Friday, February 24, 2023

Women Directors - 52 Week Challenge - All the Beauty and The Bloodshed

After the Oscars again neglected to nominate a woman director for the films of 2022, I decided in 2023 I would watch one feature length film that I had never seen before directed by a woman for each week of the year, 52 films.

This is the fifth of the 52.

Here is the first post

The second is here

The third is here

The fourth is here


All the Beauty and the Bloodshed - directed by Laura Poitras


Not only nominated for Best Documentary for the Oscars, I will be shocked if it doesn't win, because

Wow. Just wow.

This film absolutely blew me away.

Undeniably by far the best documentary I have ever seen in my entire life.

This will probably be streaming on HBOMAX soon, but really if this is showing in theaters anywhere around you do yourself a favor and go see it.

There is a lot of graphic nudity and language and serious subject matter, but it is an amazing film that is necessary for our time.

The life of Nan Goldin, who is an award winning and famous photographer, whose photographs are in art museums around the world, is far more incredible than I ever could have imagined, and when I went to see this movie, I was not expecting to learn about her whole life story.

Going in, I thought this movie was about the fight against the Sackler family and the fight for justice for victims of Opioid addiction. 

And it is, but it is so much more than that.

The way that Poitras weaves Goldin's fight against the Sacklers and for justice in the fight against Opioids alongside Goldin's entire life story is nothing short of masterful.

While you can start to see the threads tying together early on, the way it all ties together at the very end is still breathtaking.

The way that Nan Goldin's entire life set her up to be uniquely positioned to lead this fight, to be a voice against injustice, and to take a stand even if it could cost her everything she had worked her entire life to gain requires you to understand Nan Goldin's entire life, and Poitras takes us through that life by giving us Goldin's voice and her incredible photographs as she guides us through an amazing woman's journey for justice in everything she ever did.

Seriously one of the best movies of 2022 and by far the best documentary ever made.



Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Women Directors - 52 Week Challenge - Women Talking

After the Oscars again neglected to nominate a woman director for the films of 2022, I decided in 2023 I would watch one feature length film that I had never seen before directed by a woman for each week of the year, 52 films.

This is the fourth.

You can find the first here

The 2nd here 

the 3rd here 

Women Talking - directed by Sarah Polley


Despite getting a Best Picture nomination, Sarah Polley doesn't get a Best Director nomination.


Ironically, for a film that takes place mostly in one location, this feels less like a play than many of the films that are based on plays have in the last few years.


I give full credit to Polley's direction for that.


I never once felt claustrophobic in the barn set where most of the film took place. Any claustrophobia I felt was only due, as intended, to the atmospheric trauma that the women had experienced from the men of the group of which they were supposed to be an equal part.


I wasn't a fan of the voice over narration, but that's a stylistic choice that I've never been fond of and I realize is mostly personal bias, but the camera work and the way tension was held through what was mainly just one long discussion is masterful work.


It was a powerful and emotional film with some incredible performances.

Thursday, February 2, 2023

Women Directors - 52 Week Challenge - Aftersun

After the Oscars again neglected to nominate a woman director for the films of 2022, I decided in 2023 I would watch one feature length film that I had never seen before directed by a woman for each week of the year, 52 films.

This is the third 

- for the first check here

- for the second check here


Aftersun - directed by Charlotte Wells



A father and daughter go on a fun vacation together, what could be more heartwarming than that?

Not this movie!

Warning, do not watch without tissues.

A movie about memory, adolescence, depression and life in general - this movie is EMOTIONAL.

It will make you laugh, cry, get really angry, get really sad, and at points get pretty confused until the powerful ending.

While Paul Mescal gets the nomination for Best Actor, it is Frankie Corio as Sophie that steals every moment she is on screen. She is amazing in this, and drives this movie without a doubt.


Wednesday, February 1, 2023

Women Directors - 52 Week Challenge - Fire of Love

After the Oscars again neglected to nominate a woman director for the films of 2022, I decided in 2023 I would watch one feature length film that I had never seen before directed by a woman for each week of the year, 52 films.

This is the 2nd - for the first check here.


Fire of Love - directed by Sara Dosa

Fire of Love, again, an Oscar Nominee, this one for Best Documentary, is a love story, a science documentary on volcanos, and a tragedy all wrapped into one.

You can find this movie streaming on Disney+.

Two budding volcanologists meet (the how is literally the stuff of myth and legend), fall in love, and help define the very field in which they work, literally saving lives in the process only to lose their own in the very process (don't worry, they tell you that at the very beginning of the movie, so I didn't spoil anything).

It is a fascinating look at the incredible work that these two did in making volcanos more understandable to us, the dreams that they had that we haven't quite accomplished yet, the lives that they lived, the incredible love that they shared, and the tragic end that happened way sooner than it should have.

It is a beautiful film, lovingly put together by Dosa on film and photographs that the couple themselves often shot.

Just a great piece of filmmaking that will not doubt be the basis of a narrative film sooner rather than later.

A great film if you are interested in science or love stories.

Two films down, fifty to go.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Women Directors - 52 Week Challenge Week 1: Causeway






In 2023, I decided I wanted to watch at least 52 films directed by women, one for each week of the year, so I will chronicle that journey here.  I might not actually watch them week by week, but I pledge to watch at least 52 feature length films directed by women that I have never seen before.

I started just after the Oscar nominations were announced (which was in part the inspiration, since again, no women were nominated, despite in my opinion, the best directed film of the year, The Woman King, being directed by a woman. Of course, it somehow got zero nominations despite also having the greatest performance of the year as well, Viola Davis.)


Anyway on to movie one:


Causeway - directed by Lila Neugebauer

Week one will start a theme through the first few weeks, me catching up on films nominated for Oscars that I hadn't seen yet, it was a movie from AppleTV+ starring Jennifer Lawrence as an independent contractor that had gone overseas with the military and had been injured by an IED. The film is about her recovery from injury as well as her attempt at overcoming her PTSD.


It is a character study more than anything else, and as she is in everything, Jennifer Lawrence is very, very good.


Bryan Tyree Henry, probably best known for his role as the rapper Paper Boi in the tv show Atlanta is also incredible as her unlikely friend and perhaps confidant, receiving an Oscar nod for his role.


Neugebauer does a great job allowing the two characters to each develop through the story as we slowly learn the tragedies in each of their lives.


It definitely wasn't my favorite of the 2022 films that I saw, but it was well directed, and incredibly well acted, which is not just a testament to the actors, but a testament to the director as well, and so it was a good beginning to my commitment to watch 52 films directed by women in 2023.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

The Fifteen Quantum Leap Episodes You Need to Watch from the Original Series Before the New Series

 


NBC has brought back Quantum Leap, but it isn't exactly a reboot, it is more of a sequel series.


Of course, it is hard to watch all 97 episodes of the original if you want to bone up on what happened on the original before you watch the new show, so we hear at Fat Train went ahead and did it for you and pulled out the 15 episodes that matter the most.


These are the 15 episodes that cover the mythology of Quantum Leap that the new show is most likely going to cover, including some of the characters that have already shown up in the new series, as well as most of the big moments of Sam's and Al's life that the original show covered.


SEASON 1: EPISODES 1 and 2

GENESIS



The first two episodes of the series introduce the plot, the characters, the "Swiss Cheese Brain," and Sam has to help break a speed record in an experimental air plane... even though he can't fly a plane!


SEASON 2: EPISODE 1

HONEYMOON EXPRESS




The season two premiere finds Sam as one half of a honeymooning couple, which makes him very uncomfortable as he tries to avoid consummating a marriage that he isn't actually a part of while also trying to keep his new bride safe, while back in the future Al tries to keep the Quantum Leap project from being shut down.


SEASON 2: EPISODE 8

JIMMY




An episode that might not seem important yet, but many of the characters in this episode will come back in a very important episode in a later season.  In this episode, Sam leaps into a person with Down Syndrome and has to help him get a job.


SEASON 2: EPISODE 22

M.I.A.


Sam leaps into an undercover cop whose partner is in trouble, but Al is more worried about a woman whose husband is missing in action.


SEASON 3: EPISODES 1&2

THE LEAP HOME



Sam leaps back home to Indiana into himself to win a big basketball game, but instead tries to keep his big brother from dying in Vietnam.

He then leaps into his brothers unit in Vietnam.  Incidentally, the person he leaps into in Vietnam is a character in the new series.


SEASON 3: EPISODE 5

THE BOOGIEMAN



The theory is that whoever or whatever is leaping Sam throughout time might be God.  Well, this episode gives us the first instance that there is another force not so happy with the changes for good that Sam is making in time.  When Sam leaps, it is always blue.  The evil Al that leaps away in this episode and the evil leapers (they pick this thread back up in season five) in later episodes leap away in red.  I look forward to seeing if the new series will pick this thread up as well.


SEASON 3: EPISODE 13

FUTURE BOY



A great episode on forward thinkers that are way ahead of their time, that also shows us exactly where Sam got his idea for the project.


SEASON 3: EPISODE 22

SHOCK THEATER



Sam relives him various leaps after a vindictive orderly mistreats the patient that he leaps into in a mental institution.


SEASON 4: EPISODE 1

THE LEAP BACK



The events of the last episode cause Al to leap instead and Sam finally gets back home.


SEASON 5: EPISODE 7

DELIVER US FROM EVIL



Sam leaps back into a familiar face, but something has gone terribly wrong and things keep getting worse no matter what he does.


SEASON 5: EPISODE 16

RETURN OF THE EVIL LEAPER




Sam leaps into a college student determined to save the innocent as a masked crusader, but he isn't the only leaper there, and the other leaper is as determined to do evil as Sam and the person he leaped into are to do good.


SEASON 5: EPISODE 17

REVENGE OF THE EVIL LEAPER



Sam and Alia jump together, but whose jump is it, and what are they there to do, and who will find them first, Zoey or Al?


SEASON 5: EPISODE 22

MIRROR IMAGE




Since the first time since Sam began leaping, the image in the mirror looking back at him is his present day image, and by the time this leap is over, Sam will have a decision to make.



Watch these fifteen episodes, and you'll be fully caught up and ready for the new show!


Enjoy!  Here's hoping that any time travel experiments you might find yourself in don't go a little caca!


OH BOY...


SEE YOU SOMEWHERE WITHIN YOUR OWN LIFETIME!!!!

Thursday, April 25, 2019

The Huge and Awful Mistake in Avengers: Endgame that Kind of Ruined the Movie for Me

First of all, hello!  It's been for-e-v-e-r since I've been on here.

Life and all, you know.

Glad to see this thing still works.

Second of all...


SPOILERS!!!!!!!

And we want to be careful about these things...

After all, we have been rather pointedly asked by the Russo brothers not to spoil the film...



So, in that vein...

SERIOUSLY!!!!  IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ENGAME YET AND YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, MOVE ALONG!

This post will still be here after you've seen the movie.

So, go away, see the film, then come back and bask in my nerd rage.

Okay.  Hopefully only people who have seen the film or the strange people who don't mind being spoiled (I'm told they exist) are still with us at this point.

To begin, I'm kind of amazed I didn't write a massive nerd rage post about Man of Steel when it came out.  The anger I'm feeling tonight after Endgame reminds me of how I felt after I saw Man of Steel.  I hate when a character I love is completely and utterly against type in their movies.  As Superman was by killing Zod in Man of Steel (hopefully that didn't also need spoiler warnings, its been 6 years), and as Captain America, Steve Rogers is at the end of this film.

Allright, lets get to it (again... there be SPOILERS AHEAD!)

So, the film makes a bold move by deciding to keep the last five years as a reality - hard for all of those who were snapped, they are back, which is great, but five years younger than everyone who didn't get snapped? That's kind of messed up - and its half of the population dealing with that.
Why was this decision made? Because Tony felt that it would be impossible for him to give up the life he'd built in those five years. Presumably there are many other people who feel the same way. They had moved on, built something important for themselves in that five years. It was worth holding on to.
Tony, of course, being the only one left who could solve the time machine issue was in a unique position where he got to make that sort of decision, but it shows the importance of making that decision for yourself. Is it worth having part of your life erased or changed?
What Steve does at the end of the movie is that writ large. He changes Peggy's life. And he does it without her consent. There is no way Peggy back in 1945 can know what her life will be like with Steve gone. Of course that Peggy would be overjoyed to have him return.
But Steve knows that Peggy built an amazing life after he was gone. She tells him. Her niece Sharon tells him. He sees pictures of her freaking children that she had with another man.


And then he takes all of that away from her without her leave.
What really upsets me is that the movie acknowledges Agent Carter the series by having Jarvis from that show in the movie as Jarvis. The first and only time, by the way, that a Marvel tv series character has appeared in the movies. Plenty of the movie characters have appeared in the shows, but a character from the shows, and only from the shows, had never made an appearance in the movies until this moment when Jarvis makes his appearance with Howard Stark.
Then the movie erases every moment of Agent Carter from existence. Because none of that show happens if Steve is back. The events of that television series only exist with Steve believed dead. Peggy only becomes all the amazing and incredibly things that Peggy becomes by dealing with Steve being gone and recognizing and acting on the fact that she is every bit the hero Steve is/was.
She meets the love of her life after she gets over Steve. She has a family, including children.
She literally tells Steve that she is proud of and regrets none of her life during the scene from the picture above.  She tells him her only regret is that she wishes he could have had a life too, which as the Avengers movies go on, he is in the process of building.  But that doesn't excuse him for taking her life away from her.  Especially if she is unable to decide if that's what she wants or not.  And only old Peggy could make that decision.  And it seems pretty clear from the scene above, she wouldn't change a damn thing about her life.  Because it, like she herself, was freaking incredible
But none of that matters to Steve apparently, because he takes it all away from her without her able to make an informed decision about it. She is unable to give her consent.
That's an act that Steve Rogers would never commit. It is an incredibly selfish move.  An un-Captian America like move.  It represents a complete misunderstanding and betrayal of who the character is.
And I can't believe they had this movie end on that note.

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised not to see more people upset about this, because I immediately was angered by it.  And as I set through the end credits, I got more and more angry at this betrayal of Peggy, and this completely selfish and evil act by Steve.  I did however find someone who was worried this very thing might take place.  So, at least I know I'm not alone in my rage.

What do you think?  Agree/disagree/think I'm kind of right, but you're so happy for Steve and Peggy to end up together you don't care?  Let me know in the comments.

Josh Man

Thursday, May 14, 2015

DC Starting to Come Together on the TV Side

Next season will see two new DC shows on network television with the Arrow/Flash spinoff Legends of Tomorrow (yes, yes, terrible title) on CW and Supergirl on CBS all from the same production teams.  I find myself far more excited for the DC side of things on television than I do for the films that follow the terrible Man of Steel and will continue with the horribly dry and dreary looking Batman v Superman.

I have some problems with Arrow (which we'll get to in a moment), but let's start with the positive -

Let's start with Supergirl.

CBS gave an over six minute look at the upcoming show during upfronts, and I have to admit, it has me excited.



I have to say this appears to be the best live-action portrayal of a Super-family member we've had since Christopher Reeves.  It's only six minutes, but they seem to get who Kara is and who the El family is much better than Zach Snyder.  Count me in for this!

Being from the same producers, there are rumors that Supergirl could crossover with Arrow/Flash/Legends.  And while they are on different networks, CBS owns a stake in CW.  This, of course, means that Superman is a part of the Arrow/Flash universe!  And that's awesome.


You know who else is a part of that universe?


Green Lantern.  As in the Hal Jordan Green Lantern!  In the latest episode of The Flash, Barry used an abandoned Ferris Air for a covert operation.  Captain Cold questioned Barry, "I thought they closed this place down."

Barry answered, "They did.  One of their test pilots disappeared."


Those who know their Green Lantern lore know that the pilot that disappeared could be none other than Hal Jordan who found a dead Green Lantern and was given his ring, which took him deep into space to Oa where he would learn to wield the power of the Green Lantern Ring and master his will.

It was such a blatant reference, I would be shocked if Hal Jordan/Green Lantern doesn't make an appearance next season.

After all, in the comics, Hal is best friends with Oliver Queen and Barry Allen (otherwise known as Green Arrow and Flash).


Some people are also postulating that John Diggle on Arrow might become a Green Lantern as well (and honestly he would make a great one), and there are some striking similarities between Diggle and John Stewart (who is a Green Lantern in the comics).

That would be awesome, but I am skeptical of that theory.  Mainly because it would be too smart a move, and let's be honest here, Arrow doesn't seem to make too many of those.

Let's get to the negative part of this post, before we close it up with some positiveness.  Spoilers for this season of Arrow will follow.

Arrow has been awful this season.  Throughout the show's run, there have been some questionable writing decisions.  Laurel is one of the worst characters in television history, but the fact that she has never been consistent (or perhaps has been consistently inconsistent) seems to have moved to all of the other characters this season.

This season has typified one of the worst sins that storytellers can make: forsaking character in order to facilitate story.

Oliver and his friends constantly do things that make no sense for their character in order for the story to work.

The most recent example is of course Oliver not telling his friends anything about his plan to work with Ra's al Ghul in order to ultimately take him down.  (And the fact that Oliver kills him undoes all of the legitimate character work that they had done over the last three seasons teaching Oliver that killing is never the answer, unless, I guess, it is).  The least they could have done was have Oliver leave them out of the loop since they left Oliver out of the loop on the whole Roy Harper isn't really dead thing while they were planning on faking his death.  Of course, that made even less sense, since not knowing the plan made it almost impossible for Ollie not to go off and attempt a rescue himself, which would have ruined everything.  And it made zero sense that Oliver held off not trying to rescue Roy, except that of course the story needed him not to.

By not telling each other of their plans, however (Ollie not telling the team about his Ra's plan and Team Arrow not telling Ollie about the Roy Harper plan), the writers were able to keep the viewers in the dark.  Look! Drama!  Because they wanted to keep the viewers in the dark, it required the characters doing things that the characters as they have been set up over the last three years that they would never do.

Look, you can have characters act contrary to the way they normally would.  You just have to have a good reason for it, a good in story/character reason for it.  Your reason can't be "because the story requires them to act like this."

This season did a fantastic job of selling me on the fact that Felicity and Ray Palmer (who despite the fact that up to this point his ATOM suit is very much a cheap Iron Man rip-off, but that's for another post) have fantastic chemistry and work together as a couple.

Previously the show has done a great job of selling me on Felicity's crush on Oliver, but has never once made me think that Oliver feels anything whatsoever romantic towards Felicity.  But then, out of nowhere, this season, Oliver admits to feelings for Felicity.  I never once bought it, and it completely weakened the ending of the season.  Arrow didn't earn Oliver and Felicity together.  At all.  All it did was make me wonder how the hell Ray took it so in stride when Felicity left him for Oliver (who everyone happened to think very well might be evil at the time, I might add, making the whole thing make even less sense!).

I'm glad Ray is leaving for a new show next season.  He deserves better than the Arrow writers have given him thus far.

The plus side, of course, is that The Flash has been pretty terrific throughout its freshman season.  Even better than Arrow was when it started (and remember, Arrow finished second to Elementary its first year in the Josh's Choice For Best New Show of the Season Award).

And, perhaps there is some hope that some of the awful mistakes Arrow has made can be somewhat fixed by the events of The Flash's finale next Tuesday (May 19).

Barry has plans to go back in time to stop the murder of his mother.

This was the plot of Flashpoint in the comics which rebooted the DC universe.  While, I've no doubt that Barry will ultimately fix the timeline from the huge change preventing his mother's murder will probably cause, there will be a chance to keep a few things changed.

Namely, I suspect that Sara Lance (the Canary we deserved on Arrow instead of the terrible Laurel) will no longer be dead (since it was announced today that the character Caity Lotz who played Canary will be playing on Legends of Tommorow is in fact Sara Lance) and that Oliver Queen will be cleared to return to action as Green Arrow (and maybe taking the actual name instead of just The Arrow).

Until Next Time, perhaps it will retcon this entire season of Arrow and we can all pretend it never happened.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

The Top Ten NuWho Episodes in Honor of the Tenth Aniversary

Ten years ago today, Doctor Who regenerated (see what I did there) onto our screens with Rose.  Since, four (five if you count the War Doctor) different actors have joined the eight that graced our screens previous to the reboot as one of the greatest characters of all time.

In honor of the 10 year anniversary, what are the 10 best stories since Doctor Who returned?



Everyone will have their own choices for this, of course, but here are mine!  Feel free to tell me where you agree and where you disagree in the comments!



10. ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS (Series 7 Episode 1, Story 226, written by Steven Moffat)

I was torn with what episode would go here.  Also in the running were (in chronological, not necessarily preferential order) DALEK (from series 1), HUMAN NATURE/FAMILY OF BLOOD (from series 3), MIDNIGHT (from series 4), THE STOLEN EARTH/JOURNEY'S END (from series 4), THE ELEVENTH HOUR (from series 5), and THE IMPOSSIBLE ASTRONAUT/DAY OF THE MOON (from series 6).  Any of those would definitely be in the discussing for deserving a spot, but I ultimately went with the season opener from series 7.

We knew this would be the last season for a pair of longstanding and awesome companions, Amy and Rory, and we knew that midway through the season we would get Jenna Coleman as new companion, Clara.  Therefore, it was quite a shock when Jenna Coleman showed up in this episode!  Not only that, but it was awesome to see Daleks from all eras of Doctor Who.  A great opening to a season that wasn't one of the strongest for the show (by the way, the two strongest seasons of NuWho in my opinion are series 8 and series 4).

9.  VINCENT AND THE DOCTOR (Series 5 Episode 10, Story 210, written by Ricard Curtis)

One of the most heart warming and wrenching episodes of all of Doctor Who.  The Doctor and Amy meet Vincent Van Gogh.  One of only three episodes on this list not written by Steven Moffat, this episode was written by Richard Curtis, the only episode of Doctor Who he has written.  He has written a ton of British comedic episodes, including many episodes of Blackadder, Mr. Bean, and The Vicar of Dibley.  He is also the screenwriter of some very well regarded films, including Love, Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral, and War Horse.  His one foray into Doctor Who is as iconic as anything else that he has done.

8.  TURN LEFT (Series 4 Episode 11, Story 197, written by Russell T. Davies)


The second of the three episodes on this list not written by Steven Moffat, TURN LEFT was written by Russell T. Davies who we have to thank for the return of Doctor Who.  This is an episode that looks at the world that might have been had Donna not met the Doctor.  It also expertly sets up the end of the series and, sadly, the end of Donna's run as one of the best companions the Doctor has ever had.

7.  SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY/FOREST OF THE DEAD (Series 4 Episodes 8-9, Story 195, written by Steven Moffat)


Steven Moffat has done a lot of great things for Doctor Who, but his greatest accomplishment might be introducing two of the greatest characters in the Doctor Who universe.  One of those he introduced in this creepy two part story in the middle of series 4, River Song.  While some people complain about the resolution to the mystery of River Song, there is no denying that the character and the mystery surrounding her captivated viewers.  It was fascinating to see a character from the Doctor's future, one who knew him intimately, but the Doctor, like those of us watching the episode, was meeting her for the first time.

6.  THE EMPTY CHILD/THE DOCTOR DANCES (Series 1 Episodes 9-10, Story 164, written by Steven Moffat)

Unquestionably one of the scariest episodes in Doctor Who history (I would add a couple that are further along in this list as well as Midnight, which just missed the list to the scariest episodes in NuWho history), it also has one of the best conclusions of any storyline.  More importantly, however, is the fact that this story introduces the second of the characters I mentioned during the last story.


This is the story that introduces viewers to Captain Jack Harkness, who would go on to get his own fantastic spinoff, Torchwood.

Also, somehow, Captain Jack is currently in Starling City pretending to be called Malcolm Merlyn (See: Arrow).  That would explain the mystery of how he came back to life, at least.


5.  THE GIRL IN THE FIREPLACE (Series 2 Episode 4, Story 171, written by Steven Moffat)


An episode that beautifully captures the effect the Doctor can have on a person's entire life.  Coming in and out at various times throughout the entirety of the life of Madame du Pompadour (who in real life, share's my birthday, making this a yearly watch for me on my birthday), the Doctor has a profound influence on someone who herself had a profound influence on an entire country.  This is also a perfect episode to introduce someone to how great this show can be (although the one I usually use is still to come on this list).

4.  LISTEN (Series 8 Episode 4, Story 245, written by Steven Moffat)

This is another of the scariest episodes in the show's history.  An outstanding look on the idea of fear itself, LISTEN also manages to tie in some to the overall mythology of the show itself and give viewers an inkling into why the Doctor has spent all that time traveling throughout time and space.  This was also the episode where I got super excited about Peter Capaldi's take on the titular Time Lord.


3.  BLINK (Series 3 Episode 10, Story 186, written by Steven Moffat)


Besides being the first big role for Carey Mulligan who since starred as Daisy in the recent Great Gatsby remake, this is the episode of NuWho that I most often use to show new viewers how great this show can be.  The tensions of the Weeping Angels, one of the scariest monsters in the history of the show, the complexity of the plot, and the perfect explanation of the "timey-wimey" nature of the show of which this episode is just a part make this not only one of the best episodes/stories of NuWho, but one of the best in the entire 50 + year history of the show!

2.  THE DOCTOR'S WIFE (Series 6 Episode 4, Story 216, written by Neil Gaiman)

An episode that delved into the longest running companion of the entirety of the show, the TARDIS herself.  Sci-Fi genius Neil Gaiman (of American Gods, Neverwhere, Stardust, Coraline, Sandman, and much, much more fame) made this the first Doctor Who episode he had ever written, despite being a life long fan of the series.  Of course, there is some history of famous Sci-Fi writers working for the show (see Douglas Adams, he of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy fame).  Gaiman's episode brought back the TARDIS corridors to NuWho, which often made an appearance in Classic Who, and personified the TARDIS herself, leading to some great moments that fans didn't know they needed until they actually happened.

1.  THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR (50th Anniversary Special, Story 240, written by Steven Moffat)

50 years to the day after the show first aired, this special premiered as the largest world-wide simulcast of all time to that point.  Getting back to the heart of who the Doctor really is, this special fixed one of my main problems with NuWho, had a ton of nice Easter Eggs for fans of pre-2005 Doctor Who, and showed exactly how great a meeting of David Tennant's 10th Doctor and Matt Smith's 11th Doctor would be (spoiler alert: exactly as awesome, perhaps even more awesome, as you imagined).  This might be my all-time favorite story in the totality of Doctor Who.  It doesn't hurt (no pun intended) to add such a great actor into the time between the Doctor Who TV Movie featuring the 8th Doctor and the resurgence of Doctor Who that occurred exactly ten years ago today.  Furthermore, this special tied the new series inextricably to the classic series, proving once and for all that the show, despite the hiatus, is still Doctor Who, just like it was on November 23, 1963, just like it was on March 26, 2005, and just like it is today!

Until Next Time, find the majority of these episodes and more on Netflix and celebrate the return to our televisions of Doctor Who with whatever your favorite episodes of the show might be!

Monday, February 23, 2015

8th (Mostly) Annual My Thoughts As I Had Them During The Oscars

For all but one of the last nine years I have been basically live tweeting the Oscars through my blog (even before Twitter existed!), but now, I actually do live tweet the Oscars and post the results here afterwards in this segment we call

MY THOUGHTS AS I HAD THEM DURING THE OSCARS!

You can follow along on Twitter during the Oscars next year with the hashtag (#MTAIHTDTO) or you can just wait a day and read them here.

So, with no further ado, the 8th (Mostly) Annual My Thoughts As I Had Them During the Oscars!





































































































 


 
















































































































































Until Next Time, There you have it!  My thoughts as I had them during the Oscars!  We'll do it again next year!  In case you missed it, make sure to check out my Top Ten Films of 2014 here!