There’s still time to make plans:
Tag: People’s Pilot Contest
John Ostrander: Back to the Future Tense
by John Ostrander
There’s a lot of time travel going on in pop culture these days. The CW has DC’s Legends of Tomorrow where a rag-tag group of misfits travel around with Doctor Who, excuse me, Rip Hunter Time Master, as he tries to stop the immortal villain, Vandal Savage, from killing his family. Oh, and to prevent Savage from really messing up the world… but mostly to save his own family.
In general, I like time travel stories and have ever since I saw The Time Machine (the 1960 one with Rod Taylor, not the 2002 version with Guy Pearce). A great variation on the H.G. Wells story wasTime After Time, where H.G. Wells (played by Malcolm McDowell) comes to (then) modern day San Francisco chasing Jack the Ripper (David Warner) and encounters the ever adorable Mary Steenburgen.
I like time travel stories in movies, books, comics, and so on. One of the best – and funniest – time travel comics I read was an eight pager by Alan Moore in 2000 AD. Witty and brilliant. Time travel stories can be difficult to pull off well, however. They need to be internally consistent and should jibe not only with the facts but the tone of the time era. That’s easier when the setting is the future or when the story has future travelers coming into our present.
Post Your Pro Video Creations on Amazon & Get Paid
A round of applause, please, for ;another new video/TV/whatev paradigm:
by Ron Amadeo
Amazon is launching a new video service called “Amazon Video Direct.” The new service entices professional video creators to upload their videos to Amazon, where they will be displayed on the Amazon Video site alongside studio-created TV shows and movies. The videos will be viewable by “all Amazon customers” via an ad-supported model, shown to Amazon Prime Video subscribers (presumably without ads) or available as a one-time rental or purchase. The service is launching in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Japan.
It’s easy to see “Ad-supported video” and label Amazon Video Direct as “a YouTube competitor,” but Amazon is clearly only aiming for the “professional” end of the YouTube spectrum. Uploading a video requires that users first create an account (a regular Amazon account won’t work) with a “company” name. It’s also mandatory to connect a bank account and submit tax information so Amazon can distribute all the money you’ll be making. The paperwork required just to upload a video takes the service out of the running for the viral cat videos that pop up on YouTube—this service would be more for the Machinimas or Finebros of the world.
Troy DeVolld: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Critics
by Troy DeVolld
I’m a basically happy guy, and only a couple of things ever really get to me in a way that messes with my default mood.
Dealing with the occasional insecurities of other people who need to tear others down to fulfill their own power fantasies is one of those, but what are you gonna do? It’s Los Angeles.
The other? The never-ending critical war on reality television.
Diana Vacc Sees OUTLANDER Episode 5 “Untimely Resurrection”
by Diana Vaccarelli
This episode of Outlander entitled “Untimely Resurrection” finds Jamie and Claire at odds as the past comes back to haunt them. If you haven’t viewed this episode yet be warned this review may contain spoilers.
THE GOOD:
- The writing of this episode was the best this show has achieved to date. Richard Kahan writes an episode so full of tension that I didn’t just see and hear it, I felt it in my bones. The dialogue this time around is fantastic and gives the actors so much to play with. The way Kahan wrote the return of the Villain – Black Jack Randall – made it the best scene of the show. Everything about it was perfect.
- The Acting was topnotch. Caitriona Balfe, who portrays our heroine Claire, demonstrates a true conflict of the heart. She gives everything to her performance in this episode, and I felt her inner turmoil as my own. Sam Heughan, as Jamie, truly owns this episode with his performance. The anger, satisfaction, and, yes, happiness of the character is tangible in every scene. And, as Black Jack, Tobias Menzies is so evil that the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
THE BAD: