Okay, I am now very excited about Agents of SHIELD. Admittedly, there was some slowness to the start of the show, and the characters were a little predictable - or seemed to be.
The wait is paying off. I highly recommend watching Captain America 2 as soon as possible, and catching up on Agents of SHIELD. The most recent episode is...explosive. That's really the only way to describe it. I am keeping this review short because I am not sure of a way to review it without giving away spoilers for both Agents and Captain America.
I'd say see the movie before the latest episode, if possible. Watching either one is going to provide some spoilers for the other, but the I think the spoilers from the movie are less spoilerific than those from the episode.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Monday, April 7, 2014
Movie Review: Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
Captain America 2 was awesome. Thus ends the guaranteed spoiler-free part of the review. As always, I do my best to keep spoilers to a minimum.
Early on, we see Captain America and Black Widow (with a contingent of other agents) preparing to drop to a ship and reclaim it from pirates. Black Widow is trying to get the Cap set up on a date, an ongoing bit that helps to keep the both of them feeling more real. They do quite a bit of humanizing of the both of them. Steve Rogers (It's okay to call him by his uncostumed name, right?) is trying to get caught up on the culture of the past 70 years - he has a notebook of movies to watch and music to listen to. And it looks like he's seen Star Wars.
We see Captain America demonstrating not just the ability to fight, but knowing when to fight and what to fight for. There's a fight scene in an elevator that is just awesome. I always like when action scenes provide something new, and enclosed spaces like that are not the most common type of scene. That's not the biggest scene, and not the most edge-of-the-seat, but it's fairly memorable.
We see the Falcon smoothly added to the mix. He's as good a man as the Cap, though in a different way. He's got more confidence, I think, but it's confidence from a longer life and some measure of inner peace. He's got the character, and I think the two of them interact well.
We see other familiar faces on the movie, from people in the first movie to characters that have made an appearance on Agents of SHIELD. Speaking of which, this movie will be sending shockwaves that will be felt on the series very, very soon.
Nick Fury gets to show off some of his own abilities, and exactly why he is in charge. Every great movie has a car chase scene! This one looks for a moment like it ends with a lightsaber. You'll see what I mean.
What's a little discomforting is how close to the real world the superhero movies are getting. It makes some sense; superheroes are a pretty wild concept. If you want them to be gritty and/or realistic, you've got to ground them in the world of fears and moral quandaries that people actually think about and deal with. There's plenty of grounding in reality here, and maybe that makes the issues it raises hit home harder.
I do like that superhero movies increasingly have more regular people having to stand up alongside the hero. Spiderman 2 had people pulling Spiderman onto the train, and keeping his secret. (Plus, Aunt May chastising Doc Ock with her umbrella). The Dark Knight has the people on the ships. Captain America 2 has a moment when people have to decide who to trust.
Memorable moments of Captain America 2: (Spoilers)
The Falcon needs his wings. They are in an underground bunker surrounded by tons of steel and security. Too easy a job for them to even show the scene. Will it be on DVD extras? It will be a while before we find out.
"On your left!"
Stan Lee's cameo.
Joss Whedon is known for not protecting even the most beloved characters from death. (Admittedly, he's not as bloodthirsty as RR Martin.) This means there are several scenes that have me very nervous. Who will survive?
And, as always, stay after the credits!
Friday, March 14, 2014
Pi Day
I hope you had a happy Pi Day!
March 14 (3.14) matches pi and its first two digits. I know it’s an incredibly nerdy thing to say, but I always wanted this to be my birthday. I mean, it’s something pretty much everybody recognizes, yet it’s also highly geeky. What better day for me to be born on?
I celebrated by having pizza pie for dinner. Guess what I had for dessert? I had cake. Nothing against pie, I like pie. But is it really rational to have pie on pi day?
Yes. Yes, it is...perhaps a little too rational.
I imagine this post is full of too many math puns and references already. And here’s one more! I’ve honestly only heard about this form of poetry in the last day or two, but it’s called pilish. Each word is to be a length determined by the digits of pi. I’ve attempted below, but I don’t expect anybody to follow it without dictionary.com and a bit of metaphorical stretching of a meaning or two...
I’m … I’m not even going to try going further than that with this poem. Too much alliteration, for one thing. I’m just going to leave it at that. Be glad I didn’t share with you my attempt at Vogon poetry...yet.
Give pilish a try! Post your attempt below.
[Pi = approx. 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399]
(For more info on pilish, see here. For more Pi Day info, check this out.)
March 14 (3.14) matches pi and its first two digits. I know it’s an incredibly nerdy thing to say, but I always wanted this to be my birthday. I mean, it’s something pretty much everybody recognizes, yet it’s also highly geeky. What better day for me to be born on?
I celebrated by having pizza pie for dinner. Guess what I had for dessert? I had cake. Nothing against pie, I like pie. But is it really rational to have pie on pi day?
Yes. Yes, it is...perhaps a little too rational.
I imagine this post is full of too many math puns and references already. And here’s one more! I’ve honestly only heard about this form of poetry in the last day or two, but it’s called pilish. Each word is to be a length determined by the digits of pi. I’ve attempted below, but I don’t expect anybody to follow it without dictionary.com and a bit of metaphorical stretching of a meaning or two...
How I want a great biography
to abloom areas all astir,
adversity abegging.
Give pilish a try! Post your attempt below.
[Pi = approx. 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399]
(For more info on pilish, see here. For more Pi Day info, check this out.)
Friday, March 7, 2014
Book Review: Elantris
I’m currently reading Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson. It is about a magical people who’ve lost their magic. It’s about how purpose can drive away madness, and passion can drive us to madness. It deals with the politics and religions of a fictional world in a way that allows the suspension of disbelief.
There are 4 characters who are the primary drivers of action: a dead man with a thousand pains, a clever widow who never met her husband, a priest with ruthless dedication, and an ambitious zealot with madness on his sleeve and method in his mind. Nobody knows the full situation, yet everyone is caught up in it.
While reading this book, I’ve noticed something that connects much of Sanderson’s writing: hope. Yes, he creates believable politics (I’m ignoring the question of realism, a different beast altogether). He creates complex and interesting magic systems which seem to tie back into emotions, reason, and a basic understanding of science. Finally, he often puts groups of people into situations so desperate that they lose all semblance of hope.
Then someone finds it. A desperate soul rife with integrity, intelligence, ingenuity, and some measure of combat ability. (Though they may have a loyal bodyguard with great martial skill.) This hero finds the hope and holds it forth for others to see. People follow the hero and become endlessly loyal. It’s what I loved about the way of Kings, what I somehow did not see originally see in the Mistborn trilogy (it’s a bit more subtle there), and it’s what stood out, proud and blunt, in Elantris.
Elantris is his 1st book, so the moral hero (as I will describe this archetype) is perhaps less nuanced than in later books, but the Sanderson brand of hope and defiant optimism is definitely there. I think it’s a good thing; it reminds me of the line from (and don’t make fun of me for this, please) the Phil Collins song, Hero: “It was one of those great stories that you can’t put down at night; the hero knew what he had to do and he wasn’t afraid to fight.”
I definitely prefer the Sanderson hero to the muscled one; give me a dedicated hero who inspires with hope and intelligence over an antihero who stumbles in and saves the day with muscles and explosions. Most the time, of course. I do like occasional explosions.
I also realized something about his magic systems: he always seems to have a source for the magic. Of course, there are a couple of his books I haven’t read. But whether it’s sprites, gods, or something about the land itself, there’s a reason that world has magic we don’t in our world. Based on what I’ve heard from him on Writing Excuses (a weekly podcast he does with other authors), I fully expect that will hold true in the rest of his stories and books. His world building is astounding, and I enjoy trying to predict the mysteries of his magic, as well the plot and character turns the stories will take.
I appreciate Sanderson’s understanding of people from so many walks of life; he seems to have an understanding of men, women, the rich, the poor, the honorable, and the despicable. It’s possible he gets them wrong, even that he writes caricatures of real people in some cases. But they are believable enough in the stories that I don’t get pulled out.
I also want to say that the personality of the moral hero matches what I have seen in Sanderson’s personality. I’ve met him briefly at signings and listened both to his podcast and some of his panels. He’s pleasant, enthusiastic, and intelligent. He certainly determined; he wrote a dozen epics before he got published. That practice is why, I believe, he is a master of his craft; he put years into writing before he was published. That kind of dedication and passion for his craft shows through in his use of language, in his characters, and in his magnificent worlds.
Now, back to reading. I want to see what happens with Hrathen.
There are 4 characters who are the primary drivers of action: a dead man with a thousand pains, a clever widow who never met her husband, a priest with ruthless dedication, and an ambitious zealot with madness on his sleeve and method in his mind. Nobody knows the full situation, yet everyone is caught up in it.
While reading this book, I’ve noticed something that connects much of Sanderson’s writing: hope. Yes, he creates believable politics (I’m ignoring the question of realism, a different beast altogether). He creates complex and interesting magic systems which seem to tie back into emotions, reason, and a basic understanding of science. Finally, he often puts groups of people into situations so desperate that they lose all semblance of hope.
Then someone finds it. A desperate soul rife with integrity, intelligence, ingenuity, and some measure of combat ability. (Though they may have a loyal bodyguard with great martial skill.) This hero finds the hope and holds it forth for others to see. People follow the hero and become endlessly loyal. It’s what I loved about the way of Kings, what I somehow did not see originally see in the Mistborn trilogy (it’s a bit more subtle there), and it’s what stood out, proud and blunt, in Elantris.
Elantris is his 1st book, so the moral hero (as I will describe this archetype) is perhaps less nuanced than in later books, but the Sanderson brand of hope and defiant optimism is definitely there. I think it’s a good thing; it reminds me of the line from (and don’t make fun of me for this, please) the Phil Collins song, Hero: “It was one of those great stories that you can’t put down at night; the hero knew what he had to do and he wasn’t afraid to fight.”
I definitely prefer the Sanderson hero to the muscled one; give me a dedicated hero who inspires with hope and intelligence over an antihero who stumbles in and saves the day with muscles and explosions. Most the time, of course. I do like occasional explosions.
I also realized something about his magic systems: he always seems to have a source for the magic. Of course, there are a couple of his books I haven’t read. But whether it’s sprites, gods, or something about the land itself, there’s a reason that world has magic we don’t in our world. Based on what I’ve heard from him on Writing Excuses (a weekly podcast he does with other authors), I fully expect that will hold true in the rest of his stories and books. His world building is astounding, and I enjoy trying to predict the mysteries of his magic, as well the plot and character turns the stories will take.
I appreciate Sanderson’s understanding of people from so many walks of life; he seems to have an understanding of men, women, the rich, the poor, the honorable, and the despicable. It’s possible he gets them wrong, even that he writes caricatures of real people in some cases. But they are believable enough in the stories that I don’t get pulled out.
I also want to say that the personality of the moral hero matches what I have seen in Sanderson’s personality. I’ve met him briefly at signings and listened both to his podcast and some of his panels. He’s pleasant, enthusiastic, and intelligent. He certainly determined; he wrote a dozen epics before he got published. That practice is why, I believe, he is a master of his craft; he put years into writing before he was published. That kind of dedication and passion for his craft shows through in his use of language, in his characters, and in his magnificent worlds.
Now, back to reading. I want to see what happens with Hrathen.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
3.5 Brief Movie Reviews
Just a few brief reviews of some movies I've seen in the last few months.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Effie for the feels, wow. I’m impressed; in the books, Effie was a mostly oblivious character, from what I remember. The emotional moments (from non-main characters) were from Katniss’ hair and makeup people. These normally oblivious people cried about losing Katniss. But in the movie, Effie conveyed all those emotions in a few brief glances placed here and there through the movie, and they punch right to the heart.
Of course, there are several changes from the book. I accept that fact about movies. In this case, the changes improved the movie, and some of the changes were fairly hard to notice. A few points that stuck in my head didn’t make it into the movie (the flash of the Mockingjay on the watch) but really nothing that ruins anything.
I’m looking forward to Mockingjay Part 1, which comes out comes out late November. I understand that Hoffman's major scenes for that movie were finished, and the few spots left will have him digitally inserted.
I, Frankenstein
I didn’t go in expecting anything, really, except Frankenstein fighting monsters. They fairly quickly summarized the events of Mary Shelley’s book, and then immediately dropped us into a story involving gargoyles and demons. Frankenstein hangs out in the arctic for a few minutes of screen time, and eventually finds himself in the city, hunting the creatures that have been hunting him. They don’t waste time hinting at the backstory; they give it to you right up front so that you can just sit back and watch the action.
Minor spoiler, a question which reveals a plot hole: Okay, so the gargoyles are basically angels that can turn into stone. They are losing the war with the demons. The head of their order can call for back-up; why doesn’t she?
Delivery Man
A touching and mildly funny movie starring Vince Vaughn. Who knew? And considering the situation the movie is based around, it’s amazing how many dirty jokes they didn’t make. It barely even earns the PG-13 rating. It does explain why he has 533 children and, I think, gives a good reason not to look down on him for it.
This movie is based on another movie, Starbuck, which is available on Netflix. Starbuck is subtitled, and the Delivery Man is nearly a scene-by-scene recreation. It explores issues of privacy and parental responsibilities, and I think handles them fairly well. Overall, a surprisingly watchable movie, if not one to rush to the theaters for.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Do I lose all my geek points for not having seen The Desolation of Smaug yet? I hope not (not that it matters...geekdom isn't tracked by points. Except by very specific people.) Anyway, situations in life arise, and…don’t look at me like that. I’m going to see it soon.
I look forward to hearing Bilbo's barrel-rider riddle; it was one of my favorite parts of the cartoon from so many years ago, and I really enjoyed it in the book, as well.
Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Effie for the feels, wow. I’m impressed; in the books, Effie was a mostly oblivious character, from what I remember. The emotional moments (from non-main characters) were from Katniss’ hair and makeup people. These normally oblivious people cried about losing Katniss. But in the movie, Effie conveyed all those emotions in a few brief glances placed here and there through the movie, and they punch right to the heart.
Of course, there are several changes from the book. I accept that fact about movies. In this case, the changes improved the movie, and some of the changes were fairly hard to notice. A few points that stuck in my head didn’t make it into the movie (the flash of the Mockingjay on the watch) but really nothing that ruins anything.
I’m looking forward to Mockingjay Part 1, which comes out comes out late November. I understand that Hoffman's major scenes for that movie were finished, and the few spots left will have him digitally inserted.
I, Frankenstein
I didn’t go in expecting anything, really, except Frankenstein fighting monsters. They fairly quickly summarized the events of Mary Shelley’s book, and then immediately dropped us into a story involving gargoyles and demons. Frankenstein hangs out in the arctic for a few minutes of screen time, and eventually finds himself in the city, hunting the creatures that have been hunting him. They don’t waste time hinting at the backstory; they give it to you right up front so that you can just sit back and watch the action.
Minor spoiler, a question which reveals a plot hole: Okay, so the gargoyles are basically angels that can turn into stone. They are losing the war with the demons. The head of their order can call for back-up; why doesn’t she?
Delivery Man
A touching and mildly funny movie starring Vince Vaughn. Who knew? And considering the situation the movie is based around, it’s amazing how many dirty jokes they didn’t make. It barely even earns the PG-13 rating. It does explain why he has 533 children and, I think, gives a good reason not to look down on him for it.
This movie is based on another movie, Starbuck, which is available on Netflix. Starbuck is subtitled, and the Delivery Man is nearly a scene-by-scene recreation. It explores issues of privacy and parental responsibilities, and I think handles them fairly well. Overall, a surprisingly watchable movie, if not one to rush to the theaters for.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Do I lose all my geek points for not having seen The Desolation of Smaug yet? I hope not (not that it matters...geekdom isn't tracked by points. Except by very specific people.) Anyway, situations in life arise, and…don’t look at me like that. I’m going to see it soon.
I look forward to hearing Bilbo's barrel-rider riddle; it was one of my favorite parts of the cartoon from so many years ago, and I really enjoyed it in the book, as well.
Friday, February 14, 2014
A New Relationship?
Happy Discount Chocolate Eve! A poem for those just starting a relationship:
Early meeting, less than glance,
Should we even take a chance?
Can our future be that bright,
Are we passing in the night?
All the bridges that we've burned
And harsh lessons that we've learned
Mean light has been growing dim,
And old hope has become thin.
Serious questions we ask,
Of the future and the past;
We might still go different ways,
Alone the rest of our days.
Time was I could not believe
Someone good might come to me
Maybe someday, plan or whim,
I will find a way to him.
I thought I was without light;
No one, it seemed, was quite right.
I thought there could never be
Somebody who could match me.
Although it's too soon to say,
Where it will lead, where it may,
Once faint hope has been renewed;
With new life, I've been imbued.
But whether we last or not,
Love or heartbreak be our lot,
Either way, I'm glad we met,
Even if just on the net.
Awooooo
Monday, February 10, 2014
We Value The Difficult
(I am taking a philosophy course. It caused my brain to think. Also, sorry about the more or less two months of inactivity on the blog; family and life have proved to me, once again, that I should really have a backlog of posts.)
Why are the things that are most critical the most difficult to do? Why is it that the important subjects such as math and philosophy give us headaches? Why is it that unhealthy food can taste so good?
Is it to give those things value? This does not necessarily imply a consciousness directing these things to be difficult; I can imagine mechanisms of the mind and evolution that would also accomplish this without outside interference.
Whatever the root cause, I think it is good that we must work for important things. We value the things that give us tribulation; we value the things we work for. It is as parents raising children; they may rate each moment of child rearing as an unhappy moment, (fixing dinner, cleaning up after a mass, trying to get them to bed) but they also (usually) rate children as a great source of happiness.
I have worked some dreadful hours doing tedious projects to accomplish goals that I doubted were important; I treasure those experiences, not because I'd be willing to do them, but because I pushed myself and learned something of what my limits are, and what my limits are not.
Things we have to work for, we value. Perhaps this is so that we will work for these things; we desire fat and sugar so much because it was so difficult for ancestors to get - if they didn’t desire it so greatly, they would have died out from the lack of vital nutrients.
It’s similar for many other things. We have to expend effort to get a return. This is true in the physical world, and perhaps our minds are structured that way fundamentally. Perhaps math is so difficult to so many people because it is so important. Perhaps philosophy gives people so many headaches because it is important.
This, of course, does not mean that everything that is difficult is important. It would be difficult to create a Death Star, but do we really need one? We don’t even know whether there are other planets sustaining life in the universe, not with 100% certainty. (I suspect that there are at least a few.) We are certainly not at war with any of them, and, I imagine, most people on this planet wouldn’t want to just destroy an entire planet filled with life, anyway.
But perhaps even when difficult things are not important, they can still be the source of things that are important. Take the book Contact by Carl Sagan. (And to some extent the movie, though I don’t think the movie portrayed this very well.) Constructing the orb spawned entire new industries. Nations were forced to work together. A whole philosophy of peace sprung up around this monumentally difficult task.
What difficulties have you faced in your life that have shaped you? If you had not experienced them, what would be lost? What would be gained? Should that experience be eradicated from the world?
Why are the things that are most critical the most difficult to do? Why is it that the important subjects such as math and philosophy give us headaches? Why is it that unhealthy food can taste so good?
Is it to give those things value? This does not necessarily imply a consciousness directing these things to be difficult; I can imagine mechanisms of the mind and evolution that would also accomplish this without outside interference.
Whatever the root cause, I think it is good that we must work for important things. We value the things that give us tribulation; we value the things we work for. It is as parents raising children; they may rate each moment of child rearing as an unhappy moment, (fixing dinner, cleaning up after a mass, trying to get them to bed) but they also (usually) rate children as a great source of happiness.
I have worked some dreadful hours doing tedious projects to accomplish goals that I doubted were important; I treasure those experiences, not because I'd be willing to do them, but because I pushed myself and learned something of what my limits are, and what my limits are not.
Things we have to work for, we value. Perhaps this is so that we will work for these things; we desire fat and sugar so much because it was so difficult for ancestors to get - if they didn’t desire it so greatly, they would have died out from the lack of vital nutrients.
It’s similar for many other things. We have to expend effort to get a return. This is true in the physical world, and perhaps our minds are structured that way fundamentally. Perhaps math is so difficult to so many people because it is so important. Perhaps philosophy gives people so many headaches because it is important.
This, of course, does not mean that everything that is difficult is important. It would be difficult to create a Death Star, but do we really need one? We don’t even know whether there are other planets sustaining life in the universe, not with 100% certainty. (I suspect that there are at least a few.) We are certainly not at war with any of them, and, I imagine, most people on this planet wouldn’t want to just destroy an entire planet filled with life, anyway.
But perhaps even when difficult things are not important, they can still be the source of things that are important. Take the book Contact by Carl Sagan. (And to some extent the movie, though I don’t think the movie portrayed this very well.) Constructing the orb spawned entire new industries. Nations were forced to work together. A whole philosophy of peace sprung up around this monumentally difficult task.
What difficulties have you faced in your life that have shaped you? If you had not experienced them, what would be lost? What would be gained? Should that experience be eradicated from the world?
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