issue 28 // volume 41

Don't judge a film

» Condemning movies because of marketing

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

To more than ever, the
anticipation for a movie is
almost as much fun as actually
seeing it. Photos, plot details, and
trailers advertising the latest big-
budget franchise cause discussion
and hype, ensuring the movie
will gross a cool $800 million.
However, significant backlash

is also often caused by the
marketing, often before anything
significant is even known about
the movie.

Batman v Superman: Dawn
of Justice is one of the most
anticipated films of all time.

Ever since its announcement,
fans couldn't wait to see the two
biggest superheroes duke it out

reveal about it has caused anger
and condemnation by a majority

of the fan base. Nobody wants Ben : ?™S : :
: seriously. Perhaps his role is part

: of the reason we have such high
: standards for them nowadays.

Affleck as Batman. Nobody wants
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.

: Nobody wants to see Wonder

: Woman and Aquaman be part of
: the plot. This backlash was before
: there was any plot detail or even

: photos of the cast revealed. Fans
simply assumed there was no way
: a movie could succeed if it didn’t

: fulfill all of their fantasies.

Sometimes, judging movie

: details is justified. Whena

: fourth Indiana Jones movie was

: announced, there was skepticism
: every step of the way, and the final :
: movie never did rise to the status
: of the first three.

However, a lot of movies

: turn out much better than

: their marketing implies. When
: Heath Ledger was cast as the

: Joker, there was a huge protest

: against casting a heartthrob as

: our beloved psycho. In the end,
: his performance is remembered
: as one of the best portrayals

: ever—it even won hima

on the big screen. But every single : posthumous Oscar (extremely

: rare for a superhero film). In fact,
: Ledger’s performance helped

audiences take superhero movies

SY its trailer

 

Photo via DC Comics

Today’s hottest movies are

: based off comic books and toy

: companies. The franchises were

: originally designed for children to
: consume with ridiculous amounts
: of popcorn. When there are

: significantly developed characters
: or “serious” plots, it’s a nice bonus,
: but a movie can still succeed

: without them.

Marketing is only designed to

: get people talking about a movie.

The latest reveal of the Joker isa

: single picture—and his tattooed,

: Juggalo-esque design has caused

: much outrage. His starring movie,
: Suicide Squad will not be released
: for 15 months, and we have no idea
: how Jared Leto (another Oscar

: winner) will portray him. Perhaps
: it'll bea terrible movie. Hopefully,
: it'll bea fun explosion-packed

: adventure about the exploits of

: villains. But regardless of what a

: single promo shot has told us, I'll

: still go see it, and so will 99.9 per

: cent of the fans crying foul on the
: Internet. And because it’s a major
: superhero movie, it'll still gross

: big bucks at the box office. And

: in the end, isn’t that what all the

: studios care about?

opinions // 19

Is 1t time to give tech

a break? (A coffee
break, that is)

» Upgrade technology; don’t just replace it

T. Dale Hughes
Contributor

Res this. Buy a new
that. How about making

more technology that’s easily
upgradable? Recyclable! How
about technology that can be
readily marketed to a wider
area of users who want or need
it? Why can’t we simply put
new batteries in rechargeable
products? Or make products
that accept different types

of batteries (alkaline, nickel,
lithium, etc.)— batteries we can
purchase from the dollar store.

A lot of products, like
Apple, are not meant to be
exceptional at a particular task.
Instead what’s offered is a Swiss-
Army-knife type of good that is
decent at many things. I lobby
for more upgrades to existing
platforms making what we
already have perform better.

I bought my first iOS
product primarily for music.
It’s okay, but the quality was a
pale shadow compared to the
Amazon Fire phone or even a
Sony music player. And what
happened to my iOS when
Windows 8.1 came along? iTunes
didn’t recognize it. But the same
iTunes did with Windows 8.

It’s ascam! Anytime new tech
comes out, it seems to include
bugs, bugs, and more bugs.

What about easy upgrades,
like the cooling systems in
laptops? Hello HP, are you

: listening? You use the same

: major cooling parts in over 200

: laptop models. How can all

: those products—with a vast

: range of low to high performing
: CPUs—possibly need the

: same fan? Oh you can have

: itreplaced, and often at Best

: Buy fora paltry sum of about

: 150 smackaroos. Instead of

: offering an easy access door,

: like for RAM—a $5 part— we

: must shell, shell, shell, and

: shell out some more for what

: is exorbitant labour. HP must

: have known how much students
: love to hand out money. And for
: those of us willing to dismantle

: the chassis to do it ourselves,

: try getting that part locally.

: Even HP says they don't have

: it. For the DIYers amongst us,

: let’s make existing technology

: better, more user-friendly, and

: affordable. There will be less

: waste, and focussing on existing
: platforms reduces research and

: development costs significantly,
: lowering prices.

What I’m objecting to is

: unchecked, greed-oriented

: consumerism. If by some

: marketing magic Best Buy

: channeled funds towards health
: and wellness, then I’m all for

: it. But we all know that isn’t

: happening. And the $5 HP

: makes on my fan isn’t going to

? cut it. Then again, buying an

: entirely new computer to replace
: the one that overheated will.

 

Rotating goalies make 2015 playoff interesting

» Young and veteran goalies trade off chances in net

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
M opinions
@theotherpress.ca

 

wenty-four goalies entered

play in the first round of the
2015 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With 75 per cent of the teams
using more than one goalie, it
makes competition ever more
unpredictable. Goaltending has
always been hailed as the defining
factor when it comes to the
playoffs. A goalie can steal a game
and win a series all on his own.
And this year quality goaltending
remains an important ingredient
for any team’s success.

While rotating goaltenders

: can get you to the finals—

: remember when the Philadelphia
Flyers with Michael Leighton and
: Brian Boucher lost to the Chicago
: Blackhawks—it rarely wins you

: the championship. The script this
: year is a bit different though for

: anumber of teams. The Ottawa

: Senators and the Vancouver

: Canucks earned playoff berths

: this year all because of the valiant
: play of their backup goalies. Sadly
: when it came down to crunch

: time, (i.e., a seven-game series)

: Andrew Hammond and Eddie

: Lack were unable to pull off any

: miracles.

However, it was interesting

seeing the veterans step in to
: salvage the series. Number one

: goalies Craig Anderson of the

: Senators and Ryan Miller of the
: Canucks, ended up starting their
: respective game six elimination
: games. One might believe that

: if the coaches were to start their
: number ones initially the result
: might have been different,

: however, with such stellar

: performances from the rookies

: and sophomore goaltenders the
: fans might have been outraged

: to see that. Hindsight is only so
: useful in hockey.

The result was perhaps

: inevitable. You need your number
: one goalie to perform like a

: number one goalie if you want to

: win the Stanley Cup. Ifyou bet

> on your number two, it’s a huge

: gamble. There are exceptions of

: course. In 2006 Cam Ward of the
: Carolina Hurricanes came in to

: replace Martin Gerber early in the
: playoffs to lead the Hurricanes to
: the championship.

Teams with sound

: goaltending like New York

: Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and

: Montreal Canadiens are the

: undeniable favourites this year.

: Having consistency on the

: backend does more for a team

: than build confidence. With solid
: goaltending, a team can intimidate :
: the opposition. Ina sense, with a
: goalie as consistent as Carey Price
: or Henrik Lundqvist, opponents

: are downa point before the game
: even begins.

Of the teams that have

: advanced to the second round, the
Calgary Flames and the Chicago

: Blackhawks are the two most

: notable teams that have succeeded
: with a rotating goalie strategy.

: While it has worked so far, if one

: goalie does not step forward and

: take the sole responsibility—have

: reliable performance day after

: day—then they will surely be

: eliminated. The Blackhawks are

: facing the Minnesota Wild with

: Devan Dubnyk, who has really

come into form since escaping

: Edmonton. It’s hard to bet against
: the experience of the Blackhawks,
: but going with the theme,

: inconsistent goaltending may end
: up being their downfall.