#was watching prometheus 2012 when i was like. young

[oflgtfol]

i do actually have m&ms stockpiled …. perhaps tomorrow or monday i will finally watch alien 1979

[eyanril]

Movie Round-Up 2017

My opinions only, of course! :)

Best of 2017:

Logan - This movie is magnificent from the opening to the end credits, and if you haven’t seen it, go out and rectify that RIGHT NOW.  Hugh Jackman brings an utterly heartbreaking vulnerability to an aging Wolverine. Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier and newcomer Dafne Keen as X-23 keep pace easily with Jackman’s fantastic performance.  The story is amazing, the acting is phenomenal, the special effects and fight choreography are stunning.  Seriously, just sit down and watch it already, even you are not a fan of the X-Men franchise.  You won’t regret it. 

Thor: Ragnarok - A delightful romp that, although it doesn’t hold up particularly well on its own, lightens up the Marvel Cinematic Universe almost as easily as a Guardians film. And despite its overall silly tone, it does a good job wrapping up the Asgardian story line and delivers some actual consequences that will reverberate in later films.

Wind River - Stunning cinematography and superb writing elevate this fairly by-the-book murder mystery above its brethren.  Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olson (as well as the supporting cast) are fantastic, and their performances alone make it worth watching.

Get Out - As much biting social commentary as it is thrilling horror movie, this was by far the biggest surprise of 2017 for me.  Everything about Get Out was meticulously crafted, and it deserves every bit of praise it got.  I can’t wait to see what else Jordan Peele has up his sleeve.  

Tie: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and Spider-Man:Homecoming - Both manage to balance the humor and the gravity of their plots fairly well, giving us plenty of funny interspersed with character growth.  I have to give a slight edge to Spider-Man because of Tom Holland’s adorkable performance as Peter Parker, but I enjoyed them both a lot. 

Most Disappointing of 2017:

Ghost in the Shell - Damn, I wanted to love this, but even Scarlett Johansson wasn’t enough to make this live action adaptation of the beloved anime work. (In fact a lot of people seemed to think she was part of the problem.  I disagree).  It’s gorgeous, and it’s well acted, but at the end of the day it just felt flat and forgettable.

Alien: Covenant - Not sure what I expected, considering the let down that was 2012’s Prometheus.  A far cry from the quality of the original Alien and Aliens, it has all the shine but none of the substance that would be a good modern addition to the franchise. It goes in a direction that makes little sense, and made less of an impression on me than even the much derided Alien:Resurrection.

The Dark Tower - Ugh.  It took me months to read Stephen King’s epic fantasy/horror series in its entirety, and all my hopes and dreams for a good adaptation of the source material were dashed very quickly during The Dark Tower. Not only was it a bad adaptation, it was a bad movie in general.  I only hope that someday down the road someone can do the saga justice, even if it’s as a TV show or miniseries, because at this point anything would be better than this movie.  

Kong: Skull Island - Another one I had high hopes for, another one that let me down.  Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson were given nothing interesting to do in a movie with a bloated run-time and little plot, which is a shame because they are both fantastic actors.  Utterly forgettable.

Beauty & the Beast - Why, Disney? Why do you have to keep making these mediocre live action adaptations of your already excellent animated films?  I don’t know exactly what I expected with this one, other than more of what made the original good.  Instead we got a charmless scene for scene rehash, with lukewarm chemistry and tepid song and dance numbers that don’t hold a candle to that of the original.

Surprises of 2017:

The Lego: Batman Movie - Having enjoyed 2014’s The Lego Movie on a very basic level, I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did.  Genuinely funny and heartwarming, it was a better Batman movie than Batman V. Superman and a better DCU movie than Justice League.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Hear me out on this one.  Going into The Force Awakens in 2015, I had seen only A New Hope and The Phantom Menace in their entirety, so I had no idea what to expect of this new iteration.  As it turned out, I was largely indifferent to The Force Awakens.  Color me shocked when I walked out of The Last Jedi very excited for Episode IX.  Was The Last Jedi flawed? Absolutely - and yet, due to a few very crucial elements (mainly any part involving Rey or Kylo Ren), I wouldn’t call it unsalvageable.  In fact, it’s one of the few movies I’d ever consider going to see in the theaters twice, just so I can have more of the good stuff.    

IT - I may have spent half the movie covering my eyes, but as far as horror movies go, that’s high praise coming from me.  While IT has a few issues, overall I found this modern adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel to be thrilling, terrifying, and terribly beautiful.

Power Rangers - Having grown up with a cousin who spent a good chunk of time obsessed with the original Mighty Morphin version, I watched this mostly for nostalgia.  While it takes itself way too seriously for the most part, Elizabeth Banks’ campy turn as Rita Repulsa elevates the quality whenever she’s hamming it up onscreen.  Overall I enjoyed it, which was not something I expected for a movie rebooting a very bad 90s kids’ show.

Colossal - Based on the trailer, you’d think Colossal was a comedy - and you’d be completely wrong.  Hiding a slightly disturbing redemption story behind a funny facade, this one came out of left field, but managed to leave a good impression.  

Movies of 2017 that I wish I had seen:

Lady Bird - From all accounts, it’s brilliant, and I’m just upset that no theater within a reasonable driving distance is playing it. Saoirse Ronan is an amazing young actress and I’ve always enjoyed anything I’ve seen her in.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri - See above, ha.  As we both consider In Bruges to be one of the best movies ever made, my husband and I are eager to see it.

Baby Driver - For some reason my husband and I completely missed this in the theaters and we’re now regretting it, considering the amount of praise it has gotten.  Edgar Wright’s movies are always fantastically shot, and I’m sure this is no different.

[rebelthroughreading-blog]

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Guy Montag is a fireman, except that in this world, instead of putting out the fires, he creates them.

Quick Information

price: $8.99

number of pages: 249

ISBN: 978-1451673319

publisher and date: Simon & Schuster; Reissue edition 2012 

author’s website: http://www.raybradbury.com/

genre: fiction, dystopia, uptopia

main subjects: dystopia, book burning, censorship, totalitarianism, state-sponsored terrorism

Plot

In this utopian world, Guy Montag is a fireman, someone who burns books which are illegal and seen as one of the greatest threats to the happiness of society. He lives with his wife, Mildred, though she spends the majority of her days in the parlor with the “family” who are just the people on the giant television screens that she watches. Everything is normal, or so Montag thinks until he meets Clarisse, a strange teenage neighbor who speaks of things of which he had never even considered. Then one day, she is gone, and everything in Montag’s mind changes.

Who’s reading it?

Though the book is written at about a 6-8 grade level, high school ages are more likely to be interested by the plot, since it includes topics such as censorship and discussions of totalitarianism and technology.

Why did I read it?

In eighth grade, I was looking for more books that had more than just fluff to say. I had read plenty of other books and was starting to look at them in a more critical manner than before, so of course I told my librarian mother this. One of the many books she recommended was Fahrenheit 451, a book she had read and adored because of the real discussions it had with its readers. 

Evaluation

Fahrenheit 451 is hands down one of my favorite books that I have ever written. I have read it a total of three times now, which is a lot since I do not often reread what I have read previously until they have settled in my mind, given me ample time to mull over their words, and it has been many years since the reading. With the majority of books that I have decided to reread (Harry Potter Series, Twilight, The Giver), I have only read them twice (with a couple of cheats here and there - audiobooks will do that to me), but I have read this book three times. I love the consideration that not everything is perfect in the world even if it feels as though it is. I love the idea that television and other such technology could get out of hand one day, which rings eerily true to how today is with social media, the internet, and cell phones. I appreciate how a utoptian world can show just how much the world is really a utopia. The questions that Fahrenheit 451 poses make you think about what more can come from the book and not just censoring is bad, technology is taking over, and we need books. But, to really understand the appeal and greatness of the book, you have to read it for yourself. 

The Issues

censorship

violence / murder

explicit language

anti-religion

age appropriateness

The ultimate issue with this book is that it is an adult fiction book as opposed to a juvenile fiction. The book was written with an older audience in mind, and therefore, much of the issues adults have with young adults reading it is that they feel that the book is inappropriate for the age of the reader. The other issues fall under this main issue. The book was written for someone old enough and with enough knowledge to understand the meaning and discussions, and young adults are not ready for that kind of content.

The book is destroying other books. Yes, the books says that the action is bad, but it still happens. And in turn, those who are in charge of destroying the books also destroy the houses in which the books once were and even the people who read and protected those books if they do not allow the firemen to do as they are supposed to. Those caught reading or harboring illegal books are severely punished. Again, yes the books says that actions are wrong, but they continue to happen. Readers still read and think about them.

The firemen burn all books including the Bible. No one is religious anymore. They talk nothing of any sort of faith and instead busy themselves with their brainwashed thoughts and televisions. 

As with many books written for older audiences, it includes explicit language such as “hell”, “damn”, and “bastard.”

So why should we read it?

How many teenagers have never heard a bad word? How many young adults have never witnessed, read about, or watched on TV some form of violence? How many have done something or knew someone who did something that was not exactly religious? Books like this are nothing new to many young adults, especially those who attend or attended public school or who have ever been in a public setting. They hear language of which their parents may not approve, watch others commit acts that may seem against religion, and smack each other around in unnecessarily violent ways. The real world out from under the protective shield of parents can be ugly, nasty, and downright terrible in certain areas. Yet, despite the negative perspective some might have of that part of the world, it does not mean that it is all bad. Just because someone says “damn” in the hallway, they are not necessarily anti-religious. Just because they spend more time playing video games than doing homework, it does not mean that they are destined to be extremely violent. There are many discussions to be had, but readers cannot have them unless they are able to read the book.

How can we use it?

As I mentioned before, the book includes several discussions. It of course, discusses censorship, a topic that has been around since there were stories. Throughout centuries, people have decided whether or not to allow others to read, hear, watch, or experience stories due to their own opinions and prejudices that can be completely understandable and validated. However, censorship, as appropriate as it may be in certain situations, may not always be appropriate just because someone does not appreciate a work the way that it may have been intended. For example, Fahrenheit 451 is a work of fiction often shelved in the adult section of a library. Putting this book in an elementary school would be inappropriate, and the school librarians are censoring it by choosing not to put it on the shelf. That kind of censoring is absolutely appropriate since a young second grader may happen upon the book and read something they do not understand and are not ready to consider because of their lack of preparedness. On the other side, would taking the book off a high school shelf be appropriate just because the book is considered a work of adult fiction? That begins the new conversation of what censorship is appropriate and justified in certain settings, and the book discusses that with the readers. Is it right to censor every book that has ever been written because the government finds them a threat to their reign? Is it right to decide what to allow people to read due to the beliefs and faith about which the books’ contents talk? Is it right to deny something like religion to a group of people for any reason?

As big a topic as censorship is when it comes to Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury also discusses the issue of television and new technology and how it could not only overtake old technology like books but also consume lives. Entire walls are television screens where characters on shows are considered families. They burn books and replace them with brainwashing machines so that no one can have their own ideas or thoughts. The discussion is clear, throughout the entire book, but often overlooked because of the censorship. This book is perfect for getting young adults to start thinking about these real-life issues and forming their own opinions for which the book advocates anyway.

Booktalk Ideas

Considering the story, is Beatty an antagonist or does something else take that role? Beatty is obviously much of Montag’s opposition, but is he the antagonist to Montag’s protagonist?

Mildred spends all of her time in the parlor talking about her “family” on the television screens. She only wants to spend time there instead of spending any with her physical family. What is the significance of the television taking over for her real life?

What else can I read?

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

The Giver by Lois Lowry

1984 by George Orwell

Awards and Lists

Prometheus Hall of Fame Award 1984

Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel 2004

American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature

Professional Reviews

Daniel D’addario (2018), Time - http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=2&sid=d422f36d-38be-412e-89c6-9ee18b58f6c8%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=129532402&db=a9h

Rodney A. Smolla (2009), Michigan Law Review - http://web.b.ebscohost.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=521731b0-bc4b-49a3-af63-1ce30a40a02b%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=502090656&db=brd

[allbestnet]

What are the best science fiction novels?

1. Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)) by Orson Scott Card (1985; 375 pages)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1986), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1985)

Andrew "Ender" Wiggin thinks he is playing computer simulated war games; he is, in fact, engaged in something far more desperate. The result of genetic experimentation, Ender may be the military genius Earth desperately needs in a war against an alien enemy seeking to destroy all human life. The only way to find out is to throw Ender into ever harsher training, to chip away and find the diamond inside, or destroy him utterly. Ender Wiggin is six years old when it begins. He will grow up fast.

2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979; 224 pages)

“The quality of any advice anybody has to offer has to be judged against the quality of life they actually lead.”

“Simple. I got very bored and depressed, so I went and plugged myself in to its external computer feed. I talked to the computer at great length and explained my view of the Universe to it," said Marvin. "And what happened?" pressed Ford. "It committed suicide," said Marvin and stalked off back to the Heart of Gold.”

Seconds before Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together, this dynamic pair began a journey through space aided by a galaxyful of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox, the two-headed, three-armed, ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian (formerly Tricia McMillan), Zaphod’s girlfriend, whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; and Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he’s bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? For all the answers, stick your thumb to the stars!

3. Hyperion (Hyperion Cantos, #1) by Dan Simmons (1989; 481 pages)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1990), Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1990)

“In the beginning was the Word. Then came the fucking word processor. Then came the thought processor. Then came the death of literature. And so it goes.”

On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all. On the eve of Armageddon, with the entire galaxy at war, seven pilgrims set forth on a final voyage to Hyperion seeking the answers to the unsolved riddles of their lives. Each carries a desperate hope—and a terrible secret. And one may hold the fate of humanity in his hands.

4. Dune by Frank Herbert (1965 ; 592 pages)

Herbert's evocative, epic tale is set on the desert planet Arrakis, the focus for a complex political and military struggle with galaxy-wide repercussions. Arrakis is the source of spice, a mind enhancing drug which makes interstellar travel possible, and therefore the most valuable substance in the galaxy. When Duke Atreides and his family take up court there, they fall into a trap set by his rival, Baron Harkonnen. The Duke is poisoned, but his wife and her son Paul escape to the vast and arid deserts of Arrakis, which have given it the name Dune. They join the Fremen, natives of the planet who have learnt to live in this harsh and complex ecosystem. But learning to survive is not enough - Paul's destiny was mapped out long ago and his mother is committed to seeing it fulfilled.

5. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick (1968 ; 208 pages)

“You will be required to do wrong no matter where you go. It is the basic condition of life, to be required to violate your own identity. At some time, every creature which lives must do so. It is the ultimate shadow, the defeat of creation; this is the curse at work, the curse that feeds on all life. Everywhere in the universe.”

It was January 2021, and Rick Deckard had a license to kill. Somewhere among the hordes of humans out there, lurked several rogue androids. Deckard's assignment--find them and then..."retire" them. Trouble was, the androids all looked exactly like humans, and they didn't want to be found!

6. Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1951 ; 296 pages)

“Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right.”

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”

“For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun -- or fight them and be destroyed.”

7. Ready Player One (Ready Player One #1) by Ernest Cline (2011 ; 374 pages)

Prometheus Award for Best Novel (2012)

“In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.”

8. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932 ; 288 pages)

“But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”

Brave New World is a dystopian novel written in 1931 by English author Aldous Huxley, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State of genetically modified citizens and an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific developments in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation, and classical conditioning that are combined to make a utopian society that goes challenged only by a single outsider.

9. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953 ; 159 pages)

“Ray Bradbury’s internationally acclaimed novel Fahrenheit 451 is a masterwork of twentieth-century literature set in a bleak, dystopian future.

Guy Montag is a fireman. In his world, where television rules and literature is on the brink of extinction, firemen start fires rather than put them out. His job is to destroy the most illegal of commodities, the printed book, along with the houses in which they are hidden.

Montag never questions the destruction and ruin his actions produce, returning each day to his bland life and wife, Mildred, who spends all day with her television “family.” But then he meets an eccentric young neighbor, Clarisse, who introduces him to a past where people didn’t live in fear and to a present where one sees the world through the ideas in books instead of the mindless chatter of television.

When Mildred attempts suicide and Clarisse suddenly disappears, Montag begins to question everything he has ever known. He starts hiding books in his home, and when his pilfering is discovered, the fireman has to run for his life.”

10. The Martian by Andy Weir (2012; 387 pages)

“ABOUT THE MARTIAN

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.

Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.

But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?”

11. Neuromancer by William Gibson (1984; 288 pages)

“The Matrix is a world within the world, a global consensus-hallucination, the representation of every byte of data in cyberspace...

Henry Dorsett Case was the sharpest data-thief in the business—until a vengeful ex-employer crippled his nervous system. Now a mysterious new employer has recruited him for a last-chance run. The target: an unthinkably powerful artificial intelligence orbiting Earth. With a dead man riding shotgun and Molly, mirror-eyed street-samurai, to watch his back, Case embarks on an adventure that ups the ante on an entire genre of fiction.”

12. Artemis by Andy Weir (2017; 320 pages)

“Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first”

13. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (first published 1895, 128 pages)

“Nature never appeals to intelligence until habit and instinct are useless. There is no intelligence where there is no need of change.”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest hopes...and our darkest fears. A pull of the Time Machine’s lever propels him to the age of a slowly dying Earth. There he discovers two bizarre races—the ethereal Eloi and the subterranean Morlocks—who not only symbolize the duality of human nature, but offer a terrifying portrait of the men of tomorrow as well. Published in 1895, this masterpiece of invention captivated readers on the threshold of a new century. Thanks to Wells’s expert storytelling and provocative insight, The Time Machinewill continue to enthrall readers for generations to come.

14. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992)

“One of Time’s 100 best English-language novels • A mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous—you’ll recognize it immediately

In reality, Hiro Protagonist delivers pizza for Uncle Enzo’s CosoNostra Pizza Inc., but in the Metaverse he’s a warrior prince. Plunging headlong into the enigma of a new computer virus that’s striking down hackers everywhere, he races along the neon-lit streets on a search-and-destroy mission for the shadowy virtual villain threatening to bring about infocalypse. Snow Crash is a mind-altering romp through a future America so bizarre, so outrageous…you’ll recognize it immediately.”

15. The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1974)

“The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time dilation caused by space travel, Mandella is aging months while the Earth he left behind is aging centuries...”

16. 2001 : A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (first published 1968)

On the Moon, an enigma is uncovered.

So great are the implications of this discovery that for the first time men are sent out deep into our solar system.

But long before their destination is reached, things begin to go horribly, inexplicably wrong...

One of the greatest-selling science fiction novels of our time, this classic book will grip you to the very end.

17. The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (first published 2007)

1967: Ye Wenjie witnesses Red Guards beat her father to death during China's Cultural Revolution. This singular event will shape not only the rest of her life but also the future of mankind. Four decades later, Beijing police ask nanotech engineer Wang Miao to infiltrate a secretive cabal of scientists after a spate of inexplicable suicides. Wang's investigation will lead him to a mysterious online game and immerse him in a virtual world ruled by the intractable and unpredicatable interaction of its three suns. This is the Three-Body Problem and it is the key to everything: the key to the scientists' deaths, the key to a conspiracy that spans light-years and the key to the extinction-level threat humanity now faces.

18. I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (1950)

The three laws of Robotics: 1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2) A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. 3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

But what happens when a rogue robot's idea of what is good for society contravenes the Three Laws?

19. Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (first published 1961 | 224 pages)

A classic work of science fiction by renowned Polish novelist and satirist Stanislaw Lem.

When Kris Kelvin arrives at the planet Solaris to study the ocean that covers its surface, he finds a painful, hitherto unconscious memory embodied in the living physical likeness of a long-dead lover. Others examining the planet, Kelvin learns, are plagued with their own repressed and newly corporeal memories. The Solaris ocean may be a massive brain that creates these incarnate memories, though its purpose in doing so is unknown, forcing the scientists to shift the focus of their quest and wonder if they can truly understand the universe without first understanding what lies within their hearts.

20. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M Miller (first published 1959 | 334 pages)

In a nightmarish ruined world slowly awakening to the light after sleeping in darkness, the infant rediscoveries of science are secretly nourished by cloistered monks dedicated to the study and preservation of the relics and writings of the blessed Saint Isaac Leibowitz. From here the story spans centuries of ignorance, violence, and barbarism, viewing through a sharp, satirical eye the relentless progression of a human race damned by its inherent humanness to recelebrate its grand foibles and repeat its grievous mistakes. Seriously funny, stunning, and tragic, eternally fresh, imaginative, and altogether remarkable, A Canticle for Leibowitz retains its ability to enthrall and amaze. It is now, as it always has been, a masterpiece.

21. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (2014 | 443 pages)

Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space—and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe—in this light-hearted debut space opera from a rising sci-fi star.

22. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke (first published 1953 | 218 pages )

Without warning, giant silver ships from deep space appear in the skies above every major city on Earth. Manned by the Overlords, in fifty years, they eliminate ignorance, disease, and poverty. Then this golden age ends--and then the age of Mankind begins....

23. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (first published 1897)

This masterpiece of science fiction is the fascinating story of Griffin, a scientist who creates a serum to render himself invisible, and his descent into madness that follows.

24. Red Mars (Mars Trilogy #1) by Kim Stanley Robinson (first published 1993)

John Boone, Maya Toitavna, Frank Chalmers, and Arkady Bogdanov lead a mission whose ultimate goal is the terraforming of Mars. For some, Mars will become a passion driving them to daring acts of courage and madness; for others it offers and opportunity to strip the planet of its riches. And for the genetic "alchemists, " Mars presents a chance to create a biomedical miracle, a breakthrough that could change all we know about life...and death.

25. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (first published 1999 | 1139 pages)

Cryptonomicon zooms all over the world, careening conspiratorially back and forth between two time periods--World War II and the present. Our 1940s heroes are the brilliant mathematician Lawrence Waterhouse, crypt analyst extraordinaire, and gung-ho, morphine-addicted marine Bobby Shaftoe. They're part of Detachment 2702, an Allied group trying to break Axis communication codes while simultaneously preventing the enemy from figuring out that their codes have been broken. Their job boils down to layer upon layer of deception. Dr. Alan Turing is also a member of 2702, and he explains the unit's strange workings to Waterhouse. "When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty--we already know exactly where the convoy is. Its real duty is to be observed... Then, when we come round and sink them, the Germans will not find it suspicious."

26. The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1963)

It's America in 1962. Slavery is legal once again. The few Jews who still survive hide under assumed names. In San Francisco the I Ching is as common as the Yellow Pages. All because some 20 years earlier the United States lost a war, and is now occupied jointly by Nazi Germany and Japan.

27. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1961)

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1962), Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (1987)

“Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy - in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.”

The Hugo Award-winning and controversial science fiction masterpiece from Robert A. Heinlein, the New York Times bestselling author of Starship Troopers. Valentine Michael Smith is a man raised by Martians. Sent to Earth, he must learn what it is to be human. But his beliefs and his powers far exceed the limits of man, and his arrival leads to a transformation that will alter Earth's inhabitants forever...

28. The Martian Chronicles by Ray D Bradbury (1950)

Bradbury's Mars is a place of hope, dreams and metaphor - of crystal pillars and fossil seas - where a fine dust settles on the great, empty cities of a silently destroyed civilization. It is here the invaders have come to despoil and commercialize, to grow and to learn - first a trickle, then a torrent, rushing from a world with no future toward a promise of tomorrow. The Earthman conquers Mars...and then is conquered by it, lulled by dangerous lies of comfort and familiarity, and enchanted by the lingering glamour of an ancient, mysterious native race.

29. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1966)

“I don’t know what’s worse: to not know what you are and be happy, or to become what you’ve always wanted to be, and feel alone.”

The story of a mentally disabled man whose experimental quest for intelligence mirrors that of Algernon, an extraordinary lab mouse. In diary entries, Charlie tells how a brain operation increases his IQ and changes his life. As the experimental procedure takes effect, Charlie's intelligence expands until it surpasses that of the doctors who engineered his metamorphosis. The experiment seems to be a scientific breakthrough of paramount importance--until Algernon begins his sudden, unexpected deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?

30. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (Published in 1897)

With H.G. Wells’ other novels, The War of the Worlds was one of the first and greatest works of science fiction ever to be written. Even long before man had learned to fly, H.G. Wells wrote this story of the Martian attack on England. These unearthly creatures arrive in huge cylinders, from which they escape as soon as the metal is cool…

31. Ringworld by Larry Niven (1970)

A new place is being built, a world of huge dimensions, encompassing millions of miles, stronger than any planet before it. There is gravity, and with high walls and its proximity to the sun, a livable new planet that is three million times the area of the Earth can be formed. We can start again!

Hugo Award for Best Novel (1971), Nebula Award for Best Novel (1970), Locus Award for Best Novel (1971)

32. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1966)

It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people, a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic who become the movement's leaders, and of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt's inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution's ultimate success.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1995)

The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer is a postcyberpunk novel by Neal Stephenson. It is to some extent a science fiction coming-of-age story, focused on a young girl named Nell, and set in a future world in which nanotechnology affects all aspects of life. The novel deals with themes of education, social class, ethnicity, and the nature of artificial intelligence.

34. A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge (1992)

Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures and technology can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence. Fleeing the threat, a family of scientists, including two children, are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. A rescue mission, not entirely composed of humans, must rescue the children-and a secret that may save the rest of interstellar civilization.

35. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1974)

Shevek, a brilliant physicist, decides to take action. he will seek answers, question the unquestionable, and attempt to tear down the walls of hatred that have isolated his planet of anarchists from the rest of the civilized universe. To do this dangerous task will mean giving up his family and possibly his life. Shevek must make the unprecedented journey to the utopian mother planet, Anarres, to challenge the complex structures of life and living, and ignite the fires of change.

36. The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (1974)

In 3016, the 2nd Empire of Man spans hundreds of star systems, thanks to the faster-than-light Alderson Drive. No other intelligent beings have ever been encountered, not until a lightsail probe enters a human system carrying a dead alien. The probe is traced to the Mote, an isolated star in a thick dust cloud, & an expedition is dispatched. In the Mote the humans find an ancient civilization--at least one million years old--that has always been bottled up in their cloistered solar system for lack of a star drive. The Moties are welcoming & kind, yet rather evasive about certain aspects of their society. It seems the Moties have a dark problem, one they've been unable to solve in over a million years.

37. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester

In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hit men - and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive. The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.

[bestmovies0]

The Shocking Abuse Allegations Against Michael Fassbender

As Hollywood’s producing humen fall prey to the reckon over sex misconduct, certain -Alisters have managed to sidestep scrutiny.

But Twitter never forgets.

While the media gushes over Michael Fassbender’s secret Ibiza nuptials with Alicia Vikander and their new home in Lisbon, dark #MeToo-style allegations from the actor’s past have been demoted to social media.

In her March Vogue cover-up, Tomb Raider actress Vikander referenced her domestic bliss with Fassbender, telling the magazine,” I feel I’m more happy and content than I’ve ever been .”

Yet the newlywed Fassbender was a no-show at the 2018 Golden Globes ceremony. While other alleged abusers walked the red carpet in all black, triggering social media backlash over their perceived hypocrisy, Fassbender appears to have simply opted out. Vikander, who was a presenter at the ceremony, arrived, posed for photos, and did E! interviews alone. In conducted in conformity with the Time’s Up initiative, Vikander wore black.

Fassbender may have avoided the Golden Globes and a flurry of envision pieces, but allegations regarding domestic abuse have silently trailed him in recent years.

The domestic abuse allegedly occurred in 2010, just two years before Fassbender made his X-Men debut as Magneto and made an award-winning performance in the critically acclaimed Shame . A 2012 Hollywood Reporter article,” Fassbender on Fire ,” chronicled the German-Irish actor’s meteoric rise , noting that, while” development projects started pouring in from top-flight administrators” around 2009, it wasn’t until 2011 that Fassbender had his” real introduced by renown .” The 2012 profile continued,” One of the most gifted actors today, the sun of Shame , A Dangerous Method and the upcoming Prometheus has the industry in awe .”

A 2016 Guardian profile goes one pace further, positing that Fassbender’s career has been characterized exclusively by personal and professional success.” Twice nominated for an Oscar, the 39 -year-old suns in three new cinemas between now and January alone, one of which he likewise rendered ,” Fassbender’s interviewer raved.” And all this with scarcely a misstep( he opted not even to watch the 2010 flop Jonah Hex ), nor gossip editorial indiscretion. It is about as flawless a movie star career as would be possible to perfect .”

” He was sleeping in urine. I woke him and he began to be violent and threw me over a chair, transgressing my nose .” div>

— Sunawin Andrews on Michael Fassbender

In the age of the internet, it seems altogether too bold to publicly declare any human being to be indiscretion-free, let alone Michael Fassbender. It simply takes a simple Google search to find the TMZ bulletin that vividly chronicled Fassbender’s alleged abuse. While the 2010 report landed right before Fassbender’s mainstream success, it came after Inglourious Basterds — and was promptly discounted and apparently forgotten by writers, -Alist administrators, and Hollywood executives alike.

Fassbender has never commented on these allegations from his former girlfriend Sunawin ” Leasi ” Andrews, then a 36 -year-old aspiring model and actress.

Nearly a decade afterward, it’s hard to pinpoint a single way in which these allegations negatively affected Fassbender’s career, or even find a single profile of the actor that mentions them. Fassbender, who has wrestled with the misogyny and violence of some of his disturbed characters in publish, has apparently never been asked to comment on his own past.

The closest thing to an official statement comes politenes of Fassbender’s mothers. His mother, Adele, told the Daily Mail ,” Anyone who knows Michael at all knows that it’s a complete fabrication .” The actor’s father, Josef, told The Irish Sun that,” I don’t know where she is getting this story from, Michael is the most gentle boy you could ever meet .”

But a petition filed in courtroom by Andrews and obtained by The Daily Beast tells another story: one where Fassbender, on separate occasions, was alleged to have dragged her alongside a auto and violated her nose.

Reached by phone, Andrews declined to comment on the tale and pertained a Daily Beast reporter to her tribunal filings.

” You’ve got the paperwork. What more is there to say ?” she said.

Fassbender’s representative did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

According to court filings, Andrews filed for a restraining order against Fassbender in Los Angeles County in March 2010, requesting the actor stay at least 100 yards away from her, and her then-1 8-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.

She likewise tried lawyers’ costs, nearly $24,000 to pay her medical bills( allegedly arising from hurts she suffered at Fassbender’s hands ), and requested Fassbender enroll in a 52 -week batterer intervention program.

In her petition, she listed the” date of most recent abuse” as Nov. 18, 2009. But in her narration of the encounter, she wrote that she visited a hospital on Nov. 29.( Her medical bills, submitted in the filings , note a Nov. 29 date of service. It’s unclear whether Nov. 18 was a clerical error on her proportion, or if she sought medical attention 11 days later .)

One disturbing episode allegedly occurred when Fassbender, Andrews, and two friends dined at a eatery. According to Andrews, Fassbender became enraged when one of her ex-boyfriends approached their table to say hello.

” Michael was booze and became angry ,” Andrews wrote, adding that, when it was time to leave, her worried friends followed them home.” Michael was driving my auto dangerously fast and hollering at me. I implored him to stop the car in fear of road traffic accidents or for my children who were home asleep ,” Andrews continued.” As we got closer to my house I throw my auto in stop. Get out walked around the car to draw key from ignition. Michael drove of[ f] dragging me along from the car .”

Andrews claimed that Fassbender” stopped after he recognized I could not walk and get out of automobile. He picked me up and put me in vehicle as my friends pulled up behind us. They stayed the night to aid calm things .” She woke on Nov. 29″ in a deep sweat and pain with vaginal bleeding ,” her petition countries.” I went to the hospital and had a distorted left ankle, blown out left knee cap and a bursted ovarian cyst ,” Andrews continued.” Lots of internal bleeding .”

One former friend at dinner that night, who didn’t want to be named and refused remark, said she didn’t witness the alleged car-dragging incident.

” I was with her that night. I know that they had a fight but I didn’t witness anything he did to her ,” the onetime buddy said when reached by phone, adding,” When we got to the house, they were not fighting anymore .”

Andrews detailed a second alleged incident at a film festival in July 2009. While she doesn’t name the event, Andrews was most likely referring to the Ischia Global Film& Music Fest 2009 in Ischia, Italy.

The actress claimed in her petition that Fassbender assaulted her after a nighttime of boozing at a festival “ceremony,” courtroom papers uncover.

Andrews alleged she went to bed but Fassbender continued partying until the wee hours before returning to their hotel.” He entered the room with a friend at about 5 a.m. drunk and they tried to get into bed with me ,” Andrews noted in her petition, adding that she checked into another chamber, apparently to catch some sleep away from them.

The next morning, Andrews returned to aftermath Fassbender for a panel. According to the schedule of events for the 2009 celebration, Fassbender was slated to appear at a 10 a.m. Movie Educational Seminar on Thursday, July 16 — the morning after an 11 p.m. Dinner Party with Award Ceremony “to follow.”

Fassbender was allegedly a mess when Andrews find him.

” He was sleeping in urine ,” she wrote in her court filing.” I woke him and he began to be violent and threw me over a chair, breaking my nose .”

According to the court record, a magistrate awarded a temporary restraining order that called for Fassbender to move out of the couple’s Bel Air home, which she said was leased in her epithet. The tribunal built the ruling based on Andrews’ claims that Fassbender was currently out of the country and therefore not living there, records show.

” Michael is currently shooting movies and is to return to the USA in the coming week ,” Andrews wrote in the petition.” I currently live alone with my two children where this is his only US address. I am still retrieving from my hurts and am afraid for my safety. I pay all bills and lived there before him .”

Of course, Fassbender isn’t the first actor not to be derailed by allegations regarding domestic mistreat. The entertainment industry is riddled with accused and even acknowledged abusers. Still, perhaps because he was just on the cusp of notoriety, Fassbender’s case made surprisingly few waves. Aside from a short TMZ piece, there was a 2010 article in the Irish Mail on Sunday digging into Fassbender’s accuser.

After hailing Fassbender’s streak of high-profile roles, the article wasted no time impugning Andrews’ credibility.

The Irish Mail declared that Fassbender’s” status as Ireland’s hottest young sun was placed in jeopardy” by Andrews'” string of lurid accusations .”

” Leasi, a modeling, claimed that the Killarney man attacked her in a drunken fury after a film festival, violating her nose and inducing her to anxiety for her two young children ,” the article stated.

The report went on to attack Andrews, smearing details of her” seedy past” across the page.

” However the Irish Mail on Sunday em> can reveal that the woman who is threatening the 32 -year-old Irishman’s reputation and, indeed, his very subsistence, is herself a woman with a troubled and somewhat seedy past. The model has had a string of lovers including an internet porn noble and a married man; she has children by different father-gods, her first as an 18 -year-old; and her early years were spent posing for’ erotic’ lesbian portraits .”

The unabashedly victim-shaming article concluded,” Nor was it the only instance of domestic violence in Miss Andrews’s chequered past. Indeed, much of her history seems to suggest that, either she suffers from a persecution complex–or else she genuinely brought about by the worst in humen .”

When contacted again by The Daily Beast, Andrews said the negative reports were inaccurate and that she’d been targeted by a smear campaign. She was a swimsuit and lingerie modeling and cinema and Tv actress, but never did X-rated project, she said.

According to one 2009 report, Andrews and Fassbender met when she visited her ex, producer Lawrence Bender, on the set of Inglourious Basterds in Germany. A 2006 article in the Seattle Weekly offered further details on the past that the Mail on Sunday alluded to.

In 2005, Andrews reportedly procured a one-year restraining order against her then-boyfriend, Seth Warshavsky, otherwise known as” the Bill Gates of porn .” Andrews, who was 25 at the time, claimed “[ Warshavsky] choked her during a limousine journey in Las Vegas last fall and has physically assaulted her in front of her 6-year-old child .” According to court documents, Andrews accused Warshavsky of” stalking her home” and threatening” to have my baby’s father killed .” While Warshavsky insisted that the civil action was ” simply a frivolous restraining order in an attempt to extort fund, and is in the process of being fell ,” the order was renewed for another time, according to the Seattle Weekly .

After domestic mistreat allegations against Fassbender first transgressed, the Daily Mail asked,” Now, after an Affair with a Former Porn Model and Accusations of Domestic Violence, Has It All Gone Wrong ?” The newspaper quoted a” senior movie industry figure” as went on to say that,” Attain no mistake, this has been noted at the highest level .”

” Nobody knows the full circumstances of the case but it seems exceedingly out of character ,” the source added.” Sure, he likes to have a sip now and again, but he is fundamentally a gentle guy. If he has a weakness, it is wives .”

Fassbender’s camp called Andrews’ restraining order into question because she filed it while the actor was filming in the U.K. When asked to comment on Andrews’ restraining notice, his “surprised” father responded,” Michael has been in England for the last six months. I don’t know how anything like that could have happened .”

Filming on Jane Eyre has just taken place in the U.K. from March 2010 through May 2010. Andrews filed a request for dismissal on April 5, 2010 — the working day before a scheduled hearing on the matter.

At the time, the New York Daily News cited “sources” who claimed that,” Andrews still wants Fassbender, “whos been” filming in England, to maintain his distance. But she feared her objection could get the Irish-German sun barred from returning to America .” One friend told the News ,” She doesn’t want to injured his job .” The insider also claimed Andrews didn’t want to damage Inglourious Basterds as an Oscars contender, as the film’s producer, Lawrence Bender, is the father-god of one of her children.

Court papers reveal that TMZ had requested a judge’s permission to livestream the April 6 hearing for Andrew’s protective ordering. Whether the court granted the outlet’s petition is unknown.

The temporary restraining notice expired when Andrews receded her petition the day before the hearing for a permanent protective order, records show. Court papers do not indicate why Andrews canceled her request.

In 2012, Fassbender and Andrews had a brief, well-publicized reunion after the Golden Globes. The former pair was spotted together at The Writer’s Room in Los Angeles, and Andrews was appreciated leaving the actor’s hotel the next day.

It was the last tabloid sighting of the former couple.

The Establishment picked the domestic violence accusations back up in 2016, questioning whether Fassbender’s race dedicated him a free pass.

The author, Becca Rose , noted Andrews’ 2012 reunion with Fassbender and the withdrawal of the restraining order complicates the narrative. But she said it’s the media’s occupation to look deeper into the perturbing allegations.

Andrews never publicly forswore her allegations. Meanwhile, Fassbender has catapulted to success without having to answer to the allegations or” suffer any significant outcomes ,” The Establishment piece notes.

” Leasi Andrews gets a mention on his Wikipedia page, but simply as an ex ,” the article nations.” To find anything on the abuse allegations, you have to hunt for it. It is, for all intents and purposes, like it never happened .”

On Fassbender’s current Wikipedia page, the actor’s” personal life” begins with a mention of ex Nicole Beharie in 2012, and ends with the actor’s recent wedding to Alicia Vikander.

Andrews has been completely erased.

Brandy Zadrozny lent research to this article . em>

Read more: https :// www.thedailybeast.com/ the-shocking-abuse-allegations-against-michael-fassbender

from https://bestmovies.fun/2018/02/14/the-shocking-abuse-allegations-against-michael-fassbender/

[tomakeitbeautifultolive]

Tagged by @violet-eyes-silver-hair

last (1-5)

drink - Water

phone call - My sister or my mom. Everyone else knows how to call me 'cause I won't answer!

text msg - "Your Peapod Driver has arrived!"

song you listened to - A Perfect Circle - The Doomed

time you cried - Can't remember

ever..? (6-11)

dated someone twice - Unfortunately. Do not suggest.

ever kissed someone and regretted it - Ew, too many times!

been cheated on - Oh, by pretty much everyone. I hate men.

lost some1 special - My father in 2012

been depressed - I actively have depression, which is really strange when you have no complaints in your life.

gotten drunk/thrown up - I've never been drunk and hope to continue on never knowing

fav colors (12-14)

Green, but, honestly? All of them.

-> Uh, where are 13 and 14? Hmm! <-

Two more colors, perhaps? Chartreuse and Indigo!

in the last yr have you.. (15-21)

made new friends/ mutuals - Tons! So many awesome people.

fallen out of love - Nope

laughed until you cried - Pretty often!

found out some1 was talking about you - I doubt it, I'm too secluded

met some1 who changed you - Hmm. I don't... think so...

kissed some1 on your FB friends’ list - Quite a few.

general (22-51)

how many of your FB friends do you know irl - I have 78 and I know most of them. I have a FB account strictly so I don't have to sit on the phone with any of them! xD

have any pets - Two gorgeous kitties. One who is currently laying across my arms and getting annoyed as I type.

do you want to change your name - I'd like to get rid of my last name because my family is fucking crazy.

what did you do for your prev. birthday - Probably nothing. I've been apathetic about birthdays for at least a decade.

what time did you wake up today - 12:30pm

what were you doing @ midnight last night - Freaking myself out with YouTube conspiracy videos.

what is something you can’t wait for - My husband to go back to work :P

what’re you listening to atm - Kendall Rae

have you ever talked to a person named Tom - Ew. The person I hate the most on planet Earth is named Tom (think rampant sexual predator).

something that’s getting on your nerves - My cat. He's been relentlessly stalking me all day.

most visited site - Tumblr, YouTube, Ao3, Peapod

hair color - Mousy brown

long/ short hair - Very long. Probably past my butt when straightened.

do you have a crush on some1 - Infinite fictional characters

what do you like about yourself - Uh, that I'm nice to a fault. Sure, other people walk all over me but that's way better than being haunted by your own actions at 3am years down the road.

want any piercings - Nope.

blood type - I have no idea. But I do know my haplogroup! xD

nicknames - I've retired them.

relationship status - Married.

zodiac - Pisces. (No, I don't believe space dictates your personality)

pronoun(s) - Oh, Tumblr...

fav tv shows - Game. Of. Fucking. Thrones. (Oh, and Stark Trek TNG & DS9!)

tattoos? - None now. I'd like to get an apology letter to my future mortician.

rightie or leftie - Right-handed

ever had surgery - No, and I hope I can continue the trend

piercings - Had my nose pierced before. I got it out of my system.

sports - No thank you

vacation - Centralia! (Silent Hill) Which could actually happen because I only live a couple hours from it.

trainers - Um, hwhat?

more general (52-58)

eating - Nothing at the moment.

drinking - Water. Wasn't there already a similar question?

i’m about to watch - More live Motown performances on YouTube, probably?

waiting for - Winds of Winter, I suppose.

want - Jon, Daenerys, Arya, Bran, Davos, and Gendry to all survive season 8.

get married - I hope not. I'd like to just stay married.

career - Maybe writing? Maybe more design.

which is better (59-65)

hugs/kisses - Hugs

lips/eyes - Eyes

shorter/taller - Both have perks

older/younger - Older - Youth is wasted on the young

nice arms/ stomach - You can live without arms but not without a stomach.

hookup/relationship - Relationship

troublemaker/hesitant - Can only think about how weird this pair of words is!

have you ever (66-75)

kissed a stranger - Unfortunately, hoping to get out of a weird situation where I didn't want to become a corpse by offending someone much larger and scarier than I. Oh, to be a woman!

drank hard liquor - Ew.

lost glasses - Not for more than a few minutes.

turned someone down - Yes

sex on 1st date - >.> Okay but what if it's the first date with someone who's been a friend for years? Still bad? Oh well.

broken a heart - Maybe a few times.

had your heart broken - Countless.

been arrested - Never as an adult! xD

cried when some1 died - I'm not a sociopath, so yes.

fallen for a friend - Only type I fall for, to be honest.

do you believe in.. (76-81)

yourself - Not really. I DO believe in my anxiety!

miracles - Coincidences that appear miraculous, sure.

love @ first sight - Lust at first sight.

santa clause - Never had the opportunity.

kiss on a 1st date - Life's too short not to if you’re feelin’ it.

angels - Gods, no.

others (82-85)

best friend’s name - I have about 4 but their names are too original to post here.

eye color - Dull blue/grey - Very Stark.

fav movie - Lost in Translation, Amelie, Secretary, Waking Life, Once, Velvet Goldmine, The Crow, The Virgin Suicides, Gattaca, Prometheus, Let the Right One In, Before Sunrise, Blade Runner 2049, I'm a Cyborg, but that's Okay, etc etc

fav actor - Scarlett Johansson, Humphrey Bogart, John Malkovich

tagging: @winterfells-targaryen @geekyfeminist-love aaand @daisystargaryen

[niamsuggitt]

The Ides Of June 2017

Hello there! And welcome all to this month’s ‘The Ides Of’ column, where I write just a little bit about all of the various stuff and nonsense I’ve been enjoying over the past 30 days. Yes, this instalment is late, but it’s been lovely and warm, so I haven’t had the inclination to stay indoors and write this stuff. I’ve actually been outside and I’ve even been wearing shorts! What is the world coming to?

This month is a decent one I think, there’s a lot of movies (although some are rewatches), 2 intriguing books, more great TV and I bought another Switch game! Unfortunately there’s no new music this time out, but next month will change that, with new Royal Blood and Public Service Broadcasting albums on the horizon.

So let’s do it to it!

—

Movies

Lot’s of movies to talk about this time, so let’s not waste any time with preamble! First up is Prometheus (Ridley Scott 2012), which I finally actually got around to watching due to the release of it’s sequel, Alien: Covenant, which I haven’t actually seen. That’s kind of me in a nutshell really, the release of a new thing makes me realise I haven’t actually seen the old thing yet! See also Schmidt, Kimmy later on. Anyway, I mostly enjoyed Prometheus, although as the rest of the internet has already explained ad nauseum, it certainly has it’s problems and, at a bit of a remove, doesn’t really make that much sense. I like the previous Alien films, and have the Quadrilogy box-set, but wouldn’t say I was any kind of mega-fan, so I don’t have any real issues per se with Scott going back and removing some of the mystery. Especially because, every answer he gives only raises more and more questions! I came out of the film wanting to know more, so in that way, it was a success. I think the things that really stood out to me here were the visuals, because whatever you think of Ridley Scott, the man has one of the best eyes for science fiction out there, and also the fantastic performance of Michael Fassbender as the android, David. He is just superb, although his role in the plot is one that frustrates me, as it’s never really explained why David is fucking with things, he just… is. Maybe the answers are waiting for me in Covenant? I also found that frustration with Charlize Theron’s character. She’s just kind of a dick for no reason, you find out Weyland is her dad… and then she dies. There must be more to it than that, but there isn’t. A lot of the other performances are like that really, good actors doing something potentially good, but not as much as you like, Idris Elba, Race Spall and Sean Harris all deserve more I think. Especially as Noomi Rapace, who is nominally the lead, isn’t quite as interesting, at least to me. Her performance is good, particularly in the fantastic ‘abortion’ scene that’s probably the film’s highlight. Unfortunately for Rapace, in an Alien film, a female lead is always going to be compared to Sigourney Weaver, and she doesn’t quite match up! Prometheus is, I would say, not a particularly great film, but it is a very interesting one.

Next, I watched a documentary that actually uses footage from Prometheus in parts, Jodorowsky’s Dune (Frank Pavich 2013). This film tells the inside story of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt to adapt Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ novel into a movie in the 1970s, and wow, this movie that never got made is far more interesting than most ones that do make it! Jodorowsky’s ambition here was huge, and I would go as far to say a bit insane. If you’ve seen any of his actual films (I really like El Topo), you’ll know that he’s a bit out there, but this would have been something else. He wanted Salvador Dali, Orson Welles and Mick Jagger in the film, he made his young son learn to swordfight, it is mental. The film features some fascinating interview snippets not just with Jodorowsky and others who worked on the film, but also with outsiders like Nicolas Winding Refn, who once sat with Jodorowsky all night whilst he acted out the film. In the end, this is not just an intriguing look at a film that never came to be, but also a great monument to the power of creativity, and a unique creative mind. Because even in failure, Dune had a massive impact. It brought Jodorowsky together with Moebius, and they would later collaborate on the Incal comic series. It had a huge influence in so much other science fiction, including Alien (Dan O’Bannon and HR Giger worked on Dune, and some of the structures in Promethus are straight from the Dune sketchbook), Flash Gordon, Star Wars and basically… everything we nerds love today. My only complaint would be that, a lot of the interviews were in French, and there were no subtitles, so I couldn’t grasp what Michel Seydoux was saying. But other than that, highly recommended.

I wrote earlier about a Michael Fassbender performance being the best part of a movie, and whilst that’s true for Prometheus, it’s definitely the case for X-Men: Apocalypse (Bryan Singer 2016), which I found to be really quite a mess, and definitely indicative of how far behind the X-Men film franchise is lagging behind others right now (please note, I haven’t seen Logan yet). As a comics fan, I of course love the X-Men, but I must admit that I haven’t really been behind the X-Men movies in a while. X3 was the last one I saw in the cinema, and Deadpool and First Class are probably the ones I would actually say were good movies these days. I haven’t watched 1 or 2 in ages, but I fear they won’t have aged well. Apocalypse is indicative of this malaise really. The plot is incredibly perfunctory, with Apocalypse just coming back, being evil, and the X-Men stopping him. There’s barely a hint of a plan from him, which is incredibly disappointing, especially as it means the normally brilliant Oscar Isaac is just wasted under layers of Ivan Ooze make-up. The rest of the cast is actually good, I mentioned him earlier, but Fassbender is just superb as Magneto. He and James McAvoy’s Professor X basically make this period piece series work singlehandedly. I initially rolled my eyes at the film manipulating our emotions by giving Magneto a family only to immediately kill them off, but damn, Fassbender sells it. Jennifer Lawrence is once again inexplicably front and centre as Mystique. I really find it weird how they’ve insisted on making her such a big hero, obviously it caught them off-guard after First Class how big a star she became, but it just doesn’t make sense to me, especially when compared the the comics. The film re-introduces a lot of familiar faces with new actors, so we now have a teen Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler and Storm. These young actors are fine, but they aren’t given too much to do really. It pissed me off how the film has Storm side with Apocalypse for most of it and then switch sides and tries to plays it off as a big surprise. Storm one of the most famous X-Men of all of them, everyone knows she’s a good guy, you can’t get away with silly shit like that. This film just felt a bit flat and uninspired throughout, there’s an entirely unnecessary Wolverine cameo (that I actually managed to be surprised by), a decent enough Quicksilver sequence that just feels like a poor re-tread of the one in Days Of Future Past, and just a whole heap of bad CGI and lame moments. I liked parts of it, but it in no way stands up to the MCU, and isn’t even aggressively stupid bad like Suicide Squad. I really hope the X-Men movies can improve, I know that Logan is supposed to be good, and the Legion TV show was amazing, but there needs to be another good, main franchise X-Movie. Will Dark Phoenix manage that? I have my doubts. Maybe New Mutants will be good.

Speaking of New Mutants, the future Magik, Anya Taylor-Joy, is the star of the next film on the docket, The Witch (Robert Eggers 2015). This is a very atmospheric and creepy horror film set in 17th Century America, as an isolated Puritan Family comes face to face with, well, a witch. This is my kind of horror movie, not so much made up of jump scares and gore, but instead an overall unease about it, and slow ramping up of terror until everything boils over into weirdness and a talking demon goat. There are some truly unsettling sequences in this story, and it really did keep me guessing throughout as to what was going on. One thing I really appreciated was the script, as Eggers tried to make it as period accurate as possible. At first the language seems odd, but you soon get used to it. The performances are all strong, Taylor-Joy is excellent as Thomasin, and it was great to see Leeds’ own Ralph Ineson get a starring role after being excellent on so many TV shows throughout the years. And what can you even say about  Black Phillip? A tour-de-force from that Goat. The Witch is really strong film, but it is genuinely scary, it took me about 3 months to build up the courage to watch it, and it has stuck with me!

I continued the horror by watching The Babadook (Jennifer Kent 2014), and yes, I was inspired to watch it because of the ‘Babadook as a gay icon’ meme, which is just hilarious. I didn’t find that much queer subtext in the film (although he does come out of a closet…) but I did very much enjoy it. Like The Witch, this film delivers the kind of scares I like, psychological, and lingering in the background, and most importantly, rooted in real human emotions. The Babadook might not even be real, and is probably some kind of grief manifestation. But, again, like The Witch, I enjoy the ambiguity about it. Another thing I really liked is how willing the film was to make the kid into an unlikeable dick, whilst also still allowing us to care about him. The two main characters here a very complex, and there’s a lot to unpack still. The design of the Babadook is another really cool thing about this film, it’s just iconic (gay or otherwise) and I think this character could end up in the pantheon of great monsters, it really is that effectively creepy.

I also re-watched 2 big blockbusters on Blu-Ray that I wrote about more extensively when they were in the cinema; Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson 2016) and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Gareth Edwards 2016), or as I like to call them ‘Mads Mikkelson does Disney’. Both held up on a second viewing, and I think I actually liked Doctor Strange more this time around. The visuals were amazing, and, along with Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, show that they really are willing to take the Marvel Cinematic Universe into different places. Rogue One’s tragic ending didn’t quite hit me as much this time out for obvious reasons, as I knew it was coming, but I still enjoyed it. I paid more attention to the performances, in particular Diego Luna and Ben Mendelsohn. I think Cassian Andor might be one of the most interesting characters in a Star Wars movie, I certainly would like to see more of his story, so get on it Marvel!

Television

There’s no new or returning shows this month, it’s all quick hits, and I will try and be quick!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX) wrapped up it’s season in fine form with a bunch of double-episodes. I really enjoyed Gina Gershon’s guest role, and the way the season ended, with Rosa and Jake being sent to prison was a great cliffhanger, even topping last years! As an Earwolf podcast nerd, it was of course also great to get cameos from Scott Aukerman, Kulap Vilaysack in the finale. I get a kick out of hearing those familiar voices come out of actual faces. This is now one of the most consistently funny US sitcoms out there… hell, it’s one of the few.

The ending of Better Call Saul (AMC) Season 3 was also very good, particularly the fate of Chuck, which was just shocking and tragic. When BCS is on, it’s the best drama on TV, and it certainly has the best characters. I will say though that this 3rd season has been a bit too disjointed, as those characters were too disparate. I can’t remember the last time Jimmy and Mike shared a scene (Episode 4?) and the same can really be said for Mike and Nacho. At times it felt like 2 different shows, maybe even 3, happening concurrently. Now, all of those shows were good, but it didn’t cohere as well as it might. Hopefully Season 4 will bring things closer together. Gus’ knowing look at the end seems to indicate he knows what Nacho was up to, so I can imagine the criminal element consolidating. Plus, with Chuck dead and Kim sidelined with injury, things are bound to change for Jimmy McGill, and I imagine we’re only going to get more and more of Saul Goodman. This was an odd year for the show, but it’s still excellent, and Michael McKean really should win all the awards, he was superb throughout this season, making us loathe and sympathise with Chuck all at the same time. Any awards that don't go to him should go to Odenkirk of course.

I’m basically just going to be talking about finales this month aren’t? Archer (FXX) ended it’s ‘Dreamland’ storyline with some seriously surprising violence, I couldn’t believe how far they actually took Barry’s rampage. In the end, I thought the concept of Archer being in this Noir fever dream petered out a bit, and they didn’t stick the landing. But it was still funny, with all of the voice actors on full cylinders. I do think that it might be time to end Archer though, they’ve stretched this tone and character as far as it can go. After a whole season that’s a dream, what next? Take a leaf out of the LOST podcast joke and do a zombie season?

Gotham (FOX) got even more silly and ridiculous at the end of Season 3, with the introduction of Ra’s Al Ghul and the revelation that long-time henchman extraordinaire is Butch Gilzean is actually called Cyrus Gold, and is therefore eventually going to become Solomon Grundy. As dumb as this is, I loved it. This show is best when it verges on the camp, and these last few episodes delivered, particularly as Morena Baccarin finally got to be a bit interesting when playing an ‘evil’ Leslie Tompkins. It was great fun seeing her chew the scenery. And man, that final scene, where Bruce Wayne goes out on the streets to fight crime… it’s mad that they are doing that so soon, but I don’t care at this point. Gotham needs to go full on Adam West (RIP by the way) and never look back.

I must admit to being rather disappointed by the finale of The Flash (The CW), because the fake out of it actually being HR to die instead of Iris felt way too easy, and also because HR was just the best. I’ll miss him, but I’m sure whatever the hell version of Wells Tom Cavanaugh plays in Season 4 will also be great. The real highlight of this last set of episodes was the return of Captain Cold in ‘Infantino Street’. I can’t say it enough, but Wentworth Miller is just the best in that role. The ending of the Season redeemed things for me somewhat though, with Barry disappearing into the Speed Force, in what I think is meant to be the show’s version of his ‘death’ in Crisis On Infinite Earths (a story I have actually never read). How cool would it be if Wally was the Flash for like, half of Season 4? I would dig that. But it won’t happen.

Rounding out Superhero Corner until The Defenders comes out in the summer, Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC) had a great finale to a really strong season. It’s brilliant to see how far this show has come. They managed to tie all of the separate ‘pods’ of the season together, as Ghost Rider returned to help take out Aida in a very satisfying way. I really hope they keep this up in Season 5.

Like with Better Call Saul, it really has been an odd year for The Americans (FX), as the series shifted gears and became much more of an introspective character piece, particularly when it comes to the character of Philip. It took a while to get used to, and by the finale I was still a bit let down by how little ‘happened’, but in the end, I like where we are now. The characters, who were already well rounded, are even deeper now, and things are set up for a fascinating final season. And when you think about it, these smaller stories actually show the impact of Philip and Elizabeth’s job better than big missions. That slow grind, that loss of humanity, as driving a teenage boy to attempted suicide becomes the aim of a mission. It’s the more human side, rather than just chess pieces. And that’s really what I think The Americans is about, seeing what the Cold War was like on the ground. Let’s hope that Season 6 can marry what was good about Season 5 with the previous 4, and we really do go out with a bang. You can rest assured the acting will be fantastic, because Rhys and Russell always are.

Now for some shows that I haven’t watched the end of yet! American Gods (Starz) is still rolling along very nicely indeed, and even though as I said, I don’t really remember the book all too well, it’s adapting the story well, and even in some places improving on it. What I’ve found interesting is that, in a season of only 8 episodes, they’ve had the confidence to do 2 whole episodes that didn’t feature the 2 main characters of Shadow and Wednesday at all. One of those was all about Laura Moon coming back to life, and the other told the back-story of Mad Sweeney and Essie. Both were fantastic, and that willingness to switch things up really impressed me. The visuals of this show continue to be superb, and I am excited for the finale. It’s sitting there waiting for me right now…

iZombie (The CW) is rocketing towards it’s finale by piling on storyline after storyline and mashing them all together. At times it’s felt a bit over-stuffed, what with Blaine, Harley Johns, Stacey Boss, the conspiracy about the guy committing suicide in his cell, investigating Wally’s murder and the Mayoral Election, but mostly I think it’s worked. The most recent episode in particular did a good job a streamlining things I think and the ending was great, the world now knows zombies exist? What the? The performance of Rose McIver continues to be superb, and I loved the conceit of having her, Blaine and Don E all on the same brain at the same time, it’s awesome how they can still switch things up. I’m also enjoying the arrival of Logan Echolls himself, Jason Dohring. Can we dare hope for a Kristen Bell appearance?

Silicon Valley (HBO) is still delivering consistently strong laughs and intriguing twists and turns. I think my favourite part of this run of episodes has been Haley Joel Osment as Keenan Feldspar, he’s just really funny. I am worried about the finale now that we know that T.J. Miller is leaving the show, I don’t know how they are going to write out Ehrlich, but I don’t want them to! Hopefully Bighead will return to fill the void. I swear, he hasn’t been in like, the last 5 episodes or something.

Veep (HBO) has kicked it up a notch towards the end of Season 6, as a lot of chickens came home to roost, and Selina Meyer’s secrets were leaked to the world. It was a great episode, and was a strong use of continuity. I do still think this show has gotten a bit too broad when compared to the Iannucci years, but it is still very funny and the level of profanity and meanness still at times truly shocking. I can’t wait to see how the finale up-ends things. Selina is in a good place right now with the world finally knowing that she freed Tibet, but that can’t last, we all know it.

And finally, inspired by the start of it’s third season, I finally got around to finishing off Season 2 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix). I did the same thing with Season 1, and will probably do the same thing with this new season. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Anyway, this was another very funny, surprisingly dark season of what is a fantastic show. I loved Tina Fey’s role as Kimmy’s therapist, and the casting of Kimmy’s mother was brilliant. I also found the romance between Titus and Mikey to be surprisingly sweet, but mainly because Titus is one of the best characters on television. My only complaint would be not enough Jon Hamm, but given that cliffhanger, I’m sure that will change!

Music

As I said in the intro, no new music this month so I won’t be able to contribute to any ‘Song Of The Summer’ debate just yet. Although that’s not actually a thing and we all know it.

Books

2 books to talk about this month, and both of them are from writers linked to my one true passion, comics. First up is Norse Mythology (2017) by Neil Gaiman, which as the title would suggest, is a re-telling of the Norse myths from Gaiman. It’s pretty cool to read his take on the direct myths, as these characters have popped up throughout his work. Whether in Sandman or American Gods, Gaiman has put his stamp on the likes of Odin and Loki, and it’s interesting to see him interpret the original stories. Like Gaiman, I first encountered the Norse Gods in the pages of Marvel Comics, and whilst these versions are therefore familiar, there’s something different about them, something darker for sure. This felt like a faithful, albeit poetic adaptation of the stories, as most of them were ones I knew, whether from the comics (if you’ve never read Matt Fraction and Patrick Zircher’s series of Thor one-shots that re-tell the myths you need to rectify that) or from previous takes on the myths or even just cultural osmosis. All of the familiar Gods appear, and you get stories like when Thor dressed as a woman to kill a Frost Giant, or the old beggar who built Asgard in a year. One thing I liked is that Gaiman really gets across how these stories are part of an oral tradition, and not all of them survive, so you get intentional continuity errors and characters just disappearing. It’s clear that there were other myths back then, but not all of them have survived to today. The short chapter length means that this book would probably actually be perfect for reading aloud, and I may even listen to the audiobook if Gaiman is reading it himself. He has a fantastic voice for audiobooks, it’s how I read The Graveyard Book for the first time. One other advantage this re-telling has over the comics is that Gaiman is able to actually reach ‘Ragnarok’, the death of the Gods, and go through with it. In the Marvel Universe, even though Ragnarok has happened (a couple of times in fact) and Thor has died or been replaced even more, you still know that nothing will change, but not in this case. All of the Gods, particularly Balder and Loki, meet their eventual tragic ends. This is a very enjoyable read, especially for someone who, like me, has an interest in myths and legends. It’s clear that Gaiman has a lot of affection for these Gods (particularly Loki, who is wonderfully complex here) and stories, and he more than does them justice. I would certainly be interesting in seeing Gaiman tackle other Pantheons, I personally like Greek Myth the best, but would like to know more about Egyptian as well.

I’m currently just under half-way through Michael Chabon’s Moonglow (2016) and am very much enjoying it. This novel is styled as a memoir and sees Chabon detail the life of his grandparents, particularly his grandfather. Jumping back and forth throughout his life, Chabon allows us to see what his grandfather was like as a child, as a soldier in WW2, as a newlywed, and and as an old man. So far it’s a fascinating book, both in terms of how Chabon details the complex characters of both grandparents, and also in how he tackles the hazy nature of memory and truth. It’s never clear just how much of the book is actually true, the characters are never actually named (it’s just ‘my grandfather’ or ‘my mother’) so it could all be 100% fiction. I tend to lean into it mostly being true, but in the end, it doesn’t really matter does it? As is usual with Chabon, the writing here is very strong, with some very beautiful sentences and moments. The fact that we know that the central characters here die at the very outset makes everything, particularly the romance, bittersweet, and Chabon nails that. It’s interesting, but the book I keep comparing this to is Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow. Both books are about V2 rockets in WW2, but one is a weird, sprawling epic, whereas the other is an intimate character piece. It just shows how different writers can approach the same topic in completely differing ways. I don’t think Moonglow is quite as good as Kavalier and Clay, but what is? It’s still a very good book and I am excited to read the rest of it.

Games

After going months, nay, years, with no games section, I now have 2 games to write about! You wait for a bus…

Anyway, along with Zelda, I’ve now also bought Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo Switch 2017) and whilst I haven’t played it a whole lot, is a whole lot of fun, because, well, it’s Mario Kart! Those games are always fun, the more things change, the more things stay the same. They may have added a boat-load of new characters (including Link, which is weird) and added a bunch of bells and whistles and para-gliders onto the Karts, but it’s basically the same game I’ve been playing since the N64, a mad-cap race on some insane courses. I haven’t played every track yet, but I’m getting there. One thing I really appreciate about this particular version is that you can use a single Switch Joycon as a controller, so I didn’t need to shell (heh) out £60 for another controller in order to play multiplayer. I’ve always enjoyed playing against someone else who’s actually in the room over online, so that’s a huge plus, not just for Mario Kart but for the Switch in general if future games follow suit. Mario Kart is hard to really talk about critically because it’s so pure at what it is, but I do love it. And who do I play as you ask? Yoshi of course, always Yoshi. Although sometimes Toad.

As for The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild (Nintendo Switch 2017) I’ve spent most of my recent time trying in vain to capture and train horses. I’ve really been embracing the freedom the game provides to do things in whatever order I want. I haven’t even gone to Kakariko Village yet! I’m probably a bad player, but I don’t mind, I’m having a lot of fun and the game is still as beautiful and clever as ever. There’s a real romance to this game, I find it an emotional and exhilarating experience to play.

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So that’s your lot, hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be back in about a month with some more. It’s summer, so expect there to be a lot less TV and maybe just a whole lot less of everything if this weather keeps up! Although you can take Switches outside…

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SXSW Film 2017 – Wet Edition

A steady rainy mist that lasted from Friday through Sunday during opening weekend of the SXSW Film Festival did little to dampen the spirits of those attending this year. If anything, it strengthened the resolve to brave the elements and long lines to catch world premieres of instant renown.

My hipster suede shoes were soaked by wet murk by Saturday afternoon. It was synchronicity in motion that random freebies being handed out on street corners included socks. At one point Saturday night I donned a spare pair of hiking shoes that I keep in my car trunk and never wear. Had I ever worn them I would know they were a half-size too small, although they were definitely waterproof.

Sunday’s strategy saw a return to the still damp suede shoes with a sock change every four hours. The sun eventually came out in full force on Monday just after noon. At that time I was scheduled to participate in a paintball war with other journalists and Sharlto Copley, a promotion for the film Free Fire, but the ground was soaking with mud and even with the protective clothing there was no respite for the shoes. So I wussed out and returned to Hicksville.

The shoes were the least of my cares. SXSW is all about new contacts and discoveries, seeing forgotten friends, breakfast parties and complimentary rubbing of the flesh. Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had occurred in a SXSW film premiere line. This year one exchange of words resulted in a participant culling a video on his smartphone that depicted bees learning. Everyone around pulled in to watch. A fake bee on a stick shows a real bee how to put a ball into a hole and get a sugar reward. Then the bee is putting the ball in the hole, and then the alpha bee is teaching another bee the same thing. And we haven’t even gotten to the real movies yet.

World Premiere Capsules:

Like Me revolves around an outcast young femme that uses social media to document an ever-increasing crime spree. At first Kiya (Addison Timlin) video captures a convenience store robbery, but soon resorts to kidnapping and putting her captive in bizarre sexual tableaus. This could well be an extended episode of Black Mirror.

Song to Song evokes Austin in the multiple uses of locations set in the capital city, some of which are long gone. The film was shot in 2012, but Terrence Malick is known for taking years to edit a film as well as an idiosyncratic style that consists of voice-over narration of the dialogue. There’s a sense that the characters that populate this universe have no souls, and at the same time the filmmaking excels in production value.

Alien: Covenant was teased by Sir Ridley Scott, who previewed about twenty-minutes of footage from the May release. Katherine Waterston, Danny McBride and Michael Fassbinder also participated in the stage presentation. Spoilers included the suggestion that the space craft the crew has landed on the planet gets destroyed during an alien infiltration, and the hint that the new cast meets up with characters from Prometheus.

Baby Driver has Edgar Wright in Walter Hill mode. A tightly constructed car heist film with an accelerated cast that delivers its narrative beats in time to the soon-to-be-talked-about soundtrack. Opens 11 August.

Lucky stars Harry Dean Stanton as a drinking and smoking 90-year-old in a California desert town populated by other eccentric types. Co-starring David Lynch, Tom Skerritt, James Darren and Beth Grant. Stanton anchors the film with his solid performance.

Atomic Blonde features Charlize Theron as a double agent on a mission in Berlin during the fall of the wall (1989). A high body count follows. At the screening Q&A, Theron talked about the extensive training she did for the role, admitting she “cracked two rear teeth” while clenching her jaws during certain exercises. Open late July.

Becoming Bond centers on the only actor to play Bond in a motion picture once – George Lazenby. More than one Bond aficionado considers On Her Majesty’s Secret Service to be at the top of the two-dozen Bond films extant. Lazenby worked as a car salesman and his good looks and strong personality got him the audition that sealed the deal. In addition to select clips from the Bond film, BB recreates moments from Lazenby’s life with help from co-stars like Dana Carvey and Jane Seymour.

Bill Nye: Science Guy documents Nye debating with people who believe the Earth is 6,000 years old and deny climate change. Nice balance of science and Nye’s personal life.

La Barracuda mixes the Austin music scene with the tale of a bastard child of a popular and now deceased folksinger. Sophie Reid plays Sinaloa, the haunted lead as who hitchhikes into Austin straight from Brighton ready to meet her half-sister and extended family. Tension ensues when Sinaloa reveals nasty anger management issues. Butch Hancock, The Mastersons and Colin Gilmore appear in supporting roles during concert sequences.

SXSW Film 2017 – Wet Edition this is a repost

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WEEKEND TV HOT FILM PICKS!

Check out my guide to the top films on TV this weekend, best of the rest and what to avoid at all costs. Enjoy!

LATE FRIDAY 8th DECEMBER

HOT PICKS!

More4 @ 2100   Prisoners (2013) ****

Like a good Thriller? Then get onto More4 on Friday @ 2100 for the dark investigative Thriller - Prisoners. It’s the English Language debut film for director Denis Villeneuve. Currently my favourite Director of Modern times with amazing work on Arrival, Sicario, Blade Runner 2049 and the outstanding head twister “Enemy” also starring Jake Gyllenhaal. He must have liked working with him as in Prisoners we see him again at his startling best. He is pulling some outstanding performances out the bag of late and here we get none less than the best. Jake plays a young detective who through sheer dedication and a lot of patience works through a serious case of 2 missing girls. Hugh Jackman plays the father of one of the girls, whose frustration with the Police’s seeming inability to make any progress reaches boiling point and he makes more and more morally questionable decisions on how to better the search for the missing girls. Beautifully shot with cinematography that wows on each and every scene, Prisoners is a must see thriller.

Best of the rest:

Film4 @ 1710     The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) ****

W @ 2100           Dead Calm (1989) ****

Syfy @ 2100       Pitch Black (2000) ***

TCM @ 2100      Scream (1996) ****

Film4 @ 2100     Legend (2015) ***

Sony @ 2100      Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) ***

Film4 @ 2335     Sin City: a Dame to Kill For (2014) ***

Sony @ 2315      Kingdom of Heaven (2005) ****

 SATURDAY 9th DECEMBER

HOT PICKS!

C4 @ 2100         X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) ****

Although I am getting a little tired of the franchise this certainly pulled out all the stops. I was really pleased to see a great job from McAvoy this time round, whose credibility has gone up 10 fold in my book since his impressive turn in Filth. Here he gives us a whole new side to Charles Xavier. Fassbender is as charismatic as ever and his tooth filled face remains sombre here for the most part, focusing more on the floating and effects than the character, but he easily goes through the motions here as he’s quite perfect as Magneto. Our main character in this X-Fest is Wolverine and Jackman gives a storming performance that we have now come to expect… However all of these were overshadowed by a fantastic yet frustratingly short introduction to Quicksilver played by Evan Peters who did some great work in the American Horror Story series. Quicksilver is an awesome character but, just like his powers, as quickly as we are introduced he is snatched away from us, turning the story back to our main cast. The Quicksilver Pentagon slow motion scene is by far the best of the entire film, giving as many gasps of awe as there was laughter. Funny, impressive and pure X-Men magic.

The story is a more complicated one, playing out in two time lines inexplicably linked by some blue brain light that Ellen Page can muster from her hands. She sends Wolverine back to 1973 to round up the troops and stop the scaly, sexy, blue skinned Mystique from fucking everything up by killing Tryion Lannister. Why? Well.. Somehow this is the one single event that causes the future demise of everyone through the creation of massive ultra-powerful and unstoppable sentinel machines… Of course. I will try and forgive a little here as there is always a degree of ‘turn-your-brain-off" and “Stop-saying-what-if-this-and-what-if-that” with all time travel films, but the film scoots over the detail quickly enough to recapture audience attention before disbelief descends.

There is a post credit bit that no doubt fan boys and girls will lap up. I find myself out of touch these days with so many character reveals that I’m left two steps behind, but after a bit of post film googling it looked like we should have been in for an interesting next instalment of the X-Men franchise with Apocalypse, but I wasn't sold and reviews are frankly quite mixed. Logan is the stand out star film of this universe - an outstanding film. One thing that is looking good for the franchise is the almost horror stylings of the new trainer for The New Mutants - Check it out.

TCM @ 0005       Chinatown (1974) *****

Roman Polanski’s Chinatown is one of my favourite film noir’s. I’ve always had a soft spot for a detective thriller and this is top of its class. A mystery and with some great but morally questionable characters. There’s no point going into details - Chinatown is a must see and has so many twists and turns - it is always rewards.

Best of the rest:

Film4 @ 1100     Miracle on 34th Street (1947) *****

Film4 @ 1300     Flight of the Navigator (1986) ****

ITV4 @ 1600       The Dam Busters (1955) ****

TCM @ 1910       Beetlejuice (1988) *****

E4 @ 2100          The Impossible (2012) ****

TCM @ 2100       Apocalypse Now (1979) *****

Film4 @ 2100     The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) *****

Gold @ 2140      Gremlins 2: the New Batch (1990) ****

ITV1 @ 2305       Shaun of the Dead (2004) *****

Horror @ 0235   Phantasm (1979) ***

 SUNDAY 10th DECEMBER

HOT PICKS!

BBC1 @ 1535      Toy Story (1995) *****

Toy Story launched Pixar into the dizzy heights of success with this amazing computer animated film. It perfectly fused a magical kids film with enough charm, comedy and detailed story line to capture the imagination of all ages. There is tons of humour for both kids and grown-ups alike all packed into one of the most magical stories ever told. Super accessible to everyone and über charming, just like the toys will always stay with Andy, these characters will stay with you for the rest of your life. A true modern classic.

Film4 @ 2325      The Descendants (2011) *****

Alexander Payne has done it again. He handles emotionally charged material so well and somehow finds comedy where others would struggle. The Descendants is sad yet wonderful, introducing us to some great characters. Clooney is at his usual best giving us a performance we have now come to expect from him, he really does a great job here. Much can also be said for the supporting cast. All are fantastic, especially the two daughters. One of my favourite films of 2011. Genuine, heart felt and human. A must see film.

BBC2 @ 0105      Headhunters (2011) ****

Just when I thought there can’t possibly be any more great original ideas for a brilliant Thriller…. Headhunters hits one out of the park. This Scandinavian film is original, and packed with enough twists to spin your mind but that are cleverly not dwelled heavily upon for success. A successful head-hunter moonlights as an Art thief gets in way over his head on a heist. Superbly paced and with some excellent cinematography this film looks and feels great. One of the best Thrillers of 2012.. Oh and I totally forgot Jamie Lannister is in it (Roll on next season GoT fans!) Watch this.

Best of the rest:

TCM @ 1245        Houseboat (1958) ****

C4 @ 1300           Evolution (2001) ***

ITV3 @ 1445        Ben-Hur (1959) *****

C5 @ 2100           Chappie (2015) ***

E4 @ 2100            Prometheus (2012) ***

Horror @ 2100     Black Sheep (2006) ***

5* @ 2100             The Equalizer (2014) ***

TCM @ 2100        Chinatown (1974) *****

Film4 @ 2100       Captain America: the First Avenger (2011) ****

5* @ 2340             Layer Cake (2004) ***

Film4 @ 0140      Sex, Lies & Videotape (1989) ****