'I'm afraid this is going to hurt. But if it's any consolation, the dead don't tend to remember.'
Ok, so it still didn't entirely fit in my mind that Adrianne Palicki aka Tyra from FNL was actually Sam's girlfriend Jessica once upon the time. It just didn't sound completely convincing (despite the fact that it was actually unshakably true) that these two girls were in fact one girl. I mean they didn't feel like the same girl. So there was only one thing I could do to put my mind to rest and that was digging out SPN 'Pilot' and checking for myself. Which naturally led me to rewatch the whole episode, because once the identity of Adrianne Palicki was spotted and confirmed, there was still, well, an ep of 'Supernatural' running and I couldn't just stop, could I? And you know what, I think I was even more blown away now that I'd been over a year ago, when I watched it for the first time. Seriously, watching it again, after all this time, was just exhilarating. I've been manically giggling to myself half the episode. I think I might have been struck temporarily insane from the pure giddy joy. Therefore I have exactly no deep thoughts on the matter, mostly because my brain didn't seem to be working all that well at the time, but I have a few shallow ones, because, really, I don't need fully-operating mental functions for that, I could probably think shallow thoughts with just my pancreas. Or my left lung.
So, the thoughts:
1. Jensen Ackles showing up for the first time in full light is like a bang. Adrianne Palicki turns the light on and you have a first chance to see him in all his glory and you are just left there spellbound and you find it almost impossible to shake off especially that they they are going full charge and move in for a close up just a moment later. And then the man goes and continues to be cockily awesome the rest of the episode, completely at ease, while you gape and you drool and perhaps even whimper a little bit. Or maybe that was just me.
2. Jared Padalecki was really wooden back then. Well, not all the time but enough to be a bit distracting. It probably didn't help any that they had him doubling up as the exposition fairy. It was probably too much of a strain. Poor boy. And he looked so thin then. I really liked him when he was skinny and not bursting his shirts with over-manly muscles. And his hair looked dorkily cute instead of certifiably demented. Yes, it also made him look about fifteen half the time, but it was adorable. Anyway, he certainly is a better actor now, he's gone a long long way, but, damn, I miss that geeky student image.
3. I'd glad they got more, uhm, graceful with their CGI usage. The certain amount of tackiness is excused, even expected, but it's good they scaled it down a bit.
Now I have this wicked urge to watch the whole season one again. Damn you, stupid urges.
'Doctor Who' 3x01 - 'Smith and Jones'
The Doctor is back and I couldn't be more happy about it. And he's got a new pretty girl at his side, which I guess I could be more happy about, because any way you look at it, she's just not Rose and I've come to love Rose beyond all possible expectations. However, Martha is still more or less ok and, given that I went into the whole deal definitely biased against her, she did really good, considering. I liked that she almost immediately switched gears and adapted to the new unfamiliar situation, that she behaved in the credible fashion and that she already kinda has some alien contact in her background (yay, continuity) so the pesky exposition could be conveniently skipped. I'm still on the fence about her family especially that, in the phone call introduction it seemed they were custom made to be extra quirky (and the phone conversations with the constant 'hold on, there's [insert the name of a relative] calling' that inevitably lead to everyone who possibly could call, calling at the same time never really happen in the real world - that's a tv myth). The scene with Martha waxing poetic about the moon and the prettiness and doing the general 'look how well I cope, Doctor, and how I can appreciate the same things you do and how wonderful I would do in interstellar travel-- oh so you happen to have an opening on your space(/time)ship, how lovely!' impression. Apart from that, though, everything was just dandy. I look forward to the rest of the season. Martha, I officially give you a chance. I think you deserve it.
Now, a few unsorted observations:
- I just adore David Tennant and his crazy crazy hair. I cannot believe how I could ever had any doubts about the man (hey, I was madly in love with Christopher Eccleston and then he left the show and I was crushed - it stands to reason that I was a bit distrustful at first).
- I utterly loved that the big bad alien was a little lady with a straw.
- The five golden scenes: 1. The Doctor frustrated at the computer that refuses to give him information and trying to sonic the MONITOR to make it happen. 2. Doctor: *does a crazy writhing dance to transmit the radiation he just absorbed into his shoe and then dumps said shoe into a garbage bin', Martha: *gawks* 'You're completely mad', Doctor: 'You're right. I look daft with one shoe,' Martha: *gawks*, Doctor: 'Barefoot on the Moon'. 3. The Doctor despairing after frying his favorite sonic screwdriver. 4. The Rhino Aliens first suspecting Martha of being an alien and the, after clearing her, offering a compensation form. 5. The Doctor finding the big bad alien and playing for time by impersonating a slightly demented postman. Seriously, people, love.
Walter Salles' 'Diaros de motocicleta'
I was a bit underwhelmed by that one. It's a pleasant movie, with nice performances (special kudos for Rodrigo de la Serna, who I think was positively awesome), pretty images of pretty landscapes and some mild humor. But basically it was 'so, Che Guevara went an a trip throughout South America, saw the oppression and the abuse the people face and that pushed him to cross the river of social injustice (literally) and become a revolutionary icon (thankfully, left unshowed) - ok, so what?'. It just didn't hit me on the emotional level. And I really feel it should have.
I'm not an idealist. Very much not so. I have respect for those who are, though. Respect mixed with pity, but still. Humans are a pretty nasty race and I really think that people who stubbornly refuse to accept that and who actively, and at great personal sacrifices (because, sadly, there just isn't any other way) fight against it, make the world a better place.
Curt Geda's 'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'
I almost forgot how freaking much I loved that stupid cartoon (that I used to lovingly call 'Batman Rebooted'). The twist it made on the Batman story was just brilliant. Such a shame it got axed.
The movie is not the best animation feature in the world. The writing gets a bit wonky a times, some characters are drawn in the way that I'm not sure I like that much (like, say, the New Batman's mom, who looks like she's been spirited straight from a suburbia house from the fifties), but it is undeniably entertaining. And I just adore the general idea of all Batman, Robin(s) and Batgirl being old and bitter. And how their superheros years visibly screwed them over. And how Bruce Wayne is really Not A Particularly Nice Person. And that the New Batman is leaner, goofier, more reckless, more idealistic and much much less experienced. And a teenager. In a prettier suit ('Ah, the new boy. Ears are too long and I miss the cape. But not too shabby. Not too shabby at all').
Now, the dialog might not have been all that fantastic but these three lines caught my interest:
- Hayley Quinn: 'Sweetie, get Mommy's bazooka' - I think from all the 'Batman' character I've always liked the Joker Girl best. Wait, no, Alfred was the coolest one. Still, she's the close second.
- Joker: 'It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. [pause] Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway.' The Joker definitely got the best lines there. Being clinically insane will do that to you. Or perhaps it was because he was the voice of Mark Hamill.
- Joker: 'I've always thought it adds resonance to hero's mission to have some defining element of tragedy in his background.' And ain't that the truth? Seriously, extra point for genre auto-irony.
Oh, and I know I haven't talked about 'Friday Night Lights' in ages, but I assure you, it's still every bit as excellent as it always was.
.
So, the thoughts:
1. Jensen Ackles showing up for the first time in full light is like a bang. Adrianne Palicki turns the light on and you have a first chance to see him in all his glory and you are just left there spellbound and you find it almost impossible to shake off especially that they they are going full charge and move in for a close up just a moment later. And then the man goes and continues to be cockily awesome the rest of the episode, completely at ease, while you gape and you drool and perhaps even whimper a little bit. Or maybe that was just me.
2. Jared Padalecki was really wooden back then. Well, not all the time but enough to be a bit distracting. It probably didn't help any that they had him doubling up as the exposition fairy. It was probably too much of a strain. Poor boy. And he looked so thin then. I really liked him when he was skinny and not bursting his shirts with over-manly muscles. And his hair looked dorkily cute instead of certifiably demented. Yes, it also made him look about fifteen half the time, but it was adorable. Anyway, he certainly is a better actor now, he's gone a long long way, but, damn, I miss that geeky student image.
3. I'd glad they got more, uhm, graceful with their CGI usage. The certain amount of tackiness is excused, even expected, but it's good they scaled it down a bit.
Now I have this wicked urge to watch the whole season one again. Damn you, stupid urges.
'Doctor Who' 3x01 - 'Smith and Jones'
The Doctor is back and I couldn't be more happy about it. And he's got a new pretty girl at his side, which I guess I could be more happy about, because any way you look at it, she's just not Rose and I've come to love Rose beyond all possible expectations. However, Martha is still more or less ok and, given that I went into the whole deal definitely biased against her, she did really good, considering. I liked that she almost immediately switched gears and adapted to the new unfamiliar situation, that she behaved in the credible fashion and that she already kinda has some alien contact in her background (yay, continuity) so the pesky exposition could be conveniently skipped. I'm still on the fence about her family especially that, in the phone call introduction it seemed they were custom made to be extra quirky (and the phone conversations with the constant 'hold on, there's [insert the name of a relative] calling' that inevitably lead to everyone who possibly could call, calling at the same time never really happen in the real world - that's a tv myth). The scene with Martha waxing poetic about the moon and the prettiness and doing the general 'look how well I cope, Doctor, and how I can appreciate the same things you do and how wonderful I would do in interstellar travel-- oh so you happen to have an opening on your space(/time)ship, how lovely!' impression. Apart from that, though, everything was just dandy. I look forward to the rest of the season. Martha, I officially give you a chance. I think you deserve it.
Now, a few unsorted observations:
- I just adore David Tennant and his crazy crazy hair. I cannot believe how I could ever had any doubts about the man (hey, I was madly in love with Christopher Eccleston and then he left the show and I was crushed - it stands to reason that I was a bit distrustful at first).
- I utterly loved that the big bad alien was a little lady with a straw.
- The five golden scenes: 1. The Doctor frustrated at the computer that refuses to give him information and trying to sonic the MONITOR to make it happen. 2. Doctor: *does a crazy writhing dance to transmit the radiation he just absorbed into his shoe and then dumps said shoe into a garbage bin', Martha: *gawks* 'You're completely mad', Doctor: 'You're right. I look daft with one shoe,' Martha: *gawks*, Doctor: 'Barefoot on the Moon'. 3. The Doctor despairing after frying his favorite sonic screwdriver. 4. The Rhino Aliens first suspecting Martha of being an alien and the, after clearing her, offering a compensation form. 5. The Doctor finding the big bad alien and playing for time by impersonating a slightly demented postman. Seriously, people, love.
Walter Salles' 'Diaros de motocicleta'
I was a bit underwhelmed by that one. It's a pleasant movie, with nice performances (special kudos for Rodrigo de la Serna, who I think was positively awesome), pretty images of pretty landscapes and some mild humor. But basically it was 'so, Che Guevara went an a trip throughout South America, saw the oppression and the abuse the people face and that pushed him to cross the river of social injustice (literally) and become a revolutionary icon (thankfully, left unshowed) - ok, so what?'. It just didn't hit me on the emotional level. And I really feel it should have.
I'm not an idealist. Very much not so. I have respect for those who are, though. Respect mixed with pity, but still. Humans are a pretty nasty race and I really think that people who stubbornly refuse to accept that and who actively, and at great personal sacrifices (because, sadly, there just isn't any other way) fight against it, make the world a better place.
Curt Geda's 'Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'
I almost forgot how freaking much I loved that stupid cartoon (that I used to lovingly call 'Batman Rebooted'). The twist it made on the Batman story was just brilliant. Such a shame it got axed.
The movie is not the best animation feature in the world. The writing gets a bit wonky a times, some characters are drawn in the way that I'm not sure I like that much (like, say, the New Batman's mom, who looks like she's been spirited straight from a suburbia house from the fifties), but it is undeniably entertaining. And I just adore the general idea of all Batman, Robin(s) and Batgirl being old and bitter. And how their superheros years visibly screwed them over. And how Bruce Wayne is really Not A Particularly Nice Person. And that the New Batman is leaner, goofier, more reckless, more idealistic and much much less experienced. And a teenager. In a prettier suit ('Ah, the new boy. Ears are too long and I miss the cape. But not too shabby. Not too shabby at all').
Now, the dialog might not have been all that fantastic but these three lines caught my interest:
- Hayley Quinn: 'Sweetie, get Mommy's bazooka' - I think from all the 'Batman' character I've always liked the Joker Girl best. Wait, no, Alfred was the coolest one. Still, she's the close second.
- Joker: 'It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. [pause] Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway.' The Joker definitely got the best lines there. Being clinically insane will do that to you. Or perhaps it was because he was the voice of Mark Hamill.
- Joker: 'I've always thought it adds resonance to hero's mission to have some defining element of tragedy in his background.' And ain't that the truth? Seriously, extra point for genre auto-irony.
Oh, and I know I haven't talked about 'Friday Night Lights' in ages, but I assure you, it's still every bit as excellent as it always was.
.