Loki

My top 10 favorite sci-fi and fantasy films & series of 2023

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I guess this list should have come before my “chocolate and kittens” post, in which I listed the sci-fi and fantasy movies and series coming in 2024. Apparently, my brain is working backwards. … Here are my favorite shows and movies of 2023:

Movies

My #1 favorite movie of 2023: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” I laughed, I cried, I saw it in the theater three times. I’ve already gone on and on about the Guardians in previous posts, so I’ll leave it at that.

Best fantasy movie that exceeded my expectations: “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves.” I have never played the game, and I knew almost nothing about the movie when I went to see it, which is often the best way to go into a movie. I was pleasantly surprised. D&D is a fun adventure with humor and heart – and Chris Pine. What’s not to love?

Favorite fantasy comedy: “Barbie.” The success of this movie based on a children’s toy will probably inspire a wave of copycats, but it’s not really about toys, and it’s not for kids (although apparently a lot of people thought it was, despite its PG-13 rating). Written and directed by the incomparable Greta Gerwig, it’s a moving film which is mostly for women, as it has a feminist message, but it’s also satirical and funny.

Favorite fantasy musical: “Wonka.” This movie, while simple and somewhat silly, touched my heart. I loved the hopeful message and the sweet friendship between Wonka and Noodle. The songs were well done, and Timothée Chalamet is the best Willy Wonka – better than Johnny Depp, and better than Gene Wilder. Yes, I said it.

Best animated movie: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.” The animation in these movies is amazing. I’m looking forward to the next one, which was supposed to be coming out next year, but it’s been taken off the schedule for reasons unknown to me.

Honorable mention: “The Marvels.” I really liked this, as I mentioned a couple blog posts ago. It has badass women superheroes, Nick Fury, and the fantastic Flerkittens! So why is it just a runner-up? I felt like something was missing; it was too rushed. Reviewers praised its brevity (it is an hour and 45 minutes) but I suspect too much was left on the cutting room floor.

Series

My favorite thing on TV this year was absolutely, 100 percent, Season 2 of “Our Flag Means Death.” I guess it’s a bit of a stretch to call a pirate show science fiction or fantasy, but Rhys Darby does one scene in a mermaid tail, and there are some magical elements sprinkled in, so I say it counts.

The second season of “Loki” was so good. Tom Hiddleston is the best. Sophia Di Martino is also great as Loki variant Sylvie, and of course Owen Wilson and Ke Huy Quan are wonderful. Honestly, the whole cast was terrific, and the story, the style – really almost everything about this series was so fun and cool.

“Good Omens,” Season 2. Michael Sheen’s portrayal of the angel Aziraphale is so wholesome and lovely, and David Tennant is perfect as demon Crowley – his “apology dance” alone is worth the price of admission.

“The Last of Us.” I don’t normally care for horror, so for a zombie show to make my list of favorites is a big deal. Pedro Pascal navigates a post-apocalyptic world. And it’s based on a video game. Somehow it works.

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” Season 2. The new Trek series surprised me, in a good way. I thought it was kind of boring at first, but now I love it and can’t wait to see where it (boldly!) goes next.

Honorable mention: “Shadow and Bone.” I enjoyed this show until the disturbing cliffhanger finale in Season 2. Then the series was cancelled. Boo! I guess I will have to read the books if I want to know what happens. Or maybe I’ll just pretend it had a happy ending.

Well, that’s my Top 10 for 2023! I haven’t seen everything I want to see yet, so maybe I missed something that would have made the list. What were your favorites this year? Tell me in the comments or on my Facebook page! Happy new year,

~ * Shawna * ~

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New ‘Loki’, ‘Our Flag Means Death’ episodes feed the soul

Posted on by earthtoshawna

Just when I was starting to think, “Maybe I just don’t like anything right now,” the second seasons of “Loki” and “Our Flag Means Death” started off with a bang and are exactly what I needed. (Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Scorsese!)

Loki and Mobius have the best friendship and make such a great team, and how great is Ke Huy Quan? He’s so funny and charming. I want to give all of them a hug. There are so many multifaceted characters in this series. I really wanted to see B-15 in her ’70s garb for more than just the few seconds she was on screen. Give us a whole episode in the ’70s please!

Taika Waititi as Blackbeard

“Our Flag Means Death,” everyone’s favorite gay pirate show, is soooo good. The mermaid (merman?) scene! The unicorn leg! There are so many flawless moments in these first few episodes, I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next. Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby are amazing, and the entire cast of characters and their neuroses are so ridiculously funny while at the same time being poignant and perfect.

I have been thinking a lot about the entertainment industry and the arts, and the writers’ and actors’ strike. Some people think things like TV and movies aren’t essential, and maybe they aren’t as essential as say, health care, but lately we have been using the word “comfort” a lot – as an adjective: “I am re-watching Mike Birbiglia’s stand-up; he’s my comfort comedian.” “I’m on my third viewing of Season One of ‘Our Flag Means Death’ – it’s my comfort show.”

When mass shootings and war are dominating our news headlines, and when bad things are happening in our lives or in the lives of our loved ones, there is only so much space we can hold for those feelings of hopelessness. Something art and entertainment offers is a break – however brief – from thinking and feeling all the things we don’t want to think and feel.

What are your comfort shows? Do you have a favorite sci-fi or fantasy movie that makes you feel warm and fuzzy, or like maybe someday everything will be OK? Leave me a message in the comments, here or on my Facebook page.

More Marvel

Tickets are now on sale for “The Marvels,” opening in U.S. theaters on Nov. 10. I am hoping our favorite flerken gets a lot of screen time.

Inktober

Some of my (admittedly amateurish) Inktober art

I am not a good artist by any stretch of the imagination, but my daughter is, and she convinced me to do Inktober with her this year.

The annual October art celebration, begun in 2009 by illustrator Jake Parker, offers a different art prompt for each day of October.

I think the prompts are supposed to be sort of spooky themed. For “rise,” I assume the word association is supposed to be a zombie or something, rising from the grave, for example. But that’s not what I did, and there are no rules, really; the important thing is to have fun.

For more information about Inktober, go to https://inktober.com/

Solar eclipse

I saved my solar eclipse glasses from 2017, which came in handy for the eclipse that was visible in some areas (including mine, in Southern California) this morning.

The picture taken on my phone through the glasses came out a little fuzzy. We also had fun taking photos of the crescents in the shadows of the leaves.

If you want to see when the next eclipse will be visible in your area, you can check
here: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/list.html

Well, that post was all over the place. Anyway. Hope you all have a great rest of October and happy Halloween.

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Beat the heat – stay home and watch ‘Loki’ on Disney+

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I know I once said superhero movies aren’t my favorite genre and lately my blog is starting to look like a Marvel blog – I guess I’m changing my ways.

One of the most fun things to watch right now is the Loki series on Disney+ and I think it’s safe to say the reason this show is so beloved is due to Loki’s portrayer, Tom Hiddleston. He brings just the right amounts of smarm and charm to the god of mischief.

As if that weren’t enough to draw you in, I give you Exhibit B: Owen Wilson as Mobius. That’s right – two lovable actors for the price of one. Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sophia Di Martino are also great.

We’ve only gotten three episodes so far, but we are halfway through the season. So far it’s been quite a ride: The story begins when Loki (in the film “Avengers: Endgame”) steals the Tesseract and disappears, only to be apprehended (in the Disney+ series) by the Time Variance Authority. Similar to the Commission in “The Umbrella Academy” (and other organizations in other sci-fi franchises) the TVA in “Loki” deals with anyone who isn’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing in the established timeline. But this particular Loki isn’t the only one causing problems. The TVA is looking for another Loki variant and they want this Loki’s help.

So far, I like it more than “WandaVision” and yes, even more than “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” I don’t care that it’s not terribly original. It’s fun and it’s clever and you should watch it.

‘Star Trek: Discovery’

I finished the third season of “Star Trek: Discovery” saying, “Noooo” when I realized I was watching the last episode of the season, which is usually a pretty good indicator that it’s a good show. I can’t wait to watch Season 4, which we’ve been told will begin sometime this year, but I don’t yet know when.

There are certainly things to dislike about this series. Like every Trek series, there are hits and misses, moments of silliness and moments of greatness. Perhaps it’s unfair to say the worst thing about “Discovery” is the fact that you have to pay for YET ANOTHER STREAMING SERVICE in order to watch it.

For the most part, however, I love it. There’s a diverse cast of excellent actors, suspense, and unpredictable story lines. What more do you want from your sci-fi? Cats in space? Done.

‘Black Widow’

At long last we may finally get to see this film that was originally supposed to be released last summer. I’m really excited to see another resurrected Marvel character (see Loki and Vision) in a starring role. I’m even more excited about Florence Pugh joining the MCU. She’s amazing and I’m sure she will rock in this movie, which will be in theaters and on Disney+ (for an additional $30) on July 9.

WitcherCon

Also July 9 is WitcherCon! If you are a hardore Witcher nerd, I mean fan, you may want to check it out. It will be broadcast on YouTube and Twitch. It will air twice, once at 10 a.m. and again at 6 p.m., in case you miss the first one. For more info:

https://www.witchercon.com/en

Fantasy films to watch with the kids

The new Pixar animated coming-of-age film “Luca” is available on Disney+ with no additional cost on top of your subscription. The title character is a fish-person/sea-monster kid who is forbidden to go on land, where humans pose a danger to their kind. Of course his curiosity gets the better of him, and he befriends another kid like him. It was very cute and heartwarming, and the tale is set on the Italian Riviera, which is beautiful even in cartoon.

We waited for “Raya and the Last Dragon” to be “free” on Disney+ and that was a good movie as well. (How do they decide which new releases will be free with a subscription and which ones will cost an extra 30 bucks? Hmm.) In this one, a warrior princess searches for a dragon who can help her fight the evil spirits threatening her kingdom.

“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” is not yet available to stream, so it marked our first trip to theaters since the quarantine began. It was silly and funny and maybe not quite as good as the first one but close enough. If you enjoyed the antics of the mischievous James-Corden-voiced bun-bun the first time around, you will not be disappointed.

‘The Tomorrow War’

If you like your rats crisp, I mean if you like Crisp Rat, I mean Chris Pratt, check out “The Tomorrow War,” coming to Amazon on Friday. Time travel, blah blah blah. … Aliens, blah blah blah… Did I mention Star-Lord, I mean Chris Pratt, is in it?

Photos: “Loki,” Disney Platform Distribution; “Star Trek; Discovery,” Paramount+; “Black Widow” and “Raya and the Last Dragon,” Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

2020-04-22 00.25.02

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Sci-fi television news: Three endings & three beginnings

Posted on by earthtoshawna

Watching Rami Malek win a Golden Globe for his role as Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” was so cool, and now he’s been nominated for an Oscar as well. Many of us already knew how talented Malek is, because we’ve been watching him play the gifted and mentally disturbed hacker Elliot Alderson on “Mr. Robot.” (He has also won an Emmy for “Mr. Robot.”) The twisty, futuristic drama is about to come to an end. Season four will be its last.

The show’s creator, Sam Esmail, has said, “We ultimately have too much respect for Elliot’s journey to extend past its inevitable ending. Therefore, season four will serve as a the final chapter of the Mr. Robot story.”

I will miss this trippy series, but like he said, it’s better for a show to not go on too long. A mistake made by the next show on my list:

The Big Bang Theorybigbangtheory

We are now 12 seasons into this thing, and it jumped the shark, as they say, ages ago. I’ve loved and laughed with these characters for years, and it’s still amusing enough that I’ve stuck with it, but at this point, Sheldon’s rudeness grates, and Bernadette’s shrillness is less cute and more, well, shrill. It’s just not the same.

The show’s premise – four nerdy scientists and their struggles with women – has changed, as everyone has been paired up. Leonard, Sheldon, and Howard are all married men, and Raj is engaged. Even comic book store owner Stuart has a girlfriend. Without the original “how do we navigate the dating world” plot, the show is flailing aimlessly. There are some great episodes, but there are more misses than hits.

Jim Parsons (Sheldon) finally pulled the plug. “It feels like we’ve chewed all the meat off this bone,” he explained in a recent interview. I couldn’t agree more.

Game of Thrones

Another series whose time has come to an end is HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” This parting will be sadder, as it has been amazing in every way for its entire run. With the eighth and final season coming in April, fans will have to say goodbye to Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Tyrion Lannister, and all the rest of our beloved GoT characters.

The Long Night

Fortunately a spin-off series is in the works, a prequel called “The Long Night,” set thousands of years before the events in “Game of Thrones.” Normally I groan at the word prequel, but it’s set during a period in which humans shared Westeros with giants and the Children of the Forest, and other  magical creatures, so it sounds like it will be really awesome.

Jean-Luc Picard returns

Patrick Stewart has announced that he will return to his role as Jean-Luc Picard in a new Star Trek series for CBS All-Access. The series will be one storyline, “a 10-hour movie,” Stewart said, rather than the episodic structure used on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” The still-untitled series will take place after the destruction of the Romulan Empire.

Loki

Disney’s upcoming new streaming service will feature a series about that lovable trickster Loki, and more importantly, Tom Hiddleston will be reprising the role. That’s really all I know about the new show; I’ll post more when I find out more.

Credits: “Mr. Robot,” NBC Universal Television; “The Big Bang Theory,” Warner Bros. Television;  “Game of Thrones,” HBO; “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Paramount; “Thor: Ragnarok,” Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. 

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