indytims

I grade Arrow specifically on the fact that they're on Network TV and therefore are a bit more curtailed with what they can do/say, etc.  The thing I like about Arrow has been the fact that they tend to not do the horrible cliched thing, although it has it's down points, I'm not a fan of Speedy or his costume.  Might just be that I don't find the actor compelling.

 

I understand people liked Daredevil better than the movie, and I'd say that the movie, if you were to at least remove key parts of it, would be better (for instance the park fight scene), but it's difficult to say that you're limiting yourself with your audience because it's on Netflix.  Netflix after all, does constitute for 25% of all internet traffic in the US last I heard.  

 

That being said, the costume in the movie was worlds better (the nose is what really kills it for me in the TV show) and I've been critical of Fisk being a baby with temper tantrums.  However, I felt outside of Fisk and the final episode, the writing was pretty good.  I did like how they tried to make you feel a little for Fisk, but it just didn't work for me.  That being said, the single shot fight where he rescued the kid was really fun, and I loved the choreography of the fight scenes.  Stick seemed... oddly placed, but I liked the fact that they at least put him in there.

Actually, Arrow utilizes it's fair share of cliches, most notably in the romance department. The whole, "We can't be together because you/I could die" angle is so over-used it's annoying. Contriving reasons for Oliver/Felicity to not be together, for example, is just eye-rolling bad. Interestingly enough, this was also the most annoying part of DD (for me), the whole contriving a reason to keep Matt apart from Claire. But with Arrow, after Slade went down, the show has hit a stale point that I just don't see being turned around anytime soon. Merlyn is great and made a great villain, but he's been castrated. Thea/Laurel both annoy me to no end lately, but Plamer sends me for the fast-forward button all the time - another terrible character. The whole League of Assassins plot has just been 'meh' to me, and I confess I miss the first season.

Netflix is a pay service. It only stands to reason that network TV, usually being 'free' with basic cable, makes its shows more 'readily available', so my assertion still stands. Whether it's Netflix or HBO, you're limiting yourself because those channels are obviously additional pay services that not everyone has. I didn't have Netflix myself - I got it because of DD. Netflix has ~62 million subs - worldwide. On the other hand, free network broadcast is available to that many people in the US alone using -just- an antenna, not including all the cable subs that include all the free local broadcast channels. One day in the future, there might be more Netflix subs than 'free TV' viewers, but right now, more people and more eyeballs have access to non-Netflix programs.

I thought DD's take on Fisk was excellent. It gave the character some gravitas, other than being just 'another organized crime boss'. Seeing him exhibit emotion other than anger and machismo was refreshing for me, just as seeing Matt take a believable beating on a regular basis as a super-hero was similarly refreshing. Giving Fisk a grounding mechanism like Vanessa was nicely done, and I rather enjoyed watching his comfortable 'band of baddies' start to crumble around him, like the walls were closing in. He has style, and he has both a soft side, and a ruthless hard side. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose. :)

Costume-wise... neither is what I would call 'perfect' by any means. I remember Affleck's costume just had that 'biker look' to it that didn't jive with me at all. The series costume has a more leather/ballistic mesh look to it that makes it look better... but not by much. I definitely agree the face portion of it could use a bit more work...

You guys have covered the whole 'why doesn't DD just knock out the lights wherever he goes'.... no lights=bad TV experience, I'd expect. ;)

I recently plowed through DD myself, and was greatly pleased with the results.

To me, it was far and away better than the movie, in almost every aspect. That being said, I did -enjoy- the movie, but the Netflix series, to me, did a much better job of capturing the 'feel' of DD, especially when it came to Matt and Fisk.

I think it is the best comic-book show on TV (that I've seen). Better than Arrow (which annoys me more and more, the more I watch it), or Agents of Shield/Agent Carter, and yes, there are some fun Marvel easter eggs in various episodes that make it fun to watch, as well.

But having a show on a pay-channel or service like Netflix offers a degree of freedom that would be harder to present to network TV, and that alone affords a bit larger canvas on which to create the show. Sure, you limit your audience more, but you have freedom to explore more aspects of the environment, including the characters themselves. Of course, DD doesn't approach 'Game of Thrones'-like graphic displays of violence, sex, etc, but to me, DD still feels more like 'big boy TV', compared to previous or current offerings like Smallville, Arrow, or Agents of Shield.

Anyway, I eagerly await season two. Very, very much so! :)

Thank you InfestedKerrigan!  Definitely new, still feeling my way around here. And thank you for the links - I will surely check them out! :)

Ah no one ever moves up to bellingham with LoTR :( makes me sad.

Heyas!

There's no one to play with in the Seattle area? I dont know WA geography that well yet, but you're just north of Seattle, right? I'd be really surprised if there's no one  at any of their stores that doesn't play?

Movie:

Avengers: Age of Ultron - 8.5/10.

The wife and I really enjoyed it, though we both still liked the first one a bit better, and also still liked GotG better. This one had a LOT to live up to, pressure rarely seen (when your previous installment is the third largest-grossing movie of all-time, especially).

The 'credits scene' was sorely disappointing for us, as well as having Loki's scene cut from the movie (maybe the extended blu-ray Director's cut super-duper-special edition will have it, who knows?). Ultron was a great villain - probably the best MCU villain to date in my opinion, except Loki. I like the new additions, too. Definitely eager for Cap 3 and Infinity War. Heck, I'm even eager for Ant-Man....

TV:

Daredevil (Netflix) - 7.5/10.

Worlds better than the movie. Gritty. Dirty. Bloody. Fisk is acted beautifully, and I think Cox did a great job with Matt Murdock. Some of the fight scenes are enormously entertainting. The final episode had me so pumped for the next season, can't wait for it to get here. Loved the Marvel easter eggs.

-Some- of the acting by some of the tertiary characters was kinda 'meh'. I also always hate the 'I can't be with you because my life is dangerous' cliche' that is so overused in comics. It felt like Hell's Kitchen is located just down the street from Gotham, where it's dark and rainy ALL the time.

Nice work-work, lustriangod2!

Looking forward to seeing pics, yes!

300 clan rats, squeeee! That's a lot of kill-kill!

When I got into WHFB, I played Dark Elves for many, many years. I loved the Skaven background, but hated the models. That was fixed, of course, with the new and improved ones starting a few years ago. Superb stuff, awesomeness all the way around so I could no longer resist. I had to buy-buy them all, sacrificing great heaps of warp-stone coins to do so. They are so fun-fun to play!!!

Howdy,

I moved to Vancouver myself not long ago, and was curious about the GW LotR crowd here. I last played with a pretty good-sized crowd back in Chicago, so of course I don't expect as many folks here to play (we also played War of the Ring pretty hard-core, as well).

My main faction is Dwarf, though I own something for almost every faction. I did pick up the Hobbit boxed set but haven't had a chance to read through the rules to see what is different/has changed yet.

Do people meet in the Vancouver/PDX area to play? Dice Age is the closest store to me (as far as I know) though I live right on the border to Camas. :)

I am in my 40s, very laid-back, I don't cheese and having fun is a higher priority than winning for me. Doesn't mean it will be easy, though! :P