In accordance with tradition, my opening monologue here is going to deal with themes of dusting off the cobwebs and brushing out the tumbleweed. Once again, it's been a while, Life is to blame not me (yeah, that one's getting old fast) but we're here now so let's just get on with the show. On today's agenda - Iron Man 3.
For the preface of this, I'm going to delve into a theory on trilogies. Put a gaggle of geeks in a room and mention trilogies, diverse opinions will fly around and it could very well lead to bat'leths at dawn, depending on which trilogies are discussed in what context. Leaving these rash generalisations behind, let's move to the theory. Trilogies are tricky things and rarely, if ever, are the third installments better than the first or second. In fact, in the case of some trilogies, the existence of certain installments are denied in their entrity - most notably, I have encountered, X-Men III: The Last Stand. Many a friend of mine revile the film so much they refuse to acknowledge it. I hold that to be a shame, mostly because of Ellen Page and Kelsey Grammar's performance as Hank McCoy. In fact, in defiance of this, I've put it on while I'm writing. Good thing I have a replica of Malcolm Reynolds' pistol handy in my room...
Now before I digress too much from the point at hand, as I am one to do, I'm going to make it plain. Some people say the third film is never as good as the other two. Iron Man 3 means to disagree with some people there.
The jury is still out for me, I'm still processing everything I feel about the movie, but I think the prevailing majority is leaning towards a "Yay" vote on Iron Man 3 thoroughly outperforming it's predecessors. So, let's set the scene a little.
For Iron Man 3 there's been a change in director from Jon Favreau (who also portrays Tony Stark's long-standing bodyguard, Happy Hogan) to Shane Black. When news first reached me of the change in director, I was worried. When I heard it was Shane Black, who I know from Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (incidentally, starring Robert Downey, Jr) I became less worried. Upon watching it last night...well, let's delve into why the jury is out.
It's pretty obvious to say that given the change in director, Iron Man 3 has a distinctly different feel to the previous films. This is why my personal jury is out. It's still processing the vibe. Take that out of the equation and by gods, Iron Man 3 was incredible. Just...wow...I won't say much more than that really. The things I would want to say don't just stray towards the realm of spoilers, they jump in the frakking pool and splash around.
I will take a moment, however, to squeal about how amazing Robert Downey, Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Guy Pearce and Sir Ben Kingsley are in this movie. In fact, every actor in that movie was fantastic. It was...okay, I think the jury's in now, folks. Ladies and menfolk, the verdict is AWESOME. I was also very happy with Rebecca Hall's appearance as I've been a teeny bit fond of her ever since I first saw her in Starter for 10.
Now I would like to go on an entirely new tangent and talk about Fringe. I tend to come by TV shows long after they've started or finished. I did it with The X-Files, though that's because when it was on TV I was tiny and terrified of everything. Fringe, as I understand it, has just recently come to a close. As of yet, I don't know if I'm sad about that, given that I've only seen one season, but from what little I know, it sounds like it gets a decent, wrap-up-loose-ends finale. So I'm hopeful. As for my thoughts on Fringe season one...well, here goes.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. John Noble, famous for his performance as Denethor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, is on outstanding form as mad scientist Doctor Walter Bishop. He is followed in a close second by Joshua Jackson, portraying his son, Peter Bishop. In terms of the lead though...Anna Torv has her moments. Quite a fair few and she's a good lead character, but there are moments when...well, I just want her to level the hell up. I don't know how it'll play out in future seasons, but we'll see. Nonetheless, John Noble's Walter Bishop is definitely enough to keep me watching.
Well, I think that about wraps it up for today. As is tradition, I will express hope that I will be a little more prolific and consistent with my updating of this blog, but I get the feeling that people won't be holding their breath. Until next time, go forth and watch Iron Man 3. Go on. Get on with it.
Showing posts with label Iron Man 3. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Iron Man 3. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Life is Pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something
Life is pain, but not the in the context our dear Westley meant. No, today, as I forgo the words of Joss Whedon for the words of The Princess Bride, I'm not talking about heartbreak...oh wait, yes I am. But not heartbreak and pain as Westley understood it. No, for today I talk about something that has been tormenting my soul for the last couple of weeks.
San Diego ComicCon 2012.
It's a simple dream, held by many a geek the world over. One day to have the money to attend San Diego ComicCon. To those geeks who are going, who have the money and resources, I salute you in my near Hulk-like greenness of envy. If there was ever a year to go to San Diego ComicCon, it would appear to be 2012.
Perhaps this is mostly because I've become far more clued into the happenings of the geek community since starting up this blog in January. You see, before then, I didn't use Twitter except for a dark time in my third year known as "Professional Writing" and didn't follow as many fan pages on Facebook. But thanks to this blog and a certain school friend and Caerdydd-based "Landshark", I am, as aforementioned, far more clued in.
And it's torturing me.
Let's start with Quantum Mechanix. These beautiful, wonderful people have been the light of my growing geek collectibles collection and bane of my bank account since July 2011, when I obtained the River Tam Big Damn Heroes maquette and my beloved Browncoats t-shirt. As is to be excepted of geeks of their talents, artistry and prominence, they have a booth at San Diego ComicCon, (hereafter abbreviated SDCC, because while I'm OCD enough to keep saying San Diego ComicCon, it'll probably be easier on your eyes if I say SDCC). At this booth...oh lords, oh lords, the goodies! Pictures are abounding Facebook and Twitter. The key source of torment? These. Dogtags. Firefly dogtags. Oh, they say it's just prototypes, but...as the Futurama Fry meme goes - "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!" Come on, QMx, you know you have it. I might as well just set up a direct debit, you take monthly instalments and just send me your awesome stuff. Please? Pretty please?
Then there's the panels. Doctor Who. I know I'm British, I know I only live an hour's train ride from Cardiff (and have friends there too!), but you know, I've never seen much of Doctor Who outside of the episodes on TV. Oh and once, Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor), regularly visited my workplace while performing at Bath's Theatre Royal. So I've been in the presence of the Seventh Doctor, but that's it. And let's face it, he does not have a companion as drop dead gorgeous as Karen Gillan. So maybe I would want to see the Doctor Who panel just for her.
But then there's an Iron Man 3 panel! Tantalising promises of panels from industry professionals! As a writer, that last part intrigues me most - don't get me wrong, an Iron Man 3 panel with the likelihood of Robert Downey, Jr popping in for a quick stage-stealing appearance? Hell yes! But...as aforementioned, I'm a writer. It's twenty to three in the morning here. I'm babbling about the heartbreak of not being able to attend SDCC 2012. One day, my wish is be on one of those SDCC panels. So I best get writing.
And it's not just panels either. I mentioned Quantum Mechanix and their goodies. A while ago, back in April, I stumbled upon a link someone had posted on Thief's wall. It was about ALL COLOUR versions of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. Guess what's going to be at SDCC 2012.
However, I'm not quite finished here. Oh no. For you see, I've saved the real kicker, the real heartbreaker of not being able to go to San Diego ComicCon 2012 until last.
The 10th Anniversary Reunion of Firefly.
This article, where I'm getting a lot of my heart-wrenching info on what's happening at SDCC, reckons there won't be a dry eye in the house when those guys get back up on stage together. I agree. I don't know if my eyes would be dry. Throats are probably going to be raw screaming approval. Women swooning over Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk. Men swooning over Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin. The sheer awesomeness of the momentous occasion.
I cannot adequately express how much I could be there. Even if I was crammed in, way at the back of the room, struggling to see, I wish I could be there. There's only one thing in the world I wish for more and believe me, between Firefly reunion and that unspecified thing, it's one frakkin' tough call!
However, although I'm going to miss out on a lot of these awesome things, I'm determined not to entirely languish in self-pity. I may not be attending SDCC for a long, long time due to not having near enough money to fly out to California, I'm going to have my own little geek-fest I think. I can't pretend it'll be anywhere near as epic or awesome as San Diego ComicCon, but if the best I can do is curl up with my favourite geeky movies this weekend to try and numb the pain, then by the gods it's what I'll do.
For those lucky enough to be attending, once again, I salute and envy you. San Diego ComicCon 2012 is yours. Bring back some great stories, kids. You owe us that much!
San Diego ComicCon 2012.
It's a simple dream, held by many a geek the world over. One day to have the money to attend San Diego ComicCon. To those geeks who are going, who have the money and resources, I salute you in my near Hulk-like greenness of envy. If there was ever a year to go to San Diego ComicCon, it would appear to be 2012.
Perhaps this is mostly because I've become far more clued into the happenings of the geek community since starting up this blog in January. You see, before then, I didn't use Twitter except for a dark time in my third year known as "Professional Writing" and didn't follow as many fan pages on Facebook. But thanks to this blog and a certain school friend and Caerdydd-based "Landshark", I am, as aforementioned, far more clued in.
And it's torturing me.
Let's start with Quantum Mechanix. These beautiful, wonderful people have been the light of my growing geek collectibles collection and bane of my bank account since July 2011, when I obtained the River Tam Big Damn Heroes maquette and my beloved Browncoats t-shirt. As is to be excepted of geeks of their talents, artistry and prominence, they have a booth at San Diego ComicCon, (hereafter abbreviated SDCC, because while I'm OCD enough to keep saying San Diego ComicCon, it'll probably be easier on your eyes if I say SDCC). At this booth...oh lords, oh lords, the goodies! Pictures are abounding Facebook and Twitter. The key source of torment? These. Dogtags. Firefly dogtags. Oh, they say it's just prototypes, but...as the Futurama Fry meme goes - "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!" Come on, QMx, you know you have it. I might as well just set up a direct debit, you take monthly instalments and just send me your awesome stuff. Please? Pretty please?
Then there's the panels. Doctor Who. I know I'm British, I know I only live an hour's train ride from Cardiff (and have friends there too!), but you know, I've never seen much of Doctor Who outside of the episodes on TV. Oh and once, Sylvester McCoy (the Seventh Doctor), regularly visited my workplace while performing at Bath's Theatre Royal. So I've been in the presence of the Seventh Doctor, but that's it. And let's face it, he does not have a companion as drop dead gorgeous as Karen Gillan. So maybe I would want to see the Doctor Who panel just for her.
But then there's an Iron Man 3 panel! Tantalising promises of panels from industry professionals! As a writer, that last part intrigues me most - don't get me wrong, an Iron Man 3 panel with the likelihood of Robert Downey, Jr popping in for a quick stage-stealing appearance? Hell yes! But...as aforementioned, I'm a writer. It's twenty to three in the morning here. I'm babbling about the heartbreak of not being able to attend SDCC 2012. One day, my wish is be on one of those SDCC panels. So I best get writing.
And it's not just panels either. I mentioned Quantum Mechanix and their goodies. A while ago, back in April, I stumbled upon a link someone had posted on Thief's wall. It was about ALL COLOUR versions of Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim series. Guess what's going to be at SDCC 2012.
However, I'm not quite finished here. Oh no. For you see, I've saved the real kicker, the real heartbreaker of not being able to go to San Diego ComicCon 2012 until last.
The 10th Anniversary Reunion of Firefly.
This article, where I'm getting a lot of my heart-wrenching info on what's happening at SDCC, reckons there won't be a dry eye in the house when those guys get back up on stage together. I agree. I don't know if my eyes would be dry. Throats are probably going to be raw screaming approval. Women swooning over Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk. Men swooning over Jewel Staite and Morena Baccarin. The sheer awesomeness of the momentous occasion.
I cannot adequately express how much I could be there. Even if I was crammed in, way at the back of the room, struggling to see, I wish I could be there. There's only one thing in the world I wish for more and believe me, between Firefly reunion and that unspecified thing, it's one frakkin' tough call!
However, although I'm going to miss out on a lot of these awesome things, I'm determined not to entirely languish in self-pity. I may not be attending SDCC for a long, long time due to not having near enough money to fly out to California, I'm going to have my own little geek-fest I think. I can't pretend it'll be anywhere near as epic or awesome as San Diego ComicCon, but if the best I can do is curl up with my favourite geeky movies this weekend to try and numb the pain, then by the gods it's what I'll do.
For those lucky enough to be attending, once again, I salute and envy you. San Diego ComicCon 2012 is yours. Bring back some great stories, kids. You owe us that much!
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