If you like director Quentin Tarantino‘s other movies, you know what to expect: snappy dialogue, some satire, homages to multiple film genres, and over-the-top violence. There has been some controversy over the film’s depiction of slavery and shootouts, but I think it’s good that American audiences are queasy in the face of the “peculiar institution” and gunfights. The “N word” is used to both shock and remind modern audiences of the original sin of the U.S. and its pernicious justifications.
Django‘s story is simple — Dr. King Schultz, an itinerant German dentist and bounty hunter, frees slave Django, who helps him track down and kill wanted criminals in return for help finding his wife Brunhilde, so named by previous owners. It turns out that Brunhilde is being kept at the plantation of Calvin Candie, whose right-hand man Stephen is wary of Schultz and Django’s cover story as slave dealers.
As usual, Tarantino has an excellent cast to work with, including Golden Globe winner Christoph Waltz as Dr. Schultz, Jamie Foxx as Django, and Kerry Washington as Broomhilda. Waltz was also in Tarantino’s similar World War II vengeance fantasy Inglorious Basterds. Calvin Candie is played to slimy perfection by Inception‘s Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson shows how some people internalize oppression as the nasty Stephen.
Django Unchained‘s supporting actors are no less familiar, including almost unrecognizable appearances by Don Johnson, Franco Nero (the original Django), Tom Wopat, Russ and Amber Tamblyn, Bruce Dern, Johah Hill, and Zoe Bell. The director himself makes a cameo.
The cinematography and eclectic soundtrack show Taratino’s many influences, from classic and spaghetti westerns, to 1970s Blaxploitation, to postmodern westerns such as Unforgiven. The bloody battles and slayings have their roots in The Wild Bunch, and the scary hillbillies could have been in Deliverance or Pulp Fiction. Scenes mocking a lynch mob reminded me of Blazing Saddles and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (incidentally, two of my favorite movies).
Overall, I’d give Django Unchained, which is rated R for graphic violence, a B+, eight out of 10 stars, or three and a half out of five stars. It’s not for everyone, but those who like Tarantino’s oeuvre will find the movie satisfying. It did make me want to dust off RPGs Boot Hill or Sidewinder.
This past year was a busy one for genre television. I had meant to post my first impressions of the new fall season, but I struggled with how to organize it: short lists, or detailed analyses? By subgenre, night of the week, or network? At least a few additional months have given me perspective on the shows I like most and least.
Janice and I tend not to watch a lot of reality shows, situation comedies, crime dramas, or serialized soap operas, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for reviews of those types of shows. In live-action TV, we do watch some procedurals, with Masterpiece: Mystery and the secondseason of the modernizedBBC/PBS Sherlock as favorites.
Doctor Who and Sherlock Holmes
The competingElementary is decent, if not quiteas brilliant as its British forebears. Castle has managed to balance humor and drama, as has White Collar, even though both have occasionally veered too far into gruesome melodrama on the one hand or silly romance on the other. At the same time, I look forward to the goofy shout-outs to the 1980s and ’90s in Psych.
I’d put do-gooder capers such as the original Mission Impossible in a closely related category. This includes the recentlycanceledLeverage (whose tabletoprole-playing game is the best implementation of the Cortex system) and Hu$tle. I haven’t been following popular detective shows such as Bones and the remake of Hawaii Five-O.
In the related genre of supernatural crime fighters, I thought that the canceled Awake was decent. I preferGrimm, which has inherited some of Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and Angel‘s writers and style, to the fairy tale soap Once Upon a Time.
Fringe is in a league of its own, with the mind-bending perspectives of Farscape and the procedural style of The X-Files. I’ll miss Fringe, which is at least going out strong. I haven’t been following Supernatural.
On the slightly more realistic side, thrillers such as Homeland, Person of Interest, and Last Resort have been pretty good, but I dropped Nikita, which of course outlasted much of its competition. What have you been watching?
In one future, humanity has begun to colonize the Sol system, but environmental degradation, population pressures, and internecine conflict persist. The rediscovery of mystical abilities and open and official First Contact with galactic societies, themselves at war, threaten Terra’s very survival. Can heroes rise to the challenges?
“Hector Chavez“ [Beruk A.]-male Latin American Terran human, former spy and communications expert/engineer of the Appomattoxand Gryphon/Pina Colada
“Capt. Jasmine“ [Sara F.]-female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter and onetime crewmember of the Appomattox, now apart from the grifters in “MarSoupAiL” with boyfriend Darcy
“Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus” [Josh C.]-male Terran human cyborg, former sniper for the North American Aerospace Marine Corps. and eugenicists at Black Box Security Co.; onetime crewmember of the scout ship Blackbird
“Dr. Srinu Pahul“ [Byron V.O.]-male Indian Terran “near-human” (bioengineered) xenobiologist, shadowed by scandal and confident in survival skills; with robots MEGAN and PEPE
“Lt.Cmdr. Kevin Reese” [Bruce K.]-male Terran “near-human” (cyborg), former Interplanetary Patrol officer and member of the Blackbird crew; commander of a Union of Solar Nations task force aboard the Dauntless
“Orion Starchaser“ [Geoff C./absent]-male Pomuyan [blue humanoid alien] outcast, irrepressible mystic and adrenaline junkie; with mentor Vovestomosanehe
“Chiron” [Dexter V.H./to join]-male android pilot, assigned to assess and protect humanity
“Jax“ [Robin H./departed]-male human from the Asteroid Belt, vain space pirate and pilot of the Slipstream
“Jim Delaney” [Robert A.S./departed]-male Terran “near-human” gambler and psi encountered on Mars
“12 to 15 May 2195 A.D./C.E. or 1 Terran Galactic Era:” As the Stella Sagitta encountered interstellar traders and the Venture visited Olvar space, former crew members from the Blackbird and Appomattox prepared to leave the Sol system.
Those aboard the Gryphon had retreatedto theOort Cloud, renamed the yacht the “Pina Colada,” and examined its cargo of smuggled zero-point explosives. Prisoner Timothy Dugan had submitted to physical and psychic surgery to undo his conditioning by the eugenicists at Black Box Security Co.
Chris McKee sends a message to Kevin Reese, a colleague from the Blackbird, and they agree to meet near Saturn’smoon Titan. Chris and Dr. Srinu Pahul have been waiting to report to the Union of Solar Nations (U.S.N.) about the approaching Zarkonian Armada.
Hector Chavez lets onetime handler Max know where to find him. Hector hopes that she can give a second opinion on the alien munitions obtainedin theAsteroid Belt from Capt. Vijay Bhaghwandra of the Satan’s Strumpet.
Capt. Jasmine says that she’s tired of stealing and running, and the PinaColada leaves the planar ecliptic, jumps through Transit (faster-than-light), and enters orbit around Saturn.
After contemplating the recent departure of pilot Jax, Orion Starchaser meditates. The blue-furred extraterrestrial continues his martial arts and mystical training with mentor Vovestomosanehe.
Three U.S.N. ships arrive at ringed Saturn and hail the Pina Colada. Lt.Cmdr. Reese, acting captain of the light cruiser Dauntless, greets “Agent Prometheus” and asks to meet face to face. Jasmine agrees, and the ships dock in low orbit, with the frigate Tigress and the scout shipBlackbird keeping watch.
U.S.N. cruiser “Dauntless”
Chris introduces Jasmine to Kevin, who in turn introduces the following fellow officers in his task force for homeworld security:
Capt. Sebastian Growlick, a male Terran Felinoid (“Uplifted” lion) and acting captain of the Blackbird
Capt. Elektra Contos, the female Terran human commander of the Tigress
Cmdr. Helena Cain, the female Martian human XO (executive officer/first mate) of the Dauntless
“Nylca of Clan Firehoof” [Brian W./Non-Player Character], the female Gustrall (orange-furred, flightless raptor) weapons officer of the Dauntless and friend of Chris
Hector stays on the bridge of the Pina Colada while the officers exchange pleasantries. The burned operative monitors communications and scans the military vessels. Capt. Jasmine and Mr. McKee go aboard the Dauntless and talk with Lt.Cmdr. Reese and company in Kevin’s ready room. Jasmine is pleased to see fellow “Synths” (bioengineered humanoids) among the cruiser’s personnel.
Chris explains that the Pina Colada has studied samples of Zarkonian probes, foughtEncegulan (slug-like alien) slaversin Europa’s frozen seas, and recently obtained weapons of mass destruction intended for Earth.
Kevin thanks Chris and Jasmine for the intelligence. He orders captains Growlick and Contos back to their ships to watch out for pirates. Dr. Pahul asks to meet with U.S.N. scientists, and Kevin agrees to send some to the Pina Colada.
Hector reminds his companions not to mention hidden Vatican treasures and the particulars of some of their past misadventures. A small ship approaches and is stopped by the Tigress. Hector exchanges coded messages with Max(ine) and gets permission for the Catspaw to enter the Pina Colada‘s launch bay.
Chris and Kevin reminisce about their far-ranging travelswith the Blackbird, and Kevin notes that most of that crew has dispersed. He had offered “Tela” [Sara] the chief engineer post on the Dauntless, but she and boyfriend Kedar stayed aboard the experimental ship.
Lt.Cmdr. Reese brings Nylca, Sebastian, Dr. “Phil Phillips,” and Lt. “Mulan Neverland” to the Pina Colada. Capt. Jasmine takes Kevin to the cockpit and shows him the piloting controls.
Sniper Chris catches up with fierce Nycla, who looks forward to new hunting expeditions. He also warns the security officer to watch out for Kraythor, a member of the “Takers” faction among the Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian aliens) who once traveled on the Anaconda.
Over high tea, Dr. Pahul shares his findings on the Zurmiz Krott/Harbingers of the Righteous Order of Submission, the biomechanical probes of the Zarkonians, with Lt. Neverland. Srinu tells the enthusiastic Olvar (arboreal, mammal-like alien) about the deadly nanites (microscopic robots) they emit, as well as countermeasures such as psionics and electromagnetic pulses.
In the Pina Colada‘s medical bay, Dr. Pahul reluctantly shows Dr. Phillips the sedated Dugan. The logical Pomuyan is different in temperament from cheerful wanderer Orion but no less dedicated to protecting life. Robots MEGAN and PEPE attend to the patient.
Jasmine and Chris show the U.S.N. officers the zero-point devices, and Hector gets a second opinion from Max. Mulan confirms that the spherical ordinance is more powerful than Terran thermonuclear weapons and that their controls have been modified for human use.
Max notes that the smuggled cargo could have been very lucrative, but Lt.Cmdr. Reese has communications officer Lt. Harry “Monty Hall” Takahari Jr. send an urgent warning to fleet headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. He also expresses interest in catching up with slower-than-light generation colony ships headed in the direction of Zarkonian-controlled space.
After some discussion over drinks, Capt. Jasmine and her crew agree to transfer the three shipping containers of zero-point devices to the Dauntless. Kevin offers a letter of marque, ship upgrades in the Asteroid Belt, and to personally accompany them.
Bold Kevin and Jasmine carefully maneuver the Pina Colada, while Lt. Wynona Smoketrail, a Delphine (“Uplifted” dolphin) pilot whoonceraced “Aughest-vor…” [Jason E.R.] near Mars, brings the Dauntless about. They then transfer the containers.
Hector meets privately with Max and later coordinates communications to Earth with Lt. Takahari. Lt.Cmdr. Reese reports to Col. Shan Gray, his superior at Interplanetary Patrol. Kevin also promotes Cmdr. Cain to acting captain of the “Dauntless” and takes leave so that he can travel on the “Pina Colada.”
Welcome, Bruce, to the teleconferencing version of “Vortex!” Our group’s move from the Gryphon to the Pina Colada and Blackbird feels like a new chapter (or TV season) in our continuing adventures! Good luck as your sort out crews and missions.
I’ll post on the Google Groups board the specifics on advancing your characters and refitting your ships. Note that while certain roles are essential to both starships — such as pilot/astrogation and engineering — you can have some specialties and overlap.
Dexter, I hope that you’ll be able to join us soon. In the meantime, I also look forward to upcoming sessions of our other games in 2013:
6. Skyfall. James Bond made a triumphant return, melding modern grit and parkour with many small homages to 50 years of films. Skyfall also served as a “soft reboot,” restoring a status quo familiar to fans of the superspy. I haven’t yet seen female-led actioners Haywire or Underworld [4]: Awakening.
5. Looper. I was initially wary of this time-travel tale, but the world-building and seasoned actors won me over. To be fair, I didn’t see MenInBlack III, which used a similar plot device for comedic effect, or the remake of mind-bender Total Recall. Dredd and IronSky were other speculative fiction flicks I missed.
4. ParaNorman. This heartfelt gothic Halloween story ended up being my favorite animated picture of the year, edging out Studio Ghibli’s Borrowers adaptation The Secret World of Arrietty, the funny The Pirates! A Band of Misfits, Disney’s beautiful Brave, and the syncretic Rise of the Guardians. I haven’t seen Hotel Transylvania, Frankenweenie, and Wreck-It Ralph, but I’m sure I’ll catch them eventually thanks to nieces and nephews.
3. John Carter. Several mainstream media critics have put this planetary romance on their “worst of 2012” lists, but I enjoyed the film, which combined the precursor to much space opera with modern visual effects and pacing. It was also less pretentious than Avatar or Prometheus. Speaking of retro sensibilities, I haven’t yet seen likely Oscar contendersArgo, Lincoln, or Django Unchained.
2. The Avengers. After years of buildup, Joss Whedon’s superhero teamup flick turned out to be perfect popcorn escapism. I preferred it to the dour Dark Knight Rises, which was well-done but less fun. I preferred the gonzo first Ghost Rider to its wan sequel Spirit of Vengeance. The Amazing Spider-Man was a decent comic book reboot, but the strong cast wasn’t enough to overcome the feelings of déjà vu.
1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Peter Jackson’s fantasy prequel has garnered much criticism for stretching out J.R.R. Tolkien’s slender novel, but it was still satisfying to return to Middle Earth. The first part of another trilogy may not equal Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, but it was better than Snow White and the Huntsman or Mirror, Mirror. I’ve heard mixed reviews for the mythic Wrath of the Titans.
At the movies in Boston
In 2013, I’m most looking forward to continued revival Star Trek: Into Darkness, kaiju vs. giant robots in Pacific Rim, a new Superman in Man of Steel, and The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug.
I don’t yet know whether fantasy flicksJack the Giant Slayer or Oz: the Great and Powerful, the postapocalyptic After Earth or Elysium, or the superheroic sequels Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, or Thor 2 will be worth the hype. So much to see, so little time!
I hope that you and your family had a very happy holiday season, and I wish everyone a healthy, peaceful, prosperous, and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year!
2012 was a difficult year for many people, with a lingering economic recession, armed conflicts abroad, and political polarization and uncertainty in the U.S., as well as devastating weather and mass murders. Janice and I each have an uncle who is very ill, and no fewer than three of our friends in their 40s are fighting cancer. Let us hope that 2013 is better!
My job as an editor at a journalism company near Boston is OK. I’m still splitting my time between managing a Web site and editing technology-related content for custom online publishing. Janice has gotten settled in after Oracle bought her start-up employer last spring.
As you may recall, I got a new Honda Fit hatchback late in 2011, and this past spring, Janice and I moved from Needham, Mass., where we had lived for about eight years, on relatively short notice. We ended up moving to Waltham, Mass., about 15 miles northwest of Boston. It took us a while to find our bearings and get unpacked — our new apartment is a bit smaller — but our commutes are still mercifully short. There are lots of good restaurants in a variety of cuisines nearby.
While Janice and I didn’t get to go on any big trips this past year, we did get down to metropolitan New York for informal reunions of some of my friends from high schooland college. It was great to reconnect with former roommate Frank D.!
In addition, we spent a weekend at a nice bed and breakfast in Bennington, Vermont. I hope to catch up with friends in the Washington D.C. area in the coming year. Byron V.O., Ben P.S., and other friends also plan to visit New England.
We spent Thanksgiving with Janice’s family in Upstate New York and Christmas with mine in Virginia. It was nice to see my nieces and nephews, even if the drives were long. Janice plans to visit her extended family down in Pennsylvania in the coming month.
While I’ll no doubt be busy with work and the usual games in the coming weeks, I hope to post roundups of the past year in genre entertainment and things to look forward to. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to discuss!
Gene's Worlds 