Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 2 of 3)

 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 2 of 3)

As I wrote before, JJ and the other writers went out of their way to make the new characters as interesting as possible. I really couldn't find one boring or stupid character out of the new batch. Even the smaller villains have something interesting traits right down to some of the Stormtroopers. I think these new characters fit into the newer environment with ease. Remember this is set 30 odd years after ep6. So, the universe they live in is much different.

The old cast is just great in their old roles. Each old character gets a “Hey remember me moment.” I love seeing these old friends I grew up watching finally come back. Plus, there are nice interactions between the old and new cast members. And, I love every minute of these interactions.

BB-8: I truly love this character a lot. He is one of my favorite characters from the new cast. He has as much personally as R2-D2, but completely different. This robot has a lot of emotion, and he really shines in the first two acts of the movie. BB-8 has a great moment where he sees his master again and rolls frantically toward him as a dog does when he meets his owner after period of absence. He's right up there with RD-D2 as far as robot characters are concerned. This robot is great.

Rey: For all purposes, Rey is the main hero in the same manner as Luke in many ways. Yet, she lives a slightly rougher life than Luke because she is a scavenger and deals with people that are shady. I think Daisy does amazing job and she is going to be a great lead actress for the rest of the series. I also like that she is a female lead that can take care of herself. Daisy Ridley is a wonderful addition to the franchise and carries herself among the old cast. That was very good casting, that's a plus given the casting in the prequels. She is the new Luke Skywalker.

Finn: Finn is played by John Boyega is an bright eyed former Stormtrooper. He is literally new to the rest of the world when he defects. He grew up only knowing the First Order and we get to see him view things through free eyes and it is fun. Speaking of fun, I love the way Rey and Finn just think on the fly when trying to solve problems. They're a bit looser with things than the old guard.

Kylo Ren: He's the main bad guy front and center, but he's working for a bigger bad guy. Kylo appears as the total badass villain that knows how to use the force. He has a new bag of force tricks and they're cool. However, Ren is a highly flawed character. He's a spoiled brat that has fits of rage when something doesn't go his way. He is a wannabe Sith lord, but doesn't have the skill like Maul or Vader. He's all power and no true skill, and he wants to be the total badass by dressing and sounding like the Sith guys. He is not Vader, but he has the potential to become like his “hero”.

He's still a compelling villain with an interesting past and a tragic one at that. I won't give away history behind this guy, but you will like it. I know a lot o people had a problem with him being a somewhat weaker villain than Vader, but I like that because he will become a total badass guy in the next two movies.

Poe Dameron : He's part Luke (ep 4) and part Han Solo in his attitude. He has swagger, he's a good pilot and very good sniper too. He truly fits into the franchise. He's relationship with Finn is very cool and almost mirrors Han and Luke's relationship. They're basically brothers. I also love the relationship he has with his droid BB8. It feels like a loving relationship. You can see how much they care for each other just in that opening scene.

Maz Kanata: She is a CGI characters that isn't annoying. She is a bit restrained. And, her voice actress Lupita Nyong'o brings a lot of heart to this wise character. She is a spiritual version of Yoda.

Han Solo: Let's just say that he is very important character to the overall plot of Force Awakens. Han is not the same character he was at the end of Return of the Jedi. He's basically reset himself back to his smuggler days, but without the Falcon. Ford is really energized in this movie compared to his role in Return. Ford is truly remarkable reprising his role and he has the biggest part from the old cast of characters. I loved his relationship with both Rey and Finn. He's almost a father figure to these too. Ford is having a lot of fun.

Princess Leia: She is the driving force for the plot, but you're not going to see her for the first two acts. Her character is the reason the plot moves forward. Carrie is a bit shaky in a few scenes and you can tell she's lived a hard life. However, she looks healthy and good.  

ST. Matthews Mall riot?

 ST. Matthews Mall riot?

Because I am totally out of the loop about local things, I only heard about this incident from a rider I drove from the airport. They were out of town and heard about it in that city they were in. They mentioned it to me and I had no idea what had happened.

They couldn't believe the news stated that 2 thousand teenagers ran amok in the east-end of a Louisville Mall. Now, I could say ST. Matthews isn't part of Louisville, because it has its own police force, but it is a part of Louisville. Jeffersontown, ST. Matthews and Louisville PD had to come in to calm things down.

When I see news reports, I keep seeing black teens running pass the camera and people aren't really addressing it. Remember, we had an incident on the waterfront were a mob of black teens went on a rampage attacking people,cars and stores. Again, people didn't address this factor in reporting it. We had another incident happen in Memphis where a bunch of teenage black kids went on a similar rampage and attack people and caused damage.

When I was a teen, I can't remember things like this happening. It just feels like our black youths (yuts) seem to be more uncontrollable and cause major damage and chaos in their wake. No one from the left-leaning media or even the police department don't want to address this. There is a growing problem in the black community and no one (including Black Lives Matters) want to talk about. I think the problem does start with the parents and the culture we've built over the 30 plus years after the civil rights.

I shake my head every time I see an incident like this.

BTW, NO ONE has been arrested for this thing. Really?

And, let's get into another aspect of this story. Due the large amount of black kids involved in this, there will be some racial blow-back. Being a black person in D'ville, I am willing to bet most of these kids are coming from West and South end and parts of downtown (smoke town). They're entering an area that's upper middle to high class in the Oxmor/Matthews area. Given this incident, these rich people are going to be more likely to push anyone that doesn't fit their demo out of the area, including the two malls, which are almost next door to each other (I'm not making this up. They're 2-3 minutes away from each other.) We'll get an environment similar to the one that happened on Fourth Street, where they aggressively tried to keep the “darker complexions” out of the area. And, you remember the things they did to keep us out. You're going to see these same things applied here. I don't agree with it, but you give the racists the tools they need to segregate us from their areas.

Break into a Taco Joint become viral

Break into a Taco Joint become viral

I love the humor these owners have over a horrible thing that happened. And, who breaks into a closed taco place? That seems like a crackhead thing to do to me. I also like how they make this into ad for their store as well. I am willing to go to this place just because of the clever ad.

BTW, the taco joint receives really good reviews. And, the cash boxes they stole didn't have any money in them. What a bunch of stupid people. 

Do people still use Machinima?

Do people still use Machinima?

I remember a bunch of partners leaving the network after all the bullshit that came out about them. Are they even as strong as they were before? I just haven't heard about them in years.  

The New Geek/Nerd

“Back in high school, you and I wouldn't have gotten along very well.”

I said this statement to a guy I was friendly with at work. He was a bit dismayed by that statement, but it was true. He was a sports guy that generally had a lot of girlfriends in school and was very popular. I wasn't trying to be mean, but we would have never gotten along in high school due to the social structure during the 90s. Now, given the way geek-culture has become popular, I actually get along with people that I would have otherwise hated and been jealous of back in the day.

Things have changed.

Because of the new Star Wars movie, I seeing people who otherwise would beat the shit out of the kid that wore or played with Star Wars merchandise. And, it sort of got me upset because these are the same people that would tease and beat the shit out of these nerds and geeks, and now they fully embrace it. Heck, you have “normal” folks talking about geeky things like Marvel's civil war. (My Little Pony, TMNT and TF)

I was going to write this post, but Samurai Frog wrote a good post about this very subject, much better than I could. He gives us a more of a progressive view of why we need to be more forgiving of the way things are in geek culture. We do need to be more open to our culture, but we shouldn't forget that literally many of us got beat up and made fun of due to our awkward and nerdy ways.

While there is still bullying going on in school, there isn't as much, because we've fought hard to make it a mainstream thing. Nerds have created technology the cool kids rely on to send out their stupid tweets and duckface pictures. And, the geeks are the ones that make all the movies,video games, and TV shows they consume. I get asked about franchises and stories because I am well versed in pop culture history.

I still can't get over the isolation and taunts for being different, and I watched more nerdy . It hurt a lot. And, now I see how mainstream all this nerd/geek has become. And, my petty side says the people that claim to be geeks and nerds (the ones that now have the hot girlfriends and social statuses) don't have it as bad makes me a bit jealous and mad. I have a hard time forgiving people and the past tends to remain with me. Just like others, we need to forgive and be open to letting these people embrace our culture, even I need to remember this.

Yes, we've created this new geek/nerd world, but the scars from the past are still there.   

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 1 of 3)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Part 1 of 3)

I grew up watching Star Wars and had some of the toys. I fondly remember having a X-Wing toy and I would play with it for hours. I was that kind of Star Wars fan. When Disney announced that they bought the rights the franchise, I was excited. Some new creative people could be given the reigns and breath new life into a franchise that creatively was trapped under Lucas. If Star Wars was going to survive, it needed a change.

Wow, J.J. Abrams somehow managed to make a movie with some more compelling characters than most of the ones from the prequels. This movie outshines most of things done in the prequels by light years. From the opening pan down from the crawl to the ending, The Force Awakens truly feels like a Star Wars movie, an old school movie. TFA is a lot of fun and had me in tears when I witnessed old characters reconnecting for the first time in years. This movie carries all the fun chase and action scenes we've come to love from all the SW movies. With the SW Rebels and this movie, Star Wars feels new, fun and interesting again.

JJ managed to take out of the goofy and stilted dialogue from prequels, but managed to keep the wonderful world building background elements that I was fond of during Episodes 1-3. The character interactions and the actions scenes are frantic and full of life with some good editing.

The planet Jakku feels like living place with tons of things going on at a certain time. I also like all the Empire/Rebel wreckage buried around the planet. The planet has character. And, I was a little worried it would feel a bit too much like an updated Tatooine, but it certainly isn't that planet. You can see all the old movie ships and walkers from the old series buried throughout Jakku. I hope we see this movie again and this will be our new Tatooine.

The movie clearly has the same story structure as A New Hope and some of the beats are the same (BB-8 has the plans/maps, and the bad guys want it). Heck the movie even pans down to a star destroyer just like Episode IV, yet it kind of feels like Empire Strikes Back with that opening and the bad guys dropping drop-ships. Some might say the movie tries too much to rehash the old movies, but I see it as a tribute and homage to the old movies. However, this new movie also changes up the old SW tropes as well. They'll set up familiar things and go in a different path. I really enjoyed that.

BTW, the Disney logo doesn't appear at the beginning in any shape or form. It actually just opens up on the Lucasfilm logo and Bam! It goes into the crawl and the music. Why not piss off FOX by having your shiny logo replace theirs and sticking it to that studio one more time? It would have felt right to have the main studio at the beginning of the movie, if you're trying to capture the old SW movies.

Since this is set 30 odd years from Return of the Jedi, it must cover a lot of back story. For the most part, it does it far better than the Prequels ever could imagine. However, there are some wobbly bits involving the back story leading up the film that were fleshed out. I am sure these points were filmed, but deleted from the movie. I am almost certain of it due to the fact JJ tends to delete things that would fill in plothole because he wants to help move the pacing along. As a former fictional writer, I feel this is problematic sometimes (like when he deleted the Klingon subplot from his Star Trek movie). I'll get into that later.

Like I've stated before, the creative team behind this movie are people like you and I that have grown up watching SW movies, because there seems to be care given to the characters and this is where the movie honestly shines. The best parts of this movie are the characters.

Every character has his or her moment...

James Update

I've been extremely busy due to the long hours working at my real job (not career), so I can't write as much.  However, I did see the new Star Wars movie and plan on writing a super long review.  I can get a lot of writing down when I rideshare (between request).  So when I get a break there will be more posts.  

Star Trek TNG: The Most Toys

The Most Toys

Mission Log just covered the TNG episode The Most Toys, which is one of my favorite episodes from the series. Basically, a Collector of rare things fakes Data's death and kidnaps him. I love the interactions between Data and his kidnapper(s). Kivas Fajo and Data have some great moments together. Data also has some good moments with Fajo's companion/lover Varria.

The episode is just all around very entertaining.

-Saul Rubinek is brilliant as the asshole Fajo. He's character is entertaining because he's goofy yet also cold blooded. He turns his weapon on her when Data doesn't sit in his chair. I also like how giddy he behaves when he shows his collection to Data. What a great character.

-Jane Daly as Varria: Fajo's companion is another great actress that has a “face-turn” in the episode and it is justified because Fajo is a really bad guy. Then she has that creepy moment where she gets ripped apart by the deadly disruptor. That scream is creepy.

-Was Marvel's The Collector (Guardians of the Galaxy) created before this episode's Fajo? They are so similar that you can't hide it. They collect living things and artwork and they both act strange.

-David Rapport was the original Fajo that they cast. You might remember him from Time Bandits and many other things. They actually filmed two days with him, before he attempted to commit suicide. He had a really bad bout of depression. The producers had to quickly recast the role and brought in Sal . And, his take was completely different. BTW, David did end up killing himself later I believe in a park. The footage of Rapport as Fajo is out there. I haven't seen it though.

-There is a great moment where Fajo orders a “drink” and raises the glass to his mouth, but tosses it on Data's uniform. He faked out Data, and it is a nice touch that only a good actor could bring like Sal.

-Did Data pull the trigger out of emotion or logic?: Whereas I would have pulled the trigger out of rage of seeing Varia being ripped apart by that weapon, I think Data used logic to justify killing Fajo (attempted). Now, the “emotional” part was Data (sort of) lying to Riker after being transported back. He didn't lie, but merely kept some of the info about the distruptor firing close to his vest. This was really good writing.

The Mission Log guys do mention that Data does seem to gloat toward Faja when he's in his holding cell. I have to agree that seems rather emotional in a cold sort of way. Plus, I love how the episode ends with the defeated Fajo in a cell and Data getting the last word in. Damn, Data. 

Random Things

 Random Things

~Re-watching Dexter: Showtime ha dumped the entire series of Dexter onto its on-demand on cable. I love the sheer zany nature of that first season. James Doakes is also my favorite character on the show. He hates Dexter and seems to know he's a bit off. I also like how Doakes is rude and crude to everyone. I really am not a fan of Rita and her side story stuff. I just can't get into the domesticated junk. I understand it is a cover for Dexter, but damn they spend a lot of time on it. It is also funny to see how much technology has changed since the mid-2000s. Surprise MF'er.

~Putin and Trump would get along well: Well, that makes sense. Both like to clamp down on personal rights. Both have big and shitty personalities. And, love that Putin calls Trump “Bright and Talented”. Having these two in power would make this planet a terrible place. Could you imagine the chaos around the planet with these two egos in power? How about a reality show with these two fools. You can't make this shit up.

~The New Star Wars movie: I am going to try to watch this movie sometime this weekend. I want to avoid most of the fanboys. Right now, the movie is hovering at 95%. It looks like people are really liking this movie, and JJ has out Lucas-ed Lucas. The cast seems to get the major praise from the critics. I will probably have my review up in a few days after I watch it. (in parts) I'm sure Lucas is disinterested in this movie because they ignored all his suggestions.   

Chris Chan banned from Gamestop...again...again

Chris Chan banned from Gamestop

First off, damn Chris Chan is looking very unhealthy. I might need to get himself checked out.

Yes, I almost thought this letter was fake and sent to Chris by one of his million of trolls. It feels like this letter being overall nice despite the nature of the letter. However, GS would ban a guy that has had multiple incidents with the company. Chris Chan has not only been banned from his hometown Gamestop due his attack on an employee, but he's been banned from all Gamestops in VA. (He maced a worker)

I also love that GS suggested should use their on-line option after banning him from their stores. We still want to make money off of you. Since Chris Chan doesn't work, he either plays his Wii U games or goes to the mall and into GS. I am not sure what he's going to do now. 

However...I am still partly of the opinion that this letter might be a fake one. Some people online have been discussing the letter and pointing out the little things that don't ring true. Heck, even the confused Chris Chan doesn't know if this letter is legit.

BTW, Chris, if you're going to pass yourself as a woman, you might want to shave that 5-o'clock shadow and cover that receding hairline.

ID4-2: Independence Day: Resurgence Trailer

ID4-2:  Independence Day: Resurgence  Trailer

Okay, I still think an ID4 sequel is completely unnecessary. It should be an one and done type of movie similar to the ET movie (Yet, there were plans for an ET sequel too, but they were scrapped.). And, some of plot points and dialogue lines are really bad in the first movie, but it is still a very good popcorn flick.

And, how can you do an ID4 movie without Will Smith? Too pricey?

Yep, allegedly Will Smith is not in this sequel. The trailer implies that new cast member Liam Hemsworth is the “model swap” for Will Smith. Why create a different part when you just “change all” on the name in the script and just make some minor changes? Here's hoping he brings some kind of charm to the character in the same way as Smith, but I doubt it. Despite FOX saying the Smith character died in the mid-2000s, I think we might see a cameo with his character somewhere.

And, yes, I actually sort of liked the trailer.  I do like some things about the movie.  And, it looks pretty good.  

Jeff Goldblum taking the leading role in a sequel?  Are we getting vibes from The Lost World here?  

-Bill Pullman  looks like a skinny and less crazy Randy Quaid of today in the trailer. I'm guessing he's not the president anymore, but he has to become a leader again.

-Fresh Prince Jr.: Will Smith's character might be dead, but it looks like his son is a fighter pilot.

-Using Alien technology: I like the concept of the world governments using the tech to upgrade their technology in defense. However, the new alien threat has 20 plus years to upgrade their technology.

-I heard about a script floating around that was a sequel to ID4.  It had details about the “masters” to the first aliens showing up to seek revenge. Did they just dust off that old script and bring it back?  I'm getting that feeling with the super big ship.  

-Roland Emmerich is back to direct: This might be a major problem for the movie. Roland's movies have gotten progressively worst over the years to the point of being unwatchable. Can he still do a good movie?

-Producer Dean Devlin is back with Emmerich again: Some time in the 2000s, they seemed to have had a falling out and stopped working together. Devlin moved onto TV shows, while Emmerich kept making shitty movies. With Devlin back, he could riegn Emmerich in.  

Will Smith:  "Now, that's what I call being written out of a sequel." 

Random Things

Random Things

~Wait, Kirk Douglas is still alive: This falls under the whole, “I didn't know he was still alive” category. He's 99 years old. Damn and he just had a birthday. Given my family's history, I will be lucky to make it to age 60 let alone 99. Michael Douglas isn't a string chicken either. And, congrats to Michael for getting onto Ant-Man 2.

~Deadshot and Batman team-up for a Batman movie. That would connect Will Smith with Ben Affleck to a movie. Would WB be willing to spend so much money on Will Smith, because he doesn't come cheap? Or, has Smith really lowered his pay rates? This announcement seems to have come out of nowhere. And, we're still not sure Suicide Squad will be a hit. Out of all the WB projects, this one is the biggest risk. If Squad fails, this make WB switch gears. I still think WB isn't building their universe the proper way (IE bringing the live TV projects into the same universe. Hell, they could have even brought in Supergirl into the movie-verse with a certain “hatch” being open in Man of Steel.)

~Speaking of DC: I hate that they seem to be doing everything wrong as far as world-building goes. They're hell-bent on keeping their properties separate and it might hurt them. Gotham isn't connected to Arrow and Flash. Supergirl “might” not be connected with Arrow and Flash. The DC movies aren't in the same universe as the live action shows. It is really disppointing to see this because I LOVE DC Comics over Marvel. And, DC goes to great lenghs to keep their comic-verse well-connected. Yet, it is Marvel that has a nicely connected live action universe where dozens of things are happening at once with all the Netflix and ABC shows that are impacted by the movies. Why cast for another Flash? People tend to care when all these things are locked together and might have an impact on other things.

~Now Ben Carson is threatening to leave the GOP for an independent bid. First it was Trump, which I hope leaves the party, now Carson is threatening to grab his ball and go play in another playground. There seems to be so much anger in the GOP race that isn't there for DEMs. And, I love how FOX news is doing everything it can to destroy Trump, but nothing sticks. FOX really doesn't want Trump in office, but they seem to have little influence on his followers. I would love to see Trump drop out so at least there can be a better discussion about the differences between the DEMs and REPs instead of all this loud shouting and hatred.   

YouTube Rewind: Yeah, I am out of the loop...

YouTube Rewind: Yeah, I am out of the loop...

Most of this stuff at the beginning of the episode I have no idea what this is about. Most of the music I have never heard before either. However, I still love these yearly YouTube videos. I still think this one isn't as interesting as the last two Rewinds though. For the most part, I kept asking myself who these people were. Maybe it is because I almost died this year, but I feel old when watching this video.  I only vaguely know the Cheerleader song because it plays in the gym I go to.  

-Now, I am a big fan of John Oliver and he's really replaced the Daily Show, because it has become garbage.

-Five Nights at Freddy's: Okay, I like this cameo.  

Konami and Kojima: Why all the hate?

Konami and Kojima:  Why all the hate? 

Yep, Konami pretty much banned him from showing up for his own award. Yes, this pisses me off completely. Kudos to the strange Geoff Keighley for revealing the truth behind the ban. That takes balls. I have new respect for him.

From IGN, ((“As you noticed Hideo Kojima is not here with us tonight and I want to tell you a little bit about that,” explained Keighley. “Mr. Kojima had every intention of being with us tonight but unfortunately he was informed by a lawyer representing Konami just recently that he would not be allowed to travel to tonight’s awards ceremony to accept any awards.” ))

And, what Konami is pulling is what we would call De-Friending someone on Facebook or blocking someone on Twitter over bullshit. It is also like not inviting Kojima to his own birthday party.

And, they've tried to erase Kojima from the history of their company is also shameful. Keep in mind they also demanded they don't even want him mentioned in interview.

And, it gets better. Konami made a false copyright claim against a video discussing the issues behind Konami and Kojima. It was over a few frames from MGS Rising. What are you scared of Konami?

Here's the follow up video discussing the strike. And, that it was YT that threw the strike out.

Derek Savage and Cool Cat and copyright

Derek Savage and Cool Cat

Remember that Skateman Intense Rescue copyright strike against Jim Sterling? Well, this happened again with the shitty Cool Cat video. Derek took it toward the Peter Coffin route and allegedly created his own law firm to fake a response. So, did Derek out Peter Coffin? (Make sure to read about Peter Coffin's fake girlfriend and lawyers. Google it.)

And, the copyright strikes aren't used for infringement, but because the creator is usually butt-hurt and wants to control criticism. People will remember that Jim Sterling had a couple of strikes due to some indie developers getting butt-hurt over a freaking review. At least the Skateman guys admitted that they did it only to shut down criticism, but Savage hides behind infringement.

Like the Skateman guys, the copyright claim expired and it went away from IHE's channel and the other YT people effected. BTW, I love that Savage makes an anti-bullying video yet uses copyright claims to bully someone from criticizing his anti-bullying video. Savage is actually a very mean bully that even uses curse worlds to address IHE in his reply e-mails. Then, fakes e-mails (allegedly) with other movie holders. He then hides behind copyright laws to clamp down on criticism.

While I don't agree with everything Jim says(he does have some good discussions no matter what side of the argument), he did make video about about YouTube protecting against fake takedown claims. Yes, it seems there seems to be some defending against fake takedowns.

These takedowns are merely being used as a “chilling effect” against criticism and being butthurt. YouTube really needs to revamp their copyright notices. With this fallout, everyone now knows that Savage is a prick that is out of touch. And, now he has his own ED entry, congrats.

Oh, and make sure to check out his Geo-Cities type website cicia 1996. I am not making this up. I thought my blog was shitty.  

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Based on a Mark Miller comic book, Matthew Vaughn does a good job with the story. Wow, this movie is very entertaining. This comic book movie is actually playing tribute to the 60s James Bond movies right down to the suits and music. It is a very fast and amusing movie. For the most part, this movie well-directed with some snappy lines.

There are two stories going on at the same time. One is about a young teen (Taron Egerton ) getting into the Kingsmen group and we get to see their training. The other story involves Colin Firth investigating Samuel Jackson's misdeeds as a villain. Sometimes the these two don't work well together. As stand alone movies, they work on their own.

Speaking of Samuel Jackson, he chose a strange choice for his character that I sort of dug. He has this lisp that make him stand out from his other roles. He is also a 60s James Bond villain with a mixture of Steve Jobs and a member of the Green Party. He's basically taking a grand plan from a James Bond movie and taking it to task. It sort of has a left-view to it with the environment. He wants to destroy society in order to save the world. It is rather twisted.

Sam Jackson's character doesn't like the sight of blood. Plus, he dislikes killing people with his own hands. He's a wimpy guy with some evil plans, which is a fun choice. There are a few issues with the movie though. I really don't believe all the world, military, famous people would be down with the villain's grand plan. However, there is a rather funny payoff to this group of “lucky” people.

There are some really amazing fight scenes that are fun to watch. Each fight scene has this frantic yet stylize energy to it. The scenes are over the top, but that's part of this movie's charm. It is true that the 60s Bond movies don't have these complex fight scenes. I think this is the director being influenced by his X-Men: First Class film. However, this is where the movie really shines.

Speaking of X-Men, the composer from First Class comes back for Vaughn's Kingsmen. Henry Jackman's score is a throwback to the Bond films of the 60s with a touch of  Captain Phillips, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and First Class vibes. It's a very fun score. (By the way he will be writing the score for Captain America: Civil War)

The movie also has a great James Bond villain henchmen character in the form of Sofia Boutella. She is a character with no legs but very sharp blades. Plus, she knows martial arts. She is right up there with the other famous henchmen in the spy genre movies. She is just a great sidekick to Sam Jackson's character.

I also got the sense that this movie went out of its way to be the anti-Wanted movie, but also retaining the same plot points. (A loser kid gets into a secret society of highly trained people.) It even has a tie to threading and clothing like wanted, but it actually takes a step back whereas Wanted was made up of bad people. It would be nice to see Kingsmen and Wanted crossover given the similarities. I think Kingsmen does a better job showing us the secret society than Wanted did in its day. Both movies were based on Mark Millar's works interestingly enough.

While the two story lines don't solidify well that makes much sense, I had a lot of fun watching this movie. Watching a movie that pays tribute to the early bond movies is a treat. It doesn't do everything right, but it was better than I thought it would be. Check the movie out.

Grade: B

Up Down Album: Reactions to Reactions...

Up Down Album: Reactions to Reactions...

Yes, this video still makes me laugh.

I love when the Internet makes fun of itself. The YouTuber I Hate Everything did a rant video about reaction Youtube video people. While I like the reaction videos, but I love that I Hate Everything's rant. Well, someone isolated the parody animated video and made it a legit video from IHE on YT.

Then, they recommended reaction YouTubers watch the Up Down Album not realizing they're self parodying themselves.

I love the utter confusion from the Reaction people after the video. This is brilliant. Make sure to read the comments, because they're just as amusing.

Then, the Reaction YouTube community commented on the IHE reaction video. So, IHE reacted to the reaction people reacting to IHE reaction video. That was one of the most confusing things I've ever written.

This is all meta beyond anything.

Going to jail over a stupid meme...that seems a bit much

Going to jail over a stupid meme...that seems a bit much

I was digging through Google News and this came up.

From Time.com, ((In October, a physician named Bilgin Ciftci was fired from his job at the Public Health Institution of Turkey after he shared a meme that juxtaposed Gollum ))

Now, this doctor is now looking at two years in jail for insulting the president in Turkey. That is a very strange and silly law. I almost think the whole point of becoming president is to let the entire world insult you. Mocking Heads of States is fun.

And, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan does look like Gollum. Shit, does this mean I might end up in a Turkish prison or a bath?

And, the best part is the people in charge of the case haven't fully seen the Lord of the Rings movies, so they're bring in specialists. Uh, pop culture specialists?

From Time.com, ((The BBC reports that 105 people were indicted in Turkey between August 2014 and March 2015 for “insulting the head of state.” ))

Yep, you read that correctly. Getting arrested for mocking royalty is one thing, which I still don't agree should be a law, but an elected official should be full game for insults. You know the same way we made fun of the class president in high school. That's part of the job. We in the US take this sort of thing for granted and it is part of our culture. I can't count the number of times I made fun of Bush.

Heck, even Peter Jackson has asked for his release.  

BTW, Erdogan and Tayyip sound like Lord of the Rings characters...or at least Game of Thrones.  

Glenn Morshower in Supergirl

Glenn Morshower in Supergirl

I love watching this guy in everything he's in. He's been in every franchise out there it seems. I laughed when he showed up on Supergirl. He plays General Sam Lane (Lois Lane's father). I laughed because he was just on Agents of Shield pretty much playing the same character (General Jacobs).

So, not only did he play a general in both the Marvel and DC universes, he also played a Colonel in the X-Men universe and he also played yet another General (twice different characters) in the Transformers universe. He also played a couple roles in the Trek universe and let's not forget his popular role in 24.

If you want a stern officer type, cast Glenn in your role. I mean he is always playing military guys in everything.  

I remember him first from his role in TNG.  Then, he showed up in Star Trek Generations.  

Rick and Morty : Inter-Universe Tv shows: Real Fake Doors

Rick and Morty : Inter-Universe Tv shows

I needed a really good laugh and I finally saw the episode where Rick and Morty watch really goofy shows from different universes. I've never laughed as hard as I have in this episode because it is totally silly.

The Fake Doors commercial

“Oh my God, it's still the commercial.”

I freaking love this ad. It starts out with one silly thing, the fake doors, and goes off the rails with the camera continuing to film him going home. I freaking love Rick and Morty's reactions to this ad. And, the ad starts again after he makes a sandwich.

Side Note: The episode also addresses the fact Rick and Morty are NOT the same versions from this universe. When they totally screwed up their home Earth so badly they couldn't fix it, they jumped to this universe after this universe's Rick and Morty died in an accident. They buried their counterparts in the backyard and took over as if nothing happened. So, all the other characters are different yet the same with out only Rick and Morty being the originals from early in the season.

Well, Morty actually admits that he's not really the real brother to his sister and shows her where they buried the bodies. I thought the show would forget that technically this isn't the home planet to this pair of Rick and Morty. It's kind of f'ed up isn't it.   

The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? (Part 2 of 2)

-John Peters the producer: This guy is everything wrong with Hollywood then and today. The doc does explain why he's attached to every Superman movie and WB has to have him linked to it. Peters is one of the goofiest people you will ever see. He kind of takes some jabs at Kevin Smith and talks about the tension between him and Burton. The doc also goes into Peters bringing his kids in to make judgments on drawings. He would also grab tech guys and put them in wrestling moves and headlocks.  

He not only wanted Spiders in the movie, but polar bears. The doc director even notes that there two different versions of Smith's script one with live polar bears and another later version with just statues of polar bears.

Peters even takes a phone call during the interview and it is one of the funnest things you will ever see. You can see the doc director sitting there chilling. I almost think Peters had someone call him just to make him look powerful.

Peters name was listed in the Man of Steel movie and I remember shaking my head when I saw his name.

-Nic Cage test footage: The movie was so far along that they brought in Nic Cage into a hotel room to try the Superman suit. There were photos bouncing around the Internet recently. But, the actual video footage only surfaced for this doc. It is interesting to see Nic Cage act like a child discovering a new toy. He's glowing with pure joy. Seeing him interacting with Burton was a treat. Today, Cage no longer gives a shit about his movies. While the choice of making Superman wasn't sold to me, his joy came through in this uncovered footage.

- Lex Luthor/ Brainiac merge into one being: I found this interesting because the DC Animated Universe would take this story line and make it into a major over-arching plot point from Superman TAS to Justice League Unlimited. Did they use elements from SL scripts and use this story line?

-ILM test footage: That stuff was amazing. It shows a guy in a Superman suit switching from a real person to a CGI seamlessly and this was done back in the mid 90s. I can't believe neither ILM or WB destroyed the footage. It kind of contradicts what Burton wanted with Superman's flying abilities though. Burton just wanted Superman to merely leap around, but ILM had footage of him completely flying though.

-Ninjas vs Superman: While in his prime, Superman would have taken on a bunch of human (normal) ninjas, as it was presented by the storyboards. Keep in mind the ninjas would have been quickly beaten up by Superman in a matter of seconds, but this was one the notes that WB insisted on. It seems odd today, but everyone wanted ninjas in their movies even when it doesn't make sense.

-Superman Lives Brainiac skull ship: This was one of the coolest things in the movie by far. They actually built a complete model of the Brainiac ship for the third act of the movie. And, it is a highly detailed model too! John Peters owns (IE he allegedly “took” the model once he knew the SL project was dropped) the model and has it in his office.

-Tim Burton seemed to really-really hate Kevin Smith's script, despite the fact it was the closest to a DC universe story (with Batman making a cameo). Burton didn't even want to discuss Smith's script with his new writer, despite the fact WB told them elements from Smith's script HAD to stay in the re-writes. I think its funny that he hated the Smith script so much.