Michael G. Munz

The official website of Seattle sci-fi/fantasy author and geek Michael G. Munz

Archives for June 2014

Farscape Rewatch: “Look at the Princess, Part II” (spoilers)

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I bet you thought I’d forgotten about doing these, didn’t you? (Or maybe you didn’t even know I did them at all?) Time to change that!

Farscape

Season 2, Episode 12:
“Look At The Princess, Part II” (I Do, I Think)
**** out of *****

“Look, Aeryn, ALL men are stupid, okay? Men: Stupid! If you want them to know something you’ve got to TELL them!”

(And even though I left off after part one of this three-parter six months ago, the “previously on Farscape” has me right back in the thick of it. Well, that, and my own memory, I suppose. After so long, experiencing the opening credits again feels better than I anticipated. Cool.)

So, yes, to sum up Part 1, Sebacean independent colony, princess with sabotaged DNA who can only have kids with humans, and Crichton trapped between 80 years as a statue/ruler or being fed to Scorpius. Also, Scarrens for the first time. Also Zhaan/Moya/Pilot off on their own. Also D’Argo-Chiana pairings. Also John about to be killed at the end. [Read more…]

Some Wonderful Kind of Noise

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An unspoiled pop-culture canvas!

Okay, everyone, I’ve been alerted to the presence of the white whale. No, strike that, it’s not strong enough. This is the geek equivalent of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster having a bath in the Fountain of Youth.

There exists on the Interwebs a young man named Jeremy (age 19) who identifies as a gamer and “would-be geek” who has never seen Star Wars. He’s never seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. Alien. Terminator. The Princess Bride. Ghostbusters. Any of the quotable movies from geek culture of the past 35 years, he has not seen.

Unspoiled.

Now I know, you probably called bull#*@& midway through the last paragraph, but it’s true! Apparently he grew up somewhere in Canada with his grandparents, a minimal Internet connection, and very little television access. The grandfather only liked old movies and the grandmother only liked musicals. For most of his life he’s been an athlete and an avid tabletop gamer.

“…those hobbies took up a lot of time; I wouldn’t have passed them up for anything.”

[Read more…]

Harrison Ford and the Temple of Photoshop

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And now, for a change, some news NOT related to Zeus Is Dead!

As you’ve probably heard by now, Harrison Ford injured his ankle on the set of Star Wars VII. Apparently a Millennium Falcon door took a swing at him. (My guess is the ship is still sore at him for passing her off to Lando and nearly getting her killed.) Fortunately, indications are that he’s in good spirits and recovering well.

Therefore, why not have a little Photoshop-related fun as a get-well exercise? (Or, alternately, to have some good-natured fun at his expense?) I spotted this image online (someone had Photoshopped a different message) and decided to run with it.

So, without further ado…

Ford1 [Read more…]

Movie Review: Edge of Tomorrow

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Starcraft meets Groundhog Day
(Or maybe that should be Mass Effect meets Groundhog Day. Or possibly both. Just so long as Groundhog Day is in there somewhere.)
"We're Commander Shepard, and this is our favorite movie on the Citadel!"

“We’re Commander Shepard, and this is our favorite movie on the Citadel!”

Edge of Tomorrow is, hands down, THE best video game movie ever. And just to be clear that I don’t mean to damn it with faint praise, it’s also one of the best movies I’ve seen all year. Possibly even this decade. It’s excellent science fiction.

No, it’s not actually an adaptation of any video game franchise, but Tom Cruise’s William Cage is, in at least the metaphorical sense (and maybe more), living a video game, save-scumming his way to victory: Try something, get killed, play again and learn from your mistakes to get a little further. Make no mistake, this isn’t some simple, novice-level, 2-hour single-player campaign from next fall. Cage has found himself locked into a “Nintendo-hard” level repeated ass-kicking with only a single save point: The very beginning.

Except now that I think about it, this is actually from the pre-Savegame Era. Cage is working through the original Super Mario Brothers here. Except with high-powered explosive weaponry. And aliens. [Read more…]