Random Thoughts #49 - So Much To Do, So Little Time...

Well, we’re getting to the end of July. So far, this summer’s been fine. Outside of painting a living room and wondering about eye pressures, things have been good. Right now, I’m just chillin’, yo’. Before I head off to work, it’s time for some Random Thoughts.

“The thrill is gone/I’m burnt out/So…Much…Stuff!/Etc.”

Well, this had to happen eventually. For a while, I haven’t been feeling like writing here. I’m not sure what it is. It’s not like I’m out of things to talk about. I just recently posted that Planet of the Apes ranking. I guess I just need a break more these days since I kind of felt like this last year as well. There’s also the fact that is just so much to see and do out there. I wonder what changed… oh yeah.  There’s a certain cool redhead named Liz to consider. At least my time away from here is going toward the good stuff in life.

Another Mass Effect Playthrough… Oh Yeah!

Recently, I’ve been playing through the Mass Effect Trilogy again. I think I’ve almost made it into a yearly thing. Even though I’ve done this dance before, I still find it to be compelling and interesting. This time, I’m Genevieve Shepard… that’s right. I refused to use any relatives' or current/former loves' names. FemShep’s been in the house and it has been… nuts. I had to change it up not only with the gender but with big decisions. I also upped the difficulty to hardcore. I unfortunately finished Mass Effect 2 without two of my favorite companions. It was quite a sad experience and one I don’t need to relive. Zaeed died too but I didn’t shed any tears for that dull dude.

Movies

I haven’t been to the movies in a minute. The last one I saw in theatres was Life of the Party with Liz. I haven’t even gone to see Ant-Man and the Wasp… and I think I’m going to keep up with that for now. I’m more interested in the new Mission Impossible movie and another movie called Sorry to Bother You. Still, I got an opinion on a few I’ve seen recently:

• Avengers: Infinity War – Oh yeah, I was supposed to talk about this one! I’ll get more detailed when it comes out soon, but I have to say that it was pretty good. I had a couple of issues here and there, but I was glued from beginning to end. Thanos is definitely a villain that won’t be upstaged anytime soon.
• Solo: A Star Wars Story – I was worried about this one being a waste of time. Luckily, this one was good. I’m not going to call it one of the best SW movies, but it kept me entertained from beginning to end. I might have to do a look at the SW movies we’ve gotten so far because I may have some things to say about them.
• Life of the Party – I ended up seeing this one with Liz on Memorial Day. It was a comedy about a middle-aged lady going back to get her bachelor’s in… archeology? I guess I remembered more about this one than I thought.  It was okay. I’m not the biggest fan of Melissa McCarthy, but she does make me laugh. She did that here, so mission accomplished.
• Heat – Yeah, I hadn’t seen this Michael Mann classic from the 90’s until a few months ago.  It popped up on Netflix and I was interested. I remember someone saying this was an inspiration for The Dark Knight and I saw that here. While it was a long one (almost 3 hours), it kept my attention all the way through. The acting from the big guys was good, the story was interesting, and the action was sweet.
• Calibre – I saw this on Netflix with my sister and dad one weekend. It’s about hunting trip in Scotland gone completely wrong. I actually thought this was a suspenseful ride. I didn’t know what was coming and thought the acting was quite nice. It’s one that’ll make you wonder what you’d do in the protagonists’ shoes. Let’s just say I wouldn’t have gone hunting back there in the first place.

……………………………………..

Well, that’s all I got for now. Next, I may do something involving the Dark Knight. I’m not even sure what it’ll be, but it’ll probably involve a bunch of villains… and holidays. I might even throw in a crazy cult or something. For now, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there.

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 3

Well, here is part 3 of my long ranking of the Planet of the Apes movies. Yeah, I'm getting in depth with this thing. Since my first look at the original movies was pretty brief, it was time for a do-over. So, next up is the latest entry into the franchise. Some say that it's the best of the bunch. As for me...you'll see below.

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 2

(Updated 7/24/18)
So, why didn't I split this whole thing up into three parts to begin with? I don't know. I guess I had some other things on my mind at the time. All I know is that I'm now doing it after the fact. Oh well, it's a learning experience. So, here's the new part two of my ranking of the Apes movies.

6. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

If you’re wondering why the fifth movie was tamer, look at this one. Conquest was the fourth movie from the franchise. It takes place 18 years after Escape from the Planet of the Apes. Because of Cornelius and Zira’s arrival, all dogs and cats died. This led the governments of the world to domesticate apes and they were eventually made into slave labor. Milo and his master come to the city (what city was it?) and they get the full brunt of how this dystopian world now works. Because of a lot of sad events taking place, Milo (eventually named Caesar) starts a revolution with the apes in the city.

Favorites - Planet of the Apes Movies: Least Favorite to Favorite - Part 1

Well, this was definitely a long time coming. Years ago, I decided to quickly browse over the original Planet of the Apes movies. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was just about to be released. I also remember an old friend who really liked the movies… sigh. Now, that’s someone I’d like to forget about. Anyway, my overview of the movies wasn’t all that great. Those were the first movies I ever talked about on the blog and I was still improving the in this writing thing. I always wanted to revisit that post since, at that time, I hadn’t seen the movies in years.

Now that the newer POTA movies have been released, I think it’s finally time to rank these things from least favorite to most favorite. I’m saying least favorite because even when the movie or show is bad, you can still find something worthy in it. This time, I’ve re-watched all of the original movies, the newer movies, that Tim Burton thing, and the TV shows. I did think about including the TV shows with this list, but this thing’s going to be long enough without them. Besides, I’ll just tell you now that I’d rather watch some of those episodes more than a couple of these movies. With all that said, I’ll get to it.

TV Talk - The Planet of the Apes TV Shows

Well, after some time away from the keyboard, I’m back. I was going to first do a post involving the Planet of the Apes movies, but I’ve decided to make a quick pit-stop. As I said in my look at the POTA short story collection, there were two Planet of the Apes TV shows in the 1970’s. After the last movie, the franchise was far from over. The first three movies were being aired on TV, so the Apes were still kicking in some form of fashion. The rights for the franchise were handed over to 20th Century Fox, so they tried to churn a lot of stuff out.

The first series was the live action show. Planet of the Apes aired between September and December of 1974. Only 14 episodes were produced. Instead of continuing the story from the movies, the series was pretty much a revamp of the concept. Two human astronauts, Alan Virdon (Ron Harper) and Peter Burke (James Naughton), somehow end up transported from 1980 to 3085. They land on Earth which has been taken over by apes with humans (speaking by the way) being slaves. Luckily, Virdon and Burke have help from a cool chimpanzee named Galen (Roddy McDowell). The series revolves around the three on the run from Doctor Zaius and General Urko (Mark Lenard).

The cartoon series, Return to the Planet of the Apes, aired between 1975 and 1976. 13 episodes were only done for the show. Like the live-action show, this show was pretty much a revamp of the concept. Unlike the other show and the movies, this show immediately went places where the others didn’t. It borrowed elements from the movies and the 1956 novel. On the show, three astronauts (Bill Hudson, Jeff Allen, and Judy Franklin) get transported from 1976 to 3979. The three then have to deal with threats coming from the apes and other forces in the world. Luckily, they have help from kind apes like Cornelius and Zira.