Wonder Woman Review

Wonder Woman

The origin story of Wonder Woman, in which she discovers the 'World of Men' and saves it from Ares 'the god of war'. The opening scene does an excellent job at setting the stage, as it were, getting across what the main thrust of the film's story is about. The first half of the film in Themyscira does a very good job of showing where Diana comes from. The culture of the island is also realised quite well. As is Queen Hippolyta's motherly concern for her daughter, especially after Steve Trevor arrives on the island.

Steve's interactions with the Amazons was written in a great way. The second part of the film, in London and on the Western Front is done quite well. The moral ambiguities of the Great War are contrasted with the black and white view of the Themyscirans in a way that shows Diana's growth as she. The final confrontation with Ares was done very well. 9.5/10.

Late Year 10

Late Year 10

ISOTs

1

Entity: Black Pearl

Type of Entity: Age of Sail Pirate Ship.

ISOTed from: Pirates of the Caribbean (Specifically, at a point after Dead Men Tell No Tales)

Abilities: Faster than any other ship of the time. (Including the Flying Dutchman...)

Captain Jack Sparrow has in his possession a compass that points to what one desires most...

Description: Age of Sail pirate ship with a full crew, including the above mentioned Captain Sparrow, and First Mate Joshamee Gibbs.

2

Nation Name: Republic of Armidale

Commonly known as: Armidale

Government: Republic

ISOTed from: Alternate version of After the Plague in New England (Plague occurs 12 years later).

Technology Level: 1990's – 2010's level.

Year ISOTed from: 2122

Territory ISOTed: All of it.

Special Traits: None

Population: 152,000

Religions: Mixed. (Mostly nominal Anglicanism and Catholicism. The Catholics haven't had contact with Rome for over a century.)

Languages: Majority English. (Others, Kamilaroi, German, Chinese, Japanese, there are records of other Languages at the University.)

Head of State: Mayor-President

Head of Government: The Mayor-President

Brief History: A devastating plague strikes in late 2018. Amidst the chaos as Australia collapses, the Armidale Regional Council quarantines itself. The years following the plague are tough but the area pulls through, managing to keep civilisation going. In 2118, the Council of the Republic votes to lift the quarantine and to begin exploration of the surrounding areas. They discover many small civilisations around them, including a large nation based in what was Tamworth, calling itself the Federation of New England Nations.

3

Nation Name: Egypt

Commonly Known as: Egypt

Government: Absolute Monarchy

ISOTed from: OTL

Technology Level: Bronze Age

Year ISOTed from: 1279 BC

Territory ISOTed: Most of it. (The Two Lands, but not Nubia)

Special Traits: None

Population: ???

Religions: Ancient Egyptian Religion

Languages: Ancient Egyptian Language

Head of State: Ramesses II

Head of Government: Ramesses II

Events

Americas

The event comes as a shock to the crew of the Pearl. Their first destination is Tortuga, but the island is deserted. “I want to find people. People with rum,” Sparrow says as the Pearl sets sail again. Of course, the Pearl had more than enough provisions to reach the United Isles. (Of course, going further north, to the Commonwealth, would certainly have been a bad idea.)

The Alliance continue to send settlers to Panama (in addition to building up the infrastructure).

The war against the Zombies continues to be a stalemate. The Privy Council continues to call for Batman to use his powers against the Zombies. However, given it's still a stalemate, Bruce Wayne still disobeys their orders.

The Americans continue to build up the infrastructure in the wilderness between the states.

Unova continues to build up it's defenses. The discussion of a pact against the Commonwealth continues.

In the United Isles the crew of a mysterious ship is temporarily detained. But they somehow escape, equally mysteriously.

(Having gained information on what had been happening in the world,, and more than sufficient provisions, the crew of the Pearl set sail across the Atlantic...)

Europe

Yugoslavia and Mordor continue to exchange knowledge.

Various Mordorians continue to settle the black soil plains.

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Doctor Who 10.09 'Empress of Mars' Review

Doctor Who 10.09 'Empress of Mars' Review

A very good episode. One of Gatiss' best. The NASA scene while it does introduce the situation, seems a little unnecessary, although it is as good as the rest of the story. It just seems to be a little superfluous. The arrival on Mars is well done, although it's not clear why the TARDIS left when Nardole went back aboard. The early explorations by the Doctor and Bill of the Martian tunnels were done quite well also. And the confrontation between the Doctor and Friday was well choreographed.

The explanation of how the British troops got into the situation they are in, is believable. That they found the Ice Warrior they named after the Defoe character in a ship on the veldt in South Africa and then helped him repair it. (And then lured them to Mars with promises of riches in the form of gemstomes, or gold.) That's an excellent set up to the situation, and leads into the discovery of the Empress' tomb/hibernation chamber. Each of the soldiers is given a unique personality, but more on that later.

In any case, the Empress is quite well realised, being in shock at the interlopers, the length of time spent in the hibernation, and the state of the surface. Godsacre's backstory is interesting. That he was caught for desertion, and was unscuccessfully hung for it. (There are questions about how he would be able to rejoin the Army after that, but those would detract from below.) In any case, that leads him to be able to work out a deal with the Empress, despite an attempt by his second to gain control.

The resolution that is worked out is quite believable (they wouldn't get back to Earth in any case). The appearance of Alpha Centauri is just icing on the cake (although I yet hadn't seen the Peladon serials). The conclusion with Missy being in the TARDIS, is interesting. There may be more to Missy's question about the Doctor's well being than his concern about her being out of the Vault. Overall this is a very good episode. 9/10.

Church notes - 11th June 2017

11th June
Kid's Talk
Philippians 4:6 - 8
If you're worried, pray. You'll know His peace.

John 5:1 - 15
'Healing the sick'
They were putting their hopes in something empty. Was there something worthy about the man?
It is about Jesus' Grace!
The man - represents people in hopeless situations.
Any belief system that doesn't include Jesus is hopeless.
No matter the situation you can minister to them through Jesus.
vs 6

Phil 4:8
Contemplating positive things points us in the direction of faith.

Repentance and belief is essential.

Jesus needs to direct us to things that need to be repented from, things that need to be changed.

vs 14
It was an ongoing sin, Jesus was warning him about.

Do you want change?
It needs to be in the context of Jesus' lordship.

Titus 2:11 - 14

Doctor Who 'Monks Trilogy' overall review

Monks Trilogy overall review

The 'Monk's Trilogy is interesting as an exercise in science fiction, and as a Doctor Who story, but does it hold up to the first five entries so far in Series 10? As the first part, does Extremis introduce the threat that the Monks pose in an effective manner? It is a good introduction to Missy's situation. The plot thread introduced here does get a good continuation in The Lie of the Land. The fact that the Monks use simulation as a method of assessing their potential victims, and that they gather enough information for those simulations certainly indicates that they are a significant threat,

But do the elements introduced in Extremis carry through to The Pyramid at the End of the World effectively. The Doctor knows that they are coming, certainly. But does he use the information that was sent from the sim-Doctor effectively? Or as if he was going into the situation without any information on the Monks at all? The answer; the former. In my opinion, the situation in Termezistan would have played out differently if he hadn't received that message. But it's difficult to tell how different,

Bill and Penny. Their reactions in Extremis and The Pyramid at the End of the World, to the Pope and the Secretary General respectively, do have some differences, probably to the Doctor telling Bill about the simulation. However, do the characters of the Secretary General, the three generals and Erica (latter whom is the only survivor out of them) contribute to the overall trilogy? Erica doesn't appear in the next episode (should she have). To answer, their role is minor, but Erica could appear again later in the series.

But does The Lie of the Land make a good conclusion? I'm not sure, given the nature of how the Monks are defeated. The motivation behind their regieme wasn't satisfactorily explained. About why they needed love based 'consent' or to manipulate the historical record. If not for the story elements involving Missy, I'm not sure it works. That story thread, involving Missy is more fulfilling than that involving the Monks. So it does work, but only barely. The Black Guardian Trilogy (Maudryn Undead, Terminus, Enlightenment) works a lot better.

(But then, one could consider Davison 'my Doctor'), there was much better plotting in the Classic series than here. And RTD did better with the trilogy that concluded Series 3. So overall it's underwhelming. 8.166/10.

Doctor Who 10.08 'The Lie of the Land' Review

Doctor Who 10.08 'The Lie of the Land' Review

The eighth episode of series 10 and the conclusion of the 'Monks trilogy'. A little bit of 'hit and miss', quite a lot of 'telling' and not a lot of show. However there are still many parts that were good. The introduction sequence for instance, showing that the Monks have set up a totalitarian regeime by rewriting history, was quite well done, as was Bill's method of holding onto the truth, via talking to her Mum as an imaginary friend. Still, a thought was 'the weirdest episode of Doctor Who ever', but that's not true.

There is certainly more than a passing similarity to another New Who story involving the Master, but more on that later. The meeting (after the six months that have passed since the previous story) between Bill and Nardole was done quite well, as was their finding the Doctor by tracing the broadcasts. It was appropriately tense (as with the scene where there is an identity paper spot check). That was resolved very well. If only the episode overall was resolved as well, but more on that later.

The scenes where the Doctor was pretending to be collaborating with the Monks were genuinely tense, the way he was testing Bill was quite genuine. (Capaldi did this really well.) However, I don't think Bill needed to shoot him in that way. A fake out regeneration wasn't really necessary. The scene was tense enough without it. But what was well done, was what followed, with Missy in the Vault. (This does add to the 'telling' problem, but the information Missy gives helps to save the Earth from the Monks.)

There is a parallel between the Monk's memory alteration field (whatever it's called) and the Archangel Network in The Sound of Drums. (Of course, Missy doesn't show the compassion). That said, the scene where the Doctor and the others enter the Pyramid (which is in London for some reason) is quite tense. However the way Bill saves the Earth with the memories of her mother, seems anticlimatic and a cheat. And that the situation seems to have reset via the Monk's self-erasure.

That too seems to be a cheat. Recommendation? Is it the worst episode ever? No that goes to some stinkers in the Classic series. It's not as bad as some from Series 8 either. 7/10.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales review

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

The fifth movie in the Pirates of Caribbean series, set five years after the events of the fourth film. The main story is of a quest for the Trident of Posideon, which is reputed to be able to break any curse (and also has all the power of the sea). Jack Sparrow joins in on this quest, when he learns that a pirate hunter who he cursed is on the loose and after him. There is also Henry Turner (the son of two main characters from the first three films) and Carina Smyth, woman ahead of her time, who is falsely accused of witchcraft (when there's an actual witch they are ignoring).

However, the tale seems to be drawn out compared to the other films, it could have been told in less time. But is still a great entry in the series. Depp seems to have improved his portrayal of his character over the previous entry (but still not as good as the original). However this film is still highly recommended. 8/10.

2017 so far

2017
January: http://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/156663373345/january-2017

February: http://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/157857852195/february-2017-overall

March: http://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/159067312675/march-overall, http://brenorenz.deviantart.com/journal/March-Overall-672253863

April: http://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/160185929360/april-2017-overall

May: http://fardell24b.tumblr.com/post/161380607535/may-2017-overall