Category: Media

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Reviews

I got to see an early screening of the new Dungeons & Dragons movie, Honor Among Thieves.

It’s a fun movie.  Knowledge of the game isn’t needed, though players will definitely get more out of watching this movie.

That’s not to say the movie can’t/won’t be enjoyed by non-players.  It’s almost structured like a Marvel movie, in the way the movie sets everything up, from the setting, to the characters, to the reveal of/by the big bad.

One particular group cameo made me smile a lot.

Having only seen two movies so far this year, this one was more fun than Quantumania.  This one I actually want to see again.

Recommended!  Two thumbs up!

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So far, so good for The Mandalorian Season 3.

Halfway through and we’ve had a lot of stuff happen to Din Djarin and Grogu, not to mention to Bo-Katan and Dr. Pershing.

And we have yet to see Moff Gideon.

Looking forward to the back half of the season.

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Quantumania

I liked it.

Of course there are better movies, and better Marvel movies.

But this?  More entertaining to me than I expected.

Maybe that’s the secret, which I’ve been saying for a while, the newer Marvel films (i.e. post-Infinity War/Endgame) can’t be fairly compared to what’s come before.

Rather, they have to be looked upon on their own, despite having familiar characters from previous films/Phases.

They’re telling another story, the next big saga in the Book of Marvel.

Don’t expect them to wow you, just be entertained.  And I was, to be honest.

And if this Phase of movies don’t appeal to you, go back and watch the older ones, or wait for what comes after Avengers 6.

The only thing lacking in the film was an appearance by Luis.

And M.O.D.O.K. was more awesome than I expected him to be.

And if I’m being totally honest, you can probably wait for it on Disney Plus to see it, but the film looks great on the big screen.

Recommended.

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SAS: Rogue Heroes

I finally got around to watching this series.  I liked it a lot.

Which should be no surprise, I’ve been a WWII buff forever, as well as an avid Special Air Service (SAS) fan.

The series is basically the origins of the British SAS in the North African campaign of World War II, circa 1941.  It follows men directly responsible for the creation of this regiment, with their early failures and eventual successes.

I’m sure there are lots of historical inaccuracies, but that doesn’t deter from a good story here.

And of course it ends in a historical cliffhanger.

The use of contemporary rock music mixed with period songs is an interesting mix, which I found very cool.

The cast was great, particularly the actors playing Stirling, Mayes, and Lewes.  It took me a minute to recognize Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy in Game of Thrones) as Lewes, though.

6 episodes, so it’s a quick binge.

3 out of 4 stars.  Go watch!

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Music and Memory

I was watching the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark during lunch,

I still remember when I first heard the Raiders March during this scene.

The horn section hit me harder than the opening note of Star Wars.

It was at that moment that I knew, this character would have a bigger impact on me than Han Solo or Mr. Spock or Steve Austin or Underdog ever would.

Those were my other childhood heroes, of course.

It cemented John Williams as the one true composer of the background music in my life, between this, Star Wars and Superman: The Movie.

Years later, hearing it performed live at the SF Symphony, conducted by John freaking Williams himself, was no doubt the greatest live musical piece I had ever heard.

I look forward to hearing this theme next June.

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Wakanda Forever

On it’s own, it was a worthy successor to the original, and I liked this one a little more because of the introduction of one of my favorite Marvel characters, Namor, the Sub Mariner.

In the scope of the MCU, it’s a film that doesn’t move the sticks much, which I guess is a good thing.

It was definitely one of the more emotional films that I’ve seen in a while, it was all I could do from totally bawling like an idiot during certain parts.

And once again, the trailers reveal NOTHING.  They’re good,  the Disney/Marvel Marketing Department.

I may or may not see it again in the theatre.

Imperius Rex!

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Whovian News

New Logo.  New Doctor. New place to watch.

From what I can gather, Disney+ is where all new seasons will be shown, starting next year (2023).

Older series can still be seen on HBO Max (2005-2022) and BritBox (1963-1989).

BBCA will no longer be showing Doctor Who.  No more marathons around the holidays?

We’ll see if anything changes between now and November 2023.

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Stuff

Warm night, I’m up and typing stuff.

Granted, it’s only about 20 past 9pm on Labor Day 2022, but I felt the need to ramble.

So here’s me rambling.

If you like something, good.

If you don’t like something, good.

Why did social media make these concepts so complicated?

Whatever.  Enough about that.

She-Hulk is fast becoming my favorite Disney+ Marvel series.  Funny as hell, invokes one of my favorite comics series from the 80s, all it needs is an appearance by Forbush Man and that puts it on top of my list.

I’m finding it odd that an old show like Hogan’s Heroes feels like comfort food when I watch it.  It really has been decades since I’ve sat down and watched it.

Whoops, didn’t finish this last night.  It’s now Tuesday morning and I’m in the office, trying to stay cool.  Where was I?

Oh yeah, I got distracted watching Hogan’s Heroes before bed.  Anyways…

I don’t ramble well before coffee, so I’ll just stop it here.

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Light Reviews

This series brought back so many memories for me, from watching the ‘Making of…’ specials on TV to reading Starlog magazine.

A lot of the people in the series were my heroes back in the day: John Dykstra, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippitt, Richard Edlund, Ken Ralson all worked on stuff that I loved and still love.

If I wasn’t so gung-ho about computers back then, I probably would have followed in their footsteps.  I have my own stop-motion movies that I made back in the day.

Part of it was also a history lesson, or more a refresher.  I remember reading about the digital effects revolution and how it shook up the film industry.  I remember how I felt the first time I saw a dinosaur in Jurassic Park.

Highly recommended series if you love these kind of movies and/or oral history shows.

I really liked this movie, though it was a very stressful one to watch, from moment to moment all seemed lost until it wasn’t, if that makes any sense.

It probably looked cool in the theatre, but it wasn’t one I felt compelled to see on the big screen, as much as I love Toy Story, and Buzz in particular.

The reveal was one that I didn’t see coming (maybe) and also made me go, “really?”

Anyways, recommended if you love Toy Story or good space adventure stories.

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Thor: Love and Thunder

In the words of my nephew Joseph, “it was fun.”

I find it hard to get too excited about any Marvel film after Endgame, to be totally honest.

That said, it was an entertaining film, though it felt a bit rushed at times IMHO.

It moves the story along, that story being the almost 30 movie (and a few TV shows) story called ‘Marvel’.

I loved the goats.

I especially loved the mid credits scene.

Is it worth seeing?  Yes.

Is it worth seeing in the theatre? Sure, but I’ll wait until it’s on Disney Plus to see it again.