The Week That Was 030225: The 97th Oscars!

The Oscars

Hey, the Oscars were Sunday! 

This was a weird year for movies (in Oscars-terms) as the industry as a whole is still recovering from the twin blows of the pandemic and the strikes, while continuing to wage an unending battle against the encroachment of streamers (more on that below). The show itself, however, was mostly typical and mostly entertaining.

Force in Focus: The Rise of Skywalker

**Spoilers, of course; if you haven't seen the movie yet, skip this. If you haven't seen the movie but read this anyways, don't yell at me.**

Force in Focus: Solo

Spoilers, obviously, if you haven't seen the movie yet (and based on those box office numbers, a fair number of you haven't).

I've been on the record as saying I've never been a big Han Solo guy, and as a result, I wasn't terribly excited by the prospect of a standalone Han Solo movie. Somewhat ironically, that perspective perhaps served me best, as I ended up going into this movie with a relative shrug (I mean, it's a Star Wars movie, so I had some excitement, but nothing like I had for the previous three films of the Disney era), but came out of it having greatly enjoyed the movie, hungry for more.

Force in Focus: The Last Jedi

Spoilers ahead, obviously. If you haven't yet seen the film, just...don't read this post. Certainly nothing beneath the picture below.

Force in Focus: Rogue One

Unlike The Force Awakens, which I saw three times in the first 24 hours of its release, I've only had a chance to see Rogue One once as of this writing. So my thoughts on it are less formed; details haven't cemented themselves in my head, I haven't had a chance to watch it in more detail without being as focused on plot & character beats while wondering what was coming next, etc. So with that caveat in place, here's some thoughts on stuff I liked and didn't like about the movie, at least after my first viewing.

Spoilers, obviously. If you haven't seen the movie yet, probably skip this.

Force in Focus: The Force Awakens

I held this post a few days both to let my own thoughts settle and to prevent any accidental spoilage, but at this point, consider what follows to be filled with tons of spoilers. I'm writing this assuming you've seen the movie already. If you haven't, and don't want to be spoiled, don't read below the image.

Last Week in Pop Culture #31

With the official 2013-2014 TV season drawing to a close last week, and with me (mostly) caught up on the show I comment on regularly, as well as another looming work trip threatening to throw off my regular schedule once again, this will be the last regularly scheduled "Last Week in Pop Culture" post. I reserve the right to drop one in periodically, if there's something of note I'd like to talk about, but I won't have one up (nearly) every Saturday going forward.

However, I am hoping to resurrect my Retro Reviews of The Simpsons sometime soon (once I get back into the groove after my trip and give myself a little break). So look for those again shortly! 

And, of course, I've still got three X-aminations posts a week to do, plus all my stuff at Sound on Sight and Capeless Crusader, and Dr. Bitz has three more Game of Thrones reviews to do, so you won't be lacking for content from us this summer, regardless!  

Around the Web
Just one additional post this week, my weekly Market Maven column from Monday. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Not bad. It wasn't the greatest X-Men film, but it was entertaining, well-constructed, well-acted. The Sentinels were handled well, most of the action scenes were top notch, and kudos for wiping out most of The Last Stand. In the middle of the pack, but near the top (I'd still put X2 and First Class above it, for sure).

Last Week in Pop Culture #29

Around the Web
My first Market Maven column for Capeless Crusader went up this week, a new weekly column I'll be writing that looks at each week's batch of comic releases. Look for it every Monday, and eventually I'll  have some other columns up on Capeless Crusader as well. And if you like what you read, be sure to like the site's Facebook page as well.

As for Sound on Sight, this week I reviewed the first issue of my boy Cyclops' first solo series, a fun little space pirate-y story starring the time-lost version of the character (not the present day cranky Magneto-esque version). 

And hey, just because it's been awhile since I'm mentioned it, don't forget about Saved by the Bell Reviewed, the podcast co-hosted by me and Dr. Bitz. New episodes come out every week, and this week's is a doozy!

Last Week in Pop Culture #26

Around the Web 
One new review from me at Sound on Sight, for Nightcrawler #1, possibly the best new Chris Claremont comic I've read in years.

Also, and far more importantly, Monday sees the launch of the much-teased Saved by the Bell Reviewed podcast, co-hosted by me and Dr. Bitz, as well as Portland cartoonists Carolyn Main and Ryan Alexander-Tanner (Ryan, the driving force behind this project, is of course the mad genius behind the wonderful Full House Reviewed blog as well). You'll be able to download the first episode on Monday from our Tumblr site, and if you haven't already, be sure to like our Facebook page and follow the show on Twitter @sbtb_reviewed.

(And, as long as I'm asking you to like Facebook pages, if you enjoy my writing for Sound on Sight, then be sure to like their Facebook page as well).

Finally, if you're heading out to the comic shop this weekend or poking around on the newly-acquired-by-Amazon Comixology, check out Shutter #1 from Image Comics. It's about a futuristic female Indiana Jones, and features a backup story written and drawn by Ryan. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

A really solid follow-up to the first film (which I think is a bit underrated these days), which made the most of its 70s conspiracy thriller vibe and did an effective job of servicing everyone in its rather large cast (this was probably the best Black Widow film yet, right?). If anything, the titular Winter Soldier was the most marginalized element of the movie - there wasn't much of a reason for him to be the one leading the Hydra/SHIELD strike team other than his connection to Cap, and the real impact of that seems to have been left for a future film.  

Last Week in Pop Culture #15

The Golden Globes

As hosts, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler killed it once again.  We're hosting for the second time because this is Hollywood, and if something kind of works, they'll just keep doing it until everyone hates it'

Nobody in the TV world takes the TV Golden Globes very seriously (because the HFPA really doesn't), but it was still nice to see Amy Poehler win for her work on Parks and Recreation, making the HFPA the only major awarding body to recognize that excellent show.

Very surprised by both Andy Samberg's and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's wins. I mean, I like that show, it's steadily improving and I'm glad that these wins should (hopefully) lock it in for a second season, but I don't think it's the best comedy on TV right now, even amongst the other Globe nominees (that would be Parks and Rec).

Someone needs to work on the seating chart for next year. I think *I* could have gotten from my couch to the podium faster than some of the winners.

Last Week in Pop Culture #14

It's been a couple weeks without much new TV, but things came roaring back this week, and I used that time off to catch up on a few things, and even finish one particular rewatch. 

The Simpsons: Steal This Episode

One of the funnier episodes of the season (bot the FBI's zeal to go after internet pirates and most of the Hollywood stuff had me laughing consistently), and one that wisely acknowledges it's tackling an issue with no easy answers. That said, this episode felt, at times like a retread of earlier episodes (in more specific ways than usual): I'm fairly certain Homer has gone on a rage-filled tirade brought on by all the pre-show junk at movie theaters before, and the whole "pirating movies" thing felt like a rehash of the classic "stealing cable" episode from season two, which just made Lisa's relative lack of involvement in this episode stick out. 

Last Week in Pop Culture #10

The Simpsons: The Kid is All Right

A surprisingly-measured look at friendship amongst political differences, this episode wasn't the funniest episode ever (most of the laughs came from the always-reliable over-the-top-ness of the Springfield Republicans and Lisa and Homer's joint dream of not-dead Democrat ghosts) but still managed to tell a good story.

Last Week in Pop Culture #7

The Simpsons: Four Regrettings and a Funeral

Look, you can either be structurally clever, or really funny (or, ideally, both). This episode tried to do both and succeed at neither.

In case you're wondering, Fox was supposed to air "Bart the Lover" in the 6:30 slot, in remembrance of Marcia Wallace, but apparently had issues getting the episode back from syndication, so they aired "The Ned-liest Catch" instead, making Bart's sad chalkboard message that opened "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" the best tribute of the night. 

Summer Movie Report Card 2013

No time for a preamble, here's 2013's Summer Movie Report Card! 

Iron Man 3

A huge step above the lackluster previous film in the series and a worthy follow-up to The Avengers, I still would have liked a bit more of Iron Man himself and more nods to the shared universe. Nevertheless, there's no denying this was well-crafted and tremendously fun, largely carried by Robert Downey Jr.'s phenomenal performance.  
A

The Great Gatsby

Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow & Don Cheadle
Directed by Shane Black
Written by Drew Pearce & Shane Black
Original Score by Brian Tyler 

After a brief in media res opening (they're all the rage these days) which establishes the story that follows to be a narrative told by Tony Stark to an unseen someone, Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark struggling to come to terms with the events of The Avengers. He's become more of a celebrity and hero than ever, even while he's having problems sleeping and clearly suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder. What follows from this setup is a surprisingly introspective summer blockbuster. With the country under attack by a terrorist known as the Mandarin, Tony finds himself pulled out of his comfort zone, stripped of his usual resources and forced to once more rebuild himself from the ground up in order to expose the real threat of the Mandarin.

Movie Review: Jurassic Park 3D

This review kept getting pushed aside by other posts and is thus a little out of date, but I figured what the heck, I had it written so I may as well post it...

Starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern & Jeff Goldblum
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Michael Crichton & David Koepp
Original Score by John Williams

Because Mrs. Teebore had never seen it on the big screen, we made a point to check out the recent 3D re-release of Jurassic Park, more to experience the film in a theater than for the 3D conversion. As expected, that conversion added very little to the experience; like most post-conversions, the goal here was simply to add some depth to the film, creating layers out of, say, the foliage in the background. The end result is meant to create a more immersive experience, but this was undercut for us somewhat by the fact that the screen we saw it on was one of the theater’s smaller ones, and thus, there was an obvious edge on either end that shortchanged that immersive experience (of course, that’s not the fault of the film). There was also the usual 3D problem of the film seeming dimmer than usual because one has to watch it through colored lenses.

One Sentence Reviews

Hey, why don't I review some things I've recently (and not so recently) seen/read? And, just for a change, why don't I do each review in one sentence?

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN (Book, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales 2011) - It was interesting but not as salacious as I was expecting.

One Sentence Reviews

Hey! It's been a while since I've done some One Sentence Reviews. So...how about some One Sentence Reviews!

Mass Effect 3 (X-Box 360 Video Game, 2012) - This was a series where the thought of them screwing up the ending never crossed my mind...they screwed up the ending.

Skyrim (X-Box 360 Video Game, 2012) - The problem with these type of games is that the ending can never live up to the copious amount of time I've put into them.

Ready Player One (Novel, Ernest Cline, 2012) - A really fun and engaging book and a must read for all geeks out there.

Summer Movie Report Card

The leaves are turning, network TV is reappearing, and the move theaters are getting stuffed with horror movies and awards-hopefuls, which can only mean it's time for the summer movie report card! 

The Avengers

I'm not telling anyone anything they don't already know when I say this was easily the movie of the summer. There were plenty of other fine films that were released after it, but it was all pretty much downhill from here. The Avengers replaces the thematic denseness of The Dark Knight (generally considered by many to be the best superhero movie) with something I prefer to have in my comic book movies: fun. An outstanding achievement on multiple levels.

Summer Movie Report Card 2011

That's right, the State Fair is over and the movies are decidedly less blockbuster-y, which means it's time once again for the summer movie report card!

I'm going to these "one sentence review" (or so) style, as any more than that and I start to get repetitive. 

Thor

The Marvel film with the greatest potential for disaster, it actually turned out pretty good, keeping the events on Earth from getting too boring and managing to make the action on Asgard fun without being too campy.
A