This commercial is the single greatest ad on television. It’s from a series of Orkin pest control ads that feature walking, talking, and disturbing realistically textured pests trying to live in an unlucky family’s home. Instead of cartoony good guys and stereotypical bad guys of past ads of this type, these pests want nothing more than to live their victim’s house. That’s it. They don’t want to kill them, they don’t want to eat their kids or destroy their lives, they just want to live with them and nothing more. They fully capture the mentality of the real life counterparts to these little monsters by not making them outright malicious, but by just wanting to impose their presence where it is unwanted. These ads are very good at making it clear why someone would absolutely not want to have these pests anywhere near their home even if they aren’t strictly “evil” due to how god damn gross they appear. These commercial villains are closer to commercial anti-heroes if you ask me.
Month November 2014
Michael Richard’s Ruinous Racist Rant Retrospective
Everyone remembers that awful rant Michael Richards had at the Laugh Factory comedy club back in 2006 that effectively ended his career. The short version is essentially a few black hecklers made him lose his temper and he launched into an explosive, and unambiguously focused racist tirade. I say “unambiguously” because most racist rants are scatter-shot uses of derogatory words wildly fired at their intended targets, Michael Richard’s rant on the other hand actually brought up the historical context for his hatred and used it as a weapon. As a result, his insistence that he isn’t actually racist come off as laughable, and his apologies to Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton (as if they were the representatives of all black people) are just plain insulting.
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Very Weird Scenes from Otherwise Normal Movies
Ever watch a film and just do a double take at something odd that was happening? Where you have no choice but to seriously consider why the writers decided to include it in the movie? Well just for fun, here are four instances where I felt that way.
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No Schnitzel Sherlock: Three Dumb Things That Happened in the Finale
Fair warning to those reading, this post will contain a metric ton of spoilers on the third season (or series as it’s called here for some reason) of Sherlock. In it, I will discuss three absurdly stupid things that happened. If this sounds to you like it’s going to be an angry rant from some nerd who cares way too much about British TV shows, well congratulations on cracking the case there buddy, did Scoobs help you out with that one?
Did you enjoy that condescending tone I just addressed you with? Would it be more acceptable if I was British, played by a guy with an exceptionally dirty last name, and talked extremely quickly? No? Well that’s who you’re left with in BBC’s Sherlock. He’s rude, he’s annoying, he has zero emotional intelligence, but at least he’s good at what he does right? At least he’s competent? He pretty much has to be, because otherwise, he’s just some arrogant tool that spouts nonsense… And that is exactly what he became in that dreadful finale. Here are 3 reasons why.
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Scar and Nala: Too Creepy for Kids?
Star Crossed Lovers…
In another edition of cool things that changed in beloved Disney films, let’s talk about The Lion King. Now you should know that this film is my favourite Disney animated feature, and Scar is by far my favourite Disney villain. The love and devotion I have for this film go all the way back to my childhood, and I am not exaggerating when I say this film shaped a lot of who I am today. To me, discussing what this film could have been is like discussing the trajectory of my very destiny (ok, maybe not that dramatic but still…). Getting down to business, the deleted scene I am referring to, is when Scar tries (and fails miserably) to make Simba’s love interest Nala his queen. In the original script, what sent Nala out of the Pride Lands and towards Simba was Scar banishing her when she refused his advances. The scene in which this happens also features an alternate take on how the hyenas were revealed to be working for Scar. Here’s the scene in question:
Scott Pilgrim vs the World vs the Graphic Novel
It’s November 2nd, which means absolutely nothing for the majority of those reading, but for me it means today is my brother’s birthday. As a present, I’ve decided I’ll discuss one of his favourite movies ever, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. The film is based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series that consisted of 6 volumes. The basic story behind Scott Pilgrim is it follows the titular Scott in his quest to date some girl that he is suddenly infatuated with. The twist is that before he can stay with her, he must fight her “7 evil exes” and defeat them each in combat. This seems simplistic, but the true purpose behind these fights are to serve as ways to develop Scott’s character. While this may sound like the plot to a romantic/action comedy, Scott Pilgrim is mostly a coming-of-age story that forces Scott to confront who he is and his flaws, with those flaws being reflected back at him with the 7 evil exes he encounters.
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The Fart in the Wind
I didn’t want it to turn out this way. I didn’t want them to know of my most intimate smell. It happened so suddenly and I wasn’t thinking so I let it out. But I knew almost immediately after it happened that I could have stopped it, that if I clenched hard enough… No. It’s best not to think about “what if’s” and “if only’s”. Not now, especially not now after what happened. But before it all went down (or it all came out rather) we were all laughing and having a good time, sharing jokes, partaking in the creation of good memories. I remember thinking about that piece of bread I left in the toaster back home, wondering if my mom would eat it herself or set it aside for no one in particular. I was in the midst of arriving at my conclusion when suddenly it happened. An eruption. I expelled the most noxious gas I’ve ever smelt, a rancid odor far beyond my imagination. And the sound… Oh that sickening sound. Almost like a dying banshee, moaning towards the waning moon, my flatulence sounded more like a ghostly wail than any sort of natural bodily emission. There were 6 of us cramped in that minivan, all moments before excited about the Halloween party we all hoped to attend, now overcome with the most terrible sensation we have ever experienced: The Smell of my Shame.
The Kenpire 