Tag Archives: movies

Howling at the Stars

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – Back with a Bang

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Agents-of-SHIELD-Season-2-poster
Courtesy of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.LD.

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned today, not with a whimper, but with a bang (please forgive the cliche – or not).

ABC’s super-hero adventure about non-super heroes had a tumultuous first season, starting slowly and then ramping up as it approached this spring’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The show kept the pedal to the medal through the end of the season. One episode into season 2, and I’m inclined to think that the pedal is still firmly cemented to Lola’s floorboards. 

Familiar characters that were viewed negatively (I’m looking at you Skye) have had gone through some radical changes. Skye was the “victim” of the hairdo make over showing their new badassery; guess what? She lived up to it. She was enjoyable, engaging, and real. Ward is apologetic for his actions last season – but only time will tell if the show-runners are willing to rehabilitate a character many feel is beyond redemption.

New characters added to the feeling of speed out the gate. The story flow was outstanding, new mysteries were introduced, a feeling of the team being more than just the characters we know, and intelligent use of special effects culminated in the desired resutl (with me anyway): I was on the edge of my seat throughout, literally.

If you aren’t a fan, or you’ve heard bad things about the first season – I recommend you give this a try. I predict you will be pleasantly surprised.

Howling at the Stars

Public Service Announcement: Safe House – See it to Make Your Car Happy

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My car is a 2008 Ford Mustang. Her name is Summer’s Shadow, and she likes to go fast. The only problem with this is that I’ve become more responsible now that I’m in my 30’s (no comments from the peanut gallery about my level of responsibility or age, please). Summer’s Shadow understands this, and is patient with me. The reason she is patient with me is because of movies such as Safe House. You see, after an action packed enjoyable movie, she knows  I’ll let her loose at 1am on the streets of my hometown. She knows she will get to growl and let loose and go fast and all kinds of other things that Mustangs enjoy.

So, in conclusion, see Safe House. Your car will thank you. Oh, and you’ll love the movie too.

***

So in all seriousness, I had high hopes for this movie when I first saw the previews. When I went out tonight, I had a couple of choices of what to see, and asked a couple of friends. I was leaning toward Safe House, and my friends seem to agree. I have smart friends (S-M-R-T). 

Safe House stars Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. To be honest, I will see any movie that has either of these actors in it – and a movie with both is one that I cannot resist.

Washington plays a traitor to his country who has sold out and sold secrets. Clearly the government doesn’t like this. Reynolds is a low-level safe house attendant who spends his days listening to music and doing whatever he wants so long as he picks up the phone when the boss calls. This dynamic duo (sorry for the cliché) are a perfect match.

Washington has secrets. People want secrets. People come after secrets. Boy Scout (ahem Reynolds) decides to save him. 

One thing I’ve learned is that to have a good story and a character you care about, a character that is real, the character has to be dynamic. Static characters tend toward boring, or can be anyway. Reynolds plays an innocent (insomuch that he is still a virgin in the espionage game and has no practical experience). Watching Reynolds’ character struggle with the realities of his career versus his moral compass is great. By the end, he finds a way to balance the two, and emerges a stronger man for it. Granted, he is pretty awesome in the fight scenes – I’m referring to the fact that he becomes stronger as a person.

Throughout, you want Washington to really be a good guy. You want the stories told about him to be just that. At the end of the movie, he is a man dressed in black, and you want him so much to be a man dressed in white. Is he? I don’t want to give it away – go see.

I. Loved. This. Movie.

And Summer’s Shadow is glad I did.

(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1599348/)

General Growlings

In Which the Dingo Speaks

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Hello and welcome.

Well, the journal has been up now for a couple of weeks and I’ve yet to properly introduce myself. My name is Jeremy, and I’m an aspiring writer and amateur photographer. I am also <insert ominous music here> The Dingo. But shhhhh, don’t tell anyone. I’d hate for my secret identity to be leaked to the press. 

From an educational standpoint, I hold two degrees – a B.A. in psychology and another in theatre arts. This means that I am able to understand crazy so that I can be crazy. My friends can testify to the fact that I probably didn’t need a university education for this to apply to me.

Crazy.

I also have a puppy, who (at the time this article was being written) is pushing 10 months old. Her name is Riley. This is her:

She liked the bows so well that by the time we got home from the groomers she was eating them. She has pretty good taste – those are fancy and plastic and yellow, after all. Yum.

The reason that I decided to create this journal is that I wanted to have a creative outlet that I can share with other people. My secret motive is that I have become lax and I spend way too much time on the computer (writing an online journal should help with getting away from the computer, don’t you think?). As I very rarely share any of my work, I am not nearly as diligent as I should be about creating it. That, dear reader, is where you come into the picture.

Now that my vaction in Mexico is over (thank God – that beach was just so relaxing; I’m glad to be back to fast-paced Dallas life), my goal is to publish on this journal at least 3 times a week, at least to start. Here is what you can look forward to:

MONDAYS: Random articles about random things, and if I am particularly lazy perhaps just a movie review. (Did I mention I like movies? I didn’t think so. I mean, why would would a trained actor who doesn’t actually act enjoy watching actors who do act?).

WEDNESDAYS: A weekly log of the deep and philosophical conversations I have with Riley. She has a lot to say about our American culture and society. I can’t keep up with  her intellectually. “Conversations with Riley” is my way to ask for your help in understanding her viewpoints. Please, leave comments explaining it to me.

FRIDAYS: “Eye of the Beholder” is my attempt at sharing my amateur photography with the world. I admit I still have a lot to learn about photography, but I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoy taking them. 

I also hope to post additional randomness on random days as the random mood strikes me.

Questions?