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Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron
One of the biggest fan complaints about Man of Steel was that there was something very un-Superman-like about Superman, levelling Metropolis during his fight with General Zod but doing nothing to ensure the safety of the people; director Zack Synder estimated the death toll at 5,000, but somewhere around 129,000 seems more likely. Synder's claim that all those deaths are narratively necessary so that Superman can feel, like, really heavy with sadness is spurious; having Superman save people AND defeat Zod at the same time would have given him the moral high ground, but, whatever, this isn't the time or place. →
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First impressions of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
A great pilot should, obviously, want me to come back for more. I've always been fond of the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, for its odd blend of action (the revisiting of Wolf 359) and philosophy (a discussion of linear time with aliens that exist outside of it) that made it seem like it would be more than just a Next Generation cast off. More recently, the pilot for Sleepy Hollow grabbed me just because of Tom Mison's dry, witty performance as Ichabod Crane. It doesn't take much for me to give a show a chance, but Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. gave me very little. There's a lot of potential -- a Whedon-produced TV series set in Marvel's comic universe with Clark Gregg returning as Agent Coulson is hard to imagine going wrong, but the pilot was just ok. It wasn't great. →
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Review of Joss Whedon’s Much Ado About Nothing
In retrospect, I'm not sure why I thought I'd enjoy Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. Sure, it's directed by Joss Whedon, and stars most of my favourite actors from the Whedon stable, but it's still a Shakespeare comedy with all the comic sophistication of an episode of Miranda. →
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My 2012 film highlights
Throughout 2012 I watched approximately 262 films, which I don't think is an unreasonable amount. What follows are 20 films from that list that I felt deserved a special mention for a variety of reasons. Not necessarily what I'd consider to be the best films I saw last year, nor even limited to films that were released that year either. →
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Review of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers
I've enjoyed the Marvel films. They've been, with the exception of the plodding Iron Man 2, dependable, enjoyable popcorn flicks. The appealing presence of Robert Downey Jr. helped make an A-list character out of Iron Man, I have a soft spot for The Incredible Hulk, Captain America was a little forgettable but bolstered by a great cast and Thor, despite my initial scepticism, turned out to be my favourite of the lot. There was never anything in this line-up likely to challenge the more cerebral and serious The Dark Knight but that's ok; Marvel comics have always had a lighter tone than DC, and it's a testament to Marvel that they resisted the urge to Nolanify most of their properties. →
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Review of The Cabin in the Woods
Reviewing The Cabin in the Woods seems pretty redundant, as it's so recognisably from the Joss Whedon stable that there's little here you won't already have an opinion of and you probably already know if you're going to see it or not. Enjoyed Buffy, Angel and Firefly? You'll enjoy Cabin. Didn't enjoy them? There's nothing here that's going to change your mind. Also, your opinions are wrong, and you're grotesquely ugly. →
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Some thoughts on The Avengers
Comic-Con saw confirmation that Joss Whedon is to be the director of Marvel's upcoming The Avengers, an attempt at pulling off what is commonplace in the comic world; bringing headline stars from various comics into one single whole. →
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Serenity
If you hadn't ever seen Firefly, you probably knew somebody who had. That person would have raved about the show, lamented its premature cancellation and purchased the DVD box set, insisting that you should one day sit down and watch all 13 episodes so that you, too, could understand its greatness. And if you had seen Firefly, then you probably loved it. →