By Roy Mathur, on 2023-06-24, at 01:01:40--01:36:36 BST, for Captain Roy's Rusty Rocket Radio Show, Listen
Preshow
I only talk about science fiction, fantasy, and horror media and occasionally tangibles like games, toys, events, etc. that I have personally chosen to experience. Neither do I try to stay abreast of all current geek news, unless it's something that's piqued my interest. I also make no attempt objective reviews, after-all I'm an ex-columnist not a reporter.
It's worth occasionally repeating this so that you don't wonder why I'm not talking about every single geek thing, like those numerous and usually short-lived Netflix series. Instead, I concentrate only on what interests me, why it interests me, and how it makes me feel. In other words this is my personal nerdy journey and one I hope you'll continue to join me on.
RIP John Romita Sr., Marvel artist and co-creator of Wolverine et al.
Contradicting what I've just said because it felt culturally significant, I had to force myself to watch this first of possibly many (groan) sequels of the James Cameron's Avatar.
I enjoyed the beautiful first 2009 film, with it's incredible effects and action that glossed over a very shallow and condescending white saviour storyline.
This new movie is about the mission and it's outcome to retake lush green and blue Pandora from the rebellious Na'vi by colonial baddies. Scared for his family, Jake takes them to join coast dwelling Na'vi, who might as well be merpeople. Also, why the hell does his kids call him "sir"? What kind of domineering toxic twit has Sully become? I can't tell you anything else about the plot because when I paused the movie and saw the obnoxious runtime, I threw in the beach towel.
You'd have thought, given the time between the first and the sequel, something might have changed. No, they took The Force Awakens route and rehashed the first movie for a new generation. This movie's done very well, so what do I know?
Nope is a 2022 science fiction horror movie by Jordan Peele, starring Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, as Hollywood horse wranglers beset by menacing UFO near their ranch.
Original concept, interesting creature design, proper horror, but too quirky, too much going on, too many characters, but at least I did watch it until the end. I wish Jordan Peele would be less the auteur in his approach, but the same could be said for Shyamalan, Nolan, Luhrman, etc., whose artistry sometimes does them a disfavour.
Nick Fury, Samuel L. Jackson looking increasingly like a grumpy merchant seaman, kicks Skrull terrorist bottom! The typically topical Marvel story clearly taps modern into xenophobia in the west surrounding asylum seekers, neatly updating it's Cold War paranoia origins. The trailers looked good, so I was eager to watch.
However, I found that Marvel had stuck so closely to a traditional spy drama---to the extent that even Le Carre's "Circus" (MI6) was mentioned---that I found it too dry and I'm out.
In which Number 1 (Rebecca Romijn) is tried for being an augmented human, understandably a touchy subject for in-universe survivors of Earth's apocalyptic Eugenics War from Star Trek lore.
It's one of those court room cases I always disliked in TOS and, while well-meaning, was dry and the outcome unsurprising. Come on SNW, two episodes so far and nothing exciting has happened yet!
I have wathed the trailer for the upcoming Netflix adaptation of acclaimed cult Chinese SciFi trilogy of novels about about an alien invasion instigated by a disgruntled Chinese SETI staff member.
It has already been adapted by TenCent and available to watch on YouTube (484) and the opening looks very similar to that version. Predictably, there is a more Western cast, including the excellent, and usually comedic, Benedict Wong (The IT Crowd, Doctor Strange, etc.), and John Bradley (Samwell Tarly in GoT).
I'm looking forward to this, having been irritated by the questionable subtitles and absurd volume of advertising on the TenCent show.
Great show, but annoying cliffhangers that leave you unsatisfied rather than early anticipating.
I was coincidentally near Warner Bros. Studio Tour London's The Making of Harry Potter on Saturday.
As it was the nearest I'd got near the Big Smoke in two years, during a heatwave, and suffering from my low carb diet (thanks curry, chocolate, and chips), I was feeling too bleh to go. The tickets are bloody expensive too, but it's on my geek list now.
Disgraced for using a creepy psychic, maverick cop Detective Superintendent Roy Grace (John Simm) investigates schlocky buried alive and black widow cases in this Luther Lite.
By the way, why does all drama set in the Brighton/Hove area selectively film the area to look like a combination of Canary Wharf and Holland Park by the seaside. I'm no expert, but I have relatives down there and it looks nothing like that.
RIP Glenda Jackson, renowned actress and political activist.
Congratulations to Reddit's Steve Huffman for courting an IPO while alienating his entire user base by making the API economically unviable and leading to a strike.
It's stupid and it's isn't going to happen, but if it does, because who the hell can tell anymore?!, paraphrasing Aunty Entity: Two imbeciles enter, one imbecile leaves.
A 3000 year old bronze sword in almost perfect condition was dug up in Germany.
As well as getting rid of my podcast release schedule some time ago, I'm also not going to promise alternating shows, i.e. one main and one revisit. Whatever comes out, comes out when it comes out.
I'm doing this because restricting myself in these ways mean that I podcast less.