Monday, September 29, 2014

Mind Sieve 9/29/14

Running super late~!



Kingsman: The Secret Service Trailer 2 - I am so looking forward to this one! 




Predestination International Trailer 2 - Had not heard of this one. Looks fun!




John Wick Trailer - do not mess with a man's ride or his dog.  You never know who they might belong to. Hee hee!


Hope to be back in the groove next week!

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Virtual Tourist - TERA 9/28/14

Morning all!
Having to rush and could not find the names of stuff quickly. Bummer...

TERA



More nooks in the capitol to drool over. :)


Off to a new location


This is where hubby's people come from. Couldn't find the name though. Dang it!


Darkness and lights. Yet it fits so well.



A local denizen. 


The govermental seat of the Elin


The tree was very cool


Colored lights everywhere


Cute no?


And look at that sky!


Cuteness!


Not so cute.


Loved the glowing flowers


A simple cottage


The weird towes and the awesome sky go nicely together


Look at those spires!


More fauna and flora

Have a great Sunday!

Friday, September 26, 2014

TV Reviews - New Fall Shows 9/26/14

This weekend I am at Fencon!

So since I probably won't get to see any movies, I thought I'd do some quick reviews for the new TV Shows we saw this week now that the new season has finally started.


1. Scorpion

Premise: A group geniuses form a company called 'Scorpion' but don't seem to be getting anywhere. That is until an agent from Walter's past looks him up and asks for their help with a major crisis and they end up using a local dinner for an impromptu HQ.

The first episode really should have been a two hour premier. There's too many characters and we don't really get to meet but two or three. It would have served them better going with a two hour episode as then they could have spent a little time on all of the characters so we could become acquainted. Felt way too rushed. No real sparks so far.

Interesting premise. But will it hold our interest? We will see.


2. Forever


Premise: A doctor on a slave ship defends one of the slaves and is killed for it. When his body is dumped into the ocean, however, he comes back to life. And each time he dies after, he comes back again and again, his body reformed in a nearby large body of water. In modern times, he's currently working as a medical examiner in a big city, as his research on finding a way to die permanently continues. But his life takes a turn as he finds himself stalked by someone who says they knows his secret.

This show seems to be part New Amsterdam, part Castle, part Forever Knight. Ioan Gruffudd and Judd Hirsch make for a fun pair. Death is a major theme on a number of levels. Good chemistry amongst the cast. Liked it, and since we got two episodes this week, I got to like it even more as the stalker angle grows more interesting.

Looks like a keeper!


3. Gotham


Premise: Detective James Gordon has moved to Gotham City. A large and very corrupt city. His first case - the alley murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Batman comic fans will love some of the characters they've brought back in time for this tv production - Montoya, Bullock, Allen. And as we see the beginning of Bruce Wayne's eventual transformation into Batman, there are several other characters we get a peek at before they become the criminal icons they mature into later in life.

Ben McKenzie is great as Gordon. Love that David Mazouz is playing the emotionally scarred Bruce Wayne - he was fabulous on Touch. Excited to see what they will do with Sean Pertwee as Alfred. Te butler has many secrets - shshshsh. Great chemistry and rapport from all in the cast.

I am definitely pumped about this one.


4. NCIS: New Orleans




Premise: A small NCIS office in New Orleans tries to keep the peace and protect the city.

I saw the intro episode that aired in the spring with the regular NCIS crew and liked what I saw, so made sure to check it out. The premise of this episode, however, was too emotional too soon. We've seen these characters only once before, so dipping into such a personal emotional plot didn't get the 'buy in' it normally would have if we'd already gotten to know the characters better. Several jokes fell flat, the cast still trying to find their 'groove'. Nevertheless, I loved Scott Bakula as the laid back, emotional Dwayne Pride. The character is almost an reversed-Gibbs at first glance, but inside, there flows the same hardened steel core. CCH Pounder is a blast as the ME.

We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this one.


Some beloved shows also came back for new seasons this week! YAY!
Person of Interest - yes, yes, yes!
Agents of SHIELD are off to a bang! So glad they've found a way to keep Brett Dalton around! Woot! (Going to be a dark season. Eek!)
NCIS - started with a bang!

Happy watching, ya'll!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

My Fencon 2014 Schedule

Tomorrow is Fencon!


 FenCon 2014


Below is my schedule for this weekend. Sweet!


The Return of the Obligatory Stargate Panel 
Friday  8:00 PM  Red Oak  

FenCon Squares - my first time! So excited!
Saturday  10:00 AM  Trinity I - IV  

Autographs
Saturday  2:00 PM  Gallery  

Our Thingies Do Stuff - Ooo no Mel, but I still think Go Liver Psychic Anthropologist might be showing up for this one. Bwahahahahahaha!
Saturday  7:00 PM  Live Oak  

Reading - Come! You know you want to hear my squeaky voice!
Sunday  2:30 PM  Pecan  


Should be a fun weekend! Woot!

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Picture Kaleidoscope 9/24/14

Morning!

Yep, I was a no show Monday. Colds are starting to spread and the sinuses to complain. It's fall season! Heh heh

Went through a stint of sky pics. Loads of unusual cloud formation (for Texas that is).


Herd of sheep clouds


Look way in the back, the clouds form a giant wall.


Tried to get a better shot of it. Not sure I was successful. :P


Unusually dark and cloudless sky.


Cloud blimps!


Like a force of nature coming for us


Cloud blanket!


Or a cloud tsunami, no?

Stay healthy!

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Virtual Tourist - TERA 9/21/14

Morning all~!

TERA
Ostgarath
Pirate Grotto


Ship inside Pirate Grotto


Some lovely pirate decorating touches. :)


Latests costume?


Looks like I totally forgot to take the UI out. 


Pirates!


Really is hard to get pics of the bad guys. lol


Water so clear you can see the gold at the bottom.


Back of one of the ships. So fancy!


Yep, skulls in ALL their decorating. Hee!


Treasure room of DOOM.


Upside down ship on the ceiling!


View from the wooden rope bridge hanging above the Pirate Grotto


They even have housing in the cliffs!


There be GOLD!


Totally cool floor, no?


Ship entry and exit for the grotto.

Back at the Capitol

Nice outfit!


New cool little corner in the Capitol. Such a gorgeous place!

Have a great Sunday~!

Friday, September 19, 2014

Movie Review - The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner



Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Aml Ameen, Ki Hong Lee, Blake Cooper, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter, Kaya Scodelario, Dexter Darden, Chris Sheffield, Patricia Clarkson, and more.

Directed by: Wes Ball Screenplay by: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T.S. Nowlin Based on the Novel by: James Dashner. Cinematography by: Enrique Chediak Music by: John Paesano

Premise: A young man's first recollections are waking on a rising elevator and being greeted by a bunch of eager boys. He doesn't remember who he is, but the rest tell him not to worry - they don't remember who they are either. Their home is the Glade. And surrounding it are giant walls with only one way out. The way leading to the Maze. And in three years, they've yet to find a way out of it. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1)  Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Dylan O'Brien does a fantastic job as the terrified and later curious newcomer to the Glade. Aml Ameen had great presence as the Glade's leader Alby. Ki Hong Lee was a lot of fun as well in his role as Minho. Kaya Scodelario brought a nice bit of zest to the all male Glade. Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Blake Cooper added a lot of heart with their great performances. And kudos to Will Poulter, who played Gally, a bad guy who really wasn't a bad guy, just protecting the tribe in his own way. Nice change from the typical bully. Well done!

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Sound is the first effect used, sound and darkness - and it was a great intro into the film, grabbing the audience immediately and shooting directly into the story without making us wait.

The maze itself is super cool. From the giant walls, to the closing, creaking giant doors, to the moving walls. As if that weren't enough, there's the huge cyborg spiders who hunt the hallways of the maze at night - super creepy.

Loved, loved, loved the scan and alarm sequence and the consequences thereof. Especially the giant panels breaking the concrete and rising upwards. Major thumbs up guys!

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: I knew nothing about the movie before seeing it, aside from what I'd seen on previews, so can't say how faithful it is to the books. But I totally loved the way they went about it.

The movie begins immediately - grinding sounds amidst darkness, then a sliver of light as you realize there's a boy puking in a mesh elevator as it rise upwards. It instantly captures the audience's' attention. And as Thomas comes to learn of his situation, we, too, get to learn about the Glade and those living there.

I personally thought the plot had a good pace, giving us enough info to get us involved, and enough things happenings to keep it moving and highly interesting. The use of Thomas's weird dreams to show hints of things not yet remembered did much to intrigue.

Lots of ingenuity and plenty of surprises. Just when you think it's done, they throw out one more punch. And the punch after that one is even more unexpected. And this left the audience with even more questions and the promise of future trouble.  I think they did themselves a disservice by not adding a teaser to the credits! (Yes, "The Scorch Trials" (Book 2) is already in production. Sweet!)

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Maze running, climbing, leaping, squeezing through quickly tightening spaces - lots of physical stuff. Add in crazed cyborg spiders and you get frenzied running, bodies flying through the air, and combat. Oh yeah!

5) Locations/Cinematography: The place chosen as to represent the walled in glade was perfect. The cinematography did a great job in making the walls of the maze seem immense and the size of the entire thing daunting. The whole shifting view for the sequence for the section 7 alarm was almost mind blowing.

And the final view of the the entirety of the maze at the end - priceless!

Conclusion: "The Maze Runner" is totally worth going to see. It has cool effects, a mystery premise, and unexpected surprises. Looking forward to the next one!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

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