Ladies and gentlemen of the internet, welcome to the first ever installment of My Opinion Matters! This semi-regular, possibly ongoing web-based log will be a place for me to post my thoughts and feelings towards whatever aspect of popular culture I feel like explaining; mostly concerning the nerdier corners of film, television, video games and comic books, but occasionally I may find something to talk about with a wider appeal. Who knows? I don't. I'm just making this up as I go along.
However, the question arises: Why should you read my web-based log? Why should my thoughts and feelings be expressed over anyone else's? Why, in essence, does my opinion matter? The truth is...it doesn't, really. The title was chosen out of irony more than genuine hubris. Still, I do hope that you find my writings entertaining and enlightening enough to follow them from week to week (or however often I update this thing).
The next question that arises is: Who am I? A loaded question if ever there was one. In short, I'm a geek with a computer, some free time, and a desire to practice writing on a regular basis. To get a better feel for who I am, I've decided my first entry will be a list of some of my favorite things (Don't worry, I won't be doing this sort of thing often. My life isn't interesting enough to talk about on a regular basis). My initial decision was to list my top movie, tv show, comic, etc., but then it dawned on me that all of those things fall under a very similar umbrella of sci-fi/fantasy genre fiction, so I thought a more varied list would be my second favorite things. So, without further, here are my silver medalists in the grand spectrum of things I like:
2nd Favorite Movie: The Big Lebowski. Described as the 'first cult classic of the internet age', Lebowski is a weird kind of comedy; laid back but occasionally manic, character driven despite the cast being characetures, and following an ongoing mystery investigated by a protagonist with no drive or passion, who hasn't even grown or changed by the end. And yet it's one of the best comedies of all time. The cast is universally brilliant; from the languid Jeff Bridges, the hot-tempered John Goodman, the simplistic Steve Buscemi, the artistic Julianne Moore, the sage Sam Elliott, and confusingly sexy John Turturro, whose first scene is worth the price of admission alone. The cast is great, the writing is clever, the direction matches the tone perfectly, and the music is pitch perfect. If you haven't seen this flick yet, check it out.
2nd Favorite TV Show: The Spectacular Spider-Man. The wall-crawler has a special place in my heart, being the first superhero I ever really liked. A shame that he couldn't quite make it outside the medium. Oh his programs were popular, to be sure, but they weren't really all that good. The 60's cartoon, while campy and fun, was also simple, juvenile, and cheap. The 90's cartoon was something of a mess, with uneven animation, even more simplistic writing, and generally read like a watered-down version of the web-slinger. The Raimi trilogy was a excellent way for superhero movies to break into and subsequently take over Hollywood, but they're so fucking morose. Spidey needs to be fun and fast and energetic in addition to sad and melodramatic and slightly emo. However, in 2008, we finally got the perfect Spider-Man show. Spec Spidey struck the perfect balance of humor, drama, action, and romance (seriously, go look over Peter Parker's romantic history. Dude gets around). The animation was fast and stylized and even borrowed elements from the early Spider-Man stories from Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita. A fantastic show that was tragically taken off the air before it's time. Beyond amazing, it was spectacular.
2nd Favorite Video Game: Pokemon. Which one, you ask? I dunno, they're all pretty much the same, aren't they? Except Diamond and Pearl, those were kinda disappointing. Still, though, the franchise generally hasn't budged from the formula that was established in 1997...but maybe that's because it works. Pokemon has a depth to it that you don't find in many games; there's no one set way to beat the game. There are trends, to be sure, but it's still really in the player's hands how they want to play. I like that kind of freedom. Yes, the series is flawed, partially in its absolute failure to tell a compelling story but mainly because Nintendo releases the same game every three years and still turns a profit, but I still have a ton of fun with it, and that's really the best thing you can ask for in a game.
2nd Favorite Comic Book: I Kill Giants. Something that I've often admired in fiction is honesty; the ability for a writer to inject his or her own personal life experiences onto the page. It's a trait I definately wish I had and it's a trait that writer Joe Kelly shows off in this graphic novel published by Image Comics. The art by J.M. Ken Niimura matches the story perfectly; an anime-influenced style that's inviting, engaging, and pretty damn dynamic when it needs to be. The story is fun, funny, actiony, and, if you're not careful, it'll bring a tear to your eye. Please, I emplore you, go read this thing.
2nd Favorite Book: Catcher in the Rye. I'm going to be upfront about this and say that I don't read many books. For lack of a more adult reason, they don't have enough pictures. A good deal of the books I both remember and like were read for school, and this is one of them. Catcher has struck a chord with so many before me because it has relatability. Yes, Holden Caufield is a whiny, angry, pretentious dickhead, but can you honestly say you weren't like that when you were teenager? It's a bit aimless and sometimes enfuriating, but there's enough comedy, heart, and truth to keep me engaged. This is a book I should really read again some day.
2nd Biggest Hero: George Carlin. You won't be surprised to find that my heroes are mostly writers. Carlin was something of a countercultural icon, whose views on politics, religion, and the English language itself were often controversial. In addition to that, he was very funny, very smart, and one of the most cunning linguists to ever be given a microphone. Don't believe me? Take a listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCljFYn3zTY
2nd Favorite Snack Food: Funyuns.
2nd Favorite Episode of The Simpsons: "Homer at the Bat".
2nd Favorite Character from Firefly: Shepher Book.
I think that's enough for now, don't you? Thanks for reading and please keep on doing it! If you have a suggestion for a topic for me to ramble on about, post it here. That's it for now, I'll see you all next time on My Opinion Matters!
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