The more I think about The Avengers (and also, the more I watch it, because incredibly, there is a decent CAM version online), the more I love it. I'm 98% certain it's not gonna suffer from XM:FC Syndrome - a phenomenon named after X-Men: First Class, which, as you know, I loved at first, A LOT, but over time, I've come to realise that it simply isn't deserving of my love, at least in the measure it was given.

This effect is so profound that I decided to add a new category for my Film Lover system of film ranking, which I invented in the XM:FC post: ( The drunk hook-up and my obituary of X-Men: First Class )

ANYWAY, this is about a different Marvel movie. One I have actually no major problem with, I think? I love it. Let's count the ways! (Ergo: A slightly enhanced twitter review)

- I love every scene in which the Avengers are on screen. The rest is pretty good, too, but I would watch a whole movie set at that conference table. Or Bruce and Tony geeking out over, like, maths stuff. Or Thor and Steve walking through the world, trying to decipher pop culture references.

- Srsly. Can I just marry Tony Stark? He still carries the movie, I'd say. Also, it is my firm belief that every entrance of Robert Downey Jr, anywhere, ever, should be accompanied by AC/DC. And, dayum. Manhattan needs a Stark Tower, stat.

- Great acting all around, actually. You can cut the UST between Iron Man and Captain America with a knife. I think Steve and Thor are portrayed very well, though I have little else to say. Robin Scherbatsky makes a nice Agent Hill. Samuel L Jackson is Fury, full stop.

- Mark Ruffalo, you little gem. He definitely ranks second after RDJ, and I didn't necessarily expect that. (RDJ was obvious.) I haven't seen a single Hulk movie (out of all of them), and I won't. I feel like I know everything I need to know about this character. On that note, Mark Ruffalo's performance as reviewed by Film Crit Hulk.

- I really, really liked Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner, and their respective characters. You get the sense that they trust each other like they don't trust anyone else, and there might be romance in the air, but it's not obvious or a topic at all. I also love that at one point, Black Widow gets out of a tight spot by biting someone's arm. IT'S WHAT I WOULD DO.
I also covet Natasha's hair, but that is beside the point.

- Worth mentioning: Not just Loki's helmet is cray-cray, his hair looks like it's trying to escape from his scalp. (Also note: I like Tom Hiddleston as Loki, but I guess the character itself just isn't my favourite villain ever. The film isn't worse for it.)

- And the best thing about the whole thing: Everyone has issues. A lot of them. I love it. Who's interested in healthy people?!

- I felt the film was also pretty much fine from a feminist point of view: Yes, Black Widow and Agent Hill wear tight catsuits. However, there's no extreme cleavage and no impractical high heels. I actually love Black Widow's first scene (highlight) in which she starts out looking like the stereotypical damsel in distress, only to completely kick ass and then just picking up her discarded heels and walking off with a run in her tights. I just love that. (Apparently, people had issues with Pepper being barefoot in the beginning. Which... Dude. She's at home. It's exactly how I dress at home when no-one is watching. I don't see the problem. Another problem I hear about: Black Widow pretending to be/actually letting herself be vulnerable in order to get Loki to talk. Personally, I just don't see the problem - I see it more as an unexpected trope reversal..)
And most importantly: There was at least as much boy candy on screen than sexy women, if not more. Captain America wears fucking tights. I could hardly stop ogling Hawkeye and Thor's naked biceps.
And then there's this:

Point = made.

- The KNEEL BEFORE ME scene kinda stood out to me, as a nitpicker: Aw, Loki. Honey. You're in Stuttgart. Someone should have told you that people there won't follow your orders given IN ENGLISH. Those poor opera goers are probably like, "Nil? Wir sind hier doch nicht in Ãgypten." (I mean, look, it's not that Germans don't speak English at all, but stuff like "It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power."? No. Just... no. Not a chance.) I mean, you could have just had that scene set in London, lost the Hitler joke, and have all this, you know, make sense. But I JEST, it doesn't ruin the movie for me..

That is all for the moment. I just wanted you to know, I REALLY love this movie. I'm also looking forward to Iron Man 3, because the director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, plus RDJ? Sounds promising.
I won't delude myself into thinking that every movie in this franchise is gonna be amazing from now on - I bet some are gonna be very sub-par, even terrible. But compared to, like, Fantastic Four, this franchise is already very good. I loved the Iron Man movies, liked Captain America, found Thor amusing and otherwise nice (and while I like Chris Hemsworth a lot, I keep thinking, ALEXANDER SKARSGARD MIGHT HAVE BEEN THOR, WHAT IS AIR.).

So this has been a post, now you know why my tumblr are been everything is avengers and nothing hurts for about a week, and I might even get to those Hunger Games reviews I've had laying around forever. I'm just proving again: My posting habits are random. Sorry.

(And I don't know what's gonna happen, but... The Amazing Spider-Man comes out very soon. Technically, that's Avengers-verse. Think what would happen if Andrew Garfield were added to the mix in Avengers 2...

(snagged from deltachild)

current books: The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
current playlist: electro swing, mostly Parov Stelar
current guilty pleasure: I've been eating/getting takeaway from my favourite Italina restaurant in Vienna a lot lately. NOMZ. Also, just re-watched Casanova (with Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller), which will probably always be a guilty pleasure of mine. Parts of the film are terrible - and I've loved it since I first watched it.
current color: green, for years now, so "current" is probably mustard yellow
current drink: Radler (Gösser beer mixed with (usually) lemon juice or the like)
current food: anything involving feta and/or hummus
current favorite show: possibly The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but I've been ridiculously excited for season 2 of Game of Thrones and very happy with the new Mad Men season
current wishlist: Er - mostly getting through my next few law exams? Also, United Nude shows. GUH. (Especially the Mobius. This will not happen.)
current triumphs: found new nice flatshare, quite possibly got a summer job in the UK
current bane of my existence: law, without question
current celebrity crush: The Fassbender, Emma Stone, Richard Madden, RDJ
current indulgence: refusing to do any uni work for the next two weeks
current blessing: my family, sunny but mild spring weather
current slang: I keep thinking "Yikes!". Also, "WHAT EVEN."
current outfit: loose shirts and tight-ish jeans/short-ish skirts, fake Ray Ban shades (since, apparently, this is one of about three shapes that fit my face), leather jacket, also starting with the summer dresses
current excitement: SUNDAY will be EPIC - going to an electro swing Prohibition party, Mark Watches The Fellowship of the Ring, and Mad Men and Game of Thrones air in the US. Also, EASTER HOLIDAYS. Also-also, BRB going to Copenhagen next weekend. :D
current mood: drunk (am with my parents, which explains everything) and content and happy to be free of uni for the next two weeks


(You know what? All my icons are REALLY, REALLY OLD. Some of them make me totally nostalgic. Others make me question my state of mind back then.)

(And to end with a very random rec: This is the best drinking game ever in the history of the planet, especially if you're internet-savvy.)

Because I should be studying: My thoughts on the new season of Sherlock so far, let me show you them.

( A Scandal in Belgravia )

Why hello there, I haven't posted in ages. In any case, this definitely merits a post:

Humor and Determination Key to Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords Recovery

Gabby Giffords is the US Congresswoman who was shot point blank at a rally in Tuscon, Arizona last January, as you might remember. The whole thing did really stick with me, especially since she seems like the kind of politician I, personally, would really support.

Now she and her husband have released some of the videos he took of her recovery, and they're amazing. Shocking. Shortly after the shooting, she barely responds to anything - and in the recent interview, while her speech is still impaired, she seems healthy and has her smile back. It's a touching story and a fascinating account on the human brain and what it can overcome. I find it incredibly brave of them to release the footage, and I don't usually throw these words around.


Also, apparently Mark Kelly, Gabby's astronaut husband, is on The Daily Show tonight - and I would recommend Jon Stewart any time, so definitely don't miss this one!

...or the first X-Men, if you want to think chronologically.

Anyway. HOW MUCH DO I LOVE X-MEN FIRST CLASS?

Like cake, I think. I think I love it like cake. With shiny sprinkles of suppressed bromance and historical icing. ♥

Srsly, could they have cast anyone more perfect than James and Michael? They even kinda LOOK like Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart.

Anyway. Was I ever not gonna love this film, even if it's in a shallow and giggly and fannish way and not a ~deep meaningful connection~?

(Oh, yes, I categorise my movies into various relationship states. This one has the potential to be a fuck buddy - a film I really like and will visit many a time to have fun, without actually wanting to get all serious. My other fuck buddies include (NO JUDGEMENT PLEASE) films like Prince of Persia, RED, Iron Man, Star Trek XI and all the Ocean's films and don't even get me started on National Treasure I DON'T KNOW OKAY. I might also start doing some silly things with them (hello, FANDOM), but we're independent of each other.

There's also the summer romance - kind of like a very meaningful fling - films I love, but part with after a short while and might only see again every once in a blue moon when they message me on facebook to tell me they happen to be in town. Examples: Black Swan, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Inception and Atonement, since we're already talking James McAvoy.

Then there are the boyfriends. I love them on a deeper level, and they do stick with me long-term. Like Sherlock Holmes, Slumdog Millionaire, Pride and Prejudice, Walk the Line, The Dark Knight, Inglourious Basterds and In Bruges.

The final stage is, I guess, the husband. I use the singular because I'm not sure anything but the Lord of the Rings has reached that stage yet. Probably because I got obsessed with it at thirteen, and some boyfriends just have to stand the test of time to reach this level. Anyway, I can still quote large parts of those films by heart. That is a VERY strong indicator for this category.

Also STOP JUDGING ME I just came up with that system spontaneously and used my external HD as a reference, I CAN'T KEEP TRACK OF ALL MY LOVERS OKAY. Also, I am ENDING this now before any more ambiguity comes up.)

Back on topic, random rambling, aka ( My thoughts on X-Men First Class, let me show you them. )

Aaanyway. I'll leave you with something seen on twitter (@sarahreesbrenna, as per usual):

Professor X: I have James McAvoy's adorable face & a huge mansion. Who wants to come to my mansion & let me love them?
Professor: People just need hugs. Magneto: I don't think that's true. Professor: Do YOU want a hug? Magneto: ... yes.


In conclusion: They showed the Captain America trailer before the film, which I will now have to watch solely because HOWARD STARK IS IN THIS MOVIE. lol.

Something that amused me on twitter today: Things Kimi Says On NASCAR Team Radio. (from here)

Like, "I don't understand how this car can be so hot. My ass is even burning in here!", and, "We're so fucking shit, it's unbelievable.", and, "Why you shouting on the fucking radio?"


And especially, in some interview:

Trackside Announcer: "Do you think you'll be able to improve on your finish next race?"

Kimi: "No. My Finnish is fine, I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

That sounds like classic Kimi. :D



PS: This should go without saying, but I don't want anyone to share f-locked LJ entries from this journal. Just FYI, until J figures out this latest clusterfuck.

PPS: Cannot believe I don't have a single F1 user pic anymore, because apparently they got cut when my paid account expired. Might be time to get one again... (BTW, I would love to know how they decide which user pics stay and which go. NO idea.)

I'm not even sure where to start. I finished the series quite a while ago (A DANCE WITH DRAGONS OUT SOON WHEEEEE), but haven't really had the time or inclination to blog about it. Frankly, I still don't really know what to say, except that I HAVE MANY FEELINGS ABOUT THIS SERIES, I'm just never quite sure which ones at any point in time are the dominant ones. Except MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR MOAR, but that doesn't mean I don't HATE TO LOVE IT sometimes.

(And let me just warn you: There will be intense ranting in here. Or, rather, intense CAPSLOCK!RAGE. It doesn't mean that I don't love the series, because overall I really, really do. It's just that the things that make you feel angry or that you really want to be nitpicky about tend to stay with you far longer than "Oh, how cute!" and "What a great twist". Also, no structure or coherency whatsoever. THIS IS ACTUAL WORD VOMIT.)

( My Feelings about A Song of Ice and Fire, let me show you them. )

One thing I wanted to say about the HBO show: I really disagree with some of its characterisation. (I mean, wow, someone in the production team has a hard-on for Cersei.) I don't think it always does what it should be doing in terms of character development, etc. But when it gets stuff right, it gets it FREAKING PERFECT. Some bits of characterisation are spot-on, even if they weren't in the books. And above all, it helps SO much to put a picture to everything I read in the books.
The casting is, for the most part, flawless. HOW AWESOME IS ARYA? And that glimpse of Tywin? Same for the sets and props and costumes. THE OPENING CREDITS ARE A WORK OF ART, and also, how clever is it to use the map and show everything and what it looks like and where it is? If there's one thing I kinda have trouble with, it's imagining architecture. (I might just simply lack the patience to read the descriptions correctly, but whatever.)
So, I think, if you take the characterisation from the books and apply it to the visuals, plus the bits they get right, it's INCREDIBLE. I can't even imagine watching the show without having read the books now, but I think my loyalties might lie a bit differently. In any case, IT'S WORKING OUT REALLY GREAT FOR ME, and GODS SAVE ME, THAT TERRIBLE EPISODE CANNOT BE FAR OFF.



That was Part One of my Return to Fantasy. I came across that first PR image of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss last week, and obviously (stupidly, because ZOMG EXAMS) started reading The Hunger Games already, which is Part Two. (I know it's more science fiction than fantasy, but I've never really gone for scifi if you exclude The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and I'm counting it as fantasy-enough, full stop.) And then... I was suddenly finished with it. Review to come.
All that I can say for now, is that it unfortunately didn't leave me in quite the exuberant state I had hoped it would, so that maybe I could finally try to get through the Farseer trilogy as Part Three of the Return to Fantasy. But I won't even be thinking about that until after exams and my family's visit and my South England trip, anyway. (And this time I mean it - the first part of the trilogy has been sitting untouched on my bookshelf for ages, so the temptation isn't overwhelming.)


Right. BRB, DOT TO DOT FESTIVAL 2011 happening today in Notts. Will miss Monaco for this - but that's worth it. :D

I AM SO QUITTING THIS FUCKING SERIES.

NOT EVEN 150 PAGES INTO BLOOD AND GOLD AND I ALREADY FUCKING HATE GRRM.

NOT THAT I DIDN'T FUCKING FEEL IT COMING.

SRSLY, IF YOU INSIST ON KILLING OFF EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER I GET ATTACHED TO, I MIGHT AS WELL START A WILD LOVE AFFAIR WITH JOFF.

THAT IS ALL.

On the other hand... I might as well keep reading. I know for a fact that the last two-and-a-half of my favvies are safe for now.

But really, reading these books is more of a battle than anything else. It's actually exhausting. I need something else after this.

...somewhat late because I only just got back from a trip to Dublin and had my friend J. here for two nights, and then went with her to London at five-too-fucking-early am yesterday to see her off, and then went on an impromptu shopping spree.

I think I love it. I really, really do. It hasn't happened often that a film was made of a book I've already read, so it's a bit weird, but it's not like they're cutting a lot of stuff, at least so far. The "I think" part is there because... idk? Was I ever not gonna love it? NOOO.

So here's random twitter commentary, plus some. Basically, spoilers for the episode, and I think there's some book stuff in there, but ABSOLUTELY NOTHING important, so you won't get spoiled for major plot twists. Because as always, I'm fretting about The Little Things.

( Episode 1. This boils down to: I would be totally prepared to do the current, future and bastard Lord Stark. Separately or all at once, if they prefer. )

Anyway. IS IT SUNDAY YET?! (BTW: Wow. Gotta love HBO for airing Game of Thrones on Easter Sunday instead of some Jesus film or sth, but I guess that's cable for you.)

And yes, I'll keep using this Boromir icon until I have a Stark icon (and a paid account again, WOE.) SO THERE.

Er.

Is anyone else amused and slightly exasperated by The Important People suddenly going all, "Whut? Nuclear energy is dangerous and uncontrollable? ZOMG!!1! :O"

Because that? NOT EXACTLY NEWS, PEOPLE.

I mean, all of a sudden Germany is turning off power plants, the EU is planning stress tests... What, Chernobyl's too far in the past for you? Nuclear power plants are just as dangerous in this precise moment as they were last week, before any acts of God, NO MORE, NO LESS. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAS CHANGED.

If the fact that a massive earthquake can severely damage a power plant in which highly dangerous and unstable material is handled is news to you... you probably should not be one of The Important People? I mean, that's just a no-brainer, isn't it?


(Just for the record, I'm in no way against any of these measures. I think it's great the danger is finally dawning on people. Just, it's like everyone just had a huge revelation, when people have been saying this stuff for years and years.

I'm proud to be living in a country - well, not technically, since I'm currently living in the UK, but you know what I mean - that does not have a single active nuclear power plant, and the only one we ever built was never used because people kept, you know, demonstrating and stuff.

I'm just asking one thing: Next time, don't wait for another (potential) disaster to get your asses in gear?)