Serenity : revisited review – 11 out of 9 stars

The Avengers comes out on Friday. Rather than revisit all the superhero flicks that led up to it, I thought it’d be more fun to revisit the only other film Joss Whedon has made thus far. I mean, Serenity juggles an ensemble, and offers action sequences and epic visuals … sooo… why not prepare to measure it against Avengers? See if Whedon has notably grown as a filmmaker?

(I know serenity had a small budget. I’m sure it’s a little unfair. but, whatever. it’s fun).
Continue reading “Serenity : revisited review – 11 out of 9 stars”

Top 10 Trailers of 2011 (a mix of movies, video games, and not-actually-video promotional materials)

I think it’s interesting to keep track of great marketing maneuvers. The kind of things that are easily lost in time (especially if the product promoted is eventually revealed to be garbage. That doesn’t mean the trailer was bad! ). This list is mostly designed to catalog why certain strange things impressed me. I listed 15 things, because I didn’t have the heart to cut 5 of them. They’re listed in order of personal importance, not necessarily in order of quality or import to society (because it’s my blog – neener neener).
Continue reading “Top 10 Trailers of 2011 (a mix of movies, video games, and not-actually-video promotional materials)”

Midichlorians: Mysticism as Technobabble (or: Part One of Why Everyone is Wrong About the Prequels?)

I think I’ve now gathered enough nerdy notes to write an epic treatise on why the Prequels are in fact dramatically misunderstood and under-appreciated. Since it is so popular to hate George Lucas instead of thinking for yourself, I think it’d be worth writing something.

Below is one piece of the puzzle: explaining Midichlorians
Continue reading “Midichlorians: Mysticism as Technobabble (or: Part One of Why Everyone is Wrong About the Prequels?)”

The big picture of Star Wars (currently playing out on the small screen)

Wired asks the world to comment on how the Clone Wars CGI TV series “does justice to the sprawling universe birthed by George Lucas a long time ago in an entertainment galaxy far, far away.”
Here is my thought (part of a larger rant on why people who hate the prequels should shut up):
Continue reading “The big picture of Star Wars (currently playing out on the small screen)”

Sucker Punch (2011): a feminist masterpiece that men hate – (9/10)

sucker punchAt the end of this movie, the dude behind me said four times “Is no one else in this theatre confused?”. Perhaps to the poor girl sitting next to him? He spaced these outbursts out, as if he’d gone blind and deaf with his idiocy, and was hoping a bro’ could throw him a lifeline. As if he hoped other redneck idjits would rise up and join torches to burn the puzzle outta this town. I turned to my girlfriend and loudly growled “I think someone in this theatre is actually confused.” (He got up and left).

Then the two dipshits in front of me whipped out their cell phones (slash: flashlights) and tried to distract me from the STILL GOING ON work of art on the screen. The film’s end credits contain an entire original dance sequence and musical number, showing you an entire epic scene that was hinted at but never shown during the main story. They are a stylized PART OF THE MOVIE. But everyone was up and walking out, or checking in with their facebook. I leaned in and read their texting over their shoulders and blew on their hair. I whipped out my phone and shined it in the sides of their faces (but this just elicited a minor confused looks). They struck me as this weird alien species, masquerading as men, who missed class the day “how to watch a movie” was explained.

This was a great movie, and a lot of people don’t deserve it. Continue reading “Sucker Punch (2011): a feminist masterpiece that men hate – (9/10)”

PreJudging Upcoming movies: Batman3, The Hobbit… and hot chicks in insane asylums!

Here is some unnecessary fan boy ranting about upcoming movies. In response to MovieBob’s blog post on The Escapist. I was pleased to try and counter the writer’s rampant pessimism (it’s like a mirror!) with some weird sardonic optimism. But then I felt the need to follow up. With nasty pessimism. wtf? I don’t know why I always end up getting so negative about things I enjoy (or expect to enjoy!). but. I spent some time writing it. so i feel the need to preserve it. in all it’s creative uglies: Continue reading “PreJudging Upcoming movies: Batman3, The Hobbit… and hot chicks in insane asylums!”

Tron Legacy – not for snobby idioticritics

(Update: my comment, below, led to me being banned from io9.com sooo. fuck.)

Just wrote my angry retort to all the haters of the world. Focusing on Charlie Jane Anders at io9, who I actually dig as a contributor.
looks like my account there may not post my retort (they’ve disabled facebook logins, and looks like my direct login was disabled/deleted?).

anywho. In response to this rather lame review, here are some more ranting thoughts on the movie: Continue reading “Tron Legacy – not for snobby idioticritics”