Attack On Titan: Season One...

We do it all here at BWLM which includes movies, television, miniseries, music and literature. Today, I tackle anime, in particular Attack On Titan. I was exposed to this series earlier in the year and once I engaged it, saw it through fairly quickly. Based on the Manga of the same name, Attack On Titan takes an Evangelian-esque theme and presents it with a Steampunk vision. 


A sprinkling of humanity clings to life protected by three massive walls, which also divide society into three classes and offer three levels of protection, the outermost being the lowest and most exposed. Protection from what? Titans. Towering creatures which all but wiped out human existence 100 years before. No one knows where they came from. Only that they range in size from 10' - 50' and eat humans for sport. All is well in the outer ring known as the Shiganshina District until a 200' Titan appears and destroys the wall. This calls into action the 3 military divisions. The Garrison Regiment which acts as gate guardians and the Military Police which protect the Royal Family and well to do citizens within the inner wall, seeing little action. Lastly, is the Survey Corps, frontline scouts whose job it is to seek out and engage Titans by way of special VME (Vertical Maneuvering Equipment) units that allow for multi-directional attacks. The story centers around a young boy named Eren, who after seeing the destruction of his family and hometown joins the military with the sole purpose of destroying all Titans.

The series is 25 episodes strong that push around 22-25 minutes each. They're well written and feature a minimum of the campy dialog commonly associated with Americanization during it's translation. Season 1 is currently available on NetFlix and DVD and is well worth the price of admission for those who like action to their anime. Season Two is slated for Summer 2015...

Instead of a trailer which you can view here, I present to you a scene where Eren faces the Titan who changed his life. THIS TIME as a member of the Survey Corps...

Rock Solid: A Look At Top Five...

To be honest, when I first saw that Chris Rock had written, produced and directed a new feature, I was excited. I saw the trailer and was only enthused. I heard/read reviews and became cautious. Why? Because I realized that Chris Rock has shown me comedic genius in all areas EXCEPT non-stand up movies. I place him closer to Pryor than I do Murphy because his scope, world view and relatability make him a charismatic Hughley. Matter of fact, Rock would have made for a better “King” than DL but that’s another discussion. Bottom line, I tend to have high expectations for Rock based on how he’s performed before. Enter Top Five.

Rock’s character, Andre Allen is in the midst of a mid-life career crisis. Allen is a comedian/actor, who has sworn off comedy to create art of substance after having basked in prior success so large that he can’t escape his alter ego’s shadow. We catch up to Allen during a reluctant interview with a reporter from the New York Times, a pub that has consistently trashed all of his prior work. This takes place as Allen is currently attempting to promote his new movie, which is garnering significantly less press than his pending wedding to a reality TV star. What follows is a series of intimate conversations and incidents that take a peek behind the laughs and smiles as we meander through New York.  A recurring theme in the film is it’s namesake, the “Top Five” discussion, referring to each participant’s top five rappers in Hip-Hop. The movie satisfyingly wraps up in a manner that had me playing the O’Jays - Give The People What They Want in my mind.

Rock delivers a surprisingly balanced product here while wearing multiple hats. While not what I wanted or expected, this is as close a product I’ve seen that rivals his genius and form of his stand up. A bonus in Top Five is it’s all star cast and cameos. I love when Hollywood veterans flock to a project. Whether good or bad, they’re ultimately fun, as I enjoyably found this. Here at BWLM we use The Source’s Classic Mic Rating System. Chris Rock scores 4 Mics, with Top Five...

Check out the trailer for Top Five here...

Are YOU Awake Yet?

It's NO secret and nothing short of amazing that just under 90 seconds has created such a feeding frenzy, especially when it's attached to a brand named Star Wars. So much speculation, discussion (in the form of arguments), fan art and fan boy DNA have been left strewn across the internet in the span of a few days. In my John Travolta as Nicholas Cage voice "Ain't it cool?" Instead of arguing semantics and such, I'll say this. Based on iTunes' wording (First Teaser) on their homepage there is possibly another teaser. During the Superbowl would be good AND logical. Based on Disney, a Star Wars trailer will precede the Avengers: Age of Ultron feature. Based on the trailer and fan art reaction, many agree when I say that the featured lightsabre is badass. Deal with it. I'm sure it's made it's way via screenshots to desktops and smartphone homescreens in galaxies far, far away. That in mind, want something a little different? Head over to Behance and check out Kode Logic's Force Awakens Fan Art. It's worth it. Want a bit more? The artist that owns the Legion Of Potatoes Tumblr created a very nice piece himself that summarizes the trailer as well as having collected and posted some other pieces from across the internet's artist community. I'm quite sure that Anaheim in April is gonna be an EVENT to remember. I may have to opt out of my scheduled Spring Training excursion for it.

Haven't seen the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens yet? Watch it here...

Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part I - Can You NOT Like A Good Movie?

Instead of getting into the whole "where have you been if you haven't heard of" crap that I despise, I'll just say that The Hunger Games is a 3 part book trilogy of young adult fiction by Suzanne Collins. It centers around a post apocalyptic region named Panem which is ruled over by a primary governing city know as the Capitol. There are 12 other areas referred to as districts, each living in an increasing economic disparity which supplies the Capitol with it's regional resources. Each year, residents of said districts sacrifice a boy and girl to The Hunger Games, a fight to the death in a colosseum for sport and entertainment of the Capitol as punishment for a previous uprising. Long story short, a young woman named Katniss Everdeen inadvertently becomes the center of a NEW rebellion.

So far the series has turned in great performances by veterans such as Donald Sutherland, and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman all while Jennifer Lawrence continues to reap more blockbuster appeal. That said,  I already dislike that Lion's Gate has taken the Harry Potter route and decided to capitalize on the last book of the series by splitting it into two individual features. THAT IS MY CONUNDRUM. I actually read the series and to their the credit, the movies have been pretty faithful and accurate, in particular Catching Fire, the second in the series. The THIRD book, Mockingjay was the most difficult read. It wasn't due to length, but a repetitive theme that made me put the book down. After powering through it, the book eventually returned to form and had a near satisfying ending (depending on your personality). Mockingjay Part I is the part of the series that I dislike the most, but it's accurate and the movie was executed well. That said, fans of the series will see it anyway. To those who are ONLY familiar with movies, I'll say relax, Part II will be better...

Check out the trailer for Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I