Worf: I am a Klingon warrior, and a Starfleet officer. I’ve piloted starships through Dominion minefields; I’ve stood in battle against Kelvans twice my size; I courted and won the heart of the magnificent Jadzia Dax. If I can do these things, I can make this child go to sleep!
Jadzia Dax: Talk about losing perspective.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Season 6: Episode 24 – “Time’s Orphan”
It was important, Dumbledore said, to fight, and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then could evil be kept at bay, though never quite eradicated. . . .
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling
I’ve come to feel that stop-motion animated films need to be graded on their own scale, separate both from films in general but particularly from computer animated movies. Partly that’s due to the simple fact that so few stop-motion films are released anymore; The Boxtrolls is the only one due in 2014, while there are at least 10 major studio computer animated movies set to come out this year. In fact, while seemingly every studio is eager for a computer animated hit, there are very few sources of stop-motion animation, mainly consisting of Laika and Aardman Animations (with an occasional film from Tim Burton when he feels like it). In the last five years and despite producing only three films, Laika has set itself apart as a film studio with a vision, making interesting, unique films like Coraline and ParaNorman. With The Boxtrolls, it has solidified its place with the likes of Pixar as a studio that makes movies of the highest quality and vision which demand to be seen, and whose involvement with a film is more important than voice casts, writers or directors in attracting my interest.
This week’s Agents of SHIELD episode was both the funniest and had the best action of any episode thus far this season. Last week finally told us what Simmons has been up to along with giving us some truly fantastic Fitz moments. This week took the focus away from the “kids” of the show and put it squarely on mom and dad, as May and Coulson set off on an undercover assignment to retrieve a mysterious painting. We got some seriously kickass moments from both May and Coulson, a lot of humor, and even some sweetness, in what proved to be a nice change of tone from the previous three episodes this season, all of which have been rather serious. So let’s jump right into tonight’s episode (while keeping an eye out for laser grids), “Face My Enemy”, written by Drew Greenberg and directed by Kevin Tancharoen.
Buffy: I couldn’t believe Angel. He was acting all jealous, and he wouldn’t even admit it.
Willow: Jealous of what?
Buffy: Of Xander.
Willow: Because you did that sexy dance with him?
Buffy: Am I ever gonna live that down?
Willow: No.
Buffy: Anyway, he was being totally irrational.
Willow: Love makes you do the wacky.
Buffy: That’s the truth.
Xander: Y’know, this might go a lot faster if you femmes actually picked up a shovel, too.
Giles: Here, here.
Buffy: Sorry, but I’m an old-fashioned gal. I was raised to believe that men dig up the corpses and the women have the babies.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2: Episode 2 – “Some Assembly Required”
*Update: My full recap of “Face My Enemy” is now live. Read it here!
Now that is what I’m talking about! After three tense, dramatic episodes, including catching up with Simmons last week, SHIELD ramped up the comedy and the action tonight, giving us something that felt like the third act of a film from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tonight was full of many fantastic quotes (many of which are below), some great moments for Philinda (Coulson/May) shippers, and some all-around ass kicking. It had its drama too, and it’s character development. In all, this was about as close as you could get to my ideal SHIELD stand-alone episode, and while I wouldn’t want this every week, it was perfectly placed as the season’s fourth episode. Here are my instant reactions to the episode, and remember to check back later in the week for my full recap.
One of the most troublesome things in life is that what you do or do not want has very little to do with what does or does not happen. You might or want to become the sort of author who works calmly at home, for example, but something could happen that would lead you to become the sort of author who works frantically in the homes of other people, often without their knowledge.
A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Carnivorous Carnival – Lemony Snicket
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies.
How long will Pixar be able to get us excited by merely referencing their past triumphs? There may not actually be any limit on that timeframe, considering they have movies like Toy Story, Ratouille, WALL-E, Up, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, all of which are permanently etched in the public’s consciousness. For their newest film, Inside Out, they use the familiar tactic (also used in their first trailer for WALL-E) of reminding us why they’re so awesome, and of course it works. But I’m more interested in the small taste we actually get of Inside Out at the end of the trailer. Take a look at it below, and read on for my thoughts:
The Love Pirate 