Star Trek: S1E14 Balance of Terror review

When I started watching Star Trek, I was positive that it was too dated and blah for me to enjoy it. A few episodes in, I forgave the look of the thing and came to enjoy what it wanted to be. Last episode, I finally saw what I thought the show strove to be, coming out bold and entertaining and cementing this troika of men at the helm of a space ship.

Color me blown away.

Groundhog Day: Second thoughts

Apparently the difference between traveling in time and getting stuck in time is a cool car. I'd like to say that I'm confused about why, but really I think I've just met a film that's the definition, more or less, of "allegory."

Star Trek: S1E10 The Corbomite Maneuver review

If you want to play me at tarbish, or at cribbage, I have to warn you in advance that I had very good teachers. Poker is a different story. I really like poker, but good god do I ever suck at it. I can't tell you whether Captain Kirk is any good at it either, since he didn't really have chips on the table, but I can tell you that there was a lot of charm to this episode.

Groundhog Day: First impressions

We're finally back! About time, too. It's not been the best week here in Wonderful Noiseland, but I'm back on my... ass, where I've been all along, but you get what I'm trying to say. Back in the saddle, how about that? So folks, after a long and just super crappy gulf between That Movie and today, we're back with what I've been told is a lighter movie.

Given what the last one was, that tells me nothing.

Week 3: Jeremy has a bad week

Happened sooner than I expected, but I finally had just a really, really bad week. There was bad news, there was stress of the real-life variety, there was trying to find answers to some really inconvenient questions, there was pain, and of course, That Movie. Got to pull myself up and keep going, though. Don't know how many of you are still here after The Week Jeremy Was Gone, but for those who stuck it out, I owe it to you and to myself to grit up and keep going. Sarah Connor style.

Regular posts will resume this week

Sorry about the delays, friendly readers; I've been having a couple of really crappy days with pain management. As soon as I bounce back, we'll be in full form once again.

Alien: Second thoughts

My accident was a terrible experience. My legs are both wrecked; one to the thigh, the other just the lower leg with a patellar fracture. Both feet have been worked on. My right talus has been chipped and the chip dislodged severely enough that they're going to have to go in, take it out and then shine up the cracked area so my tendons don't catch and tear on it. My right shoulder has a severe fracture. I've got a fun scar on my face. My ribs on the right side are bruised. I consider myself lucky; I could be dead right now. Oh yes, there's one more noteworthy injury I got from it. My right middle finger will never fully extend again.

So I can't flip it up at all of you.

Alien: First impressions

Yes! We're doing it! Roomie had a night out, so Lacy's got me set up tonight with one of her favorite movies. Don't know what to expect here beyond it being a controversial choice and everyone wanting me to watch it. Excited? Worried? Little of both. What am I getting into?

Star Trek: S1E6 Mudd's Women review

Well congratulations, Star Trek. It took six episodes to get here. You did a pretty good job. And then I met Harry F. Mudd. I'll let you guess what the F. stands for.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Second thoughts

Whoever recommended this movie knew exactly what they were doing. Star Wars is something I would have loved to have seen as a kid, but Pirates of the Caribbean would have sailed right past me (haha!) if I had seen it when it came out. This is a film packed with special effects, but it's at its best when they're not in play. Funny how that keeps being the case. :D

Pirates of the Caribbean: First impressions

Arr. Rum... something. Rum's Caribbean, anyway, and I'm pretty sure it's a piratey drink. Or maybe that's grog. Glog is a spiced wine that some sort of non-French Eurofolk enjoy at Christmas (Jeremies also enjoy it and got to try it this year, it was very nice), and screech is Caribbean run of the most particularly cheap and horrifying sort, which the Newfies try to pass off as something one can drink. They are liars. And probably pirates. So as I was saying, rum is a pirate drink!

Of course, I can't drink anything fun right now, so I'm going to settle in for piracy on the sunny seas with a tall glass of... milk. You know, for strong bones. Oh the irony.

The Usual Suspects: Second thoughts

The deke is a basic part of offense in hockey. The idea is to lead the defender into overcommiting to the wrong direction, trying to get him to get ahead of you and then switching it up while he's too overreached to recover. You deke defensemen, you deke goalies, and The Usual Suspects also dekes goalies. IT IS EXTREMELY RUDE FOR A MOVIE TO DEKE THE GOALIE.

Goddamn do I hate getting deked.

Star Trek: S1E5 The Enemy Within

A friend of mine played as a monk for a while. His Stunning Fist would always be "neck pinch!" whenever he used it; if he didn't say it, someone else would. I got into the habit at one point just because it's what we did. I'm sure at some point someone must have tried to explain it to me, but back then I would have reacted to anything Star Trek with "boring" and moved on. Man, I was a dumb kid.

Week 2: Time travel, liquid metal murder and dinosaurs

I don't imagine anything's going to be topping Star Wars for a while, not for me or for you guys - Roomie says the first Star Wars post has like 1/5th of all the reads on the blog. That's an unreasonable standard to set, though, and this week I got to see a lot of movies that set different standards for action, wonder, great music and in at least one instance just plain no. Also, I'm boldly going where no me has gone before: Star Trek! Let's talk about the week.

Star Trek: S1E4 The Naked Time review

Sulu is also not left-handed. Are there any true left-handed fencers out there? I'll have to find out. But first, the review!

The Usual Suspects: First impressions

The movie title reminds me of one of my favorite laugh lines from Casablanca, delivered by the police captain, himself the funniest part of a great cast. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this movie, though. Seriously. I have nothing. Genre? Reason I'm watching? I suspect it's a comedy that makes a lot of references to Casablanca, which could be really good since it's a favorite of mine. Anyway, it's time for me to round up The Usual Suspects. :D

Star Trek: S1E3 Where No Man Has Gone Before review

I can appreciate that this was a really early roll of the dice that just got scrambled in release order, but that doesn't really excuse how much it isn't very good at all. It's my own fault, though.

Conan the Barbarian: Second thoughts

Roomie described it as a "classic gamer flick," which means Roomie talks like an old movie because who says "flick" anymore? As you all knew already, of course, he was absolutely right.

If you will not hear me say that I enjoyed this movie, then TO HELL WITH YOU. :D

Conan the Barbarian: First impressions

I played a barbarian once. Didn't go so hot. He was excellent at finding traps, in much the same way that a wooden pole is excellent at finding fire. Still, I played him resolutely right to the end. The end was a mind flayer. I bet it didn't find him very satisfying at all.

So it stands that I could take a lesson in barbarian...ishness... from the original barbarian, the iconic barbarian, the guy who is to "the Barbarian" as Merlin is to "the Wizard." The UR-barbarian, one might say, if one were disposed to describe things as Ur which are not Sumerian cities. I've already got a head start: I'm eating ribs and doing so with great vigor and all the mess that implies. MEAT GOOD. Why no pizza? Because ribs, don't ask stupid questions. Pizza tomorrow. MEAT ANSWER TO ALL QUESTION. I'm in the zone, let's get barbaric.

Back to the Future: Second thoughts

If you're going to make a car into a time machine, do it with style. And always pack spare stolen plutonium.

GOTTA GET BACK IN TIME to write up full second thoughts!

Star Trek: S1E2 Charlie X review

There was a book in the school library that I never read but I remember seeing it numerous times. Space Brat. I'm betting it was all about Charlie Evans.

Back to the Future: First impressions

Sometimes Jeremy has a clever thing to say before the jump break. Sometimes he's got no such thing. Sometimes he's impatient and just wants to get to the movie. This is one of those times.

Star Trek: S1E1 The Man Trap second thoughts

I'm going to keep this one short, because I'm still running off of Jurassic Park energy and I'm sure I'll fall back into talking about that movie if I type for too long. I said I'd be fair to Star Trek, so let's see how I did.

Jurassic Park: Second thoughts

I had two English profs in my first year at university. The second one had a pretty specific paradigm to advance - she was British Indian and her ethnic and cultural background basically set the whole tone for the semester's reading list. It was interesting, but ultimately didn't make for the kind of overview I was expecting when I picked the course. I remember, though, when she told us about the Indian version of Hollywood, called "Bollywood" for some reason. She told us that in India, people demanded everything from every movie, or it wasn't worth their time, so a Bollywood movie would have action, romance, scares, songs, explosions and choreographed dance sequences all in one go.

Jurassic Park has no songs or dancing, but I'm pretty sure it's a gigantic box full of every reason people go to the movies.

Star Trek: S1E1 The Man Trap first impressions

Without further ado, I give you Star Trek. A really old television series. Roomie tells me they remastered these episodes and updated a few of the space shots. I'm going to try to give this series a fair shake; wish me luck!

Star Trek: Starting point

First off: anyone interested in Star Trek specifically or in my upcoming TV show posts generally should take a look at this post. If you don't care about Star Trek, skip right to the end.

That said: let's talk about Star Trek.

Jurassic Park: First impressions

As you may be aware, the last Steven Spielberg movie I watched was all kinds of fun, boasting fantastic action, a great score and a breathless pace that kept me glued to my seat. Not that I was going anywhere regardless but still.

Now when I was a kid someone brought me a present of dinosaur stuff from the Royal Tyrell Museum out in Alberta. Dinosaurs were my thing at 5-6 years old. I could spell Tyrannosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus, and I could also spell Tyrannosaurus Rex. No I didn't have a favorite, why do you ask?

Getting back on topic: I know there will be dinosaurs in this movie. I'm grinning like an idiot.

Terminator: Terminator 2 Judgment Day second thoughts

Folks, let me explain about action movies. John Wayne is in them. They're kind of corny, there's oftentimes a great deal of noise and you get a few opportunities to feel that primitive masculine instinct surge for preposterous reasons. Sometimes things go kaboom. It's nice, light, cheap entertainment.

EMOTIONAL PUNCHES ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THAT DEFINITION. YOU ARE ALL BAD PEOPLE WHO RECOMMENDED THIS MOVIE.

Terminator: Terminator 2 Judgment Day first impressions

We're going to kick this one off not with a witty quip but with a big congratulations for the Los Angeles Kings on their win. I'm pretty sure we all knew that one was coming and I'm sure the headlines would have been good either way - "Kings Crowned Again" vs. "Kings Dethroned" or something yes I know they didn't win last year shut up they got it in 2012 ANYWAY back on track: the Rangers were outclassed but they played one hell of a tight game all the way through to a double overtime. It was tense, exciting, action-packed and why am I talking about all this now?

Because that's what I'm expecting from Terminator 2. :D

Terminator: Terminator 2 predictions

Hey look! A sequel! You know what that means... standalone prediction post! :D

I haven't gotten to do this since Star Wars. SO MANY IDEAS.

Week 1: Jeremy Watches Awesome Movies

I'm going to give this a try in celebration of a whole week completed of awesome movies and the frantic and crazy reactions that went along with them. This is just me talking about stuff from the week and various related thoughts. Everyone should comment on whether this post is something they'd like to see on occasion or if it's a total disaster that should go away and never come back, so I'll know whether the experiment works and what to do or not do in the future. Onward to my brain words!

Terminator: The Terminator second thoughts

Don't really feel like doing this right now, but I'll be back.

 So tempted to just leave that as the whole review. Stupid personal standards.

Terminator: The Terminator first impressions

Two Terminator movies back to back means it's time for a new post tag. Rumor has it this movie is just full of catchphrases I should know. Who knows? At any rate, it's time for The Terminator and I to get acquainted.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: Second thoughts

I can't express how cool it was to see Indiana Jones on film. I had a couple of old Indiana Jones books that I read as a kid and I loved the adventures; I think it's one of the things that drew me to gaming in the first place. Of course all this time I was expecting the movie to be called, you know, "Indiana Jones." The first Star Wars film is Star Wars, after all, and I'm sure when I get around to it the first James Bond movie will be James Bond. Thankfully, I'm getting smarter this week thanks to the mind-expanding experiences of the past... wow that's been six films now! and so it didn't take me long to figure out that I was seeing an already-enjoyed character on film.

Raiders of the Lost Ark: First impressions

Rangers are keeping the series alive, improbably. Fortunately, no overtime means I've got sufficient time to settle in with another new movie!

(By new, of course, I mean new to me. I know you've all seen everything ever, shut up.)

Ghostbusters: Second thoughts

The best, most completely out-there and unpredictable thing in the whole movie, and they put it in the DVD play menu. They really did. It's a good thing Lacy's on the ball about all this or that would have been a big no-no. Seriously, are DVDs only intended for people who already saw the movie?

Anyway, I digress. I was expecting a sort of haunted house thing, where a bunch of bumbling but well-meaning morons pulled an Abbot and Costello Meet The Afterlife routine. I definitely wasn't expecting the story I got, and folks: it was fun. :D

Ghostbusters: First impressions

WHO YA GONNA CALL?

Catchy Halloween song, it's time for me to meet the movie that made you. Tonight we're doing it differently, with a full viewing party of seven, including my roommate and our excellent comment-filtering mademoiselle.

Tonight's forecast calls for thundershowers (no, seriously!), pizza and just a lot of fun.

Princess Bride: Second thoughts

There are movies that sweep you off your feet, that transport you to amazing imaginary worlds full of Munchkins and droids and jinns. There are great films about the passion of love that was lost, love getting found again, love being made brand new. There are epics filled with thrills and tension and the sorts of incredible peril that gets people to sit down for two hours or more to watch a whole story play out in front of them, chases and gunfights and swords made of laser hissing at one another like two bits of the rainbow having a feud. The Princess Bride is not one of them.

But I like it anway. :D

Princess Bride: First impressions

Alright, since this is apparently a standalone movie I'm not going to put up a separate post for predictions and whatnot. I know of this movie even less than I knew of Star Wars. For the record, though, I've enclosed my starting point on Princess Bride just so we're all on the same page.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi second thoughts

It feels like it's been more than two days since I started watching the Star Wars films for the first time. Each of them packs in so much that it's like I've watched far more than a mere three movies. I'm sad that it's over, but I'm looking forward to switching into something new.

The Star Wars trilogy was an awesome way to kick off my journey through popular culture. Mindblowing, gutwrenching, wondrous, dizzying - I think it's fair to say that I was completely swept up in what started as a simple narrative and turned into so much more.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi first impressions

Burger. Frosty beverage. Total lack of readiness. Complete and utter excitement.

I'm on the last film, folks.

Let's do this.

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi predictions

Well, now that I've been blown to pieces (and corrected on the title of the last film) it's time for me to get on with it. I need the ending of this series and I need it right now, but I'm not going to deny interested parties one last good chance to laugh at my wrongness before we go in.

I'm so not ready for this.

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back second thoughts

So this was it, then. This was the big thing, the reason to watch the whole series. What a swerve. I was not ready for that. This film is completely different from the first one, but in so many good ways.

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back first impressions

That was a long game. Nice to get home to half a pizza and a screen already set up for viewing.

Expectations seem to be high for this one. Me, I don't know what to expect. I'm just excited. Nothing to skip this time, just straight on through. Here goes nothing!

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back predictions

Everyone told me they wanted this, so here it goes. I'm betting most of these will be a swing and a miss, but a few of them I stand by as really good bets.

Already posted these over on RPGnet, but for anyone who missed them, here's my list of predictions for this movie (I am going to be so wrong).

Star Wars: Star Wars second thoughts

Reading over my first impressions, it all comes right back to me. Folks, I didn't sleep much last night, and while a lot of that was definitely the pizza having its filthy way with me, I'm not gonna lie.

I'm hooked.

Star Wars: Star Wars first impressions

Alright, here we go. Just have to push play.

Star Wars: Starting point

It's this huge pop culture phenomenon. I know it is. I saw an army of Star Wars robots marching in a St. Patrick's Day parade, of all things. People in my gaming group reference things I don't get and then give me this look like I'm a talking ostrich as they go "You know! Star Wars!"

Well, I don't know Star Wars. Yet. I'm certainly about to, though. Turns out there wasn't really much of a choice when it came to what I should review first - as soon as Roomie found out that I'd never watched Star Wars, he put his foot down. So this is going to be a thing!

A quest for pop culture!

I'm Jeremy, aka Wonderful Noise, and I have a confession to make. For 19 years I have lived on this earth and in all that time I have failed to absorb almost any modern contributions to culture. Movies, TV, literature, video games - you name it, I was somewhere else that day. I'm an athlete and tabletop gamer and those hobbies took up a lot of time; I wouldn't have passed them up for anything. For the first time in my life, however, I've got a real Internet connection for personal use, a media library at my disposal courtesy of my roommate ("Roomie"), and a lot of free time to kill. And when I say that, I mean it - I won't be going anywhere for a long while, so I need whatever I can get to entertain myself in the meantime.

The friendly chaps and... lady chaps... at RPGnet's forums have been rattling off a big list of media that I should look at, and this is the place where I will be putting my thoughts. I would post them right on the forums, but for fear of leaks (justified, according to Roomie) we figured that a setup with a sort of Chinese wall going on would work best. I'll still respond to whatever comments come to me pre-filtered by our media-savvy friend (hi Lacy! Thanks for helping!) who will pass along anything that doesn't contain plot details I shouldn't be privy to yet.

So yeah; welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy reading my reactions to things that you probably saw ages ago and which I am just now (finally!) catching up on!