I’ve long subscribed to the theory that MJ is an evil genius mastermind. I think he’s probably got an IQ north of 175. Seriously, the man is like Lex Luthor and (Asimov’s) The Mule rolled into one.
How else to explain this? He’s obviously up to something nefarious. I think he’s got an island villa somewhere, like in The Incredibles, where he hatches his schemes in James Bond Villain chic.
If ever Michael Jakcson were to visit Japan, the combination of wierd and awesome might implode the Earth.
math joke:
An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one orders a beer. The second orders half a beer. The third, a quarter of a beer, and so on. The bartender says “You’re all idiots”, and pours two beers.
(source)
(Source: Hackslash.com, via Rampant Coyote)
Today’s XKCD gets me thinking, as always, about Hitchhiker’s Guide:
Quoth the Guide:
“…we’ll be saying a big hello to all intelligent life forms everywhere … and to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.”
I can’t help myself. I don’t want to repeat my anticipation/disappointment cycle of Episode I but this is hitting all the right buttons for me.
And, the bad guys are Romulans. They are so much more interesting than Klingons… but speaking of Klingons, they also are rumored to be done right – without foreheads. As Worf said, “We don’t speak of it.”
In Monsters, Inc, the blooper reel clearly shows that the movie was a movie, with outtakes by everyone including Randall indicating that they were just playing roles. But included in the blooper reel is the Company Play, titled “Put That Thing Back Where It Came From” and that seems to be in a separate continuity than the bloopers. So the question is, it is a silly play put on by the cast of Monsters Inc in “real life” or is it actually part of the movie continuity, occurring sometime after the events of the film?
No, this is probably not even remotely important to anyone besides me. And maybe Brian. This is what pops in my head while trying to get my youngest to drink her milk while playing the blooper reel of Monsters, Inc as a distraction.
Essential reference: list of Chinese phrases used in Firefly.
Briefly, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I’d hoped. The general idea is that it bridges Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, providing some backstory to the second film, and does so with a series of shorts done in artistic style inspired by various anime.
I seem to be going against the grain in my general disappointment with this. The best episode of the disc was the first one, because it plays to the image of Batman in the mind of the ordinary criminal as something supernatural or inhuman. Except, instead of criminals, it’s children, who are in a way just as susceptible to Batman’s mystique as the criminals are (though obviously in awe rather than fear). My only gripe was that the animation style was the same as Tekkon Kinkreet, with richly detailed cityscapes that take your breath away, but with bizarrely distorted character art, misshapen limbs and torsos and minimalist faces. Still, it was a good story.
The rest of the installments were largely forgettable, though seeing Bruce Wayne realized in Oyamada Masumi style (episode 3, Field Test) was a bit of a treat. Also, a supporting character from The Dark Knight gets some character development in episode 2 (Crossfire), and the recurring villain Sandman makes an appearance, as do Batman-universe minor villains like Croc and Deadshot. There’s a few tidbits about Bruce’s attitude towards guns, pain, and gadgetry, but nothing about Batman’s detective skills.
The animated sequel/prequel is not unique as a concept – the Riddick series has a anime-style bridge installment between Pitch Black and Chronicles, (Dark Fury) and that was far superior an effort both in terms of general art as well as advancing inter-movie plot and character backstory. Still, if you’re really a big fan of the Batman movie franchise reboot (as I am), it’s definitely worth watching.
Mark talks about Hellsing and manages to pique my interest – not necessarily because of the blood and gore, but because of the description of Alucard:
One of the big problems with the series for me is actually that Alucard is way too powerful. There are several villains who crop up in the series, but most don’t even come close to Alucard’s power, and even the one climatic battle in the series is kinda lacking in suspense because even when it seems like Alucard has been defeated, he always manages to come back somehow.
For some reason, I am reminded of Aang in Avatar here. In his Avatar state, Aang is essentially invincible, but those scenes are incredibly exciting instead of dull – especially the final episode, where Aang fights the ultimate villain of the series, and (not to spoil it too obviously) wins, big time. Another example of this is the Terminator (original movie), where Arnold is literally unstoppable and his eventual demise is almost purely providential rather than because of any strategizing by the overmatched human protagonists.
Regardless of whether its a hero, villain, or something in between – there’s something very satisfying about a character who wields sheer power. Handled deftly, it can be a fresh change from the usual “hero tested beyond his limits and then succeeds against all odds” formula.
In fact the ultimate example of this is probably the character of Superman – in my opinion the best stories are those where he has to use his powers, not the ones where he loses them, faces a more powerful being, finds himself weakened by Kryptonite, etc etc. Superman being, well, super is what makes Superman fun.