Saturday, June 14, 2008

46: stimuli for June 14, 2008

TV: "Battlestar Galactica": Ah, my last fix of interstellar psychodrama until 2009 (and after that...no more. Ugh.), and whoa, what a suckerpunch to leave on. The journey is over? REALLY? And what a final shot to end on... I feel like the Chief probably does in that shot with that expression of his: "Yeah...it frakkin' figures."

MOVIE: "Iron Man": Finally having extra money allowed me to go to the movies to finally catch this one. I'm waiting for the sequel now, and who knows? Maybe Robert Downey will be pretending to be a black man (like in the upcoming Tropic Thunder) in an Iron Man suit? I'd pay to see that if it was offered for free!

DVD: "I Am Legend": A truly great first hour of a film gets plot holes the size of infected mutants by the end, but still a worthwhile diversion. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air hands down some whup-ass while inventing odd ways to combat isolation and insanity (as good as it is here, David Cronenberg would have a field day with this material) in abandoned New York.

"Beowulf": Proving Robert Zemeckis' further distaste for human actors and physical sets comes this puppy. Yes, Angelina Jolie is a pixelated water demon, but Neil Gaiman helped write this! That earns kudos in my book. Thrilling stuff, but dear Lord, the virtual actors at times seem to move like zombies (probably the reason I thought The Polar Express was going to turn into a horror film).

BOOKS: "Queen and Country: Definitive Edition Volume 1", by Greg Rucka: An American writing British espionage stories...that are good? The evidence is here. Plus, a spy caper with a cool female hero. Not the most realistic art here, but it does the job.

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