falling into certain traps that Maeda has fallen into and by watching his works it’s helped me rethink my capacity as a writer. Now I’m not saying that Jun Maeda someday won’t be able to execute ambition works, but for now I think he should stick with what he knows. I think he knows this too because the first half of Charlotte is purely Jun Maeda and his ability to write believable teenage characters that he honed during his 2010 series Angel Beats!.
I think Angel Beats! was a real milestone for him as a character creator and it really shines through, especially if you look back at all of the shallow/one-dimensional characters that he created in shows like Clannad, Kanon, and Air. Like it or not something happened between Clannad: After Story and Angel Beats! where Jun Maeda was able to put aside his protagonist loving girlfriends and focus on real characters. And since Angel Beats! was a huge success he probably thought he could stick with doing the same thing with Charlotte. Which he does, and it works, mostly.
So remember when I said that Jun Maeda is sometimes too ambitious for his skill level? Well sometimes even great characters can be ruined by a story gone hay-wire, and ultimately that is whats Charlottes big problem. For it doesn’t matter how much you like certain characters, seeing those characters doing something boring or pointless, or just straight out of characters can make you not want to watch something anymore (See the bount arc in Bleach for the perfect example). So okay Jun Maeda is good at writing characters but not so good at writing stories, but is the story in Charlotte really all that bad?
Yes, the story in Charlotte is really that bad
Now some people like to take the “Sword Art Online approach” when talking about how good a show is. The “Sword Art Online approach” is talking about a show while omitting certain large aspects of the show when deciding if its good or not. While I can’t say I felt the same way about Sword Art Online (pretty much thought everything down to the concept was bad and poorly executed) Charlotte can definitely be viewed with this sort of rating technique. And some of the reason I think people defend Charlotte (myself kinda included) is because of the stellar first half. And most of my qualms with Charlotte is how in congress the first half feels to the atrocity that is the second part. So to decipher why the first and second half of Charlotte are so different we need to look at both halves of the show individually.
Charlotte begins with a typical angsty boy named Yu who is drunk on his newly found super power. And for the entire first episode we are watching this deplorable human being do deplorable things to make sure things go his way whether it be cheating on tests, or faking a car accident to get a girl to like him. This kid clearly is drunk on his power and doesn’t care about the consequences of his selfish actions. That is until a girl named Nao from another school confronts him about his super powers with an ability of her own. Quickly Yu learns that he can no longer go to his school and will have to transfer to Nao’s both for his own protection and to keep eyes on him, or so we are lead to believe.
Now right off the bat the show tells us what a detached person Yu is from basically everyone else (even his little sister). So the dynamic that Nao brings of forcing him to interact and grow closer to other people is naturally compelling because you are seeing a person fight against this change. Or at least that’s what you would see if we were dealing with if a normal Key protagonist.
Yu is more complicated than that though, and at the same time, not too complicated. During the first episode we see him abusing his powers to get past working hard and just trying to be popular, a very shallow thing to do. Though it may be misleading I don’t think his maniacal or diabolic expressions are indicative of his actual personality. If anything he feels empowered by his ability and is feeling something he’s never felt before and is drunk on his status. I don’t honestly think he starts off as a deceiving or bad guy at all. He’s just a normal guy who thought he would take an easy route through life. This is even more apparent as the episode goes on and he is confronted and immediately falls apart. He’s not some diabolic villain, he’s just a kid who got ahead of himself trying to cheat his way through life. Something I think we all fantasize about but are skeptical about because, well moral stuff. This is also why I think Yu changes his tune to be so agreeable at home and with his new student council. He knew he was wrong, so instead of fighting it (which would be a huge pain for him) he choose to accept it.
So when you look at Yu’s character its easy to see why throughout the first half of episodes he is so heavily influenced by Nao and the rest of the student council. The first half is like dragging a dog on a leash, the dog being Yu. As he gets dragged more and more he finds that it would be too bothersome to resist and intern just decides to go along with whats happening. Not necessarily because he wants too but because it’s the route that causes him less of a hassle. This is whats so compelling about the first half of Charlotte.
We get to see Yu transform and be influenced by the people around him and in turn this allows him to better connect with the people who have helped him change. Its kind of like the whole circle of life concept but equated to feelings and teenage problems. The fact that all these problems feel so real and the characters reactions seem genuine and relatable are what sells the show. Its character drama at its best while not focusing too much on whats happening and instead focusing on what that means for the characters. But sadly that couldn’t last because someone at Key (Maybe Jun Maeda) felt like Charlotte needed to have more of a “story” than what it was already going. And to be fair there was sprinklings of what was going to happen early on in the show, but I never thought it would turn out so bad.
The change in Charlotte is so abrupt and apparent I think everyone knows when this show started to fall, and that was as soon as Yu travels back in time to save Ayumi. Saving Ayumi is where I split the good have of Charlotte away from the bad half of Charlotte, and it’s not just because it’s not how I would have liked things to go down. It’s because it does so much to break what has been developed from previous episodes.
The fact that Yu saves Ayumi ruins everything! It ruins the character arc that Yu went through. It ruins the way he had accepted to live his life after Ayumi’s death. It ruined the connection he had made with Nao. All of these things are ruined by the simple fact that he’s able to save Ayumi’s life.
Okay so I guess I need to explain myself further for you to understand what I mean here. So I’ll start with Yu’s character arc first. The whole point of Yu going through what happened after Ayumi’s death was to teach him about dealing with pain and lost, and coming to terms with being unable to change the past while at the same time being able to move forward with what he’s learned. It was supposed to be his final realization to stop being the character that just goes with the flow and to make a difference. But since he saves Ayumi and successfully changes the past, the weight of his lesson is lost. He doesn’t have to deal with that pain and acceptance anymore because Ayumi is alive. But of course he still remembers his past and has learned to appreciate his sister more and keeps his lessons from the previous timeline. That’s bullshit! You can’t have it both ways Charlotte! You can’t have a character changing tragedy and then reverse the tragedy once he’s learned his lesson. That’s not how life works and it takes the whole relate-ability aspect out of the equation and stops me from relating to the character and just turns it into wish-fulfillment. It cheapens the message if what you’re saying is “learn from the past and be able to move on” but at the same time a character in your story is able to change the past and get his desired outcome.
And some of the problems I just stated can also be substituted into how his relationship with Nao is somewhat ruined and cheapened. However the story does bring this up, So I’ll give it props there at least. But still pointing out a flaw doesn’t make the flaw okay. Now all the development Nao and Yu had up until the time-leap is pointless because Nao doesn’t remember any of it. And with Nao being the way she is I think it will be hard for another sequence of event to move their relationship forward like Ayumi’s death did. Ayumi’s death was where Yu not only accepted that he needed to change but the fact that Nao would be the person to help him. This helped Yu want to help and get closer to Nao, not only out of gratitude but out of admiration. It made their relationship develop in one of the most natural ways I’ve seen in anime.
So yeah that’s my biggest singular problem with the second half of Charlotte but it doesn’t stop there. During the last four episodes we are introduced to characters that perviously didn’t exist. Which shouldn’t be bad, but the show plays up their importance and emotion so high when they haven’t given us any reason to care about them. Five new characters are introduced including Yu’s older brother and before we even get to know them, they’re thrown into the forefront of the story as main characters doing stuff. Forget all the character building that made the first half so enjoyable. Now they’ll just throw in characters and expect you to understand them and even go so far as to kill one of them and try to make it seem like it means anything.
All of this happens because at some point the plot became more important than the characters. These compelling troubled characters are suddenly turned into vehicles to complete the plot in the short amount of time they had. I mean they cram a whole years worth of events that could have been its own show into the final episode, and they expected that to work at all. Forget that its contrived and has a bunch of plot holes, it takes the subtle events and emotions that made Charlotte great and turned it into an almost, I don’t even know what.
Remembering Charlotte
Well ultimately to me its a betrayal from what the show had built and promised me early on. It takes a show that knew exactly what it was doing and drove it down a path of emotionless plot twists and a contrived finale. If anything the second half-ruined parts of the first half that foreshadowed these events. I honestly wish that I could just watch up to the point where Yu and Nao go on their date to see ZHIEND and that’s where the story ends. But not only is that unrealistic but I still would be left without an emotional conclusion. It’s also the fact that I find that “Sword Art Online approach” to be a way to justify a bad show. Why do we feel the need to justify bad things in anime?
Sure Charlotte has a lot of great things in it but that doesn’t mean it is a good show because the things that are bad are glaring. Not only that but the things that are good don’t conclude in a way that matches the earlier parts of the show or are as impactful as they should have been. Maybe if it were flipped and the bad stuff was at the beginning instead of the end I would be more forgiving. But I don’t consider “maybe” when I’m evaluating a piece of art, all I can judge it on is by whats present. So because of Charlottes contrived and misplaced ending I think that I will ultimately remember Charlotte as just a fine, but misplaced show.
Entertainment Weekly once again gave us another exclusive and this time it was inside the film Batman Vs Superman: Dawn Of Justice, to be more specific the Batcave. Judging by the concept art, it seems that the Bat Cave is as well equipped as ever which allows Batman to keep up with his fellow superheroes. This Batcave however comes with a secret weapon, a brand new Alfred. Alfred (played by Jeremy Irons) will not be your typical tea serving butler as we have seen in the past. Alfred will play more of a hands-on role in this saga.
“Alfred is a lot more hands-on in our film than he has previously been,” Irons says. “He’s a bit of a grease monkey, and he’s very involved in the decisions Bruce makes.”
Fearing the actions of a god-like Super Hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. Directed by Zack Snyder and written by Chris Terrio from a screenplay by David S. Goyer, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice stars Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman and Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. The film also stars Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane are returning from Man of Steel, joined by Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons as Alfred, and Holly Hunter in a role newly created for the film. Jason Momoa will also be making an appearance as Aquaman. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is set to open worldwide on March 25, 2016.
