The week is almost upon us! Why did the weekend fly by so fast?
But despite the upcoming business, worry not! There will be more posts coming up soon. Along with other possible topics, we will be looking over a Doctor Who episode from Season Seven, “The Crimson Horror”, and I will rant (not in the good way) about my agonizing reading through Divergent by Veronica Roth.
‘Til next time, laters!
Ever since Gotham began, I’ve wanted to talk about it so much. But there are few people close to me watching the show, and some are still catching up. Now that I have this blog, I will rant and rave to my heart’s content.
There are a lot of bases I’d like to cover with Gotham. For today, I will focus on two major villains: Fish Mooney (played by Jada Pinkett Smith) and Oswald Cobblepot, a.k.a. the Penguin (played by Robin Lord Taylor).
Fish Mooney is an original character created specifically for the show. A mobstress working for Don Carmine Falcone, she’s secretly planning on bringing “the old man” down and taking his place.
Let me begin by saying that I hate Smith’s acting in Gotham. It is horrible. The way she moves, the way she speaks-it’s so badly stereotypical and makes Mooney look like a caricature. Because of that, I can’t take her or her character seriously. I groan every time she does one of her characteristic trait moves.
The acting goes hand in hand with the character, and unfortunately, Mooney is not a great character. We know practically nothing about her. Sure, there was that small little bit about her growing up with her mom (even though parts of it were lies), but that’s not enough. There is nothing about Mooney that I can relate to or sympathize with. She is just another stock villain used for the sake of being evil. She doesn’t even intimidate me at all.
Now with that out of the way, let’s talk about the real villain between the two-Oswald Cobblepot.
Where to begin?
Oswald Cobblepot (the future Penguin) starts off as a low-level grunt working for Mooney. But after a series of events, including the faking of his death (spoilers!), he begins his conquest for power and his revenge against Mooney.
Well, first off, it has to be said that Robin Lord Taylor’s acting is brilliant. Just brilliant. And personally speaking, I think he’s the best Penguin ever! He has totally changed who the Penguin is for me. Like with Deadpool, I had a fixed mental image before Gotham (Penguin=squat, cowardly bully of a mobster with serious case of Napoleon Complex). But Taylor completely blew that image to pieces with his stunning portrayal. Bravo!
Like with Mooney, the acting and character go hand in hand with Taylor and Cobblepot. But in contrast to Mooney, Penguin is one of the most well developed villains in the show, hands down. Since the beginning of Gotham , we’ve seen how much he’s grown, from lowly grunt to total game-changer. With every episode, we’ve come to realize just how much of a mastermind Cobblepot really is. And, as well as getting glimpses of the inner neurotic psychopath inside, we’ve also gotten to see his humanity, particularly in the adorable yet creepy scenes with his mother.
Partially because of my aforementioned mental image, I didn’t know what to expect of Cobblepot after the pilot, other than not much. But after E4 (“Arkham”), it was just one clever surprise tactic after another in my face. E7 (“Penguin’s Umbrella”, which I’ll discuss in a later post) was the move that totally blew me away. Now I just can’t imagine what he’ll do next. All I know is this: there is no such thing as a small move for Cobblepot. The things he does, he does for a reason. It might not always make sense in the moment, but sooner or later it will.
One does not simply underestimate the Penguin.
Now, with the characters in relation to each other, I’d just like to finish with a look into the future.
Mooney is clearly not on the same level as Penguin. She says that Falcone is “weak and feeble”, but I don’t think that’s true. From everything we saw and learned in E7, I think he may be at his sharpest right now. From the look of things, it’s Mooney who’s getting weak and feeble. She can’t see the intricacy of the games that Penguin’s playing with her. And if she doesn’t, then she’s so going down. Maybe even very soon.
Penguins, after all, do eat fish.
With Cobblepot, it’s fairly easy. The only people he really has to worry about are Falcone and Maroni. But when it comes to Mooney, she’s nothing. Cobblepot plays her so easily, and he will keep playing her until (if it happens) he gets his revenge on her.
No matter what happens, Mooney’s going down. Hopefully it’s sometime in Season One. I can’t stand the thought of having to see her for another season.
What do you think? Do you like Smith’s acting and her character? What do you think of Taylor’s portrayal of Penguin? Let me know in the comments!
‘Til next time, laters!
In celebration of the confirmation of Ryan Reynolds as the titular character for Deadpool~Taken at this year’s Nebraskon (Harley Quinn is me)
To begin with, I had no idea that Deadpool existed. It was only through my brother (also a passionate nerd) that I learned bits and pieces about the Merc with the Mouth. My mental image could be boiled down to this: crazy guy in a red and black outfit who kills for a living. Also a spoof of Deathstroke from DC comics.
Needless to say, I wasn’t all that interested…
…until the Deadpool test footage got leaked a couple months ago.
Hearing about Deadpool is one thing. Seeing him in action (even if it’s CGI) is another. Since then, I’ve started liking him a little more lately. His amorality I find disagreeable sometimes. But compared to all the other superheroes out there, Deadpool is a breath of fresh air. Nearly all heroes in recent movies (with the exception of Guardians of the Galaxy) have been portrayed very seriously-too seriously that sometimes it feels ridiculous/stupid/forced. But with Deadpool, any seriousness is thrown out the window. He doesn’t need to be serious to prove how cool he is, and that is one of the things I love so much about him!
Now, time to talk about the upcoming Deadpool movie.
For starters, I’m super excited for it to come out. Several people involved in the movie say the script is good, and I have full confidence that it is going to be awesome! Like I said before, superhero movies have tried hard (and sometimes too hard) to be serious. But sometimes shaking things up from the serious hero movie formula is a good thing. That’s why I liked Guardians of the Galaxy so much. And that’s why I’m pretty sure I’m going to like Deadpool.
Secondly, the casting for the character Deadpool must be dealt with. We all know that Ryan Reynolds is confirmed to play Deadpool, and there is a lot of hot debate over that. Some people think he’ll be great, some people who’ve been scarred by X-Men: Origins will definitely beg to differ.
Speaking for myself, I think he’ll be fantastic. I have not seen X-Men: Origins, nor do I ever wish to see it. But I have seen what’s been dubbed the “awesome Deadpool scene”, the one where Deadpool comes running out of the elevator and wields those katanas like a boss. Simply amazing! I’d love to see more of that. And the voice acting he did in the test footage was very good too. Plus, after hearing about how much he’s worked towards becoming the character Deadpool, it feels only right for him to have the role. I can’t imagine anyone else portraying the Merc. Good luck to you, Reynolds!
Lastly, let’s talk about the rating debate. R or PG-13? I say PG-13. There’s a reason why I think that way.
Movies, in my opinion, should be about story. Now when we’re talking about superhero movies, violence is a given to the story. That’s something I can accept. But lately, I feel that in superhero movies, violence takes up 70% of the screen time, while story only gets 30%. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is one example among others. What story they had in the movie was good; I would’ve loved more character development and story progression. But instead, what stands out more in my memory is the dizzying, fast-action violence. I got so tired of it that I actually fell asleep in the theatre, no joke.
But that’s another discussion for later. Back on Deadpool, I say PG-13 because I feel that that will give the story side of the movie a greater chance of being the center of the movie. Violence is a given, but you shouldn’t have to fill up the script with excessive gore just to tell a good story and entertain an audience. Violence doesn’t even begin to substitute story, so don’t try substituting at all. Period.
Plus, when it comes to marketing and other such stuff, it just makes sense.
But anyway, those are my thoughts on the upcoming Deadpool movie.
What do you think? Are you down with Ryan Reynolds portraying Deadpool? R or PG-13? Let me know in the comments!
‘Til next time, laters!
Hello and welcome to the Passionate Nerd!
This is one of the first blogs I’ve created that isn’t about serious topics (The ABC Café) or a NanoWrimo story (Prowess). This is dedicated to talking about the different things I get nerdy over. Mainly books, movies, TV shows, and music; from LOTR (Lord of the Rings) to Skulduggery Pleasant, Inception to Thor, Doctor Who to Gotham, and Beethoven to Lindsey Stirling. This is where I will gush and vent over all those things and more.
I’ve got so much to say, and I can’t wait to get blogging away on this. ‘Til next time, laters!
The Passionate Nerd 