(no subject)

1. Name a favorite actor or actress and explain why they are your favorite?

At the moment? Meryl Streep because she can literally do any role and is over the age of 50 and still pulls in great performances. And for actors...currently Daniel Craig who is oddly hot, yet not attractive at the same time.

2. What one thing would you change about a favorite movie, tv show or book that you are fan of? That would make that book, movie or tv show perfect in your opinion?

I would change the prequels of Star Wars...make Anakin older when he meets his mentors in Phantom Menace and edgier. Also make Obie Wan edgier. And focus more on character and less on the CGI special effects. I'd also see if I could get Lawrence Kasdan or the someone like that to write the script and someone like the director of Empire Strikes Back to do the films.

3. Name a favorite book from your childhood that you still recall vividly and love to this day?

My Side of the Mountain is a 1959 young-adult fiction novel by Jean Craighead George about a boy who learns about courage, independence, and the need for companionship while attempting to live in a forested area of New York.

4. Who is the fictional character that you most admire? Why?

Hazel Grace in Fault in Our Stars...for showing grace under pressure...something Hemingway aspired for but never understood.

5. If you could give a million dollars to any charity - which one would it be?

Hard one. Most likely Food Bank of New York at the moment. Although I'd also consider one of the animal rescue charities or Altzeimers Research. Personally I think losing your mind is the worst disease in the world.

6. What country other than the one you are currently residing in would you want to live in?

England or Canada. Although have a fondness for France, Australia and heard nice things about New Zealand. (I'm Celtic blood with a bit of the Germanic thrown in.)

7. Name your happy place - a place that makes you happy?

Anywhere with trees and water. My parents lagoon behind their house in hilton head. Or
the tree lined block where I live, or the tree filled Rufus King Park. I love trees. It's why I didn't like the west or Kansas, no trees. I need trees.

8. Name a happy book or tv show or film that makes you laugh or smile?

PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster, Harry Potter (earlier novels), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Noises Off and Grosse Point Blanke

9. Name three fictional characters that you would want to invite to dinner?

Hmmm. Harder than I thought when I came up with this. Atticus Finch, Tyrion, and Aeryn Sun just to watch them argue.

10. What two fictional universes would you like to merge?

The Whoverse and the Whedonverse...or the Farscapeverse and the Star Trek verse...because I'm evil.

11. Name three characters real or imagined that you would like to rewrite or change their canonical story? (Not quite the same as fanfic, here you would literally change their canonical story arc - so that the old one did not exist and this one did - like traveling back in time and re-writing their history) And what would it be?

Hmm...this is impossible, no wonder no one has answered these questions. I have no idea.
There is a reason I don't create memes.

Yes, I know, just what you all need...another Avenger's Review...

Lovely day. Quite relaxing. Beautiful Spring day - crisp, baby blue skies, no clouds, sparkling sunshine, and quiet. Also accomplished a bit - got laundry done, made up bed, signed lease, picked up envelope to send long-over-due gift to friend, and saw the Avengers' movie finally.

So sue me, I enjoyed The Avenger's movie. It wasn't deep but it was a lot of fun. I like pulp. It's fun! And ...It's a lot of fun to see that movie in a packed movie theater with a NYC urban audience. Specifically an audience filled with comic book buffs and fans of the genre. They get the jokes. There were a lot of NYC insider jokes in that film. Even though it's more expensive, I'm glad I saw it in a theater - you sort of need to. Like Hairspray, it's a better film in the theater than it is outside of it. The audience went crazy during the fight scenes, laughed, applauded...was weirdly interactive and very warm and fun. You are in the dark with like-minded souls. I felt safe and warm and included. Happy. Which is why I think The Avengers is making millions of dollars.

Is the film great? No. It has problems. And yes, Whedon is clearly obsessed with the whole free will vs. subjucation or loss of free will bit. I've noticed this as a recurring theme in all of his stories and it does to a degree echo George Lucas' Star Wars, The Matrix, and Cameron's Terminator films...a somewhat cut and dried view of power.

The Avengers' was in some respects a repeat of the same themes addressed in Buffy S8, Cabin in the Woods, and Dollhouse...except with better execution.

And the movie is quite good in places. It's a lot of fun. And to date the best "ensemble" superhero movie that I've seen. Not the best superhero movie. It does owe a lot to Sam Rami's Xenia and Spiderman Flicks in how the action sequences and build up is accomplished. If you've seen Rami's Spiderman flicks - you'll see the similarities. I'm more of a Chris Nolan fan myself, preferring the dark noir opera, but I admit, Rami is more fun as is Whedon.
( spoilers, most won't make sense unless you've seen the film and I do reference Whedon's other works such as Buffy )

Is The Avenger's an empty-headed superhero film like NY Times and Salon.com's critics suggest? I don't think so. Any more than I think the comics truly are. Or Twilight or Harry Potter or Shades of Grey. The more I study pulp...the more I realize...that art like all things is in the eye of the beholder. Sure a story can be better written, better told,
more rightly told - but it doesn't mean the story doesn't have power or meaning if it's not.

Who are we to be the arbitrators of other's tastes or desires? Who are we to judge?
And more importantly why do we want to? What can we learn from pulp fiction? From populist stories...told to the common person, the working man and woman?

I'm asking these questions of myself tonight, more than anyone else. Wondering...perhaps I'm too quick to judge. And wondering why I feel the need to judge at all. Is it a flaw or a gift or both in my makeup?

Anyhow...judging the Avengers solely on what it is, I'd give it a B+, not an A, merely because of the plot gap regarding the Hulk and the lengthy exposition that slowed the film down. Other than that...it was a fun and interesting flick. Definitely worth the price of admission - which for me was $13.50. Definitely preferred it to Cabin in the Woods, but it should be noted that I'm more of a fan of this genre than Cabin's...so that may have had an effect.