“The brain requires a constant flow of oxygen. Or tea.”
– Dr. Ogden in Murdoch Mysteries s. 3 ep. 10, “The Curse of Beaton Manor” (written by Paul Aitken)
That certainly was my mood this morning. Still not quite sure I’m awake a few hours afterwards…!
Image by Eppu Jensen
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
Roxi tweeted a question, and we have answers!
https://twitter.com/frankencastIed/status/984754927351287808
Eppu here. My top five Marvel Cinematic Universe movies to date are:
My honorable mention is a tie between Ant-Man (which surprised me positively but ultimately won’t make the list due to the annoyingly large serving of ham for a villain) and Thor: Ragnarok (Jeff Goldblum was a fun villain but he shouldn’t overshadow the rest of the fantastic ensemble).
I see quite a bit of Captain America on my list. I didn’t think I’d be team Cap. I have to say, though, there’s an appeal in stories of someone trying to re-gauge their moral compass in a fast-paced, fast-changing world they’re scrambling to understand. (Hold on. That sounds like I might be… middle-aged?!? *LOL*)
Erik here. My top five are:
All of these movies have a clear and relatively straightforward narrative concept which is backed up by excellent design, direction, and acting. They are also all definitively superhero movies, unlike some of the other Marvel movies which are heist capers, space operas, or character studies that happen to have superheroes in them. As a whole, I think Marvel’s cinematic corpus is stronger for having the variety, but the movies I like best are the ones that face the superheroism of their main characters head on. (Also, as much as I appreciate Iron Man’s role in getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe started and holding the first couple of phases together, there’s only so much Tony Stark I can take at one sitting.)
We suspect our lists will look quite different after this summer (with AIW now and Ant-Man and the Wasp due in July), but we’ll see.
Want to chime in?
Images via IMDB: Ant-Man. The Avengers. Black Panther. Captain America: Civil War. Captain America: The First Avenger. Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Spider-Man: Homecoming. Thor: Ragnarok.
In the Seen on Screen occasional feature, we discuss movies and television shows of interest.
Good grief, I’ve completely lost the track of time—here in the U.S., Avengers: Infinity War opens this Friday (April 27, 2018). Eeeeek!
Here’s the first trailer (from November, 2017):
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War Official Trailer by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube
The second trailer (from March, 2018):
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War – Official Trailer by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube
And, finally, a tv spot from early April:
Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War — Chant TV Spot by Marvel Entertainment on YouTube
I know virtually nothing about the Infinity War, except that it involves the infinity stones and that Thanos is (in some form or another) pulled from comics. (I was an X-Men reader in my youth, and even though my sister read some Spider-Man, those were translated and published very spottily back home.)
However, it looks like we’re possibly in for quite a treat. I cannot see a mashup of all of the super-and-super-adjacent-heroes being anything but a Learning to Work Together story, at least to some extent. The setting of AIW also looks a lot like the setting for The Avengers, which I liked quite a bit (even despite its Smurfette-action). There’s nothing quite like repelling a force with unknown capabilities more numerous than yours to have our heroes pull together.
I’ve liked the Russo brothers’ Community episodes and previous Marvel Cinematic Universe movies from well enough to a lot, so I doubt I’ll be disappointed in the directing. The same more or less goes for dynamic screenwriting duo Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely: the Captain America movies The First Avenger, The Winter Soldier, and Civil War are at the top end of their work even if I’d prefer a lower amount of testosterone in my superhero stories.
One thing’s sure: it will be fabulous to see people from the Black Panther again (especially Okoye and Shuri!). I’m also curious to see how they’ll integrate the Guardians of the Galaxy characters. And we know already that there will be humorous quips!
Images: When you said we’re going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world gifs via Daily Marvel Heroes on Tumblr.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
I saw Bay Alden tweet-share a trailer for a gender-swapped version of Sherlock Holmes set in modern Japan. It looks fascinating, so I had to dig up more. Here are the trailers I found:
MISS SHERLOCK Official Promo Trailer (HD) HBO Asia Original Series via JoBlo TV Show Trailers
MISS SHERLOCK – Japanese TV Series Trailer #2 via Seven on YouTube
MISS SHERLOCK – Japanese TV Series Trailer #3 (Official Trailer from HBO Asia) via Seven on YouTube
The show is co-produced by HBO Asia and Hulu Japan. The official description reads:
“MISS SHERLOCK pays homage to the classic by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, with bold interpretations of the iconic characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. MISS SHERLOCK is set in modern day Tokyo and both lead characters are Japanese women – Dr. Wato Tachibana, a surgeon recently returned from a volunteer doctors’ mission in Syria and Sara Shelly Futaba, an investigation consultant to the police department who solves bizarre and difficult cases. Throughout the series, the pair solves mystery after mystery with Miss Sherlock’s extraordinary observation and reasoning skills.”
Miss Sherlock premiers on April 27, 2018.
Now for the part that I need help with. Does anyone know whether Miss Sherlock is available outside Japan? If so, are English subtitles available? I did find a mention (repeated elsewhere) that it can be viewed in the U.S. only via the HBO Go streaming app, but I haven’t found a confirmation by HBO or Hulu.
Anyone?
This post has been edited to correct a typo.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
On Twitter, CNET shared a video of test flight footage of an apparently functional, autonomous passenger drone. Take a look at it here:
The model is called Ehang 184. There’s a longer test flight video on EHANG’s YouTube channel:
EHANG 184 AAV Manned Flight Tests by EHANG on YouTube
There’s been some buzz—quite understandably, too, for the drone looks pretty neat—but the vehicle doesn’t seem to have been ready for the international market quite as soon as some western news outlets have reported. It sounds like the battery life is still rather limited, too. Fortunately the limitations of the current tech do not have to restrain a science fiction writer—just think of how much cell phone batteries have improved in the last ten years alone.
My goodness, it’s exciting to be living now! 🙂
The Visual Inspiration occasional feature pulls the unusual from our world to inspire design, story-telling, and worldbuilding. If stuff like this already exists, what else could we imagine?
The rebooted Fahrenheit 451 trailer is out:
Fahrenheit 451 (2018) Official Trailer ft. Michael B. Jordan & Michael Shannon | HBO on YouTube
This new movie adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s novel is by writer, director, and producer Ramin Bahrani. The flick stars Michael B. Jordan (lately appearing e.g. in Black Panther and Fantastic Four) and Michael Shannon (e.g. The Shape of Water, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Man of Steel). It’s set to come out May 19, 2018.
My first snarky comment solely on the basis of the trailer is “Do you think this movie has something to do with fire?” and the second “My goodness, so many men doing man things—where are the women?” Then again, I know that trailers always lie, and that may be the case here. According to IMDB, at least, the cast does have a number of women, including Sofia Boutella, whom I remember from Kingsman: The Secret Service. It remains to be seen how much of a role they’re given. And I hope Michael B. Jordan is given space to show his depth.
Hey, look! We found a thing on the internet! We thought it was cool, and wanted to share it with you.
Author Kelly Robson describes the core conceit of her novel Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach in an interview with Ilana C. Myer:
“The habs, hives, and hells [i.e., city state -like population centers] compete for economic power, and economic power ultimately comes from populations. A free market requires free movement of population, so everyone is free to basically vote with their feet. If they don’t like the quality of life in the hab, hive, or hell they live in, they are free to move to a different one. A hab, hive, or hell with a shrinking population knows that it better change its quality of life offerings if it wants to stop hemorrhaging people.
“It’s a dynamic world that ultimately respects humans as the only generators of value and purpose in the world. I like it.”
– Kelly Robson describing her novel Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach
Aah, I like it too. 🙂 Plus, voting with your feet is a natural extension of voting with your wallet.
Myer, Ilana C. “Kelly Robson on the Economics of Time Travel in Gods, Monsters, and the Lucky Peach.” Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog, April 02, 2018.
Serving exactly what it sounds like, the Quotes feature excerpts other people’s thoughts.
Incredibly, a fight scene from Thor: Ragnarok kind of goes with an 80s pop track:
Thor Ragnarok – I NEED A HERO!!! FUNNY via Locus on YouTube
The song in the background is “Holding out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler. Impressive job matching some of the punches on screen to the music.
Then I made the mistake of looking up the original music video. Oh, boy…!
Found via N. K. Jemisin on Tumblr.
Image: Confused cat via Meme Binge on Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
This post has been edited to correct a typo.
Some things are just too silly not to share!
Due to a post-winterstorm blackout a week more than two weeks ago, I’m still catching up on my Internet reading, so I only saw these awesome, nerdy motivational posters now after the International Women’s Day. It was worth the wait, though:
“Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”
Referring of course to Shuri from the movie Black Panther. As another tinkerer, I wholeheartedly agree! 😀
“Behind every successful woman is herself.”
The posters are by letterer, illustrator and designerd Risa Rodil. She posted them on Tumblr in honor of the International Women’s Day (March 08).
Visit Risa Tumblr post for more geeky feminist posters. And while there, look at the rest of her work – such a distinct, lively, whimsical style. I especially liked this library poster:
“When in doubt, go to the library.”
Find more about Risa on her website, including where to buy her designs.
Images by Risa Rodil via Tumblr: Shuri and successful woman. Library.
This post has been edited.
Out There is an occasional feature highlighting intriguing art, spaces, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
I’m not a fan of the Victorian age per se, but watching Murdoch Mysteries has piqued my interest somewhat. Here are some intriguing photographs from the later 1800s to early 1900s.
From a set of unscripted photos taken in the streets of 1890s Norway by Carl Størmer, a young woman with books:
All of the subjects in this set are remarkably relaxed. Love the contrast to the stiff studio portraits of the era!
(I’ve had trouble finding a more detailed source, unfortunately. Possibly Størmer’s photos are gleaned from the 2008 book 80 millioner bilder: Norsk kulturhistorisk fotografi 1855-2005 [’80 Million Pictures: Norwegian Culture-Historical Photography 1855-2005′], edited by Jonas Ekeberg and Harald Østgaard Lund.)
Finnish ladies and gentlemen on a ski trip in the 1890s:
Judging by their attire, they are indeed ladies and gentlemen. What struck me is that, apparently, it wasn’t at all odd for the upper class to go skiing in their regular daywear.
Speaking of sports and Victorians, from 1891, here is high school dressage equestrian Selika Lazevski by Félix Nadar:
What an arresting portait!
A Victorian couple from Leeds trying not to laugh while getting their portraits done in the 1890s:
It’s like a photo version of a blooper reel! 🙂
Two Victorian ladies making a life-sized snow lady, also from Leeds in the 1890s:
With the correct corseted posture, dress ruffles, and hairdo. Wow, ladies, what a great job!
Nellie Franklin photographed holding a parasol in Tallahassee, Florida, between 1885 and 1910:
This photo clearly references painted portraits as ancestors of photographic ones.
A young man in a wheelchair:
Victorians certainly loved their wheels! I wonder exactly how one would’ve operated this chair—there’s clearly a handle bar connected to the front wheel, but if grabbing it with both hands, where does the propelling force come from?
A Sami woman from Finland photographed at Ellis Island in the U.S., so presumably immigrating, around 1905-1914:
I wish the portrait hadn’t cut off at the waist; I would’ve liked to see the rest of the details of her dress (the belt looks especially interesting). I know that nowadays Sami outfits (gákti) are unique. Each is made for its wearer to reflect the personal / family history and area (and possibly the people as a whole?). I don’t know, however, how far back in time that practice goes.
Anyway. These old photos give fascinating glimpses of western life only about 100 years ago. So similar and yet so, so different.
Out There is an occasional feature highlighting intriguing art, spaces, places, phenomena, flora, and fauna.
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