It’s Saturday, hooray. Thinking about streaming a movie tonight? If so, this site may be for you:
Let’s check out my options. Hmm, lots of maybes, some no thanks, but wait, what’s this? Deadpool?
Yes, please!
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Posts Tagged ‘movies’
Movie Night
Posted in Entertainment, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, genre fiction, inspiration, movies, RyanReynoldsForTheWin, tech tools on July 16, 2022| Leave a Comment »
How to Win in Twelve Parsecs or Less
Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, creativity, Fiction, genre fiction, inspiration, movies, sff, storytelling, writing on August 17, 2021| 1 Comment »
Does everything have to be perfect in order for a story to work? Nope.
Here’s the script and breakdown for Star Wars:
Star Wars: A New Hope Script — Screenplay Analysis and PDF Download
par·sec| ˈpärsek | (abbreviation pc) noun
a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years (3.086 × 1013 kilometers). One parsec corresponds to the distance at which the mean radius of the earth’s orbit subtends an angle of one second of arc.
A parsec is a measurement of distance, not time. Twelve of those do not a winning Kessel Run make, but, as millions of fans (and yes, dollars) attest, no one cares. The story works.
These are the things I think about when I’m stuck on a plot point, or deep in historical or technical weeds.
Just keep going.
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Writing: A Comment and an Apology
Posted in Entertainment, Writing, tagged #365Ways, movies, story structure, technology solves everything, television, writing on May 22, 2021| Leave a Comment »
When it comes to writing, I try to study the substance behind the story, the skeleton that supports the larger whole. Novels have time to throw curve balls, and short stories can just upend everything because they don’t always give you all the information up front, but television and movies? I find that they tend to be much more predictable.
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One thing I’ve noticed is that the more closely I study the structure of fiction, the easier it is to predict the course of any particular show.
This is useful because it helps me better study and understand story structure. It’s also less helpful because it leads to me muttering things like “Yep, you’re definitely going to die,” and “Oh yeah, he did it,” or “Well, if you didn’t want to die a horrible death, you shouldn’t have had that heartfelt moment with the main character. Did your mother teach you nothing?!”
This is also why I love shows like Resident Alien and Sherlock and Wynonna Earp and Killjoys. Great characters and humor, plus creative, often unpredictable storylines and dynamics. And they’re just fun.
Dear Industry of Entertainment, please do not underestimate the power of fun.
Especially after the year we’ve just had.
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This brings me to my apology: Dear Mr Man, I am sorry for the ongoing commentary (ok, heckling, let’s just call it what it is) during shows. Please understand that it is a natural extension of my ongoing writerly education.
Also, we bought that high-capacity PVR for a reason. We can always rewind:)
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Wonder Woman
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged awesome, entertainment, heroines, history, Jill Lepore, movies, New Yorker, superheroes, Tor.com, William Moulton Marston, Wonder Woman, yay on October 17, 2014| Leave a Comment »
A Wonder Woman movie is finally really actually happening. This article at Tor.com lays out what we know (not much) and how this movie fits with the WB film slate.
Few details are available other than a 2017 release date, so let me leave you with Jill Lepore’s New Yorker piece on everyone’s favorite lasso-toting amazon and this fascinating Smithsonian article on The Surprising Origins of Wonder Woman.
Crap Day? No Problem!
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged aliens, awesome, cheer me right up, fun, Guardians of the Galaxy, inspiration, movies, recommended, Redbone, science fiction, sff, work, yay on August 12, 2014| 1 Comment »
So there I was fighting with some work stuff and fixing to have a perfectly crappy afternoon when a little lightbulb went off over my head, just like in the cartoons. A few clicks later and all was once again right with the world. Go ahead try it, bet it will work for you too:)
Yeah, I saw Guardians of the Galaxy. If you haven’t, it’s a damn fine movie. Damn fine!
Edge of Tomorrow
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged awesome, Doug Liman, Emily Blunt, entertainment, genre fiction, Hiroshi Sakurazaka, movies, science fiction, sff, speculative fiction, Tom Cruise on June 8, 2014| 1 Comment »
So, remember when I had a hard time finding a movie theatre showing Edge of Tomorrow in 2D? I know, that was, like, hours ago, you may have forgotten. I bring it up now to say that I did find a theatre, and I did go see the film, and it was Totally Worth It, people! No spoilers, but the acting and directing and editing and… well, just about everything was top notch. Really, really enjoyed it.
Definitely recommended.
Now I’m off to find the book it’s based on, All You Need Is Kill by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. Because speculative fiction well done is a delight.
Today in Awesome
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged Andy Serkis, awesome, Brendan Gleeson, Carrie Fisher, entertainment, Episode VII, Harrison Ford, John Boyega, Mark Hamill, Max von Sydow, movies, Oscar Isaac, Peter Mayhew, science fiction, sff, star wars, yay on April 29, 2014| Leave a Comment »
Yes, a lot of these names come up in previous discussion around the film, but there’s nothing like an official announcement to make things, erm, official. The core cast from the original trilogy is returning, which is terrific. And I’m particularly pleased to see John Boyega after his impressive turn in Attack the Block, and of course “stone cold veteran badass Max Von Sydow” (oh Ming the Merciless, you slay me!). And they start shooting in a couple of weeks. Better and better!
/fingers crossed
Explosions!
Posted in Entertainment, tagged awesome, entertainment, home, knights of badassdom, movies, peter dinklage, ryan kwanten, sff, steve zahn, summer glau, yay on December 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Ok, not really, but between the two bits of news I have it’s a relatively apt title for this piece.
First, we had a gas leak this morning here at Chez J and now, three tech crews later, we are no longer at risk of blowing up. Yay.
Second, Knights of Badassdom will be released in February! Apparently it’s not the director’s cut and apparently it won’t get a full theatrical release and that seems ungood, but it will be out. Yay! Knights! Demons! Badassery! And I am certain that there will be explosions!
Also, that just about meets my recommended allowance of exclamation marks for the day. So, all good. Happy weekend, everyone!*
* RDA? check;)
Knights of About Damn Time
Posted in Entertainment, Likes, tagged awesome, entertainment, knights of badassdom, movies, peter dinklage, ryan kwanten, sff, steve zahn, summer glau, yay on July 25, 2013| 1 Comment »
What’s this, what’s this?
Knights of Badassdom Finally Gets Distributor (via Whedonesque.com)
Be still my heart. This movie looks hilarious and has a terrific cast that should be a blast to watch, including (but certainly not limited to) Peter Dinklage, Summer Glau, Ryan Kwanten and Steve Zahn. Thank you, EntertainmentOne. Can’t wait to see it!
Space Milkshake
Posted in Likes, Reviews, tagged arts, awesome, comedy, entertainment, fun, funny, goofy, movies, Reviews, science fiction, SF, sff on March 2, 2013| 1 Comment »
Space Milkshake: A Movie Review, or, An Appreciation of Sci-Fi Comedy
Current trends in genre movies lean toward zombies, war, and the Apocalypse, but I’d like to take a moment to appreciate the benefits of humor in science fiction. Sure, our future planet may be filled with trash, our scientists mad, and our educational standards in decline, but at least we should be able to laugh about it. What is humor, if not a way to cope with (and thereby begin to address) our problems? I spend Saturday nights watching B movies of the science fiction and fantasy persuasion for just that reason. With that in mind, I settled in to watch Space Milkshake.
Starring Robin Dunne (Sanctuary), Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Kristin Kreuk (Smallville, Beauty and the Beast), Amanda Tapping (Stargate, Sanctuary), and George Takei (Star Trek) as the voice of Gary the duck, the film allows each of these actors to emphasize their comedic strengths.
The story is a classic crucible, sci-fi style. The setting is a future Earth where space debris is a serious problem, addressed by permanently-crewed orbital stations tasked with space lane maintenance. Geosynchronous trash trucks, if you will. While living on one such station our cast of hapless sanitation workers find their lives disrupted by a rubber duck from space. Needless to say, there’s more to the little yellow duck than meets the eye.
George Takei does a wonderful turn as Gary; he is now my gold standard for voicing mutant rubber duckies. The rest of the acting team delivers as well. Kreuk is perhaps the weakest link here but her job is also one of the hardest, given that her character doesn’t speak for a significant portion of the film. And while it’s hard to imagine bathtubs would be feasible on such a future space station, it does allow for a tension-filled scene with Amanda Tapping in a bubble bath with the aforementioned duck. What could be better?
This was my best B-movie Saturday night in a long time. Space Milkshake is a low-budget film with sets and special effects to match, but the movie is well put-together and the actors all appear to be having a terrific time. This is quality B-movie material, and I mean that in the best of ways. Think My Name is Bruce. The movie is also sprinkled with shout-outs to classic science fiction and fantasy like Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings, and is prime material for homegrown drinking games, should your proclivities lean in that direction.
Space Milkshake is pure comic entertainment. And no, I don’t understand the title,* but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. If you have a soft spot for science fiction that embraces goofy fun, and enjoy well-scripted, conscientiously-acted movies, you should see this film.
Bottom line: if you like science fiction, have a goofy sense of humor, and are ready to be entertained, break out the popcorn and enjoy a deliciously funny Space Milkshake.
Director: Armen Evrensel
Writer: Armen Evrensel
Stars: Kristin Kreuk, Amanda Tapping, Billy Boyd, George Takei, Robin Dunne
Sci-Fi / Comedy
2012
* Note from the future: Funny how colloquial phrases may not immediately resonate. If the title had been “Space Mashup” it would have made sense to me from the outset.
J.R. Johnson 
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