November 13th, 2017
Looking at this toy, one assumes that somewhere in China there is a knock-off toy manufacturer who pictures in his brain a “Toy Story 5” movie where Sheriff Woody goes to “destroy the forces of evil”. I wonder… what would that movie look like? Personally, I picture Sheriff Woody teaming up with Bruce Willis to kill terrorists in a high rise office building… 🙂
November 4th, 2017
One of the few perks about being overseas in Asia is that one gets to see movies 12 or more hours before audiences in America (and at least here in Mongolia, a matinee price of ~$2.50US for a 3D movie doesn’t hurt either!). So here is my very early two-minute review of Thor: Ragnarok…
As one suspects from the trailer, the movie is full of humor and very seldom takes itself seriously. It’s definitely the funniest of the Marvel franchise thus far, more than the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies combined. If the Avengers movies could be described as action with a heavy undertone of humor, Thor Ragnarok would be the other way around. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of action, because there IS a lot of that; rather the humor was so constant it felt more like a comedy film with a lot of action mixed in. At several points (particularly the parts set in Sakaar) the movie more than anything reminded me of the 1980 “Flash Gordon” film, only much funnier and not as campy. The 80’s feel of the film was reinforced by the score which included a lot of synthesizer music.
As for the actors, Chris Hemsworth’s comedic side that he showed in the “Ghostbusters” reboot and the “Team Thor” shorts is out in full force for this movie, and it makes his character SO much more interesting than in the first two Thor films or the Avengers films. And for you guys trying to convince your lady to make this your date night movie, Chris Hemsworth DOES have a rather excessive shirtless scene. Jeff Goldblum was certainly not wasted as the Grandmaster in this film… sure he had a lot of funny lines and moments, but I’d say it was the whole of his performance and character more than any one line or moment that made it a treat (now for the hardcore Marvel nerds out there this version of the Grandmaster is hardly true to the comics from what little I remember… but given the kind of movie this is, Goldblum’s approach works wonderfully). Tom Hiddleston (Loki) and Tessa Thompson (the Valkyrie) do an impressive job (comedic and dramatic) and thankfully are given more than token roles in this film. And even though Karl Urban as Skurge doesn’t have a huge amount of screen time (sadly) than the rest, his presence added to the movie as well (IMHO the highlight was early in the movie with his initial appearance at the Bifrost Bridge). Benedict Cumberbatch’s brief Doctor Strange appearance is much more of a cameo than a critical plot element, but I suppose it did add more opportunities for Hemsworth and the film’s director to keep the humor going.
To be honest I know very little of the director, Taika Waititi, but judging from the results one has to think this film was extraordinarily fortunate to have him. This film definitely seems to be a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and I’m willing to bet much of that is due to him. Now I suppose one could argue that the comedy-saturated nature of the movie takes away from the seriousness of the threat of Asgardian extinction, and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree. But the director had an obviously audacious vision, took some risks, and made it work incredibly well, so I am more that willing to overlook that little compromise.
So my rating? A very solid “Worth putting on pants and leaving the house” rating; the second highest rating I have, and that’s only because I’m very stingy about giving out my highest rating. Heck, I’ll even say “Worth putting on nice pants”… which is saying something, given what’s often spilled and stuck on those movie theater seats.
NBNW Movie Ratings System
1) “Shut up and take my money!”
I would happily pay full price to see it, even worth braving a packed theater on opening day. Not a rating I give lightly. (Examples: Deadpool; Ghostbusters (the original one); Empire Strikes Back; the first Matrix movie.)
2) “Worth putting on pants and leaving the house.”
I would pay full price at the theater under normal conditions, i.e. when the theater is not fully packed. (Examples: Logan; Spiderman Homecoming; most of the Star Wars movies; the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films.)
3) “I dunno… is there a matinee?”
I might make time to see it at a reduced price at an early showing or bargain theater (Examples: X-Men Apocalypse; Alien Covenant; the recent live-action Ghost in the Shell movie).
4) “Meh.”
I’ll take the opportunity to see it free on cable or a plane trip, and in some cases MIGHT be willing to pay two or three bucks to rent it or see it on-demand (Examples: the Ghostbusters reboot; most Transformers movies; 0.5% of SyFy Channel-produced movies).
5) “Better than being at work… barely.”
If it’s free and I have nothing better to do, I MIGHT watch it. (Examples: Batman v Superman; 49.5% of SyFy Channel-produced movies.)
6) “I’d rather be at work.”
If I was forced to choose between losing a leg or watching the movie, I’d have to think about it. (Examples: the Fantastic Four reboot; Battlefield Earth; the remaining half of the SyFy Channel-produced movies.)
7) “Take the leg.”
In context of the rating above, it’s pretty self explanatory. (Examples: Manos the Hands of Fate- the original, non-MST3K enhanced version.)
September 26th, 2017
After an extraordinarily long download (Mongolian DSL is very cheap, but hey ultimately you get what you pay for right?), I now have the new XCOM 2 expansion, “War of the Chosen”. For those who have been lamenting the brief hiatus in XCOM-ic strips, the wait for this expansion and my tentative plans to incorporate some of the new content into the parody comic are the reason why. While I haven’t seen anything that would change any of the story ideas I already had brewing, admittedly I’m still early in the game so there’s still the possibility I might change up a few comic strip ideas before I publish them (I hate the idea of having to retcon old material). At any rate, now that at least I have a sense of the scope of the expansion I feel more comfortable continuing with a few of my existing ideas for the XCOM-ic storyline. And what I’ve seen of the expansion thus far has given me some new ideas already that I’m eager to put into future strips.
On a related note, I’ve been toying with the idea of changing the format from one comic strip per week (alternating between NBNW and XCOM-ic strips) to TWO comic strips per week… a Nerd By Northwest strip published every Friday and a XCOM-ic strip published every Tuesday or Wednesday. While it’s something I would really like to pursue, I admit it’s hard to justify the extra time spent for what’s so far a hobby and labor of love. So I’ve been thinking it’s time to start monetizing this thing, because of the several business & hobby projects I have going it’s the one I enjoy the most. Perhaps its due time to set up a Patreon program, options for making one-time donations, and/or advertising on the site? So I ask you, dear reader, if you enjoy my webcomics then please go to the contact page and tell me what you think of these ideas (or offer any ideas of your own) to make this endeavor a larger, more self-sustaining webcomic site. Thanks!
August 16th, 2017
The USDA and many U.S. state governments keep telling me raw milk is something that can’t be sold or consumed because it’s “dangerous”. Yet here in Mongolia is a raw milk dispenser, sold inside a megastore that just happens to be owned by and part of the largest retailer in South Korea (i.e. E-mart). It’s almost as if they trust people to make their own decisions as to what to put in their bodies… how crazy is that?
July 26th, 2017
For those who don’t know, I’m writing this from Mongolia, where my family and I currently spend most of our time. Last week my wife’s little nephew was visiting, and they were watching “Clarence” on Cartoon Network (Yes, there is Cartoon Network, even here. Sadly, there is also Fox News and CNN… I try to be positive and think of it as yin-yang with the good and the bad having to be in balance). Anyway, it’s the grocery store episode and Clarence sees the very obese woman riding one of the grocery store scooter carts. My wife’s nephew had a puzzled look on his face, and it was only then I realized he’s probably never seen a mobility scooter before. That then made me realize I’ve never seen mobility scooters ANYWHERE in Mongolia, whether in the supermarkets or anywhere else. I’ve tried thinking back to our family’s trip last year to Iceland and Norway, and couldn’t remember seeing them there either.
It reinforces my conviction that Americans in general are getting way too soft. Here I see hunched-over little old ladies with canes walking down the roads and in the stores, going slow but still powering through life. There’s a guy living in this area with amputated legs who routinely moves his wheelchair all the way up our steep road and across unpaved, hilly ground just to collect the plastic bottles from the apartment complex’s trash so he can earn a little cash. Talk about grit.
I’m not against mobility scooters as a tool, and I know there are some people who truly benefit from mobility scooters. But let’s face it… more than half of those who use them do so for convenience, not necessity. We Americans need to toughen up (me included), and challenge ourselves more often. If we don’t, we’re on a one way trip to being conquered. And they won’t even have to send soldiers to do it… they’ll just shut off the power and send in their little old women, who will loot all our best stuff and laugh as our mobility scooters’ batteries go dead…
And with that said, time for me to take a walk 😉