"Marvel's Daredevil": Season 1

I was late to board the Netflix train, but now that my new roommate has it I have definitely fallen under its spell. This is largely due to my first Netflix original series, "Daredevil."

First of all, I am pleased that the show has rescued the Daredevil character from the low point that the 2003 movie starring Ben Affleck had left it. Now, to be honest, I was not one of those who thought that movie was terrible. I'd place it in the middle ground of Marvel movies: not as good as the first two "Spider-Man" entries, most "X-Men" movies and pretty much all of the "Avengers" movies, but much better than its spin-off "Elektra" or the abysmal "Ghost Rider." I especially enjoyed Colin Ferrell's (admitted hammy) performance as the assassin Bullseye.

"Daredevil" the series, however, blows that film completely out of the water. No hit-of-the-week nu-metal bands to be heard, no cheesy overblown special effects, and no overuse of gratuitous slow-mo. Instead, you have a well-crafted, brilliantly acted, and marvelously choreographed thirteen episodes that are an inspired addition to the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).



One thing that "Daredevil" does remarkably well: deliver multi-dimensional, interesting characters. I can't think of a single weak link in the cast. Charlie Cox is great as Matt Murdock, the blind attorney who moonlights as a masked vigilante, desperately trying to save his neighborhood of Hell's Kitchen from those who would destroy it. Deborah Ann Woll and Elden Henson are equally effective as Matt's friends and coworkers, Karen Page and Foggy Nelson. Foggy is his best friend and partner at their law firm, while Karen is an early client who becomes their secretary and friend. Together, the three make a very believable group of friends and coworkers that have their ups and downs but always are there for each other in the end. Vondie Curtis-Hall plays Ben Ulrich, a newspaper reporter ally of the trio who brings pathos of his own to the story.

Of course, every effective hero story should have a strong villain, and this is where the series' most well-known actor, Vincent D'Onofrio, comes in. His portrayal of Wilson Fisk, aka The Kingpin, is terrifying and memorable. An interesting facet of the series: the most prominent love story we see is not that of the hero, but of the villain. Over the course of the season we see Fisk go on awkward first dates with the beautiful Vanessa (Ayelet Zurer) and gradually build his relationship with her. In fact, after a few episodes of Fisk being a never-seen, barely named boogie man, we first meet him during his first meeting with Vanessa. The season is just as much Fisk's story as it is Murdoch's.



The show does a great job of building tension, raising stakes, and offering up surprises. Even minor characters that you expect to just be passing through can end up being crucial players in the deadly game of cat and mouse between our heroes and the antagonists. There are also plenty of Easter Eggs for perceptive viewers, both those that are fans of the other films and TV shows in the MCU and those who are die-hard enthusiasts of the original comic book source material.

Thinking back to the origins of these characters, it's amazing that they have come so far. That goes for Marvel Comics in general. It's little wonder that Stan Lee has a cameo in practically every Marvel movie or TV show (he's not present in the flesh in "Daredevil," but eagle-eyed viewers might spot his photo on the wall in the police station). These characters all started out as nothing more than ideas in the imaginations of several remarkable men. Now, new generations of creatives are able to give their own spins to them, retelling their stories in new mediums of which the original creators would not have even dreamed.

The recent superhero trend, which started in the movies and has moved to television, is still going strong with no sign of slowing. As long as we are still given material of the high quality of "Daredevil," I don't see it slowing anytime soon.

Super Mario Maker

Today's post is about a very recent release: Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U.

First, a bit about the Wii U. It has admittedly not been Nintendo's greatest accomplishment. While the tablet controller was an interesting concept, it was nowhere near as revolutionary as the Wii's motion controls. Giving the system the name they did was probably the biggest mistake, as many people thought that it was nothing more than an add-on for the Wii.

Despite the system's failings however, Nintendo's first party software is still second to none, and is the most compelling reason to own the system. Unfortunately, new games in the Star Fox and Legend of Zelda franchises have been delayed until 2016. Which leaves Super Mario Maker as the company's major offering for 2015.

Super Mario Maker is not your typical video game. In fact, I would hesitate to even call it a game. It is more of a tool. A tool to create your own Mario levels, and a tool to explore the levels created by others around the world.

The game has gotten some flack for having a sub-par searching system, which makes finding the best levels a challenge. Let's face it -- the majority of levels that have been uploaded are pretty bad. Then, even among the ones that are well-designed, you have to sort through dozens of so-called "automatic" levels that are set up in such a way that they play themselves, and other musical levels whose gameplay is secondary to recreations of theme songs from other games.



With help from the internet and YouTube, however, you can find some gems. It is amazing how some people have found unique ways to use the Mario characters, obstacles, and mechanics to do a variety of things.  Some people recreate levels from classic games such as Mega Man. Some levels contain a narrative of sorts, telling a story. Others are straight-forward Mario levels meant to challenge the player. I've seen Mario-ized versions of Alice in Wonderland, the classic arcade game Space Invaders, and even Disney's Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride. The sky's the limit, which is one thing I love about the game.

Super Mario Maker is not the first game that has brought the tools of basic game design into the home. When I was a kid, I messed around a bit with a game called Klik and Play on the computer, which was a lot of fun. It would allow you to create simple games and institute logic in them. While Super Mario Maker does not have an explicit logic function that allows you to program events into your levels, many creative minds have found ways to use the tools the game does provide to attain similar results. For instance, a Thwomp placed on a conveyor belt may activate a "P" switch at the proper moment, thereby opening the way forward by turning a previously impassable wall of blocks into collectible coins. That's the best thing about a sandbox-style game like Super Mario Maker: chances are the players will discover ways to do things that the makers of the game didn't even think of.

Being a sucker for creativity (hence this blog), I was captivated by the premise of Super Mario Maker from the first time I heard of it. It definitely takes a bit of patience to enjoy it, but for creative types it is a rewarding experience.