Michael Hopcroft

Q: Why won't you go to the club with me? I hear the band is great! A: You told me we'd go clubbing tonight! But there's no band here, just a whole bunch of helpless baby seals...

The upcoming Godzilla vs Kong is facing an apparent delay, perhaps owing to the near-disastrous box office performance of King of the Monsters. I really want to see Shin Godzilla now. KOTM was entertaining, but I have this desire to see a Godzilla movie that really works as a movie. The way the original Gojira did 65 years ago, terrible effects and all.

Paul Darrow, best known for playing the ruthless antihero Kerr Avon in the cult classic SF series Blakes 7, has died after a brief illness at the age of 78. I especially recommend "Rumours of Death" for "Peak Avon". Although Avon was the best role he ever got in television, he remained a working actor for most of his adult life. On a personal level, Avon and B7 were one of the reasons I got into British Media fandom (for good or ill).

Merry Men

Godzilla: King of the Britons

What is the sword that is literally mounted onto your gauntlet called? I need a Western-style name for something I'm writing (it's the signature weapon of my main general, used more for symbolism and directing troops than for personal combat).

To get off on a tangent, does it seem to you that advancement in D&D/PF/OSR/DCC is alarmingly fast by the standards of a HERO campaign? Which will surprise players going either way between them?

I wonder if the other heads are sensory/weapon platforms and only the central head actually has a brain (or at least a functional one). Not that it matters, of course, because "Monster Zero" is so alien (and the normal laws of physics don't apply to daikaiju anyway). It is also worth noting that while the other "Titans" seem to have the side effect of encouraging the development of other life in their wake, Gidorah is pure, unmitigated destruction and chaos. Godzilla leaves a world in bloom, while Gidorah leaves a lifeless rock.

"You are perfectly safe." "The point is I'm a perfectly safe penguin and my friend is rapidly running out of limbs!" "Humans are not proud of their ancestors, and never invite them to dinner."

Q: For some reason, the animatronic Jerry Garcia video didn't impress the studio. How can we win the contract anyway? A: It's called a spoon for a reason, you know.

DC Universe itself likely faces cancellation, or at least absorption into the megacorp's wider plans.

"Knight Rider, a shadowy flight into the dangerous world of a man who does not exist."

Believe it or not, the Raptors took Game 3 in Oakland and now lead the series 2-1. I can;t help but wonder what would happen if they actually won the championship.

Q: I just got back from the store, dear, and I bought a child as a gift to the Gailmores. Think they'll like it? A: You know, that protrusion from the building wasn't designed to support the weight of a human being. I think I hear it already starting to creak...

Shakespeare

Q: You say PETA has infiltrated the Weather Bureau? What makes you think that? A: The acoustics aren't terrible, but the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired.

And oddly enough my upthread comments describe the setup of this film (and the ideas it has) pretty well.

You also have to deal with the racist/sexist trolls who clog the audience scores for movies they have no intention of seeing in hopes that they can discourage people from seeing or deter the making of future films of that type. We all know which films I'm talking about. RT is finally catching on to the idea that a large group of people are being dishonest with them.

Q: All your base are screen Justice League in the rec centers? Heavens, why? A: The acoustics aren't terrible, but the atmosphere leaves a lot to be desired.

Q: And which Muppet is endorsing which candidates, again? A: Add a few Muppet pigs. Everything is better with Muppet pigs.

Q: Can you do something about these bears in neckties, Ranger Smith? I went to the park to avoid panhandlers! A: One cold, wet, miserable way to die coming up!

How much of the (very small) prices in this BoH does Hero Games get? I'm having a hard time figuring out why the timing of these bundles is, from my purposes, so bad. Many of these are things I want, but I am wondering how I can possibly afford them and still move this week. So I can;t buy the BoH, but I really want to.

Q: I see Goldilocks came over again, so why do I have a full bowl? Is something wrong with this porridge? A: There's a reason Goldilocks keep returning, and the oatmeal isn't that fantastic.

A very large portion of the RT critic pool are film bloggers. Which may explain why Marvel and Disney films get such high marks (or at least higher marks than they would otherwise get, such as in the case of the Aladdin remake). hat said, I'd say about 50% of the pool are actual, paid-for-their work and published-in-a-somewhat-respectable-forum critics. And of those, about 10% are "top critics" from major newspapers and magazines. That 10% is less than warm towards a lot of genre films. Particularly superhero films, which they tend to regard as a little ridiculous. Their jobs, as they see them, are to advise discerning, educated adult audiences on what works of cinema are worth their time. They view monsters, superheros, dragons, wizards, etc. as something you outgrow as you gain more real life experience. Obviously this is a theorem most of us and a lot of people in general disagree with. Once you understand that bias, though, the Top Critics are a lot more helpful. They are certainly more helpful than the bloggers writing in some sense to be sure they get invited to future screenings and relying on their Patreon payments to support their work.