Sunday, 1 May 2016

Why 'The Killing Joke' Film Is A Bad Idea


A lot of comic book fans like the work of Alan Moore, some will go so far as to say they love his work, citing him as one of the greatest comic book writers of all time.  Out of all of his works two stand out as his best, one being the twelve part miniseries 'Watchmen', the other being the single issue 'The Killing Joke'.

'The Killing Joke' is a Batman story that has gone on to have some of the most lasting effect in the character's history, and some fans have been calling for the work to be adapted in some form for years.  Since the announcement that DC would be producing the story as an R-Rated animated feature, starring the voice talents of long time series stars Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and Joker respectively, some fans have been cheering the production.

Since the publication of the original book there have been people who have taken issue with the story, people who are speaking out against it yet again as the film nears its release.

Some fans have issues with the story because Moore attempts to tell an origin story for the Joker, something that has been done several times over the years and being met with several degrees of reactions.  Whilst there is no definitive answer as to who the iconic villain is or how he ended up the way he is, Moore's is regarded by some to be a 'definitive' answer to this question, which is a stance that angers some fans who believe that his origin should never be confirmed.  Personally my favourite of these possible origins is the Pale Man created by Scott Snyder, but that's doesn't really add much to this conversation, I just wanted to share a little.

The main issue that many of the detractors have with the story, aside from the Joker origin, is the depiction of the violence that the Joker visits upon the supporting character of Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl.  In the story the Joker shoots Barbara, an injury that goes on to cause long term damage that would leave the character crippled and wheelchair bound for the next 24 years of comic publication, then he strips her naked and takes photographs of her to use as a weapon against her father.

People have said that 'The Killing Joke' is built upon a foundation of sexual abuse and misogyny.  Whilst the events of 'The Killing Joke' would go on to be a point of huge character development for Barbara Gordon and many fans cite that as justification for the assault.  Some fans say that her development into Oracle and her prominence as the first major comic book character with a visible disability is due to 'The Killing Joke', and that it absolves the violence done upon her in that book.

What some people don't realise is that at the time that 'The Killing Joke' was written there were no plans for any of that.  No one in the company had the intention of turning Barbara into the character that she would go on to become.

In the build up to 'The Killing Joke' Barbara gave up the mantle of Batgirl to prepare her for Moore's story.  Speaking to Wizard Magazine in 2006 Moore even went on to say that he felt that someone should have stepped in to prevent him from what he did to the character.

'I asked DC if they had a problem with me crippling Barbara Gordon - who was Batgirl at the time - and if I remember, I spoke to Len Wein, who was our editor on the project ... [he] said, 'Yeah, okay, cripple the bitch'.  It was probably one of the areas where they should have reined me in, but they didn't'.

The Joker sexually assaults Barbara following her injury.
That was it as far as DC were concerned, Barbara was crippled and they had no intention of doing anything else with the character.  It was only through the intervention of writer Kim Yale and her husband John Ostrander that Barbara became the character many would know and love.  Not pleased with the way she had been treated in 'The Killing Joke', and unhappy with DC executive's decision to do nothing with the character, they slowly began to create the Oracle identity for her over the course of several titles, including Suicide Squad, Hawk and Dove, Manhunter and, most famously, Birds of Prey.

Barbara would go on in the role of Oracle for many more years, both as a major player in the Birds of Prey title, thanks to the writing of Gail Simone, and the wider DC universe as a whole.  But these developments are not because of Alan Moore, but rather in spite of him, to correct a huge disservice done upon the character under his direction.

Alan Moore did not write 'The Killing Joke' with Barbara's extended development in mind, but simply used her as a plot device in which to write a story about men.  The killing of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's girlfriend Alex is often held up as a prime example of women being assaulted in order to further a man's story, and the term 'women in refrigerators' comes from this, but the crippling and sexual assault of Barbara Gordon is possibly the most well-known, even if people do not think of it in these terms.

This puts the new film in a problematic position.  Whilst the comic books had many years following the release of the book to correct the damage done to the character and give Barbara room to grow, the film will not have the option to do this.  Yes, there may be some kind of montage at the end that shows Barbara going on to becoming Oracle and her growth as a person, but I highly doubt that anything like that will be included.  No, in this film Barbara is only going to be used in the same way that she was in the original book, as a victim.

The harm done to Barbara within this film will also be heightened by the fact that the character has gone through a resurgence in recent years, having once again become Batgirl during the New 52 relaunch.  The new Batgirl comic has been a critical and financial success for DC, with her book frequently being in the Top 40 for sales each issue.

With the character being in such a high profile position right now, and with many new readers discovering the character for the first time, some possibly only even mildly aware of her backstory in 'The Killing Joke', the film using her as a victim of abuse will surely disturb and upset many fans of the character, and of the DC universe in general.

It's important to acknowledge the fact that this film is being widely advertised as being an R-Rated film, which has delighted some fans.  Whilst some of the decision to make the film R-Rated may have come from the success of the recent 'Deadpool' film and DC's frantic desire to appeal to an adult audience (their previously unannounced plan to release an R-Rated version of 'Batman V Superman' being revealed only after the success of 'Deadpool' being an indicator of this) it goes a long way to tell us the kind of graphic images that will be incorporated into the film.

During the course of the story we see Barbara sexually assaulted, along with her father being stripped naked by dwarfs in bondage clothing and forced to see pictures of his naked and abused daughter.  Making the project R-Rated means that the creators have free reign to show as much of this as they want to, in as much graphic detail as they like.

The original artwork before being censored contained
more nudity and sexual content.
At the time of the release of the book DC made the decision to censor some of the content, as the original artwork was much more graphic and sexual in its content.  At the time this choice was probably one of the best moves that DC could make, as comics were still something of a fragile industry and the focus of a great deal of criticism.  In today's climate, with comic book properties being in both such high demand and producing such a high turnover for their companies there is nothing to prevent DC from being able to show the events of the story in all of their graphic detail.

With us having had several live action and animated Batman movies that have shown high levels of violence that have not needed to resort to encroaching into R-Rated territory there are only two possible reasons why this project would be given such a rating, to include extremely strong language or to include graphic violence and scenes of sexual assault.  Personally I doubt that the decision was made to include strong language.

So we now stand at a point where we will be receiving a Batman film that revels in the violence and sexual assault of one of the franchise's most beloved and powerful female characters, where she will be put through extreme violence simply to tell a story about men, namely Batman, the Joker and Commissioner Gordon.

Whilst some are already arguing that removing these scenes from the story would somehow lessen it to the point of making the story pointless you must consider the wider ramifications of what this will be saying to female viewers.  A Publishers Weekly report released in 2014 found that women aged between 17 and 33 were the fastest growing group in comic book readership and retail, something that has only continued since with the inclusion of more female led solo books from Marvel and DC, as well as female centric independent series.

To produce a story that hinges so centrally on the exploitative victimisation of a major female superhero and comic book icon only ignores the inclusion of so many more female readers and fans than any other time in comic book history.  Surely to produce work such as this will go on to alienate this growing audience and could even damage the success of this film, as well as future project.

DC are aware of the trouble with the content of 'The Killing Joke', as they recently chose to remove a variant cover for issue 41 of the latest volume of 'Batgirl' for choosing to reference the events of 'The Killing Joke' and depicting Barbara in a victim role once again.  If DC are so acutely aware of the trouble around this kind of content to the point that they take action to remove it, it raises the question of why they are now prepared to ignore this female audience and the disturbing nature of the story just because it is in film form rather than in print.

I believe that a lot people's views on 'The Killing Joke' are sadly going to be dictated by gender.  Women, and those men who have an awareness of these kinds of issues, will surely have a problem with film and find it disturbing, whilst many men will see no issue with it.  The fight over this issue, and believe me there already is one going on online, centres over people's views of violence against women and sexual assault and will not be one where a middle ground will be found.

The comics industry has made great strides in being more inclusive and appealing to a female audience over the last few years, but 'The Killing Joke' film feels like a huge step backwards in this area.


Amy.
xx
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London Theatre Becomes Trans-Inclusive


Whilst the United States seems to be locked in a struggle over how to deal with transgender rights and the issues surrounding access to public bathroom facilities a theatre in the UK has made a very public declaration as to their stance on the issue.

The Young Vic Theatre in Waterloo, London, posted an image to their Twitter feed on Friday to show their newly installed signage in bathrooms of their theatre, bar and restaurant.  The tweet was accompanied by the hashtags #LGBTQ and #transinclusive.

Whilst some states in America are banning transgender people from using the bathrooms of the gender that they identify with, and in some cases imposing fines or prison time for those who break these rules, there are no laws in the UK that prevent trans people from using public restrooms and facilities.

Under the Equality Act of 2010 transgender people in the UK are legally entitled to use the facilities that match the gender they identify with.  Unfortunately, a lot of people are unaware of this law and, partially in thanks to the laws being passed in America at the moment, believe that they are able to stop trans people from using certain facilities.

Making public statements that people support the rights of transgender people not only makes these views more accepted and widespread, but it also encourages others to do the same.  Hopefully other organisations and businesses will take similar action to the Young Vic Theatre.


Amy.
xx
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'The Jungle Book' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the film to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


I'm going to be honest, so far I've not been a fan of the trend Disney have of recreating their classic animated movies as live action films.  I thought 'Snow White and the Huntsman' was too over the top and far removed from the original, I couldn't even get through the Tim Burton 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Maleficent' bored me senseless and I can't even be bothered with 'Cinderella'.  So, as you would expect, I groaned inwardly when they announced the new 'Jungle Book' movie.

Then the trailers began to hit and I found myself intrigued.  I went into this film with a lot of hope but little expectations.  I wanted it to be a good film but prepared myself for the worst.  I am so, so happy that my expectations were wrong as Disney and Jon Favreau bring us not only the best Disney live action remake but an all round amazing film.  

The film takes inspiration not just from the Disney original, but works in aspects of the original novel that were not used in the 1967 version.  The film takes itself entirely serious and removes most of the musical numbers and comic relief that were present in the '67 version, though 'The Bare Necessities' and 'I Wan'na Be Like You' are included.  It's better to think of this version of 'The Jungle Book' more as a family friendly 'The Revenant' than a simple remake.


The story has a nice simple through line, Mowgli is a 'man cub' that has been raised by the wolf Raksha and her pack since he was brought to them as a baby by the black panther Bagheera, but when a drought brings all of the animals in the area to the wolves territory to drink the fierce tiger Shere Khan discovers Mowgli's existence and wants to kill him.

To protect the pack and to save Mowgli, Bagheera agrees to escort the boy to the man village and away from Shere Khan.  What follows is essentially a giant chase sequence as Khan hunts the boy across the jungle.  Along the way Mowgli encounters the evil python Kaa, the friendly bear Baloo and the ruler of the monkey, the Gigantopithecus King Louie, before a final battle with the vicious tiger himself.

The story keeps things simple, and moves with a brisk pace as it goes from set piece to set piece whilst still allowing characters the chance to have breaks between the action to develop and grow.  With only an hour and forty five minute run time the film could have very easily skimped on character detail in exchange for visual spectacle, but thankfully it doesn't.

By the end of the film we have come to know the characters well enough that we care about them when they risk their lives fighting Shere Khan in order to protect Mowgli.  We see how kindhearted and caring Raksha is, how loyal and brave Bagheera is, how friendly and loving Baloo is.  They go from just simple animals to real rounded characters that leave a massive impression, more so than the films sole human character.


All of the voice cast work fantastically, and really give a sense of life and personality to each of the characters.  Often when a film is voices by traditional actors over experienced voice actors there can be a slight lack in quality.  It's important to remember that the two are very different ways of acting, and just because a person is good at one does not necessarily mean they will be good at the other, but here each and every cast member is perfect in their performance.

Normally it would be hard to pick out just one performance as a standout, but here it's quite easy.  Idris Elba as Shere Khan is absolutely amazing.  The mix of stunning visual appearance and chilling voice acting comes together to make this version of Khan one of the best Disney villains to date.  From the first moment he appears on screen to the very last second Shere Khan exude menace and charisma in such equal measures that he's incredibly captivating to watch.

My main criticism of the film is that whilst at only a little over an hour and a half long it doesn't overstay it's welcome it would have been nicer to have spent a little more time in this world with these characters, but that's just a personal preference.

'The Jungle Book' proves to be a great example of how to do a remake the right way, it stays true to the spirit of the original whilst managing to do its own thing.  The visual effects are second to none and show just what can be accomplished with enough care and dedication.  An all round entertaining and engaging film that will appeal to adults and children alike.


Amy.
xx
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Legends of Tomorrow 'Leviathan' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the episode to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


If I hadn't of known better I'd have thought that 'Leviathan' was going to be the season finale for Legends of Tomorrow as the team head to the year 2166 to fight Savage at the height of his powers.  This episode has Savage commanding an army, the team rescuing a band of freedom fighters, a giant robot battle, kidnapping, betrayal and Kendra beating the crap out of Savage.  There was so much going on in this episode that showcased just what a series about time travelling superheroes can do if given imaginative writers and a big budget.

With time running out for our heroes the team heads to 2166, just days before Vandal Savage is due to kill Rip's family, where they plan on infiltrating his army and capturing him before he can launch his final assault on London, the last free city on earth.  

As even Snart points out, their plan is bound to failure from the moment they begin because their plans never work, and the group if forced to flee.  During the attempt though they do discover that one of Savage's lieutenants is in possession of a bracelet that Kendra owned in her first life and was present during her first death.  As we know, artefacts from Kendra and Carters first death have the power to hurt and kill savage.

This presents the team with a new challenge, infiltrate Savage's facility, track down the woman and get the bracelet.  We don't get to see how Snart and Mick get into the compound a second time, but considering that the team had already tried to get at Savage once already they seem to be able to get passed heightened security very easily.  Things take an interesting turn, however, when the woman seems to know exactly who they are.

Meanwhile, Rip, Ray, Stein and Jax track down the local rebel cell and try to enlist their aid in finding out a way of getting close to Savage.  Instead of a resistance army, they find a group of refugees who can barely defend themselves.  It's whilst at the refugee camp that Rip tells Ray that following his first attempt to kill Savage back in ancient Egypt Rip returned to 2166 and tried to get his family to safety before their deaths.  

Rip tells him that before they could get away safely though they were killed by Savage's forces.  Rip tried to save them a second time, but they were killed yet again.  Rip tells Ray that he tried to save his family time and time again but failed each and every time.  The scene is a little heart-breaking as it begins to look like Rip doesn't even believe that it's possible to save his family anymore.  After everything he's done and every attempt the team has made to stop Savage failing he seems resigned to the idea that fate want things to happen a certain way.

Back aboard the Waverider Snart and Mick return from their jewellery heist with both the bracelet and a prisoner.  The team soon discover that the young woman is not simply one of Savage's lieutenants, but his daughter.  


When it was announced that Vandal's daughter was going to appear in one of the upcoming episodes I was hoping it was going to be Scandal Savage, a great character created by Gail Simone as part of the 'Secret Six' comic.  I like Scandal, I think she's a very interesting and complex character that would have been a great addition to the DC television universe.  Unfortunately for me, the woman is not Scandal, but Cassandra, a new character introduced in the recent New 52 relaunch.  Whilst this version of Cassandra is very different from her New 52 incarnation it does give a fairly new character a chance to shine.

With his daughter taken hostage Savage sends his secret weapon to get her back, a giant robot.  Fearing for the lives of the rebels the team manages to get them aboard the Waverider and attempts to get to safety, but the robot gets their first and cripples the ship.

With Stein injured and the ship unable to fly the team comes up with a plan to combat the approaching super weapon and take on Savage.  Snart manages to build a connection with Cassandra and shows her footage of Savage ordering the release of the Armageddon Virus that would go on to claim the life of Cassandra's mother, convincing her to turn on her father and help their cause.

Whilst this is going on Kendra and Mick melt down the gold bracelet and use it to coat Carters mace, finally giving them a weapon to use on Savage.  This is a good idea, and it makes sense to melt down the bracelet to the point where it was so painfully obvious a choice that I had to wonder how it took the team so long to think of it.  Though it does pose the question of why coat the mace when they could have made some golden bullets and got Kendra to just shoot Savage in the head and end things really quickly.

Rip, Kendra, Sara, Snart and Mick head to Savage's compound with Cassandra to combat the immortal tyrant while Ray and Jax stay behind to prepare their defence against the giant robot coming to destroy the Waverider.


Using Ray's Atom suit technology he and Jax are able to reverse the dwarf star tech and instead of shrinking is able to increase his size to hundreds of feet tall.  The fight between Atom and the robot is a pretty cool one, especially for network television, and whilst it might not be perfect it's more than a little spectacular to see such a spectacle in the same television universe that started out as a 'realistic' story of a vigilante with a bow and arrow.

The fight is done purely through CGI, and whilst there are points when Rays face look a little bit plastic and fake from time to time is does have a grander scale to it than if they'd just of has two actors in suits fighting on a model set like an old Godzilla movie.  Though now that I've just written that I can't help but think that it would be pretty spectacular in itself.

The only drawback from the fight is that the creators seem to have made the same mistake I have seen in previous big monster/robot fights and have the participants moving a lot slower to give them a sense of weight and scale.  Unfortunately this just makes the fight seem slow and sluggish in places, with some moments almost seeming to happen in slow motion.  That being said the fight is still pretty amazing for an episode of TV that isn't even a season finale.

Whilst Ray is fighting a giant robot the rest of the team infiltrate Savage's lair and give Kendra the chance to finally go toe to toe with the villain.  After so many episodes of a Kendra that hasn't been anywhere close to as awesome as her comic book counterpart, or even her animated version, it's great to see her finally let loose and beat the crap out of someone with a mace.


It's incredibly satisfying to watch as Kendra bashes weapons out of Savages hands and hammers him around the room and throws him through furniture.  After all of the evil we've seen the villain do over the last thirteen episodes there really is a sense of satisfaction to be gained from seeing him powerless to stop the punishment that's long overdue.  

As there are still three episodes left of the season there was no way that Savage was going to meet his end here, and Kendra is forced to stop her assault on him when she unmasks one of his guards in the middle of the fight and discovers that it is Carter, Savage tells her that he has locked away Carter's memories, and that if she ever wants him back she has to let him live.  Despite Rip begging her to finish the mission and kill Savage she relents.  

The episode ends with the team back aboard a repaired Waverider with Savage as their prisoner.  As we know the season has more episodes before the end it raises questions as to what might happen next as having Savage as their prisoner definitely adds a whole new aspect to the show that I wasn't expecting.  The return of Carter was something that I was expecting, however, but the complications of his memory loss and brainwashing by Savage gives his return an interesting angle.

'Leviathan' could very easily have been a season finale with its huge amounts of character development, action and spectacle, but with three episodes left to go it makes you ask just how spectacular the season finale is actually going to be.


Amy.
xx
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Saturday, 30 April 2016

Supernatural 'The Chitters' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the episode to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


As much as I enjoy Supernatural, some of their monster of the week episodes are beginning to get a little stale, thankfully 'The Chitters' manages to include a pair of guest characters that makes this episode a little more enjoyable than the normal outing.

When people begin disappearing in a small mountain town Sam and Dean head out to investigate and come across a mystery involving a supernatural creature the two of them have never encountered before.  It would appear that people are becoming possessed by some kind of strange creatures that send people's eyes green and drives them to have sex before they change into grey skinned 'junkless' monsters.

Sam and Dean struggle to figure out what the creatures are, until they come across another pair of hunters called Jessy and Cesar, who fill them in on the mystery, that they are on the trail of cicada demons who possess humans every twenty seven years in order to mate and produce their next generation.

Jessy and Cesar are a married couple, the series' first openly gay hunters if I'm remembering correctly, who have returned to Jessy's home town to hunt the creatures almost thirty years after they killed his older brother.

The monsters of this week's episode aren't the most memorable, and the mystery around them doesn't really go anywhere as Sam and Dean do their usual to try and figure things out but come up with nothing.  The episode is saved with the inclusion of Jessy and Cesar, who bring a new energy to the episode, as well as answers and assistance for our resident heroes.


It's nice that when the characters decide to split up into two groups the two pairs divide up, giving both Sam and Dean someone new to interact with.  This also lend Dean to have a great conversation with Cesar about how often hunters go out for revenge, but usually by the time they finally get it they're so changed that the hunt just carries on for them.

We've seen this kind of scenario play out more than once in the show, and it does raise the question of whether hunters are some kind of hero who keeps going after their own demons have been put to rest, or if the life totally destroys any chance they have of being 'normal'.  It's an interesting point that it is only briefly touched upon here, though it does come up again at the end of the episode.

By the end of the episode Jessy and Cesar have finally killed the creatures that took Jessy's brother away from him all those years before, giving Jessy the resolution he's craved since that day.  When they tell Sam and Dean that they intend to leave the hunter's life behind and raise horses on a ranch together Dean makes the choice not to ask them to help with Amara, despite them making the offer.

Whilst this might be a bad choice for the brothers because they need all of the help they can get, and Jessy and Cesar prove they're competent hunters, I think it kind of shows what Sam and Dean are fighting for.  They understand that hunting is their lives now, that they'll never do anything else, but they're fighting for others to be able to live their lives.  Jessy and Cesar have the chance to get free from the pain and the darkness that have consumed Sam and Dean, and they want to make sure that they get that.

It's a shame that the chances are that we'll never see Jessy and Cesar again, but the fact that they get their happy ending, that they're some of the few hunters we see that actually get to have a life and get away from the horrors that exist is a really uplifting and hopeful note on which to end.

'The Chitters' is something of a disposable episode, it added nothing to the overall story and didn't feature particularly memorable monsters, but it included such a sweet story in Jessy and Cesar that elevated it from forgettable to something with a little be extra.


Amy.
xx
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Thursday, 28 April 2016

Arrow 'Canary Cry' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the episode to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


I wasn't happy with the writer's choice of killing of Laurel, I felt that it was not only the loss of an interesting and strong character, but another example of this series treating its female characters poorly for the benefit of a male lead.  That being said, this episode handled the death of Laurel, her funeral, the effect on those who loved her and her legacy as a hero brilliantly and gave us the best episode of the season.

Laurel's death hits the team hard here, and the episode makes the important decision to not focus solely on Oliver, but to spend time seeing how it affected each and every one of them.  The stand out performances of the episode came from both David Ramsey and Paul Blackthorne, whose reactions were so gut wrenching to watch and so powerfully performed that they outshone the shows lead by miles.

Diggle's loss manifests itself mostly as rage, with the fact that his own brother Andy played such a big role in the events that led to Laurel's death it spurred him into blaming himself and being angry for not having seen the treachery coming.  Diggle decided that the best way to deal with that rage was to confront one of the few people close to Darhk that he knew he could find, his wife and mayor of Star City, Ruve Adams.


The scene where Diggle confronts her, attacking her limo and pulling a gun on her is one of his best yet and I have to admit that I got a huge amount of enjoyment watching him hit her in the face with his gun.  Part of me is a little disappointed that Diggle didn't get to kill her, but the scene was so well acted and so well done that I have to give massive credit to David Ramsey for the way he did it.

Paul Blackthorne really stood out above everyone else this week though, first as a father full of hope that his daughter might still be alive after the Black Canary is spotted in Star City, then desperately trying to find a way of bringing her back from the dead, and finally full of grief as the realisation that Laurel isn't going to come back sinks in.

You can understand Lance's reasoning in this episode, after all, his other daughter was killed and came back from the dead, he's seen super powered beings and has witnessed magic, so of course he's going to be trying to find a way of bringing her back.  The sheer determination of him to find a way of saving her and the crushing realisation that she's gone makes me think that this time dead really might be dead.  To go through all the trouble of shooting down every avenue to bring her back only to do so somehow later on would cheapen a lot of this episode.


As I mentioned briefly above, shortly after Laurel's death there are sightings of Black Canary around Star City, and as the team begin to investigate they discover that a teenage girl called Evelyn Sharpe has stolen Laurel's sonic device and made it her mission to stop Hive after they were responsible for the death of her parents.  

Evelyn makes quite a public display of her mission to take down Hive and, along with Diggle's assault on her, Ruve Adams launches a campaign to arrest team Arrow, starting with Black Canary.  Despite getting the chance to kill Adams and get the revenge that she craves Evelyn gets talked down by Ollie and flees the scene.  Evelyn doesn't hand over the sonic device, she doesn't get arrested and she's even seen at Laurel's funeral, so it's very possible that she intends to keep the Black Canary identity.  This could have a possible comic book connection too, as in the New 52 version of the Birds of Prey there is an Evelyn Crawford, a friend of Black Canary who goes by the codename Starling.  Black Canary might be gone, but perhaps Starling will appear at some point in the future.

Because of what Evelyn did and everyone thinking that she was the Black Canary, Oliver decides that he is going to honour Laurel and her legacy the best way that he can.  At her funeral he reveals the truth, he tells everyone that Laurel wasn't just satisfied with fighting for justice as a district attorney and that she took on the role of Black Canary to bring hope to Star City.  He tells the whole world that Laurel was a hero, so that her name and her deeds will be remembered with honour.


I have to admit, it was a brave move to reveal to the world who the Black Canary was, and it's not something that is often done when super heroes die in film, tv or even comics, but I liked the decision.  Ollie's speech acknowledged the amazing journey that Laurel went through, it reminded the audience that she was a good person who wanted to make a real difference.  Fiction or not, that's what a real hero is, and something everyone should aspire to be.

I still don't like the fact that the show killed Laurel, but this episode made her death feel like it meant something, that it might not have been a throwaway moment or a light decision.  Laurel had been underused so much during her time over this last season, but this episode reminded us of how important she was to so many people.  Arrow will definitely be the weaker show for not having Laurel Lance in it.


Amy.
xx
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Human Rights Campaign Condemns Oxford Bathroom Law


The Human Rights Campaign has released a statement that condemns the new bathroom laws issued by Oxford City Council in Alabama that prevents transgender people from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity or face jail time.

The law passed by the city council in order to combat a stance of inclusion made by the retail chain Target, who stated that they would allow any member of staff or the public to use the bathrooms and changing rooms that match their gender identity, rather than the one that matches their birth certificate.

The Human Rights Campaign released the following statement regarding this new law;

'Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Alabama condemned the passage of anti-transgender ordinance by the Oxford, Ala., City Council.  Unanimously approved, the  ordinance prevents transgender residents and visitors from using public restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity, and impose a $500 fine or six months in jail on violators.  This anti-transgender law is unprecedented in its establishment of criminal penalties for violation of the law, and raises a myriad of privacy and legal concerns, including questions about how the law will be enforced.  There is no clarity on whether all people in Oxford will be expected to produce birth certificates when using public facilities or, if not, how law enforcement officials will obtain evidence.

'This ordinance is a shameful and vile attack on the rights and privacy of transgender people.  Transgender people are our neighbours, our coworkers and our fellow churchgoers, and every Alabamian has the right to live their lives without fear of discrimination and prejudice.  Throughout the country elected officials from both sides of the aisle, along with hundreds of business leaders and advocated throughout the country have resoundingly rejected these kinds of proposals, which only seek to demean and marginalise the transgender community.'

Oxford officials have already admitted that the law was passed in order to counter the policy of a private company, yet claim that the law is not designed to be discriminatory in any way.

Oxford is the first city in the United States to enact a law such as this, specifically designed to target members of the transgender community.  Similar proposals have been made across the US, but until now have been rejected. 


Amy.
xx
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The Flash 'Back to Normal' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILER for the episode to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


With Barry having given his powers over to Zoom in order to save Wally 'Back to Normal' literally takes a slower pace as we watch Barry try to adjust to life as a normal human being again, whilst still trying to combat meta-human threats and protect innocent people.

One of the best decisions that the writers made for this episode was not to have Barry wallowing in self pity for not being the Flash anymore.  It would have been easy to fall into a trap of having him sad and angry over the situation, but that just wouldn't have been Barry.  Instead he's getting on with his life, he's working through his CSI cases as fast as he can, he's working with Star Labs still and when a meta-human poses a threat he willingly puts his life on the line.

This episode goes a long way to show that a hero is not measured by their powers, but by who they are as a person.  Barry doesn't have his powers but he stays as the same person we've come to know and love.  This is what makes him the Flash, not his speed, but his heart.

With an active breach to Earth-2 and the possibility of Zoom returning, Harry decides to try and track down Jessie and make a run for it before the monstrous villain can make good on his threats on Harry and his family.  

The meeting between Harry and Jessie could definitely have gone better for him, as she not only refuses to go with him, but tells him that she is more afraid of him than she is Zoom.  Her reactions to her father are a little understandable, he killed someone in order to get Jessie back, and that's completely destroyed her faith in him.

On his way back to Star Labs Harry is intercepted by Griffin Grey, the meta-human of the week.  Grey was given his powers, super-strength, when the particle accelerator exploded way back in the pilot episode and wants revenge for what happened to him on Harrison Wells.  Believing that Harry is the Earth-1 version of Wells he kidnaps him in order to force him to make a cure for his condition.


Despite having enhanced strength Grey's abilities have a severe physical toll on him, where everytime he uses his strength it causes his body to age rapidly.  Grey is only eighteen, but looks to be in his forties at this point.  This gives him a very different motivation to a lot of the 'villains' that we've had throughout the series so far.  He's not driven by a desire to commit crimes or do evil, but a desire to save his own life and be normal again.  It makes him more of a tragic figure than anything else.

Without his powers the team has to try to find a way of combatting Grey that won't get Barry killed in the process, not an easy task to say the least, but thanks to some distraction techniques and some dwarf star alloy the team manage to come up with a plan that lets them beat the villain.

Whilst it's nice to see the team, plus Jessie in place of Caitlin, work on a scientific solution to a bad guy that would normally be fairly easy for Barry to go up against, it's a shame that the writers didn't take this opportunity to explore Cisco and his emerging powers a little more.

With Barry out of commission this could have made a perfect time for Cisco to explore his own abilities in order to help pick up the slack of being without a super powered person on the team.  After seeing what his Earth-2 counterpart was able to do, and having figured out how to open a breach, I felt that this would have been a great opportunity for Cisco to try out some of his abilities.  Sadly they missed this opportunity, though hopefully it will be something that will be explored in the third season.

It's also nice that Grey had something of a happy ending here too, what with him having a more tragic story.  Instead of having him age to the point of death by the end of the episode he ends up reverting back to his original age.  What's a little worrying is that Barry and the rest of the team didn't know that this was going to happen, and were quite happy with letting Grey age to death in the end fight.


Over on Earth 2 Caitlin is still being held captive by Zoom, who is trying to force her into falling back in love with him.  It's something of a disturbing element that's been introduced to the character, that adds to the level of mental instability he has.  It also means that the team might have something they will be able to exploit in future episodes.

Whilst being held captive Caitlin also comes across the man in the iron mask, as well as Killer Frost, who we'd all believed was killed by Zoom weeks ago.  It turns out that Zoom kept her alive due to her being the Earth-2 counterpart of Caitlin.  With the fact that the version of Zoom that was on Earth-1 pretending to be Jay Garrick was killed by Zoom it raises some questions as to why the version of him now would have feelings for Caitlin.  Does he have the memories of the other version of himself, did he spend some time pretending to be Jay too, or is he just naturally predisposed to love Caitlin?  It's not very clear why Zoom has such a strong emotional bond with her, but I'm sure that this relationship will be explored even further before the season ends.

Caitlin teams up with Killer Frost and agrees to help her escape from her cell in return for help getting out of Zoom's lair.  Using her scientific knowhow Caitlin is able to help Frost out of her cell, but unfortunately Frost fails to keep her side of the bargain and attempts to kill Caitlin.  Luckily for her Zoom arrives on the scene just in time to save her from an icicle heading straight for her.

The scene is probably the best one in the episode, and has a hell of a visual effect as Zoom speeds into the room and runs straight through Caitlin, phasing through her and grabbing the icicle out of the air and stabbing it into Killer Frost all at super speed.  It's definitely an interesting moment, and I might be wrong but this could very well be the first time we've seen a speedster run through someone too.  It's a shame that we've lost Killer Frost, but then again we all thought that there was a good chance that she was killed several episodes ago, so at least we got a little more time with her.

The episode ends with Harry coming up with a plan to try and recreate the particle accelerator accident that initially gave Barry his powers in order to try and give him his speed once again.  

I was initially worried that 'Back to Normal' was going to be a boring episode that would focus on a sad and frustrated Barry, instead the episode managed to tell an engaging and well told story that kept me interested for the entire running time.


Amy.
xx
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Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Reebok's Alien Stomper's Forget Ripley Is A Woman


The Alien franchise is an iconic piece of cinema, one that is still beloved the world over to this day.  If someone told you to think about the franchise the first thing you would probably think of would be the creature itself, but it would probably be quickly followed by the person who made the series the success it is, Sigourney Weaver as Ripley.

Ripley is one of the most iconic female leads in cinema history, and over the course of the four films the character has appeared in (even though it's not really her in 'Alien: Resurrection', but that's another issue for another time) she has grown in strength and character in ways most films could only dream of.  Along with Sarah Connor of the Terminator series she was one of the most iconic female heroes of the 80's and 90's.

It's a real shame that Reebok seems to have forgotten that.

To celebrate Alien Day (yes, apparently everything has a day now) Reebok released a limited edition run of the Bug Stomper shoes that Ripley wore in 'Aliens'.  Not only were the shoes limited to only 426 pairs, but it appears that they were also limited in size options, only having been made available in men's sizes 8-12.

Yep, the shoes worn by one of the most iconic women in film history, a character that inspired many young women to be totally kick arse and awesome, are only available for men.  Good work Reebok.

The website io9 has said that they contacted Reebok on the subject and that a spokesperson told them that 'The Alien Stompers were released in male sizes due to retail demand.'

The shoes, which were listen in the 'Men's Classic' category on the website, were indeed popular and quickly sold out.

io9 later added to their initial report on the incident, saying that they were contacted by Reebok after the initial article, where they were told that the information they had been given was incorrect and the person who spoke to them had not been given permission to do so.

Reebok said; 'The Alien Stomper was mis-categorised on our US website as a men's shoe.  While size availability varied by market, the Alien Stomper is a unisex style and was produced in sizes (US Men's) 3.5 - 12, which is a typical size range for a unisex model.'

Despite this no evidence of the shoes being available in any size below 8 have been found.

Perhaps next time Reebok should consider not excluding women from a product that was inspired by such an iconic female figure.


Amy.
xx
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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 'The Singularity' Review


This review WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS for the episode to be discussed, if you do not want certain plot points or story spoilt, please do not read further.


Well, Coulson might not have a laser finger, but he does have a pretty nifty holographic shield projector in the back of his new robot hand, and frankly, that's a hell of a lot cooler.

This weeks Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. begins with a sense of pace and urgency following Daisy's attack on the base that makes you believe that the episode is going to be fast, action packed and full of excitement.  Whilst it does have some of these moments, the pace from the start of the episode doesn't carry throughout and there is a noticeable slump in the middle.

Whilst Coulson takes half of the team to try and get to a number of Inhumans before Hive can reach them and bring them under his control Fitzz, Simmons and Mack attempt to track down a scientist who was working on parasite research that could help them to figure out a way of combatting Hive and his ability to influence other Inhumans.

Both plots have their moments of excitement and plot development, but the Fitzz and Simmons story does feel like it drags in the middle during a few of their scenes.  When they enter the club looking for Doctor Radcliffe the episode takes a lot of time getting them face to face with him, and even though the scene where they talk about their new relationship is well written and well acted it does feel a little out of place.

Whilst Fitzz and Simmons are attempting to find Doctor Radcliffe, Coulson, May and Lincoln head out to find Alisha, an Inhuman with the ability to create copies of herself.  Worried that her powers would give a potentially limitless supply of soldiers to their enemy they try to get to her before she can be brought under Hive's influence.

Whilst Coulson wants Lincoln on the team to help talk Alisha round he's worried that Lincoln could become compromised if Hive gets too close to him, so gets him to wear a jacket lined with explosives.  It's an incredibly dark moment as Coulson basically gives May an order to blow Lincoln apart if he becomes compromised.  


I can kind of understand his logic, the icers don't work on people who have been influenced by Hive, and a taser clearly wouldn't work on Lincoln, but giving he order to blow someone apart is a really, really strong decision.  It's also something that May makes a point of, challenging Coulson on the fact that he is willing to sacrifice Lincoln if he becomes infected, but wanting to try and save Daisy.

Bringing up the fact that Coulson seems to feel differently about Daisy than most of the other people under his command is something that the show hasn't really done yet, even though this has been something that has been going on since the first season.  Whilst it might feel ham fisted in most episodes to bring up a subject like this, now that Daisy has essentially joined the bad guys it feels natural and appropriate to do so.

This episode also spends a lot of time with Daisy, and by extension Hive, where we get to see a little more of what is going on other than just simple mind control.  Daisy and the other Inhumans aren't just mindless zombies following around their master, but instead have an addiction to being around Hive get heightened positive feelings it.

It means that Daisy is being motivated more from a deep feeling of belonging and finally having a family than simple mind control, which means that the chances of the rest of the team finding a way to break through that and reach her have become dramatically decreased.  Everything that Daisy has done for S.H.I.E.L.D. and her teammates has come from a similar sense of family, if she's having these feelings about Hive and the other Inhumans now it's going to make her a very dangerous adversary.

This becomes quite apparent when Daisy and Hive attempt to obtain the same doctor that Fitzz and Simmons are trying to find.  Daisy uses her powers to incapacitate Fitzz, pinning him against the wall as she tries to warn him to stop chasing after her and Hive.  Despite trying to get Fitzz and the rest of the team to stop coming after them because she doesn't want them to get hurt she also tells Fitzz that next time she will break his neck.  

Even if the team are able to find a way of breaking the hold that Hive has on Daisy I'm starting to think that she might not end up being the same person she was before he infected her.  Having such strong feelings of happiness and family, then having them ripped away will definitely have a strong negative effect on her.


Whilst Daisy is confronting Fitzz, Simmons comes face to face with Hive in what's one of the more interesting scenes of the episode.  We already know that Hive retains the memories of his previous hosts and that these memories can have an effect on him, from his anger at Malick for what was done to Malick's brother years before.  Now we've learnt that because he possessed Will, Hive has strong feelings for Simmons.

I don't think that Hive loves her or anything like that, but he definitely protected her and seemed to genuinely be pleased to see her.  At the end of the day this thing is a walking god, he has no need to play games or try to manipulate people, so there's no real reason for him to lie to Simmons here.  I think that Will left a mark on Hive, gave him an affection towards Simmons and a desire not to kill her.  Who knows if this is something that the team might be able to exploit at a later date, but it definitely adds a new level of complexity to what could have been a very bland and one dimensional villain.

The episode ends by finally revealing what Hive plans to do, or at least a part of his plan.  He wants to use Doctor Radcliffe to try and recreate the experiments that the Kree did to create the Inhumans centuries before, which will allow Hive to transform ordinary people into Inhumans to add to his army.

'The Singularity' starts with a fast pace and tries to keep it going throughout the episode.  Despite some slower moments the episode does manage to deliver a lot of interesting plot developments, some great character development and some great visual moments.


Amy.
xx
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