The more the better… or not?

Why so many superhero films (and series as well)? And most of them reboots, sequels, prequels? Of course, they sell, so that is probably why the film studios create more and more. The question is, do we really need a remake of a series of films that were released 10 years ago? It just seems forced.

A quote from one of the articles on this subject: Hollywood has become sensational at predicting what its audiences want to see. And, ironically, for that very reason, it's become better at making relentlessly average movies. Apparently, people want their expectations to be fulfilled on the screen that is the plot lines should be tailored as to deliver the most satisfaction to the viewer. The test-audiences decide what they dislike and the production team changes it. They instinctively want the next blockbuster reminds them of the last summer’s one.

The thing is, that the superhero films tend to dominate the entertainment news. The rivaling studios want to come out on top of this race. Honestly, I don’t mind watching a film of this genre from time to time but it looks as though most of the promotion materials are about these films.

You can read more:

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/05/hollywoods-real-superhero-problem/370785/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/01/07/batman-iron-man-and-wolverine-arent-taking-over-hollywood/

http://www.blastr.com/2014-8-11/30-superhero-movies-6-years-too-much-good-thing

The Order: 1886 and why do games look like that now

A week ago I decided to buy my brother a little gift for his upcoming birthday. He has to study a lot lately so he has to relieve some of that tension as well, right? And we have a PS4 that was just waiting for a new game:) Anyway, I bought him The Order: 1886. Not going into details, I watched as he played for some time. This game was certainly beautiful when it comes to graphics, but what was really surprising was how cinematic it was. Apparently the whole game, including the cinematic cutscenes, is made on the same engine and because of that you never know when the cutscene starts, which causes to whole game to look like a one big movie sequence. That you play. It actually looks like a film. Well, a film that you are part of. How is it that games are getting more and more lifelike nowadays? My brother played the aforementioned game in the original version and the voice acting was extraordinary, you could distinguish many London accents. Of course, the Polish version lacked the same care from the distributors, but it is rather rare for some things to be translated without parts of the meaning being lost.

Somehow, this part if the market is getting more prestige finally. I have read recently that apparently, the more well-known titles are generating more revenue than blockbuster films.   The example that was given in the article was Grand Theft Auto V, which made $800 million on the first day of release, whereas The Avengers, one of the highest grossing films worldwide, made a little over $207.4 million during its opening weekend.

In the end, I wanted to write about something different entirely, but maybe I am going to continue the issue in the next post.

Why is it different with books?

As I’ve started my little spring cleaning and organising, I’ve stumbled upon a dilemma. What to do with the books? Surely, there are some that I no longer want on my shelves, whether it’s because they were a one-time read or because I’ve outgrown them. Why do I feel it’s necessary not to throw away them, in opposite to, let’s say, magazines? Although sometimes jettisoning them can prove to be a bit challenging too.

Maybe it’s about being sentimental. You know, when a particular title causes you to feel nostalgic and remind you of certain time. Although, personally, I feel that more with music than with books.

Other option: it’s like you are throwing away knowledge and it makes you feel like a thug. Come on, what does every kind of regime do first or every revolution? Imagine piles of books being lit up with gasoline. And then you see that they are burning paintings as well. So, basically, maybe subconsciously we want to preserve our culture? But there is culture and culture. 

Some of the books are not really masterpieces. They might have been entertaining at some point, but you may not feel like going back to read them ever. Then maybe somebody else can enjoy it? We can always donate the books if they are in somewhat good condition. Some may be given to friends.

Playing on repeat

You know how sometimes when you hear a song it just fits perfectly and makes your day? It’s a really wonderful feeling when a melody you hear is just right. As if it was written about you, to you. Or it’s just a really catchy tune. Why is that that sometimes you stumble upon songs that you want to hear over and over again? You kind of really like a particular tune, play it on repeat, but after a while its charm wears off. Apparently musical repetition makes us more in sync with the song, as we are imaging what is next, we feel as we are singing ourselves. We are creating the music with our mind, being part of something called “virtual participation”.Ahh the science of repetition… According to some sources, as much as 90% of the music we listen to is something we have already heard before. We feel more connected to the music.

If you want to read more about it, check out this article: http://mic.com/articles/99744/the-science-behind-why-you-listen-to-your-favorite-songs-obsessively

And now I would like to share some of the songs that I’ve begun to like pretty recently. It’s a varied selection, from the ones that might be unfamiliar to most, to some that are a bit more popular. I’ve found these on the Internet, various TV series episodes or heard somewhere and checked out the artist. Enjoy!

Chromatics- I can never be myself when you're around

Raign- Knocking on Heavens Door(cover)

Ben Howard- Black Flies(Nixon remix)

Matt Simmons- Catch & Release (Deepend remix)

Time jump in Homeland

Who hasn’t heard about this series, please raise your hand. No one? That’s about right. Unfortunately, we will have to wait probably until the autumn for the 5. season (since they are starting filming in May, it’s rather unlikely that it will be sooner). I don’t want to reveal too much, so I’m going to try to be a little cryptic with my words, so that people who haven’t watched the series yet won’t have a spoiled experience. 

Emmy-winning Claire Danes is returning as Carrie, with an apparent two and a half year time leap, supposedly no longer an intelligence officer and living in Germany. The fourth season left us with quite a cliffhanger, not knowing what will happen to Quinn or the results of Saul decision in regards to Dar Adal. After the third season, almost everyone thought (including me) that it’s very unlikely the producers will pull off continuing the series without one of the protagonists. However, the show kind of reinvented itself and I t probably wants to do it again. Some of the episodes last season (the whole embassy plot) were really exciting and rather surprising. This is one of this series where one small detail that one might pass over turns out to be extremely significant for the story later on.

If you want to know more about the premise of the new season check this out:

http://www.hypable.com/homeland-season-5-plot-time-jump-setting/