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Street Fighter (1994)
It sort of tried?
I'll give it its credit first. They did a reasonably good job making this movie something that one would recognize as the video game. The characters were fairly easily identified.
The issue is how they decided to get them all in the same place. It reminded me of the times when the cast of saved by the bell were all involved with the basketball team, or the debate team, or working at the beach club, or in a band together. So much of the character has to change to shoe horn them into the movie. Ryu and Ken as Arms dealers? Chun Li, E. Honda and Balrog as a news crew? Come on.
The even larger issue, however, is the lazy writing by the guy who wrote Die Hard, 48 Hours, Commando and so many other fun movies. This effort seems that of a first timer who had seen a couple of 80's action films and figured "how hard can it be?"
I honestly enjoyed Raul Julia's over-the-top portrayal of M. Bison, the only issue being that it deprived us of a real fight scene at the end of the movie (Same issue that Attack of the Clones had in an Annakin vs. Dooku showdown). Julia was in no position to provide anything but cartoon action.
The choice of JCVD as Guile is... fine. He was the hot action commodity at the time. I get it. He isn't American. Stop putting him in movies and telling us he is American. Make something up! He was in the A.N. He could be from France, Belgium or wherever and you can just accept the detail change.
I feel like Ming Na's performance was encouraged to be a little stereotypical, which is unfortunate. Sure, Bison can get her in the outfit in the end, but just some of the actions and tells were a little too much like an old Bruce Lee Movie, without the benefit of Bruce Lee.
The bottom line... you can have fun watching this movie if you know what it is, but in no way shape or form is it a good movie. Poorly conceived. Poorly executed. If you see it on TV and think it could be good. Follow Zangief's advice and "Change the Channel!"
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Believe the Hype
I tried my best to not raise expectations with the combination of the 10 year buildup of movies and the audience anticipation of this movie, but I failed. My expectations were higher than some people will be on their fourth viewing of this movie trying to experience some new colours. While I failed in controlling my expectations, Avengers: Infinity War exceeded every one of them.
The characters of 18 different movies with very different styles and tones were brought together with no property being sacrificed. Characters were combined in a number of creative ways, but they didn't waste every option in the first movie. Several Characters were left on the bench so we can have some fresh blood in part 2.
We all expected that not every character would make it out of this movie, but the who and the when were always up in the air. Those whose numbers came up, they were (for the most part) completely unexpected and came at times when I wasn't ready. Some are gone for good and will be missed moving forward into the next phase of the MCU. Others? Well, without giving anything away, I'm sure we will see some again.
Can we all just remember that the Russo Brothers came up doing Sitcoms? These men wrote and directed some of the most creative (and fiercely underappreciated) TV comedy in Arrested Development and Community, among other things and they were brought up to take on some of the meatiest films in the MCU. I thought Marvel was crazy, and they were. Crazy like a Fox (which Disney also now owns). These men have set a bar that is going to be tough to surpass.
I advise everyone to go see this movie. Go and leave your comic book expectations at the door. A certain faction of comic fans are chomping at the bit to hate these movies because a different character says a line in the movie vs. the book and it is a tragedy. To the people who hated Lord of the Rings for the lack of Tom Bombadil, the people who hated the Last Jedi because Luke Skywalker had more tricks up his sleeve than when we last saw him in Episode VI (which by the way were all a part of the old Legends Material that they so wanted to be Canon), try hoping for the best and not combing the movie in search of the worst and you may just accidentally have a good time. Although, I expect that some of you would still be blown away.
I thank Marvel for the 18 movies that brought us to this point and for bringing them together in a way that I can only describe as a symphony. I look forward to what you plan on doing when this stage of the franchise's life has passed.
The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special (2017)
Somebody dropped the pumpkin
An animated special based on an SNL sketch that, theoretically, should never have been as funny as it ended up being, seems like a bad idea to produce in the first place. BUT, if they were going to move forward with it, I think that more effort should have been made to appeal to the SNL viewers who liked it in the first place.
Aside from the odd line that you would have heard in the original sketch (eg. the skeletons being "part of it"), the first 2 acts gave you little to tell you that this is connected to SNL. Only two of the voice actors were SNL cast members (Bobby Moynihan included, even though he recently left the show) and the story was crafted to be more like one of the traditional Halloween specials for kids.
This was a true shame as I was looking forward to seeing how this would be handled. It is clearly a missed opportunity as they were able to take something so simple and build on it for the show.
The Chris Gethard Show (2015)
A Comedy Community
People who have seen this show since the New York Public Access Days already knew what I hope people are learning now. This show is more than a comedy, but a meeting place for a community of underdogs who spent a long time waiting for a show made for them.
The Premise of each episode is kept fairly simple and it is left to the Cast and the characters that are the fans of TCGS to bring it to life. Past episodes, like trying to figure out what is inside a dumpster, staying awake for 36 straight hours prior to production or simply asking "You OK?" have led to some hilarious moments in Television.
What wins out over any gimmick or celebrity guest, however, is the honesty of this show. Gethard (known for his HBO Special, Career Suicide) has made himself so accessible to fans and vulnerable to his audience. He openly discusses his fears and battle with depression, has had panic attacks on the show (more during the public access days) and has made everyone who has found this show feel like they have a place in the community he has created.
Add to him an improv genius in Shannon O'Neill, the hilarious madness of Matthew "Murf" Meyer, The beautiful oddity that is The Human Fish (David Bluvband) and the adorable spunk of Bethany Hall and you have a cast built to handle the craziest of situations in a way that will make you want to join them for the ride.
Don't just watch the TruTV episodes, but go back and check Youtube for the public access and Fusion episodes. One thing you may notice in a lot of the past episodes are people that you still see in the audience of the current episodes. That should tell you something right there.