MCU 1 (well, 2 for us)
We got Disney+; we decided to rewatch the MCU; we decided (after watching Iron Man) to watch in internal chronological order.
Thus, we went back to Captain America: The First Avenger.
This is… not my favourite MCU. It’s fine. It’s a solid war film. And that’s what this is: a WW2 film. It’s Where Eagles Dare without Richard Burton, but with weird ray-guns and a disfigured villain (because that’s such a novel idea; see: every James Bond film ever).
This is actually one of the positives about the MCU. The Powers That Be haven’t insisted that every film have exactly the same feel; Iron Man and this film are very different. And so they should be! They’re telling different stories, and Rogers and Stark are very different men, and so on.
The film is: little guy doesn’t like bullies, undergoes radical transformation, becomes a ripped Chris Evans… manages to stay the virtuous little guy in a buff bod, and punches villains. Don’t get me wrong, I do think Chris Evans is great in this role; as an Australian I can say that he seems to fill a very particular idea of American masculinity (which, ahem, given the period of this film, is remarkably like the Nazi version of Aryan…).
I love Stanley Tucci in the minimal time he’s given; I would watch Tommy Lee Jones in basically anything (fight me if you don’t like Space Cowboys); Hayley Atwell is excellent, of course. And Sebastian Stan is fun, and it does make me excited about re-watching the Winter Soldier stuff. Hugo Weaving is a marvellous scenery-chewing villain, and Toby Jones is also fantastic.
Having seen the rest of the films, this feels like such a prequel in many ways. It sets up Cap’s personality – his quirks, his doggedness, his reasons for the at times holier-than-thou attitudes that so pisses off Stark; and of course, the dedication to Bucky. Which is integral to all that is to come, and the depths of which I had probably forgotten when I watched Winter Soldier last time.
I didn’t love this film, particularly, but it does make me excited for what’s to come.
Iron Man: MCU 3 (well, 1 for us)
We’re however far into lockdown 2.
We have however long left until things even begin to be ‘normal’.
And so we have caved. We have subscribed to Disney+. Partly for The Mandalorian… partly for the MCU.
And so, we have begun The Epic Rewatch Of The Entire MCU (movies only).
(We love Agents of SHIELD and look forward to catching up on the season/s we haven’t seen yet, but I have zero intention of rewatching the whole lot. Also, I watched the first couple of eps of Agent Carter, and it just didn’t work for me.)
Initially, we planned to go on production order, and so:
Iron Man
We’ve probably seen this three or four times, I guess? Of the individual-focused films, Iron Man would have to be my favourite set. I haven’t seen this in a while and I did wonder whether it had aged.
The answer: nope.
Downey Jr is still marvellous to watch as Tony. Tony is an unpleasant, arrogant, wilful, privileged, and selfish man, who actually begins to change through the movie. The fact that he is also a mechanical and theoretical genius makes his other traits more frustrating, for me – but yes, I still like him overall. Yes, this is a problem. I really liked the cave-construction part of the film, and the fact that it’s clear Tony is no Elon Musk; he can actually make stuff. He’s a Tesla rather than an Edison; a Robert Hooke or Robert Boyle. In fact one thing I really like is the somewhat-reality of the iterative nature of making the suit: that it’s not perfect, needs refining, etc. (And looking forward, the way that this progresses for Tony’s character is truly fascinating.)
Everyone else in the film is also great. Jeff Bridges is outrageous as Obadiah; Terrence Howard is fine as the long-suffering Rhodes; yes, I like Paltrow as Pepper, too. The pacing works, the soundtrack is infectious, the graphics still look fine to my eyes (which may be slightly rosily-hued, who can say). It was delightful to see people who carry on through the whole set – especially Coulson, of course, and Fury in the end-of-credits scene; and Iron Man’s musical motif, too.
Overall, this is a film that really stand up.
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… as foreshadowed, after we watched this, we reconsidered our viewing order. We’ve decided to go internal chronology, which means we go back to The First Avenger and Captain Marvel next, rather than moving straight to Iron Man 2. So that will be fun.
Twilight
I recently did a thing. Perhaps a silly thing, perhaps a pointless thing. I fell off – or, perhaps, swan-dived – off the cliff. I finally watched Twilight.
It was a Sunday night. I was in need of something that didn’t require much attention, as I wanted to knit.
Notice how I need to justify myself? Oh Twilight, the amount and type of emotion you stir simply by being named.
Even had I been 15 when Twilight came out, it would not have been quite my thing. I’ve never been much of a one for romance movies – at least not at the cinema – and I never went in for paranormal romance much, certainly not as a kid (with just a few noticeable exceptions; ahem, The Changeover, Margaret Mahy).
As a movie, I was not very impressed. I thought the effects were pretty lame – not sure if that’s a time factor or not; I thought the tinkly music accompanying the sparkly vampire reveal was overdone; I didn’t think much of Pattinson’s performance. There are definitely bits of the narrative that I thought were pretty poor and being watched while you sleep by someone who doesn’t have permission to do so is utterly, utterly creepy.
However. My goodness I can understand why this was so popular. What an absolute slightly-awkward-teen-girl fantasy! Your parents are fine but a bit distant (so relatable); you’re new but everyone wants to meet you; new to school but instantly get friends; all the guys want to date you but you know how to redirect them so everyone ends up happy. You’re awkward in sport but it doesn’t matter. And then you fall in love with the hot guy no one understands who warns you he’s the villain but you know he Has a Heart of Gold and you can Really Reach Him.
This story is a story a million nervous, worried, awkward, frustrated, dreamy, anxious, and lonely girls dream of living. It’s catnip. It’s not necessarily good for them, but it fills a need/ meets a hunger/ suggests a pathway in a glorious, sparkly, slightly creepy, romantic way and I kinda don’t blame them for eating it up with a spoon.
I have no intentions of watching the rest (… until I really need another no-pressure movie, possibly…) but I don’t blame anyone who loved it.
Jolie Oldman #1
Gone in 60 Seconds – 2000
Character name: Sway
Style: tough, a bit rough
Mannerisms: nothing memorable
Look: kinda working class? Blonde dreads. Tattoos. Very blue eyes
How the film promotes her: Jolie is second in the credits, after Nicholas Cage; the promo poster shows her (and her, uh, assets) prominently.
In the narrative: The first sight we have of Jolie is in the credits, in a photo frame.
The first real sight is under a car. First her legs, as she comes out from under the car under a trolley. Lips are prominent; blonde dreads are very obvious because despite working as a mechanic she hasn’t tied her back (!?). She dismisses Cage, her ex, completely; she initially refuses to participate in the boost.
Eventually, she turns up on a motorcycle in leathers, spectacularly, and says “I’m here for Kip”. Apparently Sway didn’t need to participate in the preparation for the car boosting. Probably because she actually has two jobs and therefore the chance, and necessity, to keep looking like she’s not a criminal. Unlike everyone else. Also, then the writers would have had to write script for her, which might have strained their abilities; she’s the only girl in the crew, what a surprise. She is at least presented as competent and skilled; also happy to fall into the “one of the boys” thing (“always was a sucker for a redhead”). If this were today, or it were a more edgy film, I’d suggest she’s meant to be bi – pretty sure that’s not the case in this sort of mainstream film from 2000.
Apparently she’s still heartbroken that Memphis left her. They eventually ride off into the sunset together; all it took was stealing some cars together and some barely-innuendo car talk.
Age difference with love interest: Eleven years (Cage older).
Other thoughts on the film:
J: Man this intro feels dated.
A: I love the music. (Meanwhile I can’t stand the brother. Delroy Lindo, though!! And a lot of the other secondaries, too. WHAT A YOUNG ECCELSTON.)
J: I have a love/hate relationship with Nicholas… but he’s really quite good in this.
Reflection:
J: Perhaps this was the wrong first film… Jolie isn’t very prominent.
A: Pretty sure it’s better than Hackers; this way we get to see her move from very secondary to headline.
Jolie Oldman
We’ve done a James Bond viewing (one movie a fortnight, for a year. It was quite a thing.)
We’ve done Great Scott! – watching Tony and Ridley Scott films. (Turns out, epics are not really for us.)
We realised we hadn’t had a viewing project for a while, and decided this was a good time to start one. We’d been thinking of following an actor, and decided Gary Oldman would be awesome – we both love several of his films. And then I pointed that we’ve focussed entirely on dudes. So we thought about what not-dudes would be interesting, and we decided Angelina Jolie fit the bill.
Thus: Jolie Oldman.
I have to admit, though, it doesn’t feel like a time for much experimentation. So we’re largely watching films we’ve seen before. We’ll watch them in chronological order, and it will be interesting to see the development and changes over time. But it won’t be a whole lot of new stuff. And we’re fine with that.
Angelina Jolie:
Gone in 60 Seconds
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (new for J)
Mr & Mr Smith
Wanted (new for us)
Salt
The Tourist
Gary Oldman
JFK (new for us)
The Fifth Element
Air Force One
Harry Potter – Order of the Phoenix
The Dark Knight
The Book of Eli
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Come along for the ride!
Movies and TV of 2017
Movies (new)
The Sum of All Fears * Sherlock Holmes (movie)* Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows * Like Water for Chocolate * Logan * Iris * Robin Hood (2010) * Hidden Figures * Last Cab to Darwin * Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise * Moana * Doctor Strange * For the Love of Spock * Wonder Woman * The Mummy (2017) * The Fate of the Furious * The Zookeeper’s Wife * Kong: Skull Island * Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them * Searching for Sugarman * The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies * Thor: Ragnarok * The Last Jedi *
Movies (rewatch)
The Italian Job (2003) * Arrival * The Expendables 2 * Gone in Sixty Seconds * Master and Commander * Gladiator * Spy Game * The Abyss * The Martian * Under Siege * Escape Plan * Arrival (yes, again) * Rogue One * Mad Max: Fury Road * Ghostbusters (2016) * Sahara * The Mummy * Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation * Rogue One (yes, again) * Wonder Woman * Ocean’s Eleven * Iron Man * Iron Man 2 * Iron Man 3 * Grease 2 * The Poseidon Adventure * The Towering Inferno * Thor * Thor: The Dark World * Men in Black * Men in Black II * Men in Black III * Jurassic Park * Charlie’s Angels * The Dark Knight Rises * Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle * Ocean’s 11 * Ocean’s 12 * Ocean’s 13 * Star Wars: A New Hope * The Empire Strikes Back * Attack of the Clones * Revenge of the Sith * The Force Awakens * Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban * Interstellar
TV (new)
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (Netflix 2016) * Ascension * A Series of Unfortunate Events (Netflix) * Arq * Person of Interest (season 2) * Person of Interest (season 3) * Person of Interest (season 4) * Chef’s Table (season 1) * Person of Interest (season 5) * The Blacklist (season 1) * The Blacklist (season 2) * Agents of SHIELD (season whatever we’re up to) * The Blacklist (season 3) * Orphan Black (season 5) * The Good Place (season 1) * The Blacklist (season 4) * Wynonna Earp (season 1) * The Expanse (season 2) * Glitch (season 2) * Doctor Who (season what, ten?) * Cake Master *
TV (rewatch)
Some Doctor Who bits and pieces.
Galactic Suburbia 178
In which the trashfires are covered in rainbows this week. So many trashfires; so many rainbows. Huge congrats to all the QUILTBAG/LGBTQ Australians who got engaged since Wednesday 15th 2017, including friend of the podcast John Richards! You can get us at iTunes or at Galactic Suburbia.
WHAT DO WE CARE ABOUT THIS WEEK?
Australia voted Yes! And we really want Penny Wong to lead the country now please.
World Fantasy Awards: results out
China, the largest SETI telescope, and Cixin Liu
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alisa: All the news. Literally all the news.
Alex: Lord of the Rings; Wynnona Earp season 1; Searching for Sugarman; The Red Queen, Isobelle Carmody
Tansy: Hamilton’s Battalion, Tremontaine Season 3,
Tansy’s new superhero novella Girl Reporter is available for pre-order now!! Check out her cover reveal on the Mary Sue.
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon – which now includes access to the ever so exclusive GS Slack – and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
Galactic Suburbia 168: Live from Melbourne!
In which we Continuum all the Continuum! Our live podcast, recorded on the afternoon of June 11 2016, with us still buzzing, inspired and surrounded by cake. Alex has a travel announcement. Alisa is knitting. You can get us at iTunes or Galactic Suburbia.
Continuum 13! We were there!
Seanan McGuire’s Guest of Honour Hour
Likhain’s GOH speech on YouTube & written version. (We hadn’t seen this when we recorded so don’t mention it in the episode but PLEASE read/watch it.)
Rivqa Rafael’s Continuum tweets Storified.
Mother of Invention: our campaign is past $11,000 and still going!
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alisa: Hidden Figures; The Happy Place; Disney on Ice: Frozen
Tansy: Heathers: The Musical/Heathers, Wonder Woman
Alex: Wonder Woman; The Blacklist; Hugo reading: Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee; All the Birds in the Sky, Charlie Jane Anders; That Game We Played During the War, Carrie Vaughn;
Q&A: we answer your questions & take on your conversation topics. Thanks SO MUCH to our darling audience, who filled our seats, howled when we needed you to, came up with questions, and stayed blissfully quiet the rest of the time. If you hear a moment of odd, no-context-provided hilarity, just assume something funny has happened involving one of the Galactic Suburbia Gentleman’s Auxilary, or that someone is gesturing with cake.
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon – which now includes access to the ever so exclusive GS Slack – and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
Galactic Suburbia 167
In which we launch new projects and Discover a new/old love for Star Trek. Bet you didn’t know how much we love Star Trek. You can find us on iTunes or at Galactic Suburbia.
What’s new on the internet?
Nebula Weekend means awards and other announcements!
Tansy announces the impending Kickstarter for Mother of Invention: A speculative fiction anthology of diverse, challenging stories about gender & artificial intelligence.
Alex reveals the cover of Luminescent Threads, the new book about Octavia Butler coming soon from Twelfth Planet Press.
Continuum Preview! Check out the program, because we’re all over it. The whole GalSub team will be at Melbourne for this year’s Continuum — if you’re planning to be there, block off three hours for our Galactic Suburbia-and-Twelfth Planet Press extravaganza including a fundraising bake sale and a pre-launch party for Luminescent Threads. (It’s like a baby shower but for a book, and you don’t have to bring gifts)
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alisa: Santa Clarita Diet S1; Anne with an E; Luminescent Threads edited by Alexandra Pierce and Mimi Mondal, Twin Peaks.
Alex: Moana; Doctor Strange; Arrow; For the Love of Spock; Silent Invasion, James Bradley
Tansy: Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief; The Murderbot Diaries, Martha Wells; The Sarah Jane Adventures (check out Tansy’s appearance on the Sarah Jane themed Splendid Chaps here)
All of us: Star Trek Discovery Trailer! We have a lot of feels.
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon – which now includes access to the ever so exclusive GS Slack – and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
Galactic Suburbia 163
In which Alisa reads us all under the table (again) and the women of SFF are anything but Humble. Get us on itunes or at Galactic Suburbia.
What’s New on the Internet?
Cheesecake can be cake if it wants to be cake. Especially if you do not belong to a pie nation. Also, pies need lids or they’re not trying hard enough.
GUFF race (until 17 April)
Paul Weimer is the DUFF candidate, hooray!
Women of SFF Humble Bundle – get this amazing bunch of SFF books now, only a couple of days to go!
CULTURE CONSUMED:
Alisa: Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell; Too Sharp, Marianne Delacourt; Missing Richard Simmons
Tansy: Dreadnought, by April Daniels, Mad Money, Iron Fist
Alex: Hawk and Fisher, Simon R Green; The Delirium Brief, Charles Stross; Logan; The Abyss;
Please send feedback to us at galacticsuburbia@gmail.com, follow us on Twitter at @galacticsuburbs, check out Galactic Suburbia Podcast on Facebook, support us at Patreon and don’t forget to leave a review on iTunes if you love us!
Randomly Yours, Alex 