'Doctor Who: 50 Years' Trailer - The Day of the Doctor - Doctor Who 50th...

OH. MY. GOD! 

This is how you celebrate an anniversary!

Agents of SHIELD 1.04 "Eye Spy"

I liked:

• The continuing mystery of Coulson's resurrection, the how and more importantly, why. I mean he's become a beloved character over the course of the movies- and he seems like a high-ranking field agent, but (aside from a useful incentive to get the Avengers to work together) what is so special about him?
• There are caveats to this statement but; the rest of the characters are growing on me, though for the life of me I can't remember the name of the pilot (Melinda May according to IMDb), or tell the difference between Fitz and Simmons (although this doesn't seem to matter one jot).
• I can't help but think that the character of Akela Amadour would be a welcome addition to the permanent cast (I don't think that SHIELD could really prosecute her for essentially being held captive in her own body). She's badass, and pretty unshakable and her previous history as Coulson's protégée might have been a nice source of continuing conflict- but then she'd be another Melinda May (see I remembered her name!).
• I like the international look and feel of the show (I cannot for the life of me find out where they filmed the opening sequence of this episode- it looks European but I doubt the budget would stretch that far). But I'm sure I recognised a later location as having been used in Star Trek Voyager (the ireland holodeck program). 

Didn't think much of:

• Yeah the other characters are growing on me, but not that much and not quickly. The comparison to other Whedon projects is inevitable, but a quick look at the credits shows that Joss Whedon has had little to do with the show since the pilot (certainly in terms of writing and directing). Instead the day-to-day handling of the show seems to be under the supervision of Jed Whedon and wife Maurissa Tancharoen. Could that be a part of the problem? It seems unlikely considering their writing credits (the other showrunners seem equally qualified). Maybe it's the cast? I've only ever heard of three of the series regulars- all of whom I've enjoyed watching on tv/film in the past, so can it really be that? Maybe the set-up of the show (a small core cast in a plane) is the problem- would an even smaller cast and a wider setting (like the SHIELD helicarrier or ground based compound with a larger supporting cast like Stargate SG-1 or Star Trek Deep Space 9) feel less forced? 
• The plot for this episode was pretty good- if perhaps a little predictable. And whilst it serves as a vehicle for the ongoing story-arc, the same-ness of the storytelling to other/past shows seems to be annoying some viewers (as proved by comments on SFX's Facebook page). Whilst I can understand some of their views there must be a limit on how much storytelling can be done, not just in terms of television budget but with the world the show occupies. The show and the Marvel movies are undoubtedly linked, and maybe there is a level of- not interference- but restraint in the amount of storytelling available while the movies are still in production..?

The Mist- Oh Gods no, not ANOTHER religious zealot!

More of this☝  less of that ☟

I like monster movies, I'll make no secret of that. And thanks to films like "Cloverfield", "Super 8" and more recently, "Pacific Rim" I've been on the look out for them more and more. I heard about "The Mist" (and saw some screen-caps that looked quite promising. Like Gareth Edwards "Monsters", only with your local Tesco's instead of an alien infested Mexico.), so I bought it- at fortunately a low price- and sat down to enjoy.

Only I forgot it is based on the works of Stephen King. And okay, whilst it is an adaption that doesn't perhaps fill the movie with all the details of the book, I'd forgotten how much I actually dislike about 90% of the things he has created!

I know that's practically sacrilege (especially as the DVD sleeve give snippets from both Empire and Starburst that suggest that it was the best movie of 2007- I think I was rather distracted by Hot Fuzz at the time).

And speaking of sacrilege, the thing that put me off of the movie most.

Mrs Carmody.

 A quick search on the internet provides an unsurprising, but actually pretty understandable, review of the movie from christiananswers.net which goes on to list the profanity, gore and offensive use of the Lord's name (which doesn't bother me) to something that I can actually agree with.

The character Mrs. Carmody makes an absolute mockery of God and Christianity in general.

 Mrs. Carmody makes God out to be a vengeful, bloodthirsty being who is bent on destroying humanity by sending hungry monsters.

 Yes. Yes she does, and it is, for me, actually the most offensive part of the movie. This movie is by no-means the only offender of this particular trope, but it is the most recent one I've seen. It's such an annoyingly common stock character, and unfair on the vast majority of Christians, by creating and enforcing the idea that in times of crisis they will be the first to "crack" and lead others to murder?! 

I wanted to see a monster movie, and yes I'm aware that there has to be human struggle- even sacrifice- to create conflict and resolution. But this unrelentingly depressing horse-sh*te is enough to make me side with the monsters every. Single. Time.

Marvels Agents of SHIELD- So far, so good. Ish.

So three episodes in and the characters are finding their footing (and I can name three others as well as Coulson. I hope to have memorised the other two by the end of the series ;D), and the over-arching plot for the season is intriguing (this episode brings up the rather simple, but maybe important question; why can't Coulson disarm a handgun like he used to? If it used to be all muscle-memory for him to do it does that mean that he is not who he thinks he is?).

But..

Okay I know Joss Whedon's involvement in this is heavy (he co-wrote and directed the pilot after all), but it doesn't quite snap or pop like his other projects. There are moments (most of them Coulson's) when you can sense more clearly Whedon's influence, but it's not quite there..

Of course that's not to say I'm hating it. Far from it- it's the sort of "weekly event" I've been missing (despite a plethora of shows that have tried to fill the void) and I'm more engaged by it then I have been by Doctor Who in recent months (which, I'm hoping with Peter Capaldi at the Tardis helm will regain some of it's bite).

WHOOO BOY!

Wow! The new look Godzilla is a-ma-zing! 

I love how it retains the resemblance to the Toho Godzilla without appearing too man-in-a-suit. And it's a vast difference to the Emmerich giant iguana/t-rex hybrid, which seemed to change scale with each scene it appeared in and was presented as a sympathetic creature.

I thought the whole point of Godzilla was that it was this immense beast, of mans own making, that wreaked havoc and laid waste. 

And from the looks of this monster I could well believe that could happen!