Toss the old thread out the window, Overthinkers, and Open up a new one!
Not a whole heck of a lot going on in pop culture this week, aside from the wide release of some Oscar-bait films (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Iron Lady, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, etc). So let’s make this Open Thread more like an Open Thread and start with some questions.
First: with the gift-giving season winding down, what was your favorite pop culture gift this year? I’ll start: mine was Skyrim. Expect some additional Overthink on the Elder Scrolls series coming soon.
Second: what was the most interesting or entertaining piece of pop culture you consumed in 2011? Was it a new band, a cool movie, an engaging book or a fun video game? Share it with the rest of us! We’re people of taste and discernment.
Third: what are you anticipating for 2012? What’s got you shaky with anticipation? For me, it’s the film adaptation of The Hunger Games. But The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers should also be popular. How about you?
And is there anything else you want to make sure you get out before 2011? If so, sound off in the comments, for this is your … Open Thread.
Gift: tickets to see “Rock of Ages” on Broadway. You don’t believe me? Don’t stop believing, baby, for I will report back in full on the podcast/website. (Side note: are people interested in reading more about musical theater on OTI? Are you thinking to yourself, “we’re not gonna take this lack of coverage of musicals/no, we ain’t gonna take it/we’re not gonna take this lack of coverage of musicals anymore”?)
Most interesting/entertaining: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, mostly for the Andy Serkis performance, but all around for telling a great story with heart while retaining some connection with the original.
Anticipating in 2012: The Dark Knight Rises is the obligatory answer; I think everyone is half wondering how Christopher Nolan will blow us away this time and half afraid that he won’t be able to live up to the impossibly high expectations.
Lee, if you need to ask if I’m interested in reading more about musical theater on OTI, you obviously haven’t been paying attention to my comments. I’m hurt. :(
Aw Cat, I haven’t forgotten you. In fact, there’s an article on “Newsies” that’s hitting the site tomorrow, so I’ve got you covered, even if no one else is clamoring for musical theater content.
1: The All-Star Superman movie would be my pick. It wasn’t a perfect distillation of the comic, as it still has a few threads that probably should have been cut for the sake of the central “death” storyline, but it was fun and a non-obnoxious take on Silver Age wonder. What it did with Lex Luthor in the finale was an especially interesting take on the character.
2: By far the most engaging piece of pop culture I read this year was about a pony traversing a post-apocalyptic landscape. I speak of Fallout: Equestria, which fused the Brony phenomenon with the Fallout games. Aside from the great fun the author had mixing in nods to the two fandoms, she was a master of deploying Chekhov’s Gun in a way that never felt cheap.
3: I’m anticipating The Avengers but I’m trying to keep my expectations low, as Joss Whedon made absolutely no effort to make Serenity accessible to non-fans and his work on Dollhouse was pretty terrible. At least there’s a new round of Sherlock coming on the BBC!
1. I received the Stanley Kubrick DVD boxed set.
2. I just started reading The Pale King by David Foster Wallace, it’s an amazing book so far, everything I had hoped it would be.
3. Hopefully, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy will finally be released in my city sometime in 2012. Apparently SE Texas has to anticipate things for about 4 weeks longer than anyone else.
1: A TARDIS mug, complete with lid.
2: A few bands- Ages and Ages, Dragonette, and Geographer.
3: Ditto on the movies you already mentioned, Perich.
Anything else: So Wrar Horse. Will it get nominated for everything? Yes. Will it deserve to win? Eh…
“War,” not “Wrar.”
AND, I’m also looking forward to Brave.
Speaking of “The Dark Knight Rises,” does anyone remember the last time Bane was in a Batman movie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NyoUhNIylc
I had blocked this out until stumbling across this…
I think the only thing I’m concerned about with Nolan’s Bane is being able to understand him. The trailer is a little difficult to grasp, and I believe the biggest gripe or naysay about that reel of footage before the Mission Impossible movie is how you can’t tell what Bane’s saying. I have no doubts he’ll be anything but campy within the movie itself; but I’m already certain there will be a ton of videos on YouTube poking fun at how both Bane and Batman are hard to understand. Videos like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2yv8aT0UFc
Or even better, where BOTH are having trouble understanding one another. somehow.
1. I got money and MCAT prep books as gifts so I’m not sure those really qualify as pop culture. Unless you want to start up the whole Asian parent/Tiger mom discussion again…
2. Can I say OTI? Other than my annoyance with the TFT podcast, you had a great year. I’m not sure if I really found anything new of interest. I enjoyed the recent film adaptation of Jane Eyre and I found Never Let Me Go an interesting read but this year was mostly about revisiting old favorites, episodes of Leverage …and Lena Horne, Sara Bareilles, Amy Winehouse, and Paloma Faith on repeat on my iPod.
3. I’m interested to see how Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirror Mirror, Dark Shadows, and The Woman in Black turn out but I wouldn’t say I’m excited. Mainly curious. If I’m being honest, I’m probably looking forward to the upcoming premiers of Smash (NBC) and Project Runway All Stars more than anything else.
omg, Smash, me too!
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/features/smash-2012-1/
I was reading this the other day. It has me cautiously optimistic. At least on paper, this sounds like a good idea. And a new original musical every season!?!
Okay, to clarify, and I’m sorry, Cat, for not backing you up sooner. Yes, I’d also enjoy more pieces about musicals.
And as for Smash, there’s a very detailed preview here:
http://www.nbc.com/smash/video/Extended-Sneak-Peek/1373227
With the cast of… casting director-types… that experienced and talented, I’m actually wondering if maybe it’s going to suck. Then again, The Good Wife is one of the best shows I’ve seen in years, and its cast is chock-full of all-stars. But anyhoo, that preview thing is what sold me. The way she goes from her dream sequences to the actual auditions is reminiscent of Glee for me- I was particularly reminded of the time when Rachel was singing into her hairbrush. ;)
1. I guess “Mario Galaxy”–though I just got it for Christmas, and haven’t played much of it. My only other pop culture gift was “Super Paper Mario,” and though I had some fun playing it, I was not a great fan of it.
2. I joined the cult of “The Wire.” By which I mean that I watched the series and really enjoyed it the way people who enjoy “The Wire” do.
3. Election humor from SNL and The Daily Show/Colbert Report.
In the more “open” vein here, can someone tell me what I’m supposed to like about “The Shield”? I am three episodes in, and it just seems to be about how Vic Mackey is a corrupt cop who does corrupt cop things. I definitely like it better than “Law & Order,” but I don’t like any of the characters so far, and I don’t get any “What happens next?” feeling from it.
I had quite a pop culture year this year. First was Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception on PS3, which I highly recommend, as well as the rest of the series. I will save second for last. Third would have to be how hollywood will screw with adaptable franchises like The Hunger Games, which is the best trailer for a movie I have seen in a long time. The movie looks beautiful, and the trailer told the beginnings of the story, but I’m afraid the writers will stumble over the romance that the author overwhelms us with, as well as trying to make it action packed. But the film, in aesthetic quality, absolutely looks beautiful, and another good trailer might convince me to see it. I am also intrigued to see how much money the Star Wars rereleases in 3-D are going to make, as well as other 3-D cash cows like Beauty and the Beast. (REALLY?) Second, and lastly, I found the aforementioned franchise Uncharted. I discovered a game developer that makes point and click adventure games. The company is named TellTale Games, and have made games based on Jurrasic Park, Back to the Future and Sam and Max, as well as plenty of others. The games are in episodic format, and told as comedies. They are very entertaining, and sometimes very challenging. I have downloaded four “seasons” of their games on my PlayStation 3, so needless to say, I’m a fan. The greatest extremes in the world of Superheroism are Superman and Batman. One is Christopher Reeves, and the other is an engaging and dynamic character. I used to write them both off as Superman having too many powers to have a threatening villain, and Batman having no powers making him weak and vulnerable. I bought the game Batman: Arkham City in Walmart, which for the same price came with the original Batman: Arkham Asylum. I enjoyed these games alot and they made me watch Batman Begins on TV one day, and from there on in I have become a Batman fan, so I’m obviously excited for the Dark Night Rises. I had a very good year this year, and I hope that the next is just as fruitful. But it will have to wait until I get a steady job after I move out.
1. My wife made me a fourth doctor scarf, it’s full length and accurate colors, by doing a little at a time while I worked nights.
2.While several bands I love released new albums this year (Black Keys, Fleet Foxes), I’d have to say the best pop culture for me this year was Community. It’s actually the first TV show I’ve ever avidly watched that’s been cancelled(or benched or whatever they’ve done to it), and because of that experience, it’s my big pop culture thing this year.
3. It may or may not actually be a 2012 movie, as I’ve heard many rumors about a pushing back of the release date, but the movie adaptation of the musical Les Miserables is supposed to come out next December, and while I can’t wait for some Batman, Bilbo, and (possibly)Bond, It’s Jean Valjean that I’m most excited to see(and slightly nervous about).
1. My wife made me a fourth doctor scarf, it’s full length and accurate colors, by doing a little at a time while I worked nights.
2.While several bands I love released new albums this year (Black Keys, Fleet Foxes), I’d have to say the best pop culture for me this year was Community. It’s actually the first TV show I’ve ever avidly watched that’s been cancelled(or benched or whatever they’ve done to it), and because of that experience, it’s my big pop culture thing this year.
3. It may or may not actually be a 2012 movie, as I’ve heard many rumors about a pushing back of the release date, but the movie adaptation of the musical Les Miserables is supposed to come out next December, and while I can’t wait for some Batman, Bilbo, and (possibly)Bond, It’s Jean Valjean that I’m most excited to see(and slightly nervous about).
%@#$ing double click
If you’re interested in an overthinking of the Elder Scrolls franchise (which I would heartily encourage!), I’m honor-bound to recommend a seminal work in the field of Bethesdagesis, The Metaphysics of Morrowind. It’s a thoughtful examination of the series’ more metafictional elements.