Category: Media

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Posted on

Top Gun Maverick

I went to the Early Access screening for Top Gun Maverick Tuesday night.

I had a huge grin under my mask and the occasional teary eyes all throughout the movie.

I didn’t expect The Empire Strikes Back level of a sequel, but this was definitely one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen.

It just hit the right chords at the right times, fan service but not overly so.

And I honestly didn’t know that Jennifer Connelly was playing THAT character in this movie.  She’s still one of my top Hollywood crushes, hands down.

36 years of a wait was worth it.

And I got a pin and a little poster.

If you liked the original, you’ll love this one.

If you loved the original (like me), you’ll really love this one.

Recommended!  Go see it!

 

Posted on

Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness

It was good.

Not as good as, say, Shang-Chi or No Way Home, but better, IMHO, than Black Widow and Eternals.

It’s just hard to rank them in a post-Endgame world, what with 28 films on the list as well.

If anything, this felt more like a non-superhero Sam Raimi film.

The cameos were great, especially the one during the surprising mid credits scene.

It certainly felt like a shorter film than many of the other MCU movies.  Which isn’t good or bad, just an observation.

Just make sure you’ve at least seen Wandavision before seeing this film.

Recommended!  Go see it!

Posted on

Streaming

I’m running out of things to watch on the various streaming services.

I do have the end of The Legend of Vox Machina to finish up, but with the end of The Book of Boba Fett and Peacemaker, pickings are currently slim.  Though I know stuff is on the way, like Kenobi and Moon Knight.

I finished Reacher, which I thought was good.

I’m not interested in most of the Star Trek series, though I will check out Strange New Worlds.