Month: August 2018

This is a topic I’ve been meaning to talk about for some time.  It is a very serious topic and one that can have serious consequences.  The reason I bring up plagiarism as a topic is because of something that happened fairly recently in the world of gaming.  For those that know me, I love video games.  Like many people, gaming is a big hobby of mine.  Before I really begin, I’m going to be posting links to the articles and videos I’m mentioning here at the end of this post, so if you’re curious about what’s going on, you can check those out.  About 3 weeks ago, a YouTuber by the alias of Boomstick Gaming released a video review of a side-scrolling game called Dead Cells.  He gave the game a very positive review, as did a lot of people.  What’s interesting, and my timeline might be a little off, is that two weeks later an editor for the gaming site, IGN, posted his review of the game.  Nothing really out of the ordinary, right?  Not so fast.  A little over a week ago, Boomstick Gaming released a video basically accusing this IGN editor, Filip Miucin, of plagiarizing his video.  In this video, Boomstick provides a side-by-side comparison between his review and Filip’s.  Towards the end of the video, it becomes very clear that Filip had literally used Boomstick’s video as a template for his own.  The pacing and the sentence structure are just too similar to be a coincidence.  IGN got wind of this and quickly took down Filip’s review while they investigated.  Not even a full day later, IGN permanently removed the review and fired Filip Miucin.  They also issued an apology to Boomstick Gaming and their audience for the situation and said they would be putting up a new review of Dead Cells the following week.  A few days later, we finally get a response video from Filip himself trying to explain what happened, poorly, I might add.  Mere hours after he posted that video, he pulled it after he was caught monetizing the video.  In the video, Filip basically challenged the internet to find any other instance of him plagiarizing other reviews.  Bad move, Filip.  Bad move.  Jason Schrier, an investigative journalist at Kotaku, took Filip on his challenge.  According to Variety, Filip is no stranger to plagiarizing reviews.  He’s been doing it for a while.  About a day or so ago, IGN had announced that they were taking down ALL of Filip’s work on their site to see which piece of work was plagiarized and which ones weren’t.

I waited to bring this story up, because I wanted to see how it was going to play out, and it didn’t disappoint.  Filip Miucin’s career as a “gaming journalist” is pretty much over at this point.  That’s what happens when you get caught plagiarizing someone else’s work.  So, what is plagiarism?  Simply put, plagiarism is the act of taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own.  In other words:  It’s theft.  Plagiarism is something that can affect everyone anywhere.  There is a reason why your school teachers tell you to do your own work and not copy someone else’s.  The consequences of plagiarism can range from getting a bad grade in school to ruining your entire career and life.  Everybody has done it some point in their life and sometimes it’s just a simple case of not citing your sources.  What happened with Filip Miucin is one of the most egregious of plagiarism that I’ve seen in a while.  The worst part about it is that he never apologized for it.  He never took responsibility for copying someone else’s work and he had the audacity to call out Kotaku for investigating him.  He was only remorseful for getting caught.

As a blogger and writer, plagiarism is something I try to avoid like the plague.  Yeah, people do it all the time, and some don’t get caught.  However, in this day and age of the internet and social media, it’s a lot harder to get away with it, because not only do you have investigative journalists like Jason Schreier keeping on eye on things, you’ve got millions of people basically scrutinizing everything you say or do on the internet.  The internet does not forget and it certainly doesn’t forgive.  Even 40-50 years go, if you got caught plagiarizing, it would kill your career.  If you were a student, your educational prospects would be dashed on the rocks.  Nobody would take you seriously.  If you were working for a major publication, the damage your plagiarism could do to that organization could be irreversible.  While plagiarizing might not land you in jail, the other consequences of such an activity are far more severe.  It’s a selfish and lazy way of getting work done.  The lesson here is do your own work and if you have to borrow a quote or something, cite the source and give credit to the original author/s, whether or not they are still alive.  It’s the right thing to do, and it’s going to save you a great deal of misery in the long run.  Plagiarism is a very dangerous trap to fall into and yet, it is the easiest one to avoid.  There are few things in this world that are more satisfying than getting your work out there for people to see.  Do it right and don’t steal someone else’s work.

Sources cited for this post:

Boomstick Gaming’s Dead Cells review

Boomstick Gaming’s IGN Copied My Dead Cells Review: What Do I Do?

Kotaku Article IGN Pulls Review After Plagiarism Accusations(Updated)

Kotaku Article Former IGN Reviewer Responds to Plagiarism Accusations(Updated with multiple accusations)

Variety Article IGN Fires Editor, Pulls Posts After Plagiarism Accusations Surface

Released: August 2018

Director: Jon Turteltaub

Rated PG-13

Run Time: 113 Minutes

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Genre: Action/Adventure

Cast:
Jason Statham: Jonas Taylor
Li Bingbing: Suyin
Rainn Wilson: Morris
Cliff Curtis: Mac
Winston Chao: Zhang
Shuya Sophia Cai: Meiying
Ruby Rose: Jaxx
Robert Taylor: Heller

When Jaws came out in 1975, it surpassed expectations to a degree that not even Steven Spielberg could have imagined.  In spite of the technical issues with the shark, or maybe because of those issues, Jaws took the world by storm and became the world’s first summer blockbuster film.  It’s one of those rare movies that I would even consider calling perfect.  The pacing, the characters, the story and tension all came together in one of the most exciting and realistic thrillers of all time.  Since the film’s release, people have tried to replicated the success of Jaws in their own way.  You had ripoffs like Piranha and Up From the Depths to more shark-related films like Shark Attack and The Shallows.  I can count on one hand how many of these films came close and it’s less than three.  Not even Jaws’ sequels were anywhere near as good.  Honestly, the fact that the original Jaws was successful is something a miracle and most film-makers just didn’t have that “perfect storm” of insanity that forced Spielberg to work around certain issues.  That being said, a lot of these shark-type movies end up just being dumb fun and there is nothing wrong with that, especially if the film embraces its own insanity.  The movie that I bring you today is the latest in the long grand tradition of Jaws knock-offs, although this one is also based on a book.  I give you…THE MEG!

Story?  It’s Jason Statham versus a giant shark.  It’s.  Jason.  Statham.  Versus.  A Giant.  Shark.  What more do you really need?  Okay, fine: Jason Statham plays Jonas Taylor, a rescue specialist that loses two of his best friends during a mission and ends up leaving the ocean for five years.  After that five years, a group of scientists have discovered a new part of the ocean that is actually deeper than the Marianas Trench, so what do they do?  A handful of people in a submersible head down to explore this new area of the ocean only to be attacked by…wait for it….a giant shark, a megalodon.  So, Jonas is brought back to rescue these folks.  It also happens to be that one of these people is Jonas’s ex-wife.  People now believe him that a giant shark exists, but they have to stop it before it reaches a populated area.  That’s pretty much it.  It’s straight-forward and doesn’t really deviate from that course.  Having not read the 1997 book by Steve Alten, I couldn’t tell you how accurate the film is to the book.  So, I may have to pick up the novel out of curiosity.  Overall, the story keeps things moving, that’s pretty much it.

The casting for the film is pretty damned interesting, if I do say so myself.  Li Bingbing plays Suying the daughter of the guy that runs a research facility and she has a daughter, Meiying.  Not only is Li Bingbing one of the most beautiful women in the world, she’s also a fantastic actress.  Her character really gets put through the ringer in this film and Li is more than up for it.  Rainn Wilson plays the billionaire Morris, who funded the whole research facility, so he has a financial stake in what’s going on.  Rainn’s claim to fame was his role in the American version of The Office.  Thankfully, he gives the usually scummy character a more likable vibe, even though his true colors emerge later on.  Everyone else is pretty good overall, even though you know that some of the characters exist solely to get devoured by a massive 100-foot shark.  Jason Statham is the star of the show here and he’s…..well….Jason Statham.  I’m going to flat-out say it:  Mr. Statham is not the kind of actor that goes after Academy Awards, that’s not really his style.  That’s not to say that he’s a bad actor.  Far from it, he’s really good at what he does and he’s always fun to watch.  I really do love his interactions with Li’s character and the kid.  It’s actually pretty good.  Speaking of the kid, Meiying:  She’s actually pretty adorable.  She’s also not irritating like so many child actors these days.  But yeah, this is definitely Jason’s film through and through and he’s fantastic.

I have to say, this is probably some of the most fun I’ve had in theaters this summer.  It’s even better when you’re in a packed theater.  It’s a surprising amount of fun.  The action is pretty solid with some really amazing effects and CGI.  The shark itself is absolutely massive, and it had to be done in CGI of course, because there’s no practical way of bringing a prehistoric predator to life through puppetry and stuff like that.  That being said, the creature that’s delivered is incredibly detailed and it moves.  I didn’t see this one in 3-d, even though I should have, as it strikes me as a movie that begs to be seen in 3-d.  Among some of my favorite sequences is when the shark sneaks up on the girl in the underwater base.  It’s pretty unsettling.  The underwater sequences are fantastic.  Having said that, the movie stumbles a bit by being a PG-13 movie.  I understand the studios’ need to get butts in theaters, but The Meg is one of those films that BEGS for an R-rating.  The potential amount of carnage that could be caused by such a beast is crazy, and Jon Turteltaubt wanted an R-rating, but the studios felt the movie would do better if more people could see it.  I understand that business-wise, but I still think the film could have really made an impact with the gore and violence that were initially planned for the film.  There’s a sequence towards the end of the film that could have easily turned into a spectacular bloodbath if Warner Bros went full-speed ahead.  This is a film that truly needed to be over-the-top violent.  With that in mind, it’s still a great deal of fun.  My only other real issue is some of the pacing early on.  It kind of drags a little bit after the opening scenes.

The Meg is not Jaws.  Not by a long-shot.  But it wasn’t trying to be, either.  The Meg is a film that knows what it is and you are along for the ride.  What a ride it is.  This is not a film that’s going to make you afraid to back in the water.  Jaws already did that 40 years ago.  The Meg is just plain fun.  That’s all it is, and that’s all you really need.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like a smart and complex film, but sometimes you just need to sit back, relax, and turn your brain off for a couple of hours.  The Meg is just that kind of movie.  Yeah, it’s got issues and doesn’t go full-throttle with the carnage that I feel it needed, but it’s a pretty good time.  This one is definitely recommended.

My Final Recommendation:  This one is Meg-a fun.  Thank you, thank you.  I’ll be here all week!  8.5/10

Released: May 2018(USA)

Director: Coralie Fargeat

Rated R

Distributor: Shudder/Universal Pictures

Genre: Thriller

Cast:
Matilda Lutz: Jen
Kevin Janssens: Richard
Vincent Colombe: Stan
Guillaume Bouchede: Dimitri

The thriller is the kind of film that’s been around the block a few times.  You could say that it goes all the way back to the thirties when thrillers and mystery movies were becoming more popular.  There are multiple ways to approach the genre.  One way is a slow-burn, which over the course of the film gets under your skin and makes you wonder what’s going to happen next.  Another approach is the one that is generally taken by kidnap thrillers:  Give it a sense of urgency by making the audience sit on the edge of their seat and have them deal with the same kind of time crunch that the characters are going through.  Thrillers tend to not be completely action-packed even though there is definitely some action, but it’s kept to a minimum.  Thrillers tend to deal more with character and story development than straight-up action.  Within the thriller genre there are various sub-genres which include the aforementioned kidnap thriller which includes films like Taken, Ransom, and Traffik.  Then you have spy thrillers that deal with spy stuff and espionage.  The one sub-genre that tends to make a lot of people uncomfortable is the revenge thriller.  In more specific terms, I’m referring to the rape/revenge thriller.  This is the kind of sub-genre that a lot of people tend to avoid because it deals with certain topics that are very brutal.  I get why people avoid them, but at the same time, these are the kind of films that tend to be very effective at what they are trying to get across to the audience.  These films also tend to be associated with horror movies, and that’s….not wrong.  Movies like I Spit on Your Grave and The Last House on the Left are just two prime examples of the genre which tend to blend with other genres.  The film I bring to you today is one of the latest in a long, long line of revenge thrillers….Revenge.

Revenge opens as a helicopter arrives at a house in the middle of nowhere carrying Richard, a rich hunter and his current “girlfriend” Jen.  As it turns out, Richard was already married, so his relationship with Jen is strictly on the….steamy side.  Over the next day or so, Richard’s friends, Stan and Dimitri show up so they can all go hunting together.  Unfortunately for Jen, Stan has taken a liking to her.  What happens next is a brutal assault on the poor girl as she attempts to escape the house with the three of them on her heels.  Left for dead, Jen struggles to pull herself together and starts planning to go after the people who hurt her.  Story-wise, there is absolutely nothing here that I haven’t seen anywhere else as far as the genre goes.  In fact, it kind of follows the same kind of set-up that previous films in the genre have pioneered.  That’s not really a bad thing though.  It keeps things simple and on a strictly “from point A to point B” basis.  As a result there are no sudden twists or turns that change the flow or narrative of the film, and I have to credit first-time film director Coralie Fargeat for that.

As far as characterizations go, the three males in the film are your typical sleazy scumbags with no respect for women whatsoever, so identifying with them is pretty much impossible.  The real star of the picture is Matilda Lutz as Jen.  At first, her character starts off as this sort of ditzy blonde with a thing for Richard, then she ends up becoming a victim of a horrible crime to the point where she’s left for dead.  After that, we begin to see the character struggle to survive and pull herself together despite her terrifying situation and the fact that she’s in the middle of nowhere.  Seeing the the character progress from being a silly girl to a victim to someone that’s taking her life back is really well-done here, and Matilda is absolutely phenomenal.  We sympathize with her when things start going wrong and we root for her when she decides to stop a victim and takes control.  Her appearance also changes throughout the film.  Her hair changes color, she gets all scuffed up and loses a lot of her clothes.  Now, that would seem like a very exploitative thing for a film-maker to do, but Matilda manages to turn her character into a serious bad-ass.  I really have to give credit to Matilda for willing to go through some serious physical punishment to bring this character to life.

This is a very violent movie.  It’s not the most violent that I’ve ever seen, but the level of violence gets pretty graphic.  It’s not super-gory, but it’s the attention to detail that gets under your skin.  Some of the close-ups of the wounds that characters suffer in Revenge are sometimes cringe-inducing.  That’s also because the camera tends to linger on some of these things for a little while.  That’s on purpose and it really drives the point that these characters are suffering.  The make-up effects are absolutely fantastic.  There’s a scene in which a guy gets his foot cut up with glass which looks incredibly painful and realistic.  That’s how detailed some of this stuff is.  There are certain things that are not shown in great detail.  The rape scene is mostly off-screen, but you can hear what’s going on and you see the aftermath.  There’s a sequence towards the end of the movie that is absolutely nuts, but I won’t spoil it here.

The cinematography in this film is second to none for an indie film.  There are certain details in the film that are just stunning.  There’s a small scene in which an ant attempts to avoid droplets of blood, which is absolutely wild.  There’s another scene that takes place in a cave where Jen takes some peyote and has a massive trip.  It would seem out of place for a film of this sort, but it actually works very well for what it was intended.  The sound effects are equally impressive, with certain sounds being extremely exaggerated, and the music has this semi-techno aspect about it that really gets things moving.

Overall, I have to say that I was very much impressed with how this film turned out.  For a first-time film director, Coralie Fargeat knocks it out of the park and then some.  The acting is pretty solid all around, but this is definitely Matilda Lutz’s show.  She carries the film on her shoulders like its nobody’s business and she delivers a knock-out performance that should get her more opportunities in the future.  The level of violence is striking but it’s not completely over-the-top gory.  The whole package is simply one of the best thrillers that I’ve seen in years.  I’m taking off half a point because I’ve seen this kind of movie several times before.  That being said, the way it was put together is amazing.  Should people go out and see this film?  Absolutely, if you have the stomach for a movie like this.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what Ms. Fargeat can come up with next, as I think she has a really bright future as a film-maker.  Matilda Lutz is absolutely amazing, in case I haven’t said it enough before.

My Final Recommendation:  Revenge is a dish that is best served cold.  9.5/10.  Highly recommended.