Editorials

Learn to Code By Coding For Nonprofits

learn to code

I don’t usually talk about coding on this site, but I know a lot of you readers skew younger (between 13 and 21). And it’s pretty obvious that learning to write code will eventually become as essential as Algebra (if it isn’t already).

But doing the actual learning can be a real challenge for most people. I’ve dabbled in code for years, but it’s never truly connected with me as a skill I feel proficient in. This is why I’m recommending Free Code Camp to anyone curious.

Free Code Camp is a pretty simple set up. You learn how to do code for free, and the practice courses you take are used for actual, real-life nonprofits who really need it. For obvious reasons, I absolutely love this business model. Plus, it appears to be easy for nonprofits to partner up with the program.

Go on…Learn to Code By Coding For Nonprofits

‘Inside Out’ Is Getting Rave Reviews

inside out reviews

Pixar’s latest film recently debuted at Cannes Film Festival in France, and the reception so far has been overwhelmingly positive.

Kenneth Turan during an interview about the film with NPR’s Steve Inskeep:

Turan: Well, there’s a lot of stuff to like here. Just this morning, “Inside Out” played. This is the new film from Pixar. It’s by Pete Docter, who directed “Up.” It’s a really fascinating, unusual, computer-animated film about what goes on inside the mind of a young girl, the different emotions that hide in her mind, each emotion played by a different actor. It’s very funny. It’s very inventive. And it’s really moving, kind of in the way “Up” was.

Inskeep: And so you came out of that movie with a smile on your face?

Go on…‘Inside Out’ Is Getting Rave Reviews

Forget a Sequel, ‘Hancock’ Should Just Be a TV Series

Remember that Will Smith movie from 2008 about a homeless superhero who’s bad at being a superhero?

Well, Hancock is likely getting its long-awaited sequel soon, despite how “meh” the original was after the first hour. In fact, I speculated on what I would love to see from a Hancock follow up two years ago, and young Jon Negroni simply argued that the hero, Hancock, deserves his own superhero team. And you know what? I stand by how fun that sounds.

HANCOCK

Except now I believe the Hancock story should be reimagined as a series, perhaps with a new cast. You can blame the success of streaming hits like Daredevil and House of Cards for getting me on the Netflix content bandwagon.

The interesting thing about Hancock is that it isn’t a superhero adaptation. It’s actually based on a story dreamed up by Vincent Ngo, a writer/producer who came up with the character of Hancock back in the mid-1990s.

Of course, stalls in development kept the film in limbo for over a decade, but this world of fallen angels being reluctant superheroes is still ripe for exploitation. And thanks to Hancock‘s somewhat bittersweet ending, a reboot/refresh sounds very appealing to fans like me.

HANCOCK

See, the movie itself was pretty fun up until the third act, when it rushed its “serious” plot with a weird twist and underpowered finale. But imagine how much more entertaining the origin of Hancock would be if it was given a full season of episodes to build up its lore with the same comedic timing and exciting action sequences.

If I was in the writer’s room, I’d prefer Ngo’s original take on the story, where Hancock has a stronger relationship with Aaron, the young son of Ray and Mary. It’s a more interesting dynamic that doesn’t need the weird sexual tension built between Hancock and Mary to drive the plot. Instead, you have a broken, lonely man with powers slowly becoming a hero alongside a kid who adores him. Now that sounds like a TV show premise worth pitching.

When you rewatch Hancock, you’ll notice that his motivations for going along with Ray’s “PR rebranding” are pretty weak when you think about it too much. Hancock suddenly decides he wants people to like him, seemingly out of nowhere. But it makes way more sense if Hancock builds a realistic friendship with Aaron, which eventually leads him to discovering the truth behind his powers.

HANCOCK

In other words: more Hancock and Aaron. Less weird love triangle stuff. Oh, and more action.

Now imagine all of that stretched out over 13 episodes of a grisly weirdo learning how to be super. And then contrast this concept with the over saturation of comic book movies and TV shows about people who fight crime because it’s the right thing to do.

You know, while Hancock just does it because shrug whatever.

I love the idea of a Hancock series, especially with a new cast and refreshed plot that can deviate from what we saw in the movie by actually including real villains (not just a bunch of bank robbers).

As for casting…well, you can decide that for yourselves in the comments.

 

Thanks for reading! If you like this blog, you can subscribe for weekly updates by clicking the “Subscribe” button on the right sidebar. Or just follow me on Twitter for the latest updates – @JonNegroni

 

Review: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

mad max fury road

I’m still processing Mad Max: Fury Road. I’m still wrapping my head around the visuals, the world-building, the bold color palette, and what everyone else in the world is talking about right now: the action.

Let’s just get this out of the way. I’ve never seen any of the previous “Mad Max” films (just parts of Road Warrior). I went into Fury Road blind, though that will be remedied very soon.

Go on…Review: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’

I’m Not The Target Market For ‘Supergirl,’ Which Is Why I’ll Probably Love It

CBS recently unveiled their 6-minute “First Look” trailer for “Supergirl,” which is one of their first superhero TV shows ever and a new connective tissue for the ever-expanding DC comics TV universe controlled by by the mind of Greg Berlanti. Yes, “Supergirl” exists alongside established superheroes like the Arrow and Flash, who currently fight crime on the CW (a network owned by the same company as CBS). That doesn’t mean the show will crossover much or even at all with the aforementioned supers, but it could happen at least once.

supergirl

But the real story is how “Supergirl” will make its mark when it comes to its lead character. Leading up to this trailer, many speculators like me have wondered how they’ll portray the character of Kara Zor-El, the cousin of Superman. And you know what? They’ve pretty much nailed it. Look, the issue of handling female superheroes for TV and movies is extremely volatile. Just look at the craziness that erupted with Black Widow over the last month.

There’s undoubtedly a lot of people shaking their heads at how DC/CBS is tackling Supergirl (many of them are even women), but I’m not one of them. Specifically, there are some of you out there worried about having a “girly” superhero living in a romantic comedy script. I’ve heard things like, “Well I’m a guy, so this show wasn’t made for me.”

supergirl

Right, because women everywhere who love comics aren’t used to watching shows not made for them. As a guy who’s used to seeing strong, confident heroes like Black Widow and I guess Black Canary to an extent get their time, I couldn’t be more excited about seeing a younger, less sure of herself girl grow into becoming the unstoppable hero we know she can be.

Why does Supergirl have to be GoGo Tomago? Why can’t she be a little awkward and clumsy like, say, I don’t know, Clark Kent? Yes it’s a little silly, cheesy, and corny. So was “The Flash,” and we all know how that turned out. I’m not someone who easily relates to the struggles of a girl living in the big city trying to overcome self-doubt.

But that’s probably why I’ll end up loving the show. It’s new territory in the sense that the story is being told through a genre I absolutely love with a character I wouldn’t normally find relatable.

supergirl

Of course, I haven’t seen the show itself yet, so who knows how it’ll actually turn out. I’m a little wary of Jimmy-er-James Olsen being portrayed by this cool and confident professional instead of the bumbling, shy nerd we know from the comics. I’m not crazy about Toyman and Hank Henshaw essentially being the new Harrison Wells/Caitlin Snow (really guys? Can’t we do something different for this show?)

But as for Supergirl herself, I think CBS is onto something, and it’s great news for all of us if other studios start taking notes.

Also

  • Any nitpicks I could make about the overall casting is essentially obliterated by the fact that Melissa Benoist (Whiplash) is playing the main character. They nailed it.
  • The premise of fighting alien threats a la metahumans in “Flash” is interesting enough. It’s good that Kara will have some challenging opponents along with Metallo.
  • Hopefully, this shadow Superman will reveal himself as Dean Cain in the finale (that’s a joke).
  • That costume is the 1.0 version (think “Daredevil”). Hold off all complaints until we see the official version.
  • Wow, “Gotham” is really starting to look like a missed opportunity at this point.

Is ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ About to Become The Best Movie of 2015?

mad max fury road best movie

I knew something was up when film reviewer Chris Stuckmann awarded the fourth Mad Max movie an “A+.” And when The Dissolve gave its second ever 5 star rating to the Tom Hardy/Charlize Theron film.

Now the film is even getting praise from traditional outlets. AP is calling it a “poetic masterpiece.” Chicago Tribune claims it makes Furious 7 look like Curious George. The George Miller movie has a stunning 99% on Rotten Tomatoes at this time. I don’t think I’ve heard of this much praise about a fourth sequel since Rocky IV, not that I was even alive back then.

Go on…Is ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ About to Become The Best Movie of 2015?

Retronalysis: What You Missed About Ultron In ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’

OK, I’m sure not all of you missed this. If you caught it and feel offended, then…I don’t know, that’s something you need to work out on your own.

I’ve already reviewed the film in length, so if you haven’t seen Age of Ultron yet and want to avoid even mild spoilers, you can check out my spoiler-free review and come back here when you see the film for yourself. Long story short: it’s a good movie worthy of its place as an Avengers sequel.

While I enjoyed the film, I had a few complaints in regards to some of the character and narrative development. Specifically, I disliked how “rushed” the first act was in terms of establishing Ultron as a villain. When you watch the movie, you’ll notice that we sort of jump into this plot (which isn’t heavily related to the opening scenes) with Tony Stark suddenly revealing to Bruce Banner that they can create an artificial intelligence.

avengers age of ultron

After a brief montage (seriously, a montage), they succeed in using the gem inside Loki’s scepter to create an A.I., though they leave before realizing Ultron has been created. I’ll spare you the details on what happens next in case you haven’t seen the movie yet, but the short version is that Ultron as a villain is born over the course of about ten minutes.

I didn’t like this because I felt like such a crucial part of what makes Ultron, well, Ultron was glossed over for the sake of getting right to the action. A noble goal, but for a movie that’s 2.5 hours long, I would have preferred just a few more scenes to familiarize us with Ultron’s motivations. Honestly, though, this is all nitpicking, especially since the 3-hour long director’s cut will likely fill in the blanks in a more satisfying way.

Now on to what you may have missed. See, I’ve been thinking a lot about Ultron’s personality over the last few days. As a villain, he has a compelling spark to his tone and delivery that makes him seem more like a misguided anti-hero instead of an instrument of pure evil.

avengers age of ultron

I realized that this is explained in a very subtle way near the beginning of the movie. Ultron was essentially created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. They’re like his parents, and in an amazing way, Ultron inherited the best and worst traits of these parents.

Ultron is sarcastic, impatient, and brilliant. Much like Tony Stark. He’s also prone to violent outbursts, like Bruce Banner. Most of all, Ultron has a specific vision for the world (like his fathers) and has the strength and will to carry it out. The only problem seems to be something that is later fulfilled by a character I won’t spoil.

Obviously, this is intentional on the part of Joss Whedon and his team of writers. When crafting Ultron as a character, it must have seemed perfectly natural for them to borrow from established characters, so we would familiarize ourselves with Ultron quickly and immediately feel threatened by his claim on the world. The father-son dynamic is reflected several times in the movie later on, of course, as Tony banters with Ultron over the fact that he’s his maker.

avengers age of ultron

This film would have been so much better, in my opinion, if they had just given Ultron a little more room to breathe in this way, so more audience members could catch that he’s a product of this world created by the Avengers (not just the literal Avengers themselves). After all, facing themselves is a sizable threat that the Avengers would (and did) have to face, even though the movie sort of sidetracked in that regard.

Now, in case you were hoping for some easter eggs, I can at least give you a few morsels to chew on. I didn’t notice as much as some other Marvel fans, but I did catch something related to Tony Stark and J.A.R.V.I.S.

When Tony has to find another program to help him fight Ultron, we see him settle on “FRIDAY.” In the comics, Tony uses FRIDAY as his virtual personal assistant, and she is very similar to Ultron in that she’s like his child. Remember that Ultron wasn’t actually invented by Tony in the comics, so Marvel was clearly introducing FRIDAY as a subtle nod to the origin story they gave to Ultron.

avengers age of ultron

I’ll have to watch the movie again, but I’ve also heard that Jocasta’s name can be seen around the same time Tony grabs the FRIDAY program. I can’t confirm this yet, but that would be an interesting easter egg considering Jocasta was created by Ultron to serve as his robot girlfriend (though she later becomes an Avenger).

That’s all I have for you guys. Hope you enjoy (or enjoyed) Avengers: Age of Ultron. Again, if you want my full review on the movie or just want to know my thoughts on it, you can check that out here.