Day Three Hundred and Fifty-one - Barbie: Life in the Dream House, "This... shouldn't be possible. But it's really happening."

Holy crap... more episodes of the extremely self-aware and meta, yet still vapid in a "Clueless" sort of way, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse has shown up on Netflix... and I find myself more than willing to fall down this rabbit hole yet again.

It's fairly obvious by now that these are being compiled way out of order as props and characters that we've seen before in the previous three "episodes" (themselves compilations of 2-4 minute webisodes) are introduced here. There's Midge, the 50's throwback friend who appears in Malibu in black and white (only to be colorized after a modern makeover and the shoe-eating robot that we saw Barbie and Raquelle get sucked into after the shrink-ray accident last time to name the obvious ones.

Still, Life in the Dreamhouse is surreally entertaining despite the terrible puns and one-off jokes meant to cater to the tween crowd.

It helps that there are tons of nods to the fact that these characters are actual dolls, complete with articulation points (and issues revolving around them) and plenty of jokes that lampshade just how many different careers and lifestyles that Barbie has held over the years. Heck, there's even a reference to when she was molded with a bellybutton for the first time (13 years ago, apparently).

I'm also a big fan of how most of the various personalities of Barbie-dom are characterized, the exception being token black friend Nikki, who feels like a walking stereotype sometimes... although that's kind of the point of the show, most of the dolls being valley girl and surfer dude cutouts. I have to say, every time Midge short-laughs, I fall a little in love, which is disturbing when I stop to think about it.

Thankfully, apart of the jokes aimed at the target audience, the in-jokes and references are enough to make me really, REALLY enjoy this series (just like I do MLP:FiM)... and it's finally a weirdly off-age group property that I can share with my friends, since Brit and Melanie were laughing along right there with me. Kudos to Mattel for hiring folks willing to break the kid's show mold.

Definitely my only regret is that they've only added two more compilations of webisodes to the Queue. Here's hoping this series gains traction (a la MLP:FiM) and gains enough of a following to earn more content.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-three - Barbie: Life in the Dream House, "Wait... WHAT?!"

Three years ago, I never thought that I would ever enjoy a cartoon based on the girls' toy brand My Little Pony... then Friendship is Magic was made and it was gloriously fun, smart, and stylistic with the dual qualities of being accessible to its target audience, but chock full of references and homages for adults.

To be frank, I didn't think it was possible for lightning to strike twice... and, to a certain extent, it hasn't. Life in the Dreamhouse is shallow and decidedly lacking in comparison to MLP:FiM. That said, it is still surprisingly (and I do mean SURPRISINGLY) entertaining to a thirtysomething male adult such as myself.

First of all, let's get one thing straight, it is vapid... often painfully vapid... but the grand majority of the time it is a meta-vapid of the likes of Legally Blonde and Clueless.

The series is very much self-aware of how silly and shallow it is to only be concerned with boys and fashion, and it relishes in that fact. Sure, almost all of the conflict in this small web-series on Netflix centers around the contents of Barbie's closet, and no less than twice does her AI clothes horse go all HAL9000 on her and her friends, but it's very much winking at the audience just how obsessed her brand is with haute couture.

Then there are all the nods that seem to indicate that the characters are aware that they are dolls. There are the obvious joints, the direct references to being "articulated," and the fact all of their measurements are exactly the same... that and Barbie has had 130+ careers and over 40+ anniversaries with her beau, Ken. The food is plastic and deus ex'd in, their accessories are oversized (check out the pink Nokia that Barbie's friend, Teresa, uses), and their hips are all too big to fit on the Dreamhouse's water slide.

I think the icing on the cake are all of the references that pop up. There's Star Wars, Indiana Jones (quite a bit, actually), 2001: A Space Odyssey, and The Wizard of Oz, to name the major ones. Let me tell you, inserting geek humor into a series like this can make comedy gold... and does. I especially liked when Barbie recreated the Map Room sequence from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Genius.

While, yes, it really is just a tongue in cheek commercial for the toy line, Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse has enough redeeming references and meta-humor to actually keep me (and my friends) oddly entertained. I can't even remember what we stopped watching before it, I just know I clicked on LitD as a joke and we were all blown away, laughing our asses off the entire time... you know, when we weren't in shock. Weird, irreverent, vapid fun... you should check it out.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Three Hundred and Sixteen - Lego Marvel Superheroes: Maximum Overload, "You know what? It's not bad."

Despite the fact that The Lego Movie trailers have been looking more and more cute and entertaining, currently available Lego-brand series like Ninjago and Clutch Powers haven't exactly kindled the strongest feelings of confidence within me.

Still, I've been on a Marvel kick lately thanks to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Thor: The Dark World and seeing folks play the video game for Lego Marvel Superheros has kind of intrigued me, so I decided to give Maximum Overload a shot... and, you know what? It's actually pretty cute.

To be sure, it's definitely vanilla and dumbed down, relying on sight gags like Wolverine kebab claws and meta in-jokes like Spiderman's angst runs, but there are quite a few clever moments and never do I feel like the properties are being exploited too much. Sure, there's no way in hell that Lego Loki has the charisma of Tom Hiddleston, nor do Tony and Pepper strike the right chord in their dynamic that I'm familiar with both from the movies and the comics, but Spidey is pretty spot on concerning his quips and it all feels much closer to the current run of Ultimate Spiderman when it comes to the television universes.

I'm also kind of impressed that the female characters aren't sexualized like their comic and movie counterparts. Yeah, it's a little hard to do that sort of thing visually, considering the trapezoidal boxes that comprise all Lego figures (aside from Hulk and Abomination), even if they still have painted on cleavage, but there aren't any written gags that trivialize them as sex objects either and that's something of an accomplishment, I think... even in kid friendly entertainment.

I also like how short it is. Clocking in a twenty-two minutes, it moves quickly from scene to scene, giving Loki time to annoy quite a few parties in the Marvel universe before being easily thwarted by the arrival of his brother, Thor, who can fill in the blanks via first-hand exposition.

Finally, I think I should mention the little gags. Whether it's the red 'Exit' sign in Loki's ice palace or "Code Five, no Six," there are just the right amount of silly jokes and asides that make this tiny commercial for the game (and, let's face it, that's what it is) actually palatable on its own and really rather effective as advertising. I do have the urge to buy the game now that I've seen this short little episode, in the hope that the relatively catchy writing and humor carries over.

If you're looking for anything deep, keep scrolling as there are most assuredly better offerings available on the Instant Stream, even when it comes to comic properties, but for fans of the Marvelverse looking for light fare and parents looking to introduce their younger children to comic book movies, Maximum Overload is right up your alley.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and Forty-six - Tron:Uprising, Isolated, "I... may have been hasty."

A few days ago, I was just so happy to finally get a chance to check out the animated tie-in of the Tron universe that I probably forgave more than I should have when it came to plotholes, flat characters, and just general overall cheese.

Now that I'm a couple of episodes in, the bloom is definitely off the rose.

It's not that I don't still enjoy it, somewhat, it's just that there are only so many times I can take awkward scenes, characters acting against type, and the tendency towards episodic resets.

I mean, for a city of thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of programs... The Occupation sure finds plenty of time to interact specifically with Beck and the rest of the garage's mechanics on a regular basis, yet completely forget them once the half-hour is over. I've seen Beck's two compatriots arrested and held several times now by the bad guys and not once do any of the red/orange-shirts stop and say, "Hey, didn't I round you up last week and you escaped? That's suspicious!"

That and the blatant incompetence that the big bad forgives of his direct subordinates, yet punishes with deadly force the slightest infraction by the no-face Redshirts of his army. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Paul Reubens is getting work, but the crap his character Pavel and Emmanuelle's Paige (who should've been named Page... no 'i') get away with, they should've been derezzed long ago.

I mean, consider this episode, Isolated. Paige and Pavel chase the disguised Beck to an island of code out in the middle of the Sea of Simulation. What should be a prime case of actual character development is just more Pavel backstabbing (with no consequences, other than venomous looks) and Paige's mopey hostility.

Sure, the one highlight is the cameo by Olivia Wilde, reprising her role of Quorra from Legacy, but the interactions we see here via Paige's flashbacks are all awkward and ultimately pointless. The whole Iso angle should have deepened both the overall universe and Paige's own personal quest, but thanks to terrible writing and direction, it's useless... a failure.

And that's the whole problem with the series. I really have no trouble understanding why it was cancelled, now. I want to like it. Hell, I want to love it. But for every small moment of potential that peeks through the veil, there are dozens of pathetic, cliche ones that come straight out of Horrible Trope Television 101.

At this point, I can only recommend Tron:Uprising for folks who are desperately in love with Legacy as it retains the fighting and graphic styles. For fans of great television and storytelling? Stay far, far away.

Day One Hundred and Thirty-seven - TRON:UPRISING: Pilot, "Captain Sheridan and Frodo battle Bishop and Hisae? Yes, Please!"

There are several shows that I wish I was a Nielsen's Box-holder for. I, like just about everyone else on the planet, wish that my opinion mattered when it came to what shows get renewed and saved from the ignorant masses and penny-pinching TV executives. The programs that I wish I could've saved were Pushing Daisies, Better Off Ted, and... after watching the pilot episode for the first time, TRON:UPRISING (which Disney recently put on the chopping block).

I don't think it's unfair to say that I am one of the few fans that really, really dug TRON:LEGACY. To me, it was beauty and philosophy wrapped in a ridiculous premise that appealed both to my lizard brain and my sense of poetry.

Plus, it didn't hurt that it was scored by probably my favorite techno band of all time, Daft Punk... and starred the beautiful and talented Olivia Wilde as Quorra (who apparently makes at least one appearance in the series).

When I heard about TRON:UPRISING, I was cautious, as most made-for-tv tie-in series aren't exactly what one would call "quality." Still, it had a pretty stellar voice cast, which included the original Tron, himself, Bruce Boxleitner (whom most folks would probably remember as Captain Sheridan from Babylon 5). I was so happy when he and Jeff Bridges reprised their roles for LEGACY and, while Jeff bowed out of UPRISING, Bruce came back to play the mentor role for Elijah Wood's Beck.

Set sometime between the original TRON and LEGACY, UPRISING tells the story of Clu's takeover of The Grid and how it drives Beck (Wood) to take up the mantle of Tron to try and put a stop to the encroaching military junta under the command of Tesler (Lance Henriksen) and his lieutenant, Paige (Emmanuelle Chriqui).

Unlike LEGACY, UPRISING is rather light on the philosophy, favoring more the immaculately choreographed disc battles and lightcycle chases. In that, I'm a bit bummed, but I think the series was worth saving as a stylistic adventure, even if it was missing the deeper qualities of the films. Anything to fill in the backstory of how The Grid evolved from what it was under Sark and the MCP's command in the labs of ENCOM to the basement of the abandoned Flynn's Arcade of the present day is fine in my book.

This is especially true when you consider how beautifully animated the digital world is. Aside from how annoyingly Aeon Flux most of the character faces and hair are, I'm deeply in love with The Grid and its neon landscapes.

To me, UPRISING is a worthy tie-in. Sure, it fails to capture the totality of what I thought made LEGACY great, but (in only its pilot episode) it's proven itself better than countless adventure series before it. It's a shame Disney cancelled it.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Sixty-three - Titan A.E., or "Come back down to Earth, oh yeah."

I have fond memories of Don Bluth's work in the 80's.

The Secret of Nimh, An American Tail, and All Dogs Go to Heaven were great films that managed to weave death and darkness in addition to basic heroism in children's tales in a way that both frightened and inspired me in my early years. He never really shied away from violence or despair and I loved him for that.

When I first saw trailers for Titan A.E., I was already an adult and thought it was great that he was tackling Science Fiction... especially considering most of his 90's films just hadn't done it for me.

This was especially important because it seemed to have subtle anime stylings as well. Now, that may have just been me projecting. I was just discovering anime as a medium despite having been exposed to it early through the Americanizations of Voltron and Robotech. In my late teens, though, I was finally beginning to realize that there were dozens of schools and styles across the Pacific that Americans were just discovering and spreading. Akima's obvious Asian heritage in Titan A.E. probably just triggered my Weeaboo button when it shouldn't have.

Either way, back then... I was excited for Titan.

Then I saw it.

I thought it was alright, and the grand majority of its CGI animation (the Dredge notwithstanding) was pretty good for the era, but there were better space opera alternatives at the time... like the ill-fated Invasion America.

Coming back to it almost fifteen years later, thanks to Netflix, I feel that my initial hesitance was justified. It's a fun little adventure, at times, but is mostly terrible thanks to puerile writing and predictable story arcs.

I mean, it's one thing to make a chosen one story in space... it's quite another to rely on a silly overly-menacing villain race, an unnecessary second act betrayal, and a love story that comes out of nowhere.

To be honest, I really wanted to believe the Kale/Akima romance, but there was nothing really there. They go from hostile to bosom buddies with little to no prompting and with absolutely no obvious chemistry. Not to mention the fact that when they are both captured and Akima is doomed to the vast expanse of space by the Dredge (the terribad CGI villains of Titan A.E.), she just happens to be picked up by slavers so she can be conveniently rescued by the rest of the crew?

Just how far does a tracking implant transmit, anyway? Yeesh.

Added to that cheese is the second act turn by the Han Solo-esque captain, Korso, and the laughable action sequences, where Janeane Garofalo and Drew Barrymore do nothing but spout inane one-liners and yell petulantly at incoming Dredge fighters, and they pretty much lost me completely.

Just a tip, Don... when you announce that all of the enemy fighters break off to return to the mother ship for a Death Star-like superlaser attack only to have two conveniently come back and attack in what has to be the single most obvious plot hole I've seen in months, you know things you should've known there were problems in the writer's room.

If Anastasia or Rock-a-Doodle hadn't done it, Titan A.E. definitely nailed the coffin shut on Don Bluth's career for me. You are so much better off watching Heavy Metal 2000 for silly space fantasy.

I'm serious... F.A.K.K.2 did a much better job with pretty much every single archetype that Titan A.E. used... but to much greater affect.

And with a better soundtrack, too.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day Fifty-five - The Sky Crawlers, or "So pretty... so, so boring."

Still in an Anime mood, I decided to see what features Netflix has. Sadly, they are few as most of the titles you can find in their genre folder are series. Sure, a good many of them are quality series, but there aren't any Miyazaki films or Saotoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Millenium Actress) and, if I had to choose between Vexille (as interesting as the CGI is) and Street Fighter Alpha, I'd pretty much rather bow out.

Still, there was one title that intrigued me... The Sky Crawlers.

Made by one of my favorite directors, Mamoru Oshii, who also did some of the most groundbreaking scifi pieces to come out of Japan, the Ghost in the Shell movies and Patlabor, The Sky Crawlers tells a really rather sedate tale of fighter pilots in an alternate universe.

The exposition only comes in dribs and drabs as everyone in this film is pretty much loathe to tell their compatriots anything. This is particularly true when it comes to main character Yuichi... as it seems that the pilot he was replacing left under mysterious circumstances and no one wants to tell him why.

Oshii has always been known for minimizing dialogue and focusing purely on atmosphere. In that he is almost a European Existentialist when it comes to his films. I pretty much think he went overboard with that aspect when it comes to Sky Crawlers.

For the longest time, I had NO earthly idea why there was air combat but no ground war in this film. It took a good 2/3rds of the film to pass before it sunk in that it's all for show, that the air campaigns these genetically engineered teenagers fight and die in are proxy wars fought between the two superpowers of the world (think Robot Jox).

These teens, called Kildren, are frozen at the beginning of puberty. They drink, smoke, have sex, and one of them even has a daughter who is quickly catching up to her in age. A lot of the film focuses on their ennui as they don't really have memories and can't tell if those that they do are real or implanted a la Blade Runner.

They're also very cold.

It's hard to root for the main pair, Yuichi and Suito, as they have pretty much no passion. Even when they kiss in the car, the most emotional aspect between them is one preventing the other from shooting either themselves or the other. It's an odd sort of emotional despair where they cannot decide whether to continue living their trivial existence as disposable pawns in an Entertainment War or just end it and enter the lethe of oblivion.

It's a little harder for Suito as she has both a daughter to care for and the fact that the lover she had previous to Yuichi was his clone, Jinroh... or rather, Yuichi is Jinroh's clone... brought back in a vat because his particular genome made him an excellent pilot.

The problem with this movie is, as beautiful as it is, it's far too subtle to be enjoyable. It really does rely too much on atmosphere and doesn't give enough exposition to engage the audience. The true enemies in the film are the governments and corporations who are using these artificial humans to fight their battles, but instead of having a conflict with them, Oshii forces his characters to fight each other... ultimately leading to a face off with the opposing nation's ace "The Teacher" who is repeatedly explained to be just a normal adult man, not a Kildren.  Somehow, he's just too good and never loses even though he's just a man. It's also hinted that he might just be the father of Suito's child, though Oshii cleverly never reveals if this is true, leaving the parentage up in the air between "The Teacher" and Jinroh.

I want to like this film more than I do. It really does have wonderful atmosphere and imagery. I generally do love those subtle existential pieces where beautiful fictions love each other through weighted silence... but it's just too boring. Not enough happens and what does is just spinning wheels. Nothing ever goes anywhere and, the moment you think it might, during the climax, everything just falls back into the cycle of death and rebirth.

Rather annoying when the main character's last lines to the woman he loves is "you have to keep living till you can find a way to change."

Bleh.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~