An X-men Apocalypse trailer that even gave us goosebumps.
At least 3 more clips with more spiderman footage, soo looking forward to this movie.
More great movies coming up
We've been so excited for this ever since comicon last year when we were actually in the hall when they announced they were making it. This ad hasn't wow'd us like we expected but we trust DC animated not to let us down, this will be an awesome movie telling one of Batman's darkest stories
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This last one didn't come out this week but this week we bought tickets to a movie premiere in Australia (also puts us in the running for some cool prizes). This is a short film being used as promotion for the movie being made starring Robbie Amell (from the Flash tv show).
Not sure how often we'll be doing weekly geek-out posts, but there were a few things this week I wanted to share.
MAT
'Bundy breakfast' actually became a phrase in our household referring to day drinking, after one day in Moura which started with a couple mates showing up at our house one morning with an Eski full of rum cans. We ended up having an all day barbeque with plenty of others coming over to join the festivities.
MAT
Ok this is going to be long, but it's a discussion Jamie and I had a couple days ago and I'm curious if anyone had any input or thoughts on our idea.
We want more Avatar The Last Air Bender - more importantly more Iroh, and I doubt Nickelodeon will revisit Avatar - The Last Air Bender for another season, but seeing the quality of the DC animated movies, we proposed a three movie mini series of the life of Iroh. We feel it would be a good way of revisiting the world.
-The first movie would be his origin of sorts, Iroh and Ozai growing up together, Iroh looking over his little brothers crib, them playing together as kids.
Their father not completely approving of Iroh's playful nature and skipping meetings where he should be learning about the running of the nation.
Meeting the love of his life, their wedding with Ozai as his best man (making his inevitable betrayal even worse).
Iroh's wife interrupting training for tea and pai-sho, although Iroh thinks it's a waste of time, he still partakes because he loves her. The movie should end with the start of the war with the earth nation as well as the birth of Iroh's son, giving him the motivation to step up join the war and become the father his son deserves, the man his father would respect, the fire lord his nation deserves.
-The second movie should be set years later, his son is on the cusp of manhood, a new recruit in the war joining the siege of Bah-Sing-Sei. Iroh has started a tradition of his own leaving a little time each day for tea and pai-sho, a little taste of home to remind him of what he's fighting for. (or possibly a memorial to his wife who may have passed between movies).
His son meets him for pai-sho the morning before the battle, as his son leaves he tells Iroh he'll make him proud .... that'll be the last time they see each other. During the battle Iroh, being a general, is towards the back directing the forces whilst his son's in the front lines. There is a turn and his son's battalion is cut off from the rest of the army and are being overwhelmed. Iroh wants to send other troops to their aid but is stopped by another general, as it's not worth sacrificing the rest of the army for a bunch of new recruits and Iroh is devastated as the army is called back away from a battle which can't be won. This movie should end with Iroh's loss and the betrayal of Ozai, all culminating in a broken Iroh: lost.
-The third movie should be an adventure or quest, a broken Iroh travels the world to gain some clarity in his life, goes on a journey to defeat the last dragon. But when he finds the sun tribe and is face to face with the 2 dragons who surround him with the rainbow fire he finally reaches inner peace, and in those flames he sees visions of his wife and son, maybe even visions of the future and Zuko's journey.
During his trip back to the fire nation Iroh meets up with other like minded benders and starts/joins the white lotus.
His return to the palace happens the same week as Zuko's Ag-ni-ki with his father. The movie/movies should end with Iroh's decision to mentor Zuko during his banishment with a final scene matching the first scene we see them in Avatar: Zuko training on his ship as Iroh oversees whilst sipping his tea. Perhaps there is a final thought from Iroh, seeing Zuko wishing to regain his honour, that Iroh himself will regain what he lost when he lost his son, by teaching Zuko a better way. Redemption for both of them.
We'd also had another thought of what other stories we'd love to see from the Avatar universe, and the next major story we'd love to see fleshed out in a movie or series would be the story behind the Red Lotus from Legend of Korra.
It'd be amazing to see the four come together, a bit of history of their unique bending techniques, possibly their interactions with the white lotus before they turned to the dark side.
I like to think Zaheer and Iroh would have had great philosophical debates on bending and the Avatar in general. Maybe Iroh was a mentor in Zaheer's spiritual side and Iroh leaving to live in the spirit world might be the trigger that begun the Red Lotus on their quest to capture the Avatar.
The Red Lotus just raises questions that I think would have interesting stories behind the answers, What happened to Ming-Hua's arms, was Ghazan taught lava bending or was it more like Bolin where a need brought it out, How did Zaheer and P'Li's relationship start, and how was Zaheer such a threat before he got his air bending? I'd love to see answers to these questions in the beautiful animation style we've come to love from the Legend of Korra series.
Thanks for listening to our ideas, we'd love some feedback of what people think.
So, now we have Connor in our lives this won't happen as often, but over the last few years I have been quite the collector of celebrity hugs.
What the hell am I going on about?
Well, on my first visit to San Diego Comic Con in 2013, I was hugged by John Barrowman (Dr. Who, Torchwood) and Manu Bennett (Arrow, Hobbit films, Spartacus).
When we returned in 2014, we also stopped by LA and went to two shows at the Hollywood Improv. So my list of huggers got WAY bigger. In 2014 we also went to a con on the Gold Coast (Australia) and I went to one in Sydney.
2015 was our final San Diego trip, since Connor was about to enter our lives, the last hug opportunity for a while.
So, I've been constructing this post for a few days and I think I'll need to break this up into a few entries as I'm planning on posting all the photos. Too many to mention!
So,
SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2013 - Popping our Comic Con cherry
ok, wow. If you've never been to SDCC, you need to. If you have any shred of geek flowing through your veins, this place is paradise. A sweaty, smelly, brightly coloured paradise. So photos of my hugs...here we go.
John Barrowman I got greedy and wanted to see him twice so we lined up for an autograph and scored an "over the shoulder" hug, then I got the professional shot done a few hours later. What was awesome was that he initiated the hug *squee*. Called me sweetheart too! Bless his gorgeous heart!
Manu Bennett
This was totally by chance. We had gone to the Season 2 preview panel of Arrow and were shocked that not only did we get in just before it started (seriously, where the hell was everyone?) but that Manu wasn't on the panel. We knew he was about to be Deathstroke in this upcoming season, but he wasn't featured. So as we were leaving the panel, we stopped by his booth to say hi, grab an autograph and a selfie, for course. Oh my god, if he isn't the nicest guy we've met at a con. He recognised our accents immediately and asked where we were from (specifically, not just Australia). Stunned, he told us he used to play football as a teenager just one town over, and that his sister currently lives in the same town as us! Small freakin world.
We had a chat for a good 10-15 minutes while people behind us got a bit shirty (sorry). We told him our thoughts about him not being on the panel and it turns out he actually wasn't invited :(
He said he really appreciated our support after we told him how we were so happy to see some Australian/New Zealand representation in US television, especially where they are allowed to keep a genuine accent. Not all of us sound like Steve Irwin.
Ok, that's part one of what's sure to be a couple of posts.
Feel free to comment and let us know you're reading, and let us know what you'd like to see us post about.
Ever since this official picture of Scarlett Johansson as Motoko Kusanagi was released the internet seems to have blown up with people whinging and complaining about Hollywood 'white washing' a Japanese story by putting a white woman as the lead. I'm starting to find it infuriating though,HOLLYWOOD HASNEVER GOTTEN A LIVE ACTION ADAPTION RIGHT , why do people still put so much stock in them to the point they are offended when it's not cast the way they want, or tell the story true to the source material, or even reference the source material?
Every person who says that Ghost in the Shell is being white washed all have one thing in common
-they all say Rinko Kikuchi from Pacific Rim should play the Major - why? because she's the only Asian actress who has been a lead in a big Hollywood blockbuster in the last decade? That shouldn't be the only prerequisite to playing the role (she is a great actress) but based purely on Pacific Rim, the character she played is nothing like the Major. The Major should be strong and in control in all situations, a woman who can shut up a room full of people with a look or one comment (she should be Batman), not the innocent girl who fought to be counted as an equal in a man's world. The Major dominates man's world. Based purely off performances in Pacific Rim, Idris Elba should play Motoko Kusanagi, lets hear what people's complaints are about that decision. Ok that ends my rant on that.
Back to my original thought, Hollywood has (and never will) get a live action remake right in a way that'll appease everyone. Their biggest problem is moving away from the original source material, they choose things like comics, or cartoons, or anime, which have a large following (or cult following) and choose to make a movie of it.
Great idea don't you think ..NO... as much as you'd think NO it's a horrible idea, the more money spent on a project the wider the audience Hollywood will want. If you're a fan of the original they already know you're going to see it whether you like it or not. So they start changing the things they think the general public won't understand, rather than use good storytelling to explain.
It's quicker and easier for them to make an easier character to relate to if they put that character in situations you've seen in a million other movies in your lifetime. Suddenly Goku - the little boy who grew up in the woods with his grandpa with no schooling - is having girl troubles in high school, because that's what was great about Dragonball(Z).
Green Lantern, Avatar the last Airbender, Dragonball, Transformers, Fantastic Four, all shows and comics with years of history and great storytelling all thrown away in the expectation that they could make it better, or make it more accessible to the general public. But that's the point isn't it, there is a following already and it's not just because 'bending the elements sounds cool' or 'transforming robots look awesome', it's the storytelling, the character development, the troubles and the triumphs.
Most of that gets thrown out the window when a live action is being written. They ignore (or what I find even worse cherry pick just names or part of an idea from) the great stories already written and give the reigns over to someone who a lot of the time (not always) hasn't ever seen or read the source material.
I actually read in an interview that Warner Brothers asked Geoff Johns at one point if they could make Green Lantern without the ring, and Snyder in a recent interview responded to fan criticism by saying no-one knows Superman like he does. A lot of the time direction misses the point, Green Lantern and Fantastic Four should have been sci-fi. Just because the source material is a comic book, doesn't mean it's purely another superhero movie.
This is starting to turn into a rant again, but as production photos and trailers are released we become more and more excited about a movie coming out, thenwe are resentful when the final product doesn't meet our expectations. But if we want good stories and character development there is one answer .................. go back to the source material, it's why we became fans in the first place, and a lot of the time the original continued like Legend of Korra, the Dragonball Z movies, and comics will never stop being created.
Now I'm going to go binge watch Ghost in the Shell again. All this talk of the new movie has me longing to see the series again (for about the 50th time) because it's soo good
Its a motto of mine which started as a statement I often made at work to discourage myself from giving up on hard jobs but when I started applying it to every aspect of life the possibilities became endless,'There's nothing we can't fix' it'll change your life.
A cute little show about about 5 little moon mice who enjoy all things musical and discovering new things. An innocent harmless little show from the BBC, or is it?
Now, before I start, I've only experienced the new Clangers show not the one from the 70's, and yes ..... this is another children's show I've put way too much thought into.
The Clangers live on a desolate little moon with a variety of other creatures whose entire reason for existing is to assist in the up-keeping of the Clangers lifestyle.
The most obvious of this class system is the soup dragon. It lives in the soup wells of their little planet and and serves the Clangers all of their food. It's clear and present slavery if ever I've seen it. I checked the wiki before writing this to find out if there was a daddy soup dragon to explain where the baby soup dragon came from - it's much worse than I thought - the baby soup dragon was brought in when the original soup dragon became broody and stopped giving the Clangers soup.
Replace him !!!
So when one slave stops preforming, Tiny Clanger proves that the soup dragon could be replaced anytime they want, and now that the soup dragon is back to work it has the responsibility of raising it's future replacement.
It doesn't stop with the soup dragons either, the robot chicken is both their alarm clock and delivery service, the Skymoos are just used as transportation, the list goes on. At the centre of it all is the Clangers, innocent looking, but there must be something threatening about them to have enslaved the other creatures of their world. -OR ARE THEY JUST PETS?-
My other thought of their existence gets a little wibbly wobbly trippy
What if the Clangers are just inter-dimensional pets, like gold fish or hamsters? Think about it - they never go far beyond their little moon - maybe that's the extent of their little universe (or tank). The robot chicken my be just another creature in the tank (like when you have a bristle nose or algae eater fish in a fish tank with the other fish to keep the tank clean),
In this theory the soup dragons wouldn't be the slave race they appear to be, they feed the Clangers, they are the pet owners, and a responsible pet owner feeds their pets.
Maybe the soup wells below the planet aren't a cave but a doorway to the "real world" outside the tank.
Or maybe the soup dragons aren't completely sentient beings themselves, a race with the ability to keep pets in small pocket dimensions may not have bodies that interact with the 3 dimensional world in a way we understand, so the soup dragons may be just a way to feed their pets like a hand inside the tank (or a puppet).
So the little Clangers might either be enslaving conquerors, or mindless inter-dimensional goldfish, I'm not sure which idea makes the show more fun to watch. Or the other option of just sitting down with bub, removing your brain and just enjoying the show for what it is ..... fun.
Priorities are funny things aren't they, I'd originally thought once I'd established my priorities they'd be set in stone forever, which worked for me for a long time, but how wrong was I.
I knew, or at least I'd said out loud, being a father would change my life. It had just never sunk in in any way shape or form. Right up until he came into this world it was all fun and games 'this will be great', 'I'll help you out so much' but I'd never gotten excited, I just assumed that would come later(which it did). ........... ok I have started getting off topic, the point is he wasn't on my radar of priorities. Since about 2003 I set up my priority hierarchy in my head and stuck to it firmly, no exceptions, no substitutions. It went - Jamie's happiness - career/ financial goals - then things I enjoy - followed by family. This was it anything else I didn't really care about. I just it let happen as long as it didn't interfere with my real priorities. This system worked for me, 12 years this was the way I chose what needed doing or achieving, I always assumed Connor would just fall under the Jamie's happiness banner, but not take a precedence of his own.
And it's not just a new addition to the priorities list either, new things have made their way onto the list which were never there before like sleep - I used to have a motto of sleep is for the weak or I'll sleep when I'm dead - not any more, it's become a precious commodity. But one I'm more than willing to give up way to easily when I hear bub crying or the like.
I liked the old way, things were simple, although now life gets more exciting until the new priorities are set in stone again, I may just be rambling at this point; every time we think there's a routine in place Connor changes it up and smashes my sanity to bits. I'm sure I'll have a more coherent thought on this topic once I catch some much needed sleep.
Every aspect of having a child results in people giving their advice, whether you want it or not. From how to get pregnant to how to raise your child right. It does get frustrating, but yesterday we were the ones giving advice and I had to step back and think, I'd hate to be a hypocrite, whats the right way to receive or give advice properly.
Now I'm not saying all advice is bad, but I think all advice should be weighted evenly with the stupid ideas that randomly pop into your head. You should listen to everything and just cherry pick the bits that work for you and your situation, because nothing works in all situations.
Just like the coyote trial and error is the key and when you find what works for you you'll be successful.
So after a somewhat disappointing Bats vs Supes, I have been worried about Suicide Squad. I am a massive fan of Suicide Squad and of Harley Quinn (yes, even the New 52 Harley, haters. I love her) so I have been scared that the source material wouldn't be honoured. After this trailer, I'm putting most of my concerns to rest.
WOW.
So if you haven't watched it, here's clip, courtesy of the Warner Bros. UK YouTube
I'll leave my ranting and raving about Harley Quinn until last, as that will be a bit of a spiel.
Let's talk about the construction of the trailer. The editors of this and the last trailer (you know, the Bohemian Rhapsody one) are masterful. Ballroom Blitz and You Don't Own Me? Hell yeah, great choices. They've managed to piece together enough action without giving away all the good bits. There's enough character that the general 'movie going public' (i.e. not geeks) will get an idea of the motley crew without us knowing what the entire plot is. Unlike the last DC movies' marketing...sigh.
So, for the geeks in the world, what do we know from this, and previous trailers:
We get a Harley Quinn origin story (*squee*)
Joker is NOT part of the squad
Joker and Harley are probably not on the best of terms at the moment
This is the squad's first mission
What we don't know:
How is Bats involved? Flashbacks only? Helping out the Squad?
How far along Harley's timeline (comics wise) this is
Which Katana mythology they have gone with. Is her power derived from the spirit of her dead husband that is possessing her sword?
Enchantress's story
Captain Boomerang. Has he had run-ins with the Flash? Is he part of the Rogues yet?
We still know shit about Slipknot (potential cannon fodder?)
Will there be the appropriate amount of fan service in this flick? Not just the odd Ferris Air sign or LexCorp logo.
This is a never ending list really.
Characters - What We Love So Far Killer Croc The initial "leaked" photos of the croc make up made Mat and I look nervously at each other and think that this might be a very bad choice. I'm happy to report that now, after seeing 3 trailers, that the look of Croc is on point!!!
We are also big fans of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. Seriously, if you haven't seen the TV show "Oz", do yourself a favour and binge watch that shit. He's AMAZING.
Rick Flagg Finally, in the 3rd trailer, we got to see some Rick Flagg action. How the hell was it so hard to cast this role? I mean, he's an awesome character, and a crucial part of the Suicide Squad story. I'm hoping the script is true to character for him (and everyone else obviously), but with so many people who reportedly turned down the role as they didn't like the character's arc...
I'm still hopeful.
He kicked ass in this trailer.
Amanda Waller Nobody screws the Wall
Arguably the toughest bitch in the DCU, we were both SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that the casting rumours about Oprah taking on Waller turned out to be false. In the trailers she looks like the hard ass she really is.
Viola Davis should crush it as Amanda Waller and I hope the filmmakers being the magic of the comic and animated DC Waller to the big screen. This character deserves the proper treatment.
Captain Boomerang Oh Digger, you're so awesome.
It might be my Aussie Pride talking, but I'm so glad Boomer is in this movie. Such a great character. See "Batman: Assualt on Arkham" the animated movie to get a little taste of the humour. Seeing the 'beer cracking' moment in trailer 2 was one of the highlights for me so far. I think I actually snort laughed. I love his little flirtations with Harley and Katana too. I'm looking forward to seeing more.
Deadshot He's such a badass. Ok, I'm not a massive fan of the casting here. Not that I hate Will Smith. I think he's awesome. Do I think he's Deadshot though? Nope. Was I convinced by what I've seen in the trailers that he could be Deadshot? Nope. Now, Mat is a little more pro-Will than I am. And I do see his point but I just can't get past the perfect depiction in Assault on Arkham. I've been spoiled by the high quality of Warner Brothers Animation.
Mat thinks that Will Smith is always cast as Will Smith. That's the character he plays. If he was to play Deadshot as a sarcastic version of his character in "I Am Legend", that would be pretty spot on. I was wrong about Batfleck, so maybe I'll be wrong here too and he'll do an awesome job. I hope so.
Enchantress, El Diablo, Slipknot
I know of Enchantress from Justice League Dark, and El Diablo from the New 52 Suicide Squad, but I haven't read anything with Slipknot so I really can't judge him.
Enchantress and El Diablo look freakin awesome. The effects look believable, thank god, and they look very true to character. I feel like I just don't know enough about them to really give an opinion.
Harley Quinn
Ok, brace yourselves. This is my girl, so this might get a bit crazy. Go get a cup of tea. I'll wait.
You good? Ok let's get into it.
I was honestly worried when I saw the first trailer. The accent wasn't Harley, she had a new style, hmmm, I didn't know. But now...my god, Margot looks like she's doing an AMAZING job as Harley. The scripting and delivery of the lines are spot on. I'm fully expecting to see the transition of Harley from Harleen to Harley Quinn with the Joker to Harley Quinn no longer needing the Joker. How they'll achieve that, well, that remains to be seen.
Ever since the movie was announced and we knew that the Joker was going to be a part of the film in more than just an 'origin story' capacity, I've hoped that they are going to tell the Joker/Harley story from New 52 Suicide Squad #15, part of the Death Of The Family arc. It is beyond question, my favourite issue of Suicide Squad. To see those scenes done well in live action would blow people's minds. Including my own.
THIS! This would be EPIC!
A little bit of guilty fan service, but I would be so SO happy if they included Bud and Lou. For those unfamiliar, those are Harley's pet Hyenas. That's right, you heard me. Pet Hyenas. Damn she loves those puppies.
In Suicide Squad #15, she's forced to kill her "babies" as the Joker has transformed them into rabid beasts.
It becomes just another reason she wants to kill her once beloved "puddin".
It's an amazing, action packed sequence that really makes you feel for Harley and the continued torture she endures from Joker.
Plus, I just really want to see Harley and Joker kicking the snot out of each other.
I am SO looking forward to this movie and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I also hope there are no further trailers. This is enough to get the fanboys/fangirls, as well as the general public, chomping at the bit. Nom Nom Nom.
This is going to be another post where I've put way too much thought into a children's show on tv. For those not familiar with the show 6 people live and work in this one town square together and mischief ensues. Each has their own job which they are responsible for( food preparation, mail delivery, gardening, fixing anything and everything). No-one ever does the other persons job and everything runs smoothly.
They never go anywhere else or have visitors from outside their little world, combine that with the fact they all have their roles and never deviate or even think to try anything new, almost like a commune sharing everything they have and never arguing about the jobs they do. I think they're part of some sort bio-enclosure.
Even though the Futurama Pauly Shore says "that the whole bio-enclosure concept is fundamentally flawed. Be it expressed via dome, sphere, cube or even a stately tetrahedron, buddy!" - I think the people of hoopla doopla have found a way.
Mimi - keeps everyone fed, she prepares all the food everyone eats, breakfast lunch and dinner.
Bop - fixes everything from brooms to clocks (I'd say cars too but I don't think I've ever seen that car run.)
Squidgie - is the gardener she grows all the plants, I'm assuming all the food Mimi cooks uses plants from her gardens.
Ziggi - I thought he was pretty useless to the endeavor, really, a magician in a self sustaining bio-dome environment. But think about it, if a group of people have to live in an enclosed environment for years on end, entertainment is a definite requirement otherwise the participants would go mad. Although some insanity may have already set in judging by the interactions of the other participants, maybe he was a later addition to prevent further dementia from setting in.
Zap - I think he might have been one of the originals, rather than moving from point A to point B in a straight line he always takes the more obscure path (flips, unicycle). He's the mail delivery person, the packages he delivers arrive on his doorstep overnight almost as if by magic (probably from the outside world). The only way to keep their lives sustainable would be a little assistance from the outside (you can't make everything you need within the dome).
Jango - Is made out to be the idiot street sweeper of the group, but he might be the most important of the lot. Obviously a little kookier than the others, he has been living here the longest (maybe the founder). No one ever gets mad when he screws things up, eats all the food, needlessly presses the alarm button repeatedly. That might prove that he out ranks them and they don't want to be kicked out.
Another idea why he gets away with everything could be a bit darker - he may be an actual psychopath - some new breed of eco terrorist who stowed away before the doors were locked, who's love of the environment is so deep that he truly believes that if this experiment fails the world could be in jeopardy, a belief that might have led him to kill the last person who's responsibility was entertainment (maybe a joke making light of the bio-dome). Ziggy was the original street sweeper but had to learn magic tricks, entertainment is more important than cleanliness, and Jango merely took up the slack left by Ziggy's promotion.
So the little show about some lucky people living in a bio-tetrahedron with a psychopath, who are all capable of circus grade acrobatics, is a winner in my books (because Connor loves it).
