Boom - P.O.D

Song of The Month!

Boom

by P.O.D

Alright, first off, sorry it's me again. The Dwarf couldn't do the Song of The Month this month, so I'm doing it instead, again.

Anyway, this month I've decided to do Boom by P.O.D as the SoTM, though in all honesty it isn't one of my favourite songs. I've just had it stuck in my head for about a week...
SO, if I have to go down this deep dark rabbit hole, I'm gonna take a few of you with me.

Boom is actually pretty old, having been released in 2002, but a lot of the people I know still remember it. Honestly, I only remembered it because of the video, so check it out. For some reason my brothers have been playing this a lot lately, hence me getting it stuck in my head, so I just had to share it.

It's not a bad song, but I've never really seen why everyone thought it was so good either... I still think it's worth a listen.

Anyone else remember this song, or the video?
~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Beserk

Berserk is a classic anime created by Kentaro Miura. Set in a fantasy medieval Europe, it follows the characters Guts, an orphaned mercenary and Griffith, the charismatic leader of a mercenary group called the Band of the Hawk. It shows you how Guts hunts demon like creatures called Apostles and how he and his band of warriors fight a long war that has devastated the country of Midland. The anime has a slightly dark story and is aimed at an older audience, making it a seinen manga, but it is very interesting to watch.

The series has an amazingly well done plot, which keeps you interested from start to finish and character depth that leaves you wishing all anime was done the same way. If you like action anime, then Beserk is the anime for you. Even people who don't particularly like anime have said that Beserk is one of the best made anime in existence and is definitely worth a try, so give it a go.

*The Elder*

Bleach

Bleach

We haven't done any reviews on anime yet, as far as I remember, but since we watch that too... I'm going to kick off with one of the first anime I ever watched; Bleach.

Bleach is an anime series, based on the manga of the same name by Tite Kubo. Basically, it's about a guy called Ichigo Kurosaki who has always been able to see ghosts. It starts out where he's just a normal teenager, who occasionally helps ghosts in his free time, but otherwise, he lives a pretty average life.

Unfortunately - or fortunately, depending on how you look at it - one day, a bad spirit (called a Hallow) manages to track him to his home, where it then attacks his family. A Soul Reaper, or Shinigami, named Rukia Kuchiki comes to save them - but only after discovering that Ichigo already has a natural ability to see the dead. In the fight, she is severely injured trying to protect Ichigo from the Hollow, so she is unable to fight. So, in order to save them all, Rukia offers to give him half of her powers, which would make him a substitute Soul Reaper - and supposedly just strong enough to defeat the Hollow. Unexpectedly, he is much more powerful than she had anticipated and takes almost all of her power. 

From there, the story follows how she recovers from her loss of power and Ichigo proves himself as a Soul Reaper.

Obviously, that's just the basics of how it started. A LOT more happens and there are some other pretty epic characters that you meet throughout the series, but like all anime, there is too much to explain in one little review.

In any case, Bleach is one of the most popular anime ever released - right up there with Naruto and One Piece - making it one of the anime you sorta have to watch, or at least know about. Although the series lost some quality, later on, it's still one of the most watched anime ever.

Some people might say it's not worth watching, but I would have to disagree. Although it didn't always make sense or have the best arcs, it still had some amazing characters and themes that really are worth watching it for. Plus, it has some pretty hilarious moments and all the characters are BADASS.

Seriously, if you're looking for an anime to watch and you haven't already watched it, watch Bleach. It's not the best, I'll admit, but it's still definitely worth watching and will make you appreciate it, despite some of the less appealing qualities it has.

You should all at least give the first season a go!

~The Elf  

Serenity (2005)

Serenity (2005)

Movie Information:

"The crew of the spaceship Serenity is getting desperate. They have lain lower and lower to protect their doctor, Simon Tam, and his telepathic traumatized little sister, River, from the alliance, whom he rescued her from a year earlier. This has made getting jobs harder and now they are desperate. When they take River on a robbery during which Reavers (humans who have gone crazy and turned into cannibals) attack, Simon decides that its time to leave the crew of the Serenity for his and River's safety. She then mutters "Miranda" and goes berserk and nearly shoots Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, until her brother says the safety word to put her to sleep. Reynolds decides to take them back on board for safety, only now an alliance operative is on their tracks and making Reynolds determined to find out what "Miranda" is and what the Alliance is hiding." - Written byUbernoob 

My Review:

Since I did a review on the Firefly TV series, I thought it was appropriate to do a review on the movie, which is sort of a conclusion to the series. 

I love the movie, though there are some parts that were shocking and sad. It's a brilliant ending, that shows you how it all began and why the government were messing with River's brain, while still staying focused on the crew. If you liked the Firefly series, but have never watched the movie, you definitely should. It brings some of the closure that the cancellation of the series unfortunately took away from us. 

If you get emotionally attached to shows easily, get out your Kleenex because there are definitely some parts that pull at the heart strings.

Otherwise, I thought the movie was brilliant. It shows you the background and it answers a lot of questions, while taking you on a roller coaster of action and intensity. It still had some funny moments, but the movie was definitely more serious than the TV show. I would still recommend it to everyone, though.

Some of the most badass fight scenes I've ever seen are in this movie, which is just all the more reason to watch it. Just remember that it's generally rated PG-13 because of some violent scenes and sexual references.

It's definitely worth the watch, so check it out!

~The Elf

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Firefly (2002)

I can't even begin to explain how much I love this show! In our house, it's a tradition to watch the entire Firefly series every Christmas holidays, which we've been doing since we saw it for the first time twelve years ago.

Firefly is a space western sci-fi drama created by the famous writer and director Joss Whedon. Set in the year 2517, it follows a crew of 9 outlaws on Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. 

The ship's captain, Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, and his second-in-command, Zoe Alleyne Washburne are war veterans, who had been on the losing side of a war against the Alliance; the central federal government. Now, they spend their days taking any jobs they can get, legal or illegal, as they fly around the outskirts of space. Along with them, they have Zoe's husband, pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne; mercenary Jayne Cobb; mechanic Kaylee Frye; Shepherd (pastor) Derrial Book; courtesan Inara Serra; former Alliance medical officer Simon Tam and his mentally unstable teenage sister, River.

This show is honestly so much fun to watch. It's original and keeps you interested the whole way through, so if you're looking for a good sci-fi or western - this is it. There's a reason this show has a cult following, and got its own movie, despite only having 14 episodes in the series.

Just remember that it is generally rated PG-13 because there is a lot of gore, violence, sex and nudity in it, though nothing too explicit is shown on screen. 

The main cast:

Malcolm Reynolds

played by Nathan Fillion

Zoe Washburne

played by Gina Torres

Hoban "Wash" Washburne

played by Alan Tudyk

Jayne Cobb

played by Adam Baldwin

Kaylee Frye

played by Jewel Staite

Shepherd Book

played by Ron Glass

Inara Serra

played by Morena Baccarin

Dr. Simon Tam

played by Sean Maher

River Tam

played by Summer Glau

You may recognize them from other things, considering practically the entire cast has become phenominally famous over the years. All of them have been in a plethora of roles since Firefly, both popular and obscure, so I have no doubt you've probably seen all of them in something at least once. 

Nathan Fillion is currently playing as Richard Castle on the crime-comedy-drama Castle, though he has also been in plenty of other TV shows such as Desperate Housewives and the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl. He has also been in many movies, both live-action and animated, as well as being a voice actor in some video games, among many other projects.

Gina Torres is currently acting as Jessica Pearson on the legal drama Suits, but she has played significant roles in many other TV shows such as the sci-fi Cleopatara 2525, the drama Standoff, and the comedy-drama The Catch. Much like Fillion, she has also played in both live-action and animated movies, as well as voiced characters in video games, though it seems that she has focused on her television career.

Alan Tudyk can be recognized for his work along side Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale, as well as his voice roles in both Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, as King Candy and Duke of Weselton, respectively. Aside from his very successful film career, he has also played a number of roles on the small screen, including; Dr. Noah Gerner on Suburgatory and Reagan Biscayne on Newsreaders. Just like the others, he has also voiced several video game characters, among other things.

Many of you may recognize Adam Baldwin from his role as John Casey on the action-comedy/spy-drama Chuck, though he has played several other television roles on shows such as the action drama The Cape, or the crime drama The Inside, or on the action drama Day Break, or most recently, the sci-fi/action-drama The Last Ship. Outside of his extensive film and television career, Baldwin has also voiced several video game characters.

Jewel Staite has mostly focused on her television career, appearing in 44 TV films or series's. This includes her main role as Catalina on Space Cases, her lead role as Becca Fisher on Flash Forward, her recurring role as Gabriella Da Vinci in Da Vinci's Inquest, her main role as Daisy Lipenowski on Higher Ground, her role as Dr. Jennifer Keller on Stargate Atlantis, her main role as Raquel Westbrook on The L.A. Complex, and her recurring role as Caroline Swift on The Killing. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Ron Glass has played in an extraordinary amount of television shows, as well as quite a few films and voicing some video game characters. You may recognize him from his regular role as Detective Ron Harris on the American sitcom Barney Miller (where he featured in a whopping 164 episodes), or perhaps from his role as Felix Unger on The New Odd Couple, or as Jason Lockwood on Amen, or as Ronald Fletcher on Mr. Rhodes. If none of those are destinctive enough to remember, maybe you'll remember him as the voice of Randy Carmichael on the Rugrats and All Grown Up! He has also very recently been in a couple of episodes of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Morena Baccarin is currently playing Dr. Leslie Tompkins on Gotham, though she has played many roles on television, such as the role of Nurse Jessica Kivala on Heartland, Anna on the sci-fi V, and as Jessica Brody on Homeland, among other things. She has also voiced the Artificial Intelligence, Gideon, on The Flash television series, and has reportedly been cast as Vanessa Carlysle (A.K.A. Copycat) in the superhero film Deadpool.

Before his stint on Firefly, Sean Maher played several roles in both films and television, including the role of Chris McConnell on The $treet, and the voice of Dick Grayson (A.K.A. Nightwing) in the animated films Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin. Afterwards, he has played Sean Beasley on The Playboy Club, as well as Marcus on Make It or Break It. More recently, he has also played the role of Mark Scheffer (A.K.A. Shrapnel) in the superhero TV series Arrow.

Summer Glau has been in a multitude of films and televsion shows, though most will either remember her for her time on Firefly, or as Cameron/Allison Young in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Outside of these two incredibly popular TV series's, she has also played characters such as Tess Doerner on The 4400, Jamie Fleming/Orwell on The Cape, and more recently as the villain Isabel Rochev (A.K.A. Ravager) on Arrow, as well as Anna Brandt on Sequestered. She has also played brief roles on shows such as Dollhouse, Hawaii Five-0 and Chuck.

All of these amazing actors have played on dozens of other TV shows, as well as many movies you may have seen. I personally think they are all brilliantly talented, and if you haven't seen them in anything, I would certainly recommend watching some of their work. I have no doubt that, among all the many things they have had a role in, you will find something to your liking.

In any case, back to the topic of Firefly. With a cast this good, there should be absolutely no doubt that a sci-fi Western set over 500 years into the future is worth every minute you spend watching it. It's witty, interesting and brings up interesting moral dilemmas throughout the series. 

Oh, and did I mention that MARK SHEPPARD (who currently plays Crowley, the King of Hell, on Supernatural) is in two episodes? Check it out! It's amazing, I swear.

~The Elf