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Dept of Scattershot
Short Takes
"Captain Marvel"
I had worried that I'd find this bland - blonde white hero after the strength of Black Panther - so I was happy to truly like the movie. I'm not familiar with Brie Larson's work, but I found her an excellent Captain Marvel, and certainly not "wooden," which I believe was one of the shots aimed at her. I thought the plot did a fine job of weaving the various Captain Marvel histories together, and I loved the twist at the end, which I should have seen coming, as likable as the putative villain and his buddies were. (Also, every time I saw Jude Law in this film, I had to fight the suspicion that he deserved nothing so much as a punch in the nose.) There were a few threads dangling here and there, which is almost to be expected at this, the end of this generation of MCU stories. They've all gotten so dense, multifaceted, and connected to each other that the general quality of the story telling and pacing is a bit of a minor cinematic miracle. Samuel Jackson was a joy to watch, as always, and I think that the MCU finally has a heavy hitter that can take on Thanos.
"Logopolis"
Tonight BB and I and a friend took in the special showing of the final Tom Baker Fourth Doctor adventure in the theater. It was digitally remastered, so that the bad quality I've seen when television gets transferred to the big screen wasn't a problem. Before and after the actual story (which flowed pretty well as a movie) we got to enjoy bits of banter between Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton, and separate conversations between Baker, John Leeson, and others. At the end of the story, they showed a brief little featurette in which Fielding and Sutton visited the Lovell Telescope in Cheshire, England, which was the model for the Pharos Project radio telescope in Logopolis. I was struck by a few things. 1) I'd forgotten that Baker could be a very good actor. This reminded me of that. 2) After watching Ainley's performance I wonder why anyone complained about Simm or Gomez being too hammy. I seem to remember that he came off better in some of his later appearances; perhaps it was the direction? 3) I adored the horrible production values - you can see the paint spatters around the lower half of the TARDIS console, and the paint doesn't hide the fact that the console is knocked together out of some unseemly blend of two-by-fours and balsa wood. I love the classics .... 4) I had expected the theater to be quite full; we're in a big urban area, full of fans of the show ... but there might have been 30 people in the theater. BB noticed that they were older, like us, so perhaps even a famous story about the end of the most famous Old Who Doctor couldn't coax younger fans out. It disappointed me.
Vincent
He has now been fostered out, and Opie is gradually returning to whatever is his version of stability. I miss Vincent; I wish it had worked. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that the group that took him (Precious Pets Almost Home, for those in the Chicago area who are curious) will find a good home for him, and that I will no longer have to pull a large, furry, rugby ball out of the lower reaches of my refrigerator every time I open its door.
"Captain Marvel"
I had worried that I'd find this bland - blonde white hero after the strength of Black Panther - so I was happy to truly like the movie. I'm not familiar with Brie Larson's work, but I found her an excellent Captain Marvel, and certainly not "wooden," which I believe was one of the shots aimed at her. I thought the plot did a fine job of weaving the various Captain Marvel histories together, and I loved the twist at the end, which I should have seen coming, as likable as the putative villain and his buddies were. (Also, every time I saw Jude Law in this film, I had to fight the suspicion that he deserved nothing so much as a punch in the nose.) There were a few threads dangling here and there, which is almost to be expected at this, the end of this generation of MCU stories. They've all gotten so dense, multifaceted, and connected to each other that the general quality of the story telling and pacing is a bit of a minor cinematic miracle. Samuel Jackson was a joy to watch, as always, and I think that the MCU finally has a heavy hitter that can take on Thanos.
"Logopolis"
Tonight BB and I and a friend took in the special showing of the final Tom Baker Fourth Doctor adventure in the theater. It was digitally remastered, so that the bad quality I've seen when television gets transferred to the big screen wasn't a problem. Before and after the actual story (which flowed pretty well as a movie) we got to enjoy bits of banter between Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton, and separate conversations between Baker, John Leeson, and others. At the end of the story, they showed a brief little featurette in which Fielding and Sutton visited the Lovell Telescope in Cheshire, England, which was the model for the Pharos Project radio telescope in Logopolis. I was struck by a few things. 1) I'd forgotten that Baker could be a very good actor. This reminded me of that. 2) After watching Ainley's performance I wonder why anyone complained about Simm or Gomez being too hammy. I seem to remember that he came off better in some of his later appearances; perhaps it was the direction? 3) I adored the horrible production values - you can see the paint spatters around the lower half of the TARDIS console, and the paint doesn't hide the fact that the console is knocked together out of some unseemly blend of two-by-fours and balsa wood. I love the classics .... 4) I had expected the theater to be quite full; we're in a big urban area, full of fans of the show ... but there might have been 30 people in the theater. BB noticed that they were older, like us, so perhaps even a famous story about the end of the most famous Old Who Doctor couldn't coax younger fans out. It disappointed me.
Vincent
He has now been fostered out, and Opie is gradually returning to whatever is his version of stability. I miss Vincent; I wish it had worked. But I comfort myself with the knowledge that the group that took him (Precious Pets Almost Home, for those in the Chicago area who are curious) will find a good home for him, and that I will no longer have to pull a large, furry, rugby ball out of the lower reaches of my refrigerator every time I open its door.
no subject
Given that it's been several years since we bailed from the festering cauldron of puerile mediocrity that the show became post-Russell T entire series and are unlikely to ever return to it, this is probably the last time I'll comment on your blog. But I just wanted to say that digging up the Fourth Doctor serials - and the Third Doctor - and for that matter the Second Doctor - is well worth the effort and might surprise you and give you quite a lot of pop-culture pleasure. kthxbye :-)
no subject
I hope your health is stable, at the very least, and that you're still able to enjoy the occasional run, and that you've had time to enjoy the outdoors. I don't know how hot or dry it's been in your neck of the woods, although I'm told some sections of your particular continent have been badly hit with drought and fire.
The Third Doctor is a particular favorite of mine, both for himself and for his Unit team (I'm especially fond of Liz Shaw. I'm sorry they got rid of her, supposedly because she came off as too equal to the Doctor. I like Jo as well, but I could have done with another season of Liz.) I've also caught a couple of Second Doctor adventures, including the War Games, and I've enjoyed him, even though I remember being quite verklempt as a 10 year old when he first arrived on my screen.
Since I do, from time to time, post about non-Who, it would be fun to see your responses occasionally; I always enjoy them, even when I don't necessarily agree.
I don't think I've interacted with you lately. I took a buyout from my horrendous company in December, and have been enjoying my first actual down-time in 43 years. I'll have to get back to some freelancing, since medical bills and my 401K savings won't mesh completely, but it has been a relief to be away from a particularly despised boss. and yet more union unhappiness.
Over the next little while, I'll be answering people's questions, since, during an intellectual fallow spell, I asked them to submit said questions as a way to prime my writing pump. Those might be amusing for you to look over as they come down the pike. There's at least one in my rear view mirror