What Are You Watching?

[Turalyon]

Again, haven't seen it, but with Stark's last two movie villains both being on the technological end of the spectrum, a fantastical element could have balanced things out.

Oh, the villain in the movie is fantastical alright just not in the mystical way expected. Besides, I've never seen Iron Man as nothing more than a fantastical take on technology anyways so it doesn't really matter to me what the villain utilises to fight him especially when the Mandarin's rings are just modified alien technology and not real magic like say the abilities of Marvel's Dr Strange. Even the movie adaptation of Thor has them explaining the fantastical abilities as being through advanced technology and not magic

I'd have preferred it to have actually had the guts to kill off Kirk, or the guts to kill off Khan, or let him escape, not bring back Kirk after what could have amounted to a moving death scene (WoK notwithstanding) and put Khan in cryo with the notion of "well, maybe we'll bring him back, maybe not, it just depends ya know?" Heck, I'd have preferred Cumberbatch to be an actual individual named John Harrison or heck, even Gary Mitchell, his death in the comics notwithstanding.

I agree with all of this. WoK's death scene had more of a gut-punch as it had a sense of finality to it and had the decency to make it stick for awhile up until the next movie reversed it whereas with Into Darkness it was used ultimately as nothing more than a gimmick for shameless call-back to WoK.

[Hawki]

So, adding to the list, got round to seeing Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. Giving it an "okay" rating. Some good moments (e.g. seeing Six's precursor form), some iffy moments (another pointless frakking scene...yay) and the realization that cylons must have a fetish for ice worlds considering the set-up is basically a mirror of the flashbacks from Razor.

Anyway:

especially when the Mandarin's rings are just modified alien technology and not real magic like say the abilities of Marvel's Dr Strange. Even the movie adaptation of Thor has them explaining the fantastical abilities as being through advanced technology and not magic.

Problem is, they're said to be introducing Doctor Strange to the MCU in Phase 3. So, are they going to make that really advanced tech too?

I'm not complaining per se, and I haven't seen that many MCU films in the first place, but when the MCU's gone to Asgard and back, and when the chitauri are basically Egyptians in space, I don't think anyone can say magic doesn't belong in it.

[Turalyon]

Problem is, they're said to be introducing Doctor Strange to the MCU in Phase 3. So, are they going to make that really advanced tech too?

Unlikely. Doctor Strange abilities are straight-up magic. It'll actually be ridiculous (and against what the character is all about) if they explained all his abilities as being a product of some technology or gadgets.

I'm not complaining per se, and I haven't seen that many MCU films in the first place, but when the MCU's gone to Asgard and back, and when the chitauri are basically Egyptians in space, I don't think anyone can say magic doesn't belong in it.

It seems that there's magic and there's magic. The current iteration of Thor has Asgard being an ultra advanced alien civilisation with technology that only looks like magic to the uninitiated but has limitations - your typical science-fantasy like Star Wars. A character like Dr Strange has the potential to have next to limitless power and do pretty much anything!

[Quirel]

Iron Man 3: Huh. Can't comment, but it's surprising to find people who aren't screaming "bloody murder" over the Mandarin plot twist.

Honestly, I thought that reveal was funny as hell. Though when Tony Stark was knocked out and the mook asked the actor if he told Stark anything, the actor suddenly got serious when he said "no". I half-expected them to pull off a double-twist, where the Mandarin really

Star Trek: Never thought I'd see anyone rate Wrath of Khan below Into Darkness, given that ID is basically "WoK lite." Or so goes the consensus, as I've only gone by reviews/retrospectives for WoK, the Abrams films being the only Star Trek films I've seen (unfortunately).[/QUOTE]
Let's just say this:
If WoK is the best Star Trek movie, then that puts the rest of them in a pretty sorry place.

At it's heart, it's an idiot plot.

Hidden Content:

Kahn captures the Reliant because the Reliant's crew is composed of idiots who can't tell that a planet in a charted system went kaboom hard enough to turn the next planet out into a desert wasteland. The Enterprise is damaged because Kirk and Spock are too stupid to follow Starfleet regulations, or to realize that a supposedly 'friendly' ship baring down on them and refusing all comms until the very last minute is a good reason to raise the gorram shields. Kahn didn't capture the Genesis Device until the Enterprise arrived, because he never bothered to scan the asteroid next door for biologicals... or ask Chekov where the scientists must have gone. The Genesis Device is captured because Kirk trusted two armed crewmen even though he knew that they had mind-control slugs in their heads. The Enterprise is able to save Kirk because Kahn's great and mighty genius can't see through one of the most transparent codes ever committed to celluloid. Finally, the Reliant is destroyed because Kahn's 'superior intellect' can't wrap itself around the concept that space is 3D... although the crew of the Enterprise is no better.

In short, Kahn Noonien Singh was a better villain in ST:ID because there was actually proof of his genius intellect. You could point to the Dreadnought or the torpedoes (That... um... had enough room in the fuel tanks for a lifepod?) and say "Khan designed that."

As for the parallels to WoK, I think that they made ST:ID a weaker movie. In the original, there was a good reason why Spock had to go in and fix the energy core. No human could survive the radiation long enough to finish the job, but a Vulcan could.
Kirk really had no reason to reactivate the warp core himself, instead of sending an underling to do it*. I guess one could argue that it was him taking responsibility at long last, but I dunno.

Other details? Completely upset that the Enterprise took thirty minutes to fall to Earth, rather than three days (Or just impacting on the moon instead). Loved the dialog, especially whatever came out of Scotty's mouth. Nearly threw up when I saw that Kirk had slept with two catgirls. Just... ugh.

*And seriously, kicking it into alignment? Have those writers never worked around heavy machinery?

The Hobbit: I'd call this "good" too. I kinda feel I'm being too generous with that assertion, but still, I found it enjoyable. Have to wonder about part 2 though...apparently Tauriel visited Hyrule before coming back to Mirkwood.

Which reminds me. Didn't Tolkien himself refer to the Eagles as the most dangerous device he introduced to Middle Earth, or somesuch?

As for Infinity...well, it's strange, but for better or worse, I think the cutscenes easily form a story of their own that the actual gameplay barely contributes to (or so goes word of mouth, only seen cutscenes).

Gameplay consists solely of shooting things and pressing buttons. Spartan Ops is fairly divorced from Halo: Infinity.

Still, I'd rate it as "okay." Plot's kinda "meh," Sarah "Eggheads" Palmer has cemented herself as one of the Haloverse's most dislikeable characters for me,

She's supposed to be the Halo equivalent to Commander Shepard, but is really Halo's own Kai Leng. Shoddily written, thinks too highly of herself, is a $%#*ing moron who brings the wrong weapon to the fight, and she's only successful Because The Author Said So.

but still, Thorne and Halsey are relatively interesting,

I suppose. Thorne never really grew on me, though.

Lasky's still a decent guy.

Who shouldn't be in charge of the Infinity. Del Rio never did anything to lose command, temper tantrum aside.

I'm not exactly clamouring for a season 2, but at the end of the day, I guess it's...okay. But 'less okay' than FuD, so take what you can get.

Meh. Don't think we'll be getting a second season. Spartan Assault is probably (I'll bet money on it. Any takers?) the lead-up to Halo 4, and the Forerunner McGuffin is what leads the Infinity to Requiem.

[Hawki]

If WoK is the best Star Trek movie, then that puts the rest of them in a pretty sorry place.

At it's heart, it's an idiot plot.

In short, Kahn Noonien Singh was a better villain in ST:ID because there was actually proof of his genius intellect. You could point to the Dreadnought or the torpedoes (That... um... had enough room in the fuel tanks for a lifepod?) and say "Khan designed that."

I'll have to take your word for it, but if those are the issues from WoK, then ID isn't free of them either. To paraphrase in the same manner,

Stage 1: Nero's incursion, makes Starfleet more militaristic (okay, I can roll with that, even though there was no ambiguity that Nero was from the future and the Romulus of today isn't a threat, even though Starfleet magically knows what romulans look and talk like despite the events of Balance of Terror not having happened yet).

Stage 2: Starfleet sends ships out, finds the Botany Bay (which should be in deep space, the same space that the Enterprise had already explored some of...or not...I think the comics kinda jumped the gun)

Stage 3: Marcus revives Khan who wants him to devise weapons of war, despite Khan being from the 20th century, and therefore being in no better a position for this than, say, someone who was actually from the 23rd century (and goes against Khan's comments on technology from Space Seed).

Stage 4: Khan designs the Vengeance, which is built in the "secret location" of Jupiter. You know, where Jupiter Station is, and has been for over a century unless it was decomissioned in the Abramsverse, and if so, why? And considering that Marcus has a model of the Vengeance on his desk, how secret is the ship meant to be?

Stage 5: Khan tries to smuggle out crew in torpedoes, fails. Subsequently enacts plan to eliminate admirals and co.

Stage 6: Khan teleports to Qo'noS, technology that should be available to Starfleet but isn't for...some reason I forget. You'd think that he could use his intellect to help the klingons get ahead in the arms race and get revenge another way, but this is Khan, and he only tries once.

Stage 7: The Enterprise warps into the Klingon system, and somehow remains undetected. Well, it's good to know that the mighty Klingon Empire has its homeworld undefended. Even after Bird of Prey-class starships end up being destroyed along with their crew.

Stage 8: The Vengeance arrives, ships engage in warp. Which, I'd like to add, not only looks not at all like warp travel, but doesn't even operate the same way as it has in canon before. Apparently Nero's incursion altered the setting's physics.

Stage 9: The ships arrive back in the Sol system which is bereft of other ships. At least the first movie had a reason why Earth was effectively defenceless when Nero showed up.

Stage 10: Khan's blood is used to revive Kirk, something that'll likely be forgotten about. And he can take numerous stun blasts whereas previously on the Vengeance, Kirk could stun him instantly (admittedly only for a few seconds).

Stage 11: The Enterprise embarks on its journey to go where no man has gone before. Which I thought it had in the comics already, but maybe there are other places to go? So, some TOS events occur in the comics, and some occur between films 2 and 3? Or has Abrams done a Ridley Scott on us?

So yeah. Despite all this, I still like ID and consider it "good," because for all the plot stuff, I'm willing to overlook them as they don't harm the story enough to destroy my enjoyment. But basically, if WoK has an "idiot plot," then the same logic should apply to ID.

Edit: http://io9.com/star-trek-into-darkne...-faq-508927844 does it better than me. And http://io9.com/how-iron-man-3-should...ight-510521109 to peave those who liked IM3.

And seriously, kicking it into alignment? Have those writers never worked around heavy machinery?

Probably not, but I can't blame them for that. Think of it as "frog blast the warp core" moment.

Which reminds me. Didn't Tolkien himself refer to the Eagles as the most dangerous device he introduced to Middle Earth, or somesuch?

If he had, I have no knowledge of it. There's an explanation of sorts why the eagles do what they do (or don't) but it doesn't explain The Hobbit. Me, I prefer to go by the more simple in-universe explanation that "Manwe's a dick."

Spartan Assault is probably (I'll bet money on it. Any takers?) the lead-up to Halo 4, and the Forerunner McGuffin is what leads the Infinity to Requiem.

I'll pass on the betting, but yeah, I'm guessing it's a lead-up of sorts.

[sandwich_bird]

Dungeons and Dragons as in the 80's show? I tried watching it again last year... it's pretty bad all around... To each their own I guess.

Stuff I watched lately:

Game of Thrones season 3(9/10): Good as always but a bit disappointing compared to the book. Also, I don't think I'll ever like Mance's actor... Who seriously imagined Mance Ryder as an old grandpa while reading the book?

Vampire Hunter D(7/10): The story felt rushed but the universe is semi-interesting and the visuals are great.

Ghost in the shell(7/10): The movie deals with some really intriguing themes but the ending leaves you with a bad after-taste; ''so that's it? Nothing else? Really?''.

Splice (6/10): I have a thing for anything biotechnology so I was really interested in this movie. It ended up being too much about boring psychology and dumb science and not enough about gene splicing.

The Hang Over part 3 (3/10): Well firstly I don't really like comedies and secondly I didn't watch part 1-2 so there was no way I'd enjoy this(I went for a girl...). I honestly didn't laugh a single time during the entire thing but that asian dude did manage to make me smile.

Through the Wormhole season 2 (8/10): Morgan Freeman talking about life, death, the universe... Some themes felt a bit too simplified but overall good stuff! Oh and Hans Zimmer made the soundtrack!

Iron Man 3 (7/10): Great visuals, love Stark but the story is as dumb as it gets.

[Hawki]

Dungeons and Dragons as in the 80's show? I tried watching it again last year... it's pretty bad all around... To each their own I guess.

Yeah, that's the one. It's 80's cheese, but it's the type of cheese I can enjoy. That, and I like to imagine the Dungeon Master is just projecting a games session in his mind, trolling the player characters.

Game of Thrones season 3(9/10): Good as always but a bit disappointing compared to the book. Also, I don't think I'll ever like Mance's actor... Who seriously imagined Mance Ryder as an old grandpa while reading the book?

I don't remember too many other things that could be considered "disapointments" - true, some things were diminished in size (e.g. the Red Wedding) or shortened (e.g. Dany's bargaining with Yunkai), but I still enjoyed it overall. That being said, I also found Mance Ryder disapointing. Not so much due to his appearence, but in part because due to how easily Jon convinces him he's on his side (similar to Dany and Yunkai, but only felt more adverse here). On the other hand, they absolutely nailed Oleanna's character IMO, and there's the usual extra characterization for some characters that I enjoy (e.g. Margeary).

Iron Man 3 (7/10): Great visuals, love Stark but the story is as dumb as it gets.

As in, just as silly as Iron Man 2?

[sandwich_bird]

I don't remember too many other things that could be considered "disapointments" - true, some things were diminished in size (e.g. the Red Wedding) or shortened (e.g. Dany's bargaining with Yunkai

This basically. Everything in the book just felt much larger. As another example: when Bran takes control of Hodor, it was a much bigger deal in the book. All those details combined made me grind my teeth a bit but not enough to match Stannis It also felt rushed a bit. But in the end, it was still highly enjoyable!

As in, just as silly as Iron Man 2?

Exactly. Silly is a better word. I don't expect anything serious out of any superhero movie but if you're gonna go silly, at least bring the epicness along. Sadly, this movie was more about ''omg I saw aliens'' and less about ''robots, lasers, explosions''.

[Quirel]

I'll have to take your word for it, but if those are the issues from WoK, then ID isn't free of them either.

Naturally. When the Enterprise fell from Lunar-synchronous orbit to the Earth in the span of a few minutes, I felt the burning urge to hunt down J.J. Abrams and beat him to death with a physics textbook while screaming Keplar's Laws of Planetary Motion.

It happens about once a Star Trek movie, so far. >.>

Stage 1: Nero's incursion, makes Starfleet more militaristic (okay, I can roll with that, even though there was no ambiguity that Nero was from the future and the Romulus of today isn't a threat, even though Starfleet magically knows what romulans look and talk like despite the events of Balance of Terror not having happened yet).

Stage 2: Starfleet sends ships out, finds the Botany Bay (which should be in deep space, the same space that the Enterprise had already explored some of...or not...I think the comics kinda jumped the gun)

Stage 3: Marcus revives Khan who wants him to devise weapons of war, despite Khan being from the 20th century, and therefore being in no better a position for this than, say, someone who was actually from the 23rd century (and goes against Khan's comments on technology from Space Seed).

The problem here is that I haven't seen the first Reboot movie (I.E: the eleventh movie. Or twelfth, depending on how you count them (that last one requires you to count Galaxy Quest as an honorary Star Trek movie)) and I don't have the strongest grasp of Star Trek canon, so canon flubs and discontinuities between the movies aren't as noticeable to me.

I guess I could say that Into Darkness was mostly internally consistent, as were the choices the characters made. That really cannot be said for Wrath of Khan, as it relies on the audience's love for the characters to excuse some of the dumber aspects.

As for Khan's statements about technology... I got nothing. Cynically, I would suggest that he came from an era where people weren't so complacent, so his more brutal approach to war, fighting, and security offered valuable insight to Starfleet. At the very least, I suspect that he was behind safety features like seatbelts. =D

Stage 4: Khan designs the Vengeance, which is built in the "secret location" of Jupiter. You know, where Jupiter Station is, and has been for over a century unless it was decomissioned in the Abramsverse, and if so, why? And considering that Marcus has a model of the Vengeance on his desk, how secret is the ship meant to be?

-Jovian Orbit is still a large space to hide a small shipyard. In any case, "secret location" could mean that what goes on there is secret (probably not) or that the fact that it is a Starfleet drydock is secret (more likely).
-Perhaps the secret is that... *ahem* "I'm afraid that this dreadnought is completely operational."
I didn't notice the Dreadnought when I saw the movie, and my brother had to point it out to me. It works as a sort of foreshadowing, but it also doesn't work because it doesn't make sense within the movie. Definitely a dumb inclusion.

Stage 5: Khan tries to smuggle out crew in torpedoes, fails. Subsequently enacts plan to eliminate admirals and co.

Stage 6: Khan teleports to Qo'noS, technology that should be available to Starfleet but isn't for...some reason I forget. You'd think that he could use his intellect to help the klingons get ahead in the arms race and get revenge another way, but this is Khan, and he only tries once.

And here, we run into one of the grand traditions of Star Trek. You can guarantee that a nifty new trick like rerouting power through the main deflector dish will be completely forgotten by the next episode.

In all seriousness, I thought that the Transwarp teleporter was crap when I first saw it. Congratulations, Abrams, Star Trek already had problems with the teleporter conking out at the first sign of static in order to prevent it from being an "I win" button. Now you've got an even bigger DEM that'll only work when the plot demands it.

That no characters suggested using the super-teleporter to beam torpedoes onto Khan's position is mind-boggling.

Stage 7: The Enterprise warps into the Klingon system, and somehow remains undetected. Well, it's good to know that the mighty Klingon Empire has its homeworld undefended. Even after Bird of Prey-class starships end up being destroyed along with their crew.

If it's any consolation, Earth's defenses are even spottier. Wait, they were better in the previous movie? Well, that's crap. >.<

Stage 8: The Vengeance arrives, ships engage in warp. Which, I'd like to add, not only looks not at all like warp travel, but doesn't even operate the same way as it has in canon before. Apparently Nero's incursion altered the setting's physics.

So, I'm guessing that Kronos isn't five minutes of warp travel from Earth.

Stage 10: Khan's blood is used to revive Kirk, something that'll likely be forgotten about. And he can take numerous stun blasts whereas previously on the Vengeance, Kirk could stun him instantly (admittedly only for a few seconds).

-In true Star Trek tradition!
-I noticed that, and chalked it up to a Borg-like ability to adapt to whatever he's attacked by. Overall, I think that the final fight scene with Khan was a massive departure from what Star Trek ought to be about.

Anyhow, about Khan's biology... shouldn't some of that be available knowledge in the Star Trek universe? If the gene augments occurred in the past, shouldn't the project that created them and/or the research that led up to them be available to McCoy? Or were the Eugenics Wars chaotic enough for information about people like Khan to be lost?

Stage 11: The Enterprise embarks on its journey to go where no man has gone before. Which I thought it had in the comics already, but maybe there are other places to go? So, some TOS events occur in the comics, and some occur between films 2 and 3? Or has Abrams done a Ridley Scott on us?

In the beginning of Into Darkness, the Enterprise was already on a short exploration mission, which culminated in the use of the Cryo Bomb Cold Fusion Device.* So, I would guess that some TOS events do occur between films 1 and 2.

*Having just started reading a book about the Cold Fusion hoax, the above was frankly hilarious.

Edit: http://io9.com/star-trek-into-darkne...-faq-508927844 does it better than me. And http://io9.com/how-iron-man-3-should...ight-510521109 to peave those who liked IM3.

Will read those...

Probably not, but I can't blame them for that. Think of it as "frog blast the warp core" moment.

"Kirk, Kirk... you didn't even bring a winch? Or a toolbox? What the Hell, man?"

As in, just as silly as Iron Man 2?

Oh, Hell no.

Honestly, I thought that Iron Man 3 was pretty good, probably the best of the three. After each superhero movie, I usually compose a very long Evil Overlord list summing up what the villains did wrong. This time around, I have only three bullet points:

-In the event that I have to assault a beach house on a cliff overlooking the ocean, my improvised gunships will be carrying depth charges in addition to miniguns and rockets.
-I realize that my augmented supersoldiers are nigh immune to damage, and are unstoppable in hand to hand combat. That said, it can't hurt to teach them small-unit tactics and equip them with assault rifles and anti-tank guns.
-Should I lose my mind and keep a prisoner inside an Iron Man suit, even if I am sure that he won't be able to use it, the power source will be torn out and all ports inside will be burned.

[Hawki]

I would suggest that he came from an era where people weren't so complacent, so his more brutal approach to war, fighting, and security offered valuable insight to Starfleet. At the very least, I suspect that he was behind safety features like seatbelts. =D

Maybe, but Starfleet has still fought wars (of sorts) before Khan's arrival, such as the xindi and the Romulan War. And if Nero's incursion is the spark to make Starfleet more militaristic, then they're already on a path for Khan to help them along, rather than Khan's presence himself changing everything.

But yes, seatbelts. They got my attention. And it goes to show that we poor 21st century primitives have got nothing on safety - why buckle your own seatbelts when the seatbelts can do it for you?

That no characters suggested using the super-teleporter to beam torpedoes onto Khan's position is mind-boggling.

That's a really good point. In fact, come to think of it, if the Federation's worried about war with the klingons, why doesn't it just present its deterrent that they can strike the Empire anywhere, anytime with this technology?

So, I'm guessing that Kronos isn't five minutes of warp travel from Earth.

Oh, it's known to be within a reasonable travel time/distance, even with 22nd century warp tech. The only issue (and I only call it an issue for the sake of nitpicking) is that the visual effects for warp travel are nothing like past installments, and given how ships can be 'knocked out of warp' (or something), arguably not matching up with the physics. But under usual circumstances, I'd let that go. New movies, new cinema technology, new director. It's the type of change that can be expected in a sense.

If it's any consolation, Earth's defenses are even spottier. Wait, they were better in the previous movie? Well, that's crap. >.<

Eh, I can sort of get away with the lack of starships in Sol in that a) Starfleet is still interested in exploration at this point and would likely have a lower amount of ships stationed in their home system, and b) the time between the ships' arrival and their descent is much shorter than the Enterprise is within the Klingon system. Not to mention that I assume someone within the Empire would be trying to find out how it lost its warships, and would be pulling out all the stops.

But of course, if Starfleet has a ready fleet at Earth in movie 11, it's still a question as to why it isn't here now. Answer? Because the plot says so.

Anyhow, about Khan's biology... shouldn't some of that be available knowledge in the Star Trek universe? If the gene augments occurred in the past, shouldn't the project that created them and/or the research that led up to them be available to McCoy? Or were the Eugenics Wars chaotic enough for information about people like Khan to be lost?

The knowledge is still there to an extent (key word being "extent,"), but it's effectively banned in the 22nd and 23rd centuries, and with only limited research allowed in the 24th century. Most of it's due to fear, but also concerns of fairness, the idea that people would try to improve themselves for their own reasons, thus sparking inequity, thus sparking resentment, thus sparking a return to the Eugenics Wars. Or something akin to that - it's something that Deep Space Nine explored, but it's a series I haven't seen enough of to comment on in terms of firsthand experience, and there's a lot of TV and movie Star Trek material I've yet to see. Basically, the Federation's policy is that it's fine to use genetic engineering to cure ailments, but not to improve the human genome for improvement's sake.