The November 1907 issue of “Edison Photograph Monthly” called this “One of the most popular sentimental songs of the season, recorded in slow, dreamy time”. It was written by J. Anton Dailey and L. W. Heiser. It is combined here with pictures from the March 1911 edition of “Technical World Magazine”. The audio comes from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive. Henry Burr was a top-selling music act in his day.
Cheap promo for “True Story” and “Detective’s Diary”, aired 1957 on NBC.
Amidst the negative reviews and an online petition against Rotten Tomatoes to shut it down for its unjust ratings, the super villain team-up finally hit the Indian soil and I beg to differ with other reviewers. The hype and excitement that Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment managed to build over the badass movie Suicide Squad has been delivered beautifully and not a single second was not worth your time.
Post the negative reviews DC received for Zack Synder’s Batman v Superman, DC managed to start its fans trust again with their trailer showcase at Comic-Con, and Suicide Squad comes as a hero to rescue a sinking ship. And the credit goes to David Ayer and the star studded cast and their brilliant performance.
By now we all know the plot quite well. Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), a US intelligence officer decides to assemble a team of dangerous, incarcerated supervillains for a top-secret mission. Now armed with government weapons, Deadshot (Will Smith), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), El Diablo (Jay Hernandez) and Slipknot (Adam Beach) must learn to work together. Dubbed Task Force X, the criminals unite to battle a mysterious and powerful entity, while the diabolical Joker (Jared Leto) launches an evil agenda of his own.
The movie is fast paced, gripping, action heavy and has the touch of humour. As for what’s this Task Force X up against, Enchantress (Cara Delevingne) serves as the enemy, the mystical entity who in the words of Deadshot can be defeated only by a miracle. Amanda as a character can be compared to what Nick Fury is in the Marvel universe; the only difference is she’s more manipulative (has to be as she deals with the bad guys). Coming across a stern, zero bullshit tolerant, devious lady who can take care of herself, Davis has delivered the role adeptly.
Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Jay Hernandez managed to steal the show with their stellar performance and attitude throughout the whole movie. I doubt anyone else could have pulled Harley Quinn’s role as crazily as Robbie has managed to. Throughout the film she manages to win the heart of audience with her weird dialogues, insane actions and portraying the emotional turbulence going inside her. Though El Diablo seemed liked an unwanted character in the beginning of the film, Hernandez manages to give the hidden depth which the character required, leaving us astounded. While talking about the performances, how can we forget Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flag. Though working under Amanda Waller, difference in opinions can be seen surfacing and Rick Flag can be seen the one taking care of the ‘Suicide Squad’.
Backstories of few characters were told in the form of flashbacks, however we were left questioning about how El Diablo actually got his power and transformed into one of the mystic beings, what could Killer Croc exactly do and Slipknot seemed unwanted. Katana’s (Karen Fukuhara) character seemed to be a bit underplayed and Killer Croc could have got more of an exposure. In the screen time received, Jared Leto manages to woo us with his warped, psychopathic behaviour who just wants to rescue Harley who’s madly in love with him.
Cara Delevingne on the other can be called a complete disaster as she miserably executes not just her dialogues but also her character Enchantress. And the only thing good about her was the visual effects which managed to aid her character. The biggest letdown is the villain and the motive itself. How much ever I tried, I could not stop myself from comparing the whole scene with X-Men: Age of Apocalypse. Overall though the Suicide Squad were a hit, the film had its weak points which couldn’t be neglected; Harley Quinn’s fight with two of those instant army guys in the lift out of which only one’s body can be seen, the sudden cuts between the flashbacks, fast paving scenes leading to rough edits and lack of meticulous details of the scene and characters, and the highlight would be the final war scene which didn’t seem less than a typical Bollywood action flick (first with BvS, now this. Is Hollywood getting inspired by Bollywood?).
Jerome Chen, the production VFX supervisor along with the team of MPC, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Mammal Studios and Ollin VFX, has managed to deliver some breathtaking visuals on Suicide Squad. Enchantress’ depiction, the way she switches places, El Diablo’s fire sequences, his turning into the fire-god (or something who speaks the language of Enchantress) were some of the highlights of the VFX carried in the movie.
Throughout the movie, the music score plays an important part and has been incorporated seamlessly making one grove to its tunes. The super villain, badass team will make you fall in love with the nefarious characters and by the end of the movie, you will be kept wanting for more of Joker and a standalone Harley Quinn movie. And yes (spoiler alert), watch out for The Flash making a cameo in the movie.
Verdict: Written and directed by David Ayer, Suicide Squad though has few loopholes here and there, overall the plot and storyline is gripping. The movie is good to watch atleast once in the theatres, however not necessarily on an IMAX.
The post Suicide Squad review: The craziness, sound track and actors make you want to neglect the plot and enjoy the film appeared first on AnimationXpress.
We surely live in a world which is being quickly taken over by the digital phenomenon. One might argue that we still hold on to the roots and stick to the conventional ways of meeting friends and making plans, but NO! we don’t and given the overall milieu, it’s okay. The fast paced life and digital means of communication has made it easier to be in touch with almost all of your friends, with just a click or tap of a button.
Sometimes, we drop a text or make a call, trying to hold on to that ‘friendship’ which gets instigated during the first Sunday of August, celebrated as ‘Friendship Day’ and eventually revert back to a text.
However, when it comes to gamers, I have found the story to be somewhat different. While, people are struggling to create that quaint social bonding of friendship amidst the rush or this fast paced life, gamers around the globe create new friends and memories whenever they communicate to the gaming community and that happens almost every day while playing games. Countless stories can be brought to the picture which show how the games of the virtual world mediated to create memorable friendships in the real world.
In my personal experience, I started playing when I was in school, visiting cyber cafes, meeting new people; it was fun and exciting. Why? Because we all had one common interest, gaming. My gaming friend circle further expanded with the advent of the internet. I started playing online games and quickly made friends all around the country and some overseas too with everyone asking me to come visit their place. So, you generally would be sceptical to hang out with folks you met over the internet, but honestly for me the experiences have always been great. I have travelled over the country to meet the gamers, been in touch with them since years now and I still meet up with them at least once a year (when we have a get together followed by a Lan party) and we’re always connected thoroughly through a medium called ‘video games’.
I’ve heard similar stories from my fellow gamers as well. Mukul Shinde, a Mumbai based gaming enthusiast says, “Being a gamer you have a relatively small social life compared to others as you spend most of your time playing games. But that does not fetch you away from making friends. While playing an online multiplayer game you occasionally find people with whom you can enjoy the game and at the same time you can accomplish your in-game goals.” He even mentioned a story of his own, “I started following competitive gaming through DOTA and after the release of DOTA 2, I used to play it a lot even though I was not so good at it. While playing a party match with a friend, I met a guy from USA who is originally from Phillipines and since that day we have been best friends and are also working on a project related to eSports, as we do share similar goals and have a similar thought process.”
It’s not just the regular gamers who believe in that, the Indian gaming industry testifies this fact too. Nodwin Gaming, founder, Akshat Rathee states, “I met the co-founder of Nodwin Gaming while playing StarCraft. Nodwin Gaming would not have existed if I did not make an online (gaming) friend called Gautam Virkh. He had just come down from Canada and he enquired on the Team Liquid forum that if anyone from India is playing StarCraft. Eight people replied, of which I was one. We started playing together and we became good friends. So, one day I asked him to come down here, so that we could start some venture together and once he came we did a lot of things together and eventually founded Nodwin Gaming together. So, I don’t have a better friend in life than Gautam and he is a friend I met online while playing StarCraft!”
Novaplay is a fairly new, indigenous community platform which aims at bringing together and Nova Gaming Ventures, CEO, Amitesh Rao expressed his thoughts saying, “Gaming teaches you much like football, team work, how to deal with other people and obviously you reach out to a lot of likeminded people who have similar interests. So, I think there is a lot of tribalism in gaming. It’s not just a gaming network, it helps you groom your social and collaborative skills. I don’t think gaming is about making one friend or making five friends but it develops you as a person in many ways, it also prepares you for non-gaming scenarios. Novaplay is fundamentally a community platform for multiplayer gamers and we offer a host of functionalities and technologies for gamers to collaborate and talk to each other and to find other people with similar interests. So, at its core, it’s a social networking platform for gamers, therefore, it is designed to help you build your gaming clans and communities.”
Jai Sachdeva, a gamer from Delhi shared a similar perspective, “Smite has been a life changing game for me. As someone who appreciates friendship more than anything else, it was an amazing experience. I met many people on Smite that have become very good friends of mine. The most awesome thing about gaming community is that race, gender, religion, orientation never are a concern when you meet a fellow gamer. I met a guy named Karan who had started an initiative of bringing all the Indian players under one hood and I joined him in the cause. Our joint efforts brought almost 300 Indian players together. Some international Smite community groups got me some more friends and got me acquainted with some fabulous people. I had also started a Smite photography page after Karan’s suggestion and it got me thousands of followers shortly. Consequently I got into Smite Magazine staff and have been there ever since. We also have a really active Smite India group on whatsapp and it’s probably the only group that stays on topic most of the time, out of all other groups that I am in (laughs).”
These are just some of the many stories and if you think people who play games all the time instead of socialising, reality check: they’re always making friends, from all over the world and there’s just one common interest that binds them, their passion for gaming.
So, on this Friendship Day, I wish all my fellow gamers and everyone else out there, Happy Friendship Day, keep playing games and keep etching memories!
The post A million different people, one common interest: The gaming community share their friendship stories appeared first on AnimationXpress.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, has partnered with Grey London and Just So Films to tell the story of the ten refugee athletes competing in Rio as unified team fully funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). At a time when global forced displacement is at a record high, these ten swimmers, runners and judokas represent the hopes and dreams of a vast population in need of international protection. “Team Refugees: Champions against all odds”, an inspirational 90 second short film, is the trailer for a long form Team Refugees documentary, designed to build respect and empathy for the global refugee population as well as this team of ten. The film will be hosted on the UNHCR YouTube page and featured on the Google UK homepage.
The Team Refugees documentary tells the story of 65 million people forced from their homes, distilled into the experience of a few. A human perspective on the biggest crisis of our generation, the film is about determination and dignity.
“These ten remarkable athletes embody the determination and resilience of the many millions of people fleeing conflict and persecution worldwide,” said Melissa Fleming, UNHCR’s Head of Communications and Public Information. “They remind us that refugees are people just like you and me, people who want to achieve their full potential against all odds.”
“The word refugee provokes feelings of negativity, fear or at best, sympathy. We want to inspire admiration instead of pity. Because to be a refugee is to have survived, to have endured, to have never given up,” said Richard Ascott, Managing Director of Just So.
Reaching out through social media, Just So built a deep bond with the Olympic hopefuls, capturing training, family life and the world they now inhabit, while also providing them with their own cameras to film their daily lives. The film is still in production.
“We don’t know how the story will unfold,” Ascott continued, “but we do know that there are endless examples of people of ability and ambition who because of horrendous circumstances beyond their control have been expelled from their homes. Our hope is that global media and audiences will support their cause. We have a duty to tell their story.”
Jono Stevens, director, adds: “It is a flaw of the human brain that the more we are exposed to horrors and great sadness, the less impact it has on us. The story of these athletes and indeed all refugees is one of both triumph and struggle and in presenting both so starkly juxtaposed, it gives us a sense of the broader story and forces us to engage.”
“We represent all refugees and we want to show the world our potential. We will prove that we are very capable, and when we are provided adequate conditions, we can achieve great results,” said 25-year-old swimmer, Rami Anis, who fled Syria and found refuge in Belgium.
Rami is one of ten athletes on Team Refugees. He is joined by another Syrian swimmer, Yusra Mardini;South Sudanese runners Yiech Pur Biel (800m), James Nyang Chiengjiek (400m), Anjelina Nada Lohalith (1,500m), Rose Nathike Lokonyen (800m), and Paulo Amotun Lokoro (1,500m); Ethiopian marathon runner Yonas Kinde; and judo players Yolande Mabika and Popole Misenga, both from Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sarah Jenkins, Chief Marketing Officer Grey London added: “As a creative agency, we work with brands to raise awareness and change perceptions. In partnership with Just So, our “client” is the global refugee population. And our goal is to change the way the world sees them. By coproducing this film and using our combined strategic and creative skills to help it land in culture, we hope to make a positive contribution to the refugee crisis.”
According to the UNHCR, an unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes to escape persecution, conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations. Among them are nearly 21.3 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.There are also an estimated 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement.
UNHCR is urging viewers inspired by the film to sign its #WithRefugees petition. Launched on 1st June with the help of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett and a host of other UNHCR supporters, including Ben Stiller, Mika, Helen Mirren and Benedict Cumberbatch, the petition has already gained more than 475,000 signatures. It calls on governments to ensure that every refugee child gets an education, that all refugee families have somewhere safe to live and that all refugees can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their communities. Pledge your support withrefugees.org.
The Team Refugees team at Grey London were creative directors Andy Lockley and Pete Gatley, head of content production/executive producer Jessica Ringshall, assistant producer Talia Shear, account director Justine Deighan, chief marketing officer Sarah Jenkins, head of PR and communication Veronique Rhys Evans.
The Team Refugees team at Just So Films were creative directors/film directors J&J (Jono Stevens and Jonny Madderson), executive producer Richard Ascott and producer Matt Diegan, with assistant producer Liv Proctor, directors of photography Charlie Goodger, Luke Bryant, Daniel Venosa, and Dominic Bartels, researchers Sophie Perrins, Gideon Berends, Flora Hamilton, Gretha Viana, Lucy Chapman.
Editor was Simon Hargood at The Assembly Rooms. Post production was done at The Mill by colourist Oisin O’Driscoll and online editor Brad Wood.
Sound and music were produced at Father by sound designer Iain Grant, composers Freddie Webb and Joe Farley.
Additional footage is provided courtesy of BBC, The Guardian, Journeyman TV, Associated Press, CNN, Christian Broadcast Network, Discover The Journey, Marc Silver, Nick Francis, Amnesty International, Lior Sperandeo, ITN Source, Samaritans Purse, Invisible Children, Jonathan Darby, Human Rights Watch.
Terry Jones talks about make-up artist Chris Tucker and the creation of Mr. Creote for Monty Python’s ‘The Meaning of Life’ (1983).
This video is edited by Sci-Tech Universe. This video was captured with Nikon P900.
Meet the Beatles! Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. A Hard Day’s Night, in which the bandmates play cheeky comic versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything-goes verve by Richard Lester and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems, including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell,” A Hard Day’s Night, which reconceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time.
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