My review of Monsters University is up!
Click on over to my main site to read it!
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
The Boredom of Canada Day
I awoke this morning feeling awake. Invigorated. The entire world was mine for the having. For many, many years in Athabasca, the Canada Day weekend had always been a very busy weekend. That is the weekend of the Magnificent River Rats Festival, and thanks to my position, I was always very involved. Originally, as a reporter, covering the event. Then, when I was promoted to the on-air slot, I'd get to emcee the event. When the festival started earning a little more money, I would be broadcasting live from the event AND emceeing. And then, when they ran short of volunteers, there were a few years where I volunteered to be treasurer. Broadcasting live, then emceeing, then whatever extra time in the office counting the gate receipts. It was busy weekend.
But now, I'm in Westlock, where they do nothing for Canada Day. The River Rats are very, very far away. For the first time in a very long time, I could do whatever I wanted to on the Canada Day weekend.
It got very boring very quick.
I know I went into the city just one short week ago, but come on, it's the long weekend! Something must be done to get out and enjoy it! My loose plan, Pixar junkie that I am, was to see Monsters University. And this time, I finally remembered my movie passes. For those who've never had the pleasure of being a Telus customer, occasionally they send you gifts to thank you for being a customer. A little over a year ago, they sent me two free movie passes. I put them on my fridge, and whenever I go see a movie, I forget about them. I even moved. When I moved, I took down the magnet they were stuck to my fridge with, made sure the magnet and the passes were packed together, and when I unpacked, I stuck them back on the fridge. But this time...this time...I remembered. A free movie is so much better than a movie you pay for.
As I've blogged before, I always feel better about spending money in the city if I buy something I actually need. So, first to Wal-Mart for socks and underwear. I like to go for walks. Socks wear out quick. And they had pants! I don't know why, but I've always had difficulty finding pants in my size. And there jeans, in MY size, in a style I like, and on sale! So naturally I took two.
Blogging about buying clothes...I'd better nerd it up a little cuz that's what you come here for.
With my necessities in tow, it was off to the toy section to see if there were any collectable action figures for my collecting. As I said last time, I currently feel strangely satisfied with the state of my collection, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't see anything I wanted. But as I was leaving the toy section, I found myself walking past the Hot Wheels displays.
I've always wondered how Hot Wheels collectors get off scott-free. Action figure collectors are routinely mocked on sitcoms. Barbie doll collectors are always treated as an oddity in human interest stories on the news. But those gearheads who have basements full of Hot Wheels and other brands of die cast metal cars? No one says boo to them. Probably because they are pretty serious car guys, too, and they could bash your head in with a socket wrench.
That being said though, I have mentioned that a few Hot Wheels and other branded die cast metal cars have found their way into my collection. I have a Batmobile. I have Herbie the Love Bug. I have the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. But there is one car I always wanted. I'm sure you know of my love of the Back to the Future movies. So as I was breezing by the Hot Wheels display, I froze in my tracks when I saw this.
Yup. The Hot Wheels version of the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future. No question in my mind. It went into my basket with nary a thought.
When it comes to the stories about the making of films, the making of Back to the Future is the one I know backwards and forwards. Do you know why they chose a DeLorean to be the time machine in Back to the Future? They had already written the script, and there's that gag where Marty first arrives in 1955, and thanks to the gullwing doors on the car, the old farmer mistakes it for a spaceship. And the DeLorean was the most prominent car that boasted gullwing doors at the time. When they settled on the DeLorean, it was turned over to prominent Hollywood designer Andrew Probert (who also designed the Enterprise-D for Star Trek: The Next Generation) to customize it and make it look like someone modified it into a time machine in their garage.
And this Hot Wheels version will have to until I'm rich and famous and can by me a real DeLorean.
Now that I had my necessities (and something new for my toy collection), it was off to Best Buy. Yeah, I was going to do my usual gazing longingly at flatscreen TVs and hoping to some day have enough money to upgrade to one, but I also had a specific goal. I've also been blogging a lot lately that, thanks to all the hype around Skyfall, James Bond movies got dirt cheap on Blu-Ray. So, for the past few months, I've been snatching up my favourite Bond films at discount bin prices. And now that I'm finished with that, I looked around, and realized that in the wake of Star Trek Into Darkness, the Star Trek movies on Blu-Ray had gotten dirt cheap. So it's time to upgrade the Star Trek movies.
About a month ago, online, I found the boxed set of all the Original Crew films for $45. Now, to complete the collection, I was off to Best Buy to get the boxed set of the Next Generation films. Last time I was in Best Buy about a month ago, I saw they had it marked down to $35. Lucky for me, it was still in stock and still at that price. And I now own all the Star Trek movies on VHS, DVD, and Blu.
From there, to my favourite of haunts, West Edmonton Mall. The great Mall...always in flux, always in transition. That constant state of flux is currently throwing me off, as a few of my favourite kiosks in the food court have shut down. But that's a blessing in disguise, as it forces me out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Have you heard of this burger place called Harvey's? The put whatever toppings you want on your burger! Right in front of you!
(Yes, I know about Harvey's. I was being sarcastic in that last paragraph.)
The usual stops in the mall, again, like last time didn't have much to offer me. You know in HMV you're scraping the bottom of the barrel when you whip out your smart phone and start going through your Amazon wish list. "Do they have this one? Do I want this one? Do I want pay that much for it? I don't know." It always feels strange to walk out of there empty-handed.
But now, to the theatre, to see Monsters University. I'm so used to using those automated ticket machines, but with my free movie pass, I had to go to clerk and actually initiate some human contact. Luckily, there was no line. I got up to the clerk, asked for a ticket to Monsters University, and proudly gave her my free movie pass. She hit a few buttons on the cash register and said, "Ya know, for next time, you've got to present these before you order." "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I said, but she just shrugged in a "Whatevs. Happens all the time," kind of manner.
So. Monsters University. Like a lot of Pixar fans, I'm growing weary of the sequels. Toy Story 3 was heart-wrenchingly amazing, and Cars 2 was...Pixar's child that we don't talk about much. And while Monsters University is way better than Cars 2, it's not Toy Story 3. For those who haven't kept up on the premise, Monsters University is a prequel to Monsters Inc., as it chronicles how Mike and Sully first met in college and overcame their differences to become best friends.
There is a lot of "I've seen this all before" to it. I mean, we've all seen Animal House by now. But there is some genuine emotion at the climax, and while you have seen it all before, it's still entertaining, and I found it to be quite satisfying. Pixar's still in a bit of a slump, but this one shows some steps back in the right direction. 3 Nibs.
Oh, and I can't forget, as is the grand Pixar tradition, it started with their latest short film The Blue Umbrella. It's about a romance between a blue umbrella and a red umbrella. Have you seen those memes where they find faces in everyday objects? Imagine a movie where those faces are the characters. And through them, a whole city begins conspiring to get these two together. It did remind me a lot of the Disney short Paperman from last year. But again, very good. My only complaint is that the music sounded like it was ripped from a Coke commercial.
After all that, I was ready to call it a day, and began heading home. I'm still not used to the shorter travel time to the city and back, so I was pleasantly surprised that I had enough time to do some grocery shopping when I got home.
And that's how I conquered the boredom on Day 1 of my Canada Day weekend. What does the rest of the weekend hold?
But now, I'm in Westlock, where they do nothing for Canada Day. The River Rats are very, very far away. For the first time in a very long time, I could do whatever I wanted to on the Canada Day weekend.
It got very boring very quick.
I know I went into the city just one short week ago, but come on, it's the long weekend! Something must be done to get out and enjoy it! My loose plan, Pixar junkie that I am, was to see Monsters University. And this time, I finally remembered my movie passes. For those who've never had the pleasure of being a Telus customer, occasionally they send you gifts to thank you for being a customer. A little over a year ago, they sent me two free movie passes. I put them on my fridge, and whenever I go see a movie, I forget about them. I even moved. When I moved, I took down the magnet they were stuck to my fridge with, made sure the magnet and the passes were packed together, and when I unpacked, I stuck them back on the fridge. But this time...this time...I remembered. A free movie is so much better than a movie you pay for.
As I've blogged before, I always feel better about spending money in the city if I buy something I actually need. So, first to Wal-Mart for socks and underwear. I like to go for walks. Socks wear out quick. And they had pants! I don't know why, but I've always had difficulty finding pants in my size. And there jeans, in MY size, in a style I like, and on sale! So naturally I took two.
Blogging about buying clothes...I'd better nerd it up a little cuz that's what you come here for.
With my necessities in tow, it was off to the toy section to see if there were any collectable action figures for my collecting. As I said last time, I currently feel strangely satisfied with the state of my collection, so I wasn't surprised when I didn't see anything I wanted. But as I was leaving the toy section, I found myself walking past the Hot Wheels displays.
I've always wondered how Hot Wheels collectors get off scott-free. Action figure collectors are routinely mocked on sitcoms. Barbie doll collectors are always treated as an oddity in human interest stories on the news. But those gearheads who have basements full of Hot Wheels and other brands of die cast metal cars? No one says boo to them. Probably because they are pretty serious car guys, too, and they could bash your head in with a socket wrench.
That being said though, I have mentioned that a few Hot Wheels and other branded die cast metal cars have found their way into my collection. I have a Batmobile. I have Herbie the Love Bug. I have the Mach 5 from Speed Racer. But there is one car I always wanted. I'm sure you know of my love of the Back to the Future movies. So as I was breezing by the Hot Wheels display, I froze in my tracks when I saw this.
Yup. The Hot Wheels version of the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future. No question in my mind. It went into my basket with nary a thought.
When it comes to the stories about the making of films, the making of Back to the Future is the one I know backwards and forwards. Do you know why they chose a DeLorean to be the time machine in Back to the Future? They had already written the script, and there's that gag where Marty first arrives in 1955, and thanks to the gullwing doors on the car, the old farmer mistakes it for a spaceship. And the DeLorean was the most prominent car that boasted gullwing doors at the time. When they settled on the DeLorean, it was turned over to prominent Hollywood designer Andrew Probert (who also designed the Enterprise-D for Star Trek: The Next Generation) to customize it and make it look like someone modified it into a time machine in their garage.
And this Hot Wheels version will have to until I'm rich and famous and can by me a real DeLorean.
Now that I had my necessities (and something new for my toy collection), it was off to Best Buy. Yeah, I was going to do my usual gazing longingly at flatscreen TVs and hoping to some day have enough money to upgrade to one, but I also had a specific goal. I've also been blogging a lot lately that, thanks to all the hype around Skyfall, James Bond movies got dirt cheap on Blu-Ray. So, for the past few months, I've been snatching up my favourite Bond films at discount bin prices. And now that I'm finished with that, I looked around, and realized that in the wake of Star Trek Into Darkness, the Star Trek movies on Blu-Ray had gotten dirt cheap. So it's time to upgrade the Star Trek movies.
About a month ago, online, I found the boxed set of all the Original Crew films for $45. Now, to complete the collection, I was off to Best Buy to get the boxed set of the Next Generation films. Last time I was in Best Buy about a month ago, I saw they had it marked down to $35. Lucky for me, it was still in stock and still at that price. And I now own all the Star Trek movies on VHS, DVD, and Blu.
From there, to my favourite of haunts, West Edmonton Mall. The great Mall...always in flux, always in transition. That constant state of flux is currently throwing me off, as a few of my favourite kiosks in the food court have shut down. But that's a blessing in disguise, as it forces me out of my comfort zone and trying new things. Have you heard of this burger place called Harvey's? The put whatever toppings you want on your burger! Right in front of you!
(Yes, I know about Harvey's. I was being sarcastic in that last paragraph.)
The usual stops in the mall, again, like last time didn't have much to offer me. You know in HMV you're scraping the bottom of the barrel when you whip out your smart phone and start going through your Amazon wish list. "Do they have this one? Do I want this one? Do I want pay that much for it? I don't know." It always feels strange to walk out of there empty-handed.
But now, to the theatre, to see Monsters University. I'm so used to using those automated ticket machines, but with my free movie pass, I had to go to clerk and actually initiate some human contact. Luckily, there was no line. I got up to the clerk, asked for a ticket to Monsters University, and proudly gave her my free movie pass. She hit a few buttons on the cash register and said, "Ya know, for next time, you've got to present these before you order." "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know," I said, but she just shrugged in a "Whatevs. Happens all the time," kind of manner.
So. Monsters University. Like a lot of Pixar fans, I'm growing weary of the sequels. Toy Story 3 was heart-wrenchingly amazing, and Cars 2 was...Pixar's child that we don't talk about much. And while Monsters University is way better than Cars 2, it's not Toy Story 3. For those who haven't kept up on the premise, Monsters University is a prequel to Monsters Inc., as it chronicles how Mike and Sully first met in college and overcame their differences to become best friends.
There is a lot of "I've seen this all before" to it. I mean, we've all seen Animal House by now. But there is some genuine emotion at the climax, and while you have seen it all before, it's still entertaining, and I found it to be quite satisfying. Pixar's still in a bit of a slump, but this one shows some steps back in the right direction. 3 Nibs.
Oh, and I can't forget, as is the grand Pixar tradition, it started with their latest short film The Blue Umbrella. It's about a romance between a blue umbrella and a red umbrella. Have you seen those memes where they find faces in everyday objects? Imagine a movie where those faces are the characters. And through them, a whole city begins conspiring to get these two together. It did remind me a lot of the Disney short Paperman from last year. But again, very good. My only complaint is that the music sounded like it was ripped from a Coke commercial.
After all that, I was ready to call it a day, and began heading home. I'm still not used to the shorter travel time to the city and back, so I was pleasantly surprised that I had enough time to do some grocery shopping when I got home.
And that's how I conquered the boredom on Day 1 of my Canada Day weekend. What does the rest of the weekend hold?
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin -- Van Helsing: The London Assignment
Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look upon one of the many DVDs I own and I try to answer the question, "Why did I buy this again?" This week, we get to a forgotten straight-to-DVD tie-in called Van Helsing: The London Assignment. This entry is originally dated October 12, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Strangely Satisfying
A little less than two weeks ago, my Opa passed away. The last two weeks have been nothing but a rush, as I rushed to clear my schedule so I could attend to the funeral, rushing off to the funeral and all family events pertaining to, and then rushing to get caught back up once I returned to work. Today, I finally had a day to myself. Finally, a few hours to relax and unwind.
Of course, I was going to go see a movie.
I headed into the city, but I didn't have much on my checklist of places to see. I did decide, though, to swing by Toys R Us. I hadn't been by Toys R Us in a while to scan for collectable action figures. Ever since I finally got my holy grail of Star Wars figures back at Christmas time, I've felt strangely satisfied with my action figure collection and haven't really been desiring anything new. But still, for old times sake, I figured I'd swing by.
As I've already mentioned, when it comes to Star Wars figures, I've been a sucker for the retro packaging figures. Well, those figures are becoming tougher to come by as they've run their course and they're starting to phase them out for the newer lines. I saw a few in the Toys R Us discount bin and started perusing them. I didn't have much hope for anything outside of the typical pegwarmers, when I did spot this fella.
The Star Wars Blu-Rays gave us some never-before-seen deleted scenes from the trilogy, so of course these deleted scenes became fodder for new action figures. One of the more famous deleted scenes comes from the start of Return of the Jedi, where we see Luke Skywalker hiding out in a hut on Tatooine, building his new lightsaber. Once I saw that "Deleted Scene Blu-Ray Figure" sticker on the bubble, I knew I had found a rarity. And marked down to $8, how could a guy say no?
I got to West Edmonton Mall at around 12:30. My original plan to see Man of Steel was to catch the 3:15 show, because it's not in 3D, and therefore a little bit cheaper. Normally, the prospect of hanging out in West Edmonton Mall for three hours would be a good afternoon, but today, the prospect of sitting around the mall for that long just seemed...stupid. So I thought, "Fuck it, I'll pay the extra $3, and see it in 3D at 1PM." It wasn't so bad, though. I got in to the theatre early enough that I was able to choose the exact dead centre of the theatre for the film, which they've always told me is optimal seating for 3D films.
So then. Man of Steel. Our 21st Century Superman. I loved it. Finally, we've got a Superman who's allowed to kick ass on a Superman-scale. There are some fantastic, amazing, fight scenes in this film. I loved our new version of Krypton. I love that they finally got rid of the crystal Krypton and tried something new. Henry Cavill makes a pretty good Superman. He's got the great commanding voice. Amy Adams is a great Lois Lane, doing actual investigative reporting into finding out the identity of this alien.
"Alien" for me would be way to sum up this film. This is an alien invasion movie. Certain scenes just sparked memories of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They really play up the mystery of life in the universe and how Superman comes to represent that.
Great villain. General Zod is a nice threat. He truly represents Superman's power unchecked. I like the formula that Christopher Nolan created with his Batman films and that others are trying to emulate: save the best-known arch-enemy for the sequel, so you can focus on the pure origin story.
Some problems, though. There's one line that Superman never crosses, and when they show him crossing it, my jaw dropped. And you suck, person in the theatre who laughed at that moment. Superman never does that, and seeing him do it was horrific.
But I enjoyed it. I thought it was good. It was how the world would probably react if a being like Superman actually showed up.
And sadly, there was no post-credits scene with Christian Bale as Batman revealing that Superman isn't the only superhero in the world and maybe they should form some kind of league.
After the film, there wasn't much left to do. Did the requisite walk-through of HMV. Didn't buy anything, but still left strangely satisfied. There's not much in the DVD world that I want right now...well, except for the odd franchise boxed set that's still priced out of my budget. Did a walk-through of Target, but they don't have those fabled Target-exclusive watermelon-flavoured Oreos yet. Did a walk-through of the T&T Asian Supermarket, but the lines at the checkout were so ridiculously long that I decided not to treat myself to a bottle of my favourite Japanese soft drink.
On the way out of the city, I figured I hadn't hit Quiznos for a while, so I settled on them for supper. I ordered my sub, and began dancing to the song playing on the radio, as I do from time to time, and the clerk said, "Wow. You must be in a good mood." And you know what? I was. I needed this day. Summer's here, which is always unbelievably busy in radio as every weekend you're live on location from some festival. And with the family stuff, I haven't had any time to myself.
But today was the day. Days off are about to become few and far between, so each one that comes along must be savoured.
Of course, I was going to go see a movie.
I headed into the city, but I didn't have much on my checklist of places to see. I did decide, though, to swing by Toys R Us. I hadn't been by Toys R Us in a while to scan for collectable action figures. Ever since I finally got my holy grail of Star Wars figures back at Christmas time, I've felt strangely satisfied with my action figure collection and haven't really been desiring anything new. But still, for old times sake, I figured I'd swing by.
As I've already mentioned, when it comes to Star Wars figures, I've been a sucker for the retro packaging figures. Well, those figures are becoming tougher to come by as they've run their course and they're starting to phase them out for the newer lines. I saw a few in the Toys R Us discount bin and started perusing them. I didn't have much hope for anything outside of the typical pegwarmers, when I did spot this fella.
The Star Wars Blu-Rays gave us some never-before-seen deleted scenes from the trilogy, so of course these deleted scenes became fodder for new action figures. One of the more famous deleted scenes comes from the start of Return of the Jedi, where we see Luke Skywalker hiding out in a hut on Tatooine, building his new lightsaber. Once I saw that "Deleted Scene Blu-Ray Figure" sticker on the bubble, I knew I had found a rarity. And marked down to $8, how could a guy say no?
I got to West Edmonton Mall at around 12:30. My original plan to see Man of Steel was to catch the 3:15 show, because it's not in 3D, and therefore a little bit cheaper. Normally, the prospect of hanging out in West Edmonton Mall for three hours would be a good afternoon, but today, the prospect of sitting around the mall for that long just seemed...stupid. So I thought, "Fuck it, I'll pay the extra $3, and see it in 3D at 1PM." It wasn't so bad, though. I got in to the theatre early enough that I was able to choose the exact dead centre of the theatre for the film, which they've always told me is optimal seating for 3D films.
So then. Man of Steel. Our 21st Century Superman. I loved it. Finally, we've got a Superman who's allowed to kick ass on a Superman-scale. There are some fantastic, amazing, fight scenes in this film. I loved our new version of Krypton. I love that they finally got rid of the crystal Krypton and tried something new. Henry Cavill makes a pretty good Superman. He's got the great commanding voice. Amy Adams is a great Lois Lane, doing actual investigative reporting into finding out the identity of this alien.
"Alien" for me would be way to sum up this film. This is an alien invasion movie. Certain scenes just sparked memories of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They really play up the mystery of life in the universe and how Superman comes to represent that.
Great villain. General Zod is a nice threat. He truly represents Superman's power unchecked. I like the formula that Christopher Nolan created with his Batman films and that others are trying to emulate: save the best-known arch-enemy for the sequel, so you can focus on the pure origin story.
Some problems, though. There's one line that Superman never crosses, and when they show him crossing it, my jaw dropped. And you suck, person in the theatre who laughed at that moment. Superman never does that, and seeing him do it was horrific.
But I enjoyed it. I thought it was good. It was how the world would probably react if a being like Superman actually showed up.
And sadly, there was no post-credits scene with Christian Bale as Batman revealing that Superman isn't the only superhero in the world and maybe they should form some kind of league.
After the film, there wasn't much left to do. Did the requisite walk-through of HMV. Didn't buy anything, but still left strangely satisfied. There's not much in the DVD world that I want right now...well, except for the odd franchise boxed set that's still priced out of my budget. Did a walk-through of Target, but they don't have those fabled Target-exclusive watermelon-flavoured Oreos yet. Did a walk-through of the T&T Asian Supermarket, but the lines at the checkout were so ridiculously long that I decided not to treat myself to a bottle of my favourite Japanese soft drink.
On the way out of the city, I figured I hadn't hit Quiznos for a while, so I settled on them for supper. I ordered my sub, and began dancing to the song playing on the radio, as I do from time to time, and the clerk said, "Wow. You must be in a good mood." And you know what? I was. I needed this day. Summer's here, which is always unbelievably busy in radio as every weekend you're live on location from some festival. And with the family stuff, I haven't had any time to myself.
But today was the day. Days off are about to become few and far between, so each one that comes along must be savoured.
Labels:
life,
Opinions I Should Keep to Myself
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin -- Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look upon one of the many DVDs I have my collection. Today, I finished what I started last week by doing the biggest movie of the summer of 1991, Terminator 2: Judgement Day. This entry is dated in my notes at September 23, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A Knife Through My Heart
Well, I think it's time to shut down the blog. Hang it up, call it a day, and walk away.
I discovered the website I Write Like, where you put in a sample of your writing and it tells you what famous writer you write like.
After putting in a few blog entries, here's what it told me.
I'd like to apologize to the 20 readers of this blog. Obviously, it's been time thoroughly wasted.
I discovered the website I Write Like, where you put in a sample of your writing and it tells you what famous writer you write like.
After putting in a few blog entries, here's what it told me.
I'd like to apologize to the 20 readers of this blog. Obviously, it's been time thoroughly wasted.
Labels:
life
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Terminator
Time once again for Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look at one of the many movies that I figured was just so darn good I had to buy a copy for myself. Today, we do the classic 1980s sci-fi, that launched James Cameron's directing career, and saved Arnold Schwarzenegger from a lifetime of Conan...The Terminator. This entry is dated in my notes at September 22, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Sunday, June 09, 2013
The Targ Returns for Summer!
You know what I haven't done in a while? A podcast.
I felt the itch to do one. I'm been itching for a while, but today is when I finally found the energy to scratch, and I pumped out my Summer Special: Blue Skies.
Some of the things I rant about in this one:
- The usual excuse-making as to the big gap between episodes
- A request that I should do a What's Wrong With Society on everything I hated about Athabasca
- A request that I do another Mark Tastes Random Things, so I sample A&W's Sweet Potato French Fries
- I share why Star Trek Into Darkness made my head explode
- And some thoughts on the series that was Doctor Who
Click here to go download it!
Head here to subscribe in iTunes!
Be a fan in Facebook!
Labels:
U62: The Targ
Thursday, June 06, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Davy Crockett: Series 2
Time for another installment of Fishing in the Discount Bin, where one of the many VHS, DVDs, or Blu-Rays in my collection inspires me to blog! Today, we finish off what I started last week...it's the second half of Disney's Davy Crockett series. This entry is dated in my notes at September 16, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
The end of Weird Al?
The Weird Al fandom lit up this past week when, while on the road, Weird Al gave an interview in which he revealed that his next album will probably be his last.
Don't worry, Weird Al's not going to go away completely. He just points out that the Internet is starting to make his act a lot harder. By the time he gets an album together, there's already been hundreds of parodies of the songs he's parodying all over YouTube. So, he's got one album left on his current contract, and once that's done, he'll probably give up on traditional albums and just head to digital distribution.
To be fair, though, Weird Al has been saying this for some time, as to how his job is getting more difficult. As he said in 2006, back when his album Straight Outta Lynwood came out, it's not like the old days of the 1980s, when he'd just pick whatever artist was currently in heavy rotation on MTV. With the further fragmenting of music genres, it's tough to choose which artist to go by.
Weird Al started getting serious about digital distribution back in 2006. When his "not allowed to be released legally" single You're Pitiful (a parody of James Blunt's You're BeautifulI) couldn't be released, he made it a free download at his website, and it promptly went viral. Thinking there might be something to this digital distribution, he made his big experiment in the fall of 2008 with Whatever You Like, a parody of Whatever You Like by T.I. Within 2 weeks, Weird Al got T.I.'s permission, had the song written and recorded, and out online while the original was still at #1.
The experiment was successful enough that the next year he released the digital EP Internet Leaks. As Weird Al pointed out, he tends to record the original songs on his albums first, and then record the parodies closer to the album's release so he can parody something current. So, he figured, why not release all the original songs while waiting to figure out what to parody? And that's what he did.
Internet Leaks wound up being half of his 2011 album Alpocalypse. So, yeah. Weird Al's revelation that his next album may be his last is nothing too Earth-shattering. He's just been working towards it for the past few years. As we've seen from the multitude of parody videos flooding YouTube, that's just the medium for parodies these days. Only makes sense that Weird Al is going to get on board.
Don't worry, Weird Al's not going to go away completely. He just points out that the Internet is starting to make his act a lot harder. By the time he gets an album together, there's already been hundreds of parodies of the songs he's parodying all over YouTube. So, he's got one album left on his current contract, and once that's done, he'll probably give up on traditional albums and just head to digital distribution.
To be fair, though, Weird Al has been saying this for some time, as to how his job is getting more difficult. As he said in 2006, back when his album Straight Outta Lynwood came out, it's not like the old days of the 1980s, when he'd just pick whatever artist was currently in heavy rotation on MTV. With the further fragmenting of music genres, it's tough to choose which artist to go by.
Weird Al started getting serious about digital distribution back in 2006. When his "not allowed to be released legally" single You're Pitiful (a parody of James Blunt's You're BeautifulI) couldn't be released, he made it a free download at his website, and it promptly went viral. Thinking there might be something to this digital distribution, he made his big experiment in the fall of 2008 with Whatever You Like, a parody of Whatever You Like by T.I. Within 2 weeks, Weird Al got T.I.'s permission, had the song written and recorded, and out online while the original was still at #1.
The experiment was successful enough that the next year he released the digital EP Internet Leaks. As Weird Al pointed out, he tends to record the original songs on his albums first, and then record the parodies closer to the album's release so he can parody something current. So, he figured, why not release all the original songs while waiting to figure out what to parody? And that's what he did.
Internet Leaks wound up being half of his 2011 album Alpocalypse. So, yeah. Weird Al's revelation that his next album may be his last is nothing too Earth-shattering. He's just been working towards it for the past few years. As we've seen from the multitude of parody videos flooding YouTube, that's just the medium for parodies these days. Only makes sense that Weird Al is going to get on board.
Labels:
Weird Al Rocks
Sunday, June 02, 2013
Sleepy Sunday Morning
You know why the blog is called "Midnight Ramblings"?
Back in my original blog, Chaos in Print, "Midnight Ramblings" was a series of entries in which I'd just recap some of the headlines in pop culture and offer my thoughts on them, all in the guise of an e-mail to my best friend. So, when I started this blog, I felt like "Midnight Ramblings" had earned a spinoff.
Now, here I am, bored on a Sunday morning, let's resurrect the original Midnight Ramblings tradition because why not?
In my frequent online window shopping, I found that Disney has a movie club, much like the Columbia Record Club of yore. I'm debating whether I should sign up for it or not. The big selling point is they have exclusives...long forgotten Disney movies that are released on DVD exclusively through this club. And there are some movies in that club I wouldn't mind getting. But then I'm roped into the club, and I have to buy x movies a year, and they've got that whole "negative billing" BS where if you forget to send back the card, they automatically send you a DVD and now you have to pay for it. I was in the Columbia Record Club all those years ago, I remember it, and it gets to be a hassle.
It all boils down to one question: how desperately do I want to own a copy of DuckTales: The Movie -- Treasure of the Lost Lamp?
So what's going on with that live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? It's been filming in New York City for a few weeks now, and details are starting to dribble out from the set.
Our story thus far: Michael Bay is producing it through his company Platinum Dunes Productions. It's the first Platinum Dunes movie that's not a slasher film remake. Jonathan Liebesman, director of Battle: Los Angelas and Wrath of the Titans, is directing. There was much fanboy rage about a year ago when an early script was released, altering the Turtle's origins from being mutated in a sewer to being aliens from Dimension X. Bay claims that was an early draft from before he signed on, but people are wary.
There was also much geek rage when it was announced that Megan Fox would be playing legendary TMNT supporting player April O'Neil. Now, I'm not going to rage. I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. Here's why. My best friend once pointed out that Megan Fox's acting was one of the very few good things in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There's a scene early in the movie were Megan Fox and Shia LeBouf are going to have a Skype date, but LeBouf blows it off to go to a college party. And Ms. Fox is sitting there in front of her computer all sad and alone. "Megan Fox sold that scene," says my best friend. "She genuinely seemed heartbroken." So, who knows? Maybe she can pull it off.
As filming is going on, more cast members are being announced, and thanks to pictures from the set, we're learning who they're playing.
Will Arnett, still best loved as GOB on Arrested Development, was spotted on the set, and it was learned that he's playing Vernon Fenwick. For those who don't remember the original 1987 cartoon, Vernon was April's cameraman and eventual rival reporter in the Channel 6 newsroom.
Whoopi Goldberg was spotted on the set, and it was revealed that she's playing Bernadette Thompson, a gender-flipped version of Burns Thompson, April's editor-in-chief at Channel 6 news. Because this is a Michael Bay production, I guess we can expect her to be a sassy black stereotype.
Glancing in Wikipedia for this blogging, I see that Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliot is also in the cast. Seeing as to how they're filling out the Channel 6 newsroom so much, I'm guessing she's playing Irma, the Channel 6 receptionist and April's best friend.
And also in the cast is legendary character actor William Fichtner as a person "iconic in the Turtles mythology." You might remember Fichtner from his small role as the bank manager who shoots at the Joker in the opening scene of The Dark Knight. Because they haven't announced the villain yet, many are assuming he's playing Shredder, but with his distinct features, he looks more like Krang to me. I'm saying Krang.
And what of the Turtles themselves? Well, they've got largely unknowns for the Turtles. Pete Ploszek is Leonardo, who only has a couple of TV guest shots to his name. Noel Fisher is Michaelangelo, who's on the TV show Shameless. Jeremy Allen is Donatello, who has a lot of small roles to his name. And Alan Ritchson is Raphael, whose best known role is Aquaman on Smallville. Because they chose such lesser-known actors for the Turtles, I'm also guessing they'll be getting celebrities to do the voices.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Danny Woodburn, probably best known as Kramer's friend Mickey on Seinfeld, is playing Splinter.
I really have no idea what to expect from this film. With the large amount of comedic talent, and with so many members of the Channel 6 newsroom in there, I'm starting to figure it's very much going to be based on the 1987 cartoon...somewhat tongue-in-cheek, very comedic. Those who've embraced a grittier TMNT over the years might be in for a shock.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits the big screen June 4, 2014.
We're getting ready for a new Doctor on Doctor Who. The BBC just announced that Matt Smith has decided to hang up his bow tie and call it a day as the Eleventh Doctor. It seems about right. We got three series out of David Tennant, so three series seems like a good number to go out on.
As I've already blogged, I thought Series 7 was good, but not great. The dynamic just seems off now that we now longer have the Doctor/Amy/Rory trinity. Smith's final appearance as the Eleventh Doctor will be on this year's Christmas special, which will end with him regenerating into #12.
And who #12 is, no one knows. Speculation is very rampant, so I'm not even going to try.
And just to finish things off with a song, I saw on TV last night that Owl City wrote an Oreo Cookies jingle. Damn, it's catchy. And the commercial is 90 seconds long. I don't know about you, but when a commercial goes for more than 30 seconds, I start thinking, "OK, why isn't this ending?" Here it is. As I said, damn, it's catchy.
Back in my original blog, Chaos in Print, "Midnight Ramblings" was a series of entries in which I'd just recap some of the headlines in pop culture and offer my thoughts on them, all in the guise of an e-mail to my best friend. So, when I started this blog, I felt like "Midnight Ramblings" had earned a spinoff.
Now, here I am, bored on a Sunday morning, let's resurrect the original Midnight Ramblings tradition because why not?
In my frequent online window shopping, I found that Disney has a movie club, much like the Columbia Record Club of yore. I'm debating whether I should sign up for it or not. The big selling point is they have exclusives...long forgotten Disney movies that are released on DVD exclusively through this club. And there are some movies in that club I wouldn't mind getting. But then I'm roped into the club, and I have to buy x movies a year, and they've got that whole "negative billing" BS where if you forget to send back the card, they automatically send you a DVD and now you have to pay for it. I was in the Columbia Record Club all those years ago, I remember it, and it gets to be a hassle.
It all boils down to one question: how desperately do I want to own a copy of DuckTales: The Movie -- Treasure of the Lost Lamp?
So what's going on with that live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie? It's been filming in New York City for a few weeks now, and details are starting to dribble out from the set.
Our story thus far: Michael Bay is producing it through his company Platinum Dunes Productions. It's the first Platinum Dunes movie that's not a slasher film remake. Jonathan Liebesman, director of Battle: Los Angelas and Wrath of the Titans, is directing. There was much fanboy rage about a year ago when an early script was released, altering the Turtle's origins from being mutated in a sewer to being aliens from Dimension X. Bay claims that was an early draft from before he signed on, but people are wary.
There was also much geek rage when it was announced that Megan Fox would be playing legendary TMNT supporting player April O'Neil. Now, I'm not going to rage. I'm going to be cautiously optimistic. Here's why. My best friend once pointed out that Megan Fox's acting was one of the very few good things in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There's a scene early in the movie were Megan Fox and Shia LeBouf are going to have a Skype date, but LeBouf blows it off to go to a college party. And Ms. Fox is sitting there in front of her computer all sad and alone. "Megan Fox sold that scene," says my best friend. "She genuinely seemed heartbroken." So, who knows? Maybe she can pull it off.
As filming is going on, more cast members are being announced, and thanks to pictures from the set, we're learning who they're playing.
Will Arnett, still best loved as GOB on Arrested Development, was spotted on the set, and it was learned that he's playing Vernon Fenwick. For those who don't remember the original 1987 cartoon, Vernon was April's cameraman and eventual rival reporter in the Channel 6 newsroom.
Whoopi Goldberg was spotted on the set, and it was revealed that she's playing Bernadette Thompson, a gender-flipped version of Burns Thompson, April's editor-in-chief at Channel 6 news. Because this is a Michael Bay production, I guess we can expect her to be a sassy black stereotype.
Glancing in Wikipedia for this blogging, I see that Saturday Night Live cast member Abby Elliot is also in the cast. Seeing as to how they're filling out the Channel 6 newsroom so much, I'm guessing she's playing Irma, the Channel 6 receptionist and April's best friend.
And also in the cast is legendary character actor William Fichtner as a person "iconic in the Turtles mythology." You might remember Fichtner from his small role as the bank manager who shoots at the Joker in the opening scene of The Dark Knight. Because they haven't announced the villain yet, many are assuming he's playing Shredder, but with his distinct features, he looks more like Krang to me. I'm saying Krang.
And what of the Turtles themselves? Well, they've got largely unknowns for the Turtles. Pete Ploszek is Leonardo, who only has a couple of TV guest shots to his name. Noel Fisher is Michaelangelo, who's on the TV show Shameless. Jeremy Allen is Donatello, who has a lot of small roles to his name. And Alan Ritchson is Raphael, whose best known role is Aquaman on Smallville. Because they chose such lesser-known actors for the Turtles, I'm also guessing they'll be getting celebrities to do the voices.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Danny Woodburn, probably best known as Kramer's friend Mickey on Seinfeld, is playing Splinter.
I really have no idea what to expect from this film. With the large amount of comedic talent, and with so many members of the Channel 6 newsroom in there, I'm starting to figure it's very much going to be based on the 1987 cartoon...somewhat tongue-in-cheek, very comedic. Those who've embraced a grittier TMNT over the years might be in for a shock.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hits the big screen June 4, 2014.
We're getting ready for a new Doctor on Doctor Who. The BBC just announced that Matt Smith has decided to hang up his bow tie and call it a day as the Eleventh Doctor. It seems about right. We got three series out of David Tennant, so three series seems like a good number to go out on.
As I've already blogged, I thought Series 7 was good, but not great. The dynamic just seems off now that we now longer have the Doctor/Amy/Rory trinity. Smith's final appearance as the Eleventh Doctor will be on this year's Christmas special, which will end with him regenerating into #12.
And who #12 is, no one knows. Speculation is very rampant, so I'm not even going to try.
And just to finish things off with a song, I saw on TV last night that Owl City wrote an Oreo Cookies jingle. Damn, it's catchy. And the commercial is 90 seconds long. I don't know about you, but when a commercial goes for more than 30 seconds, I start thinking, "OK, why isn't this ending?" Here it is. As I said, damn, it's catchy.
Labels:
life,
Opinions I Should Keep to Myself
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin: Davy Crockett - Series 1
Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly look at my DVDs. Today, we get to one of the things that began my lifelong love of most things Disney, it's Disney's dramatization of the American folk hero, Davy Crockett. This is dated in my notes at September 15, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Early
I keep forgetting I live a lot closer to Edmonton now. Before, when I'd plan a day in the city, I'd leave at 8AM, and roll into town at around 10. Now, I leave at 8AM, and get into the city shortly before 9. This left me with a whole hour to kill before pretty much anything opened up in West Edmonton Mall. I like being at the mall so early. It's so empty and so quiet. However, there's nothing to do. So I asked myself the question many a mallrat had been asking for the past few months. "Hey, I wonder if Target's open yet?"
Yes. Yes it is. The much ballyhooed Target is upon us. Finally, we can see what inspired Dragonette to cover the Mr. Rogers theme.
And...it's a department store.
I don't know what was so special about it. It's just a department store. I will admit, when I first heard that Target was coming to Canada, a small part of me was excited, if only because I remembered all those old articles in ToyFare magazine that highlighted certain collectable action figures as being available only at Target. So, yay, those exclusives are finally coming to Canada and I won't have to pay too much money for them on eBay. I did spy some Target exclusive Justice League figures, but nothing really that made me want to shell out money.
So that's Target. A department store.
After that, most of the mall was open, so I was off to Chapters. I had resolved to finally pick up a book I had my eye on for about a year now. As you know, I'm a fan of Kevin Smith, so I figured it was finally time to pick up his memoirs, Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat Slob Who Did Good.
Smith had a few books published before, but he regarded Tough Shit as being his first real book. I mean, his first few books were just compilations of magazine articles and blogs he'd written. But Tough Shit was where he actually sat down and wrote a book. And boy, did he have a lot to write about.
The past five years have been tumultuous for Smith. Starting with Zack and Miri Make a Porno failing at the box office, followed by his feuding with Bruce Willis while making Cop Out, going back to his indie beginnings to make Red State, and then finally saying, "Fuck it all," and walking away from film-making. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it could be good, and watching him melt down a little bit on Twitter and in his podcasts, I'm finally ready to see him peel back his own layers and get to the root of what was going on.
A quick trip over to HMV, where I was a little let down. Being a fan of both Star Trek and Michael Giacchino, I was hoping to pick up the soundtrack for Star Trek Into Darkness. Not finding it on the shelves, I remember from some Star Trek websites that the actual physical album release isn't until Tuesday. So instead, I was going to get the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack, having fallen in love with it now that I've seen the movie on Blu-Ray a few times. But, they were sold out. So I figured I had to leave HMV empty handed this time.
Then I finally went to see Star Trek Into Darkness. More on that later.
After I had my fill of the mall, I had to stop by Best Buy on my way out of town. For the past couple of bill paying days, Quicken has been flashing all kind of error messages about how they're about to stop supporting the 2010 version of the program, and I'd better upgrade to 2013 if I want to keep using their software to keep track of my shrinking bank account. So I figured I should pick that up. I mean, hey, if my bank account is about to shrink to oblivion, I may as well track that shit in real time, right?
But in the middle of all that, I finally saw my most anticipated film of the summer, the latest Star Trek film, Into Darkness. I'm going to get pretty spoilery as I talk about the film, so turn away now. Well, that shouldn't be a problem for most of you. From what I gather online, I'm the only of you guys who didn't see it on opening weekend last week. No, instead of going to see it, I went home to spend time with my folks. Because I care about family more than some stupid movie.
Are you done rolling your eyes? Good. Click away now if you're in the minority that hasn't seen it.
Yes. Yes it is. The much ballyhooed Target is upon us. Finally, we can see what inspired Dragonette to cover the Mr. Rogers theme.
And...it's a department store.
I don't know what was so special about it. It's just a department store. I will admit, when I first heard that Target was coming to Canada, a small part of me was excited, if only because I remembered all those old articles in ToyFare magazine that highlighted certain collectable action figures as being available only at Target. So, yay, those exclusives are finally coming to Canada and I won't have to pay too much money for them on eBay. I did spy some Target exclusive Justice League figures, but nothing really that made me want to shell out money.
So that's Target. A department store.
After that, most of the mall was open, so I was off to Chapters. I had resolved to finally pick up a book I had my eye on for about a year now. As you know, I'm a fan of Kevin Smith, so I figured it was finally time to pick up his memoirs, Tough Shit: Life Advice from a Fat Slob Who Did Good.
Smith had a few books published before, but he regarded Tough Shit as being his first real book. I mean, his first few books were just compilations of magazine articles and blogs he'd written. But Tough Shit was where he actually sat down and wrote a book. And boy, did he have a lot to write about.
The past five years have been tumultuous for Smith. Starting with Zack and Miri Make a Porno failing at the box office, followed by his feuding with Bruce Willis while making Cop Out, going back to his indie beginnings to make Red State, and then finally saying, "Fuck it all," and walking away from film-making. I'm really looking forward to it. I think it could be good, and watching him melt down a little bit on Twitter and in his podcasts, I'm finally ready to see him peel back his own layers and get to the root of what was going on.
A quick trip over to HMV, where I was a little let down. Being a fan of both Star Trek and Michael Giacchino, I was hoping to pick up the soundtrack for Star Trek Into Darkness. Not finding it on the shelves, I remember from some Star Trek websites that the actual physical album release isn't until Tuesday. So instead, I was going to get the Wreck-It Ralph soundtrack, having fallen in love with it now that I've seen the movie on Blu-Ray a few times. But, they were sold out. So I figured I had to leave HMV empty handed this time.
Then I finally went to see Star Trek Into Darkness. More on that later.
After I had my fill of the mall, I had to stop by Best Buy on my way out of town. For the past couple of bill paying days, Quicken has been flashing all kind of error messages about how they're about to stop supporting the 2010 version of the program, and I'd better upgrade to 2013 if I want to keep using their software to keep track of my shrinking bank account. So I figured I should pick that up. I mean, hey, if my bank account is about to shrink to oblivion, I may as well track that shit in real time, right?
But in the middle of all that, I finally saw my most anticipated film of the summer, the latest Star Trek film, Into Darkness. I'm going to get pretty spoilery as I talk about the film, so turn away now. Well, that shouldn't be a problem for most of you. From what I gather online, I'm the only of you guys who didn't see it on opening weekend last week. No, instead of going to see it, I went home to spend time with my folks. Because I care about family more than some stupid movie.
Are you done rolling your eyes? Good. Click away now if you're in the minority that hasn't seen it.
Labels:
Movie Reviews,
Musings from the Mall,
Star Trek
Friday, May 24, 2013
From the Girl Who Waited to the Impossible Girl
A couple of days ago, I was cleaning out my PVR when I came across The Name of the Doctor, which is the finale to Series 7 of Doctor Who. Rather than lump it in with everything else I was blogging about, I figured the finale of Doctor Who deserved its own blog entry. So, here we are, as we reflect on the series that was.
I have to agree with one blogger I recently read that the series may have been diminished somewhat by the fact that they split it up, and in doing so, deprived us of one of it's great surprises. We had the first half back in the fall, where we said good-bye to Amy and Rory, and then we had the second half that just finished up, introducing us to the new companion, Clara Oswald. As this blogger pointed out, the fact that we knew the first half was going to be Amy and Rory's send-off kind of diminished things. Would it have not been better if we didn't know it was there end, and they kept it a surprise? Maybe, but now, who knows?
All in all, though, I felt that series 7 was a bit weaker as a whole. Maybe it's because they had too much going on, maybe it's because behind-the-scenes they've been distracted with all the 50th anniversary stuff happening later this year. All I know is this series seemed to be lacking in stand up and cheer moments like the Pandorica speech in Series 5, or the emotion of Series 6, where it felt like the final half of that series had me bawling my eyes out at the end of each episode.
Don't get me wrong, though, there was still fun to be had. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is just a silly enough premise to be enjoyable. And near the end, things got pretty good, as I found The Crimson Horror to be a fairly enjoyable mystery, and legendary fantasy author Neil Gaiman gave us another good installment with Nightmare in Silver. I think the main problem, though, was that there were too many standalone adventures, and we didn't have enough time building our overreaching mystery.
Series 5 gave us the cracks in the universe, Series 6 had the prophecy of the Silence, and Series 7's main mytharc was going to be the mystery surrounding our Impossible Girl, Clara Oswald. For those just joining us, here's the mystery. We first met her in the first episode of Series 7, where she promptly died. We met her again in the Christmas special, where she died again. So, that was the mystery that piqued the Doctor's interest. How can the same person exist in two separate time periods, with no memory of her other existence, and wind up dying both times? So the Doctor sought out another incarnation of Clara, this one in our present day, and extended the invitation for her to become his new sidekick, and in the process, study her. And it seemed like every time the Doctor took her to some kind of specialist, they all said the same thing. "Don't know what to tell you, dude. She's perfectly normal." I really don't think they did enough to build the mystery. It could have been more than having the Doctor be told "She's normal" at every crossroads.
But all was explained in our finale, The Name of the Doctor. The Doctor's enemy the Great Intelligence has taken several of the Doctor's friends hostage, and demands the Doctor meets him on the planet Trenzalor. Of course, this is bad news, because as we learned last series, Trenzalor is the location of the Doctor's tomb, and as the Doctor tells us, when a time traveler visits his own grave, the temporal paradox could destroy everything. But, the friends must be saved, so off to Trenzalor they go.
At Trenzalor, the Great Intelligence forces them into Doctor's tomb, and we see a shimmering pillar of light. As is explained, this tear in the fabric of time and space is the Doctor's remains...it's the physical manifestation of his timeline. The Great Intelligence seeks to gain his vengeance upon the Doctor by entering his timeline, and rewriting the Doctor's history. The Great Intelligence does this, and the Doctor doubles over in pain as his personal history begins to get rewritten. We see stars go out because the Doctor wasn't there to save those planets. The Great Intelligence travels throughout all of the Doctor's life, turning all the Doctor's victories into defeats.
So it's up to Clara to save the day. She knows what she has to do. She has to enter the Doctor's timeline and undo the damage done by the Great Intelligence. That's exactly what she does, and in doing so, creates multiple versions of herself across the Doctor's lifetime. That's how we saw in the first episode, that's how we saw her at Christmastime....all time travel duplicates of herself to save the Doctor.
This undoes the damage and fixes the timeline. Everything is back to normal...but Clara is now hopelessly lost in the Doctor's timeline. Risking a universe-ending temporal paradox, the Doctor enters his own timeline to pull out Clara. Of course, he's successful, and they have a tearful reunion.
I've got to admit, the creators do know how to tug at your heartstrings when they want to, as their reunion and the Doctor's rescue of Clara is one of the few moments that had my lower lip quivering as much as the last half of series 6.
But...before they can leave the Doctor's timeline and go back to adventuring across time and space, we have to have our WTF cliffhanger for the 50th anniversary special.
Popular speculation right now is that this John Hurt Doctor is the TRUE Ninth Doctor...the one who banished the Time Lords to their Time Lock and ended the Time War. But I learned a long time ago that, when it comes to this series, it's best not to speculate, as there's so much wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff going on that we should just sit back and wait for things to unfold.
November's a long ways away, so to tide us over, one last look at the Girl Who Waited, Amy Pond, as played by the incredibly cute Karen Gillam.
And one last glimpse of the Impossible Girl, Clara Oswald, played by the ridiculously adorable Jenna-Lousie Coleman.
This being the Internet, I think I'm supposed to look at those two pictures and say, "Now kiss." I'm sure that slashfic exists somewhere.
I have to agree with one blogger I recently read that the series may have been diminished somewhat by the fact that they split it up, and in doing so, deprived us of one of it's great surprises. We had the first half back in the fall, where we said good-bye to Amy and Rory, and then we had the second half that just finished up, introducing us to the new companion, Clara Oswald. As this blogger pointed out, the fact that we knew the first half was going to be Amy and Rory's send-off kind of diminished things. Would it have not been better if we didn't know it was there end, and they kept it a surprise? Maybe, but now, who knows?
All in all, though, I felt that series 7 was a bit weaker as a whole. Maybe it's because they had too much going on, maybe it's because behind-the-scenes they've been distracted with all the 50th anniversary stuff happening later this year. All I know is this series seemed to be lacking in stand up and cheer moments like the Pandorica speech in Series 5, or the emotion of Series 6, where it felt like the final half of that series had me bawling my eyes out at the end of each episode.
Don't get me wrong, though, there was still fun to be had. Dinosaurs on a Spaceship is just a silly enough premise to be enjoyable. And near the end, things got pretty good, as I found The Crimson Horror to be a fairly enjoyable mystery, and legendary fantasy author Neil Gaiman gave us another good installment with Nightmare in Silver. I think the main problem, though, was that there were too many standalone adventures, and we didn't have enough time building our overreaching mystery.
Series 5 gave us the cracks in the universe, Series 6 had the prophecy of the Silence, and Series 7's main mytharc was going to be the mystery surrounding our Impossible Girl, Clara Oswald. For those just joining us, here's the mystery. We first met her in the first episode of Series 7, where she promptly died. We met her again in the Christmas special, where she died again. So, that was the mystery that piqued the Doctor's interest. How can the same person exist in two separate time periods, with no memory of her other existence, and wind up dying both times? So the Doctor sought out another incarnation of Clara, this one in our present day, and extended the invitation for her to become his new sidekick, and in the process, study her. And it seemed like every time the Doctor took her to some kind of specialist, they all said the same thing. "Don't know what to tell you, dude. She's perfectly normal." I really don't think they did enough to build the mystery. It could have been more than having the Doctor be told "She's normal" at every crossroads.
But all was explained in our finale, The Name of the Doctor. The Doctor's enemy the Great Intelligence has taken several of the Doctor's friends hostage, and demands the Doctor meets him on the planet Trenzalor. Of course, this is bad news, because as we learned last series, Trenzalor is the location of the Doctor's tomb, and as the Doctor tells us, when a time traveler visits his own grave, the temporal paradox could destroy everything. But, the friends must be saved, so off to Trenzalor they go.
At Trenzalor, the Great Intelligence forces them into Doctor's tomb, and we see a shimmering pillar of light. As is explained, this tear in the fabric of time and space is the Doctor's remains...it's the physical manifestation of his timeline. The Great Intelligence seeks to gain his vengeance upon the Doctor by entering his timeline, and rewriting the Doctor's history. The Great Intelligence does this, and the Doctor doubles over in pain as his personal history begins to get rewritten. We see stars go out because the Doctor wasn't there to save those planets. The Great Intelligence travels throughout all of the Doctor's life, turning all the Doctor's victories into defeats.
So it's up to Clara to save the day. She knows what she has to do. She has to enter the Doctor's timeline and undo the damage done by the Great Intelligence. That's exactly what she does, and in doing so, creates multiple versions of herself across the Doctor's lifetime. That's how we saw in the first episode, that's how we saw her at Christmastime....all time travel duplicates of herself to save the Doctor.
This undoes the damage and fixes the timeline. Everything is back to normal...but Clara is now hopelessly lost in the Doctor's timeline. Risking a universe-ending temporal paradox, the Doctor enters his own timeline to pull out Clara. Of course, he's successful, and they have a tearful reunion.
I've got to admit, the creators do know how to tug at your heartstrings when they want to, as their reunion and the Doctor's rescue of Clara is one of the few moments that had my lower lip quivering as much as the last half of series 6.
But...before they can leave the Doctor's timeline and go back to adventuring across time and space, we have to have our WTF cliffhanger for the 50th anniversary special.
Popular speculation right now is that this John Hurt Doctor is the TRUE Ninth Doctor...the one who banished the Time Lords to their Time Lock and ended the Time War. But I learned a long time ago that, when it comes to this series, it's best not to speculate, as there's so much wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff going on that we should just sit back and wait for things to unfold.
November's a long ways away, so to tide us over, one last look at the Girl Who Waited, Amy Pond, as played by the incredibly cute Karen Gillam.
And one last glimpse of the Impossible Girl, Clara Oswald, played by the ridiculously adorable Jenna-Lousie Coleman.
This being the Internet, I think I'm supposed to look at those two pictures and say, "Now kiss." I'm sure that slashfic exists somewhere.
Labels:
TV Stuff
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Royal Tennenbaums
Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly gaze upon my movie library, where I watch a film and ask, "Why did I buy this one again?" Today, we get to indie darling Wes Anderson's opus The Royal Tenenbaums. This entry is originally dated September 9, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Another PVR Cleanout
I love my PVR to bits. So much good stuff on there that I can watch whenever I want! It's going to be such a shame when the introductory rate from my cable company runs out and I'll have to start paying full price, because by then, I won't be able to afford it, and I'll have to give it up. But until then, let's enjoy. Rather than one of the countless Star Trek reruns I fill it with, let's start with a Transformers rerun!
Transformers: Webworld - When I saw this one coming up late one night on TeleToon Retro, I knew I had to record it to see if this episode was as weird as I remembered. This comes from Season 3, so it's after The Transformers: The Movie. After a recent skirmish with the Autobots where Galvatron fired upon his own troops for getting in the way, the Decepticons are starting to fret that maybe their leader is just a little too psychotic to be in charge. Cyclonus, second-in-command, is loyal to a fault and refuses to overthrow Galvatron. Instead, the Qunitesons suggest that Cyclonus take Galvatron to the planet Tokulon, as its residents might be able to help Galvatron. So the Decepticons dupe Galvatron into leading a raid on Tokulon. It turns out Tokulon, the entire planet, is a psychiatric hospital, and upon setting foot on the planet, Galvatron is instantly committed to the hospital against his will. What follows is a scathing satire of the therapy trends of the 1980s...well, as scathing as a Saturday morning cartoon can get. Galvatron is made to talk about his feelings, where he just kind of chants "murder everyone" over and over. Galvatron is made to express his feelings through arts and crafts, where he builds a gun and proceeds to murder everyone. And finally, Galvatron is made to act out his feelings through role playing, where Galvatron takes the role of Galvatron and proceeds to murder everyone. Fearing that Galvatron is too far gone for therapy, the Tokulans figure they need to lobotomize Galvatron. It turns out the whole planet of Tokulon is alive, and they lobotomize by plugging Galvatron directly into their planet's mind. But, Galvatron is so psychotic, he instantly makes the whole planet psychotic, and the Tokulans have to sever the link before the planet destroys itself. In the ruckus, Cyclonus sees the error of his ways and busts out Galvatron. With what he learned from the mind link, Galvatron leads a raid to the heart of the planet, and murders the planet Tokulon. From there, the Decepticons declare war on the Tokulans and proceed to lay waste to the whole planet. Once everything on the planet is ashes, Cyclonus reminds Galvatron that the Autobots are the true enemies, and Galvatron and the Decepticons take off to hunt down the Autobots. And they lived murderously every after.
Yup. Still as weird as I remembered. I wonder what it was like in the Transformers writers room where someone stood up and said, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's put Galvatron in therapy!" Was it meant to be some slam at parents groups who didn't like the violence in the show? I guess what makes it weird is the fact that Galvatron, the enemy we've all grown to hate, is suddenly made a kind of damsel-in-distress, and Cyclonus becomes the hero. Just weird.
Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - Another famous episode of Star Trek. Despite all the critics declaring it to be a rather mediocre episode, it's fondly remembered for special guest star Frank Gorshin, still best remembered as the Riddler on the 1960s Batman, and it's very, very blunt message.
While on a mission of mercy to planet stricken by a plague, the Enterprise recovers a stolen shuttlecraft. It's lone occupant appears human, but with a peculiar skin colouration. He's split right down the middle, with his left side being black and his right side being white. The man awakens and identifies himself as Lokai, from the planet Charon. Lokai claims to be a wrongly accused individual, who fled tyranny and oppression on Charon. The Enterprise is soon joined by Bele, claiming to be a lawman from Charon and chasing down Lokai to bring him to justice. Bele, played by Gorshin, is oppositely coloured...his left side is white and his right side is black. Bele tries to hijack the Enterprise, but after a tense standoff between Bele and Captain Kirk, Bele relents and allows the Enterprise to finish its mission. In the meantime, Lokai and Bele are treated as guests on the Enterprise, and in their interactions with the crew, we learn that the source of Lokai and Bele's conflict is just good ol' fashioned racism...they can't stand each other because of their oppositely coloured skin. Once the Enterprise has cured the planet of its plague, Lokai once again hijacks the Enterprise, but this time, he's successful. The Enterprise discovers Charon is nothing but a burnt out shell of a planet...the racism that consumed the people erupted into a world war that killed everyone. Lokai and Bele are the last two remaining Charons. Kirk implores that they let go of their hatred and being new lives, but they'll have none of it. They chase each other throughout the Enterprise's corridors until they wind up in the transporter room and beam down to Charon. As the Enterprise departs, the message is summed up thusly:
Uhura>> Do you think their hatred for each other is all they ever had?
Kirk>> No, Liutenant, but it's all they have left.
I know Star Trek always prided itself on tackling real world issues in a satirical sci-fi light, but sometimes, they get just a little too blunt and heavy handed with their message. And this is a prime example of that. Slow, talky, and making sure everyone gets the point. But it's (literal) black and white premise and famous guest star have made it a staple of the original series.
I was also going to talk about the season finale of Doctor Who, but I think I'll save that for a separate blog entry.
Transformers: Webworld - When I saw this one coming up late one night on TeleToon Retro, I knew I had to record it to see if this episode was as weird as I remembered. This comes from Season 3, so it's after The Transformers: The Movie. After a recent skirmish with the Autobots where Galvatron fired upon his own troops for getting in the way, the Decepticons are starting to fret that maybe their leader is just a little too psychotic to be in charge. Cyclonus, second-in-command, is loyal to a fault and refuses to overthrow Galvatron. Instead, the Qunitesons suggest that Cyclonus take Galvatron to the planet Tokulon, as its residents might be able to help Galvatron. So the Decepticons dupe Galvatron into leading a raid on Tokulon. It turns out Tokulon, the entire planet, is a psychiatric hospital, and upon setting foot on the planet, Galvatron is instantly committed to the hospital against his will. What follows is a scathing satire of the therapy trends of the 1980s...well, as scathing as a Saturday morning cartoon can get. Galvatron is made to talk about his feelings, where he just kind of chants "murder everyone" over and over. Galvatron is made to express his feelings through arts and crafts, where he builds a gun and proceeds to murder everyone. And finally, Galvatron is made to act out his feelings through role playing, where Galvatron takes the role of Galvatron and proceeds to murder everyone. Fearing that Galvatron is too far gone for therapy, the Tokulans figure they need to lobotomize Galvatron. It turns out the whole planet of Tokulon is alive, and they lobotomize by plugging Galvatron directly into their planet's mind. But, Galvatron is so psychotic, he instantly makes the whole planet psychotic, and the Tokulans have to sever the link before the planet destroys itself. In the ruckus, Cyclonus sees the error of his ways and busts out Galvatron. With what he learned from the mind link, Galvatron leads a raid to the heart of the planet, and murders the planet Tokulon. From there, the Decepticons declare war on the Tokulans and proceed to lay waste to the whole planet. Once everything on the planet is ashes, Cyclonus reminds Galvatron that the Autobots are the true enemies, and Galvatron and the Decepticons take off to hunt down the Autobots. And they lived murderously every after.
Yup. Still as weird as I remembered. I wonder what it was like in the Transformers writers room where someone stood up and said, "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's put Galvatron in therapy!" Was it meant to be some slam at parents groups who didn't like the violence in the show? I guess what makes it weird is the fact that Galvatron, the enemy we've all grown to hate, is suddenly made a kind of damsel-in-distress, and Cyclonus becomes the hero. Just weird.
Star Trek: Let That Be Your Last Battlefield - Another famous episode of Star Trek. Despite all the critics declaring it to be a rather mediocre episode, it's fondly remembered for special guest star Frank Gorshin, still best remembered as the Riddler on the 1960s Batman, and it's very, very blunt message.
While on a mission of mercy to planet stricken by a plague, the Enterprise recovers a stolen shuttlecraft. It's lone occupant appears human, but with a peculiar skin colouration. He's split right down the middle, with his left side being black and his right side being white. The man awakens and identifies himself as Lokai, from the planet Charon. Lokai claims to be a wrongly accused individual, who fled tyranny and oppression on Charon. The Enterprise is soon joined by Bele, claiming to be a lawman from Charon and chasing down Lokai to bring him to justice. Bele, played by Gorshin, is oppositely coloured...his left side is white and his right side is black. Bele tries to hijack the Enterprise, but after a tense standoff between Bele and Captain Kirk, Bele relents and allows the Enterprise to finish its mission. In the meantime, Lokai and Bele are treated as guests on the Enterprise, and in their interactions with the crew, we learn that the source of Lokai and Bele's conflict is just good ol' fashioned racism...they can't stand each other because of their oppositely coloured skin. Once the Enterprise has cured the planet of its plague, Lokai once again hijacks the Enterprise, but this time, he's successful. The Enterprise discovers Charon is nothing but a burnt out shell of a planet...the racism that consumed the people erupted into a world war that killed everyone. Lokai and Bele are the last two remaining Charons. Kirk implores that they let go of their hatred and being new lives, but they'll have none of it. They chase each other throughout the Enterprise's corridors until they wind up in the transporter room and beam down to Charon. As the Enterprise departs, the message is summed up thusly:
Uhura>> Do you think their hatred for each other is all they ever had?
Kirk>> No, Liutenant, but it's all they have left.
I know Star Trek always prided itself on tackling real world issues in a satirical sci-fi light, but sometimes, they get just a little too blunt and heavy handed with their message. And this is a prime example of that. Slow, talky, and making sure everyone gets the point. But it's (literal) black and white premise and famous guest star have made it a staple of the original series.
I was also going to talk about the season finale of Doctor Who, but I think I'll save that for a separate blog entry.
Labels:
TV Stuff
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Jaws
And here we are, once again, with Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly watch of something in my DVD collection. Today, we get to one of those classics that I'm stunned I'd never seen before...Jaws. This entry is dated in my notes at September 8, 2012.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Monday, May 13, 2013
Superman Unbound Review
Well, for the past few weeks, I've been watching every Star Trek movie as part of my own personal preperation for Into Darkness coming out this Friday. Given it takes me about 5 months for things to move from my notes to this blog, look for my epic 11-part series on every Star Trek movie in Fishing in the Discount Bin some time this fall. But, now that that's done, I can start working my way through all the other new DVDs I've acquired over the past few weeks, such as Warner Bros. latest straight-to-DVD DC Comics movie...
Superman Unbound
Directed by James Tucker
Starring the voices of Matt Bomer, Stana Katic, John Noble, Molly Quinn, Diedrich Bader, Frances Conroy, Alexander Gould, and Stephen Root.
Backstory: While I generally enjoy these DC films, I am starting to grow weary of them being about nothing but Batman and Superman. But still, Superman seems to be a little bit tricky for most, and these films seem to be the best way to explore other facets of the Superman mythology, other than just the Batman vs. Lex Luthor or General Zod that we only seem to get at the movies. So this latest one is based on the storyline Brainiac from a few years ago, which gave us a gritty reboot for Superman's nemesis Braniac, and re-introduced many beloved aspects of the Superman universe, such as the bottled city of Kandor. And it's nice when the spotlight is shone on other members of Superman's rogues gallery. So let's see how this one fares.
Plot: A mysterious probe falls out of space and lands in Arizona. Superman goes to investigate and does battle with this alien android. When he takes the wreckage back to the Fortress of Solitude for analysis, Supergirl is quickly able to identify it as one of the robot drones of Brainiac...a ruthless alien cyborg who travels the universe, collecting information on whole planets, capturing their cities to be archived, and then destroying the planet and moving on. Supergirl knows all this because she was there when Brainiac came to Krypton and took their capital city of Kandor. Hearing all this information, Superman heads into deep space to take the battle to Brainiac before he reaches Earth. It's a journey that will put Superman back in touch with his heritage, Supergirl face-to-face with her demons, and the fate of Metropolis in the balance.
What I Liked: Lots of great outer-space action. A great subplot for Supergirl, as she is truly traumatized at having witness Kandor's destruction and the threat of Brainiac's return. Great voice acting all around. Matt Bomer makes a great Superman. Stana Katic is perhaps the sassiest Lois Lane we've seen so far in these films, and it's a great laugh seeing her give Brainiac the finger. And it's nice to see that the big screen superhero movie trend of the post-credit sequence has made its way to these animated films.
What I Didn't Like: Just can't shake the feeling that I've seen this all before. For example, it seems like Clark Kent and Lois Lane's domestic squabbles are always the subplot in these Superman films, and it's just starting to get so repetitive.
Final Verdict: Just a solid Superman adventure
3 Nibs
Bonus Materials: On this Blu-Ray, we get a running commentary with the director and several DC bigwigs, a featurette on the history of Brainiac, a featurette on the history of Kandor, 4 bonus episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, a digital comic excerpt from the original Brainiac storyline, and a preview of the next straight-to-DVD film, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.
I'm kind of looking forward to the next one. As I said, I'm growing tired of the Superman/Batman dynamic, but Flashpoint, despite having Justice League up front, is very much a Flash story, so it's nice to see the Flash taking centre stage.
And hey, DC, since you've come to adding digital comics as a bonus feature, how about making it an actual digital comic, that you download to your digital comic app? And not just projecting the pages of the comic on your TV? Just a thought.
Superman Unbound
Directed by James Tucker
Starring the voices of Matt Bomer, Stana Katic, John Noble, Molly Quinn, Diedrich Bader, Frances Conroy, Alexander Gould, and Stephen Root.
Backstory: While I generally enjoy these DC films, I am starting to grow weary of them being about nothing but Batman and Superman. But still, Superman seems to be a little bit tricky for most, and these films seem to be the best way to explore other facets of the Superman mythology, other than just the Batman vs. Lex Luthor or General Zod that we only seem to get at the movies. So this latest one is based on the storyline Brainiac from a few years ago, which gave us a gritty reboot for Superman's nemesis Braniac, and re-introduced many beloved aspects of the Superman universe, such as the bottled city of Kandor. And it's nice when the spotlight is shone on other members of Superman's rogues gallery. So let's see how this one fares.
Plot: A mysterious probe falls out of space and lands in Arizona. Superman goes to investigate and does battle with this alien android. When he takes the wreckage back to the Fortress of Solitude for analysis, Supergirl is quickly able to identify it as one of the robot drones of Brainiac...a ruthless alien cyborg who travels the universe, collecting information on whole planets, capturing their cities to be archived, and then destroying the planet and moving on. Supergirl knows all this because she was there when Brainiac came to Krypton and took their capital city of Kandor. Hearing all this information, Superman heads into deep space to take the battle to Brainiac before he reaches Earth. It's a journey that will put Superman back in touch with his heritage, Supergirl face-to-face with her demons, and the fate of Metropolis in the balance.
What I Liked: Lots of great outer-space action. A great subplot for Supergirl, as she is truly traumatized at having witness Kandor's destruction and the threat of Brainiac's return. Great voice acting all around. Matt Bomer makes a great Superman. Stana Katic is perhaps the sassiest Lois Lane we've seen so far in these films, and it's a great laugh seeing her give Brainiac the finger. And it's nice to see that the big screen superhero movie trend of the post-credit sequence has made its way to these animated films.
What I Didn't Like: Just can't shake the feeling that I've seen this all before. For example, it seems like Clark Kent and Lois Lane's domestic squabbles are always the subplot in these Superman films, and it's just starting to get so repetitive.
Final Verdict: Just a solid Superman adventure
3 Nibs
Bonus Materials: On this Blu-Ray, we get a running commentary with the director and several DC bigwigs, a featurette on the history of Brainiac, a featurette on the history of Kandor, 4 bonus episodes of Superman: The Animated Series, a digital comic excerpt from the original Brainiac storyline, and a preview of the next straight-to-DVD film, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox.
I'm kind of looking forward to the next one. As I said, I'm growing tired of the Superman/Batman dynamic, but Flashpoint, despite having Justice League up front, is very much a Flash story, so it's nice to see the Flash taking centre stage.
And hey, DC, since you've come to adding digital comics as a bonus feature, how about making it an actual digital comic, that you download to your digital comic app? And not just projecting the pages of the comic on your TV? Just a thought.
Labels:
DVD,
Movie Reviews
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