10 Favorite Actors/Actresses: #2

#2: Tara Strong

Best Known For: Timmy Turner in The Fairly Oddparents, Ben Tennyson in Ben 10, Dil Pickles in Rugrats, Harley Quinn in Batman: Arkham City and onward


This actress is one that is pretty iconic and recognizable in my eyes, as she has voiced quite a few characters I have seen throughout my life. Matter of fact, I have heard her in so many roles that I can easily listen to a character's voice and instantly recognize it to be Tara Strong behind the microphone. If I had to pick a favorite role of hers, it would be hard to decide as I have not heard a role that I could call a "definite favorite". However, two of her roles that I do like best are Ben Tennyson in Ben 10 and her interpretation of Harley Quinn, with her role as Dil Pickles being an honorable mention. While I did enjoy her role of Timmy Turner as a child, I found the character to be grating and somewhat annoying in later years. (I mean no offense to that previous statement, Miss Strong and Nickelodeon, but Timmy has seriously gone downhill as a character.) Overall, because of her massive vocal range as well as her impressive voice-over resume, Tara Strong is my favorite voice actress as well as my favorite actress on this list.

 

Gaming Fun Quickie: Pac Man (Atari VCS/2600)

A small "review" of a game known for contributing to the "Video Game Crash of 1983". The only reason this video of mine is being posted is because it is a review. Be sure to watch, rate, comment and subscribe if you wish! Also, feel free to suggest games for me to review in the comments of YouTube or blogger.

10 Favorite Actors/Actresses: #3

#3: Masako Nozawa

Best Known For: Son Goku, Son Gohan, Son Goten, Bardock, and Turles in Dragonball, Guilmon in Digimon Tamers 

Number three is essentially Stephanie Nadolny and Sean Schemmel's Japanese counterpart in terms of voicing Son Goku and the male members of his family, however she also voiced the character's youngest son and father. At her old age, she is still voicing these characters as well as she did in the 1980s and 1990s, voicing them in their child and adult years. She began her involvement with the Dragonball franchise in 1986, after being selected to voice the main male protagonist, Son Goku. In those thirty years, she only made subtle changes to how she portrayed her characters; such as changing her vocal pitch to reflect their personality and the characters' aging. It is difficult to imagine anyone else voicing these characters, and it will be difficult to accept a replacement if Nozawa were to pass or retire.

10 Favorite Actors/Actresses: #4

#4: Bill Murray

Best Known For: Dr. Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II, Frank Cross in Scrooged, Phil Connors in Groundhog Day, and Baloo in Disney's The Jungle Book (2016)

What do all of these characters mentioned above have in common? They speak in a monotone and sarcastic voice, and they are all characters who can be placed in a category known as "lovable jerks". It is this aspect of the characters Bill Murray portrays that keeps me laughing until I cannot breathe. I first became exposed to the character through Ghostbusters and the live action adaptation of Garfield. Speaking of Garfield, the original voice actor for Garfield (the late Lorenzo Music) portrayed the animated version of  Peter Venkman (Bill Murray's Ghostbusters character), and Bill Murray portrayed the live action version of Garfield. However unlike some of the actors on this list who have a wide range of characters to portray, Murray unfortunately portrays the same character each time. That is not a bad aspect of the actor, though. Murray is simply putting his actual personality into the character, making the role his own.

Batman: The Killing Joke

 (Blogger's Note: This story and its film adaptation is not meant for younger Batman fans, and is darker than most Batman stories. Reader/viewer discretion is definitely advised, for children and adults. Seriously, this story is good, but it is messed up! You have been warned!) 

Let me ask you all something before we begin, have you ever had a "really bad day"? Have you ever had a day which pushed you over the edge, and changed your life forever? If so, then you could probably relate to the tale of a man whose bad day caused him to become one of the biggest comic book villains of all time. The Killing Joke is a 1989 Graphic Novel written by Alan Moore and published by DC Comics, as it is a Batman story. The graphic novel has two stories seamlessly running throughout. The first of the two stories involves Batman working to stop Joker after Barbara Gordon is shot in the spine for the purpose of driving Commissioner Gordon to insanity. The second story interspersed throughout the main story is the origin of Joker, depicted through sepia-toned flashbacks. The Killing Joke is definitely a recommendation for any Batman fan, and is considered by many to be the best Batman story ever written. The story also explains at the beginning how Barbara Gordon was confined to a wheelchair in many modern depictions, something I was curious about after playing through the Arkham video games. When reading the story, one will notice the tone and structure is mostly cinematic, almost as if the graphic novel is a collection of storyboards. I know that when I read it, I kept picturing the story as a film in my head and I was reading a visualized script. Luckily, those waiting for a film adaptation of The Killing Joke (such as myself) would soon have their wish granted.

On July 22, 2016, attendees of San-Diego Comic Con would be treated to a film adaptation of The Killing Joke. The film adaptation premiered to mixed reviews, and a similar reception was given in the theatrical and home video releases. The main reason for the film's mixed reception was the thirty-minute prologue of the movie. The film's prologue was unnecessary and had nothing relevant to The Killing Joke. If it had to be released, it should have been released as a separate short film on the DVD. However, when it transitions into adapting the graphic novel's story, the adaptation is nearly shot-for-shot and word-for-word aside from a musical number by Joker. Aside from faithfully adapting the story (thank you DC, you did an amazing job), fans are also treated to an amazing voice cast headlined by the popular Kevin Conroy as Batman, and Mark Hamill as Joker. Longtime Batman fans may recognize these two voices from their aforementioned roles in Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman: Arkham series of video games. Tara Strong also reprises her role as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl from the former of the two series. This film was definitely a gift to fans, as The Killing Joke has been requested to be adapted into a film fin the years since the graphic novel was released. 

Many interpretations of Joker have taken inspiration from the version in The Killing Joke, such as Jack Nicholson's and the late Heath Ledger's. Mark Hamill's interpretations of Joker from Batman: Animated and Arkham were also inspired by this story, as well as the interpretation from his soundalike, Troy Baker. 

Overall, the story and film adaptation are something I would recommend checking out. However, as I have stated before in the "blogger's note", I would not watch or read in front of younger audiences. This is a story that could significantly scar a younger Batman fan, making the film adaptation well-deserving of the R Rating it received upon release. What do you all think of this story? What did you think of the film? Feel free to post your responses in the comments below.

Little Shop of Horrors

I have a confession to make... I like musical films, especially those with music created by Alan Menken and the late Howard Ashman. Menken and Ashman use the songs they write for their productions as a method of progressing the story. Matter of fact, all of the films they have worked on (whether together or separately) are known for their music! Beauty and the Beast would not be as well-known if not for its musical score and Broadway-style songs! It is the same result with Aladdin's score, as well as the deleted score for the film written by Ashman before his unfortunate passing. (If you wish to learn more about Howard's passing and the events leading up to it, I encourage you to read History of Aladdin: Part 4) It is also no exception to Menken and Ashman's 1986 masterpiece, Little Shop of Horrors. I must admit, this musical film is a guilty pleasure of mine, not because of the musical score or its production history (which I will discuss in greater detail later on), but because it is an amazing film overall. The cast lead by Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene is spectacular, and it is this film where Moranis became one of my favorite actors. He embodies the role of Seymour Krelborn and is an excellent singer, his take on the songs Suddenly Seymour, Grow For Me, and Feed Me are my favorite interpretations of those musical numbers. However, there is an actor in this film I do not particularly care for, Steve Martin. I must honestly say that I have never been a huge fan of this actor, and this film is no exception. I do not mean to offend, but I find Steve Martin to be somewhat obnoxious in the roles he plays, and in Little Shop his obnoxious level is unbearably high. His role as the sadistic dentist and the female protagonist Audrey's boyfriend is one I do not look forward to whenever I watch the movie. The song Dentist has always made me cringe, but the film's version in particular is one I usually skip. The puppetry and voice for the alien plant, Audrey II is spectacular, and I applaud the many hours of work the puppeteers put into animating all of the plant puppets. According to various featurettes and news articles, the puppets were animated using stop motion. As a result, the actors had to sing slowly so the footage would look normal in conjunction with the puppet's animation when the footage's speed was increased. Overall, this is a film I would highly recommend that you should check out for yourself. This is the reason that I have left the plot out of the review so you could enjoy the movie with "fresh eyes".

10 Favorite Actors/Actresses: #5

Here we are at the halfway point of the list!I deeply apologize for the extended hiatus. Once again, I have been busy with obligations at home and at school, therefore being prevented from updating the blog. Now that the semester is winding down in terms of workload, let us get back into the list of favorite actors and actresses!

#5: Stephanie Nadolny

Best Known For: Son Goku in the Dragonball franchise, as well as his son in the same series.

I must say that despite her retiring from voicing these two characters, she will always be the definitive voice in my eyes.  When Funimation started using their own voice cast for the Dragonball franchise, Stephanie Nadolny was thrust into the spotlight as the child voice of the protagonist, Son Goku. When I think of Goku or his oldest son, Gohan, Nadolny's voice is the one that I think of them using. It is sad that she did not reprise her role for everything after the english dub of Dragonball Z: Kai. The last time we have heard her voice was in archival recordings used for Ultimate Tenkaichi. Miss Nadolny, if you are reading this post, I wish you the absolute best in life and I wonder why you did not reprise your roles. Colleen Clinkenbeard is good as Goku and Gohan, but she does not hold a candle to Stephanie Nadolny.