Trailer can be watched here
What happens when you get 4 people at the end of a busy workday in to play a simple game that could last hours? One word: Hilarity. Now, this isn’t some sort of ridiculous comedy skit, but a “Let’s Play” video that ended up lasting for well over 2 hours. Members of the popular “Achievement Hunter” YouTube channel uploaded a video on December 1st, 2016 simply called “Uno: The Movie”. A massive video of Achievement Hunter members Ryan Haywood, Gavin Free, Jeremy Dooley, Geoff Ramsey, playing the video game version of the popular card game “Uno”. Gavin had set the matches’ point limit to 500, much to the dismay of his co-workers, as close matches of the game can sometimes net less than 100 points. The result is 164 minutes (A whopping 2 hours and 44 minutes) of four guys playing Uno. As an added element to the fours’ already interesting predicament, Gavin decided to modify the rule set in order to make the games more interesting. If one plays a “7” card, the person that played it can switch hands with another player, and if a “0” card is played, then all the hands are given to the person next to them (In the direction of play). This makes for some hilarious moments during the movie, as at one point, Geoff had amassed around 17 cards, before playing a 7, and giving them all to Gavin, only having around 4. The resulting next plays involve the monster hand being shuffled around between the other players, before eventually getting whittled down into a more reasonable size. A highlight of the movie comes around about an hour and a half into the movie, were Ryan must leave the office in order to go home and visit his wife. In order to fill in his spot for the game, co-worker, who is also sometimes referred to as Ryan’s voice double, Jack Patillo is brought in, and upon taking Ryan’s spot, immediately criticizes the other three for choosing Uno over the myriads of other games they have to play. The next hours plays out as one would expect, with players amassing cards and eventually playing off, finally, at the end of the whole ordeal, Gavin Free is eventually crowned the winner, and the all members proceed to scream with relief and joy. The “movie” was quickly loved by the Achievement Hunter community, and fans of the movie were able to not only create a page on popular movie curating site IMBD, but also rate the movie to the point where it came the highest rated comedy “film” on the site. I would try to write an honest review of Uno: The Movie, but I’ll be honest, there’s not much to review. I’ve been a fan of Achievement hunter for over five years, and this video was as fun and comical as ever. It’s always fun to watch the members of AH suffer in the creative ways that they do, and the chemistry between the members of the channel are as entertaining as always (especially the Gavin/Geoff duo that has been one of the staples of the channel). If you have nearly 3 hours to spare, maybe at an airport or on a long drive, and you want something to kill the monotony of it, it might be a good way to kill the time. You can watch the whole thing here.
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People love suspense, that feeling of not knowing what’s going to happen, that something exciting, thrilling, or terrifying could happen at any moment is something that captivates audiences, and it what makes events such as professional sports (esports included) so exciting to watch. Suspense is also the lifeline in which action, horror, and thriller films live or die by. Fail to create suspense, and you fail to be effective with your audience. Suspense is important, but can easily be created; the issue is to make it effective, just having a few scenes of suspense won’t cut it in today’s films, in order to be effective in today’s media heavy world, you have to be able to keep the suspense running throughout the entirety of the film. Few movies have been able to do this properly, but if we take a step back a few years we will find that one movie in particular movie was able to pull this off better than almost any other movie to date. That film is the “almost-classic” film Se7en. Se7en follows the tale of two New York detectives in a riveting quest to catch a serial killer as he plots to torture and murder a person based off of the “Seven deadly sins”, a piece from the Bible, where God reveals the seven actions he finds the most deplorable: gluttony, greed, sloth (laziness), haughtiness (self-centered), lust, wrath, and envy. (Proverbs 6:16-19) The film’s pace is what creates all the suspense, it’s a slow burn, the movie starts off very slow, character development is set aside in order to create the atmosphere needed. The scenes of where character development takes place feel awkward and uneasy, but not in a way that works against the movie. The suspense still carries through the scenes of character development, it is never set aside, no scene in the movie feels safe or without suspense. What makes the movie so good is when the suspense really starts to build. About two-thirds into the movie is when the first scene with real action occurs. Using some connections within the FBI, the detectives are able to narrow down the list of possible suspects, when they confront the apartment of their suspect, a man in a trench coat pulls a gun on them and opens fire, and this leads to a 5 minute long chase scene in which the killer manages to escape. The movie begins to pick up its pace here, the killings begin to increase, and as the serial killer begins to edge closer and closer to his final plan, the detectives begin to become more stressed and jaded. The climax of the movie is where all the suspense boils over, we come face-to-face with the killer, the killer’s plan is close to an end, and we see what all the suspense of the movie has come to, before coming to a sudden and abrupt end. The ending if the movie is one of shock, the movie ends so swiftly after the climax, that you almost feel that there should be more to it, however, I feel that to extend the movie is to lessen the impact that the abrupt ending has, as it allows for it keeps the audience at the edge of their seat, even in the final moments of the film. Se7en is a movie that will be remembered for its endless suspense and gritty storytelling; it is a movie that excels in keeping its audience riveted to their seats, biting their nails, and locked in a state of suspenseful fear, even up until the final moments of the film. It is a movie all films in this genre to aspire to be, a slow burn, with meaningful action, that’s purposeful, but never over-the-top, the essence of a true thriller movie.
Sounds are what make a movie. Having a good soundtrack as well as good sound effects are crucial to making a good movie. If your soundtrack doesn’t live up to the scenes in the movie, then the atmosphere of the scene can be lost. Sound effects are equally important as a poor sounds can drastically reduce the viewing experience of the film. One genre that is the most dependant on proper sound structure is the Science Fiction genre. Because Sci-Fi movies often deal with futuristic elements and settings, most sound artists have to be able design sounds that enhance the futuristic setting, without making them seem overly unrealistic or silly. The common tropes of these sounds usually involve harsher synths which are usually very unique, sometimes weird sounds in order to push an idea of futurism. A good example of sound effects used designed in a way that isn’t over the top is in the sci-fi movie “Minority Report”. For the rest of the article I will be referencing this movie in order to show my point. Minority Report isn’t a movie set in the far future, but rather one set in a near future, only about 40 years ahead. There are some elements in the movie that seem over the top, but for the most part, the futurism is reasonable, with some of the technologies in the movie, like self-driving cars and motion controlled screens, becoming more of a reality today. The sounds of movie are, at least for the most part, grounded in reality. The “spider-crew” scene near the middle of the film is special because it the drones used in the scene don’t sound overly futuristic, sure their movements seem a bit overdone, but the sounds they made were only that of the clinks when their legs hit the ground, likewise, the use of conventional weaponry and not some futuristic elctro-gun-lazer-thing, as seen in most sci-fi films are a nice touch, as the sound of a gunshot is much more recognizable and iconic than that of a more futuristic gun. The sounds of the screens and computers in the movie also sound more like real computers today, they don’t make any weird noise, and don’t even look all that different. My one criticism is how the cars are portrayed in the movie. Transportation vehicle, be it spaceships or cars in sci-fi films are always given some outlandish noise that is supposed to show some sort of super-efficient engine that runs on unobtanium or whatever futuristic propulsion system exist in 3023 or whatever year the film takes place, it’s a shame to see Minority Report follow a similar trend, as, even 15-ish years ago, electric cars were looking more and more like the future of transportation at the time, especially with the fairly popular GM EV-1 existing around the same time. There also nicer touches when it comes to the sound effects in the film, mainly revolving around the police’s gear in the film. There is always the sound of a small “charge up” sound that exists whenever the police forces in the film always take out a part of their gear in the movie, the sounds are more muted and subtle than in other sci-fi films, but it allows for greater impact in some scenes, especially near the end of the movie, where our main protagonist gets arrested. The scene is also quite impactful as it takes place whilst the audio in the film is almost muted, with only the slight ringing in the background as if someone has either been near an explosion or has been shot. When used right, this effect adds so much more impact and suspense to a scene (The confrontation scene between Carnegie and Eli in “The Book of Eli”, a personal favourite of mine, is a good example of this effect being used). Minority Report is a good example of a movie that uses its sound effects to its full advantage. Its sounds are effective without being over-the-top or cliché, while at the same time it has an excellent story with good pacing. As stated before, sound effects are crucial to a movie, especially a movie like Minority Report. Sci-Fi films often suffer from outlandish and often downright silly sounds that detract from the viewing experience, but when done right, it can create a film that’s engaging, action packed, immersive, and even make a normal film a classic.
With the school coming to a close, I'll soon find myself with a lot more free time, and with that probably a lot more blog posts here. Be prepared, as the coming week will see a flood of blog posts, both school related, and personal. With summer just around the corner, things are about to get a whole lot more active here.
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About Me:Welcome to my blog! Here you'll find various articles about all sorts of topics. Politics, Music, Video Games, eSports, and many other topics I feel the need to write about. Archives
February 2018
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