Random Spitting & Pluggage
Apr 24Rick Berman is writing a tell-all book about his years in Star Trek. I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THAT FUCKING THING.
James Cameron’s Avatar will cost $195 million to make. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THAT FUCKING THING.
I have a pair of new reviews up at ComicBloc, one of them under my real name, the other under my super-secret pen name, “Matthew.” I HAVE ALREADY READ THESE FUCKING THINGS.
Don’t forget, either–my novel Unconventional is now available. Buy it in softcover, or enjoy it as a free PDF download. Also visit Alert Nerd Press, our new publishing arm…or rather, finger, since it is quite a small appendage at this stage.
13 minutes, 47 seconds
Apr 21That’s about when the Raiders of the Lost Ark march first soars, in the film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
I noticed it because I’ve been thinking that what precedes it ranks among the best things both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have EVER done.
I don’t know that there’s a more note-perfect, clever, intricately paced action sequence, anywhere, in any other movie. The only competition would probably be something from the Star Wars films, or another Spielberg production–they are, after all, the masters.
We are jaded, hateful geeks, and so it is easy to snark upon both of these men, who many say (including me) have stumbled well past their prime. (Lucas, moreso than Spielberg, IMHO.)
And yet, there was a time when they could craft exquisite gems out of an old showtune in Mandarin Chinese, a tiny vial of green liquid, and a big rolling gong.
Speaking of The Lost Room…
Apr 20I have no commentary on Lost – I got to the fourth episode of the season and then my viewing schedule impoloded. And I haven’t opted to jump to digital recorders just yet, until a few more standards fall into place. I’m just going to do like I did with the first seasons – wait until it’s on DVD and then watch it all back-to-back.
In the meantime, I picked up The Lost Room – a Sci-Fi Channel mini-series. It was on DVD and pretty cheap for two discs. Since I’d heard good things from another friend, I went for it and holy crap – it’s teh awesome!
The story idea is refreshingly brilliant – in the 40s, something happened in a hotel room in New Mexico. The room ceased to exist as part of reality and the items inside were given strange properties. Now, 40 years later, various collectors and fanatics are struggling for control of the items and a cop with no knowledge of what’s going on, ends up stuck in the middle, and forced to solve the mystery of the room in order to save his daughter.
It’s a nice companion to Heroes, really – the idea of average people with not-so-average abilities – only, the abilities come from nail files and clocks, and thus can be taken away.
The rules of the story are really well thought out, which is always a big deal with me. If you’re going to be wacky, there have to be rules, or it turns into Next Generation, where they just invent the magic item they need to solve their problems.
Where it kind of breaks down is at the end, and it’s not that it breaks down, but rather you can clearly see The Salem’s Lot effect – meaning, you can see how they’re hoping the mini-series will transition into a series. Some loose ends aren’t tied up, and not all is right in the world – there are still things to be worked out, and not all the items are known, so there’s a lot of material to work with there.
I’m of two minds about a series, but the DVD is one of the best things I’ve seen in awhile, honestly. I mean, it’s got 8.1 at IMDB, and the Internet Uni-Mind that casts those votes hate everything, so that says something. Right?
Speaking of Lost…
Apr 19Has anyone else noticed Desmond’s excess of man-cleavage? He is like Counselor Troi up in here. And I probably shouldn’t even complain, because I think Desmond is teh sexy, but it’s weirdly distracting. The shirt appears to have a full complement of functional buttons, so why doesn’t he use them? My viewing companion suggested that the great swathes of exposed Desmond flesh are a direct result of both Jack and Sawyer starting to experience what is affectionately known as “The Angel Spread” or “Boreanaz Bloat.” Soon, we will see them clad in slimming leather dusters and an array of drape-y button-downs!
Joining Matt On the Kewl Lifeboat
Apr 18How did I miss that Brian K. Vaughan is now working on Lost? That’s so awesome. (No, I have nothing more intelligent to say other than “that’s so awesome.” I am basically turning into a message board-y, empty opinion-spouting parody of myself.)
Also awesome and also amongst things that I am the last person to know about: Teen Girl Squad! Valemtimes is serious times!
