Category: Movies and Television Shows

Fantasy v SF Round One Second Half Gets Weird

io9 continues whittling down the first sixty-four entries, getting decidedly weirder, digging around in the classics for mad scientists, dystopian alternate realities, monsters and magic.

Results from the first half of the voting returned only one disappointment for me, and it’s a bittersweet one. The Princess Bride edged out The Wheel of Time in the Epic Fantasy bracket.  Bit of a quibble for me as I don’t really think the former qualifies as ‘epic’ fantasy; rather, it’s more like humorous high fantasy.  The latter clearly takes epic to the next level and should not have been so easily defeated.  I’ve read both, though, and loved them both.

Update March 20, 2014: I missed the vote yesterday for the first half of round two.  Some of the results are already in and can be found here.

Upcoming Schedule:

  • Friday, March 21: Sweet Sixteen
  • Monday, March 24: Elite Eight
  • Wednesday, March 26: Final Four
  • Friday, March 28: Championship

Fantasy v SF Round One Pits Epic Fantasy Against Space Opera

io9’s version of March Madness begins today with ‘Epic Fantasy v. Space Opera‘ so vote now so Gandalf won’t have to smack down Vader.  It won’t be pretty.

Of course, we’re holding the Mouse in reserve in case of foul play.

Movie Review: Gravity (5 Stars)

Gravity

5 out of 5 stars

Watched in theater (October 2013) and at home (March 2014)

This was a great birthday gift last October.  My husband and I saw this movie in theaters last fall.  Absolutely amazing.

Yesterday, we invited my father over for a lazy Sunday afternoon of grilled burgers (yes, we grilled outside in March because it was sunny and in the 60s) and a movie.  He brought home-made carrot cake and Sweeney Todd, but because Terry and I had just seen our daughter perform Mrs. Lovett live a couple of weeks ago in a UNT College of Music production, we passed on watching Johny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.  I had two BluRays from Netflix: Parkland and Riddick, but I asked my dad if he’d seen Gravity yet.  He had not, so I decided to buy it via Google Play Movies (the HD edition was only $20).

Continue reading “Movie Review: Gravity (5 Stars)”

Movie Review: Seven Days in Utopia (2.5 Stars)

Seven Days in Utopia

2.5 out of 5 stars

Watched in February 2014

Synopsis from IMdb: After a disastrous debut on the pro circuit, a young golfer finds himself unexpectedly stranded in Utopia, Texas and welcomed by an eccentric rancher.

My Thoughts: Friday night after a short but long week at work and a wicked day of firefighting on the IT front line at a large law firm, I came home to an enjoyable dinner of tasty tacos with my hubby.  He had scheduled a band practice for the evening (the second one of the week), so I attempted to read, but couldn’t concentrate.  I switch to surfing through my Netflix streaming queue and stumbled across Seven Days in Utopia, seeing that Robert Duvall starred in the movie.  You can rarely go wrong watching Duvall, so I started watching while the band in the basement practiced classic rock covers.

Continue reading “Movie Review: Seven Days in Utopia (2.5 Stars)”

Return of the Clone Wars

Those waiting for Clone Wars: The Lost Missions to get some kind of closure for the hit Star Wars cartoon won’t need to wait much longer. The never-before-seen final episodes will debut on Netflix on March 7th, and here’s the first clip featuring a very special cameo!

Netflix debuting 6th & Final Season on March 7th – io9

I first saw mention of this yesterday via my smartphone app feeds, but this was my first chance to really get the full picture.  Looking forward to March now, and not just for the snowmelt.

Article: As ‘The Monuments Men’ movie nears its opening, KC celebrates its ties – KansasCity.com

As ‘The Monuments Men’ movie nears its opening, KC celebrates its ties – KansasCity.com

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/21/4767880/as-the-monuments-men-movie-nears.html

Hometown connection and I was already looking forward to this movie.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Article: Netflix neutrality: Court ruling won’t boost your Netflix bill. Yet

Netflix neutrality: Court ruling won’t boost your Netflix bill. Yet

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57617339-93/netflix-neutrality-court-ruling-wont-boost-your-netflix-bill-yet/

I so want to cut the cord with Time Warner.  Google Fibre needs to come to my home town.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

Article: Helix episodes 1 & 2 review: Pilot & Vector

Helix episodes 1 & 2 review: Pilot & Vector

http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/helix/28833/helix-episodes-1-2-review-pilot-vector

My favorite excerpt from article:

My favourite dumb piece of dialogue was the idiot who told Alan that they use the 2ft long electric batons on Polar Bears. Given the reach of a fully grown male Polar Bear weighing 1700lbs must be at least 5ft, that’s something I’d like to see. No, really, show me how that works.

I need to finish watching this debut. I fell asleep before the end of the pilot.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

How AoS made me regain my appreciation for Star Trek: TNG

http://observationdeck.io9.com/how-aos-made-me-regain-my-appreciation-for-star-trek-t-1492945323?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

I’m really hoping that Helix is not a disappointment,  like Agents of SHIELD is turning out to be.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon

This Week’s TV: Two brand new scifi shows, including one you must watch

http://io9.com/this-weeks-tv-two-brand-new-scifi-shows-including-on-1495306192?utm_campaign=socialflow_io9_facebook&utm_source=io9_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

I’ve added Intelligence and Helix to my DVR series record list.  For the latter this will be Syfy’s final chance to win me back. Defiance was a complete waste of time and they killed SGU prematurely.

Posted from WordPress for Android via my Samsung smartphone. Please excuse any misspellings. Ciao, Jon