TV Discussion Fisto's Disco: The LACWAC Social Thread

I meant to mention the Burton Batman films actually... I saw the first one in the theater and hated it so much I didn't even see the others. So I actually skipped Batman Begins in the theater too, not realizing how different this "new breed of Batman movie" really was. I'm not a huge Nolan fan per se, but at least for those movies his take was much better (other than TDKR, as I said).

When we saw The Amazing Spider-Man in the theater I actually liked it more than the Maguire ones... for some reason my enthusiasm has waned some since then. But maybe it's more accurate to say that I liked it the same as the Maguire ones overall. There were pluses and minuses for both versions.

I liked watching The Hulk on TV when I was a kid, but I never saw any of the Hulk movies, either (meant to put them on the "never saw" list).

I guess I would say that The Avengers is my favorite of all of the superhero movies that I've seen, with the Iron Man movies after it... and maybe Batman Begins and TDK are next on that list.

 

It was kind of a shocking experience watching the Burton Batman movies for the first time since I was a kid and realising they're actually pretty terrible. Kids are stupid and like dumb things.

 

As promised, I decided to post some photos of my more-than-weeklong trip to Hong Kong, which I just returned from yesterday. Just to briefly summarize my experience: I very much enjoyed the trip, which was a much-needed break from university and allowed me to spend time with family members I do not see very often. Unlike my previous trip five years back, which was spent more as a tourist, I was able to sample daily life in HK by living in my uncle's apartment, which admittedly was larger than most apartments in the city. Still, had to use a mattress and sleep on the floor half the time.

Space is very much a commodity in HK. This is not a place for those with claustrophobia, as the population density is extremely high. However, the public transportation system here is one of the best. So many buses, shuttles, and taxis; as many as there are actual personally-owned vehicles on the road. I thought that the subway system was especially great; far more modern and much cleaner-looking than the aging stations underneath New York City, for example. They also took you almost anywhere in the city in a relatively short amount of time. The food was also a great highlight of the trip; there were so many different kinds of dishes one can enjoy, be it from dim sum, fusion food, traditional Chinese cuisine, etc. The food was also less expensive than that back home in California.

That being said, summer weather here was anything but pleasant. The weather was always very hot and humid, and thus staying outside for prolonged periods of time was quite uncomfortable. There was a tropical storm moving in about midway through the trip, and this added some random intervals of heavy rain, not unlike weather in Florida, but also hotter and less pleasant. That is probably one thing I won't miss, and even arriving back to the summer weather in Los Angeles in the middle of the day felt quite pleasant in comparison.

Anyways, enough with my spiel, here are some scenic photos I took with my phone during the trip (warning: lots of big pics):

Spoiler: Hong Kong Photos

View of part of the city in Hong Kong Island from my uncle's high-rise apartment

Hong Kong Stadium from above

Times Square in Hong Kong

Monsters University setup to promote the upcoming Disney/Pixar animation

Photo of a ferry I took from Hong Kong Island to Kowloon Harbour

View of the IFC and other buildings from the ferry

Hong Kong Island at night from atop the Peak (sorry for the poor quality)

Kowloon Harbour

Buildings along the harbor of Hong Kong Island

Closeup of one of the office buildings

 

I found the following video about an experimental, modified T-cell treatment that successfully eliminated cancer (leukemia) in a young girl very inspiring. I know a few family members who have had run-ins with cancer, and learning about new treatments that could potentially not just treat the symptoms of cancer, but cure it altogether is something I am very much invested in. It is such things that have motivated me in my research, and hopefully I can continue tackling these clinical problems in my future career.


For those interested in learning more about this experimental treatment, check out this story.

 

Circular_Logic : Thanks for the photos. Your uncle has a great view from his apartment. I've been to Hong Kong a few times, back when I lived in Japan, but it's been a while (the last time I was there was probably in '92).

 

All of my dreams have just come true.

 

This statue is great ! Does Savage has his lightsaber too ?

Same thing for me. Actually I'm not a Superhero big fan except for Batman, Superman and X-Men that I love.

 

Sadly, no.

 

What the...?! Tim Burton's Batman films are just as wonderful as they always were. Some of the effects and Prince's 2-3 songs in the first one do make it a product of its time, yes, but nonetheless, it acknowledges its comic book origins and doesn't ill-fatedly attempt to make a superhero movie blandly realistic while hypocritically breaking that cardinal rule as Nolan did time and time again. I am not saying Nolan's films are awful, he tried a valid take on the Batman universe, Heath Ledger did give a very memorable interpretation of the Joker, and I am a fan of Michael Mann's Heat, which Nolan borrowed a lot of elements from, but I simply can't get over how Christian Bale chose to portray Batman (overblown rage and that silly voice), or how incredibly pretentious yet glutted the scripts were (Goyer and Nolan's brother are the culprits).

Michael Keaton's Batman is far less forces than Christian Bale's interpretation. The production design blows Nolan's universe out of the water. Burton understood that Gotham City is a character of its own, a dystopian city, like L.A. is in Blade Runner. That wonderfully designed Batmobile and Batwing. Kim Basinger and Michelle Pfeiffer. It has charismatic villains that actually mirror Batman's persona.



Anyway, are any LACWACs heading to Celebration Europe II?

 

P.S.:

Disclaimer: My opinion on Nolan's Batman universe is just that, an opinion. If you appreciate his films, more power to you. No death threat PMs from outraged Nolanites for daring to question their god's brilliance are necessary. I trust that fellow LACWACs are way above those people, but it doesn't hurt to add this footnote.


Sooo anyway... Celebration Europe II, who's making the trip?

 

I could talk for days about superhero movies, but nah.

 

My Emmy wishes for Drama, with my preferred winner in bold:

BEST DRAMA
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Downton Abbey
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
The Good Wife

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Damian Lewis, Homeland
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Matthew Rhys, The Americans

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Marguiles, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Kerry Washington, Scandal

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad
Mads Mikkelsen, Hannibal

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Michelle Fairley, Game of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Monica Potter, Parenthood
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Matthew J. Fox, The Good Wife
Nathan Lane, The Good Wife
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife
Rupert Friend, Homeland
Ray Romano, Parenthood
Jimmy Smitts, Sons of Anarchy

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
Martha Plimpton, The Good Wife
Carrie Preston, The Good Wife
Marin Ireland, Homeland
Shirley MacLaine, Downton Abbey
Jane Fonda, The Newsroom

 

Hilariously, the only one of those shows I've seen is a few episodes of The Good Wife.

*sets up rock next to Tracy's, crawls under it, waits for Ep VII or longer*

 

Epic fail.

 

Burton's Batman movie had great music and Gotham was designed well. Those were the only two things it had going for it. I'd say the Burton version disrespects the comic far more than Nolan's. Burton's Batman kills people, that says it all right there. Having Joker be the one to kill Batman's parents is another idiotic move. I didn't like Jack Nicholson's Joker because Jack Napier before he fell into the chemical vat and the Joker after are exactly the same character except now he laughs a bit more. The movie looks nice at a glance but it's all flash and no substance.

 

I haven't seen any of those shows.

We're gonna need more rocks...

 

Yeah, I'll bring a rock for myself too.

 

I don't like any of these shows except House Of Cards. I watch other kinds of shows, I watch shows like Falling Skies, Person Of Interest ...

Does anyone have seen the series premiere of Under the Dome monday ?
I thought it was an awesome premiere with great actors and a good script. Different from the book but in a good way. Personally I am happy with the changes from the book because it allows to discover a new story, you don't know what's going to happen before it airs on TV.