tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14631871954835774292024-02-07T04:29:55.406-08:00TV and TreadmillsThoughts about my favorite things (other than my family)....TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.comBlogger240125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-15376340754469440232023-10-12T21:53:00.003-07:002023-10-12T21:53:46.255-07:00"Black & White" (2009, Taiwan)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://i.mydramalist.com/aVqEMc.jpg?v=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="300" height="422" src="https://i.mydramalist.com/aVqEMc.jpg?v=1" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />I'm always on the lookout for serialized crime thrillers, the closer to "24" the better. That means I'm looking for stories with conspiracies, moles within government agencies, tech nerd hackers, and lots of action. "<a href="https://mydramalist.com/369-black-white" target="_blank">Black & White</a>" is a 2009 Taiwanese drama that hits all of those notes superbly.<p></p><p>It starts off with an undercover operation led by maverick cop Wu Ying-Xiong (literally, Hero Wu) to chase down the supplier of a devastating hallucinogenic drug called Dreamer. The operation goes wrong, and the bad guy gets away, in part because Wu gets stopped by another cop, Pi Zi, who just transferred to the district and doesn't know Wu is a cop. Pi Zi is a lazy cop who's more interested in hitting on good-looking women than he is in solving crimes (even though he has a stellar record). Because of the disastrous outcome -- the bad guy got away with the drugs and $100,000 that the police borrowed -- the supervisor forces Wu and Pi to work together. This part of the show is a fairly typical "Lethal Weapon" kind of buddy action-comedy.</p><p>A key character in the series is Chen Lin, the daughter of the head of the Sanlien Group, which is basically a front for a Triad branch. She becomes a part of a love triangle with Wu and Pi -- actually, it becomes more like a love pentagon or hexagon by the time you count up everyone who ends up liking someone else...</p><p>There are 24 episodes in the series (just like "24"!), and it ends satisfyingly, though there's room for more. Since it's been 14 years, though, it's not likely there will be a follow up. (There are two prequel movies.)</p><p>It's currently streaming via Netflix.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-53239961781663559702023-09-15T23:19:00.000-07:002023-09-15T23:19:01.821-07:00Netflix's "Sisyphus: The Myth"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/6VrVF4UXCgM46_26AamU1wJfwns=/206x305/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p19515116_b_v13_aa.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="206" height="305" src="https://resizing.flixster.com/6VrVF4UXCgM46_26AamU1wJfwns=/206x305/v2/https://flxt.tmsimg.com/assets/p19515116_b_v13_aa.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br />Beginning in the mid-2000s, there was a particular species of TV show that emerged on American networks: pilot episode full of intriguing mysteries, with subsequent episodes adding layers of complexity, answering one question but asking more. "Lost" (ABC 2004-10) was Patient Zero of this trend, and the prime example. The hallmark of this kind of show was that it was completely addicting even as you wondered if there really was a master story behind everything, or if the writers were making stuff up as they went along.<p></p><p>Almost always, it was the latter. "Lost," "FlashForward" (ABC 2009-10), even "Battlestar Galactica" (SyFy 2004-09) were all this kind of show.</p><p>Apparently, non-American shows are not immune from this syndrome. We recently added Netflix in our household, and the first series I checked out was the South Korean time travel/thriller "Sisyphus: The Myth" (Netflix 2021). It's a variation on "The Terminator," where someone in our present day (in this case, an arrogant genius) creates something that is of immense importance in the future, and time travelers from the future come back to mess with the timeline (or preserve it). The main future warrior is a 25-year-old woman named Gang Seo-Hae, and the genius is 38-year-old Han Tae-Sul.</p><p>Like the aforementioned American shows, the pilot episode is packed full of intriguing questions and daring set-pieces, and ends on anxious cliffhanger. Episode 2 deepens the mystery, and even as subsequent episodes answered a few questions, they raised even more. Unfortunately, as compelling as each episode was, the whole show started to collapse from the weight of its own mysteries. The time travel rules didn't seem consistent, and in the end, none of the plot really made any sense at all. It's too bad, because the production values were quite good (the dystopian scenes of South Korea in 2035 where fantastic), and the acting was solid. I guess it just goes to show that this "make things up as you go along" style of story-telling isn't unique to Hollywood. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-12403715859882184162023-07-24T21:20:00.001-07:002023-07-24T21:20:18.863-07:00Paramount+'s "Rabbit Hole"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/6SkfQwIMBrDvt0oMlHUhog_HgJQ=/206x305/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/VOcJbvcmKjCZ9j9YAjDbq8oFcPY=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvdHZzZWFzb24vODE1NGMyZTUtY2U1My00NzQ1LWIyMTgtMDQwMzAwYjMwMjJjLmpwZw==" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="206" height="305" src="https://resizing.flixster.com/6SkfQwIMBrDvt0oMlHUhog_HgJQ=/206x305/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/VOcJbvcmKjCZ9j9YAjDbq8oFcPY=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvdHZzZWFzb24vODE1NGMyZTUtY2U1My00NzQ1LWIyMTgtMDQwMzAwYjMwMjJjLmpwZw==" width="206" /></a></div><br />I somehow misclicked or mis-responded to Amazon's Alexa and signed up for a 7-day free trial of <a href="https://www.paramountplus.com/?ds_rl=1289065&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwwvilBhCFARIsADvYi7LFVl70mYnKcMuVazyVbdH9TXOaYVZxwdzKlmFBVSw2Tv4AjdffQ2saApOjEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">Paramount+</a>. I don't have anything against Paramount+, but I'm finding all this streaming-creep to be too much, and on principle, I'm trying to stick to Amazon Prime and Disney+. Having signed up, though, even if inadvertently, I might as well maximize my free trial.<div><br /></div><div>And look what I found..."Rabbit Hole," whose imdb description reads:</div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.87); font-family: Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.5px;"><blockquote>Nothing is what it seems when John Weir, master of corporate espionage, finds himself at the center of a shadowy conspiracy. After uncovering a dangerous plot by powerful forces with the ability to control populations and subvert democracy, Weir is framed for murder and put on the run, trying to figure out who and what is real in a reality turned upside down. As a man who deals in mistrust and deception, can John Weir trust a team of unlikely allies to outwit an enemy with deep ties to his past and who's bent on using our own data against us? John Weir must navigate a world of surveillance, misinformation and manipulation to uncover the man at the center of the plot and stop him before it's too late.</blockquote></span></div><div>There are eight episodes in the series, so it should be binge-able in one week. I managed to watch two episodes while on the treadmill this afternoon.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's nice to see Kiefer Sutherland in a thriller role again. For context, I watched the first two seasons of "Designated Survivor" and reasonably enjoyed it. Like that show, this one tries to give Sutherland a role different from Jack Bauer and is partially successful in doing so. Weir is cunning and able to orchestrate complex plots to manipulate people, but unlike Bauer, he's not a man of action.</div><div><br /></div><div>The show is full of twists, although it hides information from the audience that Weir knows, and then reveals bits and pieces at the end of each episode. This approach generates suspense, but I think it's not fair to the audience.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, when Weir starts yelling "tell me what's going on!" at someone, I want him to go full Jack Bauer...but of course he doesn't. Seeing Weir get beaten up is surprising.</div><div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p></div>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-34036998443465271582023-06-02T23:20:00.002-07:002023-06-02T23:20:36.350-07:00My ranking of John Carpenter movies<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/JohnCarpenter2010.jpg/1179px-JohnCarpenter2010.jpg?20120111204935" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="800" height="254" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/JohnCarpenter2010.jpg/1179px-JohnCarpenter2010.jpg?20120111204935" width="333" /></a></div><br />I've been eyeing the blu-ray of John Carpenter's <i>Big Trouble in Little China</i>, and it finally dropped to a good price on Amazon. I've seen a good number of Carpenter's flicks, although oddly enough not <i>Halloween</i>, which was what really put his name on the map. Anyway, I got to thinking about my personal ranking of the Carpenter movies that I've seen, and here it is:<p></p><p><i>1. The Thing</i> (1982) -- Unquestionably the best of his movies, and it's not really close. Simply drips with paranoia, and the blood testing scene still packs a punch. </p><p><i>2. Big Trouble in Little China</i> (1986) -- Really weird in a good way. I didn't realize it back in 1986 (because I was a clueless teenager) but Kurt Russell's Jack Burton isn't really the hero. He's a blundering, blustering fool, while Dennis Dun's Wang Chi is the real hero.</p><p><i>3. Escape from New York</i> (1981) -- I thought this was awesome when I first saw it as a young teen (don't ask how a young teen got to watch an R-rated movie), but it doesn't hold up quite as well now.</p><p><i>4. They Live</i> (1988) -- The ridiculously long fight scene between Roddy Rowdy Piper and Keith David gets all the attention, but I think it gets tiresome. The movie as a whole, though, is like a Philip K. Dick idea crossed with WWF.</p><p><i>5. Escape from L.A.</i> (1996) -- Where the original made Manhattan look burned out and dystopic, the sequel turns L.A. (as a detention island for "degenerates") into a parody of Southern California living. More of a comedy than a thriller, it's nice to see Kurt Russell play Snake Plissken again, but it's so-so.</p><p><i>6. Black Moon Rising</i> (1986) -- Starring a pre-<i>Fugitive</i> Tommy Lee Jones as an industrial thief who gets mixed up with the development team of a high tech car and Linda Hamilton's car thief, this is a pretty underrated thriller. It's very much a product of the 1980s, though.</p><p><i>7. Prince of Darkness</i> (1987) -- The second in the loose "Apocalypse Trilogy" (along with <i>The Thing</i> and <i>In the Mouth of Madness</i>), this is about a group of physics grad students who investigate a container filled with a mysterious fluid that may be Satan. Pretty gory and horrific, with a killer twist ending.</p><p><i>8. Christine</i> (1983) -- This was a relatively faithful version of the Stephen King novel about a demonic car. It's much more a King movie than a Carpenter one.</p><p><i>9. Dark Star</i> (1974) -- Impressive for its extremely low budget, but still a low budget sci-fi flick about a space crew assigned to blow up unstable stars. Great as showcasing Carpenter's talents, but not one I need to watch again.</p><p><i>10. The Fog</i> (1980) -- Dead sailors come back as ghosts to exact their revenge. Has some very good mood, but supernatural horror just isn't my cup of tea.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-82822796316597710422023-05-10T11:08:00.001-07:002023-05-10T11:08:20.592-07:00The WGA strike...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pix4free.org/assets/library/2021-01-19/originals/strike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="338" src="https://pix4free.org/assets/library/2021-01-19/originals/strike.jpg" width="507" /></a></div><br /><p>As of last week, the Writers' Guild of America (WGA) <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/08/business/media/writers-strike-hollywood.html">has been on strike</a>. Shows still in production can continue with completed scripts, but there are showrunners who are members of the WGA, and some of those showrunners have stopped working altogether on their programs.</p><p>I remember 2007, the last time writers went on strike. "24" lost basically an entire year (although this seemed to work out well, as the delayed season -- number 7 -- ended up with a strong and coherent plot, possibly because the writers had close to an extra year to plan things out, rather than making it up on the fly).</p><p>Back then, streaming had not taken off, so the only "on demand" viewing was via DVDs (of older shows/seasons) or TiVo of currently airing shows. Between network and cable TV, I had a full plate of TV watching, so much so that I would sit down with the fall TV preview issue of <i>Entertainment Weekly</i> and plot out a grid of days and time slots to see if there were any conflicts between shows. (Yes, my original TiVo could only record one channel at a time -- the horror!)</p><p>As you can imagine (given the theme of this blog), the writers' strike left me feeling despair at the time. What would I do for entertainment?!? Reality TV (whose writing staff has a different guild) could only go so far.</p><p>Today? I kind of understand the issues involved and I certainly hope the writers can negotiate a fair deal to take into account the new economics of streaming and on demand viewing, but I don't feel anything like the existential dread that I felt 16 years ago.</p><p>The only scripted network shows that I've been TiVoing this season are NBC's "The Blacklist" and CW's "Kung Fu." (I also watched "Magnum PI" but failed to set my TiVo to record it after it moved from CBS to NBC, so I'll have to catch up on that.) "The Blacklist" is in its final season, and "Kung Fu" might not be renewed. And I got rid of cable years ago. That leaves the streaming services, where I have Amazon Prime and Disney+. The strike will definitely impact me there, but the fact of the matter is that between what's already on those streaming services*, plus a whole bunch of C-dramas available on YouTube (I just started an interesting looking one called "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWZjQUdIntE&ab_channel=YOUKUEnglish-GetAPPnow">Stealth Walker</a>" about an undercover female narcotics agent), and DVDs**, I'm not going to run out of things to watch for a long time.</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">* Season 4 of Amazon's "Jack Ryan" starts next month! And there's "Citadel," which cost something like $50 million per episode...</p><p style="text-align: left;">** I rewatched "Prison Break" earlier this year, and am just over halfway through with "Justified" right now. "Battlestar Galactica" and "24" await their turns.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-38381493928613816732023-04-11T20:52:00.001-07:002023-04-11T20:52:09.100-07:00Revisiting 90s TV: "Nowhere Man"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Nowhere_man_promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="210" height="299" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ec/Nowhere_man_promo.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><p>This was a weird, one-season show about Thomas Veil, a photographer who's just been critically lauded for a powerful picture he took that he called "Hidden Agenda," which seems to show three men being hanged. He attends a celebration in his honor with his wife, and then goes to dinner with her. When he comes back from the restroom, she's gone. He goes home and sees her there...with another man. When he tries to get inside, she doesn't seem to recognize him. What??? She's not the only one. As he soon discovers, no one seems to know who he is.</p><p>Played by Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike in the rebooted "Star Trek" movies), Veil goes on the run, trying to unravel the mystery of who erased his life. Of course, there is a shadowy cabal behind this all, and he manages to stay barely one step ahead while making slow progress toward finding out what happened.</p><p>Like the best of these shows, every mystery is solved only temporarily, with more mysteries emerging. Paranoia is rampant through every episode, as Veil has no idea who he can trust and who is secretly working for his antagonists.</p>The risk for these kinds of shows is that the writers have a high concept to start with, but no idea how to wrap it up (ahem, "Lost"...). "Nowhere Man" lasted only one season, but news of its cancellation came with enough lead time that the show has a definitive series finale that satisfactorily explains everything.<p></p><p>Definitely worth checking out if you like this kind of paranoia-driven serialized drama.</p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-86903599757761365292023-03-28T00:19:00.005-07:002023-03-28T00:19:41.216-07:00Revisiting 90s TV: "The Pretender"<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/51DB1RM4D5L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="558" height="361" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/51DB1RM4D5L._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><br />Although I watched TV before the 90s and have some nostalgia for TV shows that aired before then, my love of TV didn't really start until the early 90s. And I still think of that decade as having been a peak time for TV dramas. <i>The X-Files</i>, of course, was my favorite show from back then, but there was also <i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine</i> (the best Trek series, in my opinion), <i>La Femme Nikita</i> (a precursor to <i>24</i>), <i>Hercules: The Legendary Journeys</i>, and <i>Xena: Warrior Princess</i>.<p></p><p>One of the lesser known shows from the time was <i>The Pretender</i>, which I've rediscovered on Amazon Prime. I actually have the entire series on DVD, but my home gym has no DVD player, so I'm dependent on streaming (or over-the-air during football season).</p><p>The premise of the show is that a shadowy corporation known as the Centre (note the British spelling) captured a young boy named Jarod in the early 60s. Jarod is a genius who can literally master any profession or skill almost instantly. The Centre exploited him for decades by making him perform simulations, whose outcomes the Centre would sell to the highest bidder. Some of these were military simulations, and the Centre was happy to sell to foreign governments. (Along the way, Jarod also figured out how to save the Apollo 13 astronauts, and determined that Lee Harvey Oswald could not have fired all of the shots on Dec. 22, 1963.) One day, Jarod escapes.</p><p>The formula of each episode is that Jarod finds someone who has been wronged, and using his Pretender skills, he assumes an identity that is "helpful" to the perpetrator, who he then sets up and exposes. In this way, the show was similar to <i>The Fugitive</i> or <i>The A-Team</i> or any number of past shows where the protagonist goes from town to town. One key difference, however, is that Jarod, while the hero of the show, is a pretty dark character. He seems to delight in inflicting poetic justice on the villains, psychologically tormenting them by making them feel what their victims felt. "How does it feel, seeing nothing but water in every direction, and wondering what just bumped your feet down below?" he snarls at one of his targets, who left a man to drown, and who Jarod has dumped into the ocean from shore.</p><p>Besides the weekly revenge story, there is a continuing storyline involving the Centre, which naturally wants Jarod back. Assigned to catch him are the team of Miss Parker (no first name is ever given), Sydney (no last name is ever given), and Broots. Sydney is the psychologist who worked with Jarod from his childhood days, and who doesn't want Jarod harmed and sincerely thinks the Centre is the best place for him. Miss Parker is like Emma Peel in style but just wants to catch Jarod alive, preferably, but dead is okay, so she can get back to her career in the corporate division. Broots is the tech nerd.</p><p>Meanwhile, Jarod knows nothing of his past; his parents supposedly died in a plane crash, but he comes to doubt that. The Centre holds secrets, and he keeps trying to unearth them.</p><p>As the show went on, the backstory of the Centre became more and more complicated, with Miss Parker's father (Mr. Parker), her deranged half-brother Mr. Lyle, the emphysema-suffering Mr. Raines, and more joining the cast.</p><p>Coming up on 30 years old, this show still holds up pretty well by today's standards. It ended in a cliffhanger and then was canceled. That cliffhanger was resolved by a 2001 TV movie on TNT, but then TNT aired a second TV movie that also ended on a quasi-cliffhanger, and that was the last anyone ever saw of the show...</p><p>On a related note, I once met the star, Michael T. Weiss. Of all of my celebrity encounters, this was one of the very few that did not take place in L.A. Instead, it was at O'Hare Airport, in the line waiting for a taxi in the mid-2000s. He was with a friend, so I didn't want to be an obnoxious fan, but when there was an opportune moment, I turned to him and said I really enjoyed his work in <i>The Pretender</i>.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-61433736333904016782023-03-18T23:54:00.002-07:002023-03-18T23:54:34.010-07:00Why I think the "Mission: Impossible" movies are better than the James Bond ones<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/007-james-bond-vs-ethan-hunt-mission-impossible-fandomwire-1152x648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="290" src="https://fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/007-james-bond-vs-ethan-hunt-mission-impossible-fandomwire-1152x648.jpg" width="516" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm not the only one who's thought about the "Mission: Impossible" movies versus the James Bond ones. Here's <a href="https://fandomwire.com/james-bond-vs-mission-impossible/">one site</a> that does the "on the one hand...on the other hand" approach.<br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well, I'm not going to do that. In fact, I'm going to boil this down to just a single point (although I think there are many reasons to support my conclusion): the "M:I" series is better because <i>the weakest movie in that franchise -- which is universally thought to be "Mission: Impossible 2" -- is better than at least half of the Bond flicks (in my opinion, of course)</i>.</div><p></p><p>Let's start with "M:I 2." The basic plot is derivative of the Cary Grant/Ingrid Bergman movie "Notorious," where Cary Grant has to send his lover Ingrid Bergman as a honeypot against Claude Rains. Here, Tom Cruise's superspy Ethan Hunt has to recruit Thadiwe Newton's thief Nyah Nordhoff-Hall to gain information about her former lover's (played by Dougray Scott) nefarious plans involving a mysterious substance or item known as Chimera. The wrinkle is that during the recruiting process, Hunt and Nordhoff-Hall have fallen in love.</p><p>Hong Kong auteur John Woo directed "M:I 2," and so we have his signature action scene: Tom Cruise flying through the air, gun blazing in each hand. There's definitely some tonal whiplash from the first "M;I" movie, where Cruise was daring and acrobatic, and handy with a gun, but not the devastating one-man wrecking force here. On the other hand, as much of a muscular presence as Cruise presents, this movie doesn't have any of the insane stunt set-pieces that started with "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" and that have come to define the franchise.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.imfdb.org/images/1/14/MI2-92Brig-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="332" data-original-width="800" height="216" src="https://www.imfdb.org/images/1/14/MI2-92Brig-3.jpg" width="520" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Nevertheless, it's still clearly a "M:I" movie. We have the self-destructing mission message, the face masks, the IMF team (though this is the least ensemble of all of the movies), and the plot twists. Indeed, on my current rewatch, I'm having trouble understanding why this movie isn't more popular. Even if it is the weakest of the "M:I" movies, it's still really good. It has a coherent plot (which is more than can be said for a lot of the Bond movies -- looking especially at you, "Skyfall"), a capable villain (cf. Max Zorin in "A View to a Kill"), and a female lead with agency (Nordhoff-Hall makes a crucial move on her own that saves Ethan Hunt and temporarily stymies the villain).</p><p>It's like saying that season 6 was the weakest season of "24" - true, but it was still better than almost anything else on TV at the time.</p><p>Again, this is my opinion, but taking into account plot coherence, technical filmmaking craft, acting, action set-pieces, and strength of other characters, I'd rather rewatch "M:I 2" than the following Bond movies:</p><p>"Dr. No" - yes, it started things off, but it's kind of boring</p><p>"From Russia with Love" - I'll grant that this is a really good movie, and my preference may be dictated by changing tastes over 40 years, so I won't argue that "M:I 2" is better</p><p>"On Her Majesty's Secret Service" - oh, what could have been with a better actor as Bond, but as is, terribly flawed</p><p>"Diamonds Are Forever" - this really has not aged well (which isn't entirely its fault), but among other things, compare how female lead Tiffany Case devolves into another helpless bikini-clad victim waiting to be rescued, to Nordhoff-Hall</p><p>"The Man with the Golden Gun" - just no, another one with an annoying female lead</p><p>"Moonraker" - apart from Jaws, this is pretty awful</p><p>"For Your Eyes Only" - my recollection is this was pretty good, but the scenes with the ice skater are pretty cringeworthy</p><p>"Octopussy" - I actually like this one, but c'mon, it's not better than "M:I 2"</p><p>"A View to a Kill" - Roger Moore should have quit a few movies earlier, or gone on Tom Cruise's regime (compare Moore in this movie to Cruise in "Mission: Impossible - Fallout"; they're close to the same age); he's so low-energy, and let's not get started about how bad Tanya Roberts' character was</p><p>"The Living Daylights" - ah, trying to make Bond something he's not, and what do end up with? a dour, uptight performance by Timothy Dalton (that fight hanging from the cargo netting out the back of the plane was pretty cool, though)</p><p>"License to Kill" - revenge-minded & rogue Bond...not bad, but nothing special</p><p>"The World is Not Enough" - admirable attempt at trying something new, but even though Pierce Brosnan is my favorite Bond actor, I've never felt the urge to watch this again</p><p>"Die Another Day" - okay, another one I'll confess to liking, but this is usually considered among the worst of the Bond movies, and I don't think anyone is going to be arguing this is better than "M:I 2"</p><p>"Skyfall" - I <a href="https://yin.typepad.com/the_yin_blog/2014/02/skyfall-why-was-it-so-popular.html">blogged at length</a> about what was terrible about this movie. Now, this is the only of the Daniel Craig movies I've watched, but from what I've read, "Quantum of Solace" and "Spectre" are even worse...</p><p>That's somewhere around 12-14 movies (depending on how generous I'm going to be) out of 25 (not counting the "Casino Royale" parody and "Never Say Never Again") that I would rank as inferior to "Mission: Impossible 2." If the weakest "Mission: Impossible" movie is better than at least half of the Bond movies, and the three most recent "Mission: Impossible" movies are (again, in my opinion) better than every Bond movie, it's easy to see why I think one franchise is clearly superior to the other.</p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-16668286489326138992023-03-02T16:50:00.002-08:002023-03-02T16:50:20.085-08:00"Star Trek: Discovery" to stop discovering after season 5<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://resizing.flixster.com/-V8M_U39Moz-nVUB5m9p9Hj_gS4=/300x300/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/jWtG5vu2oV7Ph9SG_pY7yStieOM=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvdHZzZWFzb24vUlRUVjQwNzk2NS53ZWJw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="300" src="https://resizing.flixster.com/-V8M_U39Moz-nVUB5m9p9Hj_gS4=/300x300/v2/https://resizing.flixster.com/jWtG5vu2oV7Ph9SG_pY7yStieOM=/ems.cHJkLWVtcy1hc3NldHMvdHZzZWFzb24vUlRUVjQwNzk2NS53ZWJw" width="300" /></a></div><br />"Star Trek: Discovery" is ending after season 5, <a href="https://ew.com/tv/star-trek-discovery-ending-season-5/"><i>Entertainment Weekly</i> reports</a>. That's too bad. I'm a season behind since I don't subscribe to Paramount+ and have to wait for the blu-ray discs to reach my local library and work through the waitlist. However, I've really liked "Discovery," and it ranks as my second favorite Trek series -- behind, of course, <i>Deep Space Nine</i>.*<p></p><p>Yes, <i>Discovery</i> is more like the reboot movies than the <i>Deep Space Nine</i> or <i>Next Generation</i>, but I like the greater emphasis on action. What I really like, though, is the serialized nature of the show, which allows much greater character development and deeper storylines. And season 1 had amazing twists, some of which were jaw-dropping, and others of which were foreshadowed so that when they dropped, it was satisfying confirmation of what I suspected was the case.</p><p>Plus, it's got Michelle Yeoh...with a sword, no less!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>* My current ranking: </p><p>(1) <i>Deep Space Nine</i>: has the best overall cast of characters, intense serialization starting from the end of season 3, the funniest episodes of all the series, the most thrilling episodes of all the series, and the most interestingly philosophical episodes.</p><p>(2) <i>Discovery</i>: serialized, great acting especially by Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs, and Sonequa Martin-Green.</p><p>(3) <i>Next Gen</i>: discounting seasons 1 and 2, which largely sucked</p><p>(4) <i>Picard</i>: I've only watched season 1</p><p>(5) <i>Original Series</i>: if forced to rank, I'd put it here, but it really is by itself in some many different ways</p><p>(6) <i>Voyager</i>: big drop-off; I think I watched all seven seasons, but it was pretty bad, and it had so much potential; basically, it could have been something like <i>Battlestar Galactica</i></p><p>(7) <i>Enterprise</i>: I gave up after four episodes.</p><p>Incomplete (I haven't watched): <i>Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Prodigy</i>. Based on what I saw of the Pike, Spock, etc. characters on <i>Discovery</i>, I'd guess that <i>Strange New Worlds</i> would slot somewhere around 4-6, bumping <i>Voyager</i> and <i>Enterprise</i> down for sure, and maybe <i>Picard</i> and the original series.</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-38471001519547859642023-02-18T22:32:00.002-08:002023-02-18T22:32:05.830-08:00Physics and the MCU's Ant-Man<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/image_ae30e307.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="533" height="472" src="https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/image_ae30e307.jpeg" width="315" /></a></div><br /> I've enjoyed the two Ant-Man movies (and his appearances in "Captain America: Civil War" and "Avengers: Endgame"), but I just do not understand the physics of his size transformations -- or those of his partner, the Wasp.<p></p><p>Through the use of Pym particles, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) can shrink to insect-size or expand to as tall as 60 feet. When he shrinks, he can ride on flying insects, but somehow he retains enough mass that when he rams into a person, he delivers quite a punch. I don't understand how both of these can be true. Either his shrinking is in dimensions (height, width, girth) only, meaning basically the atoms in his body move closer together; or his mass somehow changes, perhaps because 99 out of 100 atoms disappear.</p><p>The dimensional shrinking is the explanation given in the 1966 sci-fi thriller <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage">Fantastic Voyage</a></i> (one of the recently passed Raquel Welch's first big roles), where a submarine and specialized crew are shrunk to the size of a bacteria so that they can navigate the blood vessels of a defecting scientist to repair a dangerous blood clot near the brain that can't be reached by other means. (Yeah, the dimensional shrinking didn't make sense there either, since the mass of a submarine being injected into a person should collapse through the body to the ground.)</p><p>Ant-Man's tiny form seems consistent with this dimensional shrinking, though -- even though he's insect-sized, he packs a punch like a human still. But then, how can the flying insect carry him?</p><p>And worse yet, when he expands to Giant-Man, if he retained human mass, then he should have an approximate density of 1/1000 -- at 60 feet tall, he's approximately 10 times taller, so he's gaining 10 times in each of the three dimensions, leading to 1/1000. With such light density, he should blow over in the wind, and certainly not be able to deliver giant punches with authority.</p><p>I know, they are comic book movies, literally. I do enjoy them. I just don't get the physics.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-17695748015245491212023-02-04T17:37:00.008-08:002023-02-04T18:03:58.992-08:00Another argument for why I think "Deep Space Nine" is the best Star Trek series<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDc3OGNhYjUtZGYwNi00MjllLWE0MjYtNDFiYmVhNWI0MGJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTE1NjY5Mg@@._V1_.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="476" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMDc3OGNhYjUtZGYwNi00MjllLWE0MjYtNDFiYmVhNWI0MGJmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTE1NjY5Mg@@._V1_.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><p></p><p>One of my controversial pop culture opinions is that "Deep Space Nine" is the best Star Trek series. Usually, it's the original series or "Next Generation" that tends to sit atop rankings of the various shows. I get that: the original kicked off 50+ years of the franchise, and there are iconic episodes and some of the even-numbered movies. Meanwhile, "Next Gen" added much better visual effects, the beginning of some continuing story threads and character arcs, and more subtle acting.</p><p>But consider this -- the funniest episode of the original series is generally thought to be "The Trouble with Tribbles," or maybe "A Piece of the Action" (the gangster episode). The "Deep Space Nine" sequel to "Tribbles" is "Trials and Tribble-ations," and ingeniously sends the DS9 crew back in time to keep a Klingon agent from changing the events in the original episode. It's even funnier than the original episode -- the attempt to explain the retconning of the way Klingons look is enough by itself:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rA210N8Y1iM" width="320" youtube-src-id="rA210N8Y1iM"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>However, as great as "Trials and Tribble-ations" is, it's not at all clear that it's the funniest "DS9" episode. It gets strong competition from the following episodes:</p><p>"The Magnificent Ferengi," remaking "The Magnificent Seven" with a ragtag group of Ferengi to rescue Quark's mom!:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UuneAN4-Ys8" width="320" youtube-src-id="UuneAN4-Ys8"></iframe></div><br /><p>"House of Quark," where Quark tries to explain financial shenanigans to the Klingons:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Q65l7RHUx2A" width="320" youtube-src-id="Q65l7RHUx2A"></iframe></div><br /><p>"Our Man Bashir," where Dr. Bashir's James Bond fantasy goes very wrong:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v4iT8ZOapIY" width="320" youtube-src-id="v4iT8ZOapIY"></iframe></div><br /><p>and "Take Me Out to the Holosuite," pitching the DS9 crew versus Vulcans in baseball:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GzPQAeRsBXc" width="320" youtube-src-id="GzPQAeRsBXc"></iframe></div><br /> These episodes are funnier than anything in any of the other live-action series.*<p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">* I haven't watched any of the animated series "Lower Decks," which I gather is a comedy, so I can't compare "DS9" to it.</p></blockquote><p> "DS9" isn't generally thought of as a funny show; it has the reputation for being the darkest of the Star Trek shows, and it excels in that regard. Yet, for a dark show, it also has the best comic episodes. It's like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shohei_Ohtani">Shohei Otani</a> of Star Trek series.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-92197631165116247442023-01-28T19:24:00.005-08:002023-01-28T19:24:51.700-08:00Ranking the Jack Ryans on screen<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Iwy-FEQMIJqjZNwFfxICs_X4NRc=/0x0:3000x2000/1220x813/filters:focal(805x616:1285x1096):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61119235/JackRyanStudy_AmazonStudios_ParamountPictures_Ringer.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="283" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Iwy-FEQMIJqjZNwFfxICs_X4NRc=/0x0:3000x2000/1220x813/filters:focal(805x616:1285x1096):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/61119235/JackRyanStudy_AmazonStudios_ParamountPictures_Ringer.0.jpg" title="Image via The Ringer" width="425" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>Jack Ryan, the protagonist of most of the Tom Clancy spy novels, has been played by five actors over the past 30+ years, starting with Alec Baldwin in <i>The Hunt for Red October</i> (1990). Harrison Ford picked up the role in <i>Patriot Games</i> (1992) and <i>Clear and Present Danger</i> (1994). Ben Affleck took over in <i>The Sum of All Fears</i> (2002), which apparently killed off interest in the character for a while, as Chris Pine did not play Ryan until 2014 in <i>Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit</i>. Finally, John Krasinski assumed the role in the Amazon series <i>Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan</i> starting in 2018, with season 2 in 2019, and season 3 in 2022.</p><p>I have just one more episode of season 3 to go, so I feel like I can rank the Ryan portrayals -- with one exception: I haven't watched Affleck's try at it, so I'll leave him out of my rankings.</p><p>Again, this is a ranking of the portrayals, not the merits of the movies or TV show. It's how well each actor has inhabited the role of Jack Ryan.</p><p>1. Alec Baldwin</p><p>Jack Ryan is an analyst, not a field agent, but he did serve as a Marine, so he can get stuff done in the field. Baldwin really nailed the thinker who's sent into the field.</p><p>2. John Krasinski</p><p>Krasinski's Ryan is stockier and more action-oriented, but with the benefit of 24 episodes over three seasons, he's had the most room to make the role his. (As a side note, no one can match James Earl Jones as James Greer in terms of screen presence, so the TV show wisely doesn't try and instead has made Wendell Pierce's version an older peer who is still in the field.)</p><p>3. Harrison Ford</p><p>I've found Ford's version to be a little much of an earnest Boy Scout, culminating in the showdown scene in <i>Clear and Present Danger</i> where the President says to Ryan "how dare you come in here, barking like a junkyard dog," and Ryan responds, "how dare <i>you</i>, Mr. President." Too corny for me.</p><p>4. Chris Pine</p><p>I like Pine in pretty much everything I've seen him in (<i>The Princess Diaries</i>, <i>Star Trek</i> reboots, <i>Wonder Woman</i>) but he didn't really stand out as Ryan in his one appearance. He could've been any more or less generic American operative in Europe, and the movie would've been the same.</p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-473964106760085942023-01-26T14:04:00.002-08:002023-01-26T14:04:16.290-08:00Let's talk about Hollywood and foreign languages<p>I'm a little more than halfway through season 3 of Amazon's "Jack Ryan" series and enjoying it quite a bit. But one thing that bothers me about the show is how it handles the use of foreign languages.</p><p>Major non-American characters in season 3 are Czech or Russian, including the Presidents of each of those two countries along with advisors, etc.</p><p>Yet, conversations among all Czech or all Russian characters take place in English (with slight Eastern European accents). How does this happen?</p><p>Okay, perhaps this is a conceit for the audience. The slight accents are there to tip off the viewer that "hey, this conversation is actually taking place in Czech/Russian, but the show is giving it to you in English because you probably don't want to read subtitles." (Not to mention, it's easier for the actors if they aren't conversant in Czech/Russian.)</p><p>Well, that might make sense, except that the same characters, when speaking English to an American character, have the same slight accent. Moreover, there is a scene where one of the American characters speaks in Russian to another character, and that entire conversation is indeed in Russian with English subtitling.</p><p>So it's very confusing -- I have no idea what language these conversations are actually being used. I would rather that conversations take place in their actual language, with English subtitling for non-English conversations. I get that this would be harder on the actors, but it's not as if large parts of the show are in foreign languages.</p><p>One of the best conceits that I've seen to deal with this language issue was in, ironically, the first Jack Ryan vehicle, <i>The Hunt for Red October</i>. At the start of that movie, the scenes on the Russian nuclear submarine are in Russian. This would be difficult to keep up for the entire movie, so there is a scene where Sean Connery's character is meeting with the political officer. The political officer takes a copy of the Bible from Connery's shelf and starts reading in Russian. The camera zooms in as this is happening, then stops, and then reverses to zoom out. When this happens, the political officer is speaking in English. It's a neat trick that cues the viewer in to the fact that it's all still in Russian, just that we're hearing it in English. Near the end of the movie, when the Russian sailors meet American sailors, the Russians speak in Russian to themselves.</p><p>Anyway, Hollywood is, to be fair, taking steps toward incorporating more foreign language dialogue -- something like 30% of <i>Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings</i> was in Mandarin, and large parts of <i>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever</i> are in the fictional language of Wakanda. I wish the trend would speed up.</p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-63684420543815193002021-06-12T19:05:00.000-07:002021-06-12T19:05:14.729-07:00Review of the C-drama "Love Me If You Dare" (2015)<p><a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Chinese_Drama_Series_Close_Your_Eyes_and_Close_to_Me_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="250" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Chinese_Drama_Series_Close_Your_Eyes_and_Close_to_Me_Poster.jpg" /></a>This summer, I've embarked on a quest to improve my grasp of Chinese (Mandarin), and part of that involves watching Chinese movies and TV shows in the original language. I can understand about half of what is being said if I forego English subtitles, but I've been leaving them on to help with the other half.</p><p>I just finished this "C-drama" (Chinese drama) and highly recommend it for anyone who likes crime thrillers. It streams on Amazon Prime or you can find it on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjCcXmqO8GE&t=3s&ab_channel=Caravan%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E5%89%A7%E5%9C%BACaravan%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87%E5%89%A7%E5%9C%BA">YouTube</a>. If you have Prime, I would recommend using that because the picture and sound quality is much better. (The only advantage of the YouTube feed is if you want to follow the Chinese subtitling, which is readable if you turn off the English CC. Amazon, for understandable reasons, stripped the Chinese subtitling, which is otherwise standard for Chinese movies and shows.)</p><p>Anyway, "Love Me If You Dare" (or "He Comes Now, Please Close Your Eyes" in Chinese) is something like <i>Silence of the Lambs</i> if it had a rom-com element to it. The main characters are Bo Jin Yan aka Simon and Jian Yao aka Jenny. Names are given in traditional Chinese format, so Simon's surname is Bo and Jenny's is Jian. Professor Bo is a brilliant criminal psychologist with near zero EQ. He spent some time in the U.S. where he was captured by a serial killer known as the Flower Cannibal but managed to escape and is now recuperating back in China. He hires Jian, who is finishing college, to assist him in solving, as he puts it, cases involving the worst and most devious killers.</p><p>The first few episodes involve Bo and Jian chasing someone who has been abducting young boys and killing them in a gruesome fashion. With enough clues, Bo can sort of envision the crime from the killer's point-of-view (not unlike, say, Will Graham in <i>Manhunter</i>), and then he condescendingly prods Jian into figuring things out herself. This is the pattern for the first 3/4 of the series, before things kick into high gear.</p><p>Some of the rest of the case (to mention all of the characters would give away too much) include Fu Zi Yi, who is Bo's only friend and a tech genius (and my favorite character of the series for the comic edge that he added); and Li Xun Ran, who is a police officer and childhood friend of Jian's.</p><p>Lead actor Wallace Hou has a tough job, but succeeds in portraying Bo's supreme intelligence and his social awkwardness, and yet making the chemistry with Jian seem believable. Lead actress Ma Sichun (aka Sandra Ma) is terrific as Jian, showing her to be smart and fesity. In the later part of the show, she has less to do but even then Ma does some incredible acting, including one scene that's heartbreaking to watch. Yin Zheng (aka Andrew Yin) steals every scene he's in as Fu, and Wang Kai plays Li as a serious, dedicated police officer.</p><p>The production values are good. The music, in particular, really captures the mood of the show, from the creepy, "X-Files"-like main theme, to the light and funny rom-com ditty when the show veers away from the mysteries toward the developing relationship between Bo and Jian.</p><p>There's one really weird thing about the show, though. There are numerous scenes where Chinese characters speak to American characters, and everyone speaks in their own language without interpreters, yet everyone (save for one scene) understands everyone else. There aren't <i>that</i> many non-Chinese speakers of Mandarin in the United States...</p><p>Anyway, I really enjoyed this show. I picked up some new Chinese vocabulary, although I'm not sure how useful these words will be on a practical level for me: "perverted" (bian tai de), "victim" (so hai zhe), "fingerprint" (zhi wen), and so on.<br /><br /></p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-54046701951482973972020-08-17T18:10:00.005-07:002020-08-17T18:10:52.082-07:00MCU chronological rewatch -- sorting the movies into tiers<p>The combination of Covid-19 "stay at home" orders and Disney+ led the family to rewatch the MCU movies in chronological (not release) order, starting with "Captain America: The First Avenger" (1940s), then "Captain Marvel" (1995), and so on. The only MCU flick we didn't watch was "The Incredible Hulk," because it's not available on Disney+ and I was too cheap to rent it.</p><p>Overall, the MCU is very impressive, and collectively, far better than the Star Wars cinematic universe. The worst MCU movie ("Iron Man 2") is nowhere as bad as "The Phantom Menace," and the best MCU movies surpass "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Rogue One" (though the last half of "Rogue One" is spectacular).</p><p>Okay, here we go:</p><p>#1 - "Thor: Ragnorak"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/b_thorragnarok_19059_7c2ad44a.jpeg?region=0,0,2048,725" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="283" data-original-width="800" height="153" src="https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/b_thorragnarok_19059_7c2ad44a.jpeg?region=0,0,2048,725" width="429" /></a></div><p>Before this movie, I found Thor to be a dull character. Director Taika Watiti brilliantly fuses comedy with thrills, and just about everything works perfectly here. Hela is an incredible antagonist, played with chillingly hamminess by Cate Blanchett, and wait, there's more, with Jeff Goldblum's even smarmier Grandmaster. Thor gets so many funny lines, from "that's what heroes do" (as he throws a ball against a window, only to have it bounce back and hit in the face) to how he flatters the Hulk and Banner separately, each time saying he likes the current incarnation and not the other one to "he's a friend from work!" (when he is matched against the Hulk in the arena). Oh, and how Thor keeps trying to calm Hulk down by saying "the sun's getting low," which is (I think) mockery of the lame Black Widow-Bruce Banner forced romance in "Age of Ultron." This movie was so fun it reportedly made Chris Hemsworth change his mind about being done playing Thor.</p><p>#2 - "Avengers: Infinity War"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://latimeshighschool.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/share-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="800" height="258" src="https://latimeshighschool.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/share-1.jpg" width="491" /></a></div><p>Yes, it ends in a cliffhanger (but so too did "The Empire Strikes Back"). It starts strong with Thanos crushing the Asgardians and the Hulk, and then never lets up. Lots of funny lines too. I got chills when Thanos finally made his appearance on the Earth - walking out of a mist of purple fog.</p><p>#3 - "Captain America - The Winter Soldier"</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.5Mu0GDdHvuG80rCa8BqEkQHaLH?pid=Api&rs=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="474" height="233" src="https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.5Mu0GDdHvuG80rCa8BqEkQHaLH?pid=Api&rs=1" width="155" /></a></div><p>Until the rewatch, this was number 2 on my list. Its drop reflects my greater appreciation of "Infinity War," not any discontentment with this one. I love conspiracy thrillers, and this movie is as close to "24" as the MCU gets.</p><p>That's it in terms of individual rankings. The rest are sorted into tiers:</p><p><b>Great</b></p><p>"Ant-Man" - super funny; only thing that keeps it from breaking into the top 3 is that the villain is sort of derivative of the one from "Iron Man"</p><p>"Black Panther" - great villain who's <i>almost</i> sympathetic (one of my boys asked, "would Killmonger be the hero if he didn't kill all those random people?"), and T'Challa is a really good lead</p><p>"Iron Man" - started it all</p><p>"Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 1" - it's like "The Avengers," but funny</p><p>"Spider-Man: Homecoming" - that reveal of Vulture was a knock-out</p><p><b>Good</b></p><p>"Ant-Man and the Wasp" - not as good as the first, but always good to see Walton Goggins</p><p>"Avengers: Endgame" - very moving but so much didn't make sense</p><p>"Captain America: Civil War" - liked it better the first time I watched it; still, introduces T'Challa and Peter Parker</p><p>"Doctor Strange" - really weird, appropriately so</p><p>"Spider-Man: Far From Home" - best for the chemistry between Tom Holland and Zendaya</p><p><b>Okay</b></p><p>"The Avengers" - bloated</p><p>"Avengers: Age of Ultron" - how can a movie featuring James Spader's snarky tone be so blase?</p><p>"Captain America: The First Avenger" - kind of boring</p><p>"Captain Marvel" - it's fine, but nothing special except for the Flerken</p><p>"Guardians of the Galaxy, vol. 2" - I liked the addition of Mantis to the GotG, but eh</p><p>"Iron Man 2" - the worst</p><p>"Iron Man 3" - better on rewatch</p><p>"Thor" - Shakespearean tone and MCU don't mesh well</p><p>"Thor: The Dark World" - too long</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-29310221637370587882020-04-29T23:16:00.003-07:002020-04-29T23:16:58.223-07:00Fictional POTUSes in TV and movies<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="6t2io" data-offset-key="4se1l-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="4se1l-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">I rewatched "White House Down" last night, and one thought I had was, man, Channing Tatum was lucky he was guarding Jamie Foxx (who's spry and athletic), and not Trump or Biden! That inspired this list of </span></div>
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<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/white-house-down/images/c/c0/James_Sawyer.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20130308111907" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/white-house-down/images/c/c0/James_Sawyer.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20130308111907" width="166" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) on "White House Down" - DEFINITELY YES; he's like a cooler version of Obama.</span></div>
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/David_Palmer_(Dennis_Haysbert).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="263" height="200" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2e/David_Palmer_(Dennis_Haysbert).jpg" width="141" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">David Palmer (Dennis Haysbert) on "24" - DEFINITELY YES; he sent Jack Bauer after terrorists; does anything else need to be said?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wayne Palmer (D.B. Woodside) on "24" - maybe; not as cool and inspiring as his older brother, but he did support Bauer as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) in "Olympus Has Fallen" - NO WAY; just compare how he handled being coerced by terrorists versus Jamie Foxx in "White House Down"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Charles Logan (Gregory Itzen) on "24" - NO WAY. Have you seen "24"?!?(Great actor, though)</span></div>
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<a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWJmMThiNWYtNGU2NS00ZGZlLWE2ZGUtMmIzZWI5N2JlMGExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjcwNDUyODM@._V1_SX1777_CR0,0,1777,999_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="111" src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMWJmMThiNWYtNGU2NS00ZGZlLWE2ZGUtMmIzZWI5N2JlMGExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNjcwNDUyODM@._V1_SX1777_CR0,0,1777,999_AL_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas Whitmore (Bill Pullman) in "Independence Day" - Probably? He did give what is possibly the </span><a href="https://taskandpurpose.com/entertainment/bill-pullman-independence-day-speech" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">greatest ever Presidential speech</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">James Marshall (Harrison Ford) in "Air Force One" - maybe. He seemed kind of boring, but he did fight off hijackers by himself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">President White (Donald Pleasance) in "Escape from New York" - um, no.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fitz Grant (Tony Goldwyn) on "Scandal" - Probably. He was Shonda Rimes' conception of a Republican, which meant he was basically a moderate Democrat.</span></div>
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<a href="https://pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/designated-survivor-review.jpg?w=620&h=420&crop=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="620" height="135" src="https://pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/designated-survivor-review.jpg?w=620&h=420&crop=1" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Thomas Kirkland (Kiefer Sutherland) on "Designated Survivor" - yeah, I know he's not Jack Bauer (we can only dream), but he was a straight-up nerd who told it as it was.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones) on "24" - probably? She was fine; her sniveling husband and conniving daughter were not.</span></div>
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<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/scandal/images/0/0f/7x10_-_Mellie_Grant_05.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180127015826" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="800" height="159" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/scandal/images/0/0f/7x10_-_Mellie_Grant_05.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180127015826" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) on "Scandal" - Yes! I started off really disliking her (because she was set up as an antagonist to star Olivia Pope) but by the end, I was rooting for her.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fiat4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">***</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="fiat4-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Now, there are a few notable fictional Presidents missing from my list. I haven't watched "The West Wing," "The American President," or "House of Cards," so I can't say whether I'd vote for any of them. Also, I skipped some of the Presidents in "24" and other shows that I've watched. Create <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_actors_who_played_the_president_of_the_United_States" target="_blank">your own list</a>!</span></div>
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TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-18640670100398037052019-05-16T18:04:00.000-07:002019-05-16T18:04:01.938-07:00Who else could finish "Game of Thrones"?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.hbo.com/content/dam/hbodata/series/game-of-thrones/episodes/1/game-of-thrones-1-1920x1080.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1200.675.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://www.hbo.com/content/dam/hbodata/series/game-of-thrones/episodes/1/game-of-thrones-1-1920x1080.jpg/_jcr_content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1200.675.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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HBO's "Game of Thrones" comes to an end on Sunday. Many fans have been upset with this last season that a petition to remake the entire season has <a href="https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/game-of-thrones-fan-petition-remake-season-8-1203217025/" target="_blank">attracted almost half a million</a> signers. Of course, there is no cost at all to signing these sorts of Internet petitions, and you have to wonder how much money the signers would be willing to pay to realize their dream. At an <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/12/how-much-it-costs-to-produce-an-episode-of-game-of-thrones.html" target="_blank">estimated $15 million per episode</a>, with six episodes in season 8, it would cost $90 million or more. So each signer would have to pay on average $180....<br />
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Anyway, I've never subscribed to HBO, and I ditched cable years ago, so I am stuck in the story at the end of "A Dance With Dragons," which was published in 2011. To put that in context, "Leviathan Awakes" -- the first novel in "The Expanse" series -- was published in 2011, just a month before "A Dance of Dragons" was.<br />
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That's an interesting comparison because "The Expanse" novels are kind of like "Game of Thrones" in space, with the same kind of dense political intrigue, layered characterization, factions, and realistic violence.<br />
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Since then, author James S.A. Corey has published <i>seven</i> more novels, not to mention a few novellas, with the ninth and final novel scheduled for publication next year. I think the probability that the last Expanse novel comes out before "The Winds of Winter" (book 6 in the "Game of Thrones" series) is pretty near 100%. I don't gamble, but if I were to, that's a bet I'd make.<br />
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Anyway, Corey is actually the pen name for two guys, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_S._A._Corey" target="_blank">Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck</a>. Franck, it turns out, used to work for "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin as a research assistant. Hmmmmm....<br />
<br />
Maybe book fans should get together and petition Martin to turn the writing of books 6 and 7 to someone else who will actually finish them. It sounds like James S.A. Corey should be free.TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-73404423071217317442019-03-19T14:13:00.003-07:002019-03-19T14:13:41.663-07:00NYT rates the 20 best shows since "The Sopranos" -- and my responseA while ago, the <i>New York Times</i> ran an interactive article <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/arts/television/best-drama-series.html" target="_blank">identifying the 20 best shows</a> (in the author's view) to have aired since "The Sopranos" debuted 20 years earlier.<br />
<br />
Several of the shows on NYT list are also on my post-"Sopranos" list -- indeed, some of these would even make my all-time favorite TV show list, including:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"The Shield": Simply brilliant in terms of how it made you root for who would ordinarily be the antagonists of a show. I felt dirty hoping that corrupt cop Vic Mackey would get away with his schemes, which is a testament to the writing and the acting. Yeah, it wasn't as realistic as "The Wire," but it was far more interesting.</li>
<li>"Battlestar Galactica": The ending didn't make much sense, and it tended to sag in the middle of each season. But it was so dark, gritty, and intense in its peak episodes, with a more or less continuous story lasting 4+ years (counting the mini-series and "Razor" movie). I'm reading the unauthorized oral history of BSG (both incarnations), <i>So Say We All</i>, and I just got to the section about the mini-series.</li>
<li>"Lost": Another show whose ending (indeed, the entire last season) didn't make sense, but was still captivating throughout its entire run. The framework of mixing present day scenes with flashbacks (and then that mindblowing flashforward!) was subsequently adopted by one of my all-time favorites, "Once Upon a Time." [Strangely, "Once Upon a Time" did not make the <i>NYT</i> list, perhaps because it was too mainstream?]</li>
<li>"Veronica Mars": A teen noirish mystery that launched Kristen Bell's career. I didn't watch the third/last season, and haven't gotten around to the movie either, but that first season was twisty.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
On the "just missed the cut list" of the <i>NYT</i>:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"Justified": This would also make my all-time list. I used to think Captain Kirk was the coolest character on TV, and Jack Bauer was the most interesting. Kirk has been supplanted by Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, whose misadventures in Harlan County, Kentucky, were laconically intriguing. I loved how Givens' character could be summed up in an eight word sentence he once told a bad guy: "You make me pull, I'll put you down." And of course he would make sure that he was <i>justified</i> in shooting.</li>
</ul>
<br />
But there are also a number of shows on the list that I, while possibly acknowledging their greatness, never watched or tried to watch but never really got hooked on:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"The Wire": I know that it is a common opinion that this is the best show ever in the history of television. I just found it dull and populated with boring characters. It's not that I don't appreciate characters with shades of gray -- notice that I loved "The Shield," and the main character in that is a bad guy! Pretty much every actor in "The Wire" that I've seen elsewhere has been better elsewhere, from Lance Reddick in anything, to Wendell Pierce in Amazon's "Jack Ryan," to Michael B. Jordan in "Black Panther."</li>
<li>"Grey's Anatomy": I've never watched this, so it isn't entirely fair for me to question its placement, but another procedural/soap opera didn't sound interesting to me. (It's also weird to me that this made the list but "Scandal" did not. See below for more on that.)</li>
<li>"The West Wing": This has seemed to me like the left-wing version of "24." Each presents a fantasy world where its proponent's fears are being realized, and stopped only through the proponent's heroism.</li>
<li>"Breaking Bad": I need to watch this. A major reason I haven't yet is that I'm not ready for my image of the goofy dad from "Malcolm in the Middle" to be overwritten by Walter White/Heisenberg.</li>
</ul>
<br />
And then there are the post-<i>Sopranos</i> shows that are on my list but absent from the <i>NYT</i>:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>"24": Yes, it's more fantasy than "Battlestar Galactica" in a lot of ways, but for sheer adrenaline rush, there's nothing like it. I watched every season as it aired starting halfway through season 2, then watched them all on DVD, and then over the course of several months streamed them all while running on the treadmill. My wife has asked me how I can watch it over and over, and the answer is, I can never get enough of Kiefer Sutherland's intensity as Jack Bauer, yelling, "Tell me where the bomb is!! There's no time!!"</li>
<li>"Once Upon a Time": I didn't think this would be good, but I TiVo'd the pilot episode to give it a try. Within 10 minutes, I was hooked by the magical look of the Enchanted Forest in the flashbacks, and the puzzle of matching the present day residents of Storybrooke to their fantasy counterparts. And this is a show that featured multiple strong female characters (Emma Swan. Regina/Wicked Witch, Mary-Margaret/Snow White) who easily satisfied the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test" target="_blank">Bechdel test</a> every episode. (I didn't watch the last season, though, which was a soft reboot; the season 6 finale seemed to me to be a very good series finale.)</li>
<li>"The Last Ship": Military valor, end of the world pandemic, conspiracies -- yeah, I'm a sucker for all of that.</li>
<li>"Scandal": Another show that was basically fantasy, but it was as addictive as "24" was. I loved it whenever Olivia Pope was in "I'm in control" mode, which was most of the time. I liked it a lot less when she in "I'm moping over President Grant" mode.</li>
<li>"Star Trek: Discovery": I get that it's controversial. It's a lot darker than the usual Trek series (even "Deep Space Nine"). But I like that. Based on season 1 (I watched the DVDs, so can't watch season 2 yet), it's my second favorite Trek series. It could move up to #1 with more excellent seasons. It would have to get a lot worse to drop to #3.</li>
<li>"Hawaii 5-0": I don't claim that "Hawaii 5-0" is <i>good</i> in the ways that critics view shows. I find it hilariously entertaining, less so in the mystery of the week than in the character interaction (no show is complete with McGarrett and Dann-o bickering, and without the shrimp truck guy), and it's the only show on TV I can think of that features multiple regular actors who are of Asian descent, which is worth supporting alone for the Asian diversity factor (even if the show ended up making Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park leave because they weren't paid the same as Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan).</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-61914586870118802018-06-27T15:08:00.002-07:002018-06-27T15:08:32.878-07:00"24: Saving Jack Bauer" - episode 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-aQL4PSDQQ-k0NvedKNQPQbaEYI=/11x0:556x363/1200x800/filters:focal(11x0:556x363)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48572959/bauer.0.0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-aQL4PSDQQ-k0NvedKNQPQbaEYI=/11x0:556x363/1200x800/filters:focal(11x0:556x363)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/48572959/bauer.0.0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2018/06/24-saving-jack-bauer-episode-2.html" target="_blank"><i>Previously on "24"....</i></a><br />
<br />
<i>The following takes place between 10:00 pm and 11:00 pm (Pacific time). All events occur in real time.</i><br />
<br />
<b>1:00 am (Washington, D.C.)</b><br />
<br />
In a dark bedroom, a smartphone rings. CTU Agent <a href="http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Eric_Carter" target="_blank">ERIC CARTER</a> rolls over, groans, and answers the call. The caller is CTU analyst <a href="http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Andy_Shalowitz" target="_blank">ANDY SHALOWITZ</a>, who<b> </b>apologizes for the late call but says this is a critical matter. Eric jumps out of bed and heads to the study, where he says, "Go ahead."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/24wikia/images/2/2a/10x01_Andy_Shalowitz.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20170206015051" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="300" height="320" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/24wikia/images/2/2a/10x01_Andy_Shalowitz.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20170206015051" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Andy reminds Eric about the downed U.S. drone being held by the Russians. "It's made by Atomic Aviation, so naturally we've been running trace programs to make sure there aren't any moles in the company."<br />
<br />
"And?"<br />
<br />
Andy explains how the access codes for the drones change frequently based on a special algorithm on servers on the Atomic Aviation campus. The servers are supposed to be airgapped so that there's no remote access, but Andy managed to insert a backdoor months ago during a routine "inspection" tour by CTU. [more technobabble to explain this implausible idea, which just causes Eric's eyes to glaze over.]<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.monstersandcritics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Carter-Phone-1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://www.monstersandcritics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Carter-Phone-1-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
"Get to the point, Andy!"<br />
<br />
"Someone accessed the algorithm within the last half hour, and then deleted the record of that access. I think someone is trying to get the algorithm to the Russians."<br />
<b></b><br />
"Dammit!" [Okay, I know this is Jack's line....]<br />
<br />
<b>10:10 pm (Los Angeles)</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/24wikia/images/0/08/Day_9-_Chloe_O'Brian_(Mary_Lynn_Rajskub).jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20140502043749" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="300" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/24wikia/images/0/08/Day_9-_Chloe_O'Brian_(Mary_Lynn_Rajskub).jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20140502043749" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Chloe O'Brian and Kate Morgan arrive at the Los Angeles International Airport and park in short-term parking. On the shuttle ride to the terminal, Kate asks, "What is the plan, Chloe? We can't just fly into Russia."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
"I just need to make some connections, and then we can figure out where to go. This way, we can catch any available flights based on where we need to be," Chloe says.<br />
<br />
It's late in the evening, but LAX is still pretty active. Chloe finds a comfortable "business traveler" cubicle and gets on her laptop. Kate says she's hungry and goes off to look for something to eat. She asks if Chloe wants anything, but Chloe declines.<br />
<br />
[split screen: Chloe gazing intensely at her laptop screen on one, and Kate walking along the terminal on the other.]<br />
<br />
Kate goes into the women's restroom and stops at the faucet. She turns on the water, wets her hands, and rubs her face. She looks in the mirror and says, "Jack, I don't want to let you down again, but I don't know if we can do this." [referencing how Jack entrusted her with saving Audrey Raines Boudreau from Cheng's men in "24: Live Another Day," and how she failed]<br />
<br />
"Every day I think about what I should have done that night. I let my husband down, I let Audrey down, and I'm afraid I'm going to let you down," she continues.<br />
<br />
<b>12:15 am (Chicago)</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<br />
Tony Almeida looks down at his smartphone after it chirps. He frowns and then scowls. The text message on his phone reads:<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
<i>A long time ago, I helped you deal with a troublemaker named Cordelia. Do you know who I am?</i> [The WMD threat in Season 3 was the deadly Cordelia virus.]<br />
<br />
Tony types back:<br />
<br />
<i>I know who you are. Why are you contacting me?</i><br />
<br />
<i>We have a mutual friend who's overstayed his welcome with his foreign friends. It's time to bring him home.</i><br />
<br />
Tony smirks.<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i>As far as I'm concerned, he's where he belongs.</i><br />
<br />
Tony ends the text chat.<br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i><b>1:30 am (Washington, D.C.)</b><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/The_White_House_at_night.jpg/800px-The_White_House_at_night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/The_White_House_at_night.jpg/800px-The_White_House_at_night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The President has reconvened a meeting with the National Security Advisor, the Chief of Staff, and a couple of generals. The National Security Advisor updates the group on the status of the downed drone: the current estimate of time before the Russians break the software encryption has narrowed to 12-24 hours.<br />
<b> </b><br />
<br />
The Chief of Staff suggests two possible approaches, one diplomatic, one military. The diplomatic one is to offer to exchange a few high level Russian spies currently serving prison sentences for espionage for the drone.<br />
<br />
One of the generals asks, "What guarantee do we have that the Russians won't have already cracked the software before the exchange?"<br />
<br />
"We'd have to insist that the drone be turned over immediately."<br />
<br />
The general persists: "What makes you think they're go for this? The intelligence value in that drone has got to outweigh whatever concern they might have for their own people, if any."<br />
<br />
The Chief of Staff shrugs. "We don't have to choose one or the other approach. We can proceed on both. In fact, they might provide cover for each other."<br />
<br />
The President asks about the military option.<br />
<br />
"We deploy SEAL Team 6 on a covert mission into Russian to destroy the drone."<br />
<br />
The skeptical general scoffs. "How the hell are we going to insert a Special Ops team into Russian territory to find that drone - and destroy it - in 12 hours?"<br />
<br />
"Well, we don't have any better options," the Chief of Staff says.<br />
<br />
The President asks the general if there are any other military options on the table. The general admits that there aren't. The President exhales and then directs them to proceed with both options.<br />
<br />
<b>10:45 pm (Los Angeles)</b><br />
<br />
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<br />
Kate sits next to Chloe and asks, "Where do we stand?"<br />
<br />
<b> </b><br />
Chloe says, "Belcheck is on. He's on his way to Moscow. But I'm having trouble getting someone else we need."<br />
<b></b><br />
Chloe tells Kate about the background between Tony Almeida and Jack Bauer. "Everything changed for Tony after his wife Michelle was murdered. We thought Tony got killed in CTU, but it turned out he survived. He got connected with some seriously bad people, but we thought he was doing it to infiltrate them. It was all a ploy to get close to the man who ordered his wife's death. He was all set to get revenge but Jack stopped him. So he hates Jack now."<br />
<br />
"Why do we need him? He sounds psychotic."<br />
<br />
"Next to Jack, he's the best field agent I know." Chloe pauses. "I don't know you that well," she adds.<br />
<br />
"Try again," Kate suggests.<br />
<br />
<b>12:52 am (Chicago)</b><br />
<b></b>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b><br /></b>
<b></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.24spoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/24-Legacy-Episode-11-Carlos-Bernard-Tony-Almeida-Morian-Atias-Sidra-800x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://www.24spoilers.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/24-Legacy-Episode-11-Carlos-Bernard-Tony-Almeida-Morian-Atias-Sidra-800x450.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<b></b><br />
<a href="http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Sidra" target="_blank">SIDRA</a> walks in behind Tony Almeida and sees him clutching his phone in a death-grip. "What's wrong?" she asks.<br />
<br />
He shakes his head. "Stuff from my past, trying to drag me back."<br />
<br />
"Don't get distracted, Tony. We got a nice score tonight, but it was way more dangerous than it should have been. You need to be on top of things."<br />
<br />
"I know. This is nothing."<br />
<br />
Tony's phone chirps again, and he instinctively responds. A video fills his phone's screen. It's footage of a man being beaten viciously.<br />
<br />
"Is that Jack Bauer?" Sidra asks.<br />
<br />
Tony grunts. "He's in some Russian helllhole. Not surprising considering how many Russians he massacred eight years ago, and then again four years ago."<br />
<br />
"Weren't you close to him at one point?"<br />
<br />
He glares at her. "That's in the past. Besides, when I was so close to getting the vengeance <i>I</i> wanted, he stopped me. But when he wanted vengeance, he went berserk and slaughtered everyone he thought was responsible. As far as I'm concerned, he can rot in that hellhole."<br />
<br />
Sidra says, "Good. I'm working on a way we can sell the guns we kept from tonight's busted deal. Don't get distracted."<br />
<br />
Tony looks at the last paused image of Jack's bloody face. "I won't."<br />
<br />
<i>beep beep, beep beep</i>TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-73721149456489069922018-06-13T22:29:00.002-07:002018-06-28T00:21:08.789-07:00"24: Saving Jack Bauer" - episode 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<img alt="Image result for jack bauer" class="rg_ic rg_i" id="gZOnFD-INiwuIM:" 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" 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<a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-fan-fic-idea-for-24-saving-jack-bauer.html" target="_blank"><i>Previously on 24...</i></a></div>
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<i>The following takes place between 9:00 pm and 10:00 pm (Pacific time). All events occur in real time.</i></div>
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<b>7:00 am (somewhere in Russia)</b></div>
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Jack Bauer is being restrained by two Russian prison guards just outside a prison cell. Gregor Stolnavich, whose uncle Anatol Stolnavich, was killed in "24: Live Another Day," is delivering a brutal beating to Jack Bauer, mostly body blows but a few shots to the head. After years of captivity and abuse, Bauer is in no shape to defend himself even if he weren't being held by the guards.</div>
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Another man emerges from behind Stolnavich. He's about twenty years older than Stolnavich, so around his 50s. "Gregor," he says in Russian, "enough with this nonsense. We have more important things to do than engage in petty revenge."<b></b></div>
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Stolnavich turns to look respectfully at the man. "Yes?"</div>
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"The American drone," the man says. "We need your attention."</div>
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Bauer's eyes are swollen from the recent beating, but his left eye looks up briefly at the mention of "American drone." [note: I could be wrong, but I seem to recall that Jack understands a little Russian.]</div>
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Stolnavich punches Bauer in the face again. "Very well, Mr. Bauer, it seems I have some work to attend to. But don't worry, I won't forget about you."</div>
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The guards throw Bauer back into the cell and lock the door.</div>
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<b>12:10 am (Arlington, VA)</b></div>
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Atomic Aviation, based in Arlington, Virginia, is the corporation that manufactures the downed U.S. surveillance drone that the Russians are trying to hack into to reverse engineer the American technology.</div>
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Inside one building on the Atomic Aviation campus, a shadowy figure shines a flashlight on a touchscreen next to a closed door. The figure types a six digit code into the number pad on the touchscreen, and the door unlocks. The figure slips inside quickly. Inside the room are several banks of computer equipment (not unlike what CTU used to have), and a table with a computer screen, keyboard, and mouse. The figure sits at the computer and logs in.</div>
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<b>9:20 pm (Los Angeles)</b></div>
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Still driving toward LAX - traffic has gotten much worse in L.A. from the original "24" days, so there's no getting from any one point to any other point in 10 minutes - Chloe O'Brian is talking about what she has endured in the past four years, still trying to get over the deaths of her husband Morris and her son Prescott (not to mention the terribly conflicted feelings involving Adrian Cross, who was killed in London). She has been wracked with guilt over having gotten captured by the Russians in London and then being used as a bargaining chip to get Jack Bauer to trade himself for her freedom.</div>
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"Did you go back to being an anarchistic hacker?" Kate asks.</div>
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"No." Chloe was so disillusioned after London that she basically withdrew from society altogether. But about a year ago, her guilt over Bauer became so overwhelming that she worked on tracking down his status and location, and then laying the groundwork for rescuing him.</div>
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<b>12:35 (Arlington, VA)</b></div>
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Back in the computer room in Atomic Aviation, the figure working at the computer in the dark gets a cellphone call.</div>
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"I'm working on it," the figure hisses into the phone.</div>
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"We are paying you a considerable of money for the access codes you promised, Mr. Stewart," says the voice on the other end of the line in Russian-accented English.</div>
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"Yeah, I know that. But I can't just download the codes. They change every hour based on a firewalled algorithm. I need to unlock the algorithm to be able to generate the codes for you, and I have to do it in a way that doesn't lead back to me, so I have to be careful in how I do it."</div>
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The door opens with a click. Stewart turns the computer screen off and darts to the side. A night security guard pops his head in. "Hello?" he says tentatively.</div>
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The guard notices the lights from the cellphone on the table. He draws his gun and sweeps his flashlight across the room, just in time to see the muzzle flash from a silenced gun. [Note: Yes, I know that in real life, silencers don't reduce the sound to a soft "pfft," but this is what Hollywood expects.]</div>
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<b>9:45 pm (Los Angeles)</b></div>
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Kate does not want to talk about the past four years. Instead, she asks Chloe who else she has in mind to help with the rescue operation. "You mentioned ex-CTU personnel, but I don't think we can count on any of them," she says, "not the way Bauer left things before resurfacing in London four years ago."</div>
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<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Tony Almeida is ex-CTU, but trust me, he left CTU on even worse terms," Chloe says.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Tony Almeida? Isn't he a traitor?"</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Chloe summarizes Tony's complicated history: from trusted CTU subordinate [seasons 1-2] to head of the Los Angeles office until he was fired for helping terrorist Stephen Saunders in an effort to protect his wife Michelle Dessler [season 3] to surprise rescuer of Jack in a time of need [season 4] to assumed death at the hands of Christopher Henderson [season 5] to reemerging as a mercenary who ultimately tried to get revenge for Michelle's death, even at the expense of Jack's life (a plot that failed) [season 7].</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"He was sentenced to life, but he managed to escape from a maximum security prison. He must have had some help." [short feature "Solitary" on the "Live Another Day" blu-ray discs] "The last I heard, he's gone back to being a mercenary."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"What makes you think he'll help? It sounds like he blames Bauer for not letting him get his revenge," Kate says.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Chloe pauses. "I'm not sure he will. But I think I can talk to him."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"I hope he'll listen," Kate says.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<b>7:58 am (somewhere in Russia)</b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Stolnavich is in an office overlooking the lab where Russian techs are working on the downed U.S. surveillance drone. He makes a call on his cellphone.</div>
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<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
[split screen with Stolnavich and Stewart, still in the Atomic Aviation computer room]</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Stolvanich growls, "Do you have the access codes?"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"I'm close to getting it," Stewart says.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Excellent. When can I expect to receive them?"</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Stewart smiles. "Well, there's been a complication. I had to kill a security guard, which ups my potential exposure."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Exposure? That is not my concern."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Oh, but it is. Because my concern is your concern. I'm going to need additional compensation," Stewart says. "I think twenty million dollars should be enough to enable me to disappear into a new life."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"That is outrageous!" Stolnavich shouts.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Should I just stop what I'm doing and just get the hell out of here right now?"</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
Long pause.</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
"Very well, you will get what you demand."</div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<i>beep beep, beep beep, beep beep</i><br />
<br />
<a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2018/06/24-saving-jack-bauer-episode-3.html" target="_blank">Next episode</a><i> </i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
<b> </b></div>
TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-54742747487725881062018-06-01T17:36:00.002-07:002018-06-19T16:14:39.280-07:00My fan fic idea for "24: Saving Jack Bauer"<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="5ndm8" data-offset-key="62kla-0-0" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: pre-wrap; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span data-offset-key="62kla-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Now that Kiefer Sutherland's run as President Tom Kirkland in "Designated Survivor" has ended due to cancellation, he's free to reprise his iconic role as Jack Bauer. From his prior statements, it's easy to get the impression that he's done with Bauer forever, but (1) he was obviously excited about "Designated Survivor" at the time; and (2) he wouldn't need to be in a new mini-series for much filming time in order to give closure to Bauer's storyline.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="62kla-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, time for fan fic.... I'm assuming a full 12 "episodes" of the commonly floated idea of "24: Saving Jack Bauer." Here's how I'd start it.</span></span></div>
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<i><span data-offset-key="5odsl-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">The following takes place between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm (Pacific time). All events occur in real time.</span></span></i></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8:00 pm (Los Angeles)</b> </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kate_Morgan_(24_character)" target="_blank">KATE MORGAN</a> is in a seedy bar. Two empty beer glasses sit on the bar in front of her, while she drinks from a third glass steadily. The bar TV is tuned to CNN and the current story is about the tensions between the U.S. and Russia over a downed American surveillance drone that Russia has recovered and refuses to turn over. In response, the President has ordered more American military aircraft to bases in Poland and Ukraine.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">A smug looking guy saunters over, sits next to Kate, and proceeds to hit on her. She tells him she's not interested in company. He tells her she looks like she could use a good massage, and he puts his arm around her shoulders. Big mistake! Kate grabs his hand, twists it behind his back, and shoves him away with her foot. A friend of the guy's calls Kate a nasty name and charges her. She dodges his attack and delivers a sharp jab to his back as he rushes past her. The smug looking guy gets up and takes a step toward Kate, until she does a spinning back kick to his head, knocking him out. The guy's friend turns around, ready for more fighting. Kate growls, "Walk away, you don't want to mess with me."</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Kate's phone rings. Keeping her eyes on the guy, she answers it. It's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloe_O%27Brian" target="_blank">CHLOE O'BRIAN</a>. Chloe says, "Kate, it's time to rescue Jack Bauer."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>10:12 pm (Chicago)</b> </span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Almeida" target="_blank">TONY ALMEIDA</a> is brokering a black market deal to sell a bunch of guns, silencers, optical scopes, com links, and other equipment to gang members. He appears to be alone, whereas the gang has four people. After inspecting the merchandise, the gang leader nods approvingly. Tony gestures toward the briefcase of cash and asks, "Are we good?" The gang leader chuckles and points to himself. "<i>We</i> are good. You, not so much." They draw their guns and point them at Tony. "We're gonna keep our money and your stuff, and you can keep your life."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Tony smirks. "You don't want to do this."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Watch me," the gang leader says. He motions on his followers to start loading the merchandise into their car. Then a red dot appears on the gang leader's chest, and then there's a loud gunshot. The gang leader drops dead. Three more shots follow quickly, and the other gang members die too.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Tony packs up the equipment and takes the briefcase of cash.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>11:23 pm (Washington, D.C.)</b> </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">It's a top level meeting of the President's national security staff: the President, the National Security Adviser, a couple of military leaders, and the Chief of Staff. The topic is the downed surveillance drone. The Air Force General is explaining that the Russian military is no doubt trying to reverse engineer the advanced avionics and software of the surveillance drone. If they are able to do so, they will cut about 3/4 of the current drone technology gap between the U.S. and Russia. The President wants to know what steps can be taken to prevent this from happening. The general says that the primary failsafe is remote destruction, but the Air Force has not been able to verify that the remote order was received. Most likely the Russian military put the captured drone in a Faraday Cage to block signals.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Okay, what are the backup protocols?" the President asks.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">There are small explosive devices inside the drone that are supposed to go off in the event of tampering. They are just large enough to shred the internal components of the drone. However, the general admits, these are not foolproof, especially with regard to ensuring destruction of the software. [insert technobabble about opening sockets, etc.]</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Please tell me that the software is encrypted," the President says.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Sir, the software is written in machine language, but it can't be encrypted in the normal sense, without leaving the encryption key on the device itself. It is, however, sealed behind a firewall." [more technobabble.]</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"How protected is it?"</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">The general estimates that it will take the Russian military anywhere from 18 to 48 more hours to hack into the software.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Well, that's it, then. We have to get that drone back before then," the President declares. "I want a work-up of proposals to make the Russians turn the drone over. We'll reconvene in two hours."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8:31 pm (Los Angeles)</b></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Kate Morgan (apparently not drunk) drives up to a rundown apartment complex. She checks her phone and goes into the building. She goes to one specific unit and knocks on the door. Chloe O'Brian opens the door, and Kate enters the apartment.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"How do we even know if Jack is still alive?" Kate asks. "He's been gone four years."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Chloe opens her laptop, does her hacking stuff, and pulls up a video feed. It's taken from a Russian detention facility. It shows a gaunt figure huddled in the corner of a small cell. The conditions look awful. Kate peers carefully.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Oh my god, Jack, what have they been doing to you?" she whispers.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Chloe says (for the benefit of the TV audience who missed "24: Live Another Day"), "Four years ago, Jack traded his life for mine when the Russians captured me. I owe it to him to try to break him out of there."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"We're going to need help to do this," Kate says.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Chloe explains that she's been trying to track down <a href="http://24.wikia.com/wiki/Belcheck" target="_blank">BELCHEK</a>. She also knows some former CTU personnel who might be willing to help out of loyalty to Jack.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"I don't think we can count on CTU, not with the way things are going with Russia right now," Kate says.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Let's get started," Chloe says.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6:45 am (somewhere in Russia)</b></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">At a military base, Russian hackers are trying to hack their way into the control software of the downed U.S. surveillance drone. Lots of technobabble here in Russian, translated through subtitles for the audience. The gist of it is that despite the hectoring by the commanding officer, the hackers are finding it more challenging than they expected. The officer issues a thinly-veiled threat, expecting successful results soon.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>8:50 pm (Los Angeles)</b></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Kate and Chloe drive toward LAX. Chloe uses her computer to make flight reservations.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>6:58 am (somewhere in Russia)</b></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Prison guards head toward a cell, open the door, and drag the prisoner out. It's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Bauer" target="_blank">JACK BAUER</a>. He can barely stand, or maybe he can't and needs the support of the guards. A man walks out of the shadows toward Bauer and the guards.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"Mr. Bauer, I must commend you on holding out so long," he says. "The good news is that my superiors have given up on getting anything useful out of you."</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">Jack looks up.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">"The good news for me is that my superiors are letting me have my way with you. You see, my name is Gregor Stolnavich. You murdered my uncle four years ago." [His uncle was Anatol Stolnavich, who actually was killed by Mark Boudreau, not Jack Bauer, but whatever.]</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;"><i>beep beep, beep beep, beep beep</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span data-offset-key="30hbm-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><span data-text="true" style="font-family: inherit;">[click <a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2018/06/24-saving-jack-bauer-episode-2.html" target="_blank">here</a> for episode 2]<i> </i></span></span></div>
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TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-27663780527220155422018-02-09T23:06:00.000-08:002018-02-12T14:02:27.280-08:00Female action stars by VAR (Violence Above Replacement level)!Serious stat-oriented baseball fans know about a concept called <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/library/misc/war/" target="_blank">"wins above replacement" (WAR)</a>, which is roughly an estimated of how many wins over the course of a season that the player is better than freely available talent. In other words, if a star player were to be injured and miss the season, to be replaced by a minor league player, how many fewer wins would the team be expected to get?<br />
<br />
<br />
WAR is a useful way to quantify the value of baseball players in many different ways. For example, players can be ranked by <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_career.shtml" target="_blank">career WAR</a>, which results in Babe Ruth at the top spot, followed by Cy Young, and then Walter Johnson, Barry Bonds, and Willie Mays to round out the top 5. Or players can be ranked by <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/WAR_season.shtml" target="_blank">top WAR in a single season</a>, which results in a bunch of players from the pre-1920s whom I've never heard of (because I'm not that serious of a fan).<br />
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<br />
While watching <em>Atomic Blonde</em> last night, and marveling at how much violence Charlize Theron's character Lorraine Broughton was inflicting on East German and Russian bad guys, I started re-evaluating my own subjective ranking of female action stars. Until now, I'd considered Lucy Lawless (aka "Xena: Warrior Princess") and Angelina Jolie (<em>Salt</em>, <em>Wanted</em>, and <em>Mr. and Mrs. Smith</em>) to share the top spot, with Michelle Yeoh (numerous Hong Kong flicks as well as <em>Tomorrow Never Dies</em>), Carrie Anne Moss (<em>The Matrix</em>), and Summer Glau (River Tam in "Firefly" and <em>Serenity</em>) to be worthy competitors.<br />
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<br />
But oh my gosh, Theron is AWESOME in <em>Atomic Blonde</em>. Like <em>John Wick</em> with Keanu Reeves (co-directed by <em>Atomic Blonde</em>'s director David Leitch), the movie seems to have been written from a process of imagining the most intense, explosive fight/gun scenes that would showcase using the star and not a stunt double, and then filling in with a story as needed. And hoo boy did the production and choreography team put a lot of imagination into the action set pieces. At 5'10", Theron commands an imposing physical presence on screen, especially when she kicks guys down the stairs.<br />
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Still, was <em>Atomic Blonde</em> enough to vault Theron ahead of Lawless and Jolie as an action star? I decided to turn to an equivalent of WAR. Instead of "wins," though, the standard would be "violence," as in VAR.<br />
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For me, Jolie is still #1 in VAR. Besides <em>Salt</em>, <em>Wanted</em>, and <em>Mr. and Mrs. Smith</em>, she was also in two <em>Lara Croft: Tomb Raider</em> movies, which is a lot of violence! Lawless played Xena for six seasons, which is over 130 episodes. Her kill count has got to be higher even than <a href="http://24.wikia.com/wiki/On-screen_kills_by_Jack_Bauer" target="_blank">Jack Bauer's</a>. That makes her career VAR quite high too.<br />
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Theron's tenacious performance in <em>Atomic Blonde</em> might well put her at the top of the single movie/episodeVAR. It's definitely a MVP (most violent performer) role. I haven't seen <em>Mad Max: Fury Road</em>, but I've read that she was very good in that action role, too. That's two high VAR performances, but she has a ways to go to catch up to Lawless and Jolie.<br />
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In other words, get together with director Leitch and <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/836559/Atomic-Blonde-2-sequel-plans-Charlize-Theron-writer" target="_blank">work on <em>Atomic Blonde 2</em></a>!TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-55272973115687122682017-10-06T15:03:00.000-07:002017-10-06T15:03:23.267-07:00States I've gone running in - updated!<a href="http://m.maploco.com/visited-states/mine.php?states=AK-CA-CO-FL-HI-IA-ID-KY-MT-NE-NJ-NV-OH-OR-TX-WA-WY"><img border="0" src="http://map1.maploco.com/visited-states/ml/AK-CA-CO-FL-HI-IA-ID-KY-MT-NE-NJ-NV-OH-OR-TX-WA-WY.png" /><br />Create Your Own Visited States Map</a><br />
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After my short visit to Boulder earlier this week, I got to cross Colorado off my list of states in which I've gone running. It was a short 4 mile easy run around town and parts of the campus. It's actually surprising that it took me so long to mark Colorado, but apparently I haven't visit since before 2011 (other than connecting through DIA).TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-54894772034404275822017-06-27T14:42:00.003-07:002017-06-27T14:42:58.953-07:00Saw "Rogue One"; where does it rank in the Star Wars pantheon?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.hit-channel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Felicity-Jones-Rogue-One-A-Star-Wars-Story.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="179" src="https://www.hit-channel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Felicity-Jones-Rogue-One-A-Star-Wars-Story.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I finally got around to watching "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" on Blu-ray and liked it a lot. So where does it rank in the Star Wars movie pantheon in my opinion?<br />
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For the purposes of this ranking, I'm not including the Clone Wars or Rebels series, only the theatrically released movies - the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, and "The Force Awakens."<br />
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[Obviously, spoilers to follow....]<br />
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8. (tie) "The Phantom Menace" and "Attack of the Clones"<br />
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I don't think the disregard with which I hold these two entries is unusual. Each offered a pretty intricate lightsabre duel and not much else. I have to confess that I've never watched the entirety of "Attack of the Clones," so I guess it's possible it's worse than "The Phantom Menace," but it's hard to see how that would be possible. And while it's hard to choose who was worse as Anakin, Jake Lloyd or Hayden Christensen.<br />
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6. "Revenge of the Sith"<br />
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Still pretty bad; Palpatine's seduction of Anakin to the dark side never really made much sense, and too many of the big fight scenes just seemed ridiculous - can you remain that close to hot lava without dying from the heat?!? The big transformation of Anakin into Darth Vader, where he howls "Nooooooo!!!!!" made me laugh out loud. One should not be laughing at Darth Vader....<br />
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5. "Return of the Jedi"<br />
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I still like the opening Jabba the Hut sequence even though it's objectively silly. The scenes with Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor were pretty good, but the movie is marred by the Ewoks. I've ranted about this before - how a bunch of teddy bears defeated armored Stormtroopers boggles the mind. Not to mention that the space attack scenes are just a copy of "A New Hope." And Luke and Leia as siblings - that could <i>not</i> have been part of the original plan, or else those kisses in "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back" indicate a perverse mindset.<br />
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4. "The Force Awakens"<br />
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I think this movie benefits from being so much better than the prequel trilogy, but it's really just a mash-up of "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back." It was slickly produced, and John Boyega was quite charming as Finn. Daisy Ridley was perfectly fine as Rey, but flawless in a robotic and boring way. I do like how it shows that it's easy to complain about the Empire (as the Rebels did in the original trilogy), but running the galaxy isn't so easy. I mean, a mere 30 years after the defeat of the Empire, the Rebels did such a bad job that they're once again an insurgent force, while the First Order has amassed the resources to build Starkiller Planet!<br />
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3. "A New Hope"<br />
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It started everything, it was amazing in 1977, but it hasn't aged all that well. And all the tinkering that George Lucas did with it only made it worse. Need I point to anything beyond Han Solo's dodging a laser blast from point-blank range...?<br />
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2. "The Empire Strikes Back"<br />
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I still think this is pretty good, but there are cracks in my admiration of it. It annoys me to no end that Darth Vader tells the Emperor "if the son of Skywalker will not join us, he will die," when the natural way of saying that would be "if my son will not join us, he will die." Of course, that would take away the shock value later on, but still, it's a bit of cheating. I can accept the superdense asteroid field (even though in reality, there would have been so many collisions that the asteroids would have been reduced to a ring), but how does a giant space worm live in vacuum? What does it breathe? What does it eat? There can't be that many ships that fly into that particular asteroid.<br />
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1. "Rogue One"<br />
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I'll admit that I love "Mission Impossible" type stories, so "Rogue One" naturally appeals to me. But compare the tension generated in this mission versus the shield assault in "Return of the Jedi," and you see the difference between sacrifice, competence, and excitement, versus clownish quasi-parody. What's remarkable about "Rogue One" is that we know how it will turn out, and yet it holds attention. The middle was a little slow, but the last third is fantastic. And unlike the other movies, with a couple of exceptions, there's real sacrifice - the rebels more or less know it's a mission that few, if any, of them will survive, and they're right. The moment when the wave of death washes over Jyn and Cassian was exceptionally well-done. And then, there's that Darth Vader scene! Vader is terrifying in this movie, <i>as he should be!</i> Too often in the original trilogy, he was just a bully, coming in after the fighting was over to torture a hapless Rebel soldier, or "firing" incompetent Imperial officers. But that end sequence showed how devastating Vader could be....<br />
<br />TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1463187195483577429.post-23467074592339200232017-06-08T14:26:00.002-07:002017-06-08T14:27:24.601-07:00Quick thoughts on new fall shows from Fox, CW, and NBCI blogged about the upcoming new ABC shows that caught my attention <a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2017/05/quick-thoughts-on-some-of-abc-shows.html" target="_blank">here</a>, and the CBS ones <a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2017/05/quick-thoughts-on-non-abc-new-fall-shows.html" target="_blank">here</a>. Fox, CW, and NBC have just enough combined to put together in one post....<br />
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<b>NBC</b><br />
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<i><b>The Brave</b></i><br />
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This looks like another fairly generic military-action drama, possibly indistinguishable from CBS's "Navy SEALs." This one does have Anne Heche as the civilian leader of the unit, and Mike Vogel (last seen in CBS's "Under the Dome") as the team leader. Nothing in particular jumps out, but I'm always up for giving action shows a chance.<br />
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<i><b>Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders</b></i><br />
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I remember the Menendez brothers! The main reason I'm considering watching this is FX did such a <a href="https://tvandtreadmills.blogspot.com/2016/12/american-crime-story-people-v-oj-simpson.html" target="_blank">fantastic job with the O.J. Simpson mini-series</a> that maybe this story, which had its share of lurid details, will prove similarly engrossing.<br />
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<b>FOX</b><br />
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Boo, <a href="http://ew.com/tv/2017/06/07/24-legacy-canceled-fox/" target="_blank">"24: Legacy" has been canceled/won't be renewed</a>, though may be (another) reboot down the line. Well, I can't blame Fox. I thought it was okay, but ranked against the other seasons of "24," it would be near the bottom. Anyway, I won't hold it against Fox.<b> </b><br />
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<i><b>The Gifted</b></i><br />
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Marvel Cinematic Universe, mutant types, okay, I'm in. But try not to be as boring as the first season of "Agents of SHIELD" was, okay?<br />
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<i><b>The Orville</b></i><br />
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This looks kind of funny. I just wonder if there's enough there to last, oh, even a season? I remember this old sci-fi parody called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quark_(TV_series)" target="_blank">"Quark"</a> that aired in 1978. It was really funny at first, but you can only make fun of "Star Trek" for so long.<br />
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<b>CW</b><br />
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<b><i>Valor</i></b><br />
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This looks kind of interesting, with a "what happened that night?" mystery to be unfolded over the course of the season. Unfortunately, if I were to bet on shows likely to bomb with the audience, I would pick this one. Dense, serialized mythologies with multiple timelines and viewpoints don't seem to do well. Even ABC's "Quantico," which started off as a strong performer in season 1, had cancellation-worthy ratings in season 2. TYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06319389045016069839noreply@blogger.com0