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 The X-Files. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The X-Files. Show all posts
Sunday, 28 April 2013
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
I have an entire phalanx of machines that go ping!
I've been meaning to do this one for a while. In fact, I had planned to do it here and had the title reflect that it was going to be about my top ten favourite tech guys. And girls. Since I've been feeling like I'm a little behind on my random rambling, I decided to do this one today. Finally. After all this time.
Naturally, as is my custom, the title of this post comes from the mind of Joss Whedon. Or at least from one of his shows - this one from Dollhouse, from the mouth of one Topher Brink, one of my favourite tech persons. But where does he come into this? Read on and find out!
But first, just for Thief, here's a palm tree:
Now on with the show!
10. Marco Pacella (The 4400)
He's kind of in the classic mould of a tech guy - glasses, unashamed geekiness, socially awkward. But underneath it all, Marco Pacella of the National Threat Assessment Command is a pretty cool dude. As head of NTAC's Theory Room (a name I have adapted for my own room), he was Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris' first point of call for theories about the eponymous 4400 and their related abilities. And...well...by show's end...spoiler alert (highlight to read): he gains the ability to teleport!
9. David Levinson (Independence Day)
He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to become a cable repairman. Not the type with a van, mind you. No, David Levinson (wonderfully portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) was Independence Day's arbitrary disaster movie everyman main character. But with a degree from MIT and the smarts to suss out the alien's nefarious scheme to blow up every major city on Earth. Though this is a Roland Emmerich film, so they all still blow up. But he does later show that he's smarter than the Area 51 scientist portrayed by Brent Spiner. Kudos.
8. jPod (jPod)
Shown here by the cast of the short-lived Canadian TV show adaptation of the Canadian novel jPod and most about the TV show characters, the jPod are probably the most successful slackers in the videogame industry. In their thirteen episode run, they manage to acquaint themselves with Chinese Mafia kingpins (the wonderful Kam Fong), suffer through one boss who is kidnapped and shipped off to China while the other hijacks them for his own personal project before blowing himself up. And this is just skimming the surface of their hi-jinks. They also gave me the phrase "The F-Bomb". Seek out and watch episode two, "A Fine Bro-Mance", for the context.
7. Douglas Fargo (A Town Called Eureka)
One of numerous techies and engineers resident to the mysterious town of Eureka, Douglas Fargo quite possibly has the distinction of being the most accident prone. His inventions routinely turn on him (see "H.O.U.S.E. Rules" for a good example) and apparently, his file at Global Dynamics uses the phrase "inappropriately pushed button" some thirty-eight times. While these things don't inspire the usual round of confidence you would like to have in the world's scientific elite, Fargo is no less of a wonderful and endearing character. Such is the life of the comic foil, it would seem. But he is still a genius. One day he'll invent something that will work perfectly and not be misappropriated.
6. Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2)
Our only entry for a videogame character, Alyx Vance, daughter of physicist and Black Mesa researcher Doctor Eli Vance is the erstwhile companion of everyone's favourite tight-lipped theoretical physicist, Doctor Gordon Freeman. Despite the fact that Freeman is a physicist, his overuse of the trusty crowbar appears to render him unable to use computers and his MIT education to navigate obstacles. Here is where Alyx is an indispensible ally - she hacks into computers, uses her sparking gadget thing to open doors and makes you play fetch with her pet robot, Dog. A robot her father built, then she added to. The end result is very impressive. Her resilience, resourcefulness and great company earn Alyx Vance the number six spot.
5. Q (the James Bond Franchise)
Alas not the John de Lancie Q of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame, this is the Q that kept James Bond alive for so many films. A divisive issue it may be, increasing Bond's survivability, but nonetheless, Q's appearances in the first twenty or so Bond films were scenes to look forward to and cherish. Ably played by the late Desmond Llewellyn, Q could easily match and outwit his reckless colleague while providing him with the means to defeat the bad guys. Despite what the gritty Daniel Craig Bond films will have you believe, Bond couldn't really ever be without Q.
4. The Lone Gunmen (The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen)
While their spin-off show might have slightly...well...tanked, their appearances in their parent show The X-Files were often the highlight of an episode. The oddball combination of John Fitzgerald Byers, Melvin Frohike and Richard Langly provided invaluable assistance to Mulder and Scully during their investigations. While in their first appearance in "E.B.E." they're set up as ridiculously paranoid conspiracy nuts, they became three of the most endearing characters in the entire series. Enough to get their own, aforementioned short-lived series.
3. Tony Stark (Iron Man)
"A genius, billionaire playboy philanthropist." Tony Stark's own words summing him up beautifully. This man graduated from MIT when he was seventeen and built a crude, but functional, powered armour suit in a remote Afghan cave with little more than "a box of scraps", as Obadiah Stane yelled at a poor, unfortunate scientist nowhere near a brilliant engineer as Tony Stark. His techie achievements and marvels are too numerous list in their entirety, so will stick with the miniaturised arc reactor and the Iron Man suit.
2. Topher Brink (Dollhouse)
Here is, the man behind this blog entry's title! Although I haven't watched all of Dollhouse YET, Topher made quite the impression as the strangely endearing, slightly amoral tech king supreme of the Los Angeles Dollhouse. Topher's best moments include noticing Victor's "man reaction" (and resulting investigation with Doctor Saunders) and his brilliant reaction to an experimental memory drug in the episode "Echoes". A genuinely funny turn. Makes you want a drawer of inappropriate starches...
1. Claudia Donovan (Warehouse 13)
Feisty hacker chick with deviantly coloured hair. When describing Claudia to my friends, I use those words. They roll their eyes, knowing my affinity to that kind of girl. No surprise really that Claudia snags the top spot here. As the youngest member of the Warehouse, Claudia strives and struggles to bring the reality of 21st Century technology into the Warehouse, much to the consternation of her boss, Artie. The hi-jinks that oft ensue from Claudia's tampering and tinkering are a delight and pleasure to watch. As are her constant pop culture references and her text alert on her phone - a Cylon voice proclaiming "By your command". And you can't help but find it cute when she genuinely exclaims "Zoinks!"
-----3
Naturally, as is my custom, the title of this post comes from the mind of Joss Whedon. Or at least from one of his shows - this one from Dollhouse, from the mouth of one Topher Brink, one of my favourite tech persons. But where does he come into this? Read on and find out!
But first, just for Thief, here's a palm tree:
Now on with the show!
10. Marco Pacella (The 4400)
He's kind of in the classic mould of a tech guy - glasses, unashamed geekiness, socially awkward. But underneath it all, Marco Pacella of the National Threat Assessment Command is a pretty cool dude. As head of NTAC's Theory Room (a name I have adapted for my own room), he was Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris' first point of call for theories about the eponymous 4400 and their related abilities. And...well...by show's end...spoiler alert (highlight to read): he gains the ability to teleport!
9. David Levinson (Independence Day)
He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to become a cable repairman. Not the type with a van, mind you. No, David Levinson (wonderfully portrayed by Jeff Goldblum) was Independence Day's arbitrary disaster movie everyman main character. But with a degree from MIT and the smarts to suss out the alien's nefarious scheme to blow up every major city on Earth. Though this is a Roland Emmerich film, so they all still blow up. But he does later show that he's smarter than the Area 51 scientist portrayed by Brent Spiner. Kudos.
8. jPod (jPod)
Shown here by the cast of the short-lived Canadian TV show adaptation of the Canadian novel jPod and most about the TV show characters, the jPod are probably the most successful slackers in the videogame industry. In their thirteen episode run, they manage to acquaint themselves with Chinese Mafia kingpins (the wonderful Kam Fong), suffer through one boss who is kidnapped and shipped off to China while the other hijacks them for his own personal project before blowing himself up. And this is just skimming the surface of their hi-jinks. They also gave me the phrase "The F-Bomb". Seek out and watch episode two, "A Fine Bro-Mance", for the context.
7. Douglas Fargo (A Town Called Eureka)
One of numerous techies and engineers resident to the mysterious town of Eureka, Douglas Fargo quite possibly has the distinction of being the most accident prone. His inventions routinely turn on him (see "H.O.U.S.E. Rules" for a good example) and apparently, his file at Global Dynamics uses the phrase "inappropriately pushed button" some thirty-eight times. While these things don't inspire the usual round of confidence you would like to have in the world's scientific elite, Fargo is no less of a wonderful and endearing character. Such is the life of the comic foil, it would seem. But he is still a genius. One day he'll invent something that will work perfectly and not be misappropriated.
6. Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2)
Our only entry for a videogame character, Alyx Vance, daughter of physicist and Black Mesa researcher Doctor Eli Vance is the erstwhile companion of everyone's favourite tight-lipped theoretical physicist, Doctor Gordon Freeman. Despite the fact that Freeman is a physicist, his overuse of the trusty crowbar appears to render him unable to use computers and his MIT education to navigate obstacles. Here is where Alyx is an indispensible ally - she hacks into computers, uses her sparking gadget thing to open doors and makes you play fetch with her pet robot, Dog. A robot her father built, then she added to. The end result is very impressive. Her resilience, resourcefulness and great company earn Alyx Vance the number six spot.
5. Q (the James Bond Franchise)
Alas not the John de Lancie Q of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame, this is the Q that kept James Bond alive for so many films. A divisive issue it may be, increasing Bond's survivability, but nonetheless, Q's appearances in the first twenty or so Bond films were scenes to look forward to and cherish. Ably played by the late Desmond Llewellyn, Q could easily match and outwit his reckless colleague while providing him with the means to defeat the bad guys. Despite what the gritty Daniel Craig Bond films will have you believe, Bond couldn't really ever be without Q.
4. The Lone Gunmen (The X-Files, The Lone Gunmen)
While their spin-off show might have slightly...well...tanked, their appearances in their parent show The X-Files were often the highlight of an episode. The oddball combination of John Fitzgerald Byers, Melvin Frohike and Richard Langly provided invaluable assistance to Mulder and Scully during their investigations. While in their first appearance in "E.B.E." they're set up as ridiculously paranoid conspiracy nuts, they became three of the most endearing characters in the entire series. Enough to get their own, aforementioned short-lived series.
3. Tony Stark (Iron Man)
"A genius, billionaire playboy philanthropist." Tony Stark's own words summing him up beautifully. This man graduated from MIT when he was seventeen and built a crude, but functional, powered armour suit in a remote Afghan cave with little more than "a box of scraps", as Obadiah Stane yelled at a poor, unfortunate scientist nowhere near a brilliant engineer as Tony Stark. His techie achievements and marvels are too numerous list in their entirety, so will stick with the miniaturised arc reactor and the Iron Man suit.
2. Topher Brink (Dollhouse)
Here is, the man behind this blog entry's title! Although I haven't watched all of Dollhouse YET, Topher made quite the impression as the strangely endearing, slightly amoral tech king supreme of the Los Angeles Dollhouse. Topher's best moments include noticing Victor's "man reaction" (and resulting investigation with Doctor Saunders) and his brilliant reaction to an experimental memory drug in the episode "Echoes". A genuinely funny turn. Makes you want a drawer of inappropriate starches...
1. Claudia Donovan (Warehouse 13)
Feisty hacker chick with deviantly coloured hair. When describing Claudia to my friends, I use those words. They roll their eyes, knowing my affinity to that kind of girl. No surprise really that Claudia snags the top spot here. As the youngest member of the Warehouse, Claudia strives and struggles to bring the reality of 21st Century technology into the Warehouse, much to the consternation of her boss, Artie. The hi-jinks that oft ensue from Claudia's tampering and tinkering are a delight and pleasure to watch. As are her constant pop culture references and her text alert on her phone - a Cylon voice proclaiming "By your command". And you can't help but find it cute when she genuinely exclaims "Zoinks!"
-----3
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)