Sunday 31 January 2016

Lazer Team

Because this was Rooster Teeth, I backed it. And I had a ticket to the screening in Wellington, but got the date wrong...

Earth is going to be beaten up by a champion from another world, so they raise their own champion. Because of some nice aliens, some gear is sent... but the wrong people get it. A bunch of yahoos. And now they are stuck with having to become the champions, but first they have to work out how to be a team.

Which makes it sound more of a dramatic movie than this is. This is a comedy that doesn't go for the usual laughs of poop jokes and boobies (although there are a non-zero amount). It does take its time and we get some of the usual scenes you'd expect of this sort of thing, and you can see a lot of the beats coming from a mile off, but it's still nice and works well.

You'll spot a fair few Rooster Teeth familiar faces. Three of the main leads are RT employees, and others crop up in minor roles. The effects are well done, and it's clear the production team know what they are doing.

The main point is... it's funny and classic. And you can grab it.

[END]

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Saturday 30 January 2016

Friday the 9th

This is the one most people remember. It's the one that opens with the young woman vulnerable in the cabin... who then leads Jason to getting taken down by the cops. And the medical guy eats Jason's heart.

This is also one of the more non-Jason movies, as Jason is able to suddenly jump from one body to another. And then again, this is really Jason in that it tries to give even more backstory. Jason has a house! And a sister! Who had her own family! And only a Voorhees family member can really kill Jason! And only through a Voorhees family member can he be reborn! Despite him never a) jumping bodies before, b) trying to be reborn, or c) ever having any evidence even of a family.

This also feels like a melange of different plot ideas. We start with the trope mockery of slasher movies, and we have Jason body jumping, and we have the Voorhees family members, and we have a mercenary trying to get Jason, and we have the town trying to stop one person or another and... it just feels a little too much and like they had the ideas but nothing too solid.

Still, at least we have Erin Gray and Steven Williams. And Kane Hodder gets the cushiest number ever. The effects aren't terrible... but very 90s.

And then we end with the biggest wanted teaser ever!

[END]

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Friday 29 January 2016

Assignment 3

Yeah... of all the episodes, this is the lowest rated for me. There are some great moments, but overall it just fails.

We start with Sapphire and Steel using a lift! Exciting! They come to deal with a time capsule from the future, which is already mixing the formula of the series (such as it is) up. The capsule is under threat of a composite creature they used to move through time, and when S&S get inside, there's man of all time to met them. And Silver, because he turned up to help. S&S use the man to get everyone back, and then send the capsule back and then... we're done!

This episode just feels undercooked. And mixed. There are three capsules, and the creature wants the crew inside to go outside and disrupt the present. And it also turns babies into Changelings to destroy things and get rid of people... so, what's it's plan exactly? Get rid of people or get them to go out? If S&S hadn't turned up, then the creature and the Changeling would have been left inside to do... what? It's not going anywhere and can't run around without looking silly, so... huh?

Yeah, let's talk effects. Everyone remembers the swan of this episode. In the S&S mailing list, we had the chap that made that join up, so immediately everyone mentioned how great it was. Even he admitted it was more what he could do in the time he was given, which is largely the usual issue of most shows. But, for me, worse than that (which is bad) is the acting. Rothwyn and Eldred are just terrible. Neither can act, and Eldred is a complete streak of wiss. They are just not likeable and actively ruin any scene they are in.

Please, no. This one feels like a chore to get through whenever I watch it. Silver is the only new redeeming feature.

[END]

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Thursday 28 January 2016

The Re-X-Files

They came back! We thought it was just mythical, but they managed to resurrect!

And... it's like nothing changed. The first episode is just as boringly boring as all the other mythic episodes. Everything we knew was wrong! It's a conspiracy! There's a cover up! I couldn't keep track of how it was all unveiled and how it meant that the X-Files was reopened and the series was back and everyone was back in the same roles they had before... and I just don't care.

The second episode was just as generic as the typical monster of the week. Again everything happens to Mulder and Scully doesn't see anything...

What the hell? Nothing has changed. Why did we bother to bring this back?

[END]

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Wednesday 27 January 2016

Berdmin

This is one of those movies that got a lot of acclaim when it came out, so I had to eventually get around to seeing it.

Michael Keaton is Michael Keaton as Riggan as Batman as Birdman, and now he's directing and starring in a play. Which suffers a few problems from ego-centric actors, but the play must go on no matter what happens. Until finally the problems the character has seeps too much into Riggan and he gets too into the part.

I'm going to be one of those people that say "I don't really get it." I am impressed by the long moving takes the camera does while scenes play out, but I'm not sure of the full impact of the moments. It feels rather... insider joke to me. You need to know more about the situation of the exact circumstances of what the character is going through, and I don't.

Still, Michael Keaton is decent, and Edward Norton feels overcast as the over the top actor. Emma Stone looks... young, and Zack Galifianakis looks hairy.

I'm sure this is brilliant for some, but doesn't quite resonate with me.

[END]

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Tuesday 26 January 2016

Jealous Girl

Lennon thought "Run for your life" was the worst song ever, so wrote one about that. And didn't actually do much better.


In this case, he was a jealous guy... no wait, then he says he is a jealous guy. This is the sort of "I didn't mean to hurt you" that can be insidious.

One person admits they have a problem... but don't actually do anything about it, but makes the other think they can change.

None of these are good, but now you can pick a tune for your wrongness.

[END]

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Monday 25 January 2016

House Girl

Let's suger coat the violence, shall we?


Baby, baby, baby, baby... yes, it's Elvis! It's also the origin of the line "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man." But it's wrapped up in Elvis' cheery upbeat tune.

Which is how domestic violence can be. The person is all right, really, except for every now and then there's this streak that comes through... that can be hard to spot and then even harder to accept.

But there's still another kind.

[END]

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Sunday 24 January 2016

Run Girl

Good news everyone! I've found some theme songs for domestic violence!


This is... the Beatles? Really? But yes, written by John Lennon, it features such lyrics as "if I catch you with another man that's the end" and "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, that to see you with another man".

Now, this is the sort of violence that most people, from the outside, would take note of and say "that's wrong". (Although it's likely the partner wouldn't believe there was any real danger.)

Still, it is obvious violence, and that's one problem.

[END]

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Saturday 23 January 2016

A Nightmare on 6th Street

It's the big promise of the movie of: Freddy's Dead! Yep, I'm sure.

There is only one kid left under Freddy's sway, and he is used as bait to bring other children in. We also get more backstory of Freddy, namely while he was tormented as a child, as an adult he managed to have a family of wife and daughter. And now the daughter is brought back to release Freddy onto the world. To beat him, they decide to bring Freddy into the real world... which they did in the first movie. Clearly it worked then, so clearly it worked here, and now Freddy is no more.

Robert Englund looks to be having lots of fun as Freddy. And cameo from Johnny Depp. Otherwise... there are other people, including Breckin Meyer.

Given this is the last child related to Elm Street, there could be a lot to do with the reaction of a town where the parents are going crazy due to a lack of children. We get just the hint of this, but otherwise it's all about Freddy having fun with stupid deaths. This series could be so much more.

And from here on, we're are doing very different things with Freddy.

[END]

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Friday 22 January 2016

Assignment 2

With the child restriction off, P J can go whole hog, and this is a very dark tale, pointed to as one of the few times where heroes (in general) could be considered to lose.

We start with Tully at the Railway station, trying to contact a ghost, and then Steel turns up and acts like a dick. In fact, Steel acts like a dick to Tully for most of the adventure, except when he needs something then he grudgingly is nice to add 'please' and Tully immediately gives in. Anyway, there are ghosts haunting the station, and we learn about a few of them, and the Darkness who is using them. And takes over Sapphire's face in some of the creepiest moments ever seen.

What's impressive about this one is that it's eight episodes long, there are basically only eight cast members, and only four of them are main actors, and yet... the story doesn't feel padded. It actually feels like it takes its time and tells the story right, and gives us brief glimpses into past rather stupid (by their own account) deaths. This is why stories sometimes should be given the space they need. If this was restricted to six episodes that might be possible (cut out some of the ghosts) but not four (that would be rushed and too much would get cut out).

That said, I can see why this wouldn't work for every story and you definitely need one that warrants the length. Like this one!

[END]

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Thursday 21 January 2016

Sirkill

This film could have been so good, a philosophical exploration of who should die, etc… but no.

A group of people wake up in a room, positioned in a large circle. Every few minutes, one of them dies, and they realise their actions are picking who dies. They reason only one will live, and so begins the discussion and the pleading for working out who lives and who dies. Why is this happening? Aliens. No really, that’s the answer. Why? Aliens. What point? Aliens. What do they want? Aliens.

So, this could have been good. They talk about killing people off to work out why this is happening, but then they just end up whinging that they personally shouldn’t die. There is a kid and a pregnant woman, and fortunately the movie does quickly get on the fact that one of them will be the survivor, so that’s decent lamp shading. But the ultimate reason… there is none!

And that’s where this movie could have been brilliantly subversive. I had an ending in mind, thought of before the movie was half over, that would have been a great twist. They’re aliens, find, so they have the technology for this. And they have the tech to kill people… at least, make them seem dead. And then at the end… surprise, you were on Alien Reality TV and no-one is really dead! LOLs! That would have been hilarious.

Instead we get a not good horror movie with just one set, so it’s cheap in many ways.


[END]

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Wednesday 20 January 2016

The Large Small

I've seen a few movies set around the 2008 Global Collapse. This is another one, outside the usual banking circles (but still in banking).

We follow several investors who recognise that the housing bubble is a housing bubble and set out to make money on that by betting against the bubble collapsing (which it must do). However, with institutions set up to not let themselves fall, they get deeper in desperation until finally it comes to fruition. With the collapse of the economy. These guys made money by betting people will lose theirs.

This simplifies it a lot. No mention of second derivatives here. And a few cut aways to explain some of the finer points of lingo. Nicely done, although I think there's still a movie available where the people use the lingo, which then gets explained with a simple term... and then the people start using the simple term. Still, this is decently done.

We get good performances from the actors, although I feel like there were a few too many people involved and I'm not sure if some of the scenes featured people we saw before or not.

An amusing movie, but one that will leave a bad taste in the mouth.

[END]

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Tuesday 19 January 2016

Manbatting across the City

I started playing Arkham City a while ago, got ten minutes into it, and had to stop. Partly because I had problems immediately with the story (some times I could block, some times I couldn’t, what the?), but mainly because the graphics were out of sync between the voice and lip movement.

However, over the holidays, I had time, so dived into it. Apparently I got through the main story on the quick side? I was playing in Normal mode, and wasn't trying to, but there you go. There are a few side missions, and some times when I tried to do them, the game insisted I do the main story. Irritating, but yeah. So I did the main game, and completed it without getting all the upgrades and unlocks. Huh. I did know some of the revelations before hand, and the others weren't that surprising, but it was decent enough. The Catwoman story was rather weak. The gimmicky boss fights were gimmicky, but not as terrible as previously.

But I haven't done everything. There are still some side missions to go, and the Riddler trophies... I'm going to say that there are too many trophies to collect. I've collected many, but there are still many too go. I will dip back into it to try to get them, but I'm not enthused. I also have the Harley mission to do as well. But after that, I have no intention of doing the challenges, or even new game plus.

At this rite, but the time I get to Knight, it might be working properly... HA!

[END]

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Monday 18 January 2016

So, Mr Mystery Guest

Although Alan Rickman has done brilliant performances, for me he will always be... Hans Gruber.

[END]

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Sunday 17 January 2016

From Rebel to Heart

David Bowie did some nice songs I liked, but I never really got into him as much as some other people around me. So I'll let Madonna speak about him.

[END]

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Saturday 16 January 2016

Friday the 8th

Okay, this is supposed to be "Takes Manhattan", but there is little Taking and hardly any Manhattan.

Because an anchor hits a cable, Jason is revived... of course. Then the boat turns up in Manhattan for some reason, where a larger boat is taking off with a grad student party. Jason ends up on board, and slowly kills people. Eventually the survivors end up in Manhattan and then we get Jason wandering some back streets, before they finally hit Times Square. The End.

There is a link between one character and small Jason, but that feels more coincidental than most of the coincidences in this movie (and this is a Jason movie!). The father is played by Peter Mark Richman, who comes across as adequately creepy, wannabe adult, and cowardly. Oh, and this movie is peak 80s, especially when in Manhattan.

This isn't so much a Jason movie as it is just a random slasher flick that happens to have Jason in it. And yet there is a connection back to kid Jason, so clearly there was a Jason script in there somewhere. Too odd.

I suppose we can't get weirder?

[END]

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Friday 15 January 2016

Assignment 1

I've looked at the Sapphire and Steel series in full, and the audio books, but let's go with watching it story by story, with the first being... well, these don't have names.

We start with a simple house (which is quite large), and a kid doing homework. Slowly clocks throughout the house stop ticking, which is already incredibly evocative, and then we get the sound of the rest of the family upstairs disappearing. Then two strange people turn up at the house, and proceed to deal with things way above everyone's head.

And that's one of the best things about this series. It does not give any fucks at all about explanations. We get some rather pseudo babble about the corridor of time, but do we have any idea what they are doing the rest of the time? I'm still not entirely sure what the end of the episode is all about. How did they move the ghosts down, and what did Sapphire do to enable them to remove the block, and... just what the hell?

As we know, this was intended as a children's series, but it was never going to last. And not just because of Lead's incredibly creepy acting towards the kids. This is also unusual in that each set of episodes is of different lengths, not that people know this yet.

From what I remember, I'm sure I didn't catch this particular episode, and I'm not sure I would have been allowed to. But we'll come to that later...

[END]

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Thursday 14 January 2016

Cooking One's Life

This is a documentary, where we follow a zen priest cook and find out some of his views on cooking and zen living.

We spend a lot of time with him in cooking classes, teaching a group. (We don’t get taught how to cook, just general baking stuff is going on.) We also get him being very cheerful about everything, and occasionally meditating. Later on, we get some diatribe or another about organic vs inorganic food, and how meat is in everything anyway so don’t get too hung up on it…

I kind of lost track towards the end of the movie. The basic premise sounded interesting, but the execution was just blah. I can remember them kneading dough… but that’s about it. And him laughing a little too much at everything.

He seems to be having a nice life, so that’s good, but it’s not rubbing off on me.

[END]

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Wednesday 13 January 2016

Point Bromance

While I'm aware there's a movie currently in the theatres, this is the one from 25 years ago.

Dudebro is in the FBI and he gets assigned to a case of dudebros in masks who rob banks. The agents work out the bad guys are surfing the waves, so dudebro goes surfing. Although surfing is associated with this movie, by halfway through the movie changes as the dudebros rob a bank and they face off against dudebro, who doesn't shoot them. Then they all pretend there was no bank robbing and go parachuting... and do this again for the end of the film. And finally the dudebro watches his dudebro go off into the sunset...

Keanu Reeves is decent enough, and Patrick Swayse... isn't really doing much. I'm more exciting by Gary Busey's performance. And Lori Petty is the token female... and this movie feels so familiar. Agent goes undercover with the bad guys to find out what they are up to... didn't we see this in 2001 with cars and lots of other movies?

I was surprised by the half-movie change up, but it just fell flat. Now I might get around to seeing the new one... or wait a similar amount of time to pass before doing so.

[END]

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Tuesday 12 January 2016

Matui / Somes

Yesterday I was on Matui / Somes Island... because I could be!

It used to be a quarantine island, and now is an animal sanctuary for reptiles and birds. There is some nice scenery, and more than a few seagulls.


There is also a Lighthouse and Gun Emplacements.

Check out full photos here.

[END]

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Monday 11 January 2016

Jimmy Jim Jim

I treated myself to the Jimmy Carr show the other night. I got the third to last ticket when I got it last month, and I was up in the Gods. There was a funny talking doll on stage. (And there was a second show put on after our one, which I thought was supposed to start at 10, although we didn't leave until after that!)

Two hours of jokes, and yes, I laughed. And yes, they were edgy and risky and... downright rude and crude. But you laugh because they are wrong. Although I felt he went for the "retardo" insult a bit too often (ie more than once).

There was the typical interactivity of people heckling him, and him talking to people in the audience to get a laugh. And there was also a chance to text him comments which he started the second half with (I don't know how much he made on those texts, nor how many were prepared before hand. Certainly, there were ones from people who were at the show).

Low brow humour, yes, but I enjoyed myself and that's what matters.

[END]

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Sunday 10 January 2016

The Vis It

M Night is back! Waaah! Everyone rejoice! Well... if this movie is any good.

A single mother is going away on a holiday, so her kids decide to visit her parents. They also document everything, so we're in that sort of movie already. However, the old people start acting weird and the kids freak out, and... we continue that for most of the movie, until the big twist, after which we... continue doing that.

The big twist? Old people are old! Okay, not really the twist, but it basically is, and is about as much explanation for anything going on as you're going to get.

Is this the return to form? I'm going for... no. It's not the disaster of some of his other movies, but there's nothing that interesting happening here. It is just "Old People Creep Out Kids" the movie. No big build up of slow revelation, just small things, then reveal then... that's about it. Once the twist is out, nothing much else happens that is that different from the first part. Just... blah.

Some decent performances from Deanna Dunagan and Peter McRobbie, and one of the kids isn't terrible. There's no effects to mention, and as ever these sorts of movie manage to be amazingly framed for amateur film making.

People may like this, but I'm not getting it.

[END]

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Saturday 9 January 2016

A Nightmare on 5th Street

No-one was not expecting Freddy to return, and here he is, back to messing with the girl from the last movie. That said, this feels more of a sequel to the 3rd than the 4th.

Alice is pregnant, so of course Freddy is using the baby to get back at her and trying to be reborn because... because, that's why. This leads to more teens getting killed, because why not? But this time, we are harking back to Amanda Kruger and bringing her in to fight Freddy. All via the baby Jacob, who turns up in the dreams as a ten(?) year old. The baby provides a new focus, but it doesn't get in the way of the usual retread of death by ironic dream. Really, Freddy, get a new trick.

With the movies pretty much being churned out at this point, it's no wonder the quality is beginning to suffer. Like current continual push to play on a franchise, the effort decreases as the number on the movie goes up. I can't remember anything particularly note worthy about this that isn't generic as any other Freddy movie, so...

Let's move on. Until they mix it up, this isn't getting better.

[END]

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Friday 8 January 2016

Con Man

This was a series I heard was good but didn't get around to watching until recently. And it does indeed turn out to be good!

Wray Nerely is an actor who starred in the cancelled short lived sci-fi series Spectrum. And so we follow him as he now lives on the convention circuit and comic store openings, trying to get a job anywhere that isn't just science fiction again. With him, we meet the other odd celebrities and behind the scenes people of conventions, and the fans put up with all of this.

More than a slight wink, Alan Tudyk wrote, directed and starred in this 13 part web series, which also features Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Tricia Helfer, Sean Maher and... oh, a whole bunch of other people. All the main cast of Firefly get at least a cameo, including Joss Whedon.

This is fun with quite a few winks for people, and you'll be playing 'spot the cameo' (some subtle, some not so much). Definitely worth a look!

[END]

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Thursday 7 January 2016

The Wizzy

Thanks to Rifftrax, I've now seen that Nintendo commercial.

An autistic kid does good playing computer games, but is otherwise shut off, so off to a mental home for him. His brother doesn't think that's a good idea, so... basically kidnaps him, and they go on the run. Then they get with a young girl, and decide to enter a computer competition. Oh, and all computer games are Nintendo of course. Along the way, they are chased by a child kidnap retriever, who is presented as a douche, and their father and older brother, who succumb to the excellence that is Nintendo games. And they encounter a kid with a Power Glove. Eventually, they get to the competition, just as everyone catches up with them, and everything is resolved through lawsuits. Or more Nintendo games. One or the other.

As this is all about kids, we get to see the young talents of Fred Savage, Christian Slater, and Beau Bridges! Okay, not so young. And other people who are also in this!

Okay, I will give the story does have a nice resolution, and once you ignore the whole Nintendo advert side of it, it's basic but decent. The characters are not deep, but kept simple enough. Oh, and there are more than a few cringe moments.

A slice of history, yeah, but not one I think we need to dwell on.

[END]

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Wednesday 6 January 2016

The Enfield Haunting

The Enfield poltergeist was an actual thing that happened. At least, it was a thing that seemed to happen and get reported on. And then there was a TV adaptation of it.

In this version, Maurice Grosse is brought in to investigate a haunting, and some aspects of the case remind him of a previous incident in his own life. However, while it seems to possible not be real, there are some aspects of it that can't be explained. Then Guy Playfair turns up, and takes over, seeing this as another case to become famous over. However, then they find out there really is something supernatural going on, but their higher ups want them to stop harassing the family. So then they have to get more personally involved, and again Maurice's own past gets mixed up in this.

Actually, this is quite well done. Timothy Spall and Matthew Macfadyen are the leads, and not even the child actors are that annoying. (It's been a while since I've seen it.) What works better than what I talked about last week is that this ties in the personal character arc with the actual story.

With that, I would recommend this. Although I might revise my opinion if I do rewatch it myself.

[END]

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Tuesday 5 January 2016

All ways watching

I can see why doing a movie appealed to the Marble Hornets guys. It gets their name out there a bit more, and actually makes them present a coherent story rather than the rambling mess of whatever their current series is doing. (Which seems to have changed to something else.)

A new news crew finds a story of a family gone missing, and slowly Milo (the cameraman) finds out that they have been stalked by a strange tall figure. That is now coming after him. He gets the other two involved, and they go on the run. They track down the missing family, but that doesn’t prove too helpful. All that’s left is to confront the Operator.

The Slender Man in this is far more aggressive, but it has to be to get a story going. And it’s played by Doug Jones, so if you are going for a tall weird man, he’s the one to go to. The other actors… no idea, but none of the Marble Hornets team are in main roles, so they are not that vain (good).

Ultimately, this is probably a ‘movie inspired by the web series’ than the movie version of the series, and it covers familiar ground by now as everyone else has done this sort of thing. Still, as Slender movies go, I prefer the one I backed.


[END]

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Monday 4 January 2016

Tower to the People

It’s a documentary about how great Tesla is, and his activity at Wardenclyffe. Which I helped to IndieGogo!

We follow the life of Tesla, mainly when he was grown up and inventing things. (And doing a lot better than either Edison or Marconi, the losers.) When he gets to Wardenclyffe, he begins the project to create wireless energy for everyone. But then J P Morgan isn’t interested in giving him even more money, and so the slow crash happens. Eventually Wardenclyffe is shut down, and the land goes to pot. Others take over, and it basically becomes a ruin. Then people get interested in resurrecting it, eventually leading to the bid to Making a Goddamn Tesla Museum (which I also helped to Indiegogo). We follow that progress, and the slow development of turning Wardenclyffe into a museum… which brings us nearly up to date. (The museum is more advanced now.)

So yeah, this is something I can say I have a hand in, and of course Tesla is the man (especially when compared to some others). We are getting a resurgence of recognition for him, and this documentary will help that, as will the actual museum. The progress of which I’m obviously following.

And if you are interested in this, definitely check this out. The explanation of how the wireless energy works has given me a few ideas...


[END]

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Sunday 3 January 2016

Brawl in the Family

It's another one of those projects that I saw and just decided to back. Yep, it's another Kickstarter comic.

This is based on Nintendo characters, and is a series of strips featuring Kirby and Mario and Dedede and Peach and... a slew of others. I can't say that I recognised all the characters but I got a fair few of them. The strips looked amusing, so that's why I decided to go in for the project.

And this is three volumes of 200 strips each. Amidst the comics are occasional musical strips (where there's a song to go along with the strip) and some video and animated strips. They don't tend to come across in an PDF, but there's a handy QR code to link to the appropriate thing. Which... I never used. Partially because I couldn't be bothered getting my iPod out for the few strips, but mainly because I know that in a few years, these probably won't work and thus all we'll have are these strips and codes.

Nice, and most work for me, but not really for someone who isn't completely immersed in Nintendo.

[END]

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Saturday 2 January 2016

A Nightmare on 4th Street

Because Freddy was defeated in the last one, there’s no way he’s back, especially with people around who know how to defeat him.

Unless, you know, he comes back and then kills them without any problems. Leading to a new batch of people being around to be killed, although the girl of the previous movie passes her power on to someone else… which really means this movie is a repeat of the previous one. Except now they have the idea of a Dream Master that guards Dream Gates, and Freddy is one such Master. Which means that there conveniently is a new way to completely kill him for all time. Yeah, that’ll happen. (As far as I’ll give this movie, we can say that we’ve defeated Freddy is his aspect of Dream Master and that temporarily put him down until he can recuperate a bit.)

Anyway, as I said, this is largely a repeat, so again we get Freddy dreams and slowly killing off people in ironic ways that pay on their fears. We really have shifted from being about the impact of Fred on society and now it’s about how we can come up with weird ways to kill them using dream logic to excuse any old thing. And the ending is really perfunctory. Was anyone trying in this?

Nothing new here, and even the supposedly new bit is ‘blink and miss it’.


[END]

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Friday 1 January 2016

Lois and Clark 4

This season was far more watchable that season 3... and yet the stories weren't any better.

We're back to trying to get a wedding, with the episode even called "Swear to God, This Time We're Not Kidding" (and it seems to invoke god, or at least the author, to actually make it happen). We also get a random mix of stories around Lois having an affair with Superman, the return of Lex Luthor (well, his son, but I do wonder if the script was intending to have John Shea back), yet another return of Tempus, a character called Deathstroke (who has nothing to do with Deathstroke) and even an appearance of Mxyzptlk! But it's all about the baby that Lois and Clark want, which dominates far too much of the arc with no real satisfactory pay off (no doubt to be addressed in the fifth season which got canceled).

(And pro-tip, don't find out the secret of Superman as Clark Kent, because you will die / get your memory erased.)

K Callan and Eddie Jones continue to be the best part of this series, with Lane Smith not far behind. You can guess where this puts the others.

Having seen all the episodes... I can't say this series had to happen, and went on a little too long. If they had actually played with the format and brought in proper super powered enemies, like they would twenty years later, I think this would have had more lasting power. But as it is... yeah, I don't see me revisiting this.

[END]

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