In Which I Have A Strange Experience At The Movies

The power of suggestion's mighty strong --

Or else no film would ever work on us,

To say naught of how well we're strung along

When such a meta-movie comes. A plus:

There's lots of ways to watch this one, I'd say.

INCEPTION as an allegory, or

A comment on how easily we may

Be led to think our ideas our own, for

Such things are viral, subtle. Just whose dream

Do we think that we're watching? I, for one,

Found that I had my own within (a theme

To which it drew attention was no fun

For me; I know that grief): a phantom friend

Sat with me, held my hand until the end.

In Which I Lament Something That Is Lacking In Summer 2010

July's begun, a time when many seek
Surcease from scorching in the cool and dark
Of friendly local cinemas. I weep,
Though, as I once again survey the stark
And hopeless offerings for these great screens
This season's bringing. This year, there's not one,
I care to see at all. Some say this means
I'm just too picky; no, I have some fun
At stupid 'splodey blockbusters, as long
As they have ought to recommend them save
A bloated budget. Is it just so wrong
To want a story with what goobers crave
(A lot of CGI, they guess). I rue
This year. I think I'll stick to Doctor Who.

BONUS SONNET: Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Paul @Laroquod

I am no Marvel girl, but well I know

When I've committed heresy, of course!

And since I've done it twice in public, lo

Must I atone in public, too, or force

Dire retribution from my fav'rite fan

Of ages Gold and Silver, Laroquod.

Although I still maintain John Hamm's the man

To play Steve Rogers and the Captain (odd

That I thought of this not myself! For shame!)

He is not blond, it's true, but tell me this:

At day's end, at the heart, will you, Paul, blame

My loving more a dark-haired man? Don't dis

Me overmuch, I pray, for going mad.

I'm sure Chris Evans won't be all that bad.

In Which I Am Wonderwhelmed By Underland

A Lewis Carroll fan I've been for long,

Tim Burton, too, is someone I admire.

How could a combination go so wrong

Of these two? But that has seemed to transpire.

The look of this film lived up to the hype,

Though after Avatar, this 3-D seemed

Quite flat and lifeless, gimmicky, the type

Of gags I saw so long ago. There gleamed

Some diamonds in the dross, though: Johnny Depp

And Bonham-Carter managed to transcend

The dialog and story. I just kept

On thinking these resources would contend

Far better with the stories Carroll wrote

Than making this dull sequel. That's my vote.

In Which I Finally Visit Pandora And Don't Even Get A Lousy Tee Shirt

Predictability's beside the point

When such as Avatar graces the screen.

The outsider whom they'll come to annoint

Their leader, yawn. But story's not the scene

In films like this. The world is pretty, yes --

Not pretty 'nough to induce suicide

Because I can't live there, though I can guess

How some might feel that way. One's pulled inside

A lovely world, low-gravity and lush,

And luminescent when the day grows dark.

With sexy kittehs gyrating -- I blush.

Three hours of cut scenes, though, is not a lark.

At some point I did want to take control

And play the game that hides within its soul.

In Which I Indulge My Holiday Dork-a-dence

My family will be here soon, which means

Today's my last to take in, all in one

Great gulp, the three films with deleted scenes

Of Peter Jackson's LOTR. Fun?

It's more than that by far. It's truly not

The holidays without this silliness.

A sad compulsion, I know I have got:

Each year I watch and each year I'm a mess.

I tear up, a true fan girl, where I should,

Accomplish nothing ere its done, except

The popping of some corn. It's just too good

To start without a finish, though I've kept

On trying to just do one film a day,

I'm powerless to follow through. Hooray!

Sonnet Dare: In Which I Have A David Lynch Moment

At old beaudacious Bard, we used to say
Of those times when what happened got too weird,
One explanation only could hold sway;
One possibility 'mongst those that reared
Their heads could be the truth: that David Lynch
Was hiding in the room, mast'ring the scene.
The man who made Eraserhead to pinch
Our twenty-year-old brains, crafted the keen
Hilarity of that Blue Velvet flick,
And made of Dune a less coherent tale
(Though visually awesome) -- no mean trick --
Than Herbert did -- that David, without fail,
Had taken over the directorship
Of these, our lives, so suddenly a trip.

In Which Mystery Science Theater 3000 Reaches The Legal Drinking Age

I'm told that twenty-one short years ago
Was MST3K's debut. I'm stunned!
This may well be my all-time fav'rite show.
Bad movies, mostly sci-fi, mocked and punned
By Joel, then Mike, and wondrous robots three,
Tom Servo, Gypsy, Crow (and Cambot, too
Of course, so kind of four). That once TV
Held wonders such as this can see me through
A dismal survey of much modern fare:
Imagining what these guys would have said
While watching the new Indy Jones, I'd bear
Much worse, I like to think. Still in my head,
I send a Bannergram to Joel and Trace
And Josh and all the Best Brains guys. My face!

The Parent Trek

It's no surprise that Mom wanted to see

The Star Trek flick, but what to do with Dad?

We thought that Earth would do, but wow! Then he

Said no he'd go to Trek with us. He's had

Experience with outer space movies:

He took us to see Star Wars after all

(Ne'er mind that that was in the 70s!).

And so we went, all three, and had a ball.

"A good light show," was Dad's review, while Mom,

Quipped "they sure hid that well" 'bout Mr. Spock

And (spoiler zapped; we'll just defuse that bomb).

While I am still recov'ring from the shock:

Shizuma Drives and Ultranauts, last time

I checked were not canon, but that's no crime.

BONUS SONNET: Why I Watches The Watchmen

The casting call, for the big Watchmen flick
Must have been odd. "Must make a good blue nude."
They found one, though, and Crudup did the trick;
He managed to emote, not to say brood,
From 'neath the paint. But Haley stole the show.
To act under that mask was no mean feat.
And Rorsach in the prison - umm, hello...
Hands down the best part of the film, complete.
A faithful adaptation? There's no doubt!
Down to the wardrobe and the set design,
The detail lavished here just knocked me out!
The novel to the life! A moving shrine!
As to the ending - honestly, I thought
The movie has the better, for this plot.

I Watches The Watchmen, That's Who

I'm glad to say I come down on the side
Of those who don't think this new movie sucks.
Some caveats I won't and cannot hide:
I am a Watchmen nerd from way back. Shucks,
I was a teen when "Cold War" was a real
And scary term, when ev'ry honest kid
Confessed to fear that all of us could feel
That Russia'd help us eagerly to rid
The Earth of life. Into this nervous world
This book exploded with nuclear force.
For kids like me at least, who gladly hurled
Ourselves into its angst - diff'rent, of course,
With superheroes, flawed and human, too.
So yes, I liked this film, and you might, too.

There Is A Reason Advance Hype Makes Me Nervous

The first reviews for Watchmen have come in.
And what they tell me really isn't good.
I do recall a feeling of chagrin
When I first learned they'd made it. Understood,
I kept an open mind; I'd wait and see
The early shots looked good enough, and I
Will cut some slack for eye candy. A key,
Though, would be how much they'd apply
Themselves to adaptation of a script
That kept the tension and the paranoid
Feel of the book. It will, they said. Now nipped
Right in the bud are my hopes they'd avoid
The risk of making a great bloated mess.
But will I still go see it? Sigh, I guess.

A Second Viewing Of Coraline, Made More Fun By Watching My Friend Watch It

"I feel like I'm on acid," said my friend,
As we put on our 3D glasses while
The previews spooled before us. "Do attend,"
I said. "The film will even more beguile
You with its lovely 3D trippiness."
The needle poked out and she jumped a yard
Above her seat with adm'rable finesse.
With that we had her absolute regard.
All softened up she watched the film enrapt,
The visuals and story held her keen
Attention. Like two kids we squealed and clapped
As wonders beyond count filled up the screen.
To say that she and I liked Coraline
Would be like saying roses like sunshine.