Thursday, August 18, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Inside Out
Here we are again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly ramble about one of the movies I own. This time, we get to Pixar's spectacular 2015 epic, Inside Out. I originally watched the film and wrote this on November 8, 2015.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Toy Story that Time Forgot
Here we are again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly viewing and blogging about a movie I own. Here, we get into Pixar's most recent foray into TV specials, Toy Story That Time Forgot. This is originally in my notes at November 8, 2015.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Sunday, August 07, 2016
Going Backwards
Well, there's a new superhero movie on the horizon, and that means I'd better head off to the city and see it! But then, as I looked back over my blog entries, I realized that, for the last few movies I've seen, I just ran into the theatre on the north side, and then headed home. I hadn't spent a full day in the city just bummin' around. It felt like I was due.
While perusing the movie times for Suicide Squad online, I noticed that the earliest show -- 11:30AM -- still had some pretty good seats. So I was going to the early show. I decided, then, to do things backwards. Rather then spend the day goofing around and capping it off with a movie, I'd see the movie first and then goof around.
I went straight into West Edmonton Mall. I do love arriving at the mall early, as the parking lot is pretty empty and it's easy to find a good spot. I had just enough time to browse HMV before the theatre opened. I always marvel at how HMV has changed over the years. When HMV first opened in its currently location in the late 1990s, it was very much HMV's flagship store. Both levels, nothing but CDs. Rap, country, and a few other genres of music had their own rooms...pretty much like stores-within-the-store. There was a listening lounge, which was the popular meeting spot for me and my friends. But now, that's all gone. The CD selection is getting smaller and smaller, and the focus is changing more and more to pop culture gift-ware. Can't find the latest Criterion release? Well how about a Game of Thrones coffee mug instead?
Still had some time before the theatre opened, so I hit the food court for an early lunch. The only problem with hitting West Edmonton Mall so early is there's no place to have lunch. It was 10:45, but most places didn't open or start serving lunch until 11AM. About the only place open was New York Fries, so I treated myself to their Bacon Double Cheese fries. It's their fries, with cheese curds, and then covered with cheese sauce, and topped with bacon bits and green onions. Very cheesy. Nothing like a cheese-coated cheese curd for some cheese-ception.
With a quick lunch in my belly, it was time for Suicide Squad.
Suicide Squad is a wonderful concept for the comics. Super-criminals blackmailed by the government into becoming a black-ops group. But, the sheer fact that they decided to make it into a movie struck me as very reactionary. Specifically, a reaction to Guardians of the Galaxy. When Guardians hit it big, I fully imagine that some Warner Brothers exec said, "Hey! Doesn't DC have a wacky super-team of misfits that we can make into a movie?" The reactionary attitude continued with the marketing. When Deadpool hit it big in the spring, the marketing took a shift to make the film look more irreverent, like Deadpool. And, truth be told, as the release date drew nearer, I was already burnt out on the film, as it seems like they'd been hitting us with trailers and behind-the-scenes footage and pictures and teases for years now.
With the rising influence of meta-humans in the world, ruthless government agent Amanda Waller hatches a plan: take some of the meta-humans already in custody, and blackmail them into working for her. Among those she recruits: Deadshot, the world's greatest marksman; Harley Quinn, best known as accomplice and love interest to the Joker; Captain Boomerang, the Aussie bank robber who's skilled with his country's signature weapon; El Diablo, a guy with fire powers and maybe possessed by a demon? It's never really explained. Anyway, one of Waller's earlier recruits, a sorceress known as the Enchantress, has gone rogue, is vowing revenge on Waller, and has begun laying waste to Midway City. So, Waller's team -- dubbed the Suicide Squad -- is sent in to quell the situation.
I know the reviews haven't been very good. But I didn't find the movie incredibly bad. I didn't find it incredibly good, either. It's only crime is mediocrity. As superhero movies go, it's just overwhelmingly...average. As many other critic has pointed out, I'm getting kind of tired of the "swirling vortex of doom that the heroes have to shut down."
But there is good in the movie. Margot Robbie absolutely nails Harley Quinn. She is so spot-on perfect in the role. Will Smith is also really good as Deadshot, the hitman who's trying to be a better person for his daughter. And Jared Leto is a great Joker..but we see so little of him. In fact, the opening is great, where we're introduced to all of the Squad, and we see how they were apprehended (bringing in quick cameos by Batman and the Flash, to help build that cinematic universe).
But as soon as we hit Midway City and they set out to take down the villain...yeah. It's just so average.
I give it three nibs. Full review on the website.
From there, it was out into the mall to explore, and wander, and hopefully spend not too much money. I made my way down to the Bay. With the Olympics in full swing, and the Bay being the official outfitter of Team Canada, they were actually having a bit of a fashion show, showcasing all the Olympic clothing now on sale at the Bay. I remember watching the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on TV with my Dad. Dad mentioned he actually liked some of the winter gear that Team Canada was wearing, and actually seemed mildly disappointed that the Bay was the official outfitter and, as such, you could buy all that stuff at the Bay.
And, of course, there were the Pokemon GO signs all over the place. When Pokemon GO came out and hit it big about a month ago, West Edmonton Mall had a brainstorm when they discovered that several Pokestops and Gyms were in the mall. They actually printed up giant signs pointing out where exactly they are. They've got a contest going on, too. Post your pictures of your pokemon on the mall, hastag it #pokemonWEM, and you're entered into a contest. I think this is a brilliant idea. I see lots of my Facebook friends mocking the popularity of Pokemon GO, but the part of brain that lives in the station's promotions department, I'm always thinking, "How can I use this to plug the station?" And I think West Edmonton Mall's idea is a good one.
Too bad I'm not playing Pokemon GO right now. It won't run on my phone! I currently have an iPhone 4S. I've been told that you can play Pokemon GO on a 4S, but it's buggy and crashes a lot. Let me tell you a little secret: everything's buggy and crashes a lot on my 4S. My contract expired back at Thanksgiving, so I've been looking to upgrade anyway. The 6S is a little out of my budget right now, but then I see the SE has pretty much everything under the hood that the 6S has, it's just packed into a 5's body. Or who knows? Maybe I should just wait until the fall, because it looks like the 7 is coming out sometime this fall. I don't know. And as always, I stroll through the Apple Store just made me depressed that I couldn't buy one today.
Then I started browsing in Chapters. I managed to find a trade paperback I'd been after for a while, and while I was at it, I nabbed a second one.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith, and over the years I've slowly been acquiring his comic book work. About 15 years ago, he did a critically-acclaimed run on Green Arrow. His first story, Quiver, resurrected Oliver Queen from the grave and had him once again claim the mantle of Green Arrow. His second story, The Sounds of Violence, is about Ollie re-adjusting to the world, and battling Onomatopoeia, a villain of Smith's creation. Onomatopoeia is a serial killer who targets non-powered superheroes (e.g. Green Arrow, Batman), and shows up in Star City with Team Arrow in his sights. His name comes from the fact that he only communicates by mimicking the sounds of his surroundings. Anyway, I've had the trade paperback for Quiver for some time, but have never been able to find the one for The Sounds of Violence. The one on the left is a new collection which has both of Smith's stories, so I finally got The Sounds of Violence.
The other one, Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet, is much more recent...maybe two years old. A few years ago, DC was doing a comic called Batman '66, which was a Batman comic continuing the adventures of the Adam West Batman. Since Smith has written both Batman and Green Hornet comics, and is an admitted huge fan of the 1960s Batman, he seemed to be the natural choice to write a follow-up to the legendary Batman/Green Hornet crossover episode. To help him out, Smith recruited Ralph Garman, an L.A. radio personality and occasional actor who co-hosts Smith's podcast Hollywood Babble-On, and is also a gigantic fan of the 1960s Batman. And they whipped up a tale where the Green Hornet and Kato once again find themselves in Gotham City, and cross paths with the Caped Crusader.
It was kind of funny buying them. When one of the clerks spotted me picking up a Batman comic, he started geeking out and telling me how he was at Anime-thon yesterday (the U of A Anime Club's annual anime festival), and how he was cosplaying as the Joker. And then I got up to the till and that clerk must have been new or something, as no one had come through her till with graphic novels yet. She stared at my purchases in utter fascination. She pointed to the Green Hornet. "Is this a superhero, too? I've never heard of him," she said. I replied, "Yeah, he was very popular in the 1960s." "That would explain it," said she.
And at that, I started heading home with just a twinge of disappointment. I was also hoping to pick up the Blu-Ray of Batman: The Killing Joke, which came out earlier this week. As I've said, I've kind of grown bored with all of DC and WB's straight-to-video animated films, but since The Killing Joke is one of the most acclaimed Batman comics ever, I figured it was worth picking up. But it was sold out at all my usual haunts, and since I'd spent so much money on the graphic novels, I didn't feel like going to my unusual haunts. Besides, I still have too many new Blu-Rays in my "to-watch" pile on my coffee table.
And that was it. My Saturday in the city. Had a nice, leisurely drive home, and have been blogging ever since. And now I see it's bedtime.
While perusing the movie times for Suicide Squad online, I noticed that the earliest show -- 11:30AM -- still had some pretty good seats. So I was going to the early show. I decided, then, to do things backwards. Rather then spend the day goofing around and capping it off with a movie, I'd see the movie first and then goof around.
I went straight into West Edmonton Mall. I do love arriving at the mall early, as the parking lot is pretty empty and it's easy to find a good spot. I had just enough time to browse HMV before the theatre opened. I always marvel at how HMV has changed over the years. When HMV first opened in its currently location in the late 1990s, it was very much HMV's flagship store. Both levels, nothing but CDs. Rap, country, and a few other genres of music had their own rooms...pretty much like stores-within-the-store. There was a listening lounge, which was the popular meeting spot for me and my friends. But now, that's all gone. The CD selection is getting smaller and smaller, and the focus is changing more and more to pop culture gift-ware. Can't find the latest Criterion release? Well how about a Game of Thrones coffee mug instead?
Still had some time before the theatre opened, so I hit the food court for an early lunch. The only problem with hitting West Edmonton Mall so early is there's no place to have lunch. It was 10:45, but most places didn't open or start serving lunch until 11AM. About the only place open was New York Fries, so I treated myself to their Bacon Double Cheese fries. It's their fries, with cheese curds, and then covered with cheese sauce, and topped with bacon bits and green onions. Very cheesy. Nothing like a cheese-coated cheese curd for some cheese-ception.
With a quick lunch in my belly, it was time for Suicide Squad.
Suicide Squad is a wonderful concept for the comics. Super-criminals blackmailed by the government into becoming a black-ops group. But, the sheer fact that they decided to make it into a movie struck me as very reactionary. Specifically, a reaction to Guardians of the Galaxy. When Guardians hit it big, I fully imagine that some Warner Brothers exec said, "Hey! Doesn't DC have a wacky super-team of misfits that we can make into a movie?" The reactionary attitude continued with the marketing. When Deadpool hit it big in the spring, the marketing took a shift to make the film look more irreverent, like Deadpool. And, truth be told, as the release date drew nearer, I was already burnt out on the film, as it seems like they'd been hitting us with trailers and behind-the-scenes footage and pictures and teases for years now.
With the rising influence of meta-humans in the world, ruthless government agent Amanda Waller hatches a plan: take some of the meta-humans already in custody, and blackmail them into working for her. Among those she recruits: Deadshot, the world's greatest marksman; Harley Quinn, best known as accomplice and love interest to the Joker; Captain Boomerang, the Aussie bank robber who's skilled with his country's signature weapon; El Diablo, a guy with fire powers and maybe possessed by a demon? It's never really explained. Anyway, one of Waller's earlier recruits, a sorceress known as the Enchantress, has gone rogue, is vowing revenge on Waller, and has begun laying waste to Midway City. So, Waller's team -- dubbed the Suicide Squad -- is sent in to quell the situation.
I know the reviews haven't been very good. But I didn't find the movie incredibly bad. I didn't find it incredibly good, either. It's only crime is mediocrity. As superhero movies go, it's just overwhelmingly...average. As many other critic has pointed out, I'm getting kind of tired of the "swirling vortex of doom that the heroes have to shut down."
But there is good in the movie. Margot Robbie absolutely nails Harley Quinn. She is so spot-on perfect in the role. Will Smith is also really good as Deadshot, the hitman who's trying to be a better person for his daughter. And Jared Leto is a great Joker..but we see so little of him. In fact, the opening is great, where we're introduced to all of the Squad, and we see how they were apprehended (bringing in quick cameos by Batman and the Flash, to help build that cinematic universe).
But as soon as we hit Midway City and they set out to take down the villain...yeah. It's just so average.
I give it three nibs. Full review on the website.
From there, it was out into the mall to explore, and wander, and hopefully spend not too much money. I made my way down to the Bay. With the Olympics in full swing, and the Bay being the official outfitter of Team Canada, they were actually having a bit of a fashion show, showcasing all the Olympic clothing now on sale at the Bay. I remember watching the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on TV with my Dad. Dad mentioned he actually liked some of the winter gear that Team Canada was wearing, and actually seemed mildly disappointed that the Bay was the official outfitter and, as such, you could buy all that stuff at the Bay.
And, of course, there were the Pokemon GO signs all over the place. When Pokemon GO came out and hit it big about a month ago, West Edmonton Mall had a brainstorm when they discovered that several Pokestops and Gyms were in the mall. They actually printed up giant signs pointing out where exactly they are. They've got a contest going on, too. Post your pictures of your pokemon on the mall, hastag it #pokemonWEM, and you're entered into a contest. I think this is a brilliant idea. I see lots of my Facebook friends mocking the popularity of Pokemon GO, but the part of brain that lives in the station's promotions department, I'm always thinking, "How can I use this to plug the station?" And I think West Edmonton Mall's idea is a good one.
Too bad I'm not playing Pokemon GO right now. It won't run on my phone! I currently have an iPhone 4S. I've been told that you can play Pokemon GO on a 4S, but it's buggy and crashes a lot. Let me tell you a little secret: everything's buggy and crashes a lot on my 4S. My contract expired back at Thanksgiving, so I've been looking to upgrade anyway. The 6S is a little out of my budget right now, but then I see the SE has pretty much everything under the hood that the 6S has, it's just packed into a 5's body. Or who knows? Maybe I should just wait until the fall, because it looks like the 7 is coming out sometime this fall. I don't know. And as always, I stroll through the Apple Store just made me depressed that I couldn't buy one today.
Then I started browsing in Chapters. I managed to find a trade paperback I'd been after for a while, and while I was at it, I nabbed a second one.
It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith, and over the years I've slowly been acquiring his comic book work. About 15 years ago, he did a critically-acclaimed run on Green Arrow. His first story, Quiver, resurrected Oliver Queen from the grave and had him once again claim the mantle of Green Arrow. His second story, The Sounds of Violence, is about Ollie re-adjusting to the world, and battling Onomatopoeia, a villain of Smith's creation. Onomatopoeia is a serial killer who targets non-powered superheroes (e.g. Green Arrow, Batman), and shows up in Star City with Team Arrow in his sights. His name comes from the fact that he only communicates by mimicking the sounds of his surroundings. Anyway, I've had the trade paperback for Quiver for some time, but have never been able to find the one for The Sounds of Violence. The one on the left is a new collection which has both of Smith's stories, so I finally got The Sounds of Violence.
The other one, Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet, is much more recent...maybe two years old. A few years ago, DC was doing a comic called Batman '66, which was a Batman comic continuing the adventures of the Adam West Batman. Since Smith has written both Batman and Green Hornet comics, and is an admitted huge fan of the 1960s Batman, he seemed to be the natural choice to write a follow-up to the legendary Batman/Green Hornet crossover episode. To help him out, Smith recruited Ralph Garman, an L.A. radio personality and occasional actor who co-hosts Smith's podcast Hollywood Babble-On, and is also a gigantic fan of the 1960s Batman. And they whipped up a tale where the Green Hornet and Kato once again find themselves in Gotham City, and cross paths with the Caped Crusader.
It was kind of funny buying them. When one of the clerks spotted me picking up a Batman comic, he started geeking out and telling me how he was at Anime-thon yesterday (the U of A Anime Club's annual anime festival), and how he was cosplaying as the Joker. And then I got up to the till and that clerk must have been new or something, as no one had come through her till with graphic novels yet. She stared at my purchases in utter fascination. She pointed to the Green Hornet. "Is this a superhero, too? I've never heard of him," she said. I replied, "Yeah, he was very popular in the 1960s." "That would explain it," said she.
And at that, I started heading home with just a twinge of disappointment. I was also hoping to pick up the Blu-Ray of Batman: The Killing Joke, which came out earlier this week. As I've said, I've kind of grown bored with all of DC and WB's straight-to-video animated films, but since The Killing Joke is one of the most acclaimed Batman comics ever, I figured it was worth picking up. But it was sold out at all my usual haunts, and since I'd spent so much money on the graphic novels, I didn't feel like going to my unusual haunts. Besides, I still have too many new Blu-Rays in my "to-watch" pile on my coffee table.
And that was it. My Saturday in the city. Had a nice, leisurely drive home, and have been blogging ever since. And now I see it's bedtime.
Thursday, August 04, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - X-Men: Days of Future Past -- The Rogue Cut
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly watch of of a movie I own, followed by blogging about it. As I elaborate on in this week's entry, I've never been that obsessive about director's cuts, but on the other hand, it gives me a great chance to re-visit a film I love. And since I loved X-Men: Days of Future Past, I picked up its director's cut, The Rogue Cut, when I saw it for $10. This showed up in my notes at November 1, 2016.
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Fishing in the Discout Bin
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Tomorrowland
Here we are again, on Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly blog about a movie I own. This time out, we get to one of Disney's underperfomrers from last year, Tomorrowland. This is in my notes at October 25, 2015.
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Fishing in the Discout Bin
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Nerding Out Over the Comic Con Trailers
Alrightie, with the San Diego Comic Con this past weekend, there's been a ton of new trailers released, and these are the ones I feel like blogging about!
First up, Wonder Woman!
My thoughts: Finally! Been craving a Wonder Woman movie for so long! I mean, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are the Big 3 of DC Comics. The fact that this trinity has gone incomplete on the big screen for so long is blasphemous! Hopefully, Gal Gadot will able to pull this off in the lead. I mean, as awesome as she was in Batman v Superman, we got to see so little. So, I'm hoping she can build on that. Chris Pine looks like he's going to be a pretty good Steve Trevor, and I'm sure he'll bring the same amount of cockiness to the role that he brings to Captain Kirk. The World War I setting intrigues me, as Wonder Woman was born in World War II. Since I love it when superhero films are done as period pieces, I'm curious to see what the World War I setting brings to the table. Colour me excited!
Next up, Justice League!
My thoughts: Zack Snyder is back directing, and he assures us that he learned his lesson from Batman v Superman and he'll be lightening the mood this time out. It's already showing in this trailer. I'm really diggin' the scenes with Ezra Miller as the Flash. As The Flash is one of my favourite TV shows right now, I can see Miller's doing a lot of things similar to Grant Gustin on TV. What he's going to do differently, we'll have to wait for the movie. Looks like much like the cartoon, the Flash is going to be the jokester in the League. "Arthur Curry. I hear you talk to fish." Trademark "Ben Affleck smartass" smile. I love it. Hopes got a little bit higher.
Pallet cleanser from the superhero films: Kong: Skull Island!
My thoughts: When this was announced a couple years ago, people were like, "Really? Another King Kong remake?" But, my excitement has gone up a bit when it was announced this is now in the same cinematic universe as 2014's Godzilla reboot, and they're setting up Kong vs. Godzilla for 2020. Based on that, I see they've really increased Kong's size in this film. I think they're skipping the New York stuff altogether, and this is mostly going to be on Skull Island. My curiosity is piqued.
Across the street to Marvel: Doctor Strange!
My thoughts: Marvel can do no wrong at this point. Might be worth spending the extra money to see it in 3D because I'm sure of those visuals are going to look trippy as hell.
First up, Wonder Woman!
My thoughts: Finally! Been craving a Wonder Woman movie for so long! I mean, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are the Big 3 of DC Comics. The fact that this trinity has gone incomplete on the big screen for so long is blasphemous! Hopefully, Gal Gadot will able to pull this off in the lead. I mean, as awesome as she was in Batman v Superman, we got to see so little. So, I'm hoping she can build on that. Chris Pine looks like he's going to be a pretty good Steve Trevor, and I'm sure he'll bring the same amount of cockiness to the role that he brings to Captain Kirk. The World War I setting intrigues me, as Wonder Woman was born in World War II. Since I love it when superhero films are done as period pieces, I'm curious to see what the World War I setting brings to the table. Colour me excited!
Next up, Justice League!
My thoughts: Zack Snyder is back directing, and he assures us that he learned his lesson from Batman v Superman and he'll be lightening the mood this time out. It's already showing in this trailer. I'm really diggin' the scenes with Ezra Miller as the Flash. As The Flash is one of my favourite TV shows right now, I can see Miller's doing a lot of things similar to Grant Gustin on TV. What he's going to do differently, we'll have to wait for the movie. Looks like much like the cartoon, the Flash is going to be the jokester in the League. "Arthur Curry. I hear you talk to fish." Trademark "Ben Affleck smartass" smile. I love it. Hopes got a little bit higher.
Pallet cleanser from the superhero films: Kong: Skull Island!
My thoughts: When this was announced a couple years ago, people were like, "Really? Another King Kong remake?" But, my excitement has gone up a bit when it was announced this is now in the same cinematic universe as 2014's Godzilla reboot, and they're setting up Kong vs. Godzilla for 2020. Based on that, I see they've really increased Kong's size in this film. I think they're skipping the New York stuff altogether, and this is mostly going to be on Skull Island. My curiosity is piqued.
Across the street to Marvel: Doctor Strange!
My thoughts: Marvel can do no wrong at this point. Might be worth spending the extra money to see it in 3D because I'm sure of those visuals are going to look trippy as hell.
Labels:
The Trailer Park
Monday, July 25, 2016
Star Trek Nerding Out: Beyond and Discovery
Well, I had myself a pretty busy weekend. Saturday, I was live on location at Jarvie's Family Days, where I got to take in the lawnmower races. And Sunday...well, I had to take Sunday to go see Star Trek Beyond.
Now, I'll be honest. Expectations were pretty low as I went into Star Trek Beyond. I did not like Star Trek Into Darkness, as I have blogged and podcasted extensively about. The trailers, with their dirt bike races and Beastie Boys soundtrack, left me cold. But still, after all this, Star Trek remains my first fandom, so I knew I had to make it out opening weekend.
And much like Ghostbusters, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I FREAKIN' LOVED IT!
Seriously. This is the most fun I've had with a Star Trek film ever since, well, the first film in this reboot series. There is no gigantic callback to a better Star Trek film that pulls you out of the action...this is free to be its own thing. However, there are also lots of Star Trek Easter Eggs, like sprinkles on your sundae, that just make everything sweeter. (A lot of them, shockingly, have to do with Star Trek: Enterprise. I'm re-watching that one on Netflix right now, so maybe it was just top of mind.)
The starship Enterprise is halfway through its 5 year mission of deep space exploration, and a certain malaise is starting to envelop the crew. Kirk and Spock are starting to entertain other offers. While make a stop at Yorktown -- Starfleet's most remote starbase -- to re-stock and for some shore leave, a distress call is received from a nearby unexplored nebula. Since the Enterprise is the most advanced ship there, our heroes go off to investigate. But, it turns out to be a trap, and soon, the Enterprise is destroyed, and our heroes are stuck on an unknown planet, littered with alien technology, and at the mercy of a warlord named Krall. With the help of Jaylah, an escapee from Krall's wrath, Kirk, Spock, Bones, and all the rest valiantly try to stop Krall. Just who is Krall and why does he have such a beef with the Federation? One of the many mysteries out here, in the final frontier.
This is an episode of the original series writ large. Krall's true identity and motivations are straight out of many classic original series episodes. And Idris Elba plays him as a classic villain. Sophia Boutilla as Jaylah is a fun new addition to our crew. The whole thing is just fun.
While stranded on the planet, Spock and Bones get paired off, and we're treated to some classic Spock and Bones dialogue. And Leonard Nimoy's death is worked into the show quite poetically.
If I have one problem, it's got to be the fight scenes. They're so dark that it's tough to follow the action.
I give it 3.5 Nibs! Full review over on the website.
I've got another blog entry in me geeking out about all the trailers that came out of San Diego Comic Con, and I was going to save this for that. But since I'm talking Star Trek, this seems like a good place to do it.
We have a title and name of the ship for the new Star Trek series. Get ready for...Star Trek: Discovery.
A week or so ago, they did announce how we're getting it in Canada. I think we're the only country in the world where it's going to be on broadcast television. They'll be showing it on Space, with episodes eventually making their way to Crave TV, and Netflix too, if I read the news release correctly.
To unveil the title, they also put together this announcement teaser that was shown at San Diego. And this is a deep cut Star Trek reference here.
That ship, my friends, is the McQuarrie Enterprise.
Ralph McQuarrie, of course, is the legendary artist that designed the Star Wars universe. The ships, the droids, Darth Vader's armor...all McQuarrie. Now, back in the 1970s, McQuarrie was commissioned by Paramount to redesign the Enterprise from of their many failed Star Trek reboots. And that's what McQuarrie came up with!
I know, a lot of people are complaining about the quality of CGI in that clip. The creators have already said that they just threw that together in 3 weeks to have something to show at San Diego, and that the finished TV series will look much better.
And already there's rampant fan speculation. Because the ship's registry number is NCC-1031, many are wondering if this'll focus on Section 31, Starfleet's shadowy Black Ops group that was first introduced on Deep Space Nine.
We'll know when the series premieres! Star Trek: Discovery starts filming this fall, for a January 2017 premiere.
Now, I'll be honest. Expectations were pretty low as I went into Star Trek Beyond. I did not like Star Trek Into Darkness, as I have blogged and podcasted extensively about. The trailers, with their dirt bike races and Beastie Boys soundtrack, left me cold. But still, after all this, Star Trek remains my first fandom, so I knew I had to make it out opening weekend.
And much like Ghostbusters, I am pleasantly surprised at how much I FREAKIN' LOVED IT!
Seriously. This is the most fun I've had with a Star Trek film ever since, well, the first film in this reboot series. There is no gigantic callback to a better Star Trek film that pulls you out of the action...this is free to be its own thing. However, there are also lots of Star Trek Easter Eggs, like sprinkles on your sundae, that just make everything sweeter. (A lot of them, shockingly, have to do with Star Trek: Enterprise. I'm re-watching that one on Netflix right now, so maybe it was just top of mind.)
The starship Enterprise is halfway through its 5 year mission of deep space exploration, and a certain malaise is starting to envelop the crew. Kirk and Spock are starting to entertain other offers. While make a stop at Yorktown -- Starfleet's most remote starbase -- to re-stock and for some shore leave, a distress call is received from a nearby unexplored nebula. Since the Enterprise is the most advanced ship there, our heroes go off to investigate. But, it turns out to be a trap, and soon, the Enterprise is destroyed, and our heroes are stuck on an unknown planet, littered with alien technology, and at the mercy of a warlord named Krall. With the help of Jaylah, an escapee from Krall's wrath, Kirk, Spock, Bones, and all the rest valiantly try to stop Krall. Just who is Krall and why does he have such a beef with the Federation? One of the many mysteries out here, in the final frontier.
This is an episode of the original series writ large. Krall's true identity and motivations are straight out of many classic original series episodes. And Idris Elba plays him as a classic villain. Sophia Boutilla as Jaylah is a fun new addition to our crew. The whole thing is just fun.
While stranded on the planet, Spock and Bones get paired off, and we're treated to some classic Spock and Bones dialogue. And Leonard Nimoy's death is worked into the show quite poetically.
If I have one problem, it's got to be the fight scenes. They're so dark that it's tough to follow the action.
I give it 3.5 Nibs! Full review over on the website.
I've got another blog entry in me geeking out about all the trailers that came out of San Diego Comic Con, and I was going to save this for that. But since I'm talking Star Trek, this seems like a good place to do it.
We have a title and name of the ship for the new Star Trek series. Get ready for...Star Trek: Discovery.
A week or so ago, they did announce how we're getting it in Canada. I think we're the only country in the world where it's going to be on broadcast television. They'll be showing it on Space, with episodes eventually making their way to Crave TV, and Netflix too, if I read the news release correctly.
To unveil the title, they also put together this announcement teaser that was shown at San Diego. And this is a deep cut Star Trek reference here.
That ship, my friends, is the McQuarrie Enterprise.
Ralph McQuarrie, of course, is the legendary artist that designed the Star Wars universe. The ships, the droids, Darth Vader's armor...all McQuarrie. Now, back in the 1970s, McQuarrie was commissioned by Paramount to redesign the Enterprise from of their many failed Star Trek reboots. And that's what McQuarrie came up with!
I know, a lot of people are complaining about the quality of CGI in that clip. The creators have already said that they just threw that together in 3 weeks to have something to show at San Diego, and that the finished TV series will look much better.
And already there's rampant fan speculation. Because the ship's registry number is NCC-1031, many are wondering if this'll focus on Section 31, Starfleet's shadowy Black Ops group that was first introduced on Deep Space Nine.
We'll know when the series premieres! Star Trek: Discovery starts filming this fall, for a January 2017 premiere.
Labels:
Movie Reviews,
Star Trek
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Avengers: Age of Ultron
Here we go again, on Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the too-many Blu-Rays I own. Today, we get to one of last summer's biggest movies, Avengers: Age of Ultron. This is in my notes at October 17, 2016.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Ghostbusters Review Is Online
Went to the city yesterday, but really not much to blog about. Went in, bought pants, saw Ghostbusters, treated myself to a Blizzard at Dairy Queen, came home. So really, all I want to do is plug my review of Ghostbusters, which is now up over on my main site!
The short version: I was pleasantly surprised at how much I FREAKIN' LOVED IT! The best compliment I can give it is it's a Ghostbusters movie. Let's face it: an established formula exists for Ghostbusters, and it sticks to the formula while giving us some great new heroes to root for and few new spins on said formula. I really, really liked it, gang.
Anyway, full review on the site!
The short version: I was pleasantly surprised at how much I FREAKIN' LOVED IT! The best compliment I can give it is it's a Ghostbusters movie. Let's face it: an established formula exists for Ghostbusters, and it sticks to the formula while giving us some great new heroes to root for and few new spins on said formula. I really, really liked it, gang.
Anyway, full review on the site!
Labels:
Movie Reviews
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Blue Thunder
Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I bloggitty blog about a movie I own and have recently re-watchity watched. My mother once pointed out that the 1980s seemed to be all about the super-vehicles, so we get to the famous super-helicopter movie, Blue Thunder. I originally watched this and jotted down my notes on October 17, 2015.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
The Houses of Entwistle School
I come from Entwistle, so I went to the appropriately-named Entwistle School. One of the few schools in the Parkland School Division that's Kindergarten through Grade 9. What most people don't remember is that Entwistle School is divided into four teams -- much like the houses in the Harry Potter franchise. Gold, Green, Red and Blue.
It all started in Grade One. Early in the year, my teacher, Mrs. Maddock, told us about the four teams, that we'd already been sorted into our teams. So to start the school year, we were having a giant meeting of all our teams. When she started dividing us up, she told me that I had been sorted into Gold.
Gold was meeting in the science lab, down in the junior high end of the school. When you're just 6 years old, that's a long, scary walk from one end of the school to the other. We found our seats, and the meeting began. We had to get to important business like electing a Team Captain. I don't remember who it was, but it was Grade 9 kid. And we also had to decide on a team cheer. We eventually decided on "Gold is Bold!," once it was explained to us littler kids what "bold" meant.
Despite the pomp and circumstance of that meeting, the teams never really played a big part in everyday school life. I have no memories of my teachers looking at me and declaring "10 points from Gold!" whenever I started acting up. My friends who were also in Gold would occasionally look at me, and we'd all declare "Gold is Bold!" About the only time it ever really mattered was on Track & Field Day. I don't know if it was just my school, or all schools, but once a year, near the end of the school year, all normal classes would be suspended as we all went sprinting, and threw a shot-put, and all those other sports that people only care about when the Olympics rolled around. That was also the only time that our teams would interact. I'd occasionally recognize the Team Captain, and we'd give each other a little "Gold is Bold."
But things changed around the third grade. At Track & Field Day that year, my teacher, Mrs. Strocher, was asking us what our teams were. She asked what my team was. "Gold is Bold," I blurted out.
She consulted her clipboard. "Says here you're in Green."
I was puzzled. "No...pretty sure I'm in Gold."
"Nope. Green." End of discussion.
I was perplexed. There was no meeting! There was no electing of a Team Captain! Did Green even have a cheer? Was this legal? Didn't matter. Now I was in Green.
Grade Three was around the time we got a new principal, Mr. Thiessen. No doubt the restructuring was his doing. Mr. Thiessen was a bit of a physical fitness nut. He loved boasting that he was once an assistant coach for the B.C. Lions. And so, Track & Field Day began expanding. When the Winter Olympics in Calgary rolled around, we held our own Winter Games. Now the Winter Games became a thing. One year, Track & Field Day was rained out, so it was postponed to the following September. Now the Autumn Games became a thing. No team meetings at the start of the year...no devising of clever cheers. Your team was announced at the Autumn Games and that was it.
Grade 7 soon dawned, and with it, junior high. Things really change in junior high as the hormones start kicking in. Now, instead of teams, we were separating into cliques. It was a small school, and for a love of Star Trek and other similar pursuits, I was branded the geek. No one wanted to hang out with the geek. That's when I started learning what "Participant" on all those ribbons I won at Track & Field Day meant, and that they were nothing to be proud of. That's when I started concluding that physical education was simply designed to humiliate students like me. That's when Track & Field Day started becoming my Ditch Day.
Luckily, I had understanding parents. They started trusting me more and more to make my own decisions about my education. When Track & Field Day was coming up, I didn't have to make any grand, Ferris Bueler-esque schemes to get out of it. I would just say I didn't want to go to school because it was Track & Field Day, and they'd roll with it. Made a lot of great discoveries on those Ditch Days. That's where I first discovered Al Music.
Grade 9 soon drew to a close, and with it, my time at Entwistle School. Going to high school meant going to the next town over. But that final day of Grade 9 was like every final day of school. There was a massive assembly were all the awards for the year were handed out. I always felt a twinge of sadness at the awards assembly. Don't get me wrong, I always made out pretty good. But all my awards were in the fields of academics, and I'd always come home with a good amount of certificates, testimonials, and plaques. But never a trophy. Only athletes won trophies. I would have loved to have won a trophy...just once.
During the ceremonies, my science teacher, Mr. Jamison, came up to me, and quietly got my attention. "Psst! Mark!"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"What team are you on?"
"We still do this?"
"Yeah. What team are you on?"
"Last I checked, I was in Green."
"Well, now you're in Blue."
School would be done forever in just another half-hour, so I realized, at this point, it no longer mattered what team I was on. Mr. Jamison went back up to the front, and slipped a note to Mr. Thiessen. Mr. Thiessen reviewed the note, then turned on the mic. "The next award goes to the best athletes in the school. This was the team that did the best at the Autumn Games, the Winter Games, and Track & Field Day. And I'm pleased to announce, that this year, the winner is the Blue Team! I now call upon the Team Captain, Mark Cappis, to come up here and accept the trophy."
That was the only time I ever got to hoist a trophy at the awards assembly. It sat on my lap for the rest of the assembly, and at the end, I had to give it back to the staff to go back in the trophy case. And with that, my time at Entwistle School came to an end.
I don't know why this story's been on my mind lately. Maybe because it's the end of the school year. Maybe it's because the Olympics are right around the corner, and "Gold is Bold" is a nice sentiment for the athletes. Maybe it's because I work with a lot of Harry Potter fans, and they keep asking me what House I belong to. (I finally took the online quiz at the official Harry Potter website...I'm in the one with all the bad guys.)
But I do know I went to a small school with a tight budget. There were no clubs for me to join. There were no extra-curriculars outside of the sports teams. There was nothing at school that I ever felt like I belonged to.
Except Gold.
It all started in Grade One. Early in the year, my teacher, Mrs. Maddock, told us about the four teams, that we'd already been sorted into our teams. So to start the school year, we were having a giant meeting of all our teams. When she started dividing us up, she told me that I had been sorted into Gold.
Gold was meeting in the science lab, down in the junior high end of the school. When you're just 6 years old, that's a long, scary walk from one end of the school to the other. We found our seats, and the meeting began. We had to get to important business like electing a Team Captain. I don't remember who it was, but it was Grade 9 kid. And we also had to decide on a team cheer. We eventually decided on "Gold is Bold!," once it was explained to us littler kids what "bold" meant.
Despite the pomp and circumstance of that meeting, the teams never really played a big part in everyday school life. I have no memories of my teachers looking at me and declaring "10 points from Gold!" whenever I started acting up. My friends who were also in Gold would occasionally look at me, and we'd all declare "Gold is Bold!" About the only time it ever really mattered was on Track & Field Day. I don't know if it was just my school, or all schools, but once a year, near the end of the school year, all normal classes would be suspended as we all went sprinting, and threw a shot-put, and all those other sports that people only care about when the Olympics rolled around. That was also the only time that our teams would interact. I'd occasionally recognize the Team Captain, and we'd give each other a little "Gold is Bold."
But things changed around the third grade. At Track & Field Day that year, my teacher, Mrs. Strocher, was asking us what our teams were. She asked what my team was. "Gold is Bold," I blurted out.
She consulted her clipboard. "Says here you're in Green."
I was puzzled. "No...pretty sure I'm in Gold."
"Nope. Green." End of discussion.
I was perplexed. There was no meeting! There was no electing of a Team Captain! Did Green even have a cheer? Was this legal? Didn't matter. Now I was in Green.
Grade Three was around the time we got a new principal, Mr. Thiessen. No doubt the restructuring was his doing. Mr. Thiessen was a bit of a physical fitness nut. He loved boasting that he was once an assistant coach for the B.C. Lions. And so, Track & Field Day began expanding. When the Winter Olympics in Calgary rolled around, we held our own Winter Games. Now the Winter Games became a thing. One year, Track & Field Day was rained out, so it was postponed to the following September. Now the Autumn Games became a thing. No team meetings at the start of the year...no devising of clever cheers. Your team was announced at the Autumn Games and that was it.
Grade 7 soon dawned, and with it, junior high. Things really change in junior high as the hormones start kicking in. Now, instead of teams, we were separating into cliques. It was a small school, and for a love of Star Trek and other similar pursuits, I was branded the geek. No one wanted to hang out with the geek. That's when I started learning what "Participant" on all those ribbons I won at Track & Field Day meant, and that they were nothing to be proud of. That's when I started concluding that physical education was simply designed to humiliate students like me. That's when Track & Field Day started becoming my Ditch Day.
Luckily, I had understanding parents. They started trusting me more and more to make my own decisions about my education. When Track & Field Day was coming up, I didn't have to make any grand, Ferris Bueler-esque schemes to get out of it. I would just say I didn't want to go to school because it was Track & Field Day, and they'd roll with it. Made a lot of great discoveries on those Ditch Days. That's where I first discovered Al Music.
Grade 9 soon drew to a close, and with it, my time at Entwistle School. Going to high school meant going to the next town over. But that final day of Grade 9 was like every final day of school. There was a massive assembly were all the awards for the year were handed out. I always felt a twinge of sadness at the awards assembly. Don't get me wrong, I always made out pretty good. But all my awards were in the fields of academics, and I'd always come home with a good amount of certificates, testimonials, and plaques. But never a trophy. Only athletes won trophies. I would have loved to have won a trophy...just once.
During the ceremonies, my science teacher, Mr. Jamison, came up to me, and quietly got my attention. "Psst! Mark!"
"Yeah, what's up?"
"What team are you on?"
"We still do this?"
"Yeah. What team are you on?"
"Last I checked, I was in Green."
"Well, now you're in Blue."
School would be done forever in just another half-hour, so I realized, at this point, it no longer mattered what team I was on. Mr. Jamison went back up to the front, and slipped a note to Mr. Thiessen. Mr. Thiessen reviewed the note, then turned on the mic. "The next award goes to the best athletes in the school. This was the team that did the best at the Autumn Games, the Winter Games, and Track & Field Day. And I'm pleased to announce, that this year, the winner is the Blue Team! I now call upon the Team Captain, Mark Cappis, to come up here and accept the trophy."
That was the only time I ever got to hoist a trophy at the awards assembly. It sat on my lap for the rest of the assembly, and at the end, I had to give it back to the staff to go back in the trophy case. And with that, my time at Entwistle School came to an end.
I don't know why this story's been on my mind lately. Maybe because it's the end of the school year. Maybe it's because the Olympics are right around the corner, and "Gold is Bold" is a nice sentiment for the athletes. Maybe it's because I work with a lot of Harry Potter fans, and they keep asking me what House I belong to. (I finally took the online quiz at the official Harry Potter website...I'm in the one with all the bad guys.)
But I do know I went to a small school with a tight budget. There were no clubs for me to join. There were no extra-curriculars outside of the sports teams. There was nothing at school that I ever felt like I belonged to.
Except Gold.
Labels:
life
Monday, July 11, 2016
Long Deserved Long Weekend
As I keep explaining to my friends and family, summer is a busy time for us radio folk. We're live on location from just about every fair and festival that comes along, and it's no exception for us small market guys. For all of June, it seemed like I was on location from another small town fair. I actually enjoy it, because you get to be outside on nice days, and occasionally slip away for a corn dog or to check out the events. But it does get taxing. Everything peaked with Canada Day. Once that was in the bag, I decided to take July 8 off and treat myself to a long weekend.
I really should take more time off, because I love going to the city in the middle of a weekday. Things are so quiet. You can go at your own pace. And I figured it was the perfect time to get some chores done. My car was due for an oil change, so I got that done. With that came a twinge of sadness. See, I hang a new air freshener in my car every time I get an oil change. About two years ago, at Canadian Tire, I grabbed a pack of Star Wars air fresheners. And with this oil change, the last Star Wars air freshener was done. Went to Canadian Tire across the way to get more, but they had none. So I went with the traditional pine tree.
From there, it was off to my usual haunts. Went browsing for new Blu-Rays. With a new Star Trek movie on the horizon, of course all the Star Trek movies have been re-released. I was on the fence about picking up the director's cut of Wrath of Khan, but when I saw it for just $10, I figured, "Why not?"
B
A friend on Facebook asked if it was worth getting Wrath of Khan: The Director's Cut. My reasoning was yes. The original DVD release featured just the director's cut. The original Blu-Ray featured just the theatrical version. This new Blu-Ray has both versions, so it's the only way to get the director's cut in hi-def. Plus, if you're more into the technical side of things, Wrath of Khan was the only Star Trek film where Paramount went back to the original negative and created a new hi-def transfer. All the other films, all they did was up-convert the DVDs. So it's also the best-looking version of Wrath of Khan. Other than that, it's got all the bonus features of the previous DVD and Blu-Ray. And besides...just $10.
Then over to West Edmonton Mall. I was surprised. A little busier than I expected for a Friday afternoon, but then I remembered that it is the start of summer, so the tourists are probably there. West Edmonton Mall is no longer the largest shopping mall in the world -- I think there are, like, 5 in China that are ahead of it on the list -- but it's still the largest in North America, and that still makes it a pretty significant tourist draw.
Did my usual browsing, but again, there's not much out there right now that I truly want. Yeah, there's some Blu-Rays I saw at HMV, but I felt no burning passion to own them, you know? I don't know if it's depression or maturity, but I no longer feel the desire to blow entire paychecks on new Blu-Rays. So I left HMV empty-handed.
But I was going upstairs to see a movie. Pixar geek that I am, I had to see Finding Dory, and this was my first chance to do so. Now, on the grand list of Pixar sequels that I desire, Finding Dory was pretty low on the list. I really didn't think we needed a Finding Nemo 2. I mean, they found Nemo. Where else can we go with this story?
Well, the creators say their entire inspiration came from one line in the original film. When Dory first met Marlin, she describes her condition thusly: "I suffer from short-term memory loss. It runs in my family. At least, I think it does. Where are they?" So their entire inspiration was that Dory wandered off when she was a little girl, and thanks to her short-term memory loss, forgot her way home. So that's the movie. Dory begins having flashes of memory of her parents and how to get home, so she, Marlin and Nemo set out to get her home.
This movie is definitely a lot more melancholy in tone than the first one. It's shown in the colour palette, it's shown in Thomas Newman's score, and it works. They wind up adding a real undercurrent of tragedy to Dory as she remembers her family, struggles vainly to hold on to those memories so she can get home, and then it just vanishes. But the movie's still fun. We get some fun new characters, like Hank the septopus (an octopus that lost an arm), and the cheery Destiny the whale shark and Baily the beluga whale. I would put it at Pixar's second-best sequel. Toy Story 3 still had the bigger emotional gut-punch. I give it 3.5 Nibs. Full review over on the main site.
That was Friday. And I was off again to the city on Saturday. For you see, Thursday was my birthday, and it's become traditional in my family to meet up with my parents, and they treat me to dinner and a movie. What was my birthday movie this year? Independence Day: Resurgence. The first Independence Day was my birthday movie 20 years ago, so it just made sense.
Independence Day: Resurgence was fun, but.... I have the same complaint about it that I had about the remakes of RoboCop and Total Recall. It was a little too slick...a little too polished. The original had some kind of grit that the sequel was lacking.
I fully predicted Independence Day: Resurgence to be this year's Jurassic World: just one great big, gigantic 1990s nostalgia trip. But whereas Jurassic World felt free to get down in the muck of nostalgia and wallow, Independence Day: Resurgence seems more like a perfunctory checklist of things people liked about the original. Landmark destruction? Check. President gives an inspirational speech? Check. Jeff Goldblum? Check.
And the strange thing is, I kinda wish the movie was longer. The original film had some breathing room, and we actually got a chance to get to know the characters. In this one, we barely get a chance to meet the new saviors of humanity.
So, yeah. It was fun, but... I give it 3 Nibs. Full review over on the website.
Then my parents took me to dinner at the Keg. Wow. I know, I know. I'm enough of a small town rube that I consider the Olive Garden to be a fancy place. So the Keg is super, duper fancy. And there I was, wearing baggy shorts and my grubby T-shirt that I wore yesterday. I felt mildly embarrassed just walking through the front door. I explained to my parents that I barely go to real restaurants anymore. Hell, I've been in Westlock for a little more than 3 years now, and there are still a bunch of popular local eateries that I haven't tried. It's just because I have no social life, so when I go to a real restaurant, I feel mildly judged.
How I think people see me at a fast food place: Look at that man. No doubt he's heading home, and just stopped here for a quick bite. Safe journey, weary traveler!
How I think people see me at a real restaurant: It's Saturday night and he's here by himself? Fuck that loser.
But I had a delightful meal with my parents, and then it was time to head home and record a podcast.
Yes, Saturday night was when I finally cracked open a bottle of Crystal Pepsi. I won't rehash the details, because I recorded it all live on my podcast. It's Pepsi, and it's clear. And it's awesome.
Once I got home and uploaded my podcast, I decided to describe my day in meme-form.
And now, here we are on Sunday morning, and it's time to decompress. Goof around online, do some blogging. It's a grey, rainy day in Westlock as I write this up, so it'll be a Sunday of Netflix on the couch. I'm so thrilled that I discovered that every Star Trek series is now on Netflix. I've begun binging on season 2 of Enterprise. That's the only season of Star Trek I've never seen, because it was on during my year in Japan. I hadn't watched any Enterprise at all in such a long time. I was watching the first five minutes, and I was like, "This doesn't seem so bad. It seems like some classic Star Trek action. Why did I loathe it so?"
And then they cue up the theme song. Faith of the Heart, which was actually the theme song to the film Patch Adams, re-purposed.
And I'm like, "Oh. Right."
I really should take more time off, because I love going to the city in the middle of a weekday. Things are so quiet. You can go at your own pace. And I figured it was the perfect time to get some chores done. My car was due for an oil change, so I got that done. With that came a twinge of sadness. See, I hang a new air freshener in my car every time I get an oil change. About two years ago, at Canadian Tire, I grabbed a pack of Star Wars air fresheners. And with this oil change, the last Star Wars air freshener was done. Went to Canadian Tire across the way to get more, but they had none. So I went with the traditional pine tree.
From there, it was off to my usual haunts. Went browsing for new Blu-Rays. With a new Star Trek movie on the horizon, of course all the Star Trek movies have been re-released. I was on the fence about picking up the director's cut of Wrath of Khan, but when I saw it for just $10, I figured, "Why not?"
B
Then over to West Edmonton Mall. I was surprised. A little busier than I expected for a Friday afternoon, but then I remembered that it is the start of summer, so the tourists are probably there. West Edmonton Mall is no longer the largest shopping mall in the world -- I think there are, like, 5 in China that are ahead of it on the list -- but it's still the largest in North America, and that still makes it a pretty significant tourist draw.
Did my usual browsing, but again, there's not much out there right now that I truly want. Yeah, there's some Blu-Rays I saw at HMV, but I felt no burning passion to own them, you know? I don't know if it's depression or maturity, but I no longer feel the desire to blow entire paychecks on new Blu-Rays. So I left HMV empty-handed.
But I was going upstairs to see a movie. Pixar geek that I am, I had to see Finding Dory, and this was my first chance to do so. Now, on the grand list of Pixar sequels that I desire, Finding Dory was pretty low on the list. I really didn't think we needed a Finding Nemo 2. I mean, they found Nemo. Where else can we go with this story?
This movie is definitely a lot more melancholy in tone than the first one. It's shown in the colour palette, it's shown in Thomas Newman's score, and it works. They wind up adding a real undercurrent of tragedy to Dory as she remembers her family, struggles vainly to hold on to those memories so she can get home, and then it just vanishes. But the movie's still fun. We get some fun new characters, like Hank the septopus (an octopus that lost an arm), and the cheery Destiny the whale shark and Baily the beluga whale. I would put it at Pixar's second-best sequel. Toy Story 3 still had the bigger emotional gut-punch. I give it 3.5 Nibs. Full review over on the main site.
That was Friday. And I was off again to the city on Saturday. For you see, Thursday was my birthday, and it's become traditional in my family to meet up with my parents, and they treat me to dinner and a movie. What was my birthday movie this year? Independence Day: Resurgence. The first Independence Day was my birthday movie 20 years ago, so it just made sense.
I fully predicted Independence Day: Resurgence to be this year's Jurassic World: just one great big, gigantic 1990s nostalgia trip. But whereas Jurassic World felt free to get down in the muck of nostalgia and wallow, Independence Day: Resurgence seems more like a perfunctory checklist of things people liked about the original. Landmark destruction? Check. President gives an inspirational speech? Check. Jeff Goldblum? Check.
And the strange thing is, I kinda wish the movie was longer. The original film had some breathing room, and we actually got a chance to get to know the characters. In this one, we barely get a chance to meet the new saviors of humanity.
So, yeah. It was fun, but... I give it 3 Nibs. Full review over on the website.
Then my parents took me to dinner at the Keg. Wow. I know, I know. I'm enough of a small town rube that I consider the Olive Garden to be a fancy place. So the Keg is super, duper fancy. And there I was, wearing baggy shorts and my grubby T-shirt that I wore yesterday. I felt mildly embarrassed just walking through the front door. I explained to my parents that I barely go to real restaurants anymore. Hell, I've been in Westlock for a little more than 3 years now, and there are still a bunch of popular local eateries that I haven't tried. It's just because I have no social life, so when I go to a real restaurant, I feel mildly judged.
How I think people see me at a fast food place: Look at that man. No doubt he's heading home, and just stopped here for a quick bite. Safe journey, weary traveler!
How I think people see me at a real restaurant: It's Saturday night and he's here by himself? Fuck that loser.
But I had a delightful meal with my parents, and then it was time to head home and record a podcast.
Yes, Saturday night was when I finally cracked open a bottle of Crystal Pepsi. I won't rehash the details, because I recorded it all live on my podcast. It's Pepsi, and it's clear. And it's awesome.
Once I got home and uploaded my podcast, I decided to describe my day in meme-form.
And now, here we are on Sunday morning, and it's time to decompress. Goof around online, do some blogging. It's a grey, rainy day in Westlock as I write this up, so it'll be a Sunday of Netflix on the couch. I'm so thrilled that I discovered that every Star Trek series is now on Netflix. I've begun binging on season 2 of Enterprise. That's the only season of Star Trek I've never seen, because it was on during my year in Japan. I hadn't watched any Enterprise at all in such a long time. I was watching the first five minutes, and I was like, "This doesn't seem so bad. It seems like some classic Star Trek action. Why did I loathe it so?"
And then they cue up the theme song. Faith of the Heart, which was actually the theme song to the film Patch Adams, re-purposed.
And I'm like, "Oh. Right."
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Crystal Pepsi Returns!
Had to take a break from my hiatus for a special installment of U62: U62: The TargThe Targ. More specifically, a special installment of my segment “Mark Tastes Random Things.” What random thing did I have to taste?
Crystal Pepsi.
I loved Crystal Pepsi back in the day. It was Pepsi…THAT WAS CLEAR! It was so awesome. I personally felt it didn’t taste exactly like Pepsi. When it went away, I was sad. When I first launched this website, I had a page dedicated to my love for Crystal Pepsi. I longed for its return. So, when they announced it was coming back, I was elated.
When I got my hands on my first bottle, I knew I had to share it with you. So I drink it live on the air, and tell you all about it.
So enjoy, The July Special: The Return of Crystal Pepsi!
Listen over on the main site!
Labels:
U62: The Targ
Thursday, July 07, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Lion King
Well, for the past few weeks on Fishing in the Discount Bin, I've been plowing through several of Disney's classics from the Disney Renaissance. Looking through my notes, this stretch ends with The Lion King. This is in my notes at October 4, 2015.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Thursday, June 30, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Aladdin
Here on Fishing in the Discount Bin, been going through my collection of Disney films, settling on the big four of the Disney Renaissance. We get to film #3, Aladdin, today. This is in my notes at October 3, 2015.
Labels:
Fishing in the Discout Bin
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Beauty and the Beast
On Fishing in the Discount Bin, I'm on a bit of a Disney kick right now. I continue with Beauty and the Beast. This is originally in my notes at September 27, 2015.
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Fishing in the Discout Bin
Thursday, June 16, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - The Little Mermaid
I seem to be on a Disney Renaissance kick on Fishing in the Discount Bin, so I decided to keep it going. This time out, I do The Little Mermaid. This is in my notes at September 19, 2015.
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Fishing in the Discout Bin
Sunday, June 12, 2016
TMNT 2 Review is Online
Went into the city today, but it really wasn't much to blog about. Bought new shoes and saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
I enjoyed it, gang. It felt a lot more like a classic TMNT adventure than the last film. I give it 3 out of 4 Nibs. Full review over on the main site.
I enjoyed it, gang. It felt a lot more like a classic TMNT adventure than the last film. I give it 3 out of 4 Nibs. Full review over on the main site.
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Movie Reviews
Thursday, June 09, 2016
Fishing in the Discount Bin - Hercules
Here we go again on Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I blog about one of the many movies I own. I'm a bit of a Disney rip right now, as we come across their animated epic of 1997, Hercules. This is in my logs at September 12, 2015.
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Fishing in the Discout Bin
Tuesday, June 07, 2016
Netflix Nonsense - Always
Well, with summer rerun season upon us, time to make my streaming video services earn their keep. I haven't decided what to binge upon yet, so I was going through the Netflix listings when I came across one of Steven Spielberg's lesser-known films, Always. Given current events, I thought a film about water bomber pilots was highly appropriate.
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Netflix Nonsense
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