Episode #47 features:
Our special edition episode on The X-Files.
With special guest, Kazza J from the Black Panel podcast!
I saw a tweet recently that said that all movies based on TV shows were bad, basically because they, more often than not, went for the nod & wink to the audience and instead of laughing with the the program that inspired them, preferring to laugh at them. Now at first thought I would agree with this statement. Most of them do in fact do this, and lets face it, most of them suck because of it. But while researching this article I was surprised to find that not all TV based films are crap, and in fact, some of them are actually pretty good. I also found that these films aren’t a recent trend. There are cinematic versions of classic TV shows dating back to the 50’s and were actually kind of a big deal.
The list of these films is quite extensive, so I decided to limit myself to the following: no animated (so no Simpsons The Movie, which lets face it is basically a long episode of the show, or SpongeBob Squarepants, which is a shame ’cause it’s hilarious), no sketches or shorts stretched into a movie (so no Blues Brothers unfortunately), no films used to finish or extend the show (ie Firefly/Serenity or Twin Peaks), no Star Trek (they’ll get their own Spotlight On), and no telemovies – cinema releases only. I’m also not going to do the Dr Who movies, I’ll leave them for Richo and his Who Reviews. That still leaves a heap of options so this article will be split into 2 parts. I hope you enjoy it!
Get Smart
Fun Fact: Get Smart actually had an earlier cinema release called The Nude Bomb (1980). It was a total bomb (pun intended) and nominated for a Golden Raspberry. It was so bad that the revival TV show ignored it completely for continuity.
Released: 2008
Directed by: Peter Segal
Starring: Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin & Dwayne Johnson
Plot: Maxwell Smart, analyst and wannabe agent for the secret spy agency CONTROL, working alongside the experienced Agent 99, must prevent KAOS, an enemy agency, from detonating a nuclear bomb in America and save the President.
For: I’m a big Steve Carell fan. I think he’s good in everything he’s in, it’s just that he’s often in very ordinary films / Doesn’t disrespect the source / Alan Arkin is great / Patrick Warburtin as Hymie / a few laughs / Terrence Stamp always good
Against: Doesn’t seem to know whether it wants to be a comedy or an action movie and so fails at both. The action isn’t exciting enough and the comedy relies too much on Carell’s natural charm / the love story simply doesn’t convince.
Favourite Scene: Hymie / the Cone of Silence.
Rating: 2 Lukes
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. Not to write as a post, but just been mulling it over in the back of my mind. Sometimes opinions form quickly, sometimes they take time, like a snowball rolling down the hill. Gathering bits as it goes along becoming more cohesive over time. That’s what’s been happening here.
On the podcast we have our review sections. I’d like to think I’ve always tried to be fair. I’m sure some of our loyal listeners could probably point to episode X and point out that I said something that totally contradicts what I’m about to say here. I can’t remember every single thing I’ve ever said on the podcast. So I’d like to think nothing I’ve said would contradict the opinion I’m about to share with you, but I could be wrong. As I say, this has been long forming in my mind. If you do detect something that contradicts this, bear in mind I’m a woman & I’m allowed to change my mind! Ha Ha. And I’m human and part of growing older is learning forming opinions based on what you’ve learned, growing & moving on. No one should be anchored by something they’ve said in the past. Unless of course it’s damning, like a confession or something.
Cataclysm is an independent graphic novel from the mind of writer/artist Armando Batista.
It currently has 2 volumes, but my review will be focusing on Vol 1.
It tells the story of an Atlantis-like island city ruled by a shadowy Council with dark secrets to protect, and a group of rebels, called the Militia, who plot against this Council. In the middle of all this are two brothers Sorrentine & Ambrose, who are going through their own issues and are destined to be major parts of the island’s future.
Right from the start you are thrown into the action, as a pair of armour clad soldiers go up against a huge robot. It is an exciting and well paced intro and a great start. Its biggest draw however is the coloring. The majority of the book is in black and white but certain select sections, including the opening sequence and the introduction of the Council, are highlighted with a powerful blue that really enhances the art, much like the splashes of red (and yellow) used by Frank Miller for Sin City.
Other colours are used in later parts of the book, but for me, none of them work quite as well as this blue.
Conviction’s original purpose was to create a cycle of healing, dealing, and preventing damage. This cycle continues and flourishes in 5.2, so long as the Priest has a good amount of Spirit, Mastery, and Crit %.
Click here to see the spec on WoWHead
Thankfully, with the new talents there have been some new great additions to this spec. For example, Void Tendrils can remove some melee enemies from you for a few precious seconds, and while using the Holy Fire/Smite combo with Glyph of Smite (which increases Smite damage during the Holy Fire DoT effect), the Void Tendrils are healed from damage dealt due to Atonement! Also, Divine Star is a great way to deal and heal damage, as whenever it critically heals, it creates an absorption shield on those that were in its path. Also, Penance has a new added effect of giving you a cast of your Shield even if you are under the effect of Weakened Soul, along with Smite casts having a 15% chance for a free and instant Flash Heal.
Also, Atonement will still be your best friend, healing or possibly even giving you a damage prevention shield while you deal damage to your enemies. Train of Thought will also help you to throw more damage around, using Smite to reduce the cool down of Penance.
AoE can have some tense moments with this spec, but there are several spells that will help in such situations. Void Tendrils will help to keep their distance from you, and Psychic Scream will help as well once they break the roots (if they even get that chance due to the healing from Atonement). Power Word: Shield should be kept up as much as possible to help keep you healthy. If things start to get really hairy, then Pain Suppression will alleviate a good amount of the damage. Plus, as stated above, Smite will be allowing the use of free and instant Flash Heals, which also brings up Divine Aegis which creates a free shield when there is a critical hit. And Angelic Bulwark gives a player an absorption shield if they are reduced below 30% of their life for those just in case emergencies.
As for the Major Glyphs of Power Word: Shield and Reflective Shield, these help the cycle of healing, damage and prevention as well. Power Word: Shield converts 20% of the shield into a heal, so as to make sure that your health is further kept up, but be sure if possible to make use of that heal or its wasted (unless its a critical heal that procs Divine Aegis). Reflective Shield forces those that would do you harm to feel some of their own damage. All in all, this spec is very similar to where it was, but I feel it has more utility due to the addition of Void Tendrils and Divine Star, which have helped my Priest in numerous occasions and made this a very powerful spec.
