On the last sunny day before Melbourne's erratic winter settles in, I thought I'd pull together a few stray thoughts I've had after recent viewings. It might be a bit spoilery. Avengers: Age of Ultron felt like a welcome visit from wise-cracking friends with very busy international schedules, a bit of bling, and brittle but brave facades. … Continue reading Post review musings on Ultron, Mad Max and The Fall
Joss Whedon
Avengers: Never ending cast of thousands
I've been thinking about Avengers: Age of Ultron since I saw it a week and a bit ago. I'm not a huge fan of heroes creating their own problems to solve, vis a vie Ultron. But I get it is less complicated for the heroes to go around pulverising robots than killing people. We can … Continue reading Avengers: Never ending cast of thousands
Stories: bigger on the inside
Analyse this? I came across a fairly thorough psychological interpretation of Harry Potter via FB recently. The page linking to it had a lot of comments - people were either upset as it had 'ruined' the books or they were angry that someone had 'bothered'. Whatever the complaint, there was so much entitlement, or ownership. I … Continue reading Stories: bigger on the inside
Going Always – Writing and Doctor Who
So there has been plenty of time to think...in what seems to be a long running thing to write about writing and Doctor Who, because good TV, or even bad TV, takes a lot of effort to write. And regardless of what we write, we should bother to take note, especially in regards to dialogue, … Continue reading Going Always – Writing and Doctor Who
Devolution of Promethean Proportions
I’ve had a very Promethean weekend. I saw Prometheus and also an encore screening of the NT Live Production of Frankenstein: A Modern Prometheus starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Frankenstein and Johnny Lee Miller as the Creature. Firstly, the film: I badly wanted to love it. And there are bits I did. Michael Fassbender as a … Continue reading Devolution of Promethean Proportions
The Greater Good – More on Cabin in the Woods
So I saw this film. Suffice it to say it left an impression. If this is too in-depthy, my apologies. As storyteller Joss Whedon is oft concerned to explore the less than wonderful consequences of doing bad things for the greater good. This is especially clear in the film Serenity and most recently in Cabin in … Continue reading The Greater Good – More on Cabin in the Woods
Springes to Catch Woodcocks: first ideas about Cabin in the Woods
So I saw Cabin in the Woods. I was duly horrified. Not as horrified as the woman who kept screaming in the row behind me, but I left the cinema with mouth agape, slightly deaf from the screaming, but also thinking THAT is how you do it. Appalled. You know how Revenge feels like a … Continue reading Springes to Catch Woodcocks: first ideas about Cabin in the Woods
Ah, (the Serenity of) Firefly
While I'm writing (too much) about TV I may as well write about why Firefly was So Damn Awesome. It's also timely as actor and Cap'n Nathan Fillion recently dreamed out loud in a TV interview about how he would relaunch the program if he won a gazillion dollars (or some such). I know maybe some of you … Continue reading Ah, (the Serenity of) Firefly
On Being (Even More) Human
I'm troubled by my empathy for John Mitchell. Vampire. Programs like Being Human and Dexter, where the 'hero' Dexter Morgan, is also a serial killer, demonstrate the lack of absolutes in life. Or at least present stories in which viewers are manipulated in to feeling for characters whose motives and actions are, well, bad. BAD with capitals. … Continue reading On Being (Even More) Human
When Sequels Attack II
Buffy the TV show was a reboot and it was successful as it took what worked from the original film, which was basically the title, and built on it. Pretty much the TV program changed the direction of and created a compelling mythos for what was a forgettable film with an interesting premise and little … Continue reading When Sequels Attack II
Writing Bec 