Tuesday 27 December 2011

DryChris's Top 10 Characters That Needed More Screentime

In movies, there's a lot of things that need to be handled with care and precision. The writing has to be good, the sets have to fit the atmosphere of the film, the music has to do it's job, and the editing has to be spot-on. But there's also the characters that need to be taken into consideration. Each character needs to be in the movie for a set amount of time. This sort of thing can also be said for games. But you know, sometimes I want to see some of the characters a little longer. Maybe they just amuse me greatly or I feel that they might be more than what is already displayed to us that needs to be known. Perhaps it was because they needed to equal the screen time for each character or they didn't really feel that the character needed anything else. Nonetheless, these are the ones that I would have loved to seen more of.

10. The Duo Who Owned The Theatre (Phantom of The Opera)



They get so little screen time, I can't even find a good picture of them. So here's the theater they own.

The Phantom of The Opera is one of those movies that seems to have good supporting characters and great songs, but an awful main character with a somewhat cool concept. But I'm not here to bash Gerald Bulter's performance. I'm here to talk about the two characters that apparently own the theatre. These two are at the very bottom of my list because I really didn't have enough to really work with. Their names seem to be lost in the film and they appear few times. When they do appear, they amuse the hell out of me. They mainly served as worms that were pressured to follow the main actress' desires but the way they squirmed was so fun. They were just so paranoid and didn't want to have a bad show, like any theatre owner.

I really would have loved to just seen more conversation with the other performers. It would have been fun to see them switch from demanding the actors to ordering chocolates to its more valuable actors. It would have provided with great comedic relief once things got incredibly dramatic and maudlin. It's too bad that they just went like that, but luckily the others managed to entertain me nonetheless.

9. Knuckles (Sonic 3)



I sometimes wonder who makes his gloves...

Now I know what you're thinking. "Why would you ever want more screen time for Knuckles when the main focus is Sonic? For that matter, why him? He was basically the side-character that exemplified the annoyance that later side-characters would emulate." Well, let me explain. When Knuckles was introduced in Sonic 3, he was simply a very pompous character that used brute force because he wanted to guard the island. The interesting part of his character in the game is that he allies with Robotnik thinking that Sonic is the villain. Now that alone seems like an interesting concept that they could have played around.

It would have just been nice to seen him interacting with Robotnik a little more and slowly coming to the realization that Robotnik is the bad guy. But then again, Knuckles was redeemed with the expansion pack and the "story" in Sonic 3 was still good in it of itself. And I have to be honest, I've said this thing before. I'm not really into the story when it comes to a Sonic game. So it shouldn't be something of a high importance. Besides, he got more screen time in later Sonic games which actually made up for the lack in Sonic 3.

8. Waluigi (Mario Series)



Is it me, or does it look like his overalls are incredibly tight on him?

Waluigi is a very underused character. And that wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't in so many freaking games as an underused character. Waluigi is supposed to be Luigi's arch nemesis in a sense, much like how Mario and Wario are. But this character does nothing. He simply plays party games. I don't really get it. He seems like he would be a perfect cheesy villain. He has a vaudeville look going for him, he seems to have an obsession with Bob-ombs and tennis rackets. If Luigi actually had a more adventure based game rather than Luigi's Mansion (which isn't bad), he could have been a fun villain to fight against. Heck, they could have had Waluigi make some sort of cameo in Luigi's Mansion.

In fact, he could have been like how Bowser appeared in Luigi's Mansion. Yeah, a ton of ghosts could have been manipulating a Waluigi costume and throwing ghostly bombs. That would be incredibly bizarre and maybe a little nonsensical, but at least he would be put to use in a very interesting manner. I don't know, I just think that for a character that's been returning in so many Mario games to have such a little point is a tad insulting.

7. General Guy (Paper Mario)



Mee-auwg! (Shy Guy for Sieg Heil)

Paper Mario had some really inventive surroundings. In fact, if we were to rate Mario game series on creativity, I think the Paper Mario series would be on par with the Super Mario Galaxy duo. You had ice castles, European-like ghost towns, fortresses in the middle of the forest and best of all, you had the Shy Guy Toy Box. Which basically was like if your toys were overrun by an army of masked monks. And of all the bosses in Paper Mario, General Guy was by far, my favorite. He had a very interesting tank-like vehicle and had a lot of quirkyness to his character. I mean, he attacks with a light bulb. That's just so silly, but it worked for him.

Now the thing was that the character is a boss character, so it would feel weird to have him come back when you just whooped his ass, but come on. If he escaped the toybox, they could have had a chase scene around the "hub" of the game. If he crashed in another map, he could have had his tank enhanced by the surroundings. Just imagine his tank pouring lava onto the battle. Or he would pick off icicles on the tank and throw them at you. I just would have loved to seen more of him. Plus, it would have been much better of a reoccurring battle than that little egghead twerp. You know the one I'm talking about.

6. Joel Cairo (The Maltese Falcon)



He could be anyone with that look. But that voice can just ruin that. 

Now I would just like to say that I loved this film. This classical film noir really summarized how those sort of films are supposed to play out. Interesting but mischievous clients, antagonists that range from bitter to elegant to deceiving and quick talking, hard boiled private dicks. This film just had a lot going for it. And one of the supporting characters that I seemed to like the most was Peter Lorre as Joel Cairo. Cairo is an interesting character because you can't really tell if he's a pawn or a man with his own plans. He seems to be both at some times which seems really weird for someone to pull off. 

I really wanted to see what else Joel had in store. He just seemed much more secretive and sly than the other two antagonists. He just had more hidden to him which really drew me to him. But I guess the less I know about him works to the film's advantage. Film noires are known to have such tangled and perplexing characters that wrap themselves in an enigma. But it just would have been nice to see more of Cairo's perspective. 

5. Baby Herman (Who Framed Roger Rabbit)



Who's a cute little chain smoker? You are! Yes you are! Yes you are!!

For a movie that has a lot of cameos, you'd think that it would be hard for me to choose. Well, here's the thing, as much as I would have wanted to seen some of the one-time cameos be a little more extended, it doesn't really seem like something that would work. WFRR is supposed to focus itself on the other toons that just so happen to work with the toons that we grew up with. There isn't that many supporting toon characters that don't live in another cartoon series, so the choice really seemed easy for me. Baby Herman had to land a spot here.

Baby Herman is Roger Rabbit's co-star who acts like a baby and looks like a baby, but has an incredibly crass attitude. He knew what happened and he wanted to make sure that Eddie had his facts straight. He seemed like someone that could have pulled off the tough guy if he wasn't...well...a baby. The movie still is wonderful to me, but I just can't help but imagine him doing more comedic relief. Couldn't you just imagine him appearing in that bar out of nowhere, asking for the waitress for a drink? I sure as hell did and thought that it would have been hilarious. But hey, what he managed to do still put a goofy smile on my face. 

4. Edna Mode (The Incredibles)



The first person to point out the flaw of capes to me. 

The Incredibles's cast really seemed like something that gave every character a fair amount of screen time. Not one character was neglected and not one character was on too much. It all seemed to fit perfectly. So you're probably wondering why in holy hell I would put a character from that movie on this list. Well, Edna is like a comedian doing a really good opening act for another really good comedian. You found yourself to have a really good time with her and even though the main event was satisfying, you just can't help but want to see her more. She perfectly captured the fashion designer cliche and stretched it to such a laughable extent. You really can't add that much more other than she was a riot in the films. 

3. James Donnelly (L.A Noire)



BINGO, BOY-O!

L.A Noire is quite a video game, if you haven't heard me yapping my head off about it yet. It offers a lot to the player and feels a lot like an interactive adventure. But the best part is that it revived the film noir in such a way that it was quite refreshing. Maybe it's because the whole game isn't in black and white, but just something about it made all the familiarity of the film noir genre refreshing. That and it actually did have some "modern" elements to it. But now let's talk James Donnelly.

James Donnelly is the Irish police chief of the LAPD that seems to not take any shit. But at the same time he's very inviting and and tries to be as charismatic to you as possible. He pats you on the back when you do things good and tries to make sure that you're still doing your job and your doing it right. He really had his own sort of mood that differentiated him from the other characters. He also seemed to have a past of his own that was as checkered as Cole's. In fact, maybe he had an even more convoluted life. You're not sure. Much like Cario, Donnelly has a lot more mystery and slyness to him. But unlike Cairo, Donnelly seems to have answers that make you ask more questions. That and if you compare the two, Donnelly has a lot more screen time. Then again, like Cairo, you just can't help but want to see more behind the LAPD chief.

2. Crooks (Of Mice and Men) 



Uh...I can't think of a witty tagline. 

Of Mice and Men was an ok book, but showed itself to be a great movie in 1992. It wasn't the best, but you really felt the effort placed into the film. But there's something that not only the movie, but the book had a problem with. And that was that they didn't develop a character that had the most turmoil throughout the journey enough. That being Crooks. Crooks is a stable man who is discriminated for his skin and finds himself in his own cabin. He spent most of the time alone and grew insane and incredibly bitter. It scarred him. Add to the fact that he's physically challenged and you pretty much have a tormented character that could be developed into something more.

They only meet him once and it really shows how much he's suffering, but it just felt as though he needed something else. Perhaps we had to see the discrimination in action by him going into the other cabin and being assaulted by Curly. Or hell, when he's slowly making a connection with George and Lennie and he realizes that one is dead and the other leaves the town, they could have shown his reaction. And judging by how those two were the closest to friends he had, he would feel crushed. I just saw a lot of potential for him.

1. Amos (Chicago)



To think that he was a Sasquatch...

If anyone knows me, they'd know that I love Chicago. It's one of my favorite musicals ever. But aside from they, they'd know that my favorite character in the film is Amos. Amos is a really relatable character. He finds himself as an every man who just gets stiffed over by his supposed wife. People use him as a pawn and make him feel insignificant no matter what. This guy is also a powerhouse with the emotional side of people with his song "Mr. Cellophane", which shows how he feels when he converses with anyone. And we've all felt what he's felt at one point or the other. But here's the problem. The film isn't about him. It's about Roxie Hart.

Is this bad? Not really. Roxie's story of how she craves attention and does anything to gain it while having a pseudo-romance with her lawyer is gripping...but damn, with all that he has, Amos could have a whole musical centered around him. It could tackle his job, his feelings for his wife, how he reacts with the news that he gets and the intense heartbreak he feels at the end. He just has so much that can be used and he just doesn't seem to have enough of it. Then again, like most of these entries, the work is still great with the allotted screen time he gets, but I really just want to see a story about this sad, troubled man. 

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Shuffle Jukebox #1

I realize that my most recent blog wasn't the best blog I could have made. All I did really was use this to upload a gif. I also realize that I lack actual blogs in here, and for that I'm sorry. To make it up for you, I've decided to start this up. The Shuffle Jukebox. I basically take a bunch of songs from my iTunes and talk about them. The reason I wanted to start this up is because I like talking about music to others. Music to me is wonderful form of art. It can convey all sorts of stories simply by listening to them. To me, if a picture is 1000 words, then a song is a 1000 pictures. Anyways, enough of the introduction, let's get to the meat of this blog.


Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver (theme)




As I have previously stated before in a past blog of mine, I am a huge fanatic of the film noir movies. So naturally, I would be a fan of the soundtracks of these movies. And would you look at that, the first song on this blog is from a film noir. Before I can get talking about the song, we must at least skim over the film where this song presides, Taxi Driver. Taxi Driver is a 1976 Martin Scorcese film that stars Robert De Niro as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam war veteran who works as a taxi driver who slowly drives himself down into madness. The movie is by far light, as we see the trauma and pain that Travis endures throughout the whole journey.

The song begins with a bunch of crescendoes of the percussion. Afterwards, the brass come along with the strings and the sax blasts out. The sax mostly goes about at a slow, slightly painful dialogue that carries on for a while until the harmon trumpet takes a turn to talk. The strings then go about, repeating the sax's statements, but in a softer tone. The trumpet and sax take turns conversing and then the harmon trumpet returns to make a quiet little speech which then gets overshadow by a saxophone and the rest of the instruments. Everything starts going mad and then the saxophone is left to talk. Then the whole thing starts again, only more bombastic than before finally ending with a dark pierce to the heart.

The song is simply magnificent for a film of this caliber and style. The emotion is gloomy but there's still few dashes of serenity. Each instrument manages to take it's turn at just the right length. I especially like how the saxophone and harmon trumpet work in the song, surveying the area around you. 

Phillip Glass - Opening - Glassworks



Phillip Glass is a recent artist that I've been looking at. He is a minimalist which means that he'll repeat phrases over and over. It's kind of like techno except for classical musicians. Phillip has also made songs for various films.  If you saw the Watchmen movie or the Truman Show, then you've heard a Phillip Glass song. It's weird that not many of us herald him as a household name like Hans Zimmer or John Williams despite the fact that he's done a lot of films. Anyways, getting to the tune. As stated before, his work is simple. And Opening is no exception as it only has the piano a few notes cycling through. Yet, the way the phrases are constructed and the way the volume goes throughout the tune makes it a beautiful serenade. It's a relaxing piece that makes you feel that you're in harmony. 

Benny Goodman - In A Sentimental Mood


There's no real understanding as to why I'm a fanatic of the big band style of music that originated in the 20s. Perhaps its the fact that one of my favorite musicians is Glenn Miller or the fact that big band style of music is similar to jazz and classical. Or it could be because I'm not limited to certain genres of music like other people are. Not really implying that most people are like that. The song itself is much more classical than jazzy as the instruments move about a slow pace and the clarinet is more dominant than the other instruments. Nonetheless, the song is simply a delight to listen to. 

Snow/Shiver Star - Kirby and the Crystal Shards OST


We're...I mean, I'm going to end this blog with something a little more festive. Kirby and the Crystal Shards was one of my favorite N64 games, and it still is. I mean how can you resist that cute pink puffball and the ability to obtain powers by swallowing your enemies? That's just awesome stuff right there. The game has a huge array of levels, enemies and abilities but it also has a great soundtrack. But one of the greatest songs in this game is this one. It appears in the winter-like levels, as you'd imagine and it sounds as cheerful as a Christmas carol would. The bell chimes are numerous and the notes are incredibly high. It's just a lovely song.

Anyways, that's all the time I got. See ya later.