Sunday, August 20, 2017

The Defenders

The Defenders has been anticipated ever since the success of Daredevil that premiered back in 2015. With the continued success of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, it seemed that Iron Fist was going to foreshadow an epic saga. The tale of Danny Rand would turn out to be a stone around the neck of the fearsome foursome as Iron Fist was littered with flaws. Those flaws would carry over to the eight-episode season, but it wouldn’t damage the series too much. The Defenders first season was worthy of the hype, but it could’ve been better than what it was.
The show kicks off some time after the events of all four character seasons and some fans will be surprised by how some of the characters have moved on (spoiler alert). Matt Murdock has moved on without Foggy and has retired from being a vigilante to resume work as an attorney. Jessica Jones is still an angry, drunk private investigator who is trying to move on after killing her mind controlling stalker, Kilgrave. Luke Cage is freed thanks to certain help and finally gets the coffee that he’s been wanting for a while. Danny Rand, however, is continuing his fight against the hand and that’s what’s lead him back to New York.
 Each character has a sub story that would eventually lead them together and force them to work together to bring down The Hand, an organization that’s been a problem from the start. Things don’t go smoothly for several factors both externally and internally with the four heroes thanks to the leader of the Hand, Alexandra Reid (Sigourney Weaver). It’s a roller coaster ride that takes off after the third episode with great choreographed fights and a story that delivers plenty of twists and turns. The few problems that I have are mostly with the characters Matt Murdock and Danny Rand.
As mentioned, Matt Murdock has retired from being a vigilante but there wasn’t any real explanation given for leaving the mask locked up. It takes forever for him to finally put the suit back on and when he does, that’s when things picked up. To be honest, the first three episodes are boring, but that’s mostly because the story is setting up. Danny Rand’s dialogue was repetitive to the point it makes you want to fast forward his parts. Most of the time, he’s reminding everyone who he is, what his mission is and why he must complete his mission.
Most of the series focused on Iron Fist and it might be the last we see of this character in Netflix’s plans for the Marvel characters. The ending of this series closes a lot of doors related to his story the most, so it might be implied that Marvel and Netflix are moving on from this character because of the lousy reviews from fans and critics. Time will tell if Iron Fist survives, but right now Marvel and Netflix will be releasing The Punisher later this year. Fans of the famous anti-hero are chomping at the bits to see Jon Bernthal reprise the role. Jessica Jones will return for her own season, Luke Cage is starting production and Daredevil will begin filming soon.

The Defenders gets a 7.5 out of 10, it was a great show, but it could’ve been better by having more episodes. The fact that it’s only eight episodes and not 10 or 12 is a bummer, but the series is still worth watching; even if it starts off slow. The chemistry is spot on with the main characters, Sigourney Weaver plays a great antagonist, and the series brings closure to everyone. This will allow for a fresh start to everyone’s solo season and it’ll be interesting to see what happens with Daredevil in particular after the end of this series. If you want to know what I’m talking about, then start binge watching. 

Monday, August 14, 2017

Excerpt from New Age Rebels

The future is chaos; America is divided by a corporate president, the government is broken by corrupt politicians, and a new rebellion is born. Corporations rule the country and a fragile peace is close to breaking down. Here's an excerpt from New Age Rebels, available on Amazon in the first link. If you like the novel, then please follow the link and like on Facebook. Thank you and until the next is written. 
https://www.amazon.com/New-Age-Rebels-Anthony-Labson/dp/151535993X
https://www.facebook.com/NewAgeRebels2016/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

The Only Friend I Trust
At Thomas Air Force Base located outside of San Antonito is Senior Airman Zachery Irons in a hanger. Checking the oil pressure of the left engine of his plane and listening to the radio. He’s a young man in his late twenties and joined the air force because of his passion for flying. He’s not as passionate about the military as his older brother, and that’s why he never took a higher rank. Zack was always more passive and a playboy. If anything, he thinks all this drama between the Union and the Restricted Zones is irrelevant.
Zack always believed that dividing the United States was no different than starting a civil war, the only difference it’s more of a cold civil war which is slightly better because Zack values the lives of all Americans.
He looks over to the hanger door and sees other pilots walking out after checking their planes, expecting to go out after a night of flying around Texas. Zack was always the last one to leave because workman’s tools such as hammers, screwdrivers and such are hard to come by since the United States was divided, and tools aren’t considered a necessity in the treaty.
Zack keeps his tools under lock and key because they’ve been taken more than once by other pilots. Every night he takes his tools and locks them in a toolbox and places them in his locker. While he picks up his oiled covered towel off the floor next to the front wheels of his plane and places it over his shirt, a voice comes over the speakers, “Zack Irons! You have a call waiting in the office.”
Zack quickly heads over to the office; he’s been waiting for this phone call all day because he knows who it is and why he’s calling. Zack has been anticipating this since he sent him to investigate who's been attacking the convoys. He goes to the manager’s office where the manager, Beth Thompson is waiting and hands him the phone.
Zack takes it and says, “Hey Tony, what’s the word?”
Tony says, “How many times do I have to tell you? My name is Wacko now.”
Zack says, “Well that’s an improvement from your last name but what’s with all the nicknames?”
Wacko says, “Code names bro, we don’t know who else could be listening. If I worked for the Union, then I have people listening in on everything that came out of the Restricted Zones. Call me Wacko, it’s not my fault I’m the only one who is cares about who might be listening.”
Zack laughs, looks at Beth and says, “Well someone is listening in on this and trust me she doesn’t give a shit who you are or why you’re calling me.”
Wacko says, “Oh you mean the cougar Beth? Yeah, I’m not a fan of red heads, but I do her if she offered.”
Zack says, “You do a wild animal if someone would hold it down. Now, what did you find out?”
Wacko says, “I ran into a group of wannabe thugs that were trying to raid a convoy. A pack of drifters but the problem is I took fingerprints from one of the guys I killed and he’s not registered.”
Zack looks at Beth and walks to the corner of the room. Hearing that last sentence sent a chill up his spine, and his mind became troubled by the likely possibility that someone is purposely trying to start the war. Zack says, “Wacko, are you entirely sure that the prints didn’t come up with anyone?”
Wacko says, “Everyone gets registered no mattered what side they go to and they’re identities are nowhere to be found. So some people crossed over undetected, or someone on our side fucked up. Considering that they’ve been having the same problems in other states, I’m willing to bet on the first scenario. I also took the weapons and some of them are good, too good to be available in the Restricted Zones.”
Zack wipes his face and puts the phone down for a minute; he rests his head on the wall while thoughts of bombs falling and gunshots in the air spark his fear.
Zack picks the phone up and says, “Alright. I’ll call David and let him know what you find out. How soon can you be back in San Antonio?”
 Wacko says, “I can be there in a few hours but I’m still cleaning up some loose ends over here, and I’m finishing the report right now, so the other states know what’s been going on down here. I’ll head up when I’m done with my job here.”
Zack says, “Ok, thank you for everything Wacko. I knew if anyone could catch these guys it be you, but now we have a bigger picture to figure out. See you in a few hours.” Zack hangs up the phone and turns to see Beth curling her long red hair; she looks at him with her beautiful green eyes.
She says, “You know that guy freaks everyone here out. You’re the only one that gives him the time of day, and everyone either thinks you’re a saint or crazy. Why are you around him?”
Zack walks over and hands her the phone while saying, “He’s the only friend I trust. Both to talk to and to get the job done, no matter how crazy or suicidal a job may be. That’s why we call him Wacko, it’s his code name. Besides, it’s the crazy ones who hide it that are dangerous.”
Beth stands next to Zack and says, “And what about me Zack? Am I dangerous? What would your code name for me be?”
Zack thinks about it for a minute and says, “Puma.” He walks out the office leaving Beth with a smile on her face. The smile goes away after she realizes she has no idea why her code name would be Puma.

America is divided by a corporate president, the government is broken by corrupt politicians, and a new rebellion is born. Corporations rule the country and a fragile peace is close to breaking down. Here's an excerpt from New Age Rebels, available on Amazon and if you like, please follow the link. Thank you and until the next is written. 

https://www.facebook.com/NewAgeRebels2016/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Sunday, August 6, 2017

The Tower Falls

Stephen King will go down as arguably one of the greatest writers of our time because of his novels and the films adapted from them. Unfortunately, even the greatest of writers won’t have a decent adaption and that’s the case for The Dark Tower. This film had a lot of promise, but couldn’t deliver in the end, even with the star power of Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. The Dark Tower came off looking like it was going to be an action-packed kickoff to the film adaption of the series. If you’re a fan of the novels then I urge you to avoid this movie if you expect to see a fair adaption.

The Dark Tower is an eight-novel series about a lone warrior known as a gunslinger by the name of Roland Deschain. The gunslingers were an order sworn to protect the tower that has significant meaning. The tower is a structure that stands in the center of everything; it protects all the worlds from the darkness that can’t take over as long as the tower stands. This film is based off the first book, The Gunslinger. Now film adaption of novels are mostly never to the letter, but if almost feels like the director didn’t even try in the film.

The story telling is simplistic with very little backstory and it turns out to be mostly dialogue; there’s only about 20 minutes of action. There were some cool movements during the fire fights, but it was over before you could enjoy it. Matthew McConaughey did a good job portraying the man in black, but the vision the director may have had for the film may not go well with people who had their own opinions. The way the man in black uses his magic will most likely make the audience laugh than amaze them. Everything about this film was quick and for fans who read the novels, this will be the biggest complaint.

From the get go, it starts with here’s the tower and this is how it can come down, but we don’t have the right child which we find out later is Jake. Jake, played by Tom Taylor, was ok but he did have good chemistry with Idris Elba. Idris has yet to disappoint me with any role but he has had a bad habit doing some films that don’t bring in the money. This film will definitely be one of those films that will have a good first week, but that’ll be it. I be shocked if there is enough money made for a sequel.

The Dark Tower is a fast food adaption from the novels and was a huge let down for the fans. Straight to the point with no explanation of why things were the way they were and no back story describing who people are. If you’re in the mood to just watch something to pass the time, then this movie may be pleasing to you. If you’re familiar with the novel and looking for a decent adaption, then don’t even bother to wait for this to come out on Netflix. This film gets a five out of ten, because you might enjoy this if you don’t know anything about the series.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Response to a Friend's Blog

"A rose is supposed to be the representation of love. If that's true then why does a rose have thorns that cut you and why does it have to die." Amber, a friend of mine once asked me that a long time ago and it took me a long time to finally answer this question. It takes a long time because love is a very powerful marvel. I believe a simply "I love you" answers a lot of complicated questions. When there is a great truth to be discovered, then you must first experience this before you can see the truth. Here is why a rose represents love, but also has thorns and must die.
A rose represents love, but has thorns because like being in love, it must be handled carefully. You need to treat it with respect and be careful not to mishandle it. You can't be careless handling the one you hold just because there may be roses with less thorns. If you do then eventually, you will be cut and when that happens, you’re scarred for life. You will have a scar that will take a lifetime to heal and never go away, that cut will always remind you of your loss. That is why the rose has its thorns.
Now why does a rose die? That's the hardest part of the question, but I remembered everyone I ever loved and it came to me. A rose must die because love must be cherished. If love was eternal and always around then the inevitable outcome is that it would be taken for granted. Love should never be taken for granted. Like with people, roses must be loved while we have them because everything that is born must die, so we must appreciate the time we have with them. A rose is the perfect representation of love and these are my reasons why I believe so.