Current Status Of The USS Hadhafang
Currently a little out of it. Also reading Russell T. Davies' book THE WRITER'S TALE. Brilliant book; I'm actually finding out more about writing than I thought possible (that and the process of working on DOCTOR WHO) -- although there are times that I feel chastened a bit. For example, when he says that he dislikes dream sequences -- yeah, guess what I include a lot in my stories. XD I guess it doesn't help that I have a lot of bad dreams. (Hell, last year's NaNo got written while I suffered from really bad nightmares, amongst other things, which made it easier to get into Obi-Wan's mindset considering I felt like my sanity was being sort of chipped at) So...yeah, write what you know. That said, I'll attempt to sort of cut down on dream sequences a bit, with the emphasis on "attempt". Don't know how well it will turn out.
On a much lighter note, went to see IRON MAN 3. How was it? Amazing, but Jesus Christ was it dramatic.
Trailers I Got:
-WHITE HOUSE DOWN: Why am I somehow not surprised that Roland Emmerich is directing this? Anyway, a few funny moments here and there, but otherwise looks kind of...yeah, not my thing. I probably shouldn't be criticizing a film from the trailer alone, but there's something about it that kind of gives me a few doubts.
-THE GRAND MASTER: Yes, got that trailer again. Still looks amazing.
-THOR: THE DARK WORLD: Hell fucking yeah. I might write up a Squee Challenge post for why people should get hyped for it later (because I'm kind of behind on all this). Anyway, it looks great. Great action, great to see Thor and Jane and Loki again (and much love for snarky!Loki. And Thor and Loki in a sort of Enemy Mine). And the visuals look gorgeous also. Honestly? Can. Not. Wait! :D
-MONSTERS UNIVERSITY: Always loved MONSTERS INC., and ridiculously excited to see this prequel. Seriously. It looks amazing and awesome.
And that's all I've got I think for the trailers. They definitely got better this time around, or maybe my memory got better. Or I'm getting more organized. But I think the quality of the trailers went up. The ones I got prior to STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS were kind of a rollercoaster of quality, but other than WHITE HOUSE DOWN, these trailers were pretty solid.
The film itself:
I've always been pretty fond of the IRON MAN movies, I really have. Thought the first one was great, thought the second one was great, and the third one...I think the third one might be the best of all of them. For starters, I love how they went into detail about the matter of Tony still suffering from the events of THE AVENGERS -- and honestly, all things considered, it was really well-handled. And it was very human -- his flashbacks about the chaos wreaked in New York to the point of panicking when someone says it, as well as his flashbacks about nearly dying, and his fears for Pepper being hurt...yeah, that broke my heart. I know that scenes such as his nightmares about New York (and one of the Iron Man suits coming to life and attacking Pepper -- that was a real "Holy shit" moment for me; I was terrified during that scene) as well as confiding in Pepper about not being able to sleep prior to that scene...yeah, those scenes really got me, they really did. I like how they gave psychological repercussions to Tony in regards to what happened to him in THE AVENGERS, if only because...well, it's not something you can easily shrug off.
Honestly, this film was much darker than the previous ones -- the Mandarin, for example. While the reveal of who the Mandarin was was actually kind of funny, the Mandarin's broadcasts were seriously frightening. I know, for example, the hostage tape he sent the President (made worse considering that the President dials the Mandarin if only to get the hostage free because it's the right thing to do, and it fails anyway. *), as well as the tapes of things burning down. Also, when the President is captured in the Iron Patriot suit (basically they hijacked it, at least before the owner of the Iron Patriot's suit got out in time) and sort of hung in what Colonel Rhodes (that's the guy who owns the Iron Patriot suit. **) describes as a sort of Viking funeral. (I admit when I first saw it, I kinda sorta thought of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Not a perfect comparison, I know, but...y'know) And earlier, when the Mandarin is outlining exactly why the President is being punished...yeah, that was chilling. I admit that I kind of think it would be better if the Mandarin was kept as this sort of Knight Templar character, but then again, considering how many of them I write, I might just be biased. (That and the news footage and such of the Mandarin sort of making his speeches and rallying his troops was goddamn brilliant)
Some other scenes that really scared me were the scenes where the sort of supersoldiers were being created. When Aldrich Killian was sort of injecting them with Extremis, and you hear some of them screaming in pain. Not to mention the detonation one of them causes. The supersoldiers in general were just Nightmare Fuel (just them overpowering Rhodes and Tony), but how they got created was almost even worse. I think it doesn't help seeing the tapes of them before they were injected and they just seem like perfectly nice, normal people (even if some of them probably did have some problems beforehand), and they got transformed into unstoppable killing machines. And to think that Killian actually used Extremis on Pepper (which he sort of outlines for Tony may kill her if her body rejects it)...*Shivers*
Hell, for all I was sort of disappointed that the Mandarin just turned out to be an actor, Aldrich Killian more than made up for it. Seriously. I know stuff like him injecting Pepper with Extremis, killing Maya when she was trying to get Killian to let Tony go, basically, and basically just kicking the crap out of Tony...yeah, that was just terrifying. And when he emerges from the ashes with most of his skin burnt off. And I think the most powerful part about it, all of it, is that in a way, Tony kind of created him, mostly thanks to a bit of an error in insensitivity. (To say the least) One reason Aldrich Killian became who he was was because, in a way, he was disappointed. He started as kind of Adorkable and sort of star-struck before...well, becoming a Complete Monster. (And I don't use the term lightly, but what he did during the film definitely qualifies him as a Complete Monster) I can pity him, at least, considering that prior to becoming...well, that, his life kind of sucked, even to the point of contemplating suicide (it's sort of implied, which really honestly makes it all the more frightening/heartbreaking), but...well, I just hate what he did during the film, really.
I think another honestly terrifying scene was when Tony's house was attacked. (And I have to ask you, Tony; why oh why did you have to give them your home address? ) I think it's just something about the chaos in it, all of it, all those explosions, almost everything falling into the water, Tony being dragged into the water...yeah, terrifying. And when he crash-lands in Tennessee. It also crosses over with Tearjerker, considering Pepper's scream when she thinks that Tony's dead (although later Heartwarming when she realizes that he's still very much alive), and when Jarvis sort of decides to go to sleep for a bit. I just like...just about all of that scene because it really encapsulates how Tony feels considering that the world as he's known it has ended.
Hell, there were a lot of really powerful scenes in the movie. Stuff like Tony's flashbacks and such, Maya's death, Pepper's presumed death (I actually went "No, no, no, no, no" in the theater), Tony talking with one of the dead soldiers' mother...there were a hell of a lot of powerful scenes. And when Tony has surgery so he won't need the artificial heart anymore. And crossing over with Nightmare Fuel, the backstory of the soldiers who had the Extremis injected into them. Made even worse considering that they were also veterans that were abandoned once they became wounded or traumatized by the experience. They may be truly frightening, but if nothing else, they're just as much victims as anyone else. Also, Maya talking with Pepper at one point. That was really well-done, and very moving. And when Tony calls Maya out for seemingly losing her morality.
Even in between the darkness, though, there were plenty of sweet moments to go around. Tony and Harley, for example, who Tony meets after crash-landing in Tennessee. Plenty of sweet moments between them, and plenty of really honestly funny moments. And scenes between Tony and Pepper, such as him hugging her shortly after she comes out of her Extremis-fueled state. And Tony managing to save everyone falling from the plane (especially considering the Nightmare Fuel of everyone getting basically sucked into hell earlier. It's just really Awesome -- especially Tony getting around the "four people at a time" thing by having the passengers play a sort of barrel monkeys thing) -- it's just a wonderful sort of "Everybody Lives" moment. And his speech at the end. And I liked the moments of humor in there as well, such as one of the mooks calling the people he works with "crazy", as well as...just the Mandarin. XD Nerd In Evil's Helmet meets Cloudcuckoolander barely even covers it, to be perfectly honest, and stuff like him trying to impress the women he's picked up as well as randomly nodding off and snoring during his conversation with Tony -- yeah, that was funny. XD And how cheerful he seems even when he's being arrested, and the fact that apparently, the guns he's using are props. And while the scene was really heartwrenching with Tony autographing one of the kids' pictures with "ERIN, HELP ME", the stuff leading up to it...it had some funny moments, such as "I loved you in A CHRISTMAS STORY", as well as that meeting with that one fan of Tony's ("Mom, I'll call you back; something magical is happening!"). Also absolutely hilarious. And when Colonel Rhodes (as the Iron Patriot) is trying to find the Mandarin only to get a phonecall from Tony, as well as the fact that apparently his password is at the moment "WARMACHINEROX"...the reactions of the people that Rhodes is sort of questioning are priceless. XD And there were some awesome moments in there also, such as Tony sabotaging the Iron Man suit to explode on Killian, Pepper punching Killian out, Rhodes rescuing the President just in time, Harley freeing himself from his captor (thanks to something Tony taught him to defend himself against bullies) and Tony getting innovative in terms of how to defeat Brandt, one of the supersoldiers. Honestly, this was just an excellent movie. Only problem? When it ended.
* Although the Mandarin does say that it's mostly fake, thank goodness.
** It was originally called the War Machine, but in-film they sort of changed the title and even gave it a red-white-and-blue sort of makeover. (Even some of the characters make fun of it.)
So overall? Go watch this movie! Seriously, it's awesome.
On a much lighter note, went to see IRON MAN 3. How was it? Amazing, but Jesus Christ was it dramatic.
Trailers I Got:
-WHITE HOUSE DOWN: Why am I somehow not surprised that Roland Emmerich is directing this? Anyway, a few funny moments here and there, but otherwise looks kind of...yeah, not my thing. I probably shouldn't be criticizing a film from the trailer alone, but there's something about it that kind of gives me a few doubts.
-THE GRAND MASTER: Yes, got that trailer again. Still looks amazing.
-THOR: THE DARK WORLD: Hell fucking yeah. I might write up a Squee Challenge post for why people should get hyped for it later (because I'm kind of behind on all this). Anyway, it looks great. Great action, great to see Thor and Jane and Loki again (and much love for snarky!Loki. And Thor and Loki in a sort of Enemy Mine). And the visuals look gorgeous also. Honestly? Can. Not. Wait! :D
-MONSTERS UNIVERSITY: Always loved MONSTERS INC., and ridiculously excited to see this prequel. Seriously. It looks amazing and awesome.
And that's all I've got I think for the trailers. They definitely got better this time around, or maybe my memory got better. Or I'm getting more organized. But I think the quality of the trailers went up. The ones I got prior to STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS were kind of a rollercoaster of quality, but other than WHITE HOUSE DOWN, these trailers were pretty solid.
The film itself:
I've always been pretty fond of the IRON MAN movies, I really have. Thought the first one was great, thought the second one was great, and the third one...I think the third one might be the best of all of them. For starters, I love how they went into detail about the matter of Tony still suffering from the events of THE AVENGERS -- and honestly, all things considered, it was really well-handled. And it was very human -- his flashbacks about the chaos wreaked in New York to the point of panicking when someone says it, as well as his flashbacks about nearly dying, and his fears for Pepper being hurt...yeah, that broke my heart. I know that scenes such as his nightmares about New York (and one of the Iron Man suits coming to life and attacking Pepper -- that was a real "Holy shit" moment for me; I was terrified during that scene) as well as confiding in Pepper about not being able to sleep prior to that scene...yeah, those scenes really got me, they really did. I like how they gave psychological repercussions to Tony in regards to what happened to him in THE AVENGERS, if only because...well, it's not something you can easily shrug off.
Honestly, this film was much darker than the previous ones -- the Mandarin, for example. While the reveal of who the Mandarin was was actually kind of funny, the Mandarin's broadcasts were seriously frightening. I know, for example, the hostage tape he sent the President (made worse considering that the President dials the Mandarin if only to get the hostage free because it's the right thing to do, and it fails anyway. *), as well as the tapes of things burning down. Also, when the President is captured in the Iron Patriot suit (basically they hijacked it, at least before the owner of the Iron Patriot's suit got out in time) and sort of hung in what Colonel Rhodes (that's the guy who owns the Iron Patriot suit. **) describes as a sort of Viking funeral. (I admit when I first saw it, I kinda sorta thought of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Not a perfect comparison, I know, but...y'know) And earlier, when the Mandarin is outlining exactly why the President is being punished...yeah, that was chilling. I admit that I kind of think it would be better if the Mandarin was kept as this sort of Knight Templar character, but then again, considering how many of them I write, I might just be biased. (That and the news footage and such of the Mandarin sort of making his speeches and rallying his troops was goddamn brilliant)
Some other scenes that really scared me were the scenes where the sort of supersoldiers were being created. When Aldrich Killian was sort of injecting them with Extremis, and you hear some of them screaming in pain. Not to mention the detonation one of them causes. The supersoldiers in general were just Nightmare Fuel (just them overpowering Rhodes and Tony), but how they got created was almost even worse. I think it doesn't help seeing the tapes of them before they were injected and they just seem like perfectly nice, normal people (even if some of them probably did have some problems beforehand), and they got transformed into unstoppable killing machines. And to think that Killian actually used Extremis on Pepper (which he sort of outlines for Tony may kill her if her body rejects it)...*Shivers*
Hell, for all I was sort of disappointed that the Mandarin just turned out to be an actor, Aldrich Killian more than made up for it. Seriously. I know stuff like him injecting Pepper with Extremis, killing Maya when she was trying to get Killian to let Tony go, basically, and basically just kicking the crap out of Tony...yeah, that was just terrifying. And when he emerges from the ashes with most of his skin burnt off. And I think the most powerful part about it, all of it, is that in a way, Tony kind of created him, mostly thanks to a bit of an error in insensitivity. (To say the least) One reason Aldrich Killian became who he was was because, in a way, he was disappointed. He started as kind of Adorkable and sort of star-struck before...well, becoming a Complete Monster. (And I don't use the term lightly, but what he did during the film definitely qualifies him as a Complete Monster) I can pity him, at least, considering that prior to becoming...well, that, his life kind of sucked, even to the point of contemplating suicide (it's sort of implied, which really honestly makes it all the more frightening/heartbreaking), but...well, I just hate what he did during the film, really.
I think another honestly terrifying scene was when Tony's house was attacked. (And I have to ask you, Tony; why oh why did you have to give them your home address? ) I think it's just something about the chaos in it, all of it, all those explosions, almost everything falling into the water, Tony being dragged into the water...yeah, terrifying. And when he crash-lands in Tennessee. It also crosses over with Tearjerker, considering Pepper's scream when she thinks that Tony's dead (although later Heartwarming when she realizes that he's still very much alive), and when Jarvis sort of decides to go to sleep for a bit. I just like...just about all of that scene because it really encapsulates how Tony feels considering that the world as he's known it has ended.
Hell, there were a lot of really powerful scenes in the movie. Stuff like Tony's flashbacks and such, Maya's death, Pepper's presumed death (I actually went "No, no, no, no, no" in the theater), Tony talking with one of the dead soldiers' mother...there were a hell of a lot of powerful scenes. And when Tony has surgery so he won't need the artificial heart anymore. And crossing over with Nightmare Fuel, the backstory of the soldiers who had the Extremis injected into them. Made even worse considering that they were also veterans that were abandoned once they became wounded or traumatized by the experience. They may be truly frightening, but if nothing else, they're just as much victims as anyone else. Also, Maya talking with Pepper at one point. That was really well-done, and very moving. And when Tony calls Maya out for seemingly losing her morality.
Even in between the darkness, though, there were plenty of sweet moments to go around. Tony and Harley, for example, who Tony meets after crash-landing in Tennessee. Plenty of sweet moments between them, and plenty of really honestly funny moments. And scenes between Tony and Pepper, such as him hugging her shortly after she comes out of her Extremis-fueled state. And Tony managing to save everyone falling from the plane (especially considering the Nightmare Fuel of everyone getting basically sucked into hell earlier. It's just really Awesome -- especially Tony getting around the "four people at a time" thing by having the passengers play a sort of barrel monkeys thing) -- it's just a wonderful sort of "Everybody Lives" moment. And his speech at the end. And I liked the moments of humor in there as well, such as one of the mooks calling the people he works with "crazy", as well as...just the Mandarin. XD Nerd In Evil's Helmet meets Cloudcuckoolander barely even covers it, to be perfectly honest, and stuff like him trying to impress the women he's picked up as well as randomly nodding off and snoring during his conversation with Tony -- yeah, that was funny. XD And how cheerful he seems even when he's being arrested, and the fact that apparently, the guns he's using are props. And while the scene was really heartwrenching with Tony autographing one of the kids' pictures with "ERIN, HELP ME", the stuff leading up to it...it had some funny moments, such as "I loved you in A CHRISTMAS STORY", as well as that meeting with that one fan of Tony's ("Mom, I'll call you back; something magical is happening!"). Also absolutely hilarious. And when Colonel Rhodes (as the Iron Patriot) is trying to find the Mandarin only to get a phonecall from Tony, as well as the fact that apparently his password is at the moment "WARMACHINEROX"...the reactions of the people that Rhodes is sort of questioning are priceless. XD And there were some awesome moments in there also, such as Tony sabotaging the Iron Man suit to explode on Killian, Pepper punching Killian out, Rhodes rescuing the President just in time, Harley freeing himself from his captor (thanks to something Tony taught him to defend himself against bullies) and Tony getting innovative in terms of how to defeat Brandt, one of the supersoldiers. Honestly, this was just an excellent movie. Only problem? When it ended.
* Although the Mandarin does say that it's mostly fake, thank goodness.
** It was originally called the War Machine, but in-film they sort of changed the title and even gave it a red-white-and-blue sort of makeover. (Even some of the characters make fun of it.)
So overall? Go watch this movie! Seriously, it's awesome.