It's 2013 (Happy Late-After-Apocalypse-New Year from us!) - You may have been wondering where we've been for so long and well, let's just say, we were on an awesome quest for our most secret project we had secretly planned in our secret planning cave, which is coincidentally next to the famous Bat Cave, and we are proud we can now present you with our awesome new project: Awesome Talk. Uncensored. Uncut. Epic.
What is Awesome Talk? - Frankly, we don't know. But it involves, you're right, awesome stuff.
Well, you might have already guessed it so I can cut it short here, it would have been really awesome to do just that but sadly it ain't just that, for now. Sorry for any false hopes I (noticing the change here?) might have created but that bubble is poised to go, well, boom. Originally, we planned to do interviews with famous stars about their work but then we came to ground with reality: we do not have any resources left to do that, so what can I make to deliver something else? Well, here's the answer to that: Awesome Talk. And yes, this time it's no joke.
Awesome Talk is not a review, that would indeed be lame to label it as some sort of special thing, but more of a frequently published monologue or if you will, talk, about some special aspects in, of, for, around, on and what else there is concerning movies, TV shows and other likewise stuff. It is not intended to be a 'Gosh, you're sure, say whaaaat'-kind of post, it is a ground-breaking, original and fun way to spend some minutes or hours if you wish to re-read it, a hundred times or so. ;)
**For the first episode of "Awesome Talk", I do something a little different because I will include an interview with MarXus who will have no chance but to obey my questions. Premiere effect, thank you.**
But without, further ado, here's some AWESOME TALK - Episode 1:
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Interview with MarXus:
1) How come you do reviews and more importantly, how come you’re into TV shows?
Let's start with the TV shows. I'll probably have to blame “House M.D.” for that one. It was the first show I actively watched, amongst other reason because the fantastic German dubbing. Back then I would watch shows in my native language. I think what glued me to the TV at the time was House's black humor and rationalistic way of thinking that coincided with my view on the world. I wish I could remember what I watched after that. May have been “Lost” (unintentional horrible pun).
The review part is much easier to explain. For a long time I wanted to work in the movie industry, maybe even as a director. I thought it would be a good idea to learn about composition, color theory and most importantly storytelling. While that certainly helped, in the end there is a single man to blame for my passion to review stuff: Harry S. Plinkett. As screwed up as he may seem, the creator of numerous Star Trek and Star Wars reviews actually shows great knowledge in the realm of movie making. He quickly became some sort of idol for me and before long inspired me to start The Krautics. THE REST IS HISTORY.
2) What would be your favourite movie / TV show of all time? And why?
This is hard.
Favorite movie. I can't really say “Airplane!”, can I? I love that movie and still think it's one of the greatest comedic pieces ever to hit the screen, but a comedy just doesn't feel right as my final answer. That out of the way, my favorite movie is probably... “Watchmen”. I know there's a lot to criticize about this one, but honestly, I just love its visual style, the gritty feel it has to it, the amazing soundtrack and the best opening sequence I have ever seen. I don't necessarily like this movie as a movie - But I love the atmosphere it creates.
3) Why the hell did you call yourself MarXus?
Because f**k you, that's why.
4) So, with no plans for this day, this interview can last for some hours, right? (I seem to notice some free drinks there in your fridge, no need to get up, I’ll just grab some few for the ride home later.)
You know how much I love to hear myself talking. I also filled the soft-drink bottles in my fridge with bleach.
5) On a more serious note, what do you
think about franchises? Like "Harry Potter" or "Die Hard"?Honestly, I don't really care about the whole franchise part as long as the movies are good. It's very important for such movies to avoid being repetitive though. Hollywood, especially in the last few years, often tried to make a quick buck by slapping a big name on a mediocre movie, or reviving franchises that should have stayed dead (I'm looking at you, Indy). Don't get me started on the Star Wars prequels.
I honor originality, and while it doesn't always work out, it's always a great start.
The Harry Potter movies have the huge advantage of being book adaptions. The book weren't too repetitive, so the movies were not going to be either. That doesn't mean that I like them, though. I think the first few made great movies for children, but I heavily dislike the “dark” direction the more recent ones took.
Die Hard doesn't have that advantage, but still manages to be exactly what it wants to be: Exciting, brutal action movies. Of course the “one-man-army”-thing gets old pretty fast, but I doubt anyone watches Die Hard because of the plot. That's like watching porn for the dialogue. I like all four Die Hard movies, some more than others though.
Iron Man is a great example of a fantastic movie with a shitty sequel. It wasn't supposed to be made into a franchise.
6) Anything in particular you hate/like about Hollywood movies compared to other productions? And which?
There are quite a few things to hate about Hollywood movies, especially some of the more recent ones:
- They rely on casting big names instead of writing good characters
- They remake movies that didn't need remakes – and in the process made them worse
- More and more movies replace their plot with CGI
- They drive franchises into the ground instead of letting them die peacefully
- They try to make stuff more mainstream to appeal to more people, but create a cluster fuck that appeals to no one in the process
- They despise improvisation on the actors side even though it lead to some of the greatest scenes and movies in the past
Or basically: The Star Wars prequels.
That aside, there are one or two things I really like about Hollywood:
- High production values
- Some really talented actors
7) What would you change in the world of movies and television, if you had one chance to change exactly one thing?
I would've said “Remove all the greed and lack of emotion”, but let's be realistic: I would be really happy if improvisation would be a more common thing. It brought us the best moments in movie history if you ask me, just think of Goodfellas and Iron Man.
8) Twilight fan or not?
I actually haven't seen them, but after listening to Robert Pattinson's thoughts on it, I guess I should be rather thankful for that.
9) Who does a better job on TV shows?
Brits, Europeans or Americans? And why?
Brits make great documentaries – but that's about it. I really dislike the low production values most of their shows have – And yes, I am a bit superficial in that matter.
Europeans have the same problem. I think movies are just not as big of a market over here.
The winner is, of course, 'Murrica. While producing some worst abominations in TV history, they also brought us great entertainment and talent over the years.
Of course, there are always exceptions to this, but that's my rule of thumb.
10) Your all-time favourite TV shows and movies, name three per go?
This may be the hardest question yet.
Shows (I guess YouTube shows don't count):
Dexter - had me at the edge of my seat
Firefly – fantastic writing and originality
Lost - may be a bit nostalgic here
Movies:
Watchmen
The International
Airplane!
11) If you could write a plot for a
movie, what would it be?
It would probably be a thriller. I love tension that is created without huge gunfights and explosions, but that doesn't mean I don't like stuff like that – It's just that it is horribly overused these days. It would also have to include a bromance: A friendship between two characters that feels real, has a history. I could go on forever here, but that's about it for the main aspects.
Actually one more thing: It also has to include a lesbian threesome at some point.
12) Would you change your name into a star’s name if you had the chance? And whom would you choose?
Just the name? Charlize Theron. Charlize makes me sound like a 7 foot ex convict.
13) What do you expect from Awesome Talk for its next issue?
I don't have a fucking clue what it is yet. I expect something slightly better than getting shot at though. Slightly.
14) Any plans for what you’re gonna be up to after doing this interview? For legal purposes, don’t say suicide because then I will have some problems, you know that, right?
I will just quietly cry myself to sleep and pretend it was a nightmare.
15) Famous last words?
“I will just quietly cry myself to sleep and pretend it was a nightmare.”
Thanks for visiting 'Awesome Talk', MarXus. I'm now gonna remove your handcuffs, so don't attack me, okay? Stop looking so angry...
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THIS ISSUE'S TOP STORY - FRANCHISES
Franchises. What is there more to say about them but you love and hate them at the same time? One, they're cool because you get to see a lot of movies around the same guy or people related to him but with the same background. You don't have to say good-bye to a beloved character just after one 2-hour movie, you get to see him in more movies, awesome. But of course with every movie you get more, you also normally loose some of your affection for the hero or bad guy because after for example half a dozen movies, he mostly feels overused and not the same as you encountered him as in the first place. Franchises often play a very dangerous game and as often as that, they tend to lose it, sadly. To stay topical, just think about the "Die Hard"-franchise with its fifth movie coming up this year. While I think most of you will agree with me that the first and original Die Hard movie is the perfect Christmas movie but even more a very excellent action blockbuster, not all of you, including me, can say the same about numbers two to four. I mean, they're all great and all are highly enjoyable movies but they just don't feel as good as the original one. Especially three and four because they are not following the original premise about McLane fighting against terrorists alone and using a lot of ammo. The newest released ones are good as well, yes, but they were turned into separate films if you ask me, they've been made to work standing on their own feet which is good but it doesn't feel true to the character even so I still enjoyed them very very much. While the "Die Hard"-franchise stays thrilling and cool, I cannot say the same for other franchises who face the same problem, staying true to the character. Take the Bourne movies for example. The first one is brilliant and the following are all good and entertaining to say the least but they're just not the same as the original one. There! Have you noticed it? "Not the same". How can they be? And that, my dear readers, is the main problem about franchises.
They need to give the audience what they want: exactly that what they have already seen in the first movie. So they have to make changes to shoot another movie that is not a complete copy of the first but sell it as one, just more exciting. This is the main reason so many franchises tend to decline with the more movies they make, at some point they must lose their vision on the characters to make another film and that is the breaking point when a franchise turns dead. For many, this has happened with the fourth Bourne movie. The story seemed to have felt like a copy of the original Bourne movies and they replaced Matt Damon with Jeremy Renner. But they carried on with the name "Bourne" in the title to sell more copies and tickets. This is elementary, my dear Watson, because when such a big move takes place and it is not met with applause, a franchise is doomed to go down. I, personally, enjoyed Bourne 4 because I'm a big fan of Renner (along with Damon, it seems) who seems poised for action hero roles on the big screen (Marvel's The Avengers, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol). And I don't and therefore also do get why so many disliked the continuation of the Bourne story without, well, Jason Bourne. This is franchise politics at its best visible: continuing a series of successful movies until you can't get any more money out of them. But, to the studio's defense: isn't this exactly what everyone wanted? A continuation of the Bourne story? A lot of people out there have asked for one so the studio decided to give it another go. That the story is nothing entirely new is not their fault or else it would not be part of the Bourne universe and that it is something else is the change I talked about earlier, the one they have to do to justify another movie. So, do not blame everyone involved to destroy a franchise, a franchise cannot live forever, sad as it is. I mean, look at Harry Potter to give you a third example. HP counts seven books and eight movies made out of those seven. Many fans were sad to see HP go after the final book with only one final movie to be made. So, Warner Bros. came around and they did two. What's wrong with that? Fans demanded so much more of HP and this is probably the best they could have gotten. Of course, I don't ignore the fact that it also did WB some real good to have two movies to promote and collect money from but it's a franchise, alright and what do studios want from these series? Yes: money.
You see, staying true to the characters and not exploiting them for the sake of money alone while delivering a new but also old story is a really hard job and I have the utmost respect for those who are up to this challenge. It is not as easy as it is often portrayed out there and afterwards, it's always a lot easier to say "if they just hadn't made that one". After all, it is your decision to watch it or not. ;)
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STORY #2 - Why the UK beats the US to the bone with TV shows or don't they actually?
Many of you might have heard many people raving about UK shows that there are some out there that finally show you what TV really is all about, something US shows can't always deliver. I agree but only as far as you talk about smart TV. There the US has so little shows out there (Awake, NBC), it is pretty easy for the UK to beat it every way 'til Sunday. And they do it by excellence. Just watch shows like "Spooks", "Hustle" and "Life on Mars", these are shows that deliver suspense, tremendous acting and thought-through story plots. Of course, not the entire time, most of these shows loose their grip after a couple of seasons when they try to appeal to more viewers but they do it for some seasons. Compare, just for the sake of it, UK's original "Life on Mars" with the US remake of "Life on Mars", apart from the same name and the same story, they are completely different. I'm not talking about the actors or the setting, what bothers me is what ABC did with the show. It's a complete rip-off and a bad one at that, the slick intelligent way the BBC presented us with, is completely missing here and you just know they had to do that because they wanted to appeal to a broader amount of people. Quality vs. Quantity. UK vs. US. Or is it?
It isn't, to be fair. While the British shows are slick intelligent TV as mentioned, the US shows deliver something else, they deliver long-living shows with often more action and a way bigger budget. The problem with UK shows is, if you watch too much at once, you figure out their plot-of-the-episode play at some point and from there on you tend to notice the immensely thin budget. The fun vanishes. There, the US provides you with big-budget TV shows that just know to entertain, it is a different kind of television and you simply cannot compare them. While in the UK, shows have more liberty, it seems, on what they want to do, in the US it is all about appealing to the audience, about ratings, more than anything else. While I enjoy British shows very much, I'm also a big fan of American TV shows because they deliver the looks more than the Brits could ever do. So, for me, there is no real winner in that very comparison here. If you have one, let me know in the comments and also tell me why, thanks.
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THE OTHER STUFF
There's some more? You know it. The Krautics as the whole team again are proud to announce NEW reviews are on the horizon and even so our boat has some kind of hole somewhere, we are doing everything in our power or in MarXus' arm strength to get to the horizon. So, new reviews will be up soon with new shows as well.
On a second note, you can expect some more "Grumpy Monologues" from MarXus who sadly had to be knocked out after the interview, he got a little... tense.
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Until the next episode of AWESOME TALK, may the franchise force of television be ever in your favor. (Hope, you got all these jokes. ;) )
Greets,
EagleLeaf
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