The Trikucian Show

Slightly Overdue Movie Reviews: This is the End

2013-07-17T02:09:00.001-07:00

6.0/10

I'm going to start this off by saying I laughed a lot, but I didn't really take a lot away from this movie. As you probably already know, everyone is playing themselves as they experience the Apocalypse together, in James Franco's mansion. The plot is pretty simple: Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogan go to a party at James Franco's mansion, and the apocalypse hits, and then people start dying. A lot. This is the best part of the movie because it shows a lot of hilarious deaths. I don't want to spoil everything that happens, because in a comedy the gags you don't expect tend to be the funniest.

Anyways.

This movie is really gross. I don't get why modern R rated comedies have to be so gross. Granted this one only talks about the gross stuff, for the most part, but at other times it was unwatchable. Though, even in the middle of these disgusting tirades the characters would go on, there were still funny bits. What I really enjoyed were the unexpected, oddly clean gags for the film. Like when they were on ecstasy, or when the Backstreet Boys performed (yes, this happened, and I was super excited when they appeared on screen).

Because the plot was about the Rapture happening to (supposedly) real people, we saw a lot of reference and cameo humor. There were references to Superbad, Freaks & Geeks, and even an entire sequence dedicated to Pineapple Express. I was actually disappointed that by the end Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki hadn't showed up to exclaim that demons were really real.

The demons in this movie were pretty cool to be honest, and for someone like me who doesn't like gross-out humor, they were the saving grace. They looked like they were made out of molten lava, with their insides glowing like magma, and their skin hard and cracked like rocks that sit on top of a lava flow. I honestly appreciated that they gave the demons giant penises, because that's how they're portrayed in historical literature. It's funny though how they get the demons so right and make them so cool, and then goof up what an angel is later on.

So, my final verdict is that while this movie relies too much on gross dialogue that only some of the audience will find funny, the plot is so different that it can make anyone interested in what's going on. You'll both know what to expect by the end, and yet have no idea what's coming next. This is a fun comedy and I'm curious to see what else Seth Rogan will do behind the camera in the future. Also, you can't go wrong with a Backstreet Boys song and dance number to close out your movie.

Video Game Review: The Last of Us

2013-07-14T20:18:00.000-07:00

9.5/10

I'm going to start this off by saying I have a love/hate relationship with this game. And it has nothing to do with the game, it's my own personal ticks that get in the way of my being completely in love with it. I own Jak & Daxter 1 through 3, and Uncharted 1 through 3, so I'm pretty familiar with the Naughty Dog style, and how it's evolved. Hell, Uncharted 2 even has a permanent place in my top 10 favorite video games list, and I own the $50 art book from that game. It's safe to say I love the detail that Naughty Dog has put in the games they've released on the PS3, and The Last of Us is no different. So, with that said, here's what I thought about the game itself.

As you can tell from the rating system I adopted from IGN, I've given this game a 9.5/10. The Last of Us is both amazingly depressing and terribly uplifting. It shows us that while there is a lot of evil and rationalizing evil acts in the world, made extreme by the circumstances of the game's narrative, people can still commit good deeds. This game tells us that not everyone is evil, neither are they good, but people are defined, and can be redeemed, by their actions.

The game play is very subtle and interactive. I personally, all the way to the end, had problems remembering which button did what, but that's because the last games I played before this were Mass Effect 2 and 3, another game series where people question the ending and how it makes them feel about the rest of the game. For the record, I actually like the end to ME3, but it still hit me hard at the time. The Last of Us is pretty similar to that. Anyways, one thing I loved about the game play was that, in a lot of cases, you really needed to use the stealth maneuvers because you just couldn't go in, guns blazing. Uncharted is like that, but in that game you didn't have mushroom zombies that could instantly kill you. The best part about the stealth game play is the listen function. I love this, and I really hope to see something similar in other games. Using this listen function, you can tell where enemies and friendlies are, but only if they make sound, like talking. The other bit of game play that is new since the Uncharted series is the crafting option. Using materials found in the world you can create bombs, shivs, and medical supplies. Compared to other games this is very simple, but it works because it's pretty clear that The Last of Us is intended to be a very cinematic experience.

The graphics are absolutely beautiful. Naughty Dog has proven again and again that they are one of the best, if not best, studios in terms of animation, character design, and environmental design. But what makes The Last of Us so much more engaging than Uncharted 3 in terms of design is its realism. Because you go to Boston, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake city, and several places in between, you get a sense of how this is the real world, and you care about what has happened there. Each city and town has its own personality that comes out in the design of the buildings, cars, and even trash sitting on the streets. However, because these places feel so real, a sense of wonder is lost. There is still wonder at how all these places can be abandoned, like when we first say London in 28 Days Later, but after a while we as an audience can get overwhelmed by the destruction. But, from how I see it, that's the point. The whole world is gone, replaced with a wild, almost alien landscape to what we're used to. In Uncharted we saw ancient temples that were pure fiction, in The Last of Us we see the real world, after people have abandoned it. If you like the look I would recommend checking out History's Life After People series, which explores just that.

After this point the only way I can talk about this game is by giving away minor spoilers, but I'll do my best not to spoil too much.

Honestly, I've given this game a 9.5/10, but, there are some minor things that bug me. I understand what the literary reasons are for the decisions the lead character, Joel, makes in the game, but I don't have to agree with them. But because this is a game, not a film, it makes it harder for us as the audience to accept everything Joel does , and I've realized that's the point. The Last of Us is beautiful and amazingly artistic, but the point of the game is to make us take a harder look at ourselves and our society by fictionalizing the most extreme of circumstances. I disagree with the ending, and because of that disagreement I feel different about the whole experience. I'm glad that Joel loved Ellie enough to save her, but the decision he made was quite suspect. But, that's what makes him human, isn't it? And, in a way, the game is showing that Joel, despite all the bad he's done, he's not only done it for survival, but also for love. There are several points in the game where Joel makes a decision based on his love of the individual involved, even though he wouldn't have done so in the first place. He takes Ellie as a final request to his partner (and likely lover) Tess, he continues to travel with Ellie when he could have given her to his brother, and saves Ellie in the end of the game. There are other examples too, but I'd really recommend playing the game if you want to know more. The point is not that Joel is right, but that he believes he's doing the right thing, and that all of his efforts are to keep Ellie alive and safe. He doesn't start off loving her, but after a year of travel, both Joel and Ellie come to realize they need each other, for reasons more than survival. It's an extremely strong narrative of a love between a parent and child, even though that's not how these two start.

Okay, this is the biggest spoiler of the end game. You are warned.

The only problem I have with the narrative is Joel's choice at the end, to save Ellie. He learns that to make the antidote, the doctors must reverse engineer it from Ellie's brain, basically killing her to save humanity. To save her, he has to fight his way through the hospital, killing several soldiers, and one surgeon, to save her. I can see, from a literary standpoint, why they chose this ending. Throughout the game's narrative it's been shown that in this world government organizations cannot be trusted. Actually, the only groupings of people the game shows can be trusted are Tommy's people at the power plant, and even they have to fight off bandits. Speaking of which, Tommy makes a point that it's just part of life to deal with the infected now. I like this, because the game is telling us that there is no point to treat people inhumanely. Everyone has to survive, to live, and the only way we can do that is if we trust each other and work together. Joel doesn't choose to save Ellie because he distrusts the Fireflies, he does it because he loves her. Granted, if this group did invent an antidote, they would become the new world power, and all kinds of new problems could arise, but that's all moot because they, in fact, did not create an antidote.

In the end, I would have liked to see more background story from each character, but even so, the story is still amazingly well written and presented. Like the Uncharted series, The Last of Us is a must-play for anyone who is a video game fan. And for those of you who don't like games, you can watch the majority of the game's cinematics and talking scenes and get a lot of the same experience. Honestly, that's the only downfall of Naughty Dog's PS3 titles, is there almost isn't enough gaming to these games. They are an interactive experience, meant to tell a story and engage the audience, and that's the strength of video games as a genre, over films or television. You may not play The Last of Us for days on end like other games, but it will definitely stick with you for a long time to come.

Abbotsford Berry Festival

2013-07-07T19:31:00.001-07:00

I spent this last weekend at the Abbotsford Berry Festival and had a great time. The first day was very long, and it was so windy that my clothing rack was blown over, twice! The second day I tied my clothing rack to the tent, and changed up my configuration. I had tie dye t-shirts, graphic ties, and bags on sale, all made by myself.

Also, I'm working on getting my Etsy gallery live this week, and after that onto making a proper gallery on this site. Keep checking back for updates.

External URLs

2013-07-01T23:43:00.004-07:00

Hey! I haven't been posting to this site all that regularly, but if you want to see some of my costume work please see either trikucian.tumblr.com or trikucian.deviantart.com.

If you'd like to see my web design work, check out noeljeffery.ca.

2013-06-22T16:46:00.001-07:00

In this video I show you how to do a simple cable. Cabling can be a lot more complicated, but this is a good place to start.

2013-03-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

All I could think of when I was watching this was “Holy shit that music is from Tron Legacy?” Awesome! It’s weird how well it fits considering the two subject matters are so different. Also, I am sooooooo stoked for season 3!!!

Jack the Giant Slayer Vlog Review

2013-03-19T11:58:00.002-07:00

The costumes make my eyes hurt. It would be better if all the actors were just wearing street clothes. Or nothing at all ;)

Some fun stuff from my graphic design class.

2013-03-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

First off is my favorite of the bunch, a graphical poster of Liam McIntyre as Spartacus. What I love about this is how the main content, the word, is solid and geometric and only the red background, but the inside of the words is of course Spartacus's face, and that adds a ton of texture to the image. I'd actually like to print this out.

I mad a dragon out of a quote. 'Nuff said.

And Connor looking epic with a quote.

Emerald City Comicon Pics!

2013-03-05T12:15:00.000-08:00

So I met a bunch of awesome cosplayers at Emerald City Comicon this saturday, so I decided to take pictures! These are the ones that turned out the best from my not so awesome iPod touch camera.

First off, my favorite pic of the day, a big old group shot of people cosplaying my favorite comic, X-Men!

Bender from Futurama! This dude did an amazing job making a mascot style costume.

I'm not a huge fan of Superman in the comics, but I do love the old movies from the 70s. I'm also looking forward to Man of Steel because so many of my favorite actors in it, namely Henry Cavill as Superman/ Clark Kent and Kevin Costner as his earth dad. First guy is Man of Steel Superman, and second guy is Classic Superman. His girlfriend was Wonderwoman ;).

Looks like I'm not the only one who loves current TV! Rick from Walking Dead, and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones. Dany is particularly cute with her dragon stuffy.

2012 was the year of the comic book movies, and here are some more awesome cosplays to celebrate that! Hawkeye and Black Widdow (squee!) from The Avengers, and Judge Dredd from, well, Dredd.

Khajit from Skyrim, and dude (I have no idea what he is) from World of Warcraft. I honestly thought the dude from Skyrim was from Thundercats, despite never having seen Thundercats and being a fan of Skyrim (let's call that a blonde moment). I took the pic of the dude from WoW because it's an awesome cosplay.

And finally, my sister and her friend as Sherlock and Moriarty from BBC's Sherlock, pretending to be dead while waiting for pictures to be developed.

Check back in a couple days and I will have video from the con as well!

Regarding Recent Conventions

2013-03-03T20:47:00.001-08:00

This message is for any and everyone I met at any recent conventions, most particularly Emerald City Comicon in Seattle and Tsukinocon in Victoria. Because my workload for school is very heavy, I will be posting pictures I've taken during those conventions in the next couple days. As for videos, I'm not going to beat around the bush, it could take me weeks, perhaps even a month or two, to get them out. But when they are, check back, either here or my youtube (and probably blip too). Until then, thanks for all the great pics and I can't wait to see you again at more cons!

Shenron Gif

2013-02-21T11:21:00.000-08:00

All will behold the mighty Eternal Dragon Shenron! Done in Flash, exported in the highest quality .gif I could get to work.

Liam McIntyre of Spartacus Interview

2013-01-29T14:01:00.002-08:00

OH MY GOD! LIAM MCINTYRE IS TOO CUTE! This is an interview Liam McIntyre, who plays Spartacus in, well, Spartacus, did for TVWeb that I had to share. Can you believe that two years ago this guy was a skinny, 150 lb, D&D nerd? Well, he's still a nerd. Now that would be the most epic LARP ever, to have this guy on your team; he'd totally do it too.

Originally sourced from TVWeb.

White Collar S04 E11 VLog

2013-01-28T11:32:00.005-08:00

After a couple months of hiatus White Collar is finally back! So, what happens after the big reveal and cliffhanger we saw at the end of the last episode?

Elementary S01E12 Review

2013-01-23T15:43:00.000-08:00

I talk about the OTHER Sherlock Holmes TV show. It's actually quite good.

Oscar Nominees!

2013-01-23T15:41:00.001-08:00

With the Golden Globes behind us and the Oscars right around the corner I decide to check out (most of) the Best Picture nominees. The movies I talk about are Argo, Silver Lining's Playbook, Les Miserables, Zero Dark Thirty, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (even though that one isn't nominated for an Oscar).

Vampire Diaries S04 E10 Review

2013-01-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

The CW's Vampire Diaries also returns this week and I take a look at what has to be one of my weirder choices of fandoms. I can't quite put my thumb on why I like it, but I bet it has something to do with Ian Somerhalder. Also, for some reason, I bring up Legend of Korra.

Supernatural S08E10 VLog

2013-01-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Finally Supernatural is back! So is Castiel! Let's talk about the return of Vancouver's favorite show.

Kevin Costner :)

2013-01-14T00:57:00.002-08:00

I know a lot of people are crushed that Benedict Cumberbatch didn't win for Sherlock in this year's Golden Globes, but, I will be honest, I'm really happy for Kevin Costner's win. No, seriously, I am. I've been a fan of Costner since I was a little kid and saw Robin Hood for the first time. He had some flops in the late 90s with Waterworld and The Postman, but even those were imaginative. The guy has a penchant for telling great stories, especially of the folk variety. I'm really looking forward to Man of Steel, where he plays Clark Kent's adoptive father (not Kalel, he's played by Russell Crowe, who I also love). He's not popular, that's true, but he's definitely a good actor. Different, but good. Anyways, Cumberbatch has a lot of acting years ahead of him. He'll have tons of opportunities to show his mettle. I'm also a fan of Christian Bale, and that dude wasn't nominated for a major award until The Fighter, and had tons of huge roles before that.

My Reactions to the Oscar Nominations

2013-01-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

I will say this. I do not really care all that much about the Oscars. This is because I think the academy is full of old, overpaid snobs. And I firmly believe that they are paid off sometimes. I still find myself watching them every year, and, honestly, it was so worth it for the 2010 show because I got to see Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore sign my favorite song from Tangled. So, without further ado, these are my thoughts on the 2013 Oscar Nominations.

BEST PICTURE

"Zero Dark Thirty": Oh yay, another war movie. And it's by that chick that won an Oscar for a different war movie, set in virtually the same time and place. Honestly, I haven't seen this movie, and The Hurt Locker was fantastic, but mostly for the acting and cinematography. Movies like this feel like they get nominated because of a political agenda.
"Silver Linings Playbook": This one I'm pretty happy to see on the list as I love movies that take a different approach to talking about mental illness.
"Lincoln": I love history, Assassin's Creed is my favorite game franchise, but this movie felt like Oscar bait from the get go.
"Les Miserables": Holy crap this movie made me cry. I loved how it merged film and theatre almost seamlessly. I really hope this one wins.
"Life of Pi": I didn't see this one. I kind of want to, because of its unconventional plot, but I can't stand the director.
"Amour": I hadn't even heard of this movie before the Oscar nominations. Interesting plot, with the aging couple.
"Django Unchained": This movie was awesome! I don't know if it's worth Best Picture though, it feels very episodic.
"Argo": Great movie, but I didn't like how the role of the Canadians was diminished in the film.
"Beasts of the Southern Wild": I have no idea what this movie is, and, let's be honest, most of you don't either.

BEST ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty": I loved her in Lawless, so she's probably even better in this.
Naomi Watts for "The Impossible": Haven't seen this movie, but she has some good performances.
Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook": Yes! She needs an Oscar! She's so awesome!
Quvenzhane Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild": Again, drawing a blank here.
Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour": If she won it would be sweet, mostly because of her age and the subject matter of the movie.

BEST ACTOR

Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln": Please, no, he does not need another Oscar. Especially not for an Oscar bait movie.
Denzel Washington for "Flight": He's already won an Oscar, let someone else win.
Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master": It's nice to see him still get work after that stunt he pulled last year.
Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables": This is my favorite choice. Hugh Jackman was insanely good in this movie, playing the different ages and the progression of the character. And, of course, the whole acting while singing, my God, he was amazing. If he doesn't win, well, I'm going to make a very unhappy post about it.
Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook": This one surprises me because I never thought of Cooper as a serious actor. But, he was great in this, and he would more than deserve the Oscar for this role.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables": She should win. All the times I cried were because of her. She was amazing. I didn't even know she could sing!
Sally Field for "Lincoln": I've always loved this actress, and it would be great to see her win for a role she put so much effort into.
Jacki Weaver in "Silver Linings Playbook": This movie is getting a lot of nominations ...
Helen Hunt for "The Sessions": I didn't know she was still acting.
Amy Adams for "The Master": I didn't see this movie, it had a really limited release. I like Adams though.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln": I would love it if he won.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master": I like him, but he's won an Oscar already, so meh.
Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained": I love Waltz, but he shouldn't be the one nominated for this movie. It should be DiCaprio. Dude was freaking awesome in this movie! Waltz was good too, but DiCaprio was better.
Alan Arkin for "Argo": Don't really care.
Robert De Niro for "Silver Linings Playbook": It's good to see he got his head back on after all those terrible comedies.

BEST DIRECTOR

Ang Lee for "Life of Pi": I can't stand this guy, please don't let him win.
Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln": Look, we all know this dude is an amazing director. Except Indiana Jones 4. But he's not changing his stuff up enough, which, to be honest, you're not gonna get from a guy his age.
David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook": Again, great director, but still not sold for this movie.
Michael Haneke for "Amour": I see this one being a mercy nomination, but I really think it could be a contender.
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild": Again, haven't heard of this movie, and I don't really care.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

"Lincoln": Woot another historical movie.
"Silver Linings Playbook": Apparently a book I should read.
"Argo": Another book.
"Life of Pi": Again, a book.
"Beasts of the Southern Wild": Oh, gasp, another book.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

"Zero Dark Thirty": This happened last year! Geez Americans are obsessed with finding Osama. This would be more appropriate for a movie in ten years. Too soon.
"Django Unchained": I love this movie. Totally throws you off, you never know what's going to happen next. I think this is deserving of a win.
"Moonrise Kingdom": Whimsical and weird. And the reason Norton wasn't the Hulk. Meh.
"Amour": I like that this is an original screenplay. You don't see enough of those.
"Flight": I wasn't aware this was original, it felt like a book.

BEST ANIMATED FILM

"Frankenweenie": No.
"The Pirates! Band of Misfits": This movie was terrible, should not be on this list.
"Wreck-It Ralph": First half was good, second half annoying.
"Paranorman": This was the only decent movie in this list, and it really should win.
"Brave": I thought this movie was sort of boring. I wanted it to become a fantasy epic, and it just fizzled into a family drama.

BEST FOREIGN FEATURE

"Amour": This really shouldn't be in this category if it's in best picture.
"A Royal Affair": Never heard of it.
"Kon-Tiki": Never heard of it either.
"No": Yes?
"War Witch": This one is apparently Canadian. Okay. These movies should be easier to find to watch.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

"Life of Pi": Meh.
"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey": Again, meh, a lot of the design came from Lord of the Rings.
"The Avengers": This is the only Oscar this movie was nominated for. I don't really care if it wins though. We will love it either way.
"Prometheus": Really cool effects in this one, they really held the movie up.
"Snow White and the Huntsman": Again, one of the only reasons to watch this movie is for the visuals. Story really fell apart at the end.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

"Skyfall": I agree, only part of the movie I liked really (I'm not a fan of James Bond).
"Anna Karenina": Haven't had the chance to see this.
"Django Unchained": I really and truly believe this movie had fantastic cinematography.
"Life of Pi": Okay.
"Lincoln": Historial Epic! Yeah, we've seen this, not terribly original, but pretty.

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

"Anna Karenina": Historical costumes always get nominated, but they're pretty easy, all you do is copy paintings.
"Les Miserables": Again, all they had to do was copy paintings. I hate that.
"Lincoln": Oh look, another historical costume nomination. Yawn.
"Mirror Mirror": I loved the costumes in this. They were so whimsical and poofy and creative. It won't win though, the academy has a hard on for historical accuracy.
"Snow White and the Huntsman": I loved the costumes in this. Especially Charlize Theron. So creative, and they really brought together the whole dark ages feel.

BEST DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE): I'm just going to say I haven't heard of any of these and can't find anywhere to see them. I will proceed to make fun of the names.

"Searching for Sugar Man": A film about actively looking for drugs?
"How to Survive a Plague": Zombieland taught us you do this by hiding in your room and play WOW.
"The Gatekeepers": ZOOL.
"5 Broken Cameras": Then how did they film it?
"The Invisible War": Then how do they know there was even a war at all?

BEST DOCUMENTARY (SHORT): Again, haven't heard of them, can't find somewhere to see them.

"Open Heart": Romance about surgeons.
"Inocente": Can't tell if 'innocent' or 'incontinent'.
"Redemption": Boring old name, nothing to make fun of.
"Kings Point": AKA a sword.
"Mondays at Racine": Are really boring.

BEST FILM EDITING: Yeah, I never know what to say about this category. I don't get it.

"Lincoln":
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Life of Pi"
"Argo"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST MAKEUP: Why is this the only category with 3 nominations? There should be 5 like the rest. Not fair.

"The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey": This one should win, hands down, but only because of the dwarves. Everything else was copied from LOTR.
"Les Miserables": The aging on Hugh Jackman was superb.
"Hitchcock": Haven't seen this movie to be honest.

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

Mychael Danna for "Life of Pi": It's alright.
Alexandre Desplat for "Argo": Yes.
Dario Marianelli for "Anna Karenina": Granted, boring movie, great score.
John Williams for "Lincoln": I love John Williams, he always brings a movie together.
Thomas Newman for "Skyfall": I honestly don't remember the music in this movie.

BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

"Before My Time" from "Chasing Ice" (Music and Lyric by J. Ralph): Never heard of it.
"Everybody Needs A Best Friend" from "Ted" (Music by Walter Murphy; Lyric by Seth MacFarlane): Someone wrote a song for this movie?
"Pi's Lullaby" from "Life of Pi" (Music by Mychael Danna; Lyric by Bombay Jayashri): Ya, since I haven't seen this movie I don't know this song.
"Suddenly" from "Les Misérables" (Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyric by Herbert Kretzmer and Alain Boublil): I still can't remember which song this was.
"Skyfall" from "Skyfall" (Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth): I actually liked this one, but I was one of the few that liked the Chris Cornell song for Casino Royale.

BEST SOUND EDITING: I don't get this award.

"Argo"
"Django Unchained"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Zero Dark Thirty"

BEST SOUND MIXING: I don't get this award either.

"Argo"
"Les Miserables"
"Life of Pi"
"Skyfall"
"Lincoln"

BEST SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION): And another set of films I haven't seen and can't find.

"Curfew": 9 pm.
"Death of a Shadow": Peter Pan?
"Henry": the 8th.
"Buzkashi Boys": Japanese I'm assuming.
"Asad": short, little movie.

BEST SHORT FILM (ANIMATED): Can't find these ones to watch.

"Head Over Heels": Ow.
"Fresh Guacamole": yummy.
"Paperman": I'VE SEEN THIS ONE! IT WAS SO AWESOME! IT NEEDS TO WIN!
"Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare": This one would also be a good win just because it's the Simpsons. That would be a great Swan Song for them.
"Adam and Dog": Weird title, not Adam and his dog, must have named his dog Dog.

And there you go. I've never been right when it comes to predictions, but I think Lincoln and Django are going to clean up. Also, why the hell isn't there a Best Art Direction or Best Production Design award?

Copyright and Modern Internet Culture

2012-12-28T15:23:00.000-08:00

As you may have guessed from the post title, this is indeed a paper that I wrote for school. However, I put a lot of time and effort into this paper and I feel it turned out well. It was in APA style originally, and this is how it transfers to an internet page. Take a look if you're interested, it's pretty heavy stuff, but it's also a very important topic for us creative types on the internet. Here's the link to the pdf of the paper: Copyright and Modern Internet Culture.

Copyright and Modern Internet Culture:

A Study in the Implications of Revisions to Copyright Law

Jessica N. Jeffery

December 5, 2012

Prof: David Rankin

Capilano University

Abstract

Copyright and the laws associated with it is a highly contentious issue in today’s Internet based society. What was initiated as a means to protect creators of original works, whether this protection is for moral or fiscal reasons, has mutated into an unrecognizable juggernaut implemented to protect the endeavors of large companies. That’s where the Internet and its ability to share information on a large scale come into contention. Current copyright laws used by the Canadian and American governments were first implemented in the early 20th Century, and are in need of updating. The problem with the proposed updates are that they are fueled by the interests of big business and don’t actually meet the needs of society’s current form of culture. What has happened, with the advent of the Internet age, is that there is a large generational gap for what is considered acceptable socially in terms of file sharing. While it is illegal to share a copyrighted piece of work, most people in the younger generations partake in this activity frequently. So much so that an entire internet society revolving around fanart: taking popular material and remixing or recreating it, whether in the form of videos, music, or other forms of art, has evolved, and has been in place for so long that it has become its own industry. Currently proposed laws threaten this new social structure that has been created by a free Internet, and a middle ground must be met if an outright schism is to be avoided.

Keywords: copyright, file sharing, fanart

Copyright and Modern Internet Culture:

A Study in the Implications of Revisions to Copyright Law

In this paper I will discuss current and proposed copyright laws in Canada and the United States and how they make certain aspects of creating pieces of art very difficult. First I will discuss what the current copyright laws entail, what the future proposed or recently enacted laws entail, and how people on the internet are either following them or breaking them. I will also talk about how people don't mind that they're breaking the copyright laws because they believe that such laws don't make sense for our current generation in our particular flavor of Internet technology. Finally I want to give suggestions for what good middle ground could be.

Current Copyright Law

The Copyright Act of Canada was first passed in 1921 and came into force in 1924, being reformed to in 1988 and 1997. Based on the United Kingdoms’ Copyright Act of 1911, it complies with the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. This act was designed to protect and distinguish intellectual property and the rights of the creators of that property.

Protection Under the Copyright Act:

A piece of work is protected under the Copyright Act once it has been committed to paper, a webpage, or some other form of recorded evidence. An idea is not copyrighted, only the expressions of that idea, and neither are spontaneous creations like a speech or sports event. So be careful whom you tell your concept of your next novel to, because unless you’ve started writing that novel, you could lose the copyright for that concept. Exceptions to an artist owning sole copyright are in the cases of engravings, photographs, projects, and works created for an employer. Once the idea is in writing, economic writes are exclusive to the copyright holder, but can be extended to others with written permission for any amount of time or purpose, from a specific day all the way to forever.

Moral Rights:

The Canadian Copyright Act also includes moral rights attributed to the author and the integrity of the work. The morality of the work is seen as an extension of the author and can be cause for loss of copyright or severe injunction in terms of reproducing the work. For example, if someone took a play that was intended to be for children and made it graphically violent, that would be cause for loss of copyright to that play and potentially cause for damages. In Canada the copyright holder can waive moral rights if they so desire. Moral rights stay with the artist their entire life, even if they are not the sole holder of the copyright. The reformation in 1997 added legal recognition for record producers, performers, and broadcasters for their recordings and performances.

Lifespan of a Copyright:

In Canada copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 50 years. In the United States copyright owned by an individual lasts for their life plus 70 years. When owned by corporations copyright lasts for 120 years for unpublished material, and for 90 from the date of publication for published material. If a piece of work was created before 1923 then it is part of the public domain. Many other pieces are part of the public domain, but their copyright should be researched extensively to be safe before being used.

Bill C-11

Bill C-11, also known as the Copyright Modernization Act, is a bill recently introduced into Canadian parliament that makes revisions to the current copyright act in terms of digital media. This new act aims to:

“Update the rights and protections of copyright owners to better address the challenges and opportunities of the Internet, so as to be in line with international standards; clarify Internet service providers’ liability and make the enabling of online copyright infringement itself an infringement of copyright; permit businesses, educators and libraries to make greater use of copyright material in digital form; allow educators and students to make greater use of copyright material; permit certain uses of copyright material by consumers; give photographers the same rights as other creators; ensure that [the Copyright Act] remains technologically neutral; and mandate [a] review [of the Copyright Act] by Parliament every five years.”

(H.C., 2012)

Digital Locks:

Where this new bill comes under fire from the general public is in how it has made it illegal to break a digital lock on any form of media for any reason. While it is still legal to create backups and to share files personally, if you were to break a digital lock to do it that would then make it illegal. Concern comes from when the digital lock software is either encumbers disabled users, does not reset itself, or is just plain broken (Raj, 2012). A well-documented case of a broken digital lock system is for the PC version of the video game Assassin’s Creed 2, where Ubisoft, the creator of the game, placed a digital lock on the game. While digital locks are common in gaming, the problem with this lock is that the user had to be connected constantly to the Internet for it to be unlocked, and if the user was disconnected, for any small or large amount of time, the game would stop working and they’d have to reset their password. The other issue was that this game could not be played when the Ubisoft servers were down (Humphries, 2010). It should be made clear that this game has no online function and should not require online accessibility after the user has purchased the game (the average price for a top tier game is $60).

Fair Dealing Exceptions:

This new bill also adds new exceptions for fair dealing, which include education (which is greatly expanded upon), parody, and satire. These three new exceptions are added to the existing exceptions for research, private study, criticism, review, and news reporting. This varies from the American standard for Fair Use, from which satire is exempt.

Fair Dealing

Fair dealing is one of the only ways for someone to legally use copyrighted content without paying the holder of said copyright. Types of work that are allowed to use fair dealing include: criticism, commentaries, parody, news, teaching, scholarship, and research (Wattles, 2012). However, these uses can and will be argued by the copyright holder and can only be determined as fair dealing by the supreme court of whatever country that supposed copyright violation happened in. Essentially, fair dealing protects people who are talking about the work. What is often the case of copyright lawsuits involving these types of produced material is that the copyright holder doesn’t like how their work is being criticized or reviewed, and often can make a case that too much of the content of the piece has been used in the critique or review.

Fair Dealing in Regards to Art:

In copyright law, fair dealing refers to amount and substantiality of the copyright work used, whether this use if for commercial or non commercial purposes, nature of the copyright work (referring to the moral nature or medium work was produced on), and effect on the potential market (Makarenko, 2009). It could be argued that a review was using too much content of the original piece it was reviewing and thereby giving cause that the audience of the review would not then go and see the piece that was being reviewed. Regarding nature of the work, many copyright holders would be upset if their imagery or characters were used in something of a very different moral nature, like pornography for example. Disney in particular is not happy when they see pornographic fanart of one of their princesses. Conversely SquareEnix has said many times that they like fanart, so the fans will do as they please, which has often included pornography. It always comes down to where the money is going, and if a copyright holder feels that a review is draining their profits, they will take legal action, even if the work is unique and had not been previously considered by the copyright holder. Fanart in particular comes under fire for fair dealing policies.

File Sharing

Even with the induction of Bill C-11 to the Canadian Parliament file sharing on a personal level is still considered legal. The difference between public and private file sharing, as considered by Canadian copyright law, is how many people have access to said file. Sites like Megavideo that stream video content are considered illegal because they are clearly violating the copyright of the videos by streaming them publicly. Torrent sites like The Pirate Bay are harder to define because they aren’t actually hosting the file, but act as a search engine for torrent files, that then allow the user to ‘torrent’ a file, whatever that may be. ‘Torrenting’ is nearly impossible to place legal restrictions on because it requires several connected computers sharing bits of a file until the process is finished and the user comes out with a completed file. While these activities have always been illegal, new legislation and acquired evidence is making it both easier and more difficult to convict.

Government View on Infringing Parties:

In Canada it is essentially legal to download copyrighted material as long as it is for non-commercial reasons. In late November 2012 Montreal based Canipre announced that they had identified one million unauthorized file sharers (Huffington Post Canada, 2012). However, Michael Geist (2012) reports that the Canadian Government actually discourages copyright lawsuits against individuals: “Industry Minister Christian Paradis told the House of Commons: ‘We are concerned about the threat of major penalties that hang over Canadians who infringe copyright for non-commercial purposes. Currently, those who have been found to violate copyright can be found liable for damages from $500 to $20,000 per work. If people illegally download five songs, for example, they could theoretically be liable for $100,000. In our view, such penalties are way out of line.’” This is great news for Canadians because it shows that our government understands modern Internet culture and how it is unfair to lambast one person for something relatively small when essentially the rest of the world is committing the same crime. Unfortunately, the American courts are not above being so petty and a whole slew of copyright lawsuits will happen in the foreseeable future.

The Pirate Bay vs. The Promo Bay:

A couple months ago the United Kingdom ordered the country’s Internet Service Providers to block The Pirate Bay. Regarding a previous blockage, The Pirate Bay was unconcerned: “When will they give up? We're still growing despite (or perhaps because of) all their efforts.” (Albert III, 2011). Unfortunately, not only did the creators of The Pirate Bay care all that much having had blocks placed on them in the past, their completely legal sister site The Promo Bay was also blocked, proving that such measures can’t be trusted and don’t work (Killock, 2012). Most people share this mentality in the millennial generation: screw big business and the government, we will take what we can without paying for it; we’ve paid enough already.

Remix Culture and Fanart

Probably one of the more contentious issues with copyright in our current era of technology is of how it relates to the production and distribution of fanart. Fanart can be anything that is derived from a piece of popular fiction and produced in any artistic format, the more popular formats being drawings and cosplay (costume play). Essentially, under strict black letter law, all forms of fanart are illegal because they are derivatives of copyrighted work. There are many different versions of fair dealing that the creators of these artworks can demonstrate to make their art legal, but at their base they are derivative works based on copyrighted material to which the artist has no legal claim. Clearly, this has not stopped the millions of people creating and distributing fanart on the Internet, most particularly on sites like Deviant Art and Tumblr.

Fanart as Derivative Works:

There is not doubt that a tattoo artist is not breaking the law when they tattoo the Batman symbol, or some other copyrighted artifact, onto a person’s skin, so my creating this piece for one person is acceptable because it is only for one person. The problem arises when this piece (usually a drawing, because a cosplay is physical and can’t be copied easily with something like a photocopier) is copied and distributed and sold enough times that it is considered to be competition by the company that owns the copyright. Often, though, derivative pieces like fanart are not only accepted but also expected when used for portfolio pieces because they show your range as an artist and your ability to conform to a design. An unfortunate issue in terms of fanart legality is that many of these pieces require great amounts of talent and time to be created, and the current form of copyright disallows the creators of this fanart to be compensated justly because their works are considered derivative, even if they are unique and are distinctly different from the source material.

“Fanart is a statement of saying, ‘I love you’. If our government is going to protect the people who are saying, ‘impeach the president,’ or, ‘overthrow the Libyan government,’ and have that as our standard for free speech, we should also protect the people who are simply saying, ‘I love you. I love you Wonderwoman, Catwoman, and I want to draw a picture that says I love you. I don’t want to sell it, I don’t want to make a million dollars off of it, and I’m not saying that I own Wonderwoman. All I’m saying is that I love you.’ And that should be protected.”

(Wattles, 2012)

Why Fanart is Lucrative for the Copyright Holder:

Fan generated content is extremely lucrative for companies because it shows that people are not only enjoying their product, but engage actively with it. Franchises that run with the notion that fanart is a good thing have a track record for being more successful. Just look at Marvel and Lucasfilm (both of which are ironically now owned by Disney, one of the most strict companies out there in terms of copyright infringement cases) and their history with their larges franchises. Star Wars or X-Men would not be relevant subjects in popular culture today if not for the fans that kept the franchises alive with their love for the work. Granted, these are large franchises that have had decently recent films, but fans of Star Wars in particular are very vocal in their love for the franchise and create so much fan-content that much of it has come to exist in the extended universe of the novels. In 2006 an Internet joke that had begun on 4Chan made its way into X-Men 3. Many of the jokes in Vancouver’s own Supernatural were generated by fan fiction and on message boards, and by including these references within the narrative has made the show ultimately more entertaining and has grown its fanbase exponentially. When it comes down to it, the fans are these companies’ customers, and limiting their expression for the love of their work only creates negative feedback in the fanverse, and makes them lose their customers.

Fan Videos:

One of the more contentious issues in terms of fan-generated content is video. Parody, review, and remix videos are extremely popular and make up a good chunk of video hosting sites like YouTube and Blip. YouTube’s draconian policies on copyrighted material have made many creators migrate over to other sites. YouTube’s gloriously lazy ignorance of fair dealing is apparent in their terms of use, which essentially state that if you use any material that doesn’t belong to you they will shut you down (YouTube, 2010). This includes people broadcasting news, reviews, and criticisms, clearly protected under fair dealing. Clearly this draconian policy came from the millions of unlicensed videos on YouTube, most of which were clips from TV shows and movies. YouTube has become more relaxed in taking down videos, distinguishing from videos with ads and those without, but there are still instances where videos are taken down without just cause. Copyright law has always protected parody because it is a form of free speech, and tends to be the most popular use of fan-generated videos. People love to laugh, even more so when they’re laughing with a group of other fans. Reviews are also popular, but tend to come under fire for copyright more often. Remixes, including fan made music videos, where imagery from a single piece or multiple pieces (for example Dragonball) is mixed with unrelated music (like Metallica) are considered illegal under the copyright law because they don’t constitute fair dealing. Often they are tolerated because they are creative and don’t pose a huge financial threat, but under many of the copyright reforms could disappear entirely from the Internet.

Conclusions

Traditional notions of copyright law just don’t apply to the current state of Internet culture. Almost everyone in my generation partakes in torrenting and other forms of illegal download, and they do so unabashedly. In most cases these downloads are to watch a recently missed episode of a television show or to watch a movie after it’s come out on DVD. Rarely do these downloads infringe on the profit to be made from the release of a new film in theatres or from concert tickets. They do infringe on the release of recorded music, but in all honesty the downloaded versions tend to be of lower quality and the consumers use them as a means to decide whether they want to purchase the official releases. In terms of copyright infringement regarding derivative works like fanart the laws need to be relaxed. The people creating these works are in no way competing with the original works and in most cases generate interest for said works. When the fan-generated art starts pretending to be real is where the line must be drawn. The new Bill C-11 allows for more exceptions that include parody and satire, but further allowances need to be implemented for positive derivative works like fanart. The principal concern, however, is that individuals who create this content that exist within the grey area of copyright law are not well protected when big corporations make a case against them. Fact of the matter is the Internet has generated an entirely new society based around taking cultural content, copyrighted or not, and remixing that content to create something entirely new. Oppressive copyright laws will only hinder that possible cultural development, and give more and more power to big businesses, and the privileged individuals that own them.

References

Albert III. (2011, October 4). TPB censored, again and again and again... The Pirate Bay. Retrieved

from http://thepiratebay.se/blog/195

Daniel, J., LL.L. (n.d.). The Copyright Act - In Summary. Damic. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.damic.qc.ca/damic/eng/pages/rights/loiauteur.htm

Franks, C. (n.d.). Public Domain Belongs to the People. Gutenberg Canada. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.gutenberg.ca/

Geist, M. (2012, December 5). Will File-Sharing Lawsuits Clog the Courts? Huffington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/michael-geist/file-sharing-lawsuit-canada_b_2244473.html

Gill, K. (2012). US Copyright Law: An Overview. About.com. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://uspolitics.about.com/od/electionissues/a/copyright.htm

H.C. C-11, 41st Cong., Library of Parliament (2012) (enacted).

Huffington Post Canada. (2012, November 28). File-Sharing Lawsuits Come To Canada: Canipre Identifies 1 Million Unauthorized File-Sharers. Huffington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/11/28/file-sharing-lawsuit-canada-canipre_n_2203809.html

Humphries, M. (2010, March 7). Assassin’s Creed 2 unplayable as Ubisoft DRM servers go down. Geek.com. Retrieved from http://www.geek.com/articles/games/assassins-creed-2-unplayable-as-ubisoft-drm-servers-go-down-2010037/

Killock, J. (2012, December 4). Pirate Bay blocks knock out new legit sister site The Promo Bay. CMU. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.thecmuwebsite.com/article/pirate-bay-blocks-knock-out-new-legit-sister-site-the-promo-bay/

Makarenko, J. (2009, March 13). Copyright Law in Canada: An Introduction to the Canadian Copyright Act. Maple Leaf Web. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.mapleleafweb.com/features/copyright-law-canada-introduction-canadian-copyright-act

Protect IP Act, S. 968, 112th Cong. (2011-2012).

Raj, A. (2012, June 16). Bill C-11: Copyright Legislation And Digital Lock Provisions Face Opposition In Canada [Editorial]. Huffington Post. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/06/17/bill-c-11-copyright-modernization-act-canada_n_1603837.html

Simonyan, M. (2012, January 20). Internet strikes back: Anonymous' Operation Megaupload explained. Russia Today. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-barrettbrown-sopa-megaupload-241/#

Stop Online Piracy Act, H.R. 3261, 112th Cong. (2011-2012).

Tejada, M. (2012, December 5). Study: The Consumer File Sharing Risk. Midsize Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://midsizeinsider.com/en-us/article/study-the-consumer-file-sharing-risk

UBC. (n.d.). Bill C-11: The Copyright Modernization Act. UBC.ca. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://copyright.ubc.ca/copyright-legislation/bill-c-11-the-copyright-modernization-act/

Wattles, J., & T. (Producers). (2012, September 10). Fan Art Law [Video]. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from http://techgnotic.deviantart.com/journal/Fan-Art-Law-326536193?utm_source=elnino&utm_medium=messagecenter&utm_campaign=091112_NET_FanArtLaw&utm_term=button

Josh Wattles lecture about Copyright Law.

Winseck, D. (2012, March 10). Debunking Bill C-11: Why Canadians Should be Concerned. OpenMedia.ca. Retrieved from http://openmedia.ca/blog/debunking-bill-c-11-why-canadians-should-be-concerned

YouTube. (2010, June 9). Terms of Service. YouTube. Retrieved December 5, 2012, from

http://www.youtube.com/static?gl=US

The Hobbit VLog Review

2012-12-27T18:02:00.003-08:00

A week after I see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey I talk about it on camera! I talk a little bit about the movie, but mostly about the actors that do and don't appear in the movie (I mean you Benedict Cumberbatch).

Django Unchained Review

2012-12-27T12:24:00.000-08:00

I talk about the new western action flick Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Fanart Law

2012-12-05T16:43:00.000-08:00

I found this video to be incredibly informative and useful when shaping my understanding of copyright law and I think everyone should check it out. It's great because it's a law professor giving a speech about copyright law in a way that's very understandable. I'm actually using it as a reference for paper I'm working on.

"Josh Wattles, $makepictures is an expert on copyright law bringing perspective and experience to the issue from multiple creative industries. From art, film, music, and books, Josh has been directly involved in or advised on copyright issues for the biggest properties in the world. He is also a copyright professor teaching courses at at Loyola, Southwestern and the University of Southern California law schools in Los Angeles."

by deviantArt, posted on YouTube,

September 10, 2012

Playing with Soundcloud

2012-12-02T14:31:00.003-08:00

Hey all, I'm playing with sound effects and podcasts and stuff with Soundcloud. This is the fx of a Ford Ranger.

Ford ranger by JNJeffery

Silent Hill: Revelations Review

2012-12-02T14:20:00.001-08:00

For my first review in a long time I take a look at the new Silent Hill movie. Did I like it? Did it make sense? Did Kit Harrington take his shirt off? All these questions and more are answered in this review.

Note: I shot and uploaded this video weeks ago, but I just realized I hadn't posted it here yet. Whoops.

Also, poor quality video, not quite sure why, but I will recode this one with a better program. When I have time ...