Rated TIR: The Issue of Ratings...Today

From gomp3.co

2016 is the year of superhero films. We got Deadpool down, and a dozen more to go. But I guess it doesn't matter because we all love them, anyway. But if you follow trending news about Superhero films and TV series like me (wait you don't?), you would be able to notice that there are issues. And no, I am not talking about the casting choices. We got to see this issue before Deadpool came out. That's right, it is the rating issue. This does not end with Deadpool. Heck it didn't even begin with Deadpool. Suicide Squad intended to push through with their PG rating for a very long time. That certainly did not make a lot of fans happy. Now, Wolverine is going for an R-rating, and there are news that Batman V Superman should also have the same rating. Suicide Squad is still going for their PG-rating, making fans a bit more disappointed.

Fangirl Moment! Why We Need [Young] Justice

playbuzz.com

Time to take a break from the anime reviews and it is time to talk about comics. For quite some time, one of the biggest debates in the DC Universe is whether or not Young Justice should have a third season. And the common answer is yes.

Young Justice canceled after its second season, due to low sales on toys. In spite of that, the show was still considered a great DC cartoon since the Justice League in the early 2000s. Lately, there have been many news about a third season being a possibility. But it has only reached to that extent. With these news brewing from time to time, then I am more than convinced that Young Justice deserves to return on television. At the beginning of this blog, I talked about some major characters from Young Justice as a way to express how I really loved the series. You can click here to see more of that. It has been my way to de-stress during my freshman year of college. It also makes me hesitant to do a review because I might end up praising everything about the show, rather than critiquing it. So here I am, talking about it again and this time, I'd like to explain to you all why I think it deserves another season. But be warned, for there will be minor spoilers in this post.

New Yolk Times: Thoughts on ARROW

We are almost done with our series countdown and for the second to the last, I will be talking about the fourth season of Arrow. Arrow has been my favorite TV series and I absolutely love talking about it here on my blog. If it weren't for this series, we would not have The Flash, Supergirl, The Legends of Tomorrow, and other DC TV shows going nuts around media.

New Yolk Times: Thoughts on SUPERGIRL

Hey! I decided to create a brand new segment on this blog New Yolk Times. It's what I would normally call a writer's block moment, or when I need to express my thoughts on something. It's my own breather from everything I've been doing on this blog lately. And today, I would like to talk about Supergirl. My original plan was to express my own opinions about the midseason parts of my current TV shows namely Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow. Supergirl, however, returned earlier than expected. And of course, I am excited for it, but the timing for this blog now seems delayed. However, I'd still like to express what I really think about the show as a whole. This is not a critique of any sort, just a page full of opinions.

Supergirl as most of you know, was a brand new television show based on DC characters. The story talks about the origins of Kara Zor-El, who is the cousin of Superman, as a brand new superhero in a cape called Supergirl. And yes, you can expect the storyline to adjust to a much more modern setting. Not only that, there are random cliches that you may also find in any Superman medium anywhere such as the fact that Kara wears a petty disguise, works for a media company, and her having her own version of Lex Luthor (Maxwell Lord).

The Marketing Approach of Fandoms

Recently we have so many trailers coming all at once.  I can smell the marketing competition alongside my Christmas candles.

The major mistake of many is to immediately judge the movie because of the two T’s: teasers and trailers. Just because the marketing strategy of the film was not that good, it does not necessarily mean that the movie is going to be awful. Sometimes there is a good marketing and a bad movie; other times there is bad marketing and good movies. The challenge most of the time is to have the marketing part and the delivery of the product match each other. If you can’t market your product well, no one is going to care about it or worse, they’re going release negative word-of-mouth. I’ve been studying marketing for quite some time and I think now is the time to put those learnings to good use by analyzing the marketing strategies of the following movies; Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain America: Civil War. Here we shall see what went right and what went wrong, and what has caused us to think this way.

Warning: DC and Marvel comparisons are present in this post, but only for the sake to point out their marketing strategies. Please do not assume that I am saying that the other entity is better than the other. Both fandoms are great. Now let’s leave it at that.

superherohype.com

Ok let’s be honest, not everyone was thrilled with the brand new trailer of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Comments say it was overstuffed. It gave away the entire plot and it was just plain disappointing. Now the people who say this are mostly DC fans. Mostly. First thing you need to know about marketing is that once you have a product in mind—in this case, a movie that’s soon-to-be-a-franchise—you need to know your niche.

Side note: Marvel has the upper hand on this part now because they’ve been doing so much movies already, and they know their audience fairly well by now. As for DC…well, not so much. The only DCU films movie-goers ever gave a shit about, were the Dark Knight Trilogy and The Man of Steel. That’s just it. And these films were presumed to be independent of one another. Basically, the DCU still doesn’t have a clue who their target market was until the first official trailer, which was shown during Comic Con. If you think I’m saying that they’re starting from scratch, then that’s I’m trying to point out. Again, let us be reminded they’re not following the Marvel Studio formula where you need three or five independent movies for each iconic Justice League character. Compared to MCU, DCU still needs a lot of work at this point if they intend to make it big as well in the Box Office.

Now they managed to succeed in the first trailer release, because I don’t think it was not that bad. It shows everything you need to be excited about. But since it is released just for Comic Con—and eventually the World Wide Web, then my best assumption for this is that this very first trailer was obviously meant to target the hardcore comic book and DC fans. The second trailer was definitely not for the fans. That’s right fans who were so disappointed in the second trailer; this wasn’t for you at all. It is meant for a much more general audiences who aren’t that knowledgeable about the DC universe. Like seriously, re-watch the trailer with a Twihard and ask if he or she knows who Doomsday is, I effin’ dare you. He or she might assume Doomsday is like the Justice League’s version of the Incredible Hulk. Back to my point, they want more people to watch this. They probably want to recreate the miracle that occurred in Marvel Studios where people were oblivious to the world of comics and came out of the theaters as converted fans (Haha, don’t deny it. You’re one of those people too.). Simple as that.

But hey, what’s the point of making a good trailer for the general audience if they show all the good parts?

Now that’s where they got confused.

When you market something, it’s like saying a promise. When you buy this shampoo, I promise you that your hair will no longer have ticks. When you buy this car, I promise you that the gas consumption of it will be cheaper. The title of the movie alone delivers not one, but two promises. The first promise of BvS is well…BvS. It promises a good fight scene between Superman and Batman. The second promise lies on the Dawn of Justice part, which simply means that this will be where the journey of the Justice League begins. Now here is where the marketing team of BvS struggled. After knowing what promise you want to tell your target market, that’s where you show your best features. In this case, they have two major promises for the audiences and they need to feature each somehow. This unfortunately caused the trailer to be overstuffed. Basically, they weren’t sure what message to tell to the audiences. They were simply torn if they should only talk about the Batman V Superman fights or the emergence of the Justice League, because these are very exciting concepts. So they probably panicked and showed both. Shoehorning Doomsday because that’s their best feature for the Justice League promise. Now I agree, the trailer shouldn’t reveal everything. But in this case, their goal is a very general trailer. Now I can’t help but notice that most of the comments and critics for the second trailer came out like this:

“I just want Batman V Superman. I don’t care about the Justice League. Just give me Batman and Superman fighting.”

At this point, they should’ve listened to their niche and stick to just Batman vs. Superman snips. Or maybe just released their 50-second teaser. But again, I understand why they released this trailer, because it is for an audience who know not much about Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. And to make this work, they could’ve just stuck to at least until the roar of Doomsday and then cut the tape. That is, if they want to execute two of their promises in one three-marketing material. I guess at this point the DCU is pretty much desperate to look cool in the superhero trends. They want everyone to know they can have a cool team-up just like the Avengers.

But let me tell you guys that this does not define DC altogether. I think the best marketing for DC so far occurs in the TV Universe, and that is DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. The TV Universe has more ground, thanks to Arrow and The Flash and they are fully aware that the side characters featured in this spin-off series are well-loved by the audience, so to keep them hooked a crossover/team-up series with no filler arcs is the best way to go to keep up their numbers. And they need to get through to Arrow first if they want to see it. Good move, CW. But please work on your teasers.

Now for the Civil War trailer. Yes, I can smell the Marvel fans expecting me to praise this trailer.  Ok, personally I thought the trailer was good, and it already showed what I needed to know about. It already spoke of its promise, which is, “Expect Captain America to fight Ironman and the entire world for Bucky. Because...Bucky. Bucky.” Then they execute the scenes that make it look like a Civil War.

I like how they give a reason for their fight, which is Bucky. The reason why it’s been given so much praises is simply because Marvel does have the upper hand. They’ve been making one movie after the other, and they know their fans will still watch because they are fully aware that everything in Marvel is connected somehow. It is a tiring yet effective plan. Because of this non-stop movie-making, they’ve become aware of their target market, and they were also able to research them, which is something the WB marketing team can’t do at the moment due to their scarce source materials (like I said, DCU is just starting, chill guys and have faith). Marvel Studios knows what makes us tick. And after Avengers and the Winter Soldier, they know perfectly well that anything that has to do with the friendship of Tony and Steve, and a bit off Bucky will make us shut up and allow them to take our money. Because…Bucky. Bucky.

Just looking at the scenes makes you wonder what is going to happen and how in the world will this conflict end. For the hardcore Marvel fans out there, you probably already know. 

The best features of their promise are three things. First is the tension between Ironman and Captain America. The next is Bucky. And the last how this simple conflict is going to cause Civil War.  That’s all the trailer shows. That’s their marketing strategy. Let us make Bucky the source of this conflict, because everyone seems to care about Bucky. Because as implied in the trailer, Captain America won’t let anyone hurt Bucky, who is perceived as this man that must be killed. And it is going to cause a lot of problems. So hurrah, Marvel fans. Your marketing team is not so bad. Because…Bucky. 

anniesepicblog.blogspot.com

Bucky.

That is how you market a movie, my friends. Tell us the promise and only show portions of your best features. Whether it is the characters or the conflict itself, just showcase it somehow. But don’t expose all the parts of your best features/ And also, it is best if you can come up with a target market, especially when you are starting franchise like DC. If you want a general audience, then give them an education of the characters who they probably know about and let them know what these characters are getting into. If you want to target an audience is very knowledgeable about fandoms, then tug at their hearts and research on your freakin’ audience. Know what makes them tick and use it against them. Isn’t marketing just plain beautiful?

And that concludes my long post about marketing approaches and how it must be done. As I mentioned on my Facebook page, December is the most convenient month for me to watch some Anime. And yes, I will be posting a brand new Anime review pretty soon. Just give me a couple of more days to finish the show until I can construct my thoughts on it. It will probably not be the last since I have time to review some Anime movies and series. So expect more Anime in this post. If you’re on the holidays, then congratulations and I wish you the best time of your life. If you’re still on a Holidaze due to your upcoming exams and workload, then I still wish you all the best. Till the next post~

Fangirl Moment! Heroes Join Forces

This week has been really action-packed with DC. We had the major crossover events between The Flash and Arrow. And we had a brand new teaser and full trailer for Batman V Superman! What a good time to be alive.

ibtimes.co.uk

I have to say, this crossover was so much better than last year but most of my expectations weren't met, to be honest. A lot of people have been saying that the crossover event here would introduce the Legends of Tomorrow, but all we've got was an introduction to the villain, Vandal Savage--who was super awesome, by the way (I love the step-up for villains this season--and the brand new heroes, Hawkman and Hawkgirl. And the crossover episodes were focused on how to defeat Vandal Savage, who's role was to kill both Hawkman and Hawkgirl in order for his immortality to continue. That's just it. I was kinda hoping to see White Canary or even Captain Cold enter the scenes to take down Savage, but that didn't happen. Apart from that slight disappointment, I thought this week's episodes were great. The action scenes were epic, the tension between the characters of Arrow and The Flash were so amusing to watch. Also, the emerging moment of Hawkgirl was the most highlighted moment for me. It sent chills down through my spine and the teamwork of the Green Arrow and the Flash just gives me the feels! Sorry, I just love seeing heroes work together.

Then there's the brand new trailer of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. In this trailer, we get to hear Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne have an actual conversation...that is, until Jesse Eisenberg cuts in. I'm not gonna lie, but he sounds kinda funny in this trailer than he did in the last one. Also I am questioning their choice of casting for Alfred because no matter how much ear surgery I will get, I will still hear Scar from the Lion King. The last thing I need to hear is telling Bruce that he needs to be prepared.

Anyway, let us re-live this epic trailer for a few minutes, shall we?

 Aside from that, I thought the trailer was semi-cool. Meaning, I love it but at the same time I have some concerns. Of course, I was amazed by the effects in this. I get the feeling anyone gets whenever they view porn: full satisfaction. But also, I thought the trailer showed too much. Like everyone is complaining that the trailer gave everything away. Since this is Fangirl Moment, allow me to sound DC-Biased for this; I want to think that there is more to the plot than just Batman and Superman fighting. I think they decided to show them working together awkwardly behind Wonder Woman--that part made me squeal omg--because a fight between major DC heroes can come out as something predictable. On the other hand, I think they decided to show that last bit because lots of bloggers and social media people overanalyzed the first trailer. So what will the movie truly show? Is it something we have to worry about? Is there going to be more DC heroes appearing in this movie? Is there going to be romance blossoming between Clark and Bruce? What? Can this movie come out tomorrow?

And that is it for my mini-fangirling. What did you think of this week's line-up of heroes? Did you like the crossover episodes of The Flash and Arrow? Did you hate the trailer of BvS just like everyone who lost all hope for DC? Let me know. Let's Disqus. Till the next post~

How To Be a Vigilante

DISCLAIMER: This post is strictly satirical and not meant to be taken seriously.

For some reason, being a vigilante is so much cooler than being an actual superhero. Technically, you are still a superhero, but with an air of mystery enveloped around you. In short, it kinda sounds badass. The downside is that you can be considered a threat to not just the bad guys, but to also the good guys. To the public, you are creep in a mask with a hidden agenda. But being a vigilante still looks cool. So here are five ways to become one.

1.) Wear a costume with dark colors.
We've seen Batman, Green Arrow, Daredevil, and the Punisher. Now what do they all have in common? Dark hues. Their costumes do not involve rainbow patterns; they involve camouflage emo colors. It's quite understandable why, since they are also viewed as the masters of deception. They know how to blend well with their surroundings, since vigilantes mostly work at the night time. Don't go for the bright ones like Spiderman. Just look where it led him; now he has to save Mary Jane all the time.

2.) Ignore the need to sleep.
If you think vigilantes are nocturnal, then you're wrong. Vigilantes need to be active during the day too because sleeping in every single day would be too suspicious. Either they will be seen as hardcore party-goers or masked vigilantes. Kinda makes sense right? As much as we need sleep, remember...sleep is for the weak. Vigilantes also lead double lives, which they need to cater to equally. Kinda explains why Oliver Queen demands too much coffee from Felicity, right?

3.) Get a depressing backstory.

As told by Batman. Depressing backstories always have a tinge of the injustice element and this triggers the vigilante's need to put on an awesome suit and save the world...or city. Basically, it's your motive. The reason you need to act crazy and beat up random robbers who are obviously living their own vigilante escapade.

4.) Sneer at the idea of a social life.

Because delivering justice is so much more important than going to your friends' average party. However you still do need to attend social events, but you need to hate it because you seriously have other more important things to do. Or at least pretend to hate it. Also, no love life. That would take a turn for the worst. Isn't that right, Spiderman?

5.) Never EVER kill

It's the vigilante code to never kill. It completely messes up one's psyche. So it would be the best idea to avoid killing. However, this code is still debatable since a lot of vigilantes broke this code. Unfortunately.

forums.superherohype.com

And that is it! Sorry if it's real short. Consider this as an appetizer for an even better and bigger post that will be up in the nearby future. For now, till the next post~

Fangirl Moment! Arrow Season 4 TRAILER

As you all know, the trailer for Arrow Season 4 has just been released online! For those who haven't seen or would like to relive the awesomeness again, simply click this video!

I will not be doing the typical breaking down, but I will express the things I am (and not) looking forward to, this season.

tvline.com

First off, this would be my first time saying that I am excited for Ollicity this season! CW cleverly placed cute moments between the two at the very beginning of the trailer. Although I am questioning how they are able to afford a decent house in a decent neighborhood (which is the American Dream), but I am looking forward to what kind of physics--I mean, chemistry they are going to have together.

www.cinemablend.com

Let's not forget Thea Queen, who's finally going to take the helm of Speedy! We get to see more of her in this trailer, compared to how much we've seen Roy Harper in the last three seasons. And yes, perhaps it has something to do with Thea being the major character. In my opinion, Thea has had the most complex yet the most interesting character development in this series by far. The difference between the old and new Thea is drastic. Also, I never forgotten what everyone in Arrow said about Lazarus pit. Nobody comes out the same. Shortly after Thea was revived, she returned to her usual state, only in a groggy form. I was kind of expecting for something twisted to happen for Thea for that season, but I slightly miscalculated that part. Now, I am excited to know what kind of struggle she is going to have for this season.

www.seattlepi.com

I have to admit, but Ra Al Ghul was kind of a drag last season. But when I saw Damien Darhk make an appearance, I kinda got my hopes up. If Ra Al Ghul never left his little nest till the end of Season 3, Damien is quite the opposite. His character is so out there, and there are many contrasts you can make with his character and with Ra Al Ghul's. For one thing, he's not wearing dramatic robes to emphasize how serious of a character he is. Rather, he looks like your average, charismatic, smart businessman. Also, he's not wearing dramatic robes for a bit of flare. So I have a good feeling about this character. Or at least, I am going to like him more than Ra Al Ghul.

www.cinemablend.com

Another thing I am looking forward to is the drama occurring in Nanda Parbat. First, we see the tension between Nyssa and Malcolm Merlyn, who is now the new Ra Al Ghul. I am so glad that Nyssa will be returning for season 4 because that means I get to see her finally reaching her breaking point as a character. In other words, I just want her to stand up for herself and fight for the title that was always meant to be hers to begin with! I mean come on, when we first met her, she kept rubbing it in to everybody that she is the heir to the demon. I think it is time for Nyssa to shine and become the ultimate badass. 

www.cinemablend.com

With that aside, I think things between her and Malcolm will get even more messy when Sara Lance also gets revived from the Lazarus Pit. Thanks to the teasers of Legends of Tomorrow, the next DC TV masterpiece, we already know for sure that Sara will never be the same. But whatever, I am excited to see her return! She's my favorite character in the series, and I do not care if she becomes evil. She's just so awesome. Also, it would be interesting to see Caity Lotz take on an antagonistic role, since I am pretty much used to seeing her as an extra in couple of dance movies and random TV series. But I am still confused which Lazarus Pit she will appear in. The trailer looked like she was revived in Nanda Parbat, but Legends of Tomorrow showed a completely different version of it. So yeah, hopefully that will clear up.

www.cinemablend.com

We also get a new set of heroes this season. And so far, we got to see  Mr. Terrific  and the almighty Constantine!  It's already a given who Constantine is, since he's the exact same one we all know from the recent DC TV series that got canceled. Well, I haven't seen the series yet, but hopefully this strategy will somehow make Arrow the Lazarus Pit for the Constantine Series (hehe). Yeah, basically I'm assuming they think that another DC crossover might help create more buzz for Constantine, and that a couple of demands for a reboot or revival shall follow. It's a good idea and I actually hope it works. Arrow is kinda the reason why The Flash is now on the top of its game, so it won't hurt to try again.

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For those who haven't the slightest idea who Mr. Terrific is, he's the new partner of Felicity Smoak. And he's also an old DC classic, and he's known to be quite the martial arts expert. Based on his history, there were two personas who took the title of Mr. Terrific, but season 4 shall be following the story of Curtis Holt (originally Michael Holt, in the comics). The mystery of who currently owns Palmer Tech, has still not yet been unraveled.

www.greenarrowtv.com

There are also things I am very unsure about. Let's start off with the obvious; Laurel Lance.  I get it, I've been defending her in this blog for quite some time, but I'm getting worried. In the trailer, we see her taking initiative to go to Oliver and Felicity. So my guess is that she slowly becomes the second-in-command in Team Arrow. However, I still think it is too early for Laurel to jump into becoming a solid badass character. Up till now, I still have a hard time seeing her as the Black Canary. So I'm really hoping her character development will go smoothly. It will not be rushed nor be slowed.

For the first time, I'm dreading the next phase of Oliver's past. He took a ship to Coastal City from Hong Kong (which is near my country omg). So yeah, it is safe to say his next destination is the home of Hal Jordan, aka Green Lantern or another major DC character in the Justice League. Honestly, I kinda bought the idea that Oliver was able to survive in a remote island for five years because, for one simple reason. It's not an ordinary island. As seen in the past seasons, it has been set as the facility for random evil stuff. That alone gave Oliver enough exposure to what kind of shit has been happening. So if you ask me, I'm more on the "so-so" scale with him moving from one place to another for five years. I'm concerned that this subplot of him surviving will slowly deteriorate and it will become a chore to watch, even if his past will somehow have something to do with his future problems in season 4. 

I'm scared for all characters, basically. By the end of season 3, a lot of people already know who Oliver Queen is and Team Arrow gets bigger and bigger. And we get to see what kind of impact it gives to the characters. My concern is how the writers will handle such effects on the characters, because most of them have already reached their breaking points (Felicity, Laurel, and Thea, to name a few), and character development from there can be the most difficult part to mold. If its mishandled, the character's essence can slowly saturate and ultimately become overrated or boring. My fear grew when I saw Diggle in his new costume. I don't know what they have in mind for Diggle, but hopefully it won't be over the top. Because right now, he's seen as this guy who intended to carry on the hero work Oliver left, and that kinda doesn't make sense for me. The last time we all saw Diggle, he was slightly pissed at Oliver for not letting him on the plan he had all along. That alone was reasonable, because he has a family and he also cares about the other members in Team Arrow. Diggle getting on that elevator gave me the impression that he would lay low and not handle vigilante work for a while, because he kinda had enough. Then this trailer came and I got slightly confused.

Anyway, that is all I have to say for the trailer. Hopefully season 4 will pick up the pace and be much better than the third. Till the next post~