Rouges Portal Staff Picks – Week of June 17th, 2016
Another week has come to an end! This means it’s time for our Staff Picks of the Week! If this is your first time checking us out, welcome! Take a look around the site, we have plenty to offer you! From podcasts to reviews and everything in between, we keep you informed and entertained. So without further delay, here are our picks of the week!
Billy’s Pick of the Week: My pick of the week is The Search For The Worst. It’s a YouTube series that’s set to review the 100 worst movies of all time. The series covers such infamous classics as Birdemic, Manos The Hands of Fate, The Room, and Garbage Pail Kids: The Movie to dissect exactly what it is that makes these movies so bad. While comic in its presentation, I Hate Everything’s commentary is actually quite thoughtful, insightful, and emotionally honest. The series even develops a more critical angle as it goes on, collecting a growing frame of reference to compare these unfortunate films to other terrible movies and really learning what doesn’t make a movie work in the process. I ended up marathoning all 30 currently-available episodes of the series over a two day span. Cinephiles with too much pride, take note. The novelty of watching a bad movie is preserved without actually having to watch the bad movie.
Stephanie Pouliotte’s Pick of the Week: My pick of the week is Voltron: Legendary Defender. It’s a reboot of the 1984 Voltron series and premiered on Netflix on June 10, 2016. It’s nice and short at 11 episodes and the show-runners and head writer are veterans from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend Korra! You can definitely see the Avatar influence in the animation and story, especially in the characters’ plucky and comical demeanors (Lance in particular definitely has a bit of a Sokka-vibe going). The story follows five unlikely heroes destined to become the paladins of Voltron. They pilot flying robotic space lions (okay, it’s cooler than it sounds) that form the ultimate weapon against Zarkon and the Galra Empire, who have been slowly conquering the galaxy for ten thousand years. With the help of Princess Allura and the boisterously comical Coran, the team must locate the lost lions and figure out how to pilot Voltron before the galaxy falls completely under Zarkon’s rule, including Earth! Seriously a great show, with a good mix of action, adventure, and ridiculous comic relief.
Gregory’s Pick of the Week: For my pick of the week we are going to travel back to 2012. There was a new comic that came out that everyone was trying to convince me to try. Imagine a young couple from warring families that just had a child. They of course want to escape that reality and raise their child away from all the violence . Add in the fact that there are people out there that are trying to find and kill the couple and you have what sounds like it should be a great concept. For what ever reason back then I ignored the recommendations and continued to focus on “mainstay” comic books. Fast forward 4 years and I finally decide to pick up the trade of the first story arc. Of course by now most people have figured out that I am talking about Saga. The introduction of Alana and Marko and their newborn Hazel is brilliant and the uncovering of their personalities is done in a way that does not feel forced. Brian K. Vaughan does some amazing world building in this first trade and leaves you wanting more while at the same time giving enough to make you invested. Fiona Staples art is fantastic and unique. The ability to let loose with some of these fantastical beings has to be a dream come true for an artist of her talent. Saga just released issue 36 and won’t be back until August but that is great for people like me ,who has now consumed the first two trades in a matter of two days to catch up. If someone has recommended this series to you before and you have held back because you are not sure if you would like it, do yourself a favor and don’t wait any longer. Go out and get the first trade today.
Rhian’s Pick of the Week: My pick of the week is one of the 80s/90s best loved comic book punk girls: Tank Girl. I bought Tank Girl Apocalypse and I haven’t been able to put it down! Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Tank Girl drives a tank (obviously) and it’s also her home. Throughout her course she would undertake missions while making many mistakes to then be declared an outlaw due to her sexual inclinations and substance abuse. It’s meant to be set in a apocalyptic Australia and she is seen drinking booze in bed with her boyfriend Booga, who is a mutant Kangaroo. What I love about it, is it’s rebellious, British punk edge!! It’s all over the place and I love it! It has quite dark humour but very edgy, what a rock n’ roll comic should be!
David’s Pick of the Week: My pick of the week is the 2001 Stephen Chow film Shaolin Soccer. I am a huge fan of soccer and Stephen Chow so this movie was perfect for me. Sing (Chow) is trying to find a way to get his fellow countrymen to once again embrace their Shaolin kung fu heritage. Sings meets a soccer coach named Fung and together the two create a plan to form a soccer team with Sing’s Shaolin brothers. The bad part in this is his brothers have lost all their skills. Sing helps them rediscover their abilities and leads them to a champion showdown against the unbeatable Evil Team. I liked the idea of combing kung fu and soccer. It is an original film that had me laughing throughout. If you are not familiar with Chow, he is a very entertaining and comedic actor. The visuals are amazing and the movie overall is a treat to watch. You can find Shaolin Soccer on Netflix, so check it out!
