Darylsurat

Rack one into the chamber, because Shoot `Em Up is the Greatest Movie EVER!

Click on the DVD cover or the title above to download our review of the film,

featuring Daryl Surat of Anime World Order.

Review in a Nutshell: An over-the-top action film with a strong sense of humor, Shoot `Em Up seems doomed to be miss-classified and miss-categorized. This film is the director’s love letter to the sort of improbable action sequences pioneered by the violent Hong Kong films of the 1990s, and thus it doesn’t entirely fit in among comparable Western films.

Final Thought:

Eat your vegetables.

Hey you

Get that

Bayonetta 2

One thought I left out is items no longer penalize your ranking. Though the difficulties do a great job at balancing for different skill levels, being able to spam items and get a Pure Platinum is a bit odd. Not in a substantial way–that stuff is for bragging rights, you should feel good whether the world knows or not!–but it’d be nice if there were something like an asterisk next to ranks you cleared by using a bunch of bubble shield. Some of this is just my Resident Evil/Devil May Cry roots of never save/never use first aid spray/never crack open a devil trigger star even if you’re gonna beat that boss on your first try, you won’t have done it legit you scrub go back to your cave, your pathetic scrub cave, where’s your S Rank did you leave it in your scrub cave.

Game’s fantastic, though. Really great.

The Avatar series--The Legend of Korra in particular--is the current shining hope of American action animation, even with its noticeable anime influence. Strong character development is moved along by fast-paced, inventive action, making each new season, each new episode something to look forward to, regardless of how shitty Nickelodeon's become about distributing and advertising the show itself. While video games from the franchise can usually be consigned to the same "it's licensed, nobody's gonna buy it" bargain bin, the new downloadable action title for The Legend of Korra is by Platinum, a development team with quite the action-gaming pedigree (and one criminally-ignored JRPG).

Taking place between the second and third seasons of the show, the game gets an original story where a villain named Hundun steals Korra's powers and then escapes into the Spirit World to do... something, because he hates the Avatar. You only run into a paltry handful of the game's supporting cast, and the voice acting is very weak compared to the series' usual high standards. It's an incredibly basic story that plays out like Naruto filler, where Korra has to fight through samey levels to get her bending back, and finally fight Hundun himself. Thankfully, the backdrops and plot don't matter all that much because the game's combat rightfully hogs the spotlight.

The combat system plays out like a cross between a four-weapon Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, with hints of Asura's Wrath thrown in for scale and craziness. Waterbending is a mid- to long-range blaster skillset that can strike down distant enemies or lasso them close to continue combos. Earthbending is slow and heavy-hitting, projecting massive damage in a cone-shaped area in front of you. Firebending is a fierce, up-close damage-dealer. Airbending is hilariously overpowered area-of-effect attacks that do minimal damage, but can pin enemies in place or set them up for other Bending techniques. You can collect Spirit energy by defeating foes and smashing random objects in levels to buy new moves (helpful!), health and attack power-ups (pretty broken, I never ran out of health potions!), and stat modifiers that can adjust your health, attack, and defense to suit your particular playstyle.

This being a modern action game, Korra can gracefully dodge, but you're actually encouraged to stand your ground and counter (performed by blocking at the very last second--easier said than done). Enemies can also counter your attacks, triggering brief QTE segments where you jockey for position to take out off-balanced enemies. While you're changing between different elements, you can charge moves (basically centering Korra's chi), increasing the power of Bending techniques. Combat seems mashy at first until you get into the flow, switching freely between Bending styles with a combination of aggressive technique, knowing when to stop, take a breath and charge up the next move in the form, and practicing pinpoint countering technique between strikes. Far from the standard action game template, combat feels worthwhile, and flows like it does in the series.

Capping each level is an arcade-like runner with Naga, Korra's giant polar bear dog. These can get pretty hectic, but run a little too long, and you eventually just want them to be over with already. It's especially irritating having to fight a boss while doing a runner level, since you only get three hits and the boss level goes on for-f**king-ever. Boss fights as a whole in The Legend of Korra are rather lackluster--take on a Water/Fire/Earthbender trio once, then again, then again, then again, then again. Fight a giant robot once, then two giant robots, then two giant robots and a bunch of mooks, and let's not forget the Water/Fire/Earthbender trio again! Even the final boss is less a test of skill and more a frustrating slog, as you're constantly trying to just counter every single move he does to finish him off quickly. Between mid-stage fights are a bunch of clunky platforming segments, which is made even more tedious because Korra can't walk, only run at full speed right off cliffs and suspension bridges.

The Legend of Korra is short--about 3-4 hours long--but it's also only $15. Aside from that short story mode, the game invites you to go back and replay fights and runner stages, and there's a Pro Bending minigame that's not half bad, but feels very limited compared to the flexible and flowing action of the game's standard combat. The game has solid replay value if only for the one-against-many fights that make up the majority of levels, however the samey boss fights get boring quick, and the frustrating runner stages can sour the experience for even the most die-hard TLoK fan. Much like its title character, The Legend of Korra bridges the gap between the world of terrible licensed games and solidly-designed labors of love. The price point just helps make the whole thing more worthwhile.

REVIEW ROUNDUP

+ Smooth, precise, faithful combat system rewards maintaining a flow and keeping Korra's chi centered for maximum damage

+ Brief QTEs keep you on your toes, but never take over combat

+ Outstanding price point--I've paid $60 for games whose single-player campaigns last about twice as long as this

+/- Lots of new moves and equippable items to purchase, but not many seem particularly useful

- Uninspired minigames just feel like a time sink

- Compared to standard enemy encounters, boss fights feel dull and tend to drag

I definitely had this problem when I was an AT&T customer with an "unlimited" data plan, so color me unsurprised:

The Federal Trade Commission has sued AT&T for promising unlimited data to wireless customers and then throttling their speeds by as much as 90 percent, the FTC announced Tuesday.

All major carriers throttle certain customers during times and places of congestion, as we've reported previously. AT&T seems to have earned the FTC's wrath by throttling customers regardless of whether they were trying to use their phones in congested areas, however. As we've also written, AT&T was throttling unlimited subscribers regardless of network conditions until July, when it changed its policy. Throttling was enforced once users hit 3GB or 5GB of data per month.

The FTC's lawsuit in US District Court in San Francisco alleges that AT&T hit unlimited data customers with an "unfair mobile data throttling program" and that AT&T committed a "deceptive failure to disclose [the] mobile data throttling program."

AT&T denied the allegations, saying that its practices are similar to those of other carriers and that it has been "completely transparent with customers since the very beginning."

A Florida man was placed under arrest over the weekend after he admitted fatally shooting his wife during a domestic dispute.

Port St. Lucie Police on Sunday responded to a call from 21-year-old Chekingson Sinclair, who said that he had shot his wife, Argrett, according to WPBF.

Responding officers found the pregnant woman dead at the scene when they arrived.

Investigators determined that an argument between Sinclair and his wife began at around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday in their bedroom. The suspect said that he had thrown his wife's phone into the toilet, and she had chased him around the house with a kitchen knife.

But Sinclair said that the victim could not catch him, so she locked herself in the bedroom. He explained how he retrieved a gun from underneath a recliner in the living room, and went to the bedroom to confront her. The argument escalated, until Sinclair said that Argrett lunged at him with the knife.

He pulled the trigger, and she fell to the floor. But she got up again, so he shot her in the head, he told investigators. Sinclair then waited three hours before notifying police.

Detectives, however, said that Argrett had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of her head at close range.

After admitting that he wanted to kill his wife, Sinclair was charged with first-degree premeditated murder, murder of an unborn child and tampering with evidence.

Bayonetta fans, rejoice! If you’ve got a copy of the Wii U’s The Wonderful 101, you can find none other than Bayonetta and fellow Umbra Witch Jeanne within the game!

Awesome Japan has announced the launch of a Kickstarter crowd funding effort to finance the production of a hand-drawn anime short by Keiichiro Kimura, a 76-year-old anime veteran whose work goes back to 1966's first magical girl anime, Sally the Witch and includes credits as animation director of the classic Cyborg 009.

$10,000 is being sought for a production in which each and every frame will be hand-drawn in pencil by the legendary animator Kimura. It will consist of approximately 2000 frame works focused on a single samurai that fights for his life against 100 of his vicious enemies. It will be around 5 minutes duration (or longer depending on budget).

Legendary animator, born on April 5, 1938.

Joined Toei Animation in 1961. He debuted as an animator with Samurai Kid, and then was the character designer/animation director for his next series, Rainbow Squadron Robin. His most famous classic work, Tiger Mask greatly influenced future animators and action anime. His daring action sequences and strong art still holds fans today. 

“I create the animated version of rock!”

With imagination, spirit, and age-defying vitality, he hopes to fill his audience with courage and excitement. He has greatly influenced the animation industry with his fierce artwork, dynamic, daring actions and his use of camera angles. It is no exaggeration to say that Keiichiro Kimura is the founder of modern Japanese action animation. 

Today, Mr. Kimura participates in the production of commercial animation for TV series and movies. 

He is an artist who responds to any requests with professionalism, yet manages to keep expressing his originality at the same time. 

Official Website: http://www.kksp.jp (Japanese only)

Animated TV series 

• “Sally the Witch” (1966) Animation Director
• “Speed Racer” (1967) Key Animator
• “Cyborg 009” (1968) Animation Director/Character design/Opening animation
• “Humanoid Monster Bem” (1968) Key Animator
• “The Secrets of Akkochan” (1969) Animation Director
• “Tiger Mask” (1969) Animation Director/Character design/Opening animation
• “Attack No. 1” (1969) Key Animator/Opening animation
• “Lupin the Third” (1971) Key Animator
• “Dokaben” (1976) Animation Director
• “The Ultraman” (1979) Key Animator
• “Invincible Robo Trider G7” (1980) Animation Director
• “Robot King Daioja” (1981) Animation Director
• “Golden Warrior Gold Lightan” (1981) Animation Director
• “Game Center Arashi” (1982) Animation Director

Animated Films

• “Cyborg 009” (1966) Animation Director/Character design
• “Cyborg 009: Monster Wars” (1967) Animation Director/Character design

*These are only a few examples of all films he's worked in.

The main character in "GO! SAMURAI" is a lone, wandering samurai named KEI. He doesn't have an objective. His motto is “Just keep moving forward”. Where he goes, enemies appear… 

To live is to fight. 

Go, samurai! Onward, KEI!

------
Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

A new commentary video from the National Rifle Association defends the controversial practice of openly carrying firearms in public, arguing that firearms are not capable of intimidation.

In an October 20 video, NRA News commentator Billy Johnson took on open carry critics, stating, "Somehow we have completely dehumanized gun violence, and have instead humanized guns. Guns kill. Guns strike fear. Guns intimidate. Seriously? They're just bits of plastic and metal." Johnson also apparently defended the controversial practice of open carrying firearms in Michigan public schools.

Johnson centered his commentary around "a little bit of a dust-up over a law-abiding citizen enacting his right to open carry" in his community. He didn't identify the specific incident, however, stating, "I'm not going to get into the details, because they honestly don't matter."

Johnson stated that he is "baffled by why society is so damn afraid of" open carry and attributed concern about the practice to "our irrational, media-fed hysterical fear of guns." According to Johnson, guns "are no more capable of intimidation than my vacuum is capable of cleaning my house, or my lawn mower is capable of mowing my lawn."

John Oliver and his staff at Last Week Tonight have found a way to make those formerly unwatchable Supreme Court reenactments fun.

John Oliver Has The Perfect Solution For The Supreme Court's Camera Ban:

John Oliver noted on Sunday's "Last Week Tonight" that the Supreme Court's term that began earlier this month would be one to watch.

"Unfortunately, we won't actually be able to watch any of it because the Supreme Court does not allow cameras during oral argument," Oliver said.

Oliver then played a clip of Justice Antonin Scalia saying that he was opposed to the presence of cameras because Americans would only see 15-30 second snippets of argument, which he didn't think would accurately characterize what the Supreme Court does.

"You know, he might be right about that," Oliver said. "Television can be very irresponsible, which is why you never want to, for instance, do an interview in front of a blue screen because someone might then superimpose a creepy orgy behind you because that's the sort of terrible thing that television can do."

"There aren't any cameras, but they do release audio recordings of their arguments so TV does play 15 second clips of the Supreme Court," he continued.

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Governor Voldemort Scott had a bit of a hissy fit before the Florida debate, which brought on the vapors and a moment unlike any I've seen recently.

The presence of a fan offended Rick Scott, who claimed the rules of the debate banned any electronics on stage. Scott said the fan was an electronic device, and so refused to take the stage at first.

Meanwhile, Crist is mocking him while standing on stage, asking why Rick Scott thinks this is what the people of Florida want.

Here are some choice tweets.

SCOTT ACCUSES CRIST OF FAN FICTION

— Adam Serwer (@AdamSerwer) October 16, 2014

Privately, Republicans/Rick Scott loyalists are telling me the moment he didn't go onstage over fangate was the moment he lost the election

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 16, 2014

What was the more absurd part? Emphasizing it was a "small fan." Declaring "there should be no fan."

— Ari Melber (@AriMelber) October 16, 2014

Trying to wonder now what good it all did me. Still here in this place where I have to test it out every day. Hand out the window, neighbors wondering what’s wrong. We never ask, we never see each other. Running from sidewalk to doorway. Inverted giant triangle pointed downwards like sword point at the park, diorama sized palace where the empress lives only a few blocks away. Probably just playing a TV game, lost in SNS bullshit, giving half-attention to someone in the same room, getting older, waiting until the wrinkles around your eyes expand into frowns, upset at the fact that you are aging (which is bound to make me smile). Protests at the holy sites nearby, but who has bandwidth for that? Have to devote discipline to others, larger causes. I guess we need the money until it finally stops.

Sharp Fox Face. She is walking past ruins of burnt building behind koban, moving away from Basketball Street and towards Spain zaka and from there points unknown. Pinpoint vector lines connecting motion of muscle tissue to cloud shapes overhead. Giant hands in the sky above cupping the Yamanote line below, maintaining the tiny gardens with mass humidity, the moisture coming from you and me as we work ourselves to get on and off the trains to take us to department stores escalators, lines for theme cafes, fast food places with foreign staff, stuff to look and buy on an endless gauntlet (permanent state of construction / reconstruction) inside air conditioning jacked on high. I’m hot, then I’m freezing, now I’m crawling home to lay on the floor where I’ll be sure to find at least a bug or two hiding in the always too-small-sheets when I wake up at 2:46am thinking about what to do for the next seven hours before Shibuya opens and fills up with Sharp Fox Faces all over again.

September has come and gone, but let’s all pretend this was published on time. It’s the sixth episode of GME! Anime Fun Time, in which Clarissa and Gerald of Anime World Order join me to talk about Princess Jellyfish. Topics of discussion include embarrassing real-life otaku experiences, in-group vs. out-group behavior, the way perception and self-image shape social interactions, and whether there is an intrinsically gendered component to the concept of character growth. CLICK HERE or on the promotional image above to download our review of the show.

FINAL THOUGHT:

We sort of forgot to mention that Kuranosuke’s uncle (that’s him on the left) is the Prime Minister of Japan.

The official website for the upcoming live-action film adaptation of Akiko Higashimura's Kurage Hime/Princess Jellyfish manga today posted the second poster visual with a 90-second trailer featuring the theme song "Mermaid Rhapsody" newly-written and performed by SEKAI NO OWARI.

Higashimura's otaku comedy manga has been serialized in Kodansha's Kiss since its 21st issue of 2008 and the latest 14th tankobon volume was just released last month on September 14. Brain's Base produced the 11-episode TV anime adaptation, and it was aired on Fuji TV's noitamina block from October to December 2010.

In this live-action film directed by Taisuke Kawamura (Nodame Cantabile, Himitsu no Akko-chan), the protagonist, jellyfish otaku girl Tsukimi Kurashita is played by 20-year-old actress Rena Nounen, who

gained a national popularity by her portrayal as Aki Amano in the 2013 NHK Asadora Amachan and

also starred in the recent successful live-action film adaptation of Taku Tsumugi's classic manga in

1980s, Hot Road.

1st trailer

2nd poster visual

1st poster visual

The cast:

Rena Nounen as Tsukimi Kurashita

Masaki Suda as Kuranosuke Koibuchi

Hiroki Hasagawa as Shu Koibuchi

Chizuru Ikewaki as Banba

Rina Ohta as Mayaya

Tomoe Shinohara as Jiji

Azusa Babazono as Chieko

The tankobon 1st and 14th volume covers

 via: Eiga.com

© 2014 Movie "Kurage Hime" Production Committee

© Akiko Higashimura/Kodansha

I went to my first convention as a fan, though I was ostensibly there to cover it on behalf of Hardcore Gamer Magazine, in 2007. It was a nice time—I finally met Gavin after years of knowing and writing with him online, I put a couple other faces to names, and I had a good time. I went to one panel where a company announced its next crossover and its dozens of tie-ins mere days after they finished their last crossover and the audience audibly groaned. Not just one loudmouth in the back, either, a large enough portion of the audience was so dissatisfied with the news that they straight groaned in disappointment. Even people who are on the hook don’t like being blatantly sold to. I laughed, and then I never went to one of those panels for fun again.

I learned a lot that first year, and I’ve been to a couple of cons a year since. SF-era Wondercon, San Diego, New York, and Emerald City—those are my shows. I worked NYCC and SDCC to make up for the travel costs, but I generally went to ECCC and WC for fun. But even “working” the cons as press means, at most, four-to-eight hours of actively doing things that aren’t for you, with a lot of free time in those hours. You’re essentially free to do whatever you like as long as you hit those meager marks and turn in copy. I took advantage—swims in the hotel pool, posting up at a bar’s patio for hours because the sun’s out, and sometimes even going into the show to see people.

I’m doing cons for Image now, which means I’m working-working, not press-working. Between sales and signings at the booth, panels at shows, and needing to keep up with my day job duties, I don’t know how to do cons any more, at least the hanging with friends and having independent fun part. It’s a whole different animal, going to a con to work versus play, and I’ve been having a hard time with it since I got started at Image last year.

It’s not that it’s difficult or annoying, though I suppose it is both of those—it’s just different. It’s new, it’s unfamiliar, and I’m still feeling my way through it. I’m distracted and unfocused when trying to have fun with friends, and I could tell. They could, too. It sucks, but it’s my row to hoe.

I’m finding a balance. I usually have a bad time at comics parties/events, so I focus on what I know works for me instead of the event-oriented nightlife. Finding a dark corner somewhere, leaving the con, walking and talking, whatever whatever. Talking about comics with strangers. I’ve taken to doing quiet, small-scale dinners with close friends instead of the sprawling comics dinners. Starting the show off on a good foot with a no-pressure thing. It works. It’s working.

I don’t really get stressed out at shows, but I do get anxious. Instead of being able to do nothing, I’m representing a company and have responsibilities. I want to make sure that I meet that need, so my down home work ethic says “All work, no play, son.” Which doesn’t work. It’ll burn you out. You gotta find things that work for you. I dress up, too. Nothing too wild, I’m not Dapper Dan over here, but I like to put a little extra effort out there to look nice.

I like doing panels, too. I’m doing four for Image at NYCC:

Thursday, 5 – 5:45PM
Location: 1A21
IMAGE COMICS: I IS FOR IMMERSIVE
Comics can contain entire universes between their covers, and panelists Kelly Sue DeConnick (PRETTY DEADLY), Jason Latour (SOUTHERN BASTARDS), Jamie McKelvie (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE), Brandon Montclare (ROCKET GIRL), Kyle Higgins (C.O.W.L.), Tim Seeley (REVIVAL), and Ben Blacker and Ben Acker (THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR PRESENTS… SPARKS NEVADA: MARSHAL ON MARS, THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR PRESENTS… BEYOND BELIEF) excel at creating worlds that you can simply fall into from page one. Anything goes in comics, and now’s your chance to pick the brains of some of the most creative minds around.

Friday, 12:15 – 1PM
Location: 1A14
IMAGE COMICS: I IS FOR INFINITE
Comics are much bigger than superheroes. Kieron Gillen (THE WICKED + THE DIVINE), Antony Johnston (THE FUSE), Megan Levens (MADAME FRANKENSTEIN), Amy Reeder (ROCKET GIRL), Scott Snyder (WYTCHES), and Joshua Williamson (NAILBITER) create comics that range from sci-fi/crime to historical romance to horror and far, far beyond. Whether you’re here to broaden your horizons or check out a new work by your favorite author, these creators demonstrate the potential of comics.

Saturday, 2:15 – 3PM
Location: 1A06
IMAGE COMICS: I IS FOR IMPACT
No matter how weird of an idea you may have, if you can hook someone, they’ll be a reader for life. Wes Craig (DEADLY CLASS), Matt Fraction (SEX CRIMINALS), Steve Orlando (UNDERTOW), James Robinson (THE SAVIORS), Roc Upchurch (RAT QUEENS), Frank Quitely (JUPITER’S LEGACY), and Brian K. Vaughan (SAGA) take strange ideas and turn them into intensely relatable and entertaining comics. Now, they’re going to share their secrets and talk about how fun it is to make the unreal real.

Sunday, 2 – 2:45PM
Location: 1A10
IMAGE COMICS: I IS FOR INVENTIVE
All-ages comics are crucial to the longevity of the comics industry, and can be an incredible tool in entertaining and education children. Bring your family and come listen to panelists Nick Dragotta (HOWTOONS), Otis Frampton (ODDLY NORMAL), Chris Giarrusso (G-MAN), Sina Grace (PENNY DORA), and Fred Van Lente (HOWTOONS) speak on creating kids’ comics and the importance of libraries in spreading awareness.

A cool thing about my job is that I get an alarming degree of freedom when it comes to coming up with these panels. They all get approved by the mothership, but the rosters, the ideas, the descriptions, all of that is easily 90% my fault. Image does big announcements around Image Expo, which means I’m free to make the panels exactly what I want out of comics panels: an interesting discussion between people who know their stuff. I’m only there to help keep it moving and to involve the audience.

Here’s my approach: “What do I want to know?” That’s it! I’ll prep notes before the panel, and if I’m doing a Powerpoint presentation I’ll have a cheat sheet in there too. I only come in with a few specific things to ask, because I’ve found that if you start the conversation off right and then let it flow from that foundation instead of reading from a list, you’ll end up with a good time that ends up tying back into the theme of the panel. It’s like magic. So I’m up there to fire the starting gun, ask follow-up questions when people say interesting things in passing, and involve the audience. It’s a chance to satisfy my curiosity, and to create and satisfy curiosity in the audience.

The truth of comics panels is that the audience in the room is already on the hook and engaged. They may be the most engaged of all your fans, at least by a certain metric. So selling to them, letting them know it’s going to be X issues and come out on Y day and its ISBN is Z, is a bad tactic. They already know, and if they don’t know, they will know soon enough. So my choice is to engage them. Give them what they want and give them something they’ll remember. I’ve been blessed to have panelists that are gregarious and hilarious. I lose it laughing on-stage at least once a show, oftentimes more. The audience seems into it, too. People dig my approach. We may not have much for breaking news, but I’d put my panels up against anybody else’s for sheer quality.

I’m still finding my balance, though. New York Comic Con is my last show of the year, just a few weeks after a rough one, so I’m hoping I can have a good time and do my job well, too. I could be nervous or afraid, but honestly? I either will or I won’t. None of this is new to me, and I know what I’m doing, so I’m not going to sweat it. I’m just going to do it, and things will work out in the end.Similar Posts:

• Emerald City Comicon 2014: The Videos
• Emerald City Comicon 2014, 4thletter! Edition
• David’s at New York Comic Con!
• Dwayne McDuffie Spotlight Panel
• Is a Cry for Justice Fix on the Way?

Conservative media are attacking actor Ben Affleck for comments he made objecting to disparaging generalizations about Islam during a heated exchange with HBO host Bill Maher, using their dialogue as ammunition to continue claiming that the religion has a unique connection to extremism and that Muslims have not done enough to root out religious zealotry.

Maher And Guests Spar During Debate Over Islamic Extremism

On the October 3 edition of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher and author Sam Harris sparred with other panelists over the merits of Maher and Harris' characterizations of Islam. Maher and Harris defended their commentary against charges of "Islamophobia" and "bigotry toward Muslims as people," while Affleck and fellow panelists Nicholas Kristof and Michael Steele expressed concern that the two were conflating the beliefs of relative minorities with those of the broader Muslim population worldwide, which is about 1.6 billion people. [HBO, Real Time with Bill Maher, 10/3/14, via YouTube]

Conservative Media Promote Maher's Anti-Islam Sentiment, Condemn Affleck

Fox Guest: "Imam Ben Affleck" Was "Defending The Theocrats." On the October 7 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy and guest Dr. Zuhdi Jasser attacked Affleck for "defending the theocrats, the status quo" against supposedly necessary moderate reform. Jasser derisively referred to "Imam Ben Affleck" for arguing against charges that Islam is uniquely prone to violence and extremism. Jasser, a cardiologist, is also the founder and president of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, a group frequently touted by conservative media as embodying a moderate Muslim perspective. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/7/14]

Fox's Webb: Affleck "Lives In This Unicorn-Like World" And Islam Is "An Intolerable Religion." On the October 7 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, co-host Bill Hemmer was joined by Fox contributors Leslie Marshall and David Webb to discuss Affleck's comments. While Marshall joined Affleck in warning against making a "sweeping generalization against a religion," Webb accused Affleck of living in a "unicorn-like world" where "what he believes to be true, is." Webb also called Islam "an intolerable religion" when it comes to Muslims' reactions to perceived blasphemy. [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 10/7/14]

Fox's Gutfeld: Affleck Is "A Caliphate Crusader." On the October 6 edition of Fox News' The Five, co-host Greg Gutfeld opened a segment on the Affleck-Maher exchange by labeling Affleck "a caliphate crusader" for not accepting the premise of anti-Islam sentiments. Gutfeld claimed that Affleck was "burdened by lack of facts" and implied that Affleck's "tantrum" was an example of how "the inability to separate identification of evil from platitudes on tolerance is what enables evil to thrive." [Fox News, The Five, 10/6/14]

Fox's Hemmer: "How Do You Define What's Bigotry And What's Just Reality?" On the October 6 edition of America's Newsroom, Hemmer defended Maher against claims that his sentiments are bigoted, asking, "How do you define what's bigotry and what's just reality?" Hemmer's implication that Islam is rooted to radicalism and religious extremism was rebuffed by both guests, political strategists Bernard Whitman and Tyler Harber, during the segment. [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 10/6/14, via Think Progress]

Laura Ingraham: "What Is It Going To Take" For Liberals Like Affleck To "Wake Up" To The Threat Of Islamic Extremism? On the October 6 edition of her radio show, Laura Ingraham detailed atrocities committed in the name of Islam by Al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, and asked listeners "what is it going to take" for liberals like Affleck to "wake up" to militant affiliates of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 10/6/14] 

NRO's Lowry: Affleck Refuses To Acknowledge "Frank Truths About The Muslim World." In an October 7 article for National Review Online, National Review editor Rich Lowry attacked Affleck for his alleged refusal to accept "frank truths about the Muslim world." Lowry weaved this into a larger attack on "a dominant tendency within liberalism":

Affleck simply couldn't handle the truth. He kept on insisting it is just a few bad apples who think this way. At one point, he tried to wave Maher and Harris off with a condemnation of the Iraq War, positing an implicit moral equivalence between an overly idealistic war of liberation and the stoning of apostates.

Affleck obviously isn't a public official or a public intellectual. But he represents a dominant tendency within liberalism. Imagine a State Department staffed by less-glamorous Ben Afflecks. Imagine a president of the United States who shares his instincts. This is the Obama administration. It's why, in part, it has always been so reluctant to speak of Islamic terrorism and extremism. It's why the president says the Islamic State is not Islamic. [National Review Online, 10/7/14]