Five Thoughts on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

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I held off on seeing this for a bit because, well, it’s a movie about grief, and about the death of a real person as well as a fictional character, and I wasn’t sure how I was gonna handle it. I’m glad I saw it though.

Spoilers (big ones) after the poster.

1. There was a brief period of time where I wondered, “Wait, is Nakia gonna be in this movie for more than a cameo?!” but no she got to join in the big fight at the end! And wear some absolutely stunning outfits! I am trying to work out the timeline with regard to her son though. I guess Nakia must have been pregnant during Infinity War, thus retroactively giving us a reason she wasn’t in it?

2. Poor Queen Ramonda might be the clear winner of the “who in the MCU has suffered the most” contest. Loses husband. Loses son briefly while nephew takes over her kingdom and destroys all she knew. Loses son AND daughter in the Snap. Gets both children back, only to lose son for good this time. Sends one of her closest companions away in rage and never gets a chance to reconcile with her. Dies not knowing if she was successful in saving Riri or even if her daughter is safe from Namor’s wrath. Jeeeeeeeez.

3. It was great to see Michaela Coel but I have a suspicion a lot of her character was left on the cutting room floor. Hey, unless she’s gonna be the main character of that Wakanda-based TV show that was announced ages ago and this was just a test run so to speak? That would be awesome. Oh, and it was also great to see Michael B. Jordan absolutely killing it in his three minutes of screentime! I was NOT expecting that so I’m so glad I wasn’t spoiled for his cameo.

4. I wondered a few times throughout this movie, “Why is everyone so focused on getting vibranium? There’s alien tech lying around all over the place and it probably has a lot of the same properties!” Maybe that’s the point though, that everyone wants something Africa has even though they don’t need it.

5. This movie took pains to avoid saying what T’Challa actually died of. I don’t know if they’re leaving it up it in the air to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman and the fact he kept his illness private, or if they plan to build it up to something, like “everyone who was Snapped ended up with their DNA changed, some died but some (the X-Men) became mutants” that sort of thing. Not sure how I feel about that…

Fallout 4 Tours: County Crossing

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So as the video says, this is probably gonna be the last one of these. I think I’ve filmed all the really good ones now and the game is so overloaded I can barely get into it anymore, let alone take videos.

But let’s take a look at County Crossing!

Before and after shots (before shot from the Fallout wiki)

It looks pretty cool in a radstorm!

(more…)

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

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(spoilers)

I was looking so forward to this and, thank god, it didn’t disappoint. I was worried it would go all schmaltzy, as holiday specials tend to (I’m not really a big Christmas person so all the Cheer(tm) just bounces off me.) But it was lovely overall and it was so nice to see Mantis finally get her moment in the sun. Er, snow.

I liked that the Peter Quill rehabilitation tour is continuing! (not the Chris Pratt rehabilitation tour. Screw that guy.) When Kraglin called him the greatest hero in the galaxy my heart went all wibbly. Man, it’s so so hard loving Quill and hating Pratt, but what ya gonna do.

I did NOT like that Rocket’s fixation with Bucky’s arm was brought up again, even assuming Bucky gave it away willingly cos he got a new one or whatever, it’s a joke that has its roots in ableism and it really needs to die already.

About a month before this aired I learned Yondu was gonna be in it and I was like “???!?!?!” They managed to work him in there in a very pleasing and appropriate way, but I do wish they’d managed to do the same for Gamora somehow.

The big spoiler! Mantis has been Quill’s sister all along and that’s what a lot of the plot revolves around. It does fall a little flat if you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes stuff from GOTG Vol 2 and know that was supposed to be the idea right from the beginning, though. Here’s a little photoshop manipulation of Ego and Mantis’ mother that I did years ago, based on the deleted scene of them.

GOTG Vol 3 inches ever nearer. :) Hey maybe Mantis can learn more about her mother in that one.

The Club Q Shooting in Colorado Springs: This Is What They Want — The Mary Sue

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(Content Warning: descriptions of gun violence and hate speech) Late last night Anderson Lee Aldrich, a 22 year old man with a possible history of violence… 82 more words

The Club Q Shooting in Colorado Springs: This Is What They Want — The Mary Sue

This is, so far, the best article I have seen written about the atrocity in Colorado.

May everyone who participated in this act, and I do mean everyone, never rest in peace again.

Welcome to Doctor Who, Millie Gibson!

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“Ruby Sunday” is a fabulous name for a companion. I have literally never seen Millie Gibson in anything before so I look forward to seeing what she can do. So far she’s giving me Rose Tyler crossed with Clara Oswald vibes.

I saw her announcement live on Children In Need, a fundraiser I haven’t actually watched in years (though I do put money in the buckets when I see them. I saw one today accompanied by a Mr Bean impersonator, so apparently that’s a job.) It’s so emblematic of this broken country. I just feel like, surely the BBC can cut out the middleman and give money directly to the families involved rather than paying out for a studio, a crew, and the celebrities? You know? Mel Giedroyc just began a sentence with “due to the cost of living crisis…” and I so badly wanted her to finish it with, “we’ve strapped a rocket launcher to Pudsey and are heading for 10 Downing Street.”

The very best

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My childhood hero Ash Ketchum is now World Pokemon Champion!

Brock has become a Pokemon doctor. :’) and Misty is a gym leader!

Seeing that the episode was shown on the big screens in Tokyo, man I love that! I’ve always wanted so badly to see Tokyo for myself as well.

Man, 12-year-old me would so happy to hear about this.

(Look at all that stuff! I still have some of it! Maybe some day I can pass it down to a kid.)

The Crown season five

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So, Charles is King now and here’s a show presenting him as a sympathetic, relatable victim of circumstance and the media! A kind man cursed by his love for an ordinary woman, his devotion to his future subjects and his matinee-idol good looks! WHAT A COINCIDENCE.

So yeah, a lot of controversy surrounding this season but King Charles has nothing to worry about. Maybe Tony Blair does, but he’s Tony Blair, so screw him.

To be honest ever since he was first cast I’ve thought Dominic West was an absolutely bizarre choice to play Charles. I actually thought it was a joke when I saw the news. He’s much too handsome. On the other hand, he does have experience of embarrassing cheating scandals, so there’s that. And he does have Charles’ mannerisms down to be fair. (Not to mention his views on extramarital sex.)

The acting in this silly, silly show continues to be its saving grace because the dialogue sure doesn’t remotely cut it. It’s either Knowing Dialogue, Winking Dialogue or Expository Dialogue and it’s excruciating. I swear, every second conversation goes something like –

“Charles, as the Queen, who was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, I implore you to make up with your very much not dead yet wife Diana, the mother of your sons William and Harry, as you have been at odds ever since your wedding day on 29 July 1981. This is in accordance with the Not Telling Your Mistress You Want To Live Inside Her Knickers As A Tampon Act (1993).”

“Yes, mummy.”

All that being said, I think the best moment of acting in this show doesn’t belong to any of the main cast at all. It belongs to the child who played the 13-year-old Alexei Romanov, who appears for less than a minute in a unexpected and horrifically brutal flashback scene depicting the murder of the Russian royal family. Blink and you’ll miss it, but the look of sheer terror that crosses his face as he realises he’s about to be killed really got to me. I can’t even find the child actor’s name, but man. When this show gets it right it really gets it right.

RIP, Aaron Carter

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Man… I suppose his death was tragically inevitable really, wasn’t it? Maybe he’d have been able to turn things around given more time.

I know his behavior got pretty bad in his last years but I’ll always remember him as the cute blond kid whose poster I had in my bedroom.

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