BABY DRIVER: Screening #2 brain dump…

This post is gonna be a spoiler-tastic collection of notes, thoughts, Edgar/Easter eggs, and crazy talk on elements of Edgar Wright's BABY DRIVER after a second screening tonight.

(You can review my post-screening-1 ramble here.)

About names and casting…

Buddy—Jason Van Horn.

I couldn't hold onto his last name after my first screening, just vaguely recalled it being Van Winklevossy, y'know? Something that fit Bats's educated guess from an uneducated man. But this time, I remembered, and hours later, I get it! I think? Jason VAN HORN! =)

Darling—Monica Costello.

In the car after taking care of the Butcher & friends, the crew press each other about their names and Buddy explains that they only know each other by nicknames, aka "monickers." With punny timing, Darling then reveals that her real name is Monica. We find out her last name is Costello from a breaking news bulletin later. My mind always jumps to Abbott-and- but I don't think that applies here. =)

Griff—short for Griffin.

We never get his real name, but that doesn't matter so much here. We do get Griffin, as in the legendary eagle-lion mashup beast, depending on the culture and time in which you ask, supposedly supernaturally wise and partial to gold treasure and testing humans with riddles.

Frack, am I confusing them w/sphinxes? Hrm…I'm gonna go with it, just to get my thoughts down.

After the first heist, Griff takes it on himself to find out what makes Baby tick, believing his quiet and aloofness to be signs that he considers himself better than the rest of the crew. He explains to Baby—You can't do crime without being a little criminal…One day, you're gonna get blood on your hands.

I wish I could remember more/all of what he says to Baby, but I'd bet all of it is and/or comes true.
Even if the name isn't a perfect connect, he still plays a Cassandra-like Wrightian soothsayer in the shape of a bank robber.

Doc.

I don't think we get any clue as to his altar ego, if he has one. All we know is he's a heist mastermind with impressive resources and a line on people with nasal troubles. We do see him sharing drinks w/Big Boi and Killer Mike at Bacchanalia, tho. ENT to hip-hop stars who was once in love, too? =)

Bats—Leon.

The batty lion. That works. I think we must've gotten his last name in that breaking news report, too, but I missed it. Nuts.

Eddie No-Nose—formerly Eddie the Nose.

Heh. That's a No-Nose no-no, page 1.

J.D.

I didn't catch any hint as to his real name. Maybe it's a filmmaking reference, like R2-D2? But specific to something or someone disposable? Or maybe a clue as to his fate, when or if he's ever discovered, post-sunset, he'd surely be tagged as a John Doe, right?

The Butcher—never get his name, but the actor? OMG! STILL ALIVE! =)

Crazy amazing casting and a damn impressive delivery of a pig-themed bad cop sales pitch! Perhaps PHANTOM holds a special place in Wright's heart? I know it does in mine. Or perhaps it's the man's extensive and inspiring oeuvre as a whole. In any case, a joyous experience seeing him in the BABY DRIVER world.

And the rest…

Now, whatever I can recall that I want to recall, roughly in the order of appearance in the film…

The graffiti behind Baby is definitely updated between his trip to Octane and back to the Healey building. Maybe in more than one place, but I'm only sure about the "RIGHT" + "Shake Shake" art. On the way to Octane, along with Baby's "Harlem Shuffle" track syncing with graffiti and posted words in the environment, we see Baby match poses with wall art of a guy looking up to the sky and play "air horn" in front of show window featuring a trumpet. On his way back, a sandwich board doomsayer tells him that he must save himself from sin, and when crossing the street, a police car just passes him by before turning on its siren.

I wonder…Could the lyrics to "Harlem Shuffle" be a map to one of the getaway scenes? Or the acts and plot of the entire film…?

Hrm…Maybe…? Certainly can't put it past Professor Wright =)

When Baby flips thru channels at home w/Joe early on, there's a series of channel audio bits that felt a lot like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The MONSTERS, INC bit that Baby uses on Doc—"You and I are a team. Nothing is more important than our friendship."—is part of it. At the end, we see coverage of a bullfight, a matador stepping around a skewered but undefeated bull. We hear, and see via cc—"The bull still stands." In the moment, that seems to be comment on Baby's sticking with his one-more-job-and-I'm-done plan, despite Joe's objection.

However, before we cut to the next scene, the announcer continues, talking about how the matador, having failed to finish the bull from horseback, must now try his luck on foot, which is kind of what happens to Baby after the Post Office robbery and also in his finale duel with Buddy in the parking garage. Post-Post Office, after skewering Bats, Baby (and Buddy and Darling) have to abandon their steed and escape on foot.

Later, when it's down to Baby and Deb vs. Buddy, they start car-v-car (the red Charger and the police cruiser), but Baby tells Debra they have to get out of the car so that he can end this, and although he does that just to get into a different car, the final confrontation has all of the players on their feet. Well, y'know, until they're not any more.

I think the second time we see Baby or Joe channel-hopping at home, Noel Fielding appears on screen for a few seconds. On my first screening, I thought it was a clip from THE MIGHTY BOOSH, but now I realize that it's from the video for Mint Royale's "Blue Song," which Wright directed and was sort of an early short form riff of his BABY DRIVER concept. A wheelman waiting on his crew to the sound—and duration—of a favorite song of the right length.

Debora vs. her sister Mary for songs with their names.

Bo's Diner decor/wall art—Route 66, couple in a convertible. Same as one of the postcards Deb sends Baby in jail.

Where is Bo's Diner? If ever in the area, gotta go—gotta go!

Laundromat decor/wall art—rockets and space.

Was the decor in the dinner and 'mat redone for the movie, or left as found?

The senior waitress says that Baby's been coming there since before she started. She thinks/heard that his mom used to work there. Lucky for Baby Deb thinks that more sweet than creepy. =)

BABY: I have different iPods for different days, different moods…

Bo's Diner number—555-1270. I think that was it. December 1970? Does that line up with a significant birthday or cinematic event?

There's a beautiful pair of shots one after the other when Baby, at home, calls Debora at Bo's. He's framed in a doorway of a darkened room, Joe in the lit living room behind him, with most of the dark on screen to the right. Then we see Deb, framed by the dark foreground of part of the kitchen, or maybe a supply/pantry area, to the left, with the light of the diner behind her. There's a palpable sense of their connection thru that phone line that crosses a darkness between them.

Or something. =)

Baby notices JD's "HAT" neck tattoo. JD explains that it used to read "HATE" but he had it "fixed" to be more marketable to prospective employers. After all…

JD: Who doesn't like hats?

Baby invites Debora to "Buck & Ella" for the finest wining and dining of all the wine and dine in town.

Deb and Baby make music with their glasses at Buck & Ella. The whole non-verbal carousel cam montage of their date there is in wonderful sync to the music. LA LA LAND, eat your hat! (Cuz, who doesn't like hats, right? =)

DOC: Take the buds out, shades off. Take the nephew, it'll be less suspicious.

I remember thinking that this seems like a way for Doc to set Baby up for capture later, getting his uncovered face caught on camera. A contingency plan to keep Doc under his thumb? Or put him away after this job?

NEPHEW SAM: You have a mint that says "Sam?"


When Baby and Sam deliver their reconnaissance report, I think Doc says, "Chips off the old block." A hint of actual fatherly affection? A Fagin-like show of pride? A clue to his brother's identity? Something else?

POSTAL WORKER: Everybody wants happiness, nobody wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain.

This after saying she's working "9 to 5, just like Dolly."

It's a sweet connect to the rain that falls the next day, the day of the Post Office heist, and the rainbow that appears five years later when Deb picks up Miles on his release from prison, ready to drive west on 20 in a car they can't afford with a plan they don't have.

I guess that's romantic? Sounds like a lot of stress to me. =)

Whenever someone slams a door or trunk, we hear Baby's tinnitus ringing. Always a flashback to the accident?

BATS: You don't need a score for a score!

And he talks about Hex Songs…
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
"End of the Road"
"Hotel California"

BATS: An educated guess from an uneducated man.

Bats at Bo's "reading" Buddy and Darling. They rob banks to support doing drugs. Bats does drugs to support robbing banks. They're on vacation; he's at work.

The bill at Bo's for four Cokes, aka three Cokes and one Coca: $5.70. Baby leaves a 20 and a note: Road trip 2am.

When Baby and Deb are on the run after shooting Buddy at Bo's, Baby steps into a phone booth in a bit of empty lot to call Doc, who is not helpful. The booth has graffiti on its clear walls of tentacles reaching up from the ground—a visual representation of the realization of Griff's prophecy? This is just before they—Bonnie and Clyde? More like Bonnie and Bonnie—acquire the red Charger from the vaping punks. One of them asks Baby to leave him his phone but since it's playing the music, Baby says—Nope. =)

BABY: Fuck you, Buddy.

Paraphrasing Elvis? FYB vs TCB? =)

I didn't mention it in my previous ramble, but Baby definitely vibes Elvis at least as much as Han throughout the movie, and earlier, actually. When lip syncing to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "Bellbottoms" in the opening heist, he's definitely channeling Elvis for me.

Caught in the credits this time that WALTER HILL is the ASL interpreter for Joe in the courtroom at Baby's trial. Only heard, not seen.

Also, Baby's prisoner number is 28071978—the release date of Walter Hill's THE DRIVER. =)

WHO gives Baby his mail in jail? Not credited (in order of appearance, he should've been last, and the judge was last). Whoever it is has a very unique look, and a distinctive voice. Guess I'll just have to see it again!

Keep on keepin' on~

GOTG 2: First screening spoiler-ful brain dump…

Saw GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 tonight for the first time—woo-hoo!

I'm not gonna go into much in the way of criticism of the film here except to say that it's a rockin' good time that goes deeper on character and a little shorter on plotting than the Volume 1. What I *am* gonna do is some half-baked comic book fanboy rambling and appreciation.

Gotta say, I was kind of WTF? when I realized that Sylvester Stallone's character, Grand Poobah of the Ravagers, was going by Stakar, who in the Marvel Universe is also known as Starhawk, aka "The One Who Knows." It seemed like a weird direction to take that namesake. Of course, it's still pretty much in line with Yondu's translation from page to screen, right?

I didn't think that while watching the movie, tho. What "fixed" Stakar for me was one of the end credits scenes, where we see Stakar saying how pleased he is to be able to reassemble old friends-slash-teammates, including Martinex (Stakar's crystalline right hand, Plutonian in the comics), Charlie-27 (superstrong Jovian in the comics, played by Ving Rhames), and Aleta (comics Starhawk's wife, played by Michelle Yeoh). This is Starhawk assembling a roster of the OGs, from the 30th century team of Marvel comics!

But—it's not to do any guardian-ing, but instead so they can go rob the heck out of the galaxy. Hrm…Some pretty heavy hitters—Sly, Ving, Michelle. How do they fit into upcoming MCU shenanigans? GOTG allies? GOTG imposters? Maybe their story-slash-heist unfolds in end credits scenes over a few movies? Right now they don't click in place for me.

Still, very fun to see the MCU's version of the 30th century OGs.

Tazerface! The reaction to that name in the film is so perfect! I wonder which Marvel writer created him and what s/he thinks about what's become of him? From what I remember of the comics, he was some kind of enhanced Badoon who had a personal beef w/the 30th century Guardians.

Nice to see Yondu upgrade his arrow fin tech to more closely match Marvel comics' Yondu's natural fin. Legitimately sad to see him go already, even if he did get a proper Ravager funereal sendoff. He got a pretty decent arc, and even though you could see the biodad vs. real dad conflict-slash-realization from 40 clicks away, the actual unfolding of it was pretty rewarding and okay, even a bit emotional. Nicely done, Rooker and Gunn!

Kurt Russell as Peter's dad. Kinda perfect. Ego as Peter's dad? Weird, but a good and creative answer to the question of MCU Peter Quill's paternity. I don't think comics Ego ever walked as a man, but I also don't think he was ever just a floating space brain, either. *Immediately* flashed to FUTURAMA. =)

I think I first met Ego in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR. Or maybe it was ROM? In any case, I thought he was part of the FF's universe, so was surprised to find him playing a part in the MCU. But then I remembered that when he met the FF, he'd already encountered Thor, so he's fair game as an Avengers connection. We did get one shot of Ego the Living Planet as he looks in the comics, a giant face defined by the landscape and funky organelles of the planet. I was hoping for more, tho, and maybe some of the funky macro-microbiological stuff from the comics, too, like humanoid antibodies and freaky scaled-up cells and organs, y'know? Instead, we get some gooey energy tendrils and Ego's Kurt Russell—and David Hasselhoff!—looking host body in various states of disrepair. Not bad, but y'know, a comic fanboy's heart wants what it wants—giant antibodies! =)

It's nice to see Mantis on the GOTG roster, but her introduction seemed a bit crowbarred in. Ego keeps her as a pet and sleep aide. Her unique empathic powers enable her to help Ego sleep, because apparently he has trouble sleeping? Would've been nice to get a better explanation for her presence. Maybe she helps tame Ego's growing insanity/instability?

Huh. Ego calls himself a Celestial, and Peter immediately asks him if he means that he's a god. So, MCU spacefarers are familiar with the term? Until Ego called himself one, I thought that Celestial referred exclusively to the giant space gods, one of whom's head has become the world-station known as Knowhere.

I think in the comics, Ego is a legitimate Elder of the Universe, like the Collector and Gamemaster. Celestial as a title for him doesn't seem quite right to me, but o well…

It *does* perhaps help with the logic of Mantis attaining a title of Celestial Madonna, tho.

I wish there was maybe one or two more scenes-slash-steps to Nebula and Gamora's hatchet burying, but the arc does work quite well. Also very touching and smart to have Peter's eulogy for Yondu—the part about searching for something for so long only to realize it was next to you all the time (would getting Survivor's "The Search is Over" have been too nail on the head?)—apply both to the sisters' bond as well as "this unspoken thing"/CHEERS-Sam-and-Dianne between Peter and Gamora.

The make-your-own-family theme is pretty irresistible. For a 40-something story consumer like myself, on paper that notion can seem trite and tired, but with these characters, and this writing, it still works on me. Several crescendos really helped, I think. Peter's reaction to Ego's admission of giving his mother that tumor (that was a smart stroke, no sympathy for Ego after that). Nebula's description of the duels Thanos forced on Gamora and herself, and the price she paid for her losses. Yondu and Rocket's breakthrough therapy session.

Heh. Nice to see Stan Lee as a distinct space-suited character in conversation with the Watchers on the surface of some planet or moon in one of the stargate jumps, and then in one of the end credits scenes. The Watchers actually walk away from him as he explains that he's still got more stories for them. Very nice. =)

In retrospect, I want to say that I should've seen the Adam Warlock cocoon coming when we were introduced to the golden-skinned Sovereign, but no, there was too much fun stuff going on with them to make me think of that while watching the movie. LOVE their ENDER'S GAME-y remote control space navy action.

But, yeah—Adam Frickin' Warlock! =)

Love the sweet laser balls weapons system on Yondu's heist ship, perfect for general offense and defense, reconfigurable for drilling into the core of a living planet, as well as a Death Blossom! =)

When Howard the Duck showed up again in a space bar where the Ravagers were hanging out, the audience reaction was loud enough that I couldn't catch any of his dialogue. Nuts.

Hrm…I think that's all I've got right now. I'm a bit frazzled when it comes to processing cinema right now as I'm coming off of eight days and 21 films of festivalizing. If I come up with more thoughts before my next GOTG2 screening, I may add/edit to this, and if a next screening fires up the tired synapses with more ideas, observations, and/or crazy talk, I'll ramble out a new post.

Keep on keepin' on~

PASSENGERS: Space meh

Website | Trailer 

Not a lot that I really enjoyed in this, except maybe super-beardy Chris Pratt. That was definitely fun. There's one sorta-twist in the film, but it's barely even that, and it happens quite early on. It is important to the romantic relationship, but—well, I won't spoil it now.

I'll spoil it later, after a warning. =)

If you've seen a trailer or ad, except for the sorta-twist, you pretty much know what you're getting. A couple of fine specimens are stranded on a spaceship, faced with the possibility of living out their lives within its hull, never reaching their destination. We get a sort of Robinson Crusoe couple—Jim the mechanic and Aurora the journo—castaways on a spaceship with AIs and robots as supporting characters. Not the most dazzling premise, but given the power of a big budget, it could be taken to some very interesting and visually stunning places, especially when Arthur, the android bartender, suggests making the best of the situation. Y'know, basically, the starship is your oyster.

Yeah, I don't like oysters, but forget that. We see them indulge in some harmless vices and future fun, but man, they could've gone further and funner. Missed opportunities to amp up the space courtship and give us something truly big-screen-worthy.

Why don't you show us what movies or TV shows they choose to watch?

Then we get to see Jim apparently exhaust his amusement options and enter despair. This could also have been mined for more, in repetition and chaos and waste.

And of course, there's an existential threat to deal with. It was difficult for me to care all that much, given its vague explanation/portrayal.

Despite how impressive Pratt's Grizzly Adams beard is, alas, I cannot recommend this. I can give you more of the why, but I feel I have to give up the sorta-twist to do it, so, after this paragraph, I'll ramble further—WITH SPOILERS…

When I first saw the trailer for the film, I was mildly psyched. As soon as the movie came out, right before Christmas, I lost that. Tonight, I was looking for some candy and felt like this might hit the spot. I was kind of hoping for this to be something I could mentally insert into THE EXPANSE as an alt tale of the 100-some year journey of the Mormon Ark named the Nauvoo.

Mmm…Not so much. Underwhelming on the sci-fi front. Annoying on the plot front.

I appreciate the basic EVA suit design (still annoyed every time I see a helmet that's brightly lit on the inside, but I think designers are trying to be careful about pairing that with bright/brighter exterior lights these days), the mag boots, and the tethers, but why no propulsion options?

The thing that really bugged me—you've got three arms of the ship spinning for centrifugal force as gravity, but every time the characters are looking out at the stars, they are not moving or spinning. I get that the movie is probably looking for a romantic view as backdrop to the courtship, but imagine and create a space for that in the hub of the ship! Might as well just do artificial gravity, bleah.

When Jim has to protect himself from some superhot plasma, he turns a door in the interior of the ship into a makeshift heat shield. Maybe I missed detail that explains the door's worthiness for this use, but it sure played a lot more like a sarcastic remark, maybe a joke, than a legit thoughtful precaution. Needless to say, it worked.

And the plot front…So, it's basically YOU'VE GOT SPACE MAIL. You remember YOU'VE GOT MAIL? Substitute Pratt for Hanks and Lawrence for Ryan, change the bookstore war to a 120-year-long space voyage, Jim's engineering knowledge for Hanks's character's book mogul wealth, and that's pretty much it. The sorta-twist of the story/relationship is that Jim and Aurora are not accidentally woken up together. Only Jim is, and after a year of life alone on the ship, he decides to wake Aurora, to be the space-Eve to his space-Adam, or at least a compatible companion…Human company to help keep him from losing his mind and possibly taking his life.

Hrm…Y'know, later in the movie we see that they're able to raise chickens on board. Jim couldn't revive or artificially gestate a dog? =)

And hey, ho, whaddyaknow? They hit it off. Of course, Jim's spent weeks watching Aurora's profile/interview videos and reading everything he can find that she's written. In one of those videos, I think she says that a cup of coffee and a view of the Chrysler building can keep her writing forever. And when Jim leaves her a present of a Chrysler building sculpture assembled from machine parts and a cup of coffee, she doesn't question him on the inspiration. Maybe she told her that? Or maybe she's not surprised that he'd know because she'd assume that he checked out her videos and maybe she had done the same to him?

But we never see that. That would've been interesting. Having her present him with something that she could only know about after doing some digging. But no. We do see her sitting him down for an "interview," asking him to his face his motivation for leaving Earth.

Luckily, Jim has chosen wisely. He's picked his perfect match-whom-he-happened-to-study-and-obsess-over-for-weeks-maybe-months-as-she's-slept. Aurora even remarks, or maybe writes, about how amazing it is that two such unlucky people have lucked out in finding one another.

YOU'VE GOT MAIL bothered me for the same reasons. The guy has all this power and intel over the woman and she has no idea. Of course, it's revealed at some point, and she despises him for it, but then Something happens (I don't remember the deets of YGM now) and it's somehow all okay and forgiven.

Hrm…Maybe that means they DO belong together?

The Something in this case is that they both face immediate death by reactor core overload or something like that. Jim has to do an EVA to solve the problem, opening an exterior door to vent some superhot plasma or whatnot into space to cool the reactor, and of course, if successful, he will likely not survive.

There's a kinda interesting couple of seconds when they do some math over the comms. She says—Don't do it! I can't live without you! Better we die together! He says—There's 5000 other people on board…

Man, he gets to pull that out whenever he wants to for the rest of their lives, eh?

There's also an appearance by Laurence Fishburne as Gus Mancuso, as a slightly-magical crewman, woken early due to ship malfunction. He doesn't bestow too much wisdom, but does get them access to ship sections, controls, and capabilities not allowed to passengers. Y'know, before he abruptly dies. Oh! But before that, he DOES mention to Jim (on discovering that Jim woke Aurora) that he couldn't believe how lucky he got being trapped with Aurora, and starts to lead Aurora down a kinda bro-y path of yes-you're-right-it's-murder-but-don't-judge-Jim-too-harshly.

Weird bit of stuntcasting for the ship's captain, who doesn't appear until the last minute of the film in an epilogue showing the ship's arrival at their new green homeworld—Andy Garcia? Wack.

Oh, Michael Sheen as Arthur the android bartender seems like a waste of resources. Another missed opportunity. Maybe intentional misdirection of some kind? The ship's bar IS kind of gorgeous, and has this wonderful SHINING potential. It's a shame the story doesn't go that direction in a corrupted AI way. Would've made for a much better film.

The revelation of Jim's while-you-were-sleeping scheming to Aurora is delivered by Arthur as a result of poor word choice by Jim. When he says that there are "no secrets" between Aurora and himself, Arthur's small talk algorithm up and decides to reflect on how much Jim agonized over the decision to wake her from hibernation. Almost want to give the movie points for that, but the way it unfolds on screen is so clunky, I can't. And we've never seen Arthur in a situation like this before in the film. It's just…annoying.

Gosh, I hope this wasn't his last role before retiring from acting for activising…?

Yeah, so, I say skip it and watch MOANA or ROGUE ONE again instead. =)

Keep on keepin' on~

12 MONKEYS: 02x07: Meltdown: TITAN

Rambling on the revelation of the Red Forest-adjacent Titan in the events of “Meltdown…”

Titan?! #12Monkeys pic.twitter.com/fli9tCeDYs

— 12 Monkeys (@12MonkeysSyfy)

May 31, 2016

TITAN TOWN.

Cassie's consciousness is trapped in a room in the Witness's Red Forest house while the Witness controls her body in 2044. From within the room, she hears what sounds like a factory horn outside. She moves to the window, pulls apart the curtains, and sees…

Titan. That's the name painted on the side of what appears to be a water tower, tank, or silo that's part of what looks like a factory complex. There are cylindrical towers topped with what look like funky klaxons horns or speakers, but must be something else, there are so many of them.

And below "Titan…" A symbol. One we've seen before. I can't quite remember all the places we've seen it…

• Definitely the Tall Man's paradox pendant.
• Did Vivian Rutledge have it as a tattoo?
• Did all Messengers?
• Was it part of the markings on a Druze artifact?

Does the symbol *mean* Titan? Is it the mark of the Witness, showing ownership/allegiance?

WAS TITAN TOWN ALWAYS OUTSIDE THE WINDOW?

I don't think so, nope. There's never been a sign of it in the Red Forest of anyone's vision.

No. I believe that Something Changed that brought Titan Town into existence, or perhaps caused the Red Forest to Brigadoonally align or sync with Titan Town somehow, allowing the Witness to (finally?) leave his forest house and go to (return to?) town. Is this what the Witness's form of Splintering looks like? A tesseract? Folding spacetime so that two normally distant points connect (one of them the Red Forest), and he bridges that connection to travel from one time and place to another?

What changed?

1. The release of raw temporal energy/Splinter radiation/whatever it's called in 2044. This apparently releases all kinds of temporal driftwood caught in the time stream, as well as beams bits and pieces of 2044 into it. Perhaps it released Titan, a factory town somehow lost in time, and synchronized it somehow with the Red Forest. I'm sure the Witness could do that with a Tricorder, right? =)

2. The Splinter zap maybe-not-death-maybe-spacetime-displacement of David Eckland. The idea here is that when and wherever Eckland lands, he is put to work by the Witness to work on what ultimately becomes Titan town. It couldn't exist "until" Eckland is shunted out of 2044 to a certain time and place to begin its creation.

3. The Splinter zap and spacetime displacement of Samuel Ramse. The idea here is the same as the Eckland scenario, only for Sam. So, Sam is responsible for the creation of Titan somehow, but can only be so once he's been Splintered away from 2044 to wherever he's landed.

4. The U.S. military of 1959 is made aware of time travel. Note that that's only a big deal assuming that FBI Agent Gale's Splinter Files are classified. =) The military then shifts whatever sciencing they've got going on at Raritan Valley in 1959 to focus on time travel applications, but in a new and secret location. Can't go building in the same place that a potential enemy already controls in the future, right? This new and secret location? A factory town code named Titan. Their R&D eventually leads to the maybe accidental time displacement of the entire complex, which lands it Red Forest-adjacent, because…why not?

5. Jose Ramse leaves Project Splinter and sets out for parts unknown in 2044. This is very interesting to me because even overwrought, Ramse's the kind of person who likes to have a plan. Although I joke about him going all David Banner on us (which I'd love), I think he has a specific destination in mind…

5a. Jennifer and the daughters? In 2043, before he splintered, she told him he would be a good friend. It wasn't clear to me if she mean to herself or to someone else/Cole. Ramse reveals that he’s never tried red leaf brew.

RAMSE: Yeah, there's some pretty trippy shit going on w/that tea. They'd drink it, they'd see him in their heads. Never tried it.

Perhaps he’s looking to send a message to the big W with Jennifer’s help.

5b. Whatever remains of Spearhead's camp or facility? A safe place that puts distance between himself and Project Splinter.

5c. The home of the Messengers? They must have been sequestered somewhere secure for 30-ish years, right? Ethan Seki might not have known the purpose of such a place, but he probably would have known if the Army had purchased it. Certainly he could do the math and figure it out.

5d. An as-yet-unknown-to-us location. A place or resource that Ethan Seki set up as part of a long-term contingency plan.

WHAT IF RAMSE HADN'T SHOT COLE?

Is Cassie in the house in the Red Forest the same way she was when Olivia guided her there with the red leaf tea? I think we have to assume yes.

Outside the house, thru the window, Cassie sees the Witness. He's apparently exited the house, and paused outside the window to look back. First, he's facing her, then he turns away and begins to walk to Titan town. Worth noting that he appears without any flickering or weird speed tics. I think the way he appears in this Red Forest experience is different from others. This is a clue to some difference in the environment, or perhaps the Witness himself.

As the Witness heads to Titan town in the Red Forest, Ramse shoots Cole, shocking and releasing Cassie from the front room of the house, freeing her from the Witness's influence in 2044. If Ramse hadn't shot Cole, what would have happened instead?*

In the Red Forest, would Cassie have remained trapped in the house forever? Would the Witness have released her from the house and compelled her join him in Titan town?

In 2044, to save Sam and the facility from meltodwn, Ramse would have to shoot Cassie, probably killing her. If an Immersed person dies while under the Witness's control, does his or her consciousness survive in the Red Forest, trapped and bodiless? Perhaps that's what happened to the Witness.

Hrm…Gonna try running this down while it’s still fresh…

* Of course, there should be no point to this what-if? since the Witness knew/planned for everything to go down exactly as it did. Nyeah.

A WITNESS ORIGIN STORY?

Let's say that the Red Forest exists on its own, completely independent of the Witness (NB: currently I prefer that their creations are connected to one another). Now let's say that the Witness (whoever he is) taught himself to visit the Red Forest via paradox-created red leaf brew of some kind. On one of these visits, while his consciousness walks the Red Forest, his tranced physical form is killed—no, not just killed—paradoxed! His body dies in reality in a paradoxidation event while his mind survives, trapped in the Red Forest. The birth of the Witness? Well, maybe a step in his creation, a step that leaves him a disembodied mastermind in need of servants to manipulate reality.

I like this. The one weakness for me is the existence of the Red Forest before the Witness. Maybe the Red Forest exists on its own because there are naturally occurring spontaneous splinter events. Bursts of chaotic temporal energy that transform green to red, creating the psychedelic key to psychic time travel.

Or, maybe it's an astral plane created by the minds of the Primaries? I suspect the Primaries can all see it, but that may be because of the threat that emanates from it in the form of the Witness, eh? They don't visit the Red Forest, except when under the influence of red leaf (which is created via time travel or paradox).

Egg, chicken, no straight lines…

Unmake history!

Keep on keepin’ on~

12 MONKEYS: The Goines family tree…

Allright. I've got a rabbit hole I'd like to show you. Navigating it successfully depends on a couple of small details and some guesstimation, so I'd love to hear if anyone thinks my 12 MONKEYS math works or doesn't and why… If you haven't watched season 1, turn back now, for here there be *SPOILERS!*

NB: I do my best to avoid pre-episode chatter and promotional material. I’d always rather encounter characters and story in their full episode text. So, I may very well have missed some bit of press or clip from season 2 that totally conflicts with my math here.

Hey, I *do* tag this “crazy talk.” =)

Okay. Let's start in 1987. One night at the White Dragon night club in Tokyo, Leland Goines mentions that his daughter wanted him to see THE GOONIES with her (01x11, "Shonin"). That didn't bug me at all when I first heard it. I was just excited about the idea of little Jenny Goines being keen on seeing THE GOONIES, and maybe a bit mystified at the notion that Leland might once have been a "cool dad." Later, I tried to imagine Leland taking Jenny to the movies and wondered just how old she would have been then. For a GOONIES fan I'd think 10-ish would be right. Maybe younger, what/w Jennifer's precociousness.

So, if we say 10 years old, that puts her birthday in 1977. Which means that in 2015, she'd be…38. Which, if you'll excuse my judging by appearances, seems like it adds a decade to the age of the woman we and James meet at J.D. Peoples. I took that Jennifer to be in her mid to late 20s, post-higher ed (probably accelerated) and w/a couple of years of legit and black site lab work experience under her now-committed belt. MAYbe 30.

So—one—we've got Leland's daughter wanting to go see THE GOONIES in 1987. Note that THE GOONIES was released in 1985. I can't remember Leland's exact phrasing, but maybe he's talking about a second run screening or picking it up at that new Blockbuster Video in town.

And—two—we've got a 2015 Jennifer Goines in J.D. Peoples (and later, fashionably hostilely taking over Markridge) who seems maybe a decade too young to be that daughter.

Hrm…How to explain this discrepency?

Obviously, there's only one explanation: Jennifer has an older sister.

Wanna know her name?

Marion!

In 2015, Cassie and Katarina meet Cole's father, Matthew Cole (01x12, "Paradox"). At the time James is a young boy, maybe 7 years old.

Matthew is suspicious of the pair-o-docs until they mention the Army of the 12 Monkeys, reminding him of something James's mother said…

MATTHEW: Marion, the boy's mother. She was going on about some monkey army.

Matthew calls James's mother Marion, and gives a cursory description of an apparently cursory relationship…

MATTHEW: I didn't know her that well, Marion. I loved her like crazy, but it was a short thing. I asked her to marry me but she wouldn't. Then took off pretty soon after without saying much. When she tracked me down a year later, she had a kid. My son—You. Told me she couldn't protect you. I never understood what she was talking about, but I was grateful. Every day. Look at that. He's a… he's a good boy.
COLE: He won't always be. But I'm trying to make up for it. I'm sorry I can't.

So, I'm thinking that it's Marion, age 10-ish, who wanted to see THE GOONIES with her dad in 1987. Jennifer would've been wee yet. Maybe Marion was on track to be a Markridge rock star, perhaps a Night Room specialist, but not necessarily. But she turned her back on Leland and his work when she somehow uncovered the dark forces that were backing it (the Army of the 12 Monkeys, which would have included Ethan Seki for many years). Or maybe she never got that deep into Markridge operations. Perhaps she was simply a good daughter to her mother, her confidante, and Mom reveals the machinations of the 12 Monkeys to her, urging her to escape their designs and leave the family. When Leland uses his wife's supposed ravings as grounds to have her committed, Marion does just that, leaves the family. Leland disowns her, black sheep that she is, bumping Jennifer into the position of Goines heir.

And while on the lam, doing the David Banner INCREDIBLE HULK thing in Philadelphia in 2007, Marion meets and falls a bit in love with Matthew Cole. Fearful of the Army and perhaps Leland/Markridge, she can't stay anywhere for very long, so she leaves Matthew after a short time. However, once James is born, she realizes she can't raise him while on the run, so she returns, and entrusts James to Matthew for a chance at a decent normal childhood.

I have a feeling that Marion knows that Cole is meant to be with his father, for as long as he can be, and to be there to help save his future self. I believe that the Goines women (whether Marion is one or not) have a gift-slash-curse of some kind of extrasensory sight. I suspect it's connected to ingestion of or exposure to red leaves. My favorite imagined scenario has Mom Goines being dosed w/red leaf tea while pregnant, either by an unwitting Leland, prescribed by an Army doctor, or a direct agent of the Army, affecting both herself and her unborn child/ren.

And now—well, as “now” as we can get in 12 MONKEYS—Marion is still at large. Does Jennifer remember her? I suspect that tracking her is probably a pet project of the 12 Monkeys. Or not… What if she successfully faked her own demise at some point? Early enough that Jennifer and Leland believe her dead for many years in 2015? That might be an "easier" explanation for her not being a factor in Goines business over the years.

* Of course, the EASIEST explanation is that I'm off my rocker, but where's the fun in that?

Oh. And who would play Marion Goines?

How about Madeleine Stowe?

So, to recap my crazy talk theory:

Jennifer Goines is James Cole's aunt. =)

Keep on keepin' on~

P.S. Leland Goines is James Cole’s grandfather! =)

12 MONKEYS: Rambling on the rules…

This is a ramble on my take on the rules-slash-nature of time travel in the universe of 12 MONKEYS, after watching the season 2 premiere, “Year of the Monkey” (available via Hulu and Syfy). So, if you haven't watched it, turn back now, for here there by *SPOILERS!*

RAMSE: Listen. You believe in the past. I believe in the future. It is what it is.

Honestly, I wanted more to happen, and maybe didn't love the way that some question marks at the end of the season 1 finale have been resolved (I say maybe because I feel like I'll need to give the ep another viewing to properly take it all in), but I love the reinforcement of the rules (or illusions thereof) that we get to witness. More on that in a bit. First off…

I do believe we now know where the Annapurna Remains came from—the first Blue Man to take the Splinter chair. What do you think?

Pretty foolish and naive of the Smurfs to let Jones have the Splinter helm all to herself. Until Rodell (Do we know this guy? I've completely forgotten : P) explains that Jones set the machine to Splinter only part of the subject's body, I simply believed that Blue Man Group set coordinates that were too deep in the past, resulting in spatio-temporal vaporization. In the first season, Project Splinter was pushing hard to get Cole safely back to the 80s, remember? Was it established (and did I forget) that the acquisition of the Spearhead's core increase Splinter's "chrono-range?"

Anyhow, Blue Leader is not pleased with the mistification of their first soldier—LOVED Deacon’s reaction, heh—but I believe that it went exactly as it was meant to (sorry, Blue dude). Of course, few individuals in the world of 12 MONKEYS can see the entire picture (how events across time are connected), so Blue Leader of 2015-2043 couldn't know that the ancient remains of one of his soldiers was uncovered in the Himalayas in the 80s and sold to Markridge.

Hrm… It's totally possible that no one knows that except for us (the audience) and *maybe* the Witness.

If I'm right, this is an illustration of the rules that are at work when it comes to the timeline/history in 12 MONKEYS—basically, that time or history or the past or the future or whatever you want to call it from your vantage point canNOT be changed. Everything happens exactly as it is supposed to (and has already happened). The illusion of change is the phenomenon experienced by those who are told that something is supposedly recorded history in the future and that they've failed to make or allow it to happen.

So, the Witness has a note in his future diary that Ethan Seki is found dead in 2015 next to the Time Machine he helped build. But, we see Cole rescue his bro-from-another-mo, thereby giving fate the finger, right?

OR… We understand that the Witness's future diary is wrong. Or perhaps inaccurate in just such a way that it sets the Army of the 12 Monkeys to tracking him, which for some reason is the truly significant outcome.

I like thinking of the 12 MONKEYS Witness's predictions like THE MATRIX Oracle's readings: people are not necessarily given the truth, but rather, what they need to hear to get them to do or be or understand what is needed at just the right time.

Oh—Another example! Right after Blue Man one is turned into time traveling jerky, Blue Leader attempts to motivate Jones to cooperate by threatening Cassie's life. Jones plays the very awesome time traveling card of "You can't kill her because you need her to live long enough to leave us the message that leads to us being here in the first place!"

Awesome. =)

I have to admit, I was surprised that Blue Leader would threaten Cassie's life, as if they didn't know who she was. I have this vaguely remembered impression of the season 1 finale showing us that the Blue Man Group seemed to be awaiting her arrival… Am I way off on that? Frack. I'm gonna hafta do a season one rewatch, aren't I? *sigh* I need a Splinter device of my own.

But, it seems he does know who she is. He is ready to use a threat on the life of an individual who is crucial to the events that lead to the plague and Project Splinter as a lesson, challenging Jones to stand by her abstract intellectual understanding of time in the face of a deadly threat to a friend and ally.

BLUE: Your philosophy is still marred by your simplistic notion of causality. If something is meant to be, it shall be.

BLUE: If causality is your religion, madam, have faith in it.

Jones believes that the Smurfs can’t kill Cassie without punching a hole in spacetime. Blue Leader believes that he can execute Cassie and somehow, a message will be recorded that leads to the creation/resurrection of Project Splinter. To misquote JURASSIC PARK’s Dr. Malcolm: Time finds a way.

We'll never know if Jones caves in to Blue Leader's threat because Rodell serendipitously manages to crack the encryption on Jones's Splinter programming. This is another demonstration of history being unchangeable. In this case, the universe itself steps in to keep history and Cassie's personal timeline intact and continuous. It does this by nudging Rodell to try exactly the right algorithm or whatever to bypass the encryption before Blue Leader can kill Cassie.

Crazy talk? Perhaps. But I don't think so. I like it.

I'm certainly still open to the possibility that history can be changed cuz who doesn't love free will and saving the world, right? But between Cole and Cass and Ramse and Jones living thru history one day at a time, without only clues and not true foreknowledge of events, and the Witness and his monkey army being unreliable fortune tellers, the net experience of this story in a universe in which history canNOT be changed will be just as rewarding (like season 1—SO good =). And—hey!—the future beyond 2044 is still wide open and "unwritten."

Okay. I'm gonna hafta wrap this up. I hope to get around to really digging into the action of the ep in a later post, cuz I definitely need to gush over crazy lovely Jennifer Goines and her end-of-the-world speed dating session!

JENNIFER: Stock tip—invest heavily in very deep holes.

Would be a-MA-zing to see Dale in 2044 among the West 7, talking about his now-worthless investment portfolio… =)

Hopefully, I'll get around to it before the second ep of the season airs! =)

Keep on keepin' on~

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: Alternate Futurama *SPOILERS* (Batman's "Vision")

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS follow. Turn back now if you haven't fought your way thru BATMAN <3 SUPERMAN yet!

Welcome… to the world of the TOMORROW!~

So, what the heck was it that Bruce saw/experienced in the Batcave? It appeared to be a vision of an Apokoliptian future Earth, delivered via a future Flash, perhaps harnessing some combo of Boom Tube tech and Speed Force, maybe some Martian telepathy or backwards-speaking magicks for good measure?

But how many visions was it? I think there are two, nested within each other. The innermost one, vision 1, is a packet of Bruce's own future memories/experiences. This starts with that view of a desert Earth (future Gotham?), with the "Omega" character branded into the ground… Firepits burning in the distance… An apparent rebel operation run by him to acquire a chunk of Kryptonite, contained in a Lexcorp-branded case… And a betrayal by the courier of his forces and himself to a contingent of armed —in uniforms sporting the Kryptonian character for "Hope" on the shoulders—as well as a platoon of Parademons.

Tangent: RE: The Parademons. I was a little disappointed at their apparent inspect/wasp-like design, but that final Parademon who knocks Bats's lights out looked the part to me. Maybe the waspy ones are a different breed? I really hope the Parademons are all chunky winged Luchador types, a la Kirby's style.

When future Bats awakes, he's chained to a wall in an underground jail. Supes drops in to judge, jury, and execute the prisoners hanging beside him. When he approaches Bats, he tears off his cowl and tells Bruce, "She was my world." Maybe he said something like "and you took her from me," too? I can't be sure now, but that's the kind of line that feels right there, right?

Tangent: "She was my world" is what Jonathan Kent's ghost tells Clark about Martha on his Canadian(?) walkabout.

Then Kal places his hand on Bruce's chest, pauses a moment, and then applies pressure, apparently killing Bruce and snapping him out of the vision and back to the Batcave in 2016, when and where he apparently wakes up at the Batcomputer and sees the head and shoulders of what looks like a future Flash (a scrubby and aged version of the kid we see in the metahumans Lex files), wearing some kind of red armor or tech, ringed by some kind of portal in spacetime, and yelling at him that "Lois is the key!" He also asks/exclaims something like, "Is it too early? I'm too early!" This could be directed at Bruce, someone off-portal, or maybe himself. I think the last things we hear him say are "Find us!" and "You were right about him! You were always right about him!"

Bats was Kal-El Ma'ed!

This is vision 2, and within it, vision 1 was part a payload delivered to Bruce of 2016.

Meanwhile, the portal phenomenon is making a mess of the Batcave, blowing anything not bolted down around the cave, and perhaps wreaking havoc w/the Batcomputer. When the portal closes, Bruce snaps out of this vision, and back to the Batcave in 2016, when and where he apparently wakes up at the Batcomputer and sees… Nothing out of the ordinary.

What happened? What did we see?

I believe we saw events that transpired in two realities or timelines, first an original, or at least, "earlier" one, and then a second one, that diverged from the original due to actions taken by Batman based on the Flash's message.

So, in the first timeline, a few years into the future, Darkseid comes to Earth and manipulates or controls Superman into becoming his enforcer after the death of Lois Lane (ostensibly due to machinations of Batman) drives him to Ubermenschism. A group of metahumans (maybe they had enough time to call themselves the JL before Darkseid's arrival?) attempt to resist, but apparently find Darkseid + Superman to be unbeatable (as it would be). Indeed, in this future, Batman is dead, Kal-El Ma'ed. So—executing a plan that I'm willing to bet is future Batman's own last resort contingency plan—the Flash sends his message back to Bruce of 2016. And although the message is delivered too early, it motivates Bruce to do something different—steal the Kryptonite from Lexcorp *now*, in 2016—and thusly change the future, apparently eliminating the need for a future Flash to send that message in the first place (but maybe possibly creating a future in which a future Flash CAN'T?). So, that time-Boom Tube portal dealio (pardon the technical jargon) never opened in the Batcave of the Bruce we see fighting Clark in BATMAN V SUPERMAN.

But, since Batman is an agent of the difference/s that change the future—comic book rules—he retains a memory/vision/echo/dream of the message. And since it's a movie, we get to SEE it. =)

At Clark's funeral, when Diana asks Bruce why he says that they need to find the other metas, why they'll need to come together, he says something like, "Just a feeling" or something, right? Sure, he could be playing it cagey, close to the vest, as is every Batman's nature, right? But what if right then, that's the truth.

Tangent: I think it's kind of funny-slash-bold to assign Batman the job of assembling a team. Classically, while he always ultimately acknowledges the value of a Justice League, he is the last one to be a joiner. It will be interesting to see his recruiting technique (and Wonder Woman's). Man, is Flash gonna be Barry or Wally? If it's Wally, how many times is WW gonna be kindly (or violently? =) shooting down his hormonal behavior?

So, does Bruce remember the details of the events of this earlier iteration of reality? Perhaps they were fresh when he "woke up" from them in the Batcave, and they've been fading since? While I think I'd dig Bruce Wayne retaining the insight of this alternate future—can't trust whoever that courier is in the future, that Flash kid can time travel!—I kinda like him moving forward on instinct and momentum.

When it's still fresh, the vision—of his future hunt for Kryptonite and the "Super-soldiers"—certainly seems like a direct inspiration for him deciding to steal the Kryptonite and confront Superman. "I'm older now than my father ever was. This may be the most important thing I ever do." Something like that, right?

But think of those memories dissolving, or resolving, into a desire, a will, maybe even just a hunch, to find and collect the other metas, to stand together against an imminent threat (Lex can help fill in those blanks), and perhaps keep an eye on Lois Lane. That's enough, isn't it?

And—hey!—who does Bruce NOT keep track of once the Super-$hit goes down? Lois Lane. So maybe those echoes fade quickly.

Maybe we'll get other glimpses into alternate, Apokoliptic, futures in the next couple of DCU movies. The future changes just enough that the Flash (of the same future, or perhaps successively different Apokoliptic futures) needs to try to contact a different hero at a different critical moment in each one.

Keep on keepin' on~

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: Rambling notes and SPOILERS…

Just gonna ramble here in the afterglow… Well, more like the after-shadow, I guess, of my first screening of BATMAN [hearts] SUPERMAN. So, if you haven't seen the film yet, turn back now, for here there be *SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS*!

Overall, watching the movie felt like work (but then, the second and third Nolan Batman and MAN OF STEEL felt that way, too). It did a solid job of connecting dots and storytelling, especially considering all the items on the film's to-do list (re-establishing Batman's backstory in the MAN OF STEEL universe, introducing Lex Luthor, Wonder Woman and other metas, and of course, pitting Bruce and Clark against one another). Thing is, I'm not sure it was fun. But then, I suppose that's the nature of the DC movie universe, its tone set by Nolan's Dark Knight films and continued in the MAN OF STEEL. It's not just that nothing funny happens, but that nothing not miserable happens. Even the characters are humorless.

Like I said, it felt a bit like work. I heard a kid sitting behind me twice say, "I'm bored." Never got a good read on how old he was.

Also a huge F'd up negative—alas, that the film itself had no control over—SO MANY PEOPLE UPDATING THEIR FARMVILLES DURING THE MOVIE!?! WTF? One guy in the front row had his phone on and up for everyone to see for like 1/4 of the movie. At least three different people yelled at him to put it away. I'm amazed that people closer to him didn't pressure him. At the end of the film, someone said that "security" came in to talk to the guy, but I didn't see that, and the guy (*and* others) were taking out and using their phones throughout the running time.

F'ing A! Someone's gotta come up w/a fix for this b.s. I almost get that disabling phones can be an issue—gotta be able to get a call or txt from the babysitter, right? But how about if you're expecting to be contacted, you pick up a beeper on the way in. It gets sync'd to your phone/number. And every phone that's inside the movie auditorium is forcibly deactivated or signal-blocked (altho that might not be enough to keep people from Fruit Ninja-ing when someone's not killing or scantily clad on screen : P).

The best part of the film for me was Diana Prince, aka Wonder Woman. Not clear on how practical her armor is, but her weapons are badass and physically, it's plain that she is a heavy-hitter. I love that she enters the fray (repeatedly) with a smile on her face. At the end of the movie, given the hints at her backstory, I wondered if she might have been re-written as a Vandal Savage type, a unique, long-lived, and powerful human, someone who's remembered for her exploits as a mythical figure over the millennia and gone into periods of seclusion.

However/unfortunately, I saw that there was a photo released of the lead Amazons of Themyscira for the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. So, not a loner. Unless… Maybe she was orphanated kinda like Kal? Raised by humans in the "World of Man," comes into her abilities as a mystery, then given the armor and weapons she was found with, and sent out into the world to make her way. And perhaps she found (or will find) her way back to her origin on Themyscira. Maybe that's why she's interested in the sword that cut the Gordian knot? Even if it's fake… Tracking her own history and origin thru clues to a lost tribe of Amazons…

Crazy talk? Maybe. =)

Still. Themyscira in the WW film, and the DC movie universe. That's good. Opens up a path to the powers and personalities of Pantheons, as well as a hidden kingdom (or rather, queendom), perhaps to match another—Aquaman's Atlantis.

I wonder—How do their realms fare in the Apokoliptic future of Batman's vision?

I will say that—sucker fanboy that I am—I really liked/responded to the callbacks to comic book moments and story elements.

LOVE that they threw the time travel in there, and, like, without no hoopla. And Bruce doesn't share the info with anyone. Was the warning/advice to Bats from the future actually useful in the events of the film? The Asian guy in beat up red armor or tech (Impulse?) told him that Lois Lane is the key. And, well, maybe she sorta was, but I'm thinking that that info was intended for a later, Apokoliptian crisis. In the events of this film, telling him that Martha Kent is the key would've been useful.

Hrm… I guess that vision/visitation was also more (cryptic) motivation for Bruce to commit to taking down Supes. That he's focused on acquiring Kryptonite in that future implies that the Big Bad of that future is Superman, right? So, cut him down in the present, that future never comes to pass. Actually, pretty good misdirection.

See, I'm getting the idea that this movie wanted to be a few episodes. It's telling a story that would've been a great 4 or 6 parter in a monthly book. And unfortunately, we're feeling it. That may be part of where the "work" is coming from.

The color palette doesn't help any, either, tho.

That vision was pretty sweet, altho a desert New Apokolips/Earth is kind of a downer. It's a good/logical extrapolation, but the overdeveloped tech-ghetto aesthetic of Apokolips of the comics would've been amazing to see realized. Would've liked to have seen a Firepit up close. The parademons were cool, altho again, a departure. I like the chunky wrestler look of them, tho. These seemed way too insecty and drained of any Kirbyness.

Highfather, but I hope they do Darkseid in a properly Kirby-ominous fashion.

Would've LOVED to have seen a spent Lantern Ring on someone's finger, or a the logo on a scrap wrapped around one of Batman's colleagues. Conspicuously absent from Luthor's metahumans files, altho the Corps' existence must be in the Kryptonian database, right?

Included in Lex's files:
Wonder Woman / Diana Prince
Cyborg / Silas & Victor Stone — a Mother Box origin/connection
Flash / Barry or Wally? Maybe Wally.
Aquaman / Maybe they won't even bother w/the hybrid origin? Arthur Curry?

Lex got access to the Kryptonian database way too easily. Like the computer somehow WANTED someone to get authorized so that it could do something sketchy. Brainiac?

Lex was kind of a throwaway in this. Crazy and unhinged, but annoying/aggravating. What is/was he? Inventor? Businessman? A genius? A polymath? Annoying, but I guess he kept things moving.

And what did he learn from the database? Information on 10,000 worlds, including, apparently Darkseid? Did he send a message? That bell can't be unrung…ding ding ding ding? Kinda lame.

Is he worth keeping around as a baddie? Maybe he becomes Desaad? Hrm… That could be interesting. How badly did his father abuse him? Wouldn't be worthy of the Desaad of the comics, but could be an interesting adaptation. A Luthor as a snapped, psychotic, Darkseid sycophant. Cuz, yeah, given his state/status at the end of this film, Lex is probably best suited as a husk to be filled by or manipulated by some other villain or force. He sure as heck ain't running for president.

MARTHA! That was nice. That was a little bit of obvious genius. Gotta hand it to them. Martha. =)

Okay. Now I'm gonna try and just dump a list of good and bad and try not to ramble too hard, cuz otherwise, everything leads to something else and this'll never come to something resembling an end…

• The average citizen of Metropolis forgets about one of Superman’s most remarkable powers: Superhair! (Superhold?) I'm here to tell you that this film does not forget. =)
• I like that we clearly see Gotham and Metropolis treated as cities across a harbor (river?) from each other. Of course, it makes you wonder how these guys aren't always in each others' business, in one or another identity, right? Also dig that it's Detroit that plays both. Given the Smallville-Metropolis geography, it's fitting, and one of the options I always imagined even if it feels odd from the street level. If you just read each hero's books, or even watched most of their films, you'd think Metropolis = NYC and Gotham = Chicago (which I thought worked well for that World's Finest where Bruce and Clark meet at that orphanage halfway between the cities). Would love to see an official map of the DCU, for the comics, TV series, and/or movies.
• Batman vs. Superman fight wasn't bad when you look at the individual blows, but the steps and tempo of it wasn't great for me. I get that there was a plan to how Bats set him up and softened him up, but after the first two hidden surprises (w/no decoys) it didn't seem all that choreographed until the spear finale. Sonics, artillery, Kryptonite, then some physical abuse. That was okay, but wouldn't the sonics and artillery have been more effective after an initial dose of Kryptonite? And no electricity?
• I thought Batman vs. Lex's goons was pretty poorly shot. I get that some of the moves were cool, but only after the moves were executed. Just wasn't fun to watch (see episode 3 of DAREDEVIL season 2 for fun to watch).
• There's a matter of a body count when it comes to Batman v. baddies in this film. I don't think we see him explicitly kill anyone, but he kind of Rube Goldberg's it, by allowing them to most likely die…This Bruce *is* in a place where he is actually *branding* his work, so maybe we're encountering him on the precipice, for whatever reasons. Or maybe it's the "Martha" motivation, which drives him to be extra vicious, to save (a) Martha this time. I think the one death that made me pause during the movie was the grenade. After that, I just told myself that this Batman has a notion of manslaughter vs. homicide, or collateral damage/acceptable losses when it comes to multitasking. Okay. 
• Superman recovering in orbit from sunlight. Any comics fan is going to get that and appreciate that, but I think it could've been better envisioned somehow. I know, easy for me to say. Why don't I go out and shoot and CG it myself, right? Blerg. How spent is he at that point?
• Superman vs. Doomsday. Okay. I kind of LOVE that EXCALIBUR is on the marquee of the movie outside Crime Alley in Bruce's flashback to his parents' death. I saw that and was a little disappointed w/not seeing ZORRO, but it said something like "EXCALIBUR NEXT WED," a coming soon message, so maybe they *did* see ZORRO (altho I can't recall any swashbuckling pantomime/horseplay on the way out)? But having that there and then having Kal do the thing with the Kryptonite Spear vs. Doomsday Spike. It worked.
  Is that good filmmaking? Good storytelling? A cheat? I don't know. But it worked on me.
• I don't get what Lex "stands for." I get that he's got a massive ego, but I didn't really get how Superman offends it. Senator Finch (Granny's Iced Tea was nice and horrible) was more of an archenemy than Superman. He talked about man and god and monsters, but where's the personal connection/offense? I like when Luthor doesn't like Supes moving in on Metropolis. Or when he's xenophobic, considering Supes to be meddling in human evolution and civilization.
  Maybe it'll read better when there aren't a dozen phones lighting up the room. Bleah.
• The Kryptonian Siri told Lex that the Council outlawed "such abominations," as if they'd happened before. A piece of Kryptonian history that we'll never hear about again? Or are there more Doomsdays somewhere Out There?
• Don't love the "science" of Doomsday's creation. Zod + Luthor = Doomsday? Would've liked for Krypto-Siri to voice over what we'd expect, or maybe some kind of diagnostic on screen? Doomsday doesn't get a chance to charge up the way a Krypto-Sapien does. Only seconds or minutes of exposure to Earthican atmosphere, and NO direct exposure to yellow sun radiation. But, who wants to add another couple of minutes to 210, right?
• Did Clark really leave Kryptonian tech all over the planet? What about the one fully intact shuttle that Zod used to get to the 20,000 year old colony ship? Was really rooting for Kal to have created a Fortress of Solitude after MAN OF STEEL. Boo…
• Clark's coffin. I really would've liked for a reversal on the end of DK. Have Supes come back from the dead, but only Bats knows about/detects it. Alas, not quite.
• I appreciated the "Nicholson" garage or whatever it was that Bats busted out of w/his Batmobile by the Gotham docks.
• How the heck did Bruce build this batcave?
• Loved seeing Robin's costume in its case. I hope someone goes back and tells/directs that story in film. Can't remember what the Joker's graffiti said. "The Joke's on you!" ?
• Appreciated Bruce telling Diana that he's known women like her, and of course, WW doubts that possibility. Catwoman and maybe Batgirl or Huntress are NOT Wonder Woman. =)
• Couldn't Kal have kept the Polaroids to show Bats? *sigh* Of course not. Couldn't have a conversation when everyone (except Supes) wants a fight.
• The spear drama. Necessary? Lois's actions made sense, but maybe she could've waited to talk to Clark about how best to dispose of it, before chucking it into the mystery water below Gotham-Detroit (see ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE =). And then having her nearly drown… Echoing Lois in the Earthquake in SUPERMAN. Could Kal play the time travel card in the MAN OF STEEL universe? Maybe w/help from a Mother Box or the Speed Force, but not on his own.
  Actually, it was good to pull Supes out of the Doomsday battle for a while, for his moment w/Lois before spearing Doomsday. But what about that? Superman stagger-flies w/the Kryptonite a couple of feet from his body? Dramatic, but… comic-book-sensible? I scoffed a bit in the moment. But when he went EXCALIBUR, well, I forgot about it.
• I enjoyed two Bat-silhouettes. One when he's launching himself into the warehouse to rescue Martha Kent. You see his shadow against the windows for a second before he smashes thru. And two when he's perched on the side of a building, I think it's in battle vs. Doomsday (maybe earlier, w/Supes?) but there's a flash and it's basically one of the DK covers, altho his body isn't actually in the motion described by the pose, since he's hanging on a building.
• I was hoping that Doomsday and the destruction he causes would be enough to bring the JLAers out of the shadows. But it's right that they're not out in the open yet. Interesting putting Batman in charge of assembling them, tho. The detective loner, doing it in Clark's honor, somehow. And having an even bigger menace be the cause for their formation makes sense. Darkseid… Oh, would love a Starro cold open! =)

Okay. Enough already. For now. Maybe I'll refine this mess in a future post, but if you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed at least some of this brain dump.

Click here for some of my kooky "before" thoughts.

Keep on keepin' on~

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS: The good, the bad, the crazy talk 2 *SPOILERS*

Getting down some more thoughts, observations, and crazy talk after my fourth screening of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Below are more things I love, things I not-so-much, some interestingness, and some mystery from my brain on Episode VII.

Click here for my earlier SW:TFA: Good, Bad, & Crazy.

If you have not seen the movie yet, turn back now, for HERE THERE BE *SPOILERS*

LOVE.

1. A scene from early in the film… Rey is cleaning her day's haul and looks across the workbench at the older scavenger woman across from her. It's a vision of her future that doesn't require a strong connection to the Force.

2. In Rey's vision… I like that the ship that's leaving her on Jakku appears to be flying into a Kylo Ren visor-shaped red sun. Is there a message in it, or is it a clever bit of imagery? Certainly could take on several readings… that Kylo is the reason for her exile on Jakku, that those on the departing ship might be connected to Kylo, or perhaps are fated to confront or return to him.

3. An aspect of the film as a whole about which I'm slightly torn…Do I *love* that THE FORCE AWAKENS borrows so much from the previous films? No, but I get it. I appreciate it. This time around they even let the characters in on it, as shown in the Resistance's shortest mission briefing ever, right? "Ooooo~ An even bigger Death Star! What do we hit to blow this one up?"

New challenges, threats, and relationships would be very welcome, but I see several storytelling, consistency, and fan-satisfying reasons for presenting us with echoes of events and situations with which we're already familiar. I mean, c'mon! What's more STAR WARS than recycling STAR WARS, right?

As both a STAR WARS and a TRON fanbeing, let me put it into an SAT analogy (they still do those?)…

STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS : STAR WARS :: TRON: LEGACY : TRON

The new movies are both sequels and reboots. Each is a new chapter in its respective story-world that in plot and action allows for an updated/suped-up introduction to elements of the original for a new—literally—generation.

I fully expect that I won't need to be so forgiving or apologist when it comes to the next two films, tho.

Hear me, Disney?

NOT-SO-MUCH.

1. The opening shot of the film. The opening sequence of STAR WARS heralded a new era in film and filmmaking in an epic fashion. Descent from space to the skies of an alien planet. First, a blockade runner enters are view, fired upon by some unseen menace, until… Holy F%*&?! A ship that seems to be the size of a city, what we later come to know as a Star Destroyer, something that Takes Time to move from offscreen to fully onscreen, and deafens us with blaster fire and its pulsing, rattlesnake engines. To be fair, in my mind, I can't think of anyone/any film who's topped that entrance, and no doubt forgotten dozens if not hundreds of openings that tried and failed. Each of the other STAR WARS films had a similar opening (although none as powerful), and I fully expected something of the same flavor here, with a little twist of the new.

To be fair, I believe that's what we got. Unfortunately, I think the twist/s subtracted rather than added; the twists being a change in combo of POV and ship's approach that presented us a First Order Star Destroyer's silhouette. Not the drama I hoped for. It succeeds more on paper than on screen: the disc of a bright planet or moon (not Jakku) sliced into by the black wedge of the shadow of the destroyer (with a crucifix at its point?), with a number of smaller shadows detaching themselves to descend to Jakku.

I don’t love the new Star Destroyer, either. But then, we don’t get any good beauty shots of it.

2. The galacto-political state of the galaxy far, far away in THE FORCE AWAKENS is really vague. There's a (New?) Republic, which seems to be a legitimate government for the galaxy, right? There's a First Order, which might be some kind of out-of-control military industrial complex, hijacked by Supreme Leader Snoke. But why would the Republic need to support a Resistance on the sly? Contras? How big is the First Order? Was all of the First Order on StarKiller when Hux held his "Last Day of the Republic" rally? Aside from their system-killing StarKiller base, are Supreme Leader and the First Order the underdogs here? What the flark is the status quo of the galaxy at the start and the end of this movie?

3. I have to say, except for the first appearance of what I think of as Rey's theme when she's sledding down the dune sands from the Star Destroyer on Jakku, I did not leave the theater with any memorable new music. The familiar notes were properly heartstring tugging, but I'm not humming anything new. Full disclosure, the only new (non-original trilogy) music I remember from the prequels is "Duel of the Fates" (which is powerful stuff).

I'm hoping that music from THE FORCE AWAKENS will grow on me, tho. =)

4. Why didn't we see more non-human species that we've already seen in the backgrounds of scenes? Aside from the a rep of the species of plush elephant that that one guy in Max Rebo's band was, all of the sketchy characters in Maz's place were new and different compared to the menageries of previous STAR WARS films.

5. I'd like to know what elements of the film tripped the PG-13 detector. I wish that it was PG, so that more parents could share the experience w/ their youthier kids. Not that there weren't a lot of younglings in the audiences I've been a part of. Was there one vital scene or visual that necessitated it, and then, once the film was on that side of PG, what other elements were added/kept to make the most of going over the line?

Was it red blood appearing on screen? Cuz, honestly, I would be quite happy with a less bloody or non-bloody galaxy. Han's death by lightsaber? Was the Rathtar party on Han's freighter enough to warrant PG-13? The scenes of Force interrogation?

There was a little guy, maybe five years old, in my first screening, who started crying when Kylo Ren killed Han. He seemed to collect himself enough to follow the rest of the film, but when it ended, he was still sobbing, or sobbing again. Poor kid. Not that swords thru the chest are something kids should be watching, but I doubt that the saber violence itself is what affected that boy. It was the loss of Han Solo.

I think the MPAA subtitle is something like "Sci-fi action" (alas, no "teen partying" in the film). I wonder if any of the original trilogy would get PG-13 today.

THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO SPACE-HMMM…

1. We don't hear it explicitly as a policy or mission, but it appears to me that the First Order may be a humans-first movement. That would make them not just Dark, but a hate group, the "beasts!" Officers are all human (hello there, officers Ferb and Killjoy!). Troopers all seem to be humanoid if not human.

Could the Empire have been built on the same prejudice? Again, officers and troopers seemed to be human, but given the origin story of the Empire—Palpatine taking over the existing Republic, which included hundreds of worlds and species—that seems unlikely. So, maybe this is a new, First Order, directive.

I didn't give it any serious thought until Hux's Adolftastic pep rally performance. Could be very interesting—and complicated—to follow thru on that idea in the SW universe. I'd be pleased to see the introduction of such a real evil into the galaxy.

Supreme Leader Snoke… Leader of the Human Supremacists?

Hrm… Something that even the Dark side might object to. Wow. THAT would be awesome. =)

2. Snoke presents himself as an oversized hologram. I'm hoping that we'll get a man-behind-the-curtain reveal in the next film. Maybe Snoke is Yoda-sized, heh. Maybe he's a cute fuzzy jiggly-puff looking creature. Maybe he's an evil A.I.

Snoke's words could imply that he's had facetime with Kylo Ren at some point, but it's possible that all interactions have been via Force or holoSkype until now. When StarKiller base is imploding, Snope directs Hux to collect and bring Ren to him, to "complete his training," or something along those lines. Ominous lines. The first thing I thought of was that Snoke would use the Force to take Kylo Ren's body for his own, transfer his consciousness from his scarred old form to Ren's scarred young form. That's not something we've seen in the films before, but it certainly seems within the realm of Force-possibility, no?

Looking back at training-completing in the context of the original STAR WARS movies, in ROTJ, Yoda tells Luke that the last thing he must do to complete his training is face his father. But Ren's just done that, right? Hrm… Perhaps the last-last thing Ren must do is face his mother? His… sister? The evening gown competition?

3. In Rey's vision, wee Rey's hand is definitely being held by Unkar Plutt when she is left on Jakku. What is this arrangement? Has she been sold into slavery? That doesn't really jive with what we see of her scavenging young adult life, tho. Perhaps she earned free agency in the years since her family left her?

Hrm… So, Rey's family works a deal to set up Unkar as a foster parent, to make sure she doesn't die or get abducted or whatever until can earn what passes for a living on Jakku and survive on her own. They also work things out so that a certain "garbage" ship ends up in Unkar's possession, on the condition that it's kept maintained and fueled, but always under cover and close by. Perhaps the chain of custody is actually choreographed, or manufactured and fed to Unkar (and Rey) as the truth.

Thusly is Rey set up to live a hard and quiet life on a planet far from the bright center of the universe, until destiny comes calling, at which time Lor San Tekka (Max von Sydow) could introduce himself and hire young Rey to pilot them both to Maz's world in the garbage ship he just bought from Unkar.

Unfortunately, Tekka met Kylo Ren's saber, but hey, the Force works in mysterious ways, and Rey still ended up on the Falcon and delivered to Maz's world and Luke's lightsaber.

4. Who are the Knights of Ren? For now, I’m betting it’s the six shadowy figures who stand beside and behind Kylo Ren in Rey’s vision. Were they fellow students?

5. Can we agree that Daisy Ridley bears more than a passing resemblance to Keira Knightley? Knightley played Sabé in Episode 1, one of Amidala’s decoys. I honestly can’t remember for certain, but I’m pretty sure she survived the events of that movie and lived on to continue serving Amidala for some time. Could she possibly have been a good enough decoy to fool a hormonal Anakin one dark night on Naboo? Perhaps she left Amidala’s service to raise her child. And this child grew up and started a family of his or her own, and learning that one of Sabé’s grandchildren, Rey, was strong with the Force, contacted the Skywalker Academy. But before Rey would begin her training, Kylo Ren decimated Luke’s school, and Luke activated the Jedi Child Relocation Program protocols, and set Rey up to live her scavenger life on Jakku until the Force called her to her destiny.

Or… Did Master Qui-Gon or his Padawan Obi-Wan steal some romantic and intimate moments with Sabé while on protection detail? Making Rey one of their grandchildren.

I’ve always thought that a great way to scandalously fix the prequels would be to have Luke and Leia be the children of Amidala and Obi-Wan. I always felt there was more chemistry between the two of them than Ami and Ani, and it would add some dark motivation to Obi-Wan. Yeah, it would totally change everything and I might be a sucker for a good space soap opera. =)

MYSTERY / CRAZY TALK.

Mike tells me that Abrams brought Ewan MacGregor and Frank Oz to read some lines for Kenobi and Yoda in Rey's vision. He also explained however, that Abrams isolated "Rey" from Guinness's original dialogue, from the word "afraid." I originally thought that Ben and Yoda's voices were samples/memories from words they spoke to Luke in the original trilogy. Apparently Kenobi's original line from STAR WARS about Luke taking his "first steps into a much larger world" is not exactly what's heard in the vision. All that I could clearly hear was "first step." And sadly, I can't remember Yoda's words in the vision at all, except that they recalled for me a little deja vu from EMPIRE.

What does this mean for the nature of Rey's lightsaber-induced vision? I do NOT think that it's active communication with Rey. However, that Obi-Wan seems to address her points to Obi-Wan's Force ghost interacting with Rey in the future. Perhaps a Force ghostly Yoda as well.

I think that complicates things, tho. I like the notion that the saber is passing along experiences that it was "present" for. Of course, if we remember what Yoda told Luke in Empire about visions, if the mind is not focused, the Force may deliver events from the past, present, or a future that might be, and the vision DOES include a moment only SHE experienced, her abandonment on Jakku.

Unless, of course, Luke and his lightsaber were on the ship that left her there. =)

So, MAYbe the vision is scattershot and chaotic, and she sees some of Luke's history, some of her own past, and Kylo Ren in her future—BUT—I'd rather the vision is based on psychometry of the lightsaber, and is presenting moments associated with the lightsaber (which, if we allow for future-viewing, would include an encounter w Ren).

I'm pretty sure I could go on and on, but enough rambling for now.

Keep on keepin' on~