Virtual Tourist - Dishonored 2 3/12/17

Morning! Hope you're having a great day so far!

Dishonored 2

Neat horsehead!

I do love that sky! 

Lovely floor! I do so love details!

Butterflies!

That is one odd looking baby gator.  Look at that tail! 

A flashback scene as I approach a healing center on a separate small island.

And here is the reality. Neat how they did them in different art styles, no?

Electric carriage. It's a weird contraption. Only seats one, maybe two people. 

View back towards the city from the island. A better look at the rail system for the carriage. 

Lovely and a little creepy all at once. Love it!

Have a good one!

Movie Review - Kong: Skull Island

Kong: Skull Island

Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, Corey Hawkins, Toby Kebbell, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, John Ortiz, Tian Jing, Will Brittain, Miyavi, and more.

Directed by: Jordan Vogt-Roberts Screenplay by: Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly Story by: John Gatins Cinematography by: Larry Fong Music by: Henry Jackman

Premise: In 1973, just as the Vietnam War ended, a researcher convinces a senator to allow his team to go with a survey group to a newly discovered island. The helicopter squad assigned to take them there gets a nasty surprise when they drop seismic testing bombs in the jungle. The destruction brings forth a creature worse than any enemy they've fought before. Getting off the island will be much harder than getting in. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of great performances from the cast! Tom Hiddleston is a man stuck between worlds as James Conrad. Samuel L. Jackson plays Preston Packard - an Ahab looking for his white whale (aka giant gorilla) nemesis. Brie Larson was both spunky and full of feeling as photographer Mason Weaver. John C. Reilly was a hoot as Hank Marlow.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Saw this in 3D but wish we'd been able to see it in IMAX 3D. Some truly phenomenal backgrounds mixed with special effects. The giant auroras around the island at night were amazing. 

The outside view of the perpetual storm around Skull Island was very reminiscent of "Star Trek the Motion Picture." Once they go inside the cloud, the "wow" factor went way up. The entire ride was amazing! Fabulous images with the off colored lightining~!

Kong looked great. The scars from previous fights were a great touch. They did a terrific job with all the creatures - the dangerous and the non-dangerous ones. :)

There are tons of explosions, machine guns, gas, rifle fire, napalm, and more. The scenes when the group first meets Kong were fabulous. You do not willingly mess with a giant gorilla, people! 

3) Story - Thumbs Up: The entire film seemed to be not only a giant monster movie but one paying homage to all sorts of other films. Think "Apocalypse Now" meets "Moby Dick" with a dash of "Enemy Mine" and "African Queen." They even throw in bits from the Millenium Falcon's hyperdrive malfunction and the storm around Voyager from Star Trek. In-jokes abound!

The big theme of the film is soul consuming obsession. Bill Randa's obsession got them to the island, Packard's is what almost gets all of them killed. The hubris of man knows no bounds. It's your fault if you start blowing things up, and the locals take steps to show you they aren't happy about it. Duh! And you should never assume monsters are stupid! (These sure weren't!) Not if you want to survive or make your sacrifice mean anything. :P

Lots of light moments, which help diffuse some of the tension. It was used well to show the bonds between and the differences of some of the characters. They spent the time to let us get to know them a little, which is ideal for making the audience care about them and not wanting them to getting killed. Plenty of faceless ones to get ground up, though, so expect a high body count.  

Aside from the impromptu scares to make you jump, the plot is pretty straight forward. Lots of mayhem, monsters, and fights to keep everyone entertained, though.  

SUPER IMPORTANT -  You must sit through ALL the credits! When you see the black screen - do not move! There is more! Wait...for...it! :)

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Most of the gags are CGI based, but still look darn cool. The main actors still get whipped around, thrown, attacked, and more so there was plenty of work to go around. :P

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Filmed in Hawaii, Vietnam, and Australia, we get a ton of fun sites and beautiful photography. Add in some of the cool effects for the aurora or a giant gorilla standing in the middle of signature backgrounds, and you've got a visual winner. :)

Conclusion: If you like giant monster films, action, explosions, and craziness, wrapped around a simple frame this movie won't disappoint. Good "just for fun" fodder.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

Virtual Tourist - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 3/5/17

Morning, all!

Dues Ex: Mankind Divided

This picture of something actually quite cool. As I was walking away from the station, I heard a conversation. It was the couple standing before the statue asking this guy to take a picture of them with their camera. What a lovely detail! 

Super modern park near the data bank. You can see old fashioned buildings in the background. A mishmash of new and old.

Palisade Bank - very futuristic. Lots of imagery showing one thing but meaning something else. 

Local gang boss and his underground casino. Not a nice guy. Double crosses his clients. 

Customer's blacklisted from the casino. My buddy is in the upper right. His confiscated goods are something I need.

Inside an expensive and modern apartment building. Love that lamp!

Someone is in dire need of a housekeeper!

Small park inside the apartment building. Nice, no?

Love the funky wallpaper. The weird layered deer head and the hanging ornaments was a little weird!

View from the apartment. You can see one of Palisades' memory data storage locations. The buildings are really quite cool. 

All right! Made it! Hope you have a great Sunday!

Movie Review - Logan

Logan

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Richard E. Grant, Eriq La Salle, and more.

Directed by: James Mangold Story by: James Mangold Screenplay by: Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green Cinematography by: John Mathieson Music by: Marco Beltrami 

Premise: It is the year 2029. Mutants are no longer born, the weird mutation died out. Logan and Xavier are old, and neither are in good health. Everything they've lived through seems meaningless now. So when a woman approaches Logan professing to need his help, he's not interested. He's got other things to worry about. But she's not about to let this go. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine. This is an older, more pessimistic Logan. Hugh Jackman does an incredible job. He gives an excellent performance throughout. You feel his aches and pains, he's so good! :)

Patrick Stewart also reprises his role as Charles Xavier. Though ill, Charles still does his best for his remaining student. Patrick brings all the light and comedic moments to the tale. And he does it so very well! Watching the two of them go back and forth was a lot of fun.

Dafne Keen as Laura is a treat. Not only does she have the Wolverine glare down, but she's also full of little surprises. Boyd Holbrook as Pierce is unexpectedly multifaceted. Though, his prosthetic hand kept trying to steal his spotlight. :P

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Lots of nice and subtle special effects in this film. Two of the effects stuck with me. 

The first is the awesome work on Logan's abused body. One look at his face, his shoulders, and arms and you know this is a man who has suffered pain. When you see ooze coming from where his blades previously cut the skin, you know he's in trouble. And when you see his wounds at the clinic - eek!

The second is Pierce's mechanical hand. You would swear it was his true appendage. There's a scene where it's disconnected from the socket. Then he plugs it back in and twirls a small screwdriver. It is such a seamless move that it sells its reality to the audience, even though it truly isn't real. 

Laura's blades and Wolverine's were great. Xavier's unintended attacks, and the paralysis and other problems it invoked, made for a super cool scene in the city. 

Oh and Logan's limo? Priceless! Though it loses the fight with the fence, it makes up for that by bringing it along and using it as a weapon! Sweet!

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: When you first realize Wolverine is not well, many fans will be wanting to know why. How could this be? Wolverine is a mutant, and his mutation is regeneration/healing. Oh, it's not a problem with the plot. There is an answer. And you'll have to wait for it! But if you're not paying attention, you might miss it. So when the scientist talks towards the end of the film in the woods, pay attention! It won't make immediate sense to connect it to Logan and what's wrong with him, but if you give it some thought, you'll see that they are. I have to say, the whole idea of it was brilliant! (High fructose corn syrup is the devil! I knew it! Bwahahaha!) 

The general plot is straightforward, with several points being obvious in their direction. But then, when you least expect it, you get a little surprise pop up here and there, throwing in some new angle, some new bit of fun. 

There are a lot of piled layers to the film as well. Regret, guilt, debts, family, reality vs. fantasy, putting one foot in front of the other out of sheer stubbornness. Living each day for a dream that's out of reach just to make it through another day. 

Tons and tons of touching moments. I did find it ironic how Canada is mentioned as a place of safety when for Logan it had been anything but. :P Callisto as a man was also a bit of a surprise. I didn't read the Laura arc in comics so I can't make any comments on that, but I did enjoy it! (I'm a sucker for well-done angst.) :P

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: This is a film with Wolverine, so a ton of stunts is definitely an expectation, and you won't be disappointed. Tons of hand to hand combat. Watching Wolverine and Laura go at it together is a sight to behold. And all the people involved in Xavier's unintended attack were fab! 

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: From the neat hideaway in Mexico to the location of Eden, the farm, and more - they all looked great. The sunset behind the caravan looking for Laura was breathtaking. Some nice view of mountains, tundras, and more. Visually satisfying stuff!

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: I enjoyed the care they took with some of the clothing used in the film. Especially with regards to Laura. Mean, tough exterior, yet she showed a softer, girlier side with some of her random choices in eyewear and clothing. It was adorable and added an unexpected layer to her personality. Xavier putting on the hat he buys was such a cute moment!  

One the makeup side, all the work on Hugh Jackman was fabulous! It screams out even more so when we meet an unexpected participant. Made for a striking contrast. 

Conclusion: Logan was a fun and emotional film. Tons of action and more. Some typical moments but lots of non-typical as well. There's also a Deadpool intro before the main movie. Disturbing and too funny all at the same time. lol. 

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

Mind Sieve 2/27/17

This will probably be a short one. But better short than none? :)

Fan Fun

Something About This Biscuit - by Pastor Fred. Very cute! They played it on the radio so I hunted it down to share with ya'll. :)

Avengers: Infinity War First Look (2018) - should be exciting! 

The Discovery Official Trailer - looks bizarre!

Virtual Tourist - Dishonored 2 2/26/17

Greetings, all! 

Yep, totally not keeping up with anything this week. :( Did finally close Dec 2016 at work - yay! Now it's time for all the reports for the auditors and the dreaded Flux. *shiver* Oh and catching up on January close. Why 2017? Why?!

Dishonored 2

 

Side view from the ship's deck. I'm about to take my first trip to the mainland.

The captain gives me a few bits of advice as she prepares to drop me off.

Look at those mountains! 

The buildings and people have had it rough here.

Delilah has wasted not time in making sure I get hunted down.

The streets are filled with blood. Blood from the whales they slaughter here. Pestilence lurks everywhere.

View back out to the bay from a balcony. Love that sky!

Yeah, she's wasted no time at all.

Forlorn looking painting, no?

In the first game, there were rats everywhere spreading contagion. Now it's red flies. This is one of their nests. 

Hope you have a great day!

Virtual Tourist - Deus Ex: Mankind Divided 2/19/17

Ugh! Missed posting since I was at ConDFW last weekend and this time it was due to a 14 hour day at work! Boo. Hiss! Hiss!

Anyway....

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

Magic shop! A cool place and also has vital info for one of the sewer adventures. :P

Here's a pic of the inside. Notice the magic fortune machine to the right. 

The shop owner and former hypnotist.

Entrance to one of the subways. See how it's a credit card ad? Hee!

Kidnapped and imprisoned paper forger. If you look closely at her shoulder, you'll see she's wearing plastic see through sleeves! 

You can see them even better here. Almost looks like a mirage. :P

Statue sitting outside one of the other subway stations. Love the clock tower!

Love that poster! lol. And the super modern look of this station.

This view is looking back at the station from the outside. Better view of the statue too!

No, he's not dead. Couldn't figure out a way to talk to him, though, so had to knock him out. The guy on the floor is the master brainwasher of the sewer cult. 

Hope your Sunday is peaceful and fruitful! 

ConDFW Panel Schedule 2/10-2/12/17

Yo!

Here's my schedule for ConDFW that's coming up this weekend! If you're in town, interested in writing, or just talking to other fans about books, science, and more, come on down! 

Friday

PROGRAMMING 2 Friday, 3 pm: Brass Technology and Steam Power

Panelists: Julie Barrett, Rie Sheridan Rose, Gloria Oliver, Julia S. Mandala

The genre of Steampunk has always featured unlikely brass gadgets and powered by steam. Whether realistic or fanciful, these gadgets define a look which is unique for both costumers and writers. We gather our panelists to talk about how to bring these gadgets to life – and what lies in the future for Steampunk.

PROGRAMMING 2 Friday, 5 pm: Interstellar Archaeology: Part One – Initial Findings

Panelists: Mel White (M), K. B. Bogen, Scott Cupp, Ethan Nahté, Gloria Oliver, S. Boyd Taylor

The first of two panels where we inflict (discover) startling artifacts of OBVIOUS alien origin and our esteemed (and indeed, TRAINED) archeologists, in turn, tell us what the artifacts are. Light hearted fun, and bring ear plugs! This year we will take a mystery slant and see what story they come up with!

Saturday

MAIN PROGRAMMING Saturday, 10 am: Unlikely Sources of Inspiration

Panelists: A. Lee Martinez (M), Gloria Oliver, Lillian Stewart Carl, Rhonda Eudaly, Patricia Burroughs, William Ledbetter

In this day and age of the Internet and wide exposure to many cultures, there are plenty of strange and unlikely sources to inspire you to write, draw, costume or even perform. From anime to webcomics to taking bus trips to strange locations, the human condition can express itself in many ways. Our panelists relate some of the more unlikely ways they get inspiration.

MAIN PROGRAMMING Saturday, 3 pm: 2017 Movie Forecast For the Geek Nation

Panelists: Mark Finn (M), Michael Ashleigh Finn, Ethan Nahté, David Doub, Gloria Oliver

Our panelists talk about upcoming films for the coming year – what is coming, what looks to be exciting and what moviegoers should watch out for.

PROGRAMMING 2 Saturday, 6 pm: The Survivor’s Guide to the Supernatural

Panelists: Melanie Fletcher (M), Sue Sinor, Gloria Oliver, Marshall Ryan Maresca, David Doub, Michelle Muenzler

If you were ever concerned about living in a world with supernatural heroes and villains, this is the panel for you! How can you survive in a world with mutants? Our survival experts try to guide you through the chaos. [Note: Survival is not guaranteed by attending this panel]

PROGRAMMING 3 Saturday, 8 pm: Yard Dog Road Show!

Panelists: Christopher Donahue, Linda Donahue, Rhonda Eudaly, Melanie Fletcher, K. Hutson, William Ledbetter, Julia Mandala, Tracy Morris, Ethan Nahte, Gloria Oliver, Teresa Patterson, Dusty Rainbolt, Rie Sheridan Rose, Bradley Sinor, Sue Sinor, Mel White

The fantastic authors of the Yard Dog Press put on their always entertaining Road Show! Make sure not to miss this.

Sunday

MAIN PROGRAMMING Sunday, 1 pm: The Science of Space Flight

Panelists: William Ledbetter (M), Karl K. Gallagher, William C. Seigler, Frances A. May, Gloria Oliver

What is the state of flight these days? Pictures of possible space ships notwithstanding lets get down to brass tacks on what can and can not be done right now. Our scientists will mull over these issues and answer questions.

PROGRAMMING 2 Sunday, 3 pm: Worlds of Imagination

Panelists: A. Lee Martinez (M), Tex Thompson, Teresa Patterson, Heather Schwartz, Gloria Oliver

In “A Monster Calls,” a world out of a boy’s head comforts him as he deals with his mother’s cancer. The movie’s imagery is what calls you – seeing the gravestones, feeling the parsonage smash, it is very visceral imagery. Our panelists talk about worlds of fantasy that are in our heads – and how to bring them out.

Should be a blast! :) 

Mind Sieve 2/6/17

Morning, all!

Well, looks like it will be another quick one this week. Sorry! 

If you're in Dallas/Ft Worth next weekend, make sure to check out ConDFW! First SF/F Convention for me for 2017! Lots of fun guests and peeps. This year's Guest of Honor is RACHEL CAINE!  Woot! 

Fan Fun

This was the intro cartoon for a recent animated film (Drawing a blank!) and is was so lifelike and so utterly ADORABLE! Ran across it and had to share! Piper from Disney Pixar.

Ghost in the Shell Super Bowl Spot Trailer + has new and old scenes. Saw the anime movie recently, the fight with the guy in the water came straight from it. Looking forward to this! 

Simon's Cat - Looking For Love (A Valentine's Collection). So cute!

This Beautiful Fantastic Official Trailer 1 - looks like it might be fun. :)

Have a great week!

Virtual Tourist - The Testament of Sherlock Holmes 2/5/17

Morning!

Touring an older game today - The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. I'd played the game after this one a year or two ago, so when it's predecessor came up on super sale on Steam, I couldn't resist. It's taken me a whole other year to get to play it! Gack!  

This is Sherlock. Currently at the house of a Marquis looking for a missing necklace. A simple case that ends up getting complicated after it's solved. Dum dum DUM!

The game has voice over and text. Plus each conversation is saved and can be looked at again if needed. I love all the awesome detail. :)

The game gives tips during this first crime, which is very nice! (Coolest aquarium ever right?)

So pretty!

And analyze you will!

Player Interface screen. It is currently showing the city map. You click on the round icon to choose to go there.

Watson is there as well. You sometimes get to move him around instead. And there's also Toby! Woot! (Something I loved from the previous game I played - you get to be the hound for a case! Heh heh)

Murder of the Bishop. The plot thickens!

Such lovely stained glass windows! And the solar is beyond the doors. 

Hope you have a productive Sunday!

Movie Review - The Space Between Us

The Space Between Us

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, Carla Gugino, BD Wong, Janet Montgomery, Peter Chelsom, and more.

Directed by: Peter Chelsom Screenplay by: Allan Loeb Story by: Stewart Schill, Richard Barton Lewis, and Allan Loeb Cinematography by: Barry Peterson Music by: Andrew Lockington

Premise: An accidental pregnancy discovered after the launch of a mission to Mars, becomes a secret to avoid scandal and the withdrawal of funding. Sixteen years later, Gardner's existence is still a secret. But when he finally gets a hold of his mother's belongings in storage, he longs to follow the clues she left and see his father, if only for a moment. So when he has the opportunity to go to Earth, he escapes the facility to meet his only friend on Earth and track down his missing parent. (Rated PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Asa Butterfield does a marvelous job as Gardner. His wonder at seeing what Earth has to offer is infectious. Britt Robertson as the thick skinned Tulsa was perfect. It was fun watching her well placed and shored up emotional walls slowly come tumbling down. Gary Oldman as Nathaniel Shepherd was poignant as a man who'd lost sight of what the dream was about. Carla Gugino gave depth to the awakening of Kendra Wyndham's feelings and realizations about her charge.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The film begins before Gardner is born, so we see the actual launch of the mission to Mars. The take off sequence looked great. The views of Mars and later Earth from orbit were fantastic. 

Since the story is set several years in our future, there were lots of little technical upgrades to everyday life. The crystal/glass computers looked super cool. Centaur, the robot on Mars, looked like something a kid would make. The kick me sign on the back of his head was hilarious and also reminiscent of the cool SF film called "Moon." 

The barn explosion was BIG! A little overdone, but they did do a great job with the wind and smoke to obscure the view from those spying from above. :P

3) Plot/Story - Neutral: This is one of those films where you don't want to look too closely at what is being told, or it starts falling apart. Overall, the concept is fun and entertaining, and it even has a couple of twists. The growing relationship between Gardner and Tulsa and their trials are what keeps us interested. Yet the film also took a few corners by omission and some of the science is ignored, so they don't have to figure out a way to work around it.

The primary driver of the film is how Gardner can't handle Earth gravity. And they did take the time to introduce a way to help his bones stand up to the higher gravity, which was great. What they ignored is the fact that going into orbit or into space, multiplies the gravity, which would, in turn, kill Gardner outright. They could have used a gel container or even a water tank to help offset some of the effects, but they didn't use anything at all. 

They also ignored some facts with Sarah getting pregnant in the first place. No woman who fought and clawed her way to being the leader of a four-year mission to Mars would then blow it all away by getting pregnant. Birth control would have been the first thing she would have taken care of. To spend so much time and effort to gain her position, she wouldn't have just thrown it away. (And they never have the decency to tell us what she died of! Argh!)

The same lapse in mentality shows up again when Gardner and Tulsa have a "night" together. As a child in foster care, she would be very aware of the type of situations which might have been the reason she got into the system. I doubt she'd be wanting to make the same error to another child. (And there's also the fact with Garnder's health problems, he would have probably died from the act due to the stress on his enlarged heart, but we won't go there...) :P

A couple of more nitpicks. 1 - Things Gardner found unfamiliar didn't quite work. Since he had access to entertainment on Mars, it's hard to believe he didn't know what streets were, or horses, even dogs. It would have been more fun for him to know what they were but touching them, smelling them, that part that would have been new and would surprise him. Much like the fun scene at the bus stop in the rain. He knew what it was, but actually experiencing it was something else altogether. We needed more of that! 2 - If Gardner had access to social media/chat rooms - why was Tulsa his only friend? 3 - Communications between Earth and Mars were pretty much instantaneous. Yet nothing was said about how this is possible. Especially since lag times currently run from four to twenty minutes each way!

4) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The cinematography on this film was fantastic. The shots are themselves a love story of sorts. One to get the audience to see and fall in love with our planet as much as Gardner does. So many gorgeous shots! 

Conclusion: An adorable love story with bits of mystery carried forward by a great cast. As long as you don't look too closely at the details and science, you're in for a nice ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)