What up, folks? It's me, it's me. I've been having difficulty writing a blog, or more accurately, finishing a blog. I've started two since my last post, written several Random Thoughts for each, and then abandoned them like my first wife and two kids. It doesn't help that I'm easily distracted by the internet, or Netflix, or shaving, or the cat, or anything else I do to procrastinate that is completely detrimental to my writing. Here's hoping I finish writing this one and get it out to all you fine, blog-reading peoples.
—Joss Whedon is awesome. Read this, and then proceed with my blog. At the time Joss wrote that, The Avengers had broken every weekend box office record ever. Now it's at least the fourth highest grossing film of all time. Wow. Joss Whedon, the man who brought us Buffy the Vampire Slayer (which I've just started watching), Firefly/Serenity, The Astonishing X-Men, Dr. Horrible, etc., etc., he's king. He did exactly what he's always done: Delivered witty, fresh dialogue, (a) strong female character(s), a good story, and fun action. We get to share Mr. Whedon with the rest of the world now. That's awesome. The more opportunities he gets to kill it, the better. Movies and TV are better off with a Joss Whedon film being one of the top movies EVER. Congrats Joss, from all of us who have followed you from Buffy to the Browncoats, mutant cures to freeze rays. We'll be watching how you soar (like a leaf on the wind!).
SPOILERS FOR THE AVENGERS FOLLOW. I'LL LET YOU KNOW WHEN THEY'RE DONE. SORRY FOR YELLING LIKE THIS.
—Going right off of that, The Avengers was more fun than most movies. By no means perfect (weak baddies), it got so much right (culture clash of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, all of Hulk and Bruce Banner), that I'm more than fine giving its faults a pass. Some of the problems were out of the movie's control, too: I felt a genuine lack of tension when Iron Man took that nuke through the portal. Why? Because we all know that Iron Man 3 is shooting in Wilmington right now-ish. We know Thor 2 and Captain America 2 are right around the corner. We know our heroes won't be dying, so that can't be used for tension like in a normal film. And c'mon, there would've been serious loss of life during that battle. But not seeing normal civilians get offed makes it seem that much more cartoony and unrealistic. I'm not advocating gore or anything like that, just something that shows intergalactic invading armies are more than just fodder to Thor's lightning and Hulk's smashing. Again, fun to watch, but the battle had no depth. Plenty of nerd-outs, like Cap reflecting Iron Man's energy blasts off his shield, or Bruce Banner turning into Hulk on command, but little in the way of depth. But again, I'm all right with that. Bruce Banner was excellent. The moment where he and Tony Stark just go all super-science-y was beautiful. Black Widow's vulnerability mixed in with badassitude made her more than the pretty face with awesome moves that she was in Iron Man 2. They kept Hawkeye's villainous origins, which this geek enjoyed. Iron Man was exactly what we'd expect, Thor was more serious than we saw in his own movie, but I think it worked. And Cap was done as well as Hulk. Especially his line about gods and how they dress. That was Steve Rogers through and through. Without a doubt, we needed more Loki. Maybe. I thoroughly enjoyed the bits of the character we got, but he wasn't wholly defined, unless you also saw Thor. I got a kick out of him. And talk about subtle. Did you notice Great Odin's ravens fly past Thor and Loki? Or the deconstruction of the MetLife building around Stark Tower? Tony Stark's mention of Life-Model Decoys? That the final battle was very much a real life version of Galaga? That Iron Man landed in front of a shawarma place, leading to that extra-extra credits scene?! Go see it. If you already did, see it again.
Ok, I'm done with spoilers, slight though they were. I'm also done yelling at you.
—My hair is way too long. We're talking past my shoulders. I'm competing with my girlfriend at this point. Time for a gorram haircut, if you ask me. Nothing drastic, because I've come to enjoy my long hair, but something more manageable. I also need a non-humid climate. Long Island sucks in that regard and it doesn't take much for me to frizz out. Who'd have thunk any of this would ever be a concern for me, a man who used to get crew cuts that grew into emo-flips? Ridiculous!
—On May 4th, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died. People sometimes exaggerate when they say someone was a pioneer, or that music, as a whole, is less because an artist died. We like to glorify the dead, remember them as better than they were, especially celebrities. But in this instance, all the great words spoken about MCA appear spot on. The Beastie Boys changed the face of rap. Adam Yauch was a proponent of LGBT rights (I can't believe we're still in a time when that's even a thing) and a free Tibet. The man did good things. For that reason alone, we're a little worse off. Excellently enough, though, Adrock is working on getting a park in Brooklyn, State Side Park, where MCA used to hang out, renamed for the man. Here's hoping.
—You guys heard of Run for Your Lives? Of course you have, I've mentioned it here at least once. If you can't seem to recall it, it's a 5K race. With zombies. And mud. So much mud. Obstacles, too. And a giant slip'n'slide. An electric fence, too. Throw in a dash of flag football, and yeah, you've got this pegged. My girlfriend, her (our) friend Dez, and I did this thing and walked away beaten and bruised and soaked to the bone. I cannot wait to do another one. In fact, we're looking into the Austin, TX one, all the way in December. If you like challenges, kind of running, and mud, get to one of these. It'll kick your ass and you'll thank it for that.
—So, Community. What an end to season 3. They could, realistically, end the series with that finale. But they won't. NBC has renewed Community for a 13 episode season 4, with the potential to add 9 for the spring. Will they? Probably not. Moving a show to Friday night is typically a slow and agonizing death (just ask Firefly). Especially when you fire the showrunner, who has been an essentially part of the show's success. Oh, you didn't hear? Dan Harmon, show creator, was removed as showrunner. This sort of thing happens, and the fans usually get the brunt of it (just ask Frank Darabont, former showrunner of The Walking Dead (I promise one day David and I will update Among the Walking Dead)). You've got to be wondering why this is happening, since Community, while certainly wacky and off-kilter, has a strong, vocal, loyal audience. It's because it's Nielson ratings suck. Who the hell is Nielson and why do we care? The answer to both is outdated. Nielson ratings monitor who watches a show live. How many of you watch shows live anymore? How about on Hulu, DVR, or the network's website? The latter isn't taken into account with ratings. Couldn't tell you why. But it's a big part of the problem. The other part? NBC is incompetent. Cruel. Cruel, cruel, cruel. #sixseasonsandamovie
—After I wrote the above, I stumbled upon this: A Community cast member leaked a memo from Sony Pictures Television, instructing cast members on how to handle questions about Dan Harmon's departure. Check out The Hollywood Reporter's article about it, which is really just the memo and some context. What it appears to boil down to is "let it blow over, the audience will forget who Dan Harmon is." What I want to see now is how the cast reacts to said directive in upcoming interviews.
—May 20th marked one year since Macho Man Randy Savage died. I tried to write a blog about it at the time, but really, really struggled. I couldn't tell you why. As a little kid, I loved Macho Man. Hell, I was dropping elbows left and right in high school thanks to him. I don't know that I could call him a childhood hero because I wasn't all about wrestling at a young age, but if you asked me at 5 who I'd pick: Hogan or Savage, it would've been Macho Man every day of week, dig it! Hate on pro-wrestling all you like, Macho Man was one of THE best wrestlers and entertainers to get in the ring. Dude was memorable like no one else, outrageous when most weren't and could go with anyone, from Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat to Hulk Hogan. So here's to you, Randy Savage.
That's all for now, kids! This blog, like my hair, was getting a bit long. I'll follow-up (I swear!) with a long, deep look at the newest The Dark Knight Rises trailer. Hopefully with a mini-review of Prometheus which is coming out in a week and a half! Holy crap, that's soon. And looks awesome. I've been staying away from anything but two of the trailers, and damn. Damn, Ridley Scott.
