Superban Unmound

DC Animation continues its practice of not caring about any live action movies with the latest in the Superman series. (Okay, it may or may not be a 'series', but it's hard to tell if it is continuing a story universe, rebooting the universe continuity each time, or some mash up whereby some elements continue but not in the same way.)

[Bad guy] sends out probes that alerts [hero] to his presence. [Hero] seeks out [bad guy] and has an initial entanglement. [Hero] doesn't win, but falls back to regroup. [Bad guy] turns up on [hero]'s turf and there's an epic battle until finally [hero] wins.

Yes, I did spoil this movie, per se, but really... how many movies did I just spoil with that? How many movies fit that model? Certainly this one does, but what saves it is what it does as an original take on this... which is nothing... so it's not saved at all.

Admittedly, it was over half-way through the movie before I realised this was entirely pointless, and nothing on screen was happening that mattered a damn. It was during one of the fights when I realised that... it was just [bad guy] and [hero] hitting each other, over and over and over and... this is Superman? He's Punchingman! He punches until he wins! Because... screw any sense that Superman uses his brains. Doomsday worked because Doomsday was all about no trick would work, Doomsday would just punch through it, so Superman had no choice but to punch in return. But Brainiac (yes, we have Brainiac, a character I've heard more about than read anything) is intelligent, can talk, could be reasoned or tricked or... no, wait, he can be punched, and that's it.

Meh. Nothing of interest. Move along...

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Ender's Book

There are many books I haven't read that sci-fi people consider essential. I'm not entirely sure if Ender's Game counts as one of those, but I consumed it anyway. And yes, because of the upcoming movie.

Er... why are people loving this? I assume that people do love this, and the number of people I've heard talk about it and that there is many books in this series isn't because it's rubbish. Although it isn't good. Just what the hell is going on in this? The 'climax' as such occurs around 80% into the book, and is only a climax in retrospect. And then the rest of the book is basically exposition.

And what's the point of the subplot with Demosthenes and Locke? I can see why there's no mention of that in the trailer. That could all easily be cut out. It might be more in later books, but... I have no interest in later books. If this is the meandering mess I have to deal with, I don't see why I should deal with it any more than I have.

This has achieved something... I won't be seeing the movie in the theatres. And it reinforces that 'popular' does not mean 'good'.

So, what other 'popular' books should I look at?

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Saxy Aval Ganaos

Was this a student film? A student film of an art film? The taglines for this movie read Comedy, Drama, Thriller... I laughed, just once, half way through the movie, so I'm doubtful.

Let's be honest, if you watch this, it's because of the cast. Seth Green. Katee Sackhoff. Michelle Trachtenberg. Some guy that looks like Alec Baldwin (his brother William). And Michael from Lost.

So, Katee gathers her ex-lovers to meet her current lover, and we find out she more manic than pixie dream girl, and then she pulls some mad stunt that is a brilliant plan or...? It's not clear a lot where this film is going. It's a character piece, definitely, but not one in which I am engaging with this crazy woman. Am I supposed to? There's a moment where we get a pointed piece of backstory that is supposed to explain it all... but that doesn't mean I am going to give her any excuse for the things she does to others. 'Crazy whacked out' is still damaging, even if it's 'crazy cool'.

And the performances aren't that great either. Most of the actors are just giving surface effort, and the changes (such as we get) the characters go through are because of what the script says happen, not from any organic process in the story. The writer, Scott Lew, has written... nothing else I've heard of. Perhaps the actors were all good friends of him or something?

Anyway, a lot less exciting than it might sound. Although reading the one-liner, it doesn't sound that exciting either.

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Back to Square One

Children's television covered a far range of programs. And a lot were educational. But while they were educational, they generally covered a fair range of topics. And then some went crazy. You remember The Electric Company? HEY YOU GUYS! Of course you do! But, due to a random twitter comment, I was reminded of another show in the same vein that I used to watch, that was far more targeted to me.

Square One was a children's television show... about math! While I can't remember a lot of it, I do vaguely remember the performers. Maybe Mathman... definitely Mathnet. Everyone remembers Mathnet. Some of the other sections... well, I did only just rewatch the first episode, so they probably got better. Certainly I do recall enjoying it.

And, thanks to the power of YouTube, you can watch the first episode too:

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Dr Who and the Rifftrax

Yes, at last! What every Doctor Who fan has been waiting for! For Doctor Who to get the Rifftrax treatment! You know, Rifftrax... the guys who supply an alternative commentary track to a movie, making fun of it. You know, Doctor Who, where the old guy happens to invest a police box in his backyard that is bigger on the inside and can travel anywhere.

Yes, this is Dr Who and the Daleks. With the great Peter Cushing, the Grand Moff himself. And even better... this isn't just the commentary, with this you get the entire movie as a download! (Much easier than fussing around, trying to sync it.) And with them giving the whole thing as a VOD, perhaps we might soon see Dalek Invasion of Earth 2150AD?


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My Phoney Pony

Yes, my watching of MLP:FIS continued with Season 2 (and yes, it is still possible to get a complete compilation...). The stories continue to be decent enough, but not the centre of my life. And I still have taken completely the wrong lesson from each episode:
Ep 1/2: Don’t trust a chap named Discord.
Ep 3: There’s always that crazy friend to be wary of.
Ep 4: Dealing with royalty is always tricky.
Ep 5: Sisters should always trick each other.
Ep 6: You can’t be an expert at more than one thing.
Ep 7: You must be able to tell the difference between a turtle and a tortoise.
Ep 8: Superheroes depend on good PR.
Ep 9: Only be seen as a person of status.
Ep 10: Demand all the presents on your birthday!
Ep 11: Winter is not a season but an emotional state.
Ep 12: Age means your memories are in black and white.
Ep 13: Flour is comedy.
Ep 14: Blue is the best colour ever.
Ep 15: Technology is the root of all evil.
Ep 16: Never let anyone find out that you read.
Ep 17: Love only works if you force it.
Ep 18: Never accept that people know what they want, and know what they want for them.
Ep 19: Fussy eaters are an incredible pain.
Ep 20: Your past self is a dick.
Ep 21: Eggs are for smashing.
Ep 22: When they say 800, they mean 800, 799.9 just won’t do.
Ep 23: Journalism is a vicious business.
Ep 24: Detecting can only be done if you have a bubble pipe.
Ep 25/26: Childhood songs are the only way to recognise each other.

There is next season three... which isn't compilated. Although it is shorter.

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Bonus Video: Wild Animal Talk

At the Wellington Zoo for the Wild Animals talk featuring a trained bird, of which I don't have the spelling.



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