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technoblue

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  1. technoblue
    The Beeb have released a taste of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor. I like the look they’re going for with the timelord’s 15th regeneration. Click the spoiler to view. Also looking forward to David Tennant’s take on the 14th and how that will all play out in the specials, but I have no idea if I’ll be streaming it or waiting for the blu-ray. LoL! Time will tell, I guess.
  2. technoblue
    Yeah. I agree for the most part. After what happened to the sand people tribe that took him in, I was waiting for Boba to unleash a fury on the civilized parts of Tatooine. It might have been an interesting way to grow the character, but it was left in the realm of what could have been. Luthen and his young protégé at the antique shop very much seem like an end justifies the means duo, with Luthen more willing to ride the line and risk safety and protocol. Where Andor is the unwilling protagonist who finds himself tripping into certain situations, Luthen has full agency but is also characterised as the antihero. I like how Skarsgård plays the character grey so that it’s difficult at times to tell if his allegiances are true.
  3. technoblue
    Seriously. Threezero has had those stand in marketing photos since day one. The unpainted prototype was shown in fighter mode, though. Not sure if we have seen a physical prototype in guardian/gerwalk.
  4. technoblue
    I’m not sure why you’ve decided to single out @Thom in this, but I’ll give it a go because, why not? The movie already shows us how Archimedes kept a number of the future artifacts that the embattled Syracusans found at the crash site and lifted from the dead crew. It also reveals how Indy and Helena, by going back to Archimedes with their complete Antikythera and letting him look at it completed the time loop. Somehow that glimpse gave Archimedes what he needed to complete his present day version of the movie’s MacGuffin. I would suggest if Archimedes and his learned Syracusans studied the wreckage of the bomber, then that might have led to the movie’s present day history. In other words, all of that had to happen to keep the film universe in check. If the bomber hadn’t gone back into the past, then the pursuit of flight and the moon landing in the Indyverse might have happened at different times or might not have happened at all as per Helena’s quick theory. The other important take away is that the Indyverse has a history parallel but different from our own real-world history. It asks you to suspend your disbelief in its more fantastic moments. If you stubbornly apply real-world logic at all times, then you will just end up spinning your wheels. Remember, the Indyverse has a real arc of the covenant that melts faces, a real holy grail where if you pick poorly you are aged to dust in an instant, five real Sankara stones given by Hindu gods, a real crystal skull given by aliens, and now this dial of destiny. None of these other fantastical elements would survive the same kind of overbearing scrutiny. In fact, none of the fantasty was ever meant to survive scrutiny. These elements drive the plot. People who don’t like the old man Indy films because of the contrived artifacts but who give a pass to the young man Indy films are being disingenuous.
  5. technoblue
    I think the problem with Boba Fett is that the story lost track of its main character. There was so much potential to have Boba resurface and wrestle control of the Hutt’s former territories on Tatooine. To make the show focus on discovering who Boba was post Sarlac, and show his upward climb within the Tatooine underground. We even got the beginning of that story with that whole bit with the sand people. Alas, instead of going up from there, we got another vehicle to plant the seeds for Dave Filoni’s expanded live action characters. But don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed seeing that fan service. It’s a conflicted joy, though, because I also understand how it did rob the spotlight from Boba and his crew. It’s unfortunate in hindsight when I think about it. The Mandalorian, in comparison, has a story that shows more of an organic evolution of its main characters and that makes the fan service in this show more palatable to me. Mando is just some random bounty hunter in the beginning, and his purpose beyond that was in retrieving stolen beskar with a deep-seated loyalty to his culvert. After a bounty put him face-to-face with Grogu, he gained a new mission. And after he completed that mission he discovered a new purpose when he decided to become Grogu’s guardian. Like Big S notes above, it was easy to get into. The parts with the other Mandalorians that come later in the show—even though it is more Filoni fan service—doesn’t feel as out of place to me. It will be interesting if we see Mando and Grogu continue with their aid to bring a unified Manadalore back into Star Wars canon. It will also be interesting to see if the dark saber is reforged or if its story is finally at an end. If the creative team is able to wrap up the fan service-y hooks, I am quite curious to see what new things they might add to Mando’s story
  6. technoblue
    Also remember that Sabine’s character is naturally sarcastic and won’t hold back her sass from anyone, Jedi or no Jedi. I’m really looking forward to this series and love the mural in the trailer that links this back to the animated series.
  7. technoblue
    I would caution against reading into things too much. Not everything has an ulterior motive or underlying purpose. Sometimes a fish is just a fish. I do think Lucasfilm/Disney is well aware about how it needs to reboot Indiana Jones absent Harrison Ford in the title role. The CGI de-aging tech was never going to be the actual solution. I do like the idea that was mentioned up thread about recasting Indy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this is done and becomes commonplace as newer actors age out, just like with James Bond. However, I am not expecting a switch until the property has had a bit of a rest out of the public eye. It can certainly be argued that the reboot and recasting should have happened already, and I think that’s fair. As for Mutt and Helena, I will have to agree to disagree about the general sentiment here. I did not see them as title role torch bearers. One common motif of all the Indiana Jones films is that of Indy’s sidekicks. Mutt is the sidekick in KotCS who (surprise) is closer to Indy than he realises. Helena becomes his sidekick too, replacing her father Basil who passed away. Both Basil and Helena end up having a common interest in the film. Per this Men’s Health article from June: https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a44390732/indiana-jones-dial-of-destiny-shia-labeouf-mutt-williams/ James Mangold noted that he wanted to capture the “energy between Indy and an intrepid female character.” That doesn’t imply anything apart from what we got.
  8. technoblue
    So I went out to see the movie last night. I enjoyed it. I thought it was fun. When it’s strong, it’s a strong 4 out of 5 stars, but it does drop down into the 3.75 range in parts. Let’s start with the good stuff… I also liked the characters. For non-spoilery bits, I thought the whole opening sequence with a de-aged CGI Indy was impressive. Not perfect but it could have quickly gone visibly sideways like it did for de-aged Professor X in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Luckily, it didn’t and that just shows how far the tech has come since Tron: Legacy, that’s for sure. The dips in the effect, like the horse riding and train stunts didn’t pull me out of the film. I think the Luke de-aging in Book of Boba was a little more uncanny for me, but I digress. Back to spoilery bits. Here are some things that I thought could have been better… But is it an Indiana Jones film? I think so. Sure, it plays things safe given Harrison Ford’s age and the age of the other returning cast members. I did like how the movie takes these characters in different unexpected directions but brings them back to a hopeful place at the end. It’s not a genre changing film but it also doesn’t have to be. With the strength of the original Indy trilogy, people can choose to ignore the two old man Indy entries if they wish. Watching them, though, doesn’t ruin anything or take away from Raiders, Temple of Doom, or Last Crusade. That’s all in my opinion, of course, so take it as you will. I’m glad I saw it on the big screen.
  9. technoblue
    Yeah, fans are fickle. That isn’t necessarily a negative, either. It just is. Sometimes it’s hard to communicate what we want. LoL! Myself, I was hoping to see a little more from Takara with this MP Optimus. I would have liked a slight remold to reduce the size of the backpack. A remold of the legs to reduce the toon-ish curve at the calves. Tampo printing would have been a cool bonus for sure. And even if none of that made it past the design phase because of a lower budget, a G1 toy head would have had me buying this regardless. Oh well. I’ll keep an eye out for good affordable add-ons.
  10. technoblue
    The more I look at the marketing shots for Optimus, the more the colors of MP-44 Convoy versus MP-44 Optimus (not Convoy) reminds me of the colors of MP-10 Hasbro versus MP-10 Takara. Good for those who want the color swap, but I’m not fond of the stickers. I guess we’ll see if a third-party offers a toy accurate head sculpt, but I’m also getting tired of having to upgrade/mod at this price point.
  11. technoblue
    LoL! At this point, I would be happy just to get this figure in hand. Even if it were the only Southern Cross bit of merch KC ends up releasing. But if Dana ends up getting delayed to the end of the year, KC will have achieved NY VF-31A levels of ridiculous.
  12. technoblue
    IMO, this release of Optimus is a strange one, especially when compared to the toy version of Megatron (MP-36+). The accessories are barebones and there is no trailer or Roller. There is no printed on detail. There is no remolding or even a toy-accurate head sculpt. It appears to be a budget version of MP-44 with toy stickers, silver thighs, and a variant of Convoy’s head sculpt with yellow eyes. I was excited about the initial announcement but, now that the marketing shots are out there, I’m going to pass on this one. The Diaclone Trailbreaker looks to be the better pick. But it’s a hard sell unless you are a die-hard official MP collector. Chances are most people with mixed MP collections have a good copy of one of the many third-party releases already.
  13. technoblue
    Thanks for the link. And yeah, script edits are a common thing after a story is purchased. A fun example that shows how edits can push a movie in a positive direction is Star Beast. That’s the original Alien script by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. However, as a franchise Alien appears to be another one suffering under the weight of its own success and certain egos. But back on topic. I do think it’s too early to dig a grave for Dial of Destiny. A lot of the entertainment sites are trying to be first to report on the poor holiday weekend performance, but I want to see how those numbers are in two weeks. Alas, the predictive/speculative reporting comes before anything is actually validated. It is an unfortunate affect of our modern online world. Anyway, if the numbers stay low, I would be curious to figure out what is driving the trend. People planning longer vacations and just doing other things this month? People turned off by KotCS and waiting for streaming? Word of mouth and people avoiding the film because they read a trusted reviewer or listened to some influencer? Just a lack of interest in the Indy formula—perhaps adventure isn’t something that Hollywood can/should run into the ground? For me, it’s too early to say.
  14. technoblue
    +1 for Magician’s Nephew I’ve read the books and I thought Walden Media put in a good effort with the three films they produced when they still had the rights. That said, I’m keen to see how far Netflix takes their version. If the creative team does go the distance, it would be really fun to compare things once we have Netflix versions of the Walden Media films.
  15. technoblue
    I’m liking the chunky look and I’m glad they changed those intakes and the dark gray linkages in the elbows. The battro-helmet is…quite different…as in, please show me more of this ridiculous idea. I can see how Three Zero is simulating the curves to match the still from the anime shared up thread and that has me curious to see how they might reinterpret the other Valkyrie noggins.
  16. technoblue
    Sweet. I don’t get out to see too many films at the cinema anymore, but Dune is one of the few where I make an exception. Starting the countdown to November.
  17. technoblue
    It is fantastic news, but I also see no harm in being cautiously optimistic until we get the official details. I was willing to be at peace with the way season 2 ended. Furthermore, I hope most of the actors are able to return and that all of the union talks are resolved so this can move forward on schedule. I’m also very curious to learn who rescued the show after Netflix dropped it.
  18. technoblue
    Sharing this news with all the “Warrior Nun” fans on the board. Coming soon (somewhere else?)…season 3. https://www.darkhorizons.com/warrior-nun-saved-from-cancellation/
  19. technoblue
    I can respect it as something reimagined, but I still don’t like it. 😅 With regard to the updated gaming graphics, nah I can’t make the jump. That metallic sheen reminds me too much of bad or dated pre-rendered cutscene graphics. Other companies do a good job with transparent plastics in the Transformers space. Sure, they are smaller, but the transparent Dinobots that NewAge is putting out look quite nice. I think if a company wanted to do it well for Macross or Robotech, it could be done.
  20. technoblue
    I can’t warm up to it, myself. I get what KC is aiming for and respect their attempt, but the overuse of markings and metallic colors do not get me thinking of the scene from the anime. Especially, the metallic green gunpods (ew) . I would have been tempted by an arcade-y non-metallic red, blue, and green or a semi-transparent tinted plastic similar to what others suggested up thread. Given how KC is trying new things with their figure line, I think this release would have been a fun opportunity for them to dial down the “glitz and glam” in an attempt to showcase two anime accurate variable fighters.
  21. technoblue
    The move to TNT sure proved to be a monkey’s paw. Although it literally saved season 5, it also resulted in more drama (all the back and forth around Claudia Christian’s departure), and B5: Crusade didn’t get its chance to percolate since TNT cancelled the sequel series after its first season. Alas, until now, The Lost Tales was all we had as an end cap. I’m really hoping The Road Home closes some of the remaining loose threads.
  22. technoblue
    I can understand that criticism of DS9’s story. There were elements of it that had a lot of promise early on but then fell flat in later seasons. The whole thing about the founders being one, but I digress. That’s for a different thread. I do find it funny that B5 is part of a short list of shows that play at showing physics in space. I wish more SF series would do this, but I can only assume it increases the effects budget so I’ll take what I can get. The shows I’ve seen that do take advantage have yet to disappoint me, which is nice. I also agree wholeheartedly about how creative the ship designs are in B5. This all adds variety to the universe and that variety helped the show come alive once I got used to the things that were a bit uncanny in the beginning. But speaking more about the ships themselves—oh yeah—the Starfuries, the White Stars, the different capital ships and the Babylon stations themselves. For me, they are now iconic.
  23. technoblue
    I’ll admit I was more into DS9 when B5 was originally broadcast. It did take some time for me to warm up to B5’s CGI, but warm up I did. I’m going to say that being raised on low-budget BBC programming helped me pay attention to the story. For makeup and practical effects, there are some striking differences between the pilot movie (The Gathering), the series episodes, and the later B5 movies if one decides to watch things in order. Like Farscape, things improved as the series continued over the years. For HD, Babylon 5 is only available on services like iTunes or streaming at the moment. The effects are upscaled, so YMMV on whether that is okay or meh. Sadly, the B5 TV episodes have yet to be remastered or released to physical blu-ray discs. A remastered blu-ray set would be a day-one purchase for me. A set with effects scenes redone like the ST TOS blus would be a dream come true.
  24. technoblue
    Hype! I love how the trailer shows scenes that are pulling directly from War Without End. I am very curious to see how this will add to what us longtime fans know, given what was revealed in the B5 films, the Lost Tales, and Crusade. But getting Sheridan back into his own timeline the first time was quite a big deal. I wonder how they will pull it off now?
  25. technoblue
    Indeed. If Bandai is significantly delayed or really backing out of releasing a DX YF-21 completely, I wouldn’t mind if Arcadia stepped in with their own updated design.
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