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Is Solar Opposites a Worse Rick and Morty?

  By my0824yv • April 16, 2021

 

Streaming exclusives: they’re great when they’re on the platform you have but beyond frustrating when they’re on the one don’t, and with every producer and their brother getting their streaming platform these days that’s becoming more and more common. The big two for exclusives would be Netflix and Hulu, platforms that most of the general population is going to have at least one of, and lucky for us, the show we’re talking about today is available exclusively on Hulu; a gag they run with a lot throughout the show.

So, what’s the deal with Solar Opposites? Odds are if you’ve been scrolling through Hulu you’ve seen the thumbnail pop up from time to time and perhaps have even caught an advertisement for it between watching your favorite shows. If you’re a fan of adult animation, like myself, you’re going to instantly recognize it as being very similar to another famous adult cartoon: Rick and Morty. Well, big surprise, it’s created by Justin Roiland who co-created the hit comedy. The biggest thing people want to know about Solar Opposites is if it’s just a watered-down version of Rick and Morty? Is it just the creator recreating similar success he had on one of his previous shows and now is trying to expand his shows for more revenue? Basically, is it the American Dad/Cleveland Show to Rick and Morty’s Family Guy?

Short answer: No. And yes.

Okay, I know that’s the most annoying and pretentious thing to read a reviewer say but you have to stick with me here because the more I compare the two the trickier it is. Let’s go back to the last example; is it doing the same thing Seth MacFarlane does with his animated comedies and by that I mean is it the same jokes with a different family? I would confidently say no. Everyone has their preference of which Seth MacFarlane they like. You have the classic that started it all: Family Guy. Then there’s a spinoff in the (basically) completely unrelated universe of American Dad which focuses on more family-based comedy over incessant pop culture references, though it doesn’t shy away completely thanks to that damn alien. And then there’s the Cleveland Show, which is Family Guy but black. Sure, the jokes are different but they’re the same formula, that strange and disjointed MacFarlane bit with the constant flashbacks and unrelated jokes that rely less on context and more on brief sketches as filler for their show.

So what’s the style of comedy for Rick and Morty as it pertains to Solar Opposites then? I’m not going to go too deep into the “genius” of Rick and Morty, many egotistical internet blowhards are happy to do that for me but I do enjoy the show. In a nutshell, it’s a multigenerational family sci-fi adventure that focuses on the relationship between a random and chaotic universe where nothing matters and the bonds and responsibilities of family. It’s irreverent and shocking at times but many fans of the show will reference many of the gut-punch moments where the show pumped the brakes on the fart jokes and violent comedy and tried to address some very real and scary issues such as loneliness, depression, and hopelessness. Solar Opposites does not do this. I mean, at all. You’ll find more serious moments in Spongebob Squarepants than you will on Solar Opposites.

The two Justin Roiland shows are very connected in animation and theme: God-like science fiction technology existing in the modern age able to do anything the characters needing it to do and their subsequent troubles stemming from that insane power. But it’s the dynamics and story it’s trying to tell that convince me that this isn’t just a rip-off of the creator’s huge success. For starters, the main characters are all aliens from another world. They exist in this universe among humans after the destruction of their planet and besides a little discrimination, everyone seems to be pretty aloof of the fact that they’re living amongst extraterrestrial life. And before someone with a film degree tells me this could represent the discrimination refugees face every day in America (taken from an actual Reddit comment), it’s not. Don’t even try to make that argument, all you’ll do is ruin a good thing. This isn’t even me trying to keep politics out of cartoons either, deep analysis of this show goes against what it’s trying to be. Let Rick and Morty have the deep existential questions and let Solar Opposites be what it is: a spoof on contemporary humanity.

Seriously, that’s all I can see it being. After watching the first season twice and just finishing the second one I’ve come to the conclusion that this show simply exists to make fun of us and I am absolutely in love with it. It starts right away with the irresponsible Terry, who shirked his scientific responsibilities to fully ingratiate himself with Earth culture by collecting pointless pop culture memorabilia and wearing dorky shirts from famous franchises like Harry Potter or twilight. He is the stand-in for human culture with an outside perspective, we get to see him fall into intense fandom with all of these fads that have passed only a few short years ago and by doing so we see how ridiculous we all looked during them. And it’s a lot of fun. The second main alien, Korvo, brings that same outsider’s perspective to our culture but in a more cynical tone. In fact, at the beginning of every episode after the introduction sequence we hear the main character vent about some facet of human life that seems so strange to him and normal to us – of course with that Justin Roiland shocking twist to it like some of the following:

“…people are stupid! They’re always talking about how they love their family, but they’re never making their family gigantic. They’re all normal-sized! If you like something you should be trying to make it gigantic!”

Or my favorite: “…people are stupid! Everyone claims to like old people, but they’re not fucking them! I fuck old people all the time, they love me!”

The two alien children, or “replicates”, meanwhile have to deal with the turmoil of high school. Something that’s a must for almost every comedy. They wind up with their issues and struggles of fitting in and while Jesse, the sweet young alien girl, tries to solve her issues with compassion and friendship, Yumyulack, the headstrong boy alien, tends to solve his problems using his advanced technology and intellect. Most importantly, he does this by utilizing a “shrink ray” to shrink people down and imprison them in this giant terrarium they keep in their bedroom.

By why are the shrink ray and terrarium so important? Because it brings us back to something similar that Rick and Morty uses; a disconnected in-universe plot with its characters and developments completely unrelated from the main cast. While I said I would argue that Just Roiland doesn’t just recreate the formula for Rick and Morty for another cheap show, he does take parts of it that have been successful and use them here. Notably: the wall.

The wall does the same thing that the “evil Morty” universe does in its namesakes show. Basically, there is a whole series of events going on that don’t concern our main characters, but through the spans of multiple episodes, we get drawn into them almost as little vignettes of these brief and interesting worlds. In Rick and Morty it was the council of Ricks and the citadel and Evil Morty’s brutal take over of the government. In Solar Opposites, the people that Yumyulack has so casually pumped into his terrarium have started a culture and lifestyle of their own to adapt. The show goes deep into the daily life of the people living here: how they adapt to the struggles of being tiny, the government, society, it could be an HBO series on its own if it took itself a little more seriously. I don’t want to go too far into it because I don’t want to spoil anything but it does an interesting thing where it eases the gas on humor just a little bit. It tells a story of control and insurrection, sacrifice, and freedom all in the context of this ridiculous world where people shoot toothpicks as arrows or milk rats for fresh dairy. You become more interested in the main plot and the rules of the wall and don’t find yourself missing the humor as much as you think you would, not to say it’s completely dour and serious but it doesn’t have the irreverent punch that the alien’s storylines do.

What I’m getting at here is Solar Opposites stand on their own legs. Of course, the elements from Rick and Morty are there I mean look at the animation style, it’s the same animators. But so what? Futurama and the Simpsons did it and you can’t tell me those are even close to being the same show. Bobs Burgers and The Great White North also share the same animators and they’re not nearly the same either. So yes, they’re different shows, but they use the same themes and rules of the universe to tell their jokes and make their points. I guess the big question is “If I like Rick and Morty will I like Solar Opposites?” and I would say it depends. What did you like about Rick and Morty? Was it the brutally dark comedy or the aloof nature of the characters in the face of all these dangers and questions? Then yes, you probably will. Did you like Rick and Morty because liking it made you feel smart or you like shows that have an emotional punch and depth to them? Maybe not, though I will say without spoiling that there was a scene from the wall’s storyline that got me very close to tears and I’m man enough to admit it.

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Bomb or Blast: Justice League (Snyder Cut)

  By lx7384ul • April 10, 2021 ,

In all my years of movie viewing, I have never seen…a four-hour-long movie. I know that a few famous titles like Lord of The Rings and Kill Bill both have extended cuts that reach the four-hour mark, but I simply have had neither the time nor interest to watch either of those. But you also may ask: “Why did you skip over those two critically acclaimed films to watch a movie that wasn’t good, to begin with?” And I would answer: “Because I believe in change!” I believed in it when I went to go see The Rise of Skywalker, even though I was still disappointed, and I believed in it when I watched this. I have a great love for the DC universe and its characters, and giving second chances to movies isn’t exactly a new concept, so the thought that they could give me a good Justice League movie was too good to pass up. Now for a little context. Justice League was a film released originally in 2017 and was co-directed by Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder. The two directors, admittedly, had different artistic views of the finished film, with Joss Whedon’s version ultimately being shipped out to theaters, and was immediately panned by critics, and me because it ruined one of my favorite superheroes. If you can guess which one before I explain it, you win a prize. Anyway, what ruined the movie?

First, Whedon didn’t consider building on the characters and instead focused on the bare minimum, getting through with a couple fight scenes, determining that people would already understand characters right out of the gate, and giving the film a very paltry villain that no one cared for. Second, he also threw completely new actors into roles that were too big for their first big-screen appearances, but we’ll get into that later. Anyway, Whedon’s version was hated by fans of DC and was declared a failure. A couple years pass and eventually rumors circulate about the film’s re-release with the Snyder Cut. No one knew at the time what would be different, but as information kept coming in and getting leaked, fans became all the more excited. Now by this point, Henry Cavil and Ben Affleck had both retired the capes of Superman and Batman as they went on to other things, with much more focus being put on the Aquaman and Shazam! films, but fans still held out hope for the release of a better Justice League film that could utilize these actors better than they had been. And finally, in March of 2021, the Snyder Cut was released on HBO Max. People have since given it positive reviews and even critics put it in the 70s on Rotten Tomatoes.

But what did I think of it? Well, it’s an improvement…in some ways. You have to remember going into this that none of these scenes are new, they had all been shot and made for the movie back in 2017, but half of them never saw the light of day due to time constraints and the opinions of Joss Whedon. So nothing new could be added and they simply worked with what they had, and thankfully there turned out to be a good movie in a few of these scenes because adding them made all the difference. But it still fell short I think, and I’ll tell you why in this next installment of Bomb or Blast. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Film Work

The first version of this film was known to be an eyesore to some fans as the camera angles and cinematography were so inconsistent that it didn’t feel like the same movie at times. They improved this a little in the Snyder cut by giving us better transitions to follow, but the cinematography was still so everywhere. In one of the last scenes of the film, we see an interaction between Batman and the Joker in a post-apocalyptic dream sequence where the camera focuses in and out on the Joker’s face. It was a confusing effect that kind of broke emersion half of the time, and they had some weird close-ups with the Joker’s face as well that had a similar effect. Overall the camera work was good but a little all over the place in some parts of the film.

Next was the special effects. If there was ever a time that I said “Ugh!” out loud, it would be during this film. I disliked the special effects in the first version of the film, and they were not improved very much at all in this version. Cyborg is a prime example of why. I consider him one of my favorite characters in DC, and they ruined his look. His render, the way his body moved, and the way his actual face interacted with the CGI on screen, it just didn’t work. And his body’s design was terrible, it’s so jagged and complex that it’s hard to look at times. I had a friend give me this wonderful comment for his character: “Practical effects would have worked better,” to which I wholeheartedly agreed. It really disappointed me because I thought that they would make him look a bit better than he had in the original, but they didn’t even touch him in that regard except for the mask they gave him for when he flies. And even worse in the last scene we see him in, which is Batman’s apocalyptic dream sequence, he has one of his smaller back arms holding a minigun and it looks so clumsily put together like the arm was just pasted into the image.

Next, there was the most noticeable change. Steppenwolf, the main villain for this film. In the original, he had a rather bland design which was a common suit of armor and a helmet to cover his horns. In this version, they redesigned his figure, making him more monstrous, and gave him an extremely flexible suite of moving armor that was a lot to look at. It was a great improvement from the original, but it also gave me a bit of sensory overload because of all of the moving parts.

Now there was some good CGI in this movie. The completed form of Darkseid was incredible, I absolutely loved how he looked and I thought they nailed the design for Martian Manhunter who was only in the film for a few brief scenes, but the fact that he was there at all made it all the better. They replaced the scene of Steppenwolf taking Earth with Darkseid doing the same, making the scene all the more intriguing with closer visuals and a better storyline.

Overall the CGI in this movie was lax, with very noticeable flaws and errors, but there was enough good to make up for the bad in the end. But decent CGI isn’t the only thing that’s needed for the improvement of a film

Story

Next to Steppenwolf’s redesign, the story was the most notable change throughout the film. Originally, the film was centered around Steppenwolf attempting to take back Earth and the mother boxes after he failed to destroy the planet millennia prior to the Justice League’s existence. It also very loosely covered the backstories of each hero in the league, but not enough to make us care about any of them other than perhaps Superman or Wonder Woman. In a lot of ways, the 2017 version of the story felt bland and phoned in, and, again, only covering the bare minimum.

Now the 2021 version of the story is much more interesting. Instead of focusing entirely on Steppenwolf, they give plenty of scenes to the main villain of DC, Darkseid who made his first live-action debut in the film. They replaced Steppenwolf’s failed attempt at Earth with Darkseid’s failed attempt, switching him out for his relatively boring subordinate in the flashback. They also mentioned the Anti-Life Equation, which is Darkseid’s main goal in the comics, using it to condemn every planet he comes across and control everything through anti-life. So the main objective of the film was morphed to fit this and it made much more sense.

Next, there was the addition of several character backstories. In the original film, we got a single glimpse of the lives of The Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman. However, in the 2021 version, we get a bit more background on them as people to show their humanity, their relatability, and their flaws, which the original did rather poorly. They showed their ties with their family, their day-to-day lives living with their abilities, how they seem more like outcasts. This made me more enthused and engaged with the film, so I’d say this was a major improvement from Whedon’s take on the characters. They also added Martian Manhunter as an observatory character which I thought was less than he should have been, but I can see how working him in would be a difficult thing to do.

The only downside to the story is that there is far more exposition than I thought was necessary; single scenes without dialogue or action that dragged on for longer than they should have. Adding backstory to characters is good, but extending certain scenes that are unnecessary to the story seems like a waste of time, though I understand this is the uncut version.

So overall, the additions and replacements made to the story improved the film, even if some parts felt longer than others.

Acting

Most of the main cast has plenty of acting experience and impressive filmographies and most of them played their parts with gusto. My personal favorite performances were by Henry Cavill and Gal Gadoe as they both fell into their characters beautifully. Steppenwolf’s voice was drastically improved in the 2021 version, still very well done. The only performance I disliked was was Ray Fisher as Cyborg. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a bad actor, I just feel like he doesn’t exactly click with the role. He had some good moments, but at times his acting felt bland and monotone. Jason Momoa was kind of the same at times, but I felt his performance was better delivered so it made up for it. This was also Fisher’s first major on-screen role according to his filmography so that was also a bit of a red flag. Perhaps I’m being biased, after all, I grew up watching Teen Titans, the show that put Cyborg out there, to begin with, and perhaps I have a set appearance and behavior for that character. However, I can’t help but wonder what a recast would look like with someone a bit more experienced. Michael B. Jordan, even after his less-than-great run-in with superhero movies, would be a much better choice, again in my opinion. Although, I admit that Jason Momoa did poorly in the 2017 version. In his own film, he improved by quite a bit. Perhaps Ray Fisher will change in a similar way when the Cyborg movie comes out in 2022.

Bonus: Audience Approval.

Now audiences have a hard time saying no when it comes to superhero movies. The 2017 version of this film divided fans, much the same as it did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi where half loved it and the other despised it. Don’t let the audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes fool you too much is all I’m saying. In the 2021 version, I found that many DC fans like myself immensely enjoyed the film with how it improved. I was worried about it a bit because if fans don’t like it they’ll let you know. I remember being told by a friend of mine who was a DC nut that the Snyder Cut would pave the way for future DC/Justice League films, and after watching the film itself I may have to agree, especially since critics love it as much as audiences do.

Conclusion

Overall, even with its staggering length, noticeable flaws, and some sub-par acting, this film is one of the best DC movies I’ve seen. The way they brought out the characters, the stronger story, the way they redesigned an awful villain into a cool one, and the addition to a possible sequel in the works all make this movie a blast for those who watch it, and it brings hope that there will be more to DC than just animation.

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Should You Buy: Mansions of Madness?

  By my0824yv • April 2, 2021

 

    Horrifying eldritch monsters, creepy and iconic locations straight out of 1920’s New England, and a plethora of items, weapons, and spells to defend not only your physical well-being and health but your sanity as well. All of these and more are something you can expect after you pick up the box set of Mansions of Madness vol. 2. Inspired by the Lovecraftian lore, specifically the Cthulu mythos, Mansions of Madness is a recent entry into the Arkham Horror franchise by fantasy flight games. Is it right for you? Is it the type of game that might be next for your upcoming board game night? Read on ahead and decide for yourself!

To address the last question posed: is it a game that your friends and family would enjoy on your next board game night? The first thing to consider is how long you have. The scenarios that come on the required free app have adjusted time frames for how long an expected game could last based on the depth and complexity of each mission. The first “introductory” scenario, which takes the player into a mansion to attempt to put a halt to a summoning ritual that would invite terrifying and powerful cosmic beings into our world, can take up to 2 hours, and you should give yourself some extra time just in case. That first scenario is the shortest duration so that should give you a sense of just how long the game can last. The last scenario in the free app suggests that it can take up to five hours, which might seem like a lot because, well, it is. The scenario I mentioned before takes the investigators to the hostile town of Innsmouth where a transformation is taking place to sink the city. Perhaps it’s because I enjoy the game so much, but it took about three and a half hours and time flew by.

            The length of the game may put some people off, as well as the plethora of cards, tokens, and sheets that are included with the game. Looking at the components and giving the rulebook a once-over can seem daunting, but give the game one player whose familiar with the rules and has played before and you’ll have people understanding the concept and game in no time flat. Suggesting that you have someone who played the game before in a guide to help you figure out if you should buy it in the first place might seem a bit of a paradox but one of the great things about this particular set is that it’s possible to be played single player. Of course, people don’t typically get board games to play them solo, and the game is absolutely more fun with friends, but having a set of rules that allows a person to go into the game and figure things out for themselves before inviting friends and helping them along as the game plays. The thing that seems to daunt people so much are the number and stat systems, many people see all these different numbers and think the game is going to require some kind of complex crunching and memorizing when in reality all the numbers indicate is the number of dice rolled on the test in question. That’s kind of the overarching thing of the game; seems complex, really isn’t.

The game has one of my favorite techniques for looking up rules that board games can do: a separate rulebook of alphabetized terms for quick reference. This helps the game run smoothly and easily and negates the searching and flipping through the entire rulebook to find one specific entry. Enough about the rules, let’s get into how the game runs. You might remember earlier that I mentioned a “Free App” that’s required to play the game. The app runs simultaneously with your game, and updates along with the board – controlling the events and developments as a sort of “virtual dungeon master”. This is what allows the game to be played single-player and how it functions as a cooperative game. For me, that’s why this game is so unique. Of course, there’s plenty of cooperative board games but the use of an external app delivering flavor text and updates creates a nice level of immersion and flow. I could see how some people may not like the idea of having to have an app that’s crucial for the game to be played, though it’s worth noting the app doesn’t need a wifi connection which won’t leave you stranded without a connection or burn through all your data. It’s even better when you have a smart tv or some kind of casting device so you can pull it up on the living room television for everyone to see.

            The game operates in two phases: the investigator phase, where the players conduct their investigations and take whatever actions they need to and the mythos phase: where the game progresses and develops the story as well as controlling the NPC’s and the environment around the game. The modular game updates slightly differently each time the scenario is played to keep it from becoming stale and predictable, but for the most part, the game boards are similar and only diverge in a few rooms or locations. As the game goes on the players have to protect their health and sanity, but an interesting wrinkle comes in that keeps the game interesting and bold comes from the player gaining a detriment whenever their health reaches a certain threshold. For the player’s physical health these are pretty straightforward: the player loses the ability to run as far, their melee stats go down, etc. But the game becomes fascinating when a player becomes insane. With this little twist, the player’s investigator takes on a secret quirk or objective. Something that they keep to themselves at the help or detriment of the others. It’s a fascinating mechanic that helps to build mistrust and tension as the game goes on. Some of these effects are strange but don’t hurt the other players too much like the player not being able to talk and only communicating with gestures and grunts. Or it could be something brutal like the player secretly wants to set every room on fire or possibly even have one of the investigators perish in it.

So is this game right for you? Depends on your group. Do you have a long time to sit down and engage with the game? Do the people you play with like getting involved in a rich world and work together to survive the otherworldly terrors stretching out from beyond the infinite abyss of blackness and time? If you’re looking for something quick and straightforward like Catan or monopoly, this game probably won’t be a hit. Perhaps you’re interested in painting and collecting models? The game comes with a large number of plastic figurines detailed enough to point easily enough which can be a fun way to showcase your painting skills to friends and family. The game is a bit of an investment, averaging about $80-$90, but with the time it takes to play and the depth involved in the game you will get your money’s worth out of Mansions of Madness.