John Ostrander: Odder Ends 2014
This week I’ve got a bunch of different topics and themes but none of them seem to be developing into a coherent column. So I think I’ll take parts of all of them and just stitch together into a hodgepodge column. It’s the end of the year so maybe I can get away with it.
If you’re doing a SF tent pole movie, you want to hire Zoe Saldana and use her prominently. She played Neytiri in Avatar, Uhura in the two latest Star Trek films, and Gamora in Guardians Of The Galaxy and she’s going to be in the next installments of all these films. They all made what is technically called a shitload of money. Coincidence? I think not. In fact, I’m beginning to wonder if she shouldn’t be cast as Amanda Waller. (Sorry, Oprah.) I really want the upcoming Suicide Squad movie to sell like hotcakes and spawn sequels and Amanda Waller related merchandise. Okay, I’m crass. Still, think about it. . .
Peter Capaldi has finished his first season as the new Doctor and I like his Doctor McCrankypants. It’s a nice variation of the past few Doctors. Not as crazy about all the writing, tho, and I really am beginning to feel it’s time for showrunner Steven Moffat to move on. When Moffat is good, he’s really good and he’s rarely outright bad but he’s often becoming mediocre. He seems, to me, to not always think things through. Or he gets clever for the sake of being clever.
Best Animated Film I Saw This Year – How To Train Your Dragon 2. The animation was better than the original and the story wasn’t a re-hash of the first but actually advanced the characters. It was fun but also had real emotional depth and impact. In fact, it was a better film than many live action serious movies I saw. It took chances.
Best Marvel Film I Saw This Year – a lot of people would say Guardians Of The Galaxy and I loved it too. It was just wonderfully entertaining. However, I liked Captain America: The Winter Soldier even more. Chris Evans is to Steve Rogers/Captain America what Christopher Reeve was to Superman. Why doesn’t Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow have her own movie? How the hell did they get Robert Redford go play the main villain? (Oh, right – money.) And Samuel L. Jackson just has deep reserves of cool to call on. The movie also had a major impact on Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. which was an added bonus.
Just finished reading Alexander Mcall Smith’s latest installment (number 15!) in his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, titled The Handsome Man’s De Luxe Café. The series is set in Botswana, Africa, and features Precious Ramotswe, her partner Grace Makutsi, and their friends, co-workers, and clients in and around the city of Gabrone. The characters are all African and the author is white, born in Rhodesia, now living in Scotland. He writes the characters with great love and understanding, along with a great love for Africa in general and Botswana in particular. Reading each new book is like visiting old friends. The mysteries are mostly small matters and not really the focus of the series. It is the people. I recommend the series and, while I suggest starting at he beginning, each book is admirably written to be accessible even if you haven’t read the others. I will warn you that they are quiet books, slow paced, but wonderful reads.
Final note: just an update since so many of you expressed concern following my recent triple bypass. I’m healing nicely and recovering well. My general practitioner, on my last visit, pronounced me “medically boring.” I’ve never been so glad to be called boring.
Well, that’s 2014. Drive carefully, drink responsibly, party carefully, and we’ll all reconvene in 2015.
Happy New Year, y’all!
As of Saturday, 12/27/14, my candidates for “Best animated film i saw all year” and “Best Marvel film i saw all year” have become the same.
I took Helen and the granddaughters to see Big Hero 6.
(Given the trailers i’ve seen for Inside Out, BTW, i think we’ve got another year where the big Disney release is a better Pixar film than the Pixar release…)
============
Capaldi’s Doctor reminds me a little too much of Three, who is probably my least-favourite Doctor of the ones i’ve actually seen enough of to get a feel for the characters.
Yeah, good call on Moffat, John. Perhaps he’s overworked? For example, I figured out “Missy” was the Master by the 3rd or so episode. And to tell you the truth, I was bored by her. Plus, the Cyberman weren’t all that scary–though I suppose the point was to focus on Danny Pink.
Did absolutely love the “cameo” by the Brigadier, though!
Love Zoe Saldana (she’s gotten flack about playing Nina Simone by some because she’s “not black enough,” btw)…but how about what’s her name, the woman who was in 12 YEARS A SLAVE for Amanda Waller?
Btw, how do you feel about all your work on STAR WARS being cancelled out? Personally, I’d be pissed as hell. Oh, well, that’s corporations for you.
Zoe Saldana is tied to Marvel. I like her but she has gotten the opportunity to play almost every black female character (the few that are available) there is.
I am happy with Cynthia Addai-Robinson from Arrow as Amanda Waller, who happened to have coincidentally played Zoe Saldana’s mother in the film Colombiana.