Hello Cadets, I know it's no excuse but I have been working a lot (just under 80 hours this week!) and I just don't get the time to sit and read right now. That being said I am going to keep my promise and release the first of a series of reviews of the various comics I've read the last few weeks. The first review heading your way is Stale N Mate from actor Shia LaBeouf.
First I would like to preface this with the fact that there are very few times, if ever, that I'll read or watch something and just rip it apart, aside from Munger Road (I'm still bitter about that one). I am a firm believer in constructive criticism because everyone has to start somewhere and there is nothing more heartbreaking than someone telling you that you are rubbish at something you love to do. That being said I would like to encourage anyone who really wants to succeed in their craft to take what people are telling you and run with it, use it to improve yourself and never give up.
That being said let's begin. Stale N Mate was a good first attempt and had a very interesting premise. The writing had a few flaws. When writing your story for the comic by hand always type it first and use spell check that way you haven't committed to run on sentences and spelling errors. Also never use shorthand such as w/, b/c, and so on because while you are working hard on this page it will come across as sloppy or lazy. Also try to avoid unnecessary jargon when dealing with laws, we all start out doing that sort of thing but as you go try to paraphrase, keep it simple without losing the meaning to keep it from losing the tone of the story because it will detract from what you are trying to do. Lastly there were some quirky things in the story that definitely were attention-getting and it's bold to not put it as a background easter egg of sorts. Personally I'm for it, do something different (if you read the comic you know I'm talking about the cat).
On to the artwork and again, everyone begins somewhere. The truth is I can tell you are using markers, more than likely Prismacolor because of the lines in the larger drawings. An easy way to get rid of that effect is to color in a circular motion, start from one edge and work your way across the area to make it a bit smoother looking. If you want to do subtle shading you can wait for it to dry and go over the shadowy areas again, the markers layer and it will make it have a little more depth. Lastly practice practice practice. There were some issues with proportion and poses and that's okay. Start out trying to draw poses mimicking other drawings in your own style to learn a bit more about how they should look, more natural looking positions for certain actions, et cetera. Lastly don't leave too much white space, even if it's a Minecraft-esque background you'll want to fill that space. I hear a lot of people do well with the grid system of drawing, there are hundreds of methods, try some out and see what works for you.
Overall this is a tough read but everyone has to work at their craft to get to the level they would like to be at. I look forward to seeing more books and seeing how he improves. Just to be clear, I do draw, I'm by no means a great artist but to all the artists out there, help others out, share words of wisdom or how you learned to draw the way you do because sometimes "try harder" isn't specific enough. I give kudos to anyone who at least tries, no matter the outcome.
That's all for today, please feel free to visit me on facebook at War Kitten Revue or twitter @WarKittenRevue. Also you can visit my youtube channel at War Kitten TV. I know this turned into a critique session but what can you do? Thanks for visiting, this is War Kitten signing off and informing you that "because I'm awesome" is not a valid answer to any question asked in an interview, even if it's totally true.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Movie Review Monday: Nerds Assemble!
Hello Cadets! It was a beautiful rainy weekend and unless you've been hiding all week you know what highly anticipated movie came out this weekend. I was one of the crazies that went to the midnight premiere and may I just say it was worth the long day that I had just to be there. Without further ado, may I present my review of Marvel's The Avengers!
Let me start out with the fact that this movie was impossible to watch without bias, there were high expectations all around from the cast to the director to the fight choreographers. I never in a million years thought every expectation for this movie would be met then exceeded beyond what I thought was possible. This will be the first time I will be using an A-E rating system A being the highest mark and E being the lowest. We are going to break it down in three catagories this time because the scale of this movie requires that much review.
First let's start with the story and directing as both were done by Joss Whedon (with additional writing credit to Zack Pen). Joss has a very distinctive style of writing that puts him on a different level from the other comic book movie writers. He likes to break tension from very intense scenes with unexpected verbal or physical comedy. The story was extremely engaging and is almost abrupt at times. He can create this tension that feels like it's at a breaking point then make it completely dissipate with a single joke or action that catches the audience off guard. The trick is that every so often there will be a very heartfelt scene and we wait for the punchline, but it never comes. I imagine this is an attempt to add gravity to the overall story and let me tell you, it works. Overall I give it an A.
Next is the cast, and boy, what a cast. There are two big risks in getting this many amazing actors and actresses in one film and that's balanced, adequate screentime and a consistent performance. Both of these aspects can be tricky but each character had their role in keeping the movie going all while staying in character. There is the brute, the soldier, the joker, the brain, and the cold, calculating informers (you can guess who I mean by each). Each actor and actress played a large role in moving the story, no single character was the sole focus for more than a short amount of time. The drama, quick wit and pure, terrifying rage was clearly emoted with enough force to get the point across without becoming campy or overdone. Overall I have a hard time defining who was the best hero but by far Loki is my new favorite villain of any movie I've seen. He is insane and it shows every minute you see him. I wish I could give a rating higher than an A but it'll have to suffice.
Last but not least is the production of the film. The camerawork and editing were something to behold, there was not a scene wasted, the pan shot of the heroes finally united for the final battle was awe inspiring and the action sequences were fast but lacked that quick cut-away choppy editing that is so popular in poorly filmed action scenes. The fights were choreographed with amazing fluidity and such brute force that you didn't want to look away for even a second. The sound was perfect, background noise did not distract the viewer from what was going on and the music was extremely well done in matching the emotion of the scene and overall tone. Overall I give the production an A.
This movie is fantastic, I saw it in regular 2D and still plan on going back two more times before the theater run ends. This film has something for everyone and is a definite must see. I give it an overall A and encourage and implore everyone to check it out.
I do have one additional announcement before signing off, I have officially launched my youtube channel and posted a promo video of what's to come. You can view it at War Kitten TV. Until then this is War Kitten signing off and reminding you that some assembly may be required, batteries not included. I'm going to go play with Legos...
Let me start out with the fact that this movie was impossible to watch without bias, there were high expectations all around from the cast to the director to the fight choreographers. I never in a million years thought every expectation for this movie would be met then exceeded beyond what I thought was possible. This will be the first time I will be using an A-E rating system A being the highest mark and E being the lowest. We are going to break it down in three catagories this time because the scale of this movie requires that much review.
First let's start with the story and directing as both were done by Joss Whedon (with additional writing credit to Zack Pen). Joss has a very distinctive style of writing that puts him on a different level from the other comic book movie writers. He likes to break tension from very intense scenes with unexpected verbal or physical comedy. The story was extremely engaging and is almost abrupt at times. He can create this tension that feels like it's at a breaking point then make it completely dissipate with a single joke or action that catches the audience off guard. The trick is that every so often there will be a very heartfelt scene and we wait for the punchline, but it never comes. I imagine this is an attempt to add gravity to the overall story and let me tell you, it works. Overall I give it an A.
Next is the cast, and boy, what a cast. There are two big risks in getting this many amazing actors and actresses in one film and that's balanced, adequate screentime and a consistent performance. Both of these aspects can be tricky but each character had their role in keeping the movie going all while staying in character. There is the brute, the soldier, the joker, the brain, and the cold, calculating informers (you can guess who I mean by each). Each actor and actress played a large role in moving the story, no single character was the sole focus for more than a short amount of time. The drama, quick wit and pure, terrifying rage was clearly emoted with enough force to get the point across without becoming campy or overdone. Overall I have a hard time defining who was the best hero but by far Loki is my new favorite villain of any movie I've seen. He is insane and it shows every minute you see him. I wish I could give a rating higher than an A but it'll have to suffice.
Last but not least is the production of the film. The camerawork and editing were something to behold, there was not a scene wasted, the pan shot of the heroes finally united for the final battle was awe inspiring and the action sequences were fast but lacked that quick cut-away choppy editing that is so popular in poorly filmed action scenes. The fights were choreographed with amazing fluidity and such brute force that you didn't want to look away for even a second. The sound was perfect, background noise did not distract the viewer from what was going on and the music was extremely well done in matching the emotion of the scene and overall tone. Overall I give the production an A.
This movie is fantastic, I saw it in regular 2D and still plan on going back two more times before the theater run ends. This film has something for everyone and is a definite must see. I give it an overall A and encourage and implore everyone to check it out.
I do have one additional announcement before signing off, I have officially launched my youtube channel and posted a promo video of what's to come. You can view it at War Kitten TV. Until then this is War Kitten signing off and reminding you that some assembly may be required, batteries not included. I'm going to go play with Legos...
Monday, February 27, 2012
Movie Review Monday: Safe House: Safe as Houses?
Hello Cadets! Welcome to Movie Review Monday! Let’s get this new schedule started with my review of Safe House.
First I would like to start this out with the fact that I am not a huge Denzel Washington fan. I like the concept of his movies but at times they are formulaic and, dare I say, predictable because they all seem to attempt to be too unpredictable. That being said the big selling point is that I like espionage films and I love Brendan Gleeson so I gave it a shot, and here are the results.
The Good:
The story, while still following that aforementioned formula, did have quite a few turns to the point, you knew the twist was there but it was hard to figure out where the audience was being led. I enjoyed the action scenes and the breaks in between where the story took over again. No action scene was necessarily unnecessary and the choreography was, for the most part, timed well. A big shout out to the people who put the car chases together, they were almost beautiful in their complex simplicity. The ending was slightly predictable in the sense you could figure out the outcome, it was the how and why that kept you guessing until the reveal.
The actors were spot on, the emotion was there, pain where necessary, almost to a point where it didn't always feel like it was just acting. Ryan Reynolds showed a lot of depth in his performance and for that I will forgive him for Green Lantern (just kidding, I thought it was funny). Denzel played a cool and calm antagonist, a smooth talker and almost had you rooting for him even though you know he's the bad guy.
The Bad:
I know it is a popular method but there really is such thing as too much camera shake. The fights, as I said, were mostly well timed, and this is where that statement is elaborated on. The camera shook as if the cameraman was holding it while participating in the fight, not to mention the plethora of cuts thrown in randomly. It’s hard to follow when the scene is shown for two seconds from angle 1 then cuts to a second of angle 2 then enter and high-angled slow-mo shot. I honestly just assume the fighting was so badly executed that they use that style to cover the gaps, punches thrown too slow, et cetera, ad nauseum. That was honestly my only gripe, but then again not everyone can pull of the Bahnhof Rumble scene in Hanna (If you don’t know what I’m talking about you are missing out).
Overall this movie was amazing and I would definitely watch it again. The story was riveting and the acting was fantastic, and as far as I’ve researched, this is not a remake! If I had to give it a rating this movie gets an A- (could have been an A+ if it wasn’t for the crazy camera/fight scene editing).
I hope you like the first official Movie Review Monday. You can check out the latest updates and upcoming events at War Kitten Revue on facebook or follow me on twitter @WarKittenRevue. This is War Kitten signing off and asking Nintendo fans to forgive Michael Bay. You all thought it was awesome when everything exploded in Goldeneye 64 including wooden crates, he just took it to a new level. #GoldeneyeComplex
First I would like to start this out with the fact that I am not a huge Denzel Washington fan. I like the concept of his movies but at times they are formulaic and, dare I say, predictable because they all seem to attempt to be too unpredictable. That being said the big selling point is that I like espionage films and I love Brendan Gleeson so I gave it a shot, and here are the results.
The Good:
The story, while still following that aforementioned formula, did have quite a few turns to the point, you knew the twist was there but it was hard to figure out where the audience was being led. I enjoyed the action scenes and the breaks in between where the story took over again. No action scene was necessarily unnecessary and the choreography was, for the most part, timed well. A big shout out to the people who put the car chases together, they were almost beautiful in their complex simplicity. The ending was slightly predictable in the sense you could figure out the outcome, it was the how and why that kept you guessing until the reveal.
The actors were spot on, the emotion was there, pain where necessary, almost to a point where it didn't always feel like it was just acting. Ryan Reynolds showed a lot of depth in his performance and for that I will forgive him for Green Lantern (just kidding, I thought it was funny). Denzel played a cool and calm antagonist, a smooth talker and almost had you rooting for him even though you know he's the bad guy.
The Bad:
I know it is a popular method but there really is such thing as too much camera shake. The fights, as I said, were mostly well timed, and this is where that statement is elaborated on. The camera shook as if the cameraman was holding it while participating in the fight, not to mention the plethora of cuts thrown in randomly. It’s hard to follow when the scene is shown for two seconds from angle 1 then cuts to a second of angle 2 then enter and high-angled slow-mo shot. I honestly just assume the fighting was so badly executed that they use that style to cover the gaps, punches thrown too slow, et cetera, ad nauseum. That was honestly my only gripe, but then again not everyone can pull of the Bahnhof Rumble scene in Hanna (If you don’t know what I’m talking about you are missing out).
Overall this movie was amazing and I would definitely watch it again. The story was riveting and the acting was fantastic, and as far as I’ve researched, this is not a remake! If I had to give it a rating this movie gets an A- (could have been an A+ if it wasn’t for the crazy camera/fight scene editing).
I hope you like the first official Movie Review Monday. You can check out the latest updates and upcoming events at War Kitten Revue on facebook or follow me on twitter @WarKittenRevue. This is War Kitten signing off and asking Nintendo fans to forgive Michael Bay. You all thought it was awesome when everything exploded in Goldeneye 64 including wooden crates, he just took it to a new level. #GoldeneyeComplex
Thursday, February 2, 2012
I'm joining the modern age! Follow me on Facebook and Twitter!
Ok cadets, we are starting to gain some momentum here, we are at 12 likes on facebook, yay double digits! As I said, big things are coming and here comes something shameless. At 30 likes on facebook I will post the Rules and Regulations for the April Fools Contest. Since the two big cons I will be attending will be C2E2 (April 13, 14, and 15) and ACEN (April 27, 28, and 29) I will be holding a contest for people who are following my page, in order to participate you will have to like the link below! Details will be coming soon so please stay tuned, tomorrow I will start the new schedule:
Movie Review Mondays - Each Monday will be a movie review of anything from blockbusters to indies, I am always open to suggestions!
Work-in-Progress Wednesdays - This day is for projects and new videos on my youtube channel, which will hopefully launch soon!
Game Night Fridays - I will be doing a game review every Friday from the old busted to the new hotness.
Potpurri Sundays - these are the non-specific articles such as top ten lists and random ramblings about a variety of topics.
Reports on conventions will probably replace Potpurri Sundays but now that I have wi-fi it'll be easier to track what I am doing during those long and hectic three day events.
Either way, I hope you guys all keep checking in, you can find me on facebook at or on twitter @WarKittenRevue. This is War Kitten signing out, so long and thanks for all the fish!
Movie Review Mondays - Each Monday will be a movie review of anything from blockbusters to indies, I am always open to suggestions!
Work-in-Progress Wednesdays - This day is for projects and new videos on my youtube channel, which will hopefully launch soon!
Game Night Fridays - I will be doing a game review every Friday from the old busted to the new hotness.
Potpurri Sundays - these are the non-specific articles such as top ten lists and random ramblings about a variety of topics.
Reports on conventions will probably replace Potpurri Sundays but now that I have wi-fi it'll be easier to track what I am doing during those long and hectic three day events.
Either way, I hope you guys all keep checking in, you can find me on facebook at or on twitter @WarKittenRevue. This is War Kitten signing out, so long and thanks for all the fish!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
I Didn't Panic and Even Remembered My Towel
Hello Cadets! It's been a rocky stretch of road for me but I am pleased to say I am coming back, prepare yourself for some fun stuff! There will be big changes such as a youtube channel, possibly a new facebook page, and lots and lots of reviews including the new Silver Bullet trade paperback (Thank you, Lonely Robot!). Once I am situated and have my new office set up I will be writing a post a day until I'm caught up including reviews, events and even a contest! Please stay tuned and bear with me, I promise it won't be much longer! This is War Kitten signing off and sticking out her thumb, towel in hand.
Also, the image above is from 1stwebdesigner.com, it's actually a really nifty site.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
You Love to Hate and Hate to Love and How I Feel About It
Hello cadets! It has been an interesting week and after a couple of even more interesting conversations I felt we were due for a slight comparison rant. Let me preface this with the fact that I absolutely love movies, they are great for escaping reality and inciting emotion, it’s escapism at its finest. That being said, I cannot stand film critics, overly critical people, and the dreaded elitist.
I understand that I am a bit of a critic myself but there is a vast difference between myself and most of the critics in the news and magazines. I am aware that I do not like dramatic love stories and depression inducing movies, that being said I do not review movies such as the Notebook or Pursuit of Happiness purely because I have a strong bias. That being said I hate hate hate critics who review action movies and complain at the lack of realism, or watch an animated movie and nitpick at it for being animated. I feel if you go in with bias against a movie that you should have a disclaimer at the beginning of your review. I would like to see two reviews, one for diehard movie fans and another for the casual movie-goer; to me it just makes sense.
That brings me to my next bit of disdain, overly critical people. I understand you want to get the most for your money when you see a film but if you want extreme realism please do not see any comedies, action movies, animated movies, in fact, just go watch a nice documentary. Movies are typically fiction and therefore have many fictional elements; bending physics to fit a story is one of many tactics a film may use. I understand it can be irksome at times but instead of getting angry try to laugh at the obvious flaws, it’s just a movie, no need to get worked up over minor details or slight plot holes. To me a movie is a method of escaping reality, no need to drag reality with you into a fantasy world.
Last but definitely not least is the elitist. These are the people who declare a movie that is a remake, reimagining, port from paper to film, etc… as awful based on a brief synopsis and trailer or other people’s opinions (a.k.a. mob mentality). Again, I can understand the why but sometimes the hyper-critical hysteria in bashing a movie is just too much, especially if it’s not even out yet. These people tend to get angry at things such as the Thor movie because it wasn’t the version of the story they liked, saw it in the theater anyway and then bashed it and declared how awful it was despite the fact that they technically supported the movie by seeing it in theaters. Another aspect that made me a bit batty was the fact that many people refused to see the Watchmen and spoke poorly about it because Alan Moore refused to give it a chance and declared war on the film. To me that sounds like a bunch of followers who were incapable of forming their own opinion lest they displease the creator. I will give Moore a lot of leeway as that was his brainchild and his legacy but that being said he should have known that this movie was a long time coming due to the comic’s legendary status. Either way, people need to chill out and learn to enjoy it, it’s not like the movie Priest (now there was a travesty).
All in all I feel people have started to look for more than entertainment in movies. You can learn important lessons or finally see your favorite hero as he or she would be in our world but the reality is that movies are, in fact, not reality. Just because you didn’t learn a life lesson does not make the movie bad, and if you go into an animated film expecting realism you must have missed the part where they said animated. That being said I will continue watching comedies, action flicks, and B movies because it’s an hour and a half to three hours that I was able to let myself be absorbed into a different world and for a little while shifted my focus to something fun. That being said, this is War Kitten signing off and informing you that if I see any sparkling vampires while I’m in Seattle I cannot control my impulse for vampire population control.
I understand that I am a bit of a critic myself but there is a vast difference between myself and most of the critics in the news and magazines. I am aware that I do not like dramatic love stories and depression inducing movies, that being said I do not review movies such as the Notebook or Pursuit of Happiness purely because I have a strong bias. That being said I hate hate hate critics who review action movies and complain at the lack of realism, or watch an animated movie and nitpick at it for being animated. I feel if you go in with bias against a movie that you should have a disclaimer at the beginning of your review. I would like to see two reviews, one for diehard movie fans and another for the casual movie-goer; to me it just makes sense.
That brings me to my next bit of disdain, overly critical people. I understand you want to get the most for your money when you see a film but if you want extreme realism please do not see any comedies, action movies, animated movies, in fact, just go watch a nice documentary. Movies are typically fiction and therefore have many fictional elements; bending physics to fit a story is one of many tactics a film may use. I understand it can be irksome at times but instead of getting angry try to laugh at the obvious flaws, it’s just a movie, no need to get worked up over minor details or slight plot holes. To me a movie is a method of escaping reality, no need to drag reality with you into a fantasy world.
Last but definitely not least is the elitist. These are the people who declare a movie that is a remake, reimagining, port from paper to film, etc… as awful based on a brief synopsis and trailer or other people’s opinions (a.k.a. mob mentality). Again, I can understand the why but sometimes the hyper-critical hysteria in bashing a movie is just too much, especially if it’s not even out yet. These people tend to get angry at things such as the Thor movie because it wasn’t the version of the story they liked, saw it in the theater anyway and then bashed it and declared how awful it was despite the fact that they technically supported the movie by seeing it in theaters. Another aspect that made me a bit batty was the fact that many people refused to see the Watchmen and spoke poorly about it because Alan Moore refused to give it a chance and declared war on the film. To me that sounds like a bunch of followers who were incapable of forming their own opinion lest they displease the creator. I will give Moore a lot of leeway as that was his brainchild and his legacy but that being said he should have known that this movie was a long time coming due to the comic’s legendary status. Either way, people need to chill out and learn to enjoy it, it’s not like the movie Priest (now there was a travesty).
All in all I feel people have started to look for more than entertainment in movies. You can learn important lessons or finally see your favorite hero as he or she would be in our world but the reality is that movies are, in fact, not reality. Just because you didn’t learn a life lesson does not make the movie bad, and if you go into an animated film expecting realism you must have missed the part where they said animated. That being said I will continue watching comedies, action flicks, and B movies because it’s an hour and a half to three hours that I was able to let myself be absorbed into a different world and for a little while shifted my focus to something fun. That being said, this is War Kitten signing off and informing you that if I see any sparkling vampires while I’m in Seattle I cannot control my impulse for vampire population control.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Coming soon!
Hello Cadets! This will be a short post while I recover from Wizard World Chicago. I only went for one day but it was extremely fun yet intense. I have many reviews coming your way including artist reviews, cosplay features, and comic reviews. Please stay tuned, I will try to do one a day until I'm done starting with the con report. Hope to see you all soon! This is War Kitten signing off and needing a nap.
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