As I’ve mentioned before, I have never really read comic books. I’ve always wanted to become more familiar with the medium, but it’s very daunting to approach that much material with essentially zero knowledge. I’d expressed this sentiment to my friend Thom at Pure Nerd Nip, and he recommended that I read the new Hawkeye comics, as they’d recently done a reboot of the series. I was initially hesitant (really, another archer?), but when he mentioned that there was a snarky chick, I was totally sold.

I picked up and read the 3 Hawkeye books that have been released, and I found from the very first book, I was sucked in. I wasn’t really sure to expect. I’ve seen comic book movies before, and many of them seem to start with the hows and whys behind a character’s transition from ordinary to extraordinary. Not Hawkeye. Thus far, every book starts us in medias res. We see Hawkeye in a precarious situation with no idea how he got there, and then he fills us in with the story up to that point. Being someone with a short attention span, this instantly caught my attention.

Visually, I found the Hawkeye comics to be quite attractively done. The artwork doesn’t seem to be overly complex, and focus more on thick, bold lines than an overabundance of detail. Still, I found David Aja’s style compelled emotion extremely well. Rather than focusing on facial expressions, a character’s overall posture is used to convey their state of mind. I particularly enjoyed the use of color, which often featured bold purples, oranges and reds.

The art style complimented the storytelling very well. The plots were bold—featuring lot’s of action and quick verbal banter. I’ve seen some writers criticize Matt Fraction’s decision to have the plot be non-linear; personally, I think it’s brilliant. Too many stories follow the boring old formula: slow build to a big climax with a quick dénouement. It gets old fast, and it’s extremely predictable. I found myself constantly trying to work out what was happening, and how things had come to be. This stopped my analytical mind from trying to figure out the ending before I got there. These quick narrative “jumps” also helped to put the reader in the minds of the characters, particularly in action scenes.

I really enjoy both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop so far. Clint has a very “rough and tumble” sort of demeanor, and he doesn’t seem the sort of boy you’d take home to meet your mother. But at the same time, we see compassion and genuine concern towards others (and animals), which shows that he’s really a good guy inside. You can tell that working with the Avengers is an awkward fit for him, because he doesn’t have super cool gadgets, super powers, or abundant gadgetry. Kate Bishop’s snarky cynicism plays well off of Clint’s devil-may-care attitude. She’s the sort of empowered woman that I love in a comic, and she has some amazing one-liners. Kate is definitely a woman after my own heart.

Overall, I’m really glad I read this, and I’m quite grateful to Thom for recommending it, because it’s certainly not the sort of book I’d just pick up of my own accord. The only problem that I had with the books was that I quickly devoured all three, and now I’m hungry for more.

Have you read these new Hawkeye comics? What did you think?

Evelyn, Evelyn is a group composed of “conjoined twins.” Their first album tells the haunting tale of the twins, Eva and Lyn, who are put on display by a circus. The self-titled song “Evelyn, Evelyn” features the twins arguing with one another over wanting to get away from one another. There’s something really catchy about the song, and the video is especially effective at creating a “creepy” sort of vibe.

What do you guys think? It was really disturbing at first, but now I’m kind of obsessed. What are you listening to right now?

Lately, it’s seemed like History Channel has forgotten about what it’s supposed to be focused on. You know… history. Sure, there’s a built-in lesson with every item pawned on Pawn Stars, or found on American Pickers, but everything on those shows is scripted and over-dramatized for reality TV fans. My faith was somewhat rekindled when I saw the advertisements for Men Who Built America, which promised to liven up the post-Civil War era.

One of my biggest qualms with the History Channel has been that even when they were showing history programming, it wasn’t very entertaining. It’s consistently amazed me that narrators can discuss some of the bloodiest events in human history with the clinical detachment of a surgeon ordering a pizza. History can be an extremely fascinating subject, when it’s actually presented in a manner that allows it to shine. I was hoping that the History Channel had figured out a good formula to “sell” their product. I wasn’t particularly thrilled with the result.

I inferred from watching the preview that Men Who Built America was going for a feel similar to the “historic” HBO and Showtime series like Boardwalk Empire, The Borgias, etc. These shows have tremendous selling power, but aren’t particularly strong on verisimilitude. And while Men Who Built America is certainly a good deal more accurate than its more entertaining alternatives mentioned above, it’s still very much the same History Channel documentary—that is, boring.

While the previews seem to suggest that we’ll actually see these actors living the lives of the various entrepreneurs that they highlight, the reality is the large majority of content is voiceovers, “expert” commentary, and stock footage. When we do see the actors, it’s often in stiff, inorganic scenes vaguely reminiscent of a high school historical reenactment. These performances are extremely ham-handed, only a step above the characters conveying their anger by saying, “Can’t you see how angry I am?”

Compounding the problem: History Channel has been hindered by the amount of time they’ve spent producing reality television—basically a self-inflicted wound. The pacing of the show made the 2-hour inaugural episode interminable, and it was entirely unnecessary. They could have easily cut the content they had down to 60 or 90 minutes and had a far more compelling show. Instead, we see the same scene of the same actor brooding in the same chair again and again. As Cornelius Vanderbilt sat in his chair puffing away at a cigar for the 43rd time, I found myself wondering how someone who chain-smoked so much survived to his eighth decade.

I understand that when you’re making reality TV, you need to artificially build tension. You do this by delaying the catharsis of emotionally-draining scenes, and creating ‘tension’ that wouldn’t ordinarily exist. History Channel’s attempt to do the former ensured that the only tension I felt was of the “get to the fucking point” variety. In doing so, too, I felt the producers misrepresented some of the facts. A big deal was made over the fact that Vanderbilt’s eldest son died in the Civil War, implying a glorious death in battle. The truth: George Washington Vanderbilt never actually saw combat; he died of illness shortly after graduating from the United States Military Academy.

The expert commentary particularly amused—sadly, this was unintentional—because the “experts” are not genuine historians, but rather celebrity businessmen. Donald Trump, Mark Cuban and Russell Simmons are among those who offer their opinions, which essentially constitute telling us how badass whatever person they’re discussing is.

I think what annoyed me the most was the implication that politicians, wars, and other events and people of consequence had no real control over the forming of the America we know today. I know it’s a popular sentiment to infer that businesses control the government in the modern era, but this is an extremely short-sighted viewpoint, and one I didn’t expect History Channel to embrace. All in all, I will likely continue to watch the series merely because I’m fascinated by the era, and it’s really the only “history” that’s on television right now. It appeals to me despite its flaws because I’m somewhat an aficionado, but I doubt it has the qualities necessary to attract those who haven’t a vested interest. Because of this, I think Men Who Built America just fails.

Over the course of the past few years, I have become more interested in “girly” things that didn’t interest me as a teenager. Jewelry and makeup are both things that I suddenly find myself obsessing over. A substantial reason for my change of heart is indie designers who create products specifically targeting geek girls.

Despite the fact that indie cosmetic companies can sometimes be a bit more expensive than just going to the drugstore and picking up some eye shadow, I prefer purchasing from them. I like knowing my money is going to other geek girls, and I like knowing that the products I’m purchasing are not tested on animals. Many indie products are vegan, and they generally avoid fillers and controversial ingredients. Indie jewelry is often handmade, and I love knowing that I’m not going to be wearing the same ring every other woman on the planet owns.

Here’s a list of a few of my favorite indie companies and Etsy sellers:

Geek Chic Cosmetics: I’ve planned to do a full feature on GCC for a while now because I absolutely love their products, but I haven’t had time to write it up. Every time I go to their website, I spend money. My favorite lip gloss right now is Benevolent, from their Pony-inspired collection. They have a wide variety of awesome products, their customer service is great, and I am consistently impressed by the quality (and the shininess!) of their make up. I had no idea what a solid perfume was before I purchased one from GCC… and now I have a hard time deciding which of their fragrances to wear in the morning because they have so many awesome ones. They even have a foundation for pale Irish geeks who never see the sun! The large majority of their products are both gluten-free and vegan, save some of their lip products which have beeswax. Their site makes it very easy to determine what is and isn’t vegan. And did I mention free samples with every order? GCC is always releasing new things, so check back frequently. Unless, of course, you like keeping your pay checks.

Shiro Cosmetics: Shiro is yet another website I spend far too much money at. Shiro’s lip products (called Intertubes) are both gorgeous, and themed off of popular memes. Intertubes are the only vegan pigmented lip gloss that I’ve ever used that I really, really liked. Thinking with Portals is one of my favorite eye shadows right now (although Wildflowers is a good bit more work friendly). I’d truly be hard pressed to pick a favorite between GCC and Shiro because both companies make an awesome product, and have great customer service. My personal opinion… buy from both! Then again, it’s my belief that there’s no such thing as too many sparklies. Shiro includes both free candy and samples with purchase, and owner Caitlin is really good at picking samples. Seriously, sometimes she picks better colors than the ones I buy. I also must respect her for linking to “Never Gonna Give You Up” on the links page. Rick-rolling never gets old.

Bubble and Geek: I haven’t placed an order with Bubble and Geek yet, but I’ve had several friends tell me that I absolutely have to. Khaleesi-scented body spray? Butterbeer flavored lip balm? I’d never even thought to find myself geek-themed candles, but I simply must have my living room smelling like a Sonic Screwdriver. Or maybe the TARDIS. I don’t have enough geeky things in my bathroom, so I’m definitely changing that as soon as payday rolls around this week!

Could Bee Yours: I have to admit, I was extremely predisposed to liking Could Bee Yours because I happen to think bees are adorable. You know what’s cuter than bees though? These Pikachu earrings. I originally came across this shop because of their Chain Chomp earrings, which have been all over Reddit at Tumblr recently. I can’t wait for mine.

Rainbow Darkness: I really have to stop myself from buying half the things Rainbow Darkness makes. Their Health and Mana Potion jewelry is absolutely adorable. I love how their Chain Chomp Earrings are in a style that is reminiscent of the Bajoran earrings from Star Trek. I really wish that style would become more popular, because I love the few earrings like that I own. And how cute is this Yoshi-egg bracelet?!

I hope I’ve provided you with great ways to squander your wealth this coming payday. What stores do you frequent for your geek shinies?

As I’ve confessed before, I’m not really a comic book fan. It’s not that I have anything against them, but just that I’ve never had the time to jump into a medium that has so much content, and so much history. Still, I decided to check out CW’s new series Arrow, as I am sure that a good number of the four million viewers who watched the inaugural episode were also comic book virgins.

The pilot’s first few minutes inundated us with a ton of information about Green Arrow’s back story. While this is a good way to get non-fans up to speed, the delivery lacked finesse. Arrow would have benefited from a two-part first episode, as the sheer volume of information the writers tried to convey was immense. Unfortunately, information overload wasn’t the sole factor hindering the exposition, as the writing and acting were pretty lackluster as well.

[Note: Some Spoilers after the Cut]

The dialogue was consistently underwhelming, and most of the puns and one-liners were groan-worthy. They’ve already resorted to one glaringly obvious pun on Queen’s surname (“Queen’s Ransom”), and I truly hope the writers don’t make a habit of it. I tend to dislike it when a show’s writers treat the audience like they’re dimwitted, and it grated on me that Arrow felt the need to beat me over the head with every detail. An educated and engaged viewer would have realized that Oliver was cheating on Laurel with her sister during the accident; we didn’t need her assistance in putting the pieces together.

Katie Cassidy was not at all convincing to me in her role of bereaved sister, and spited girl friend, Laurel—in part due to how ridiculously bad the writing for her character was, but also because she seems ill-equipped for a role requiring emotional depth. The remainder of the acting was pretty hit and miss, although fortunately Stephen Amell’s performance as the titular character was more or less on point.

What frustrated me the most about Arrow was its amateurish feel. The past few years have shown that superhero movies and television shows can draw in viewers, and there is obviously a market for well-produced geek entertainment. Arrow feels like the geek television show of ten years ago—unpolished, poorly written, and “cheesy.” Sure, it’s got cool action scenes where Queen shows off his parkour skills. Yeah, the production values with regards to cinematography are exceedingly high. Audiences will only be attracted to shiny objects for so long, though, and if the writing doesn’t quickly come up to par, only the most rabid fans will stick around.

I’ve read articles stating the intent was to channel some of the gritty feeling of Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, and I know that’s difficult to do on a CW budget. But it’s also a rather difficult goal to achieve and to still have your show played during a primetime slot on a non-premium network. The “torture” scene was laughable at best, and not even remotely plausible. “We’re going to ask questions and tase you occasionally.”

Really? I’m sure tasers hurt and all, but I just can’t take a bad guy seriously when he’s wielding something that looks like my garage door opener. Then again, my opinion might be slightly biased because I’ve seen too many videos about Ultimate Tak Ball. Finding out that these baddies were hired by Queen’s own mother was the real eye-roller for me, though. I just have a hard time buying a woman who acts so concerned about her son’s life in the beginning, but is secretly so terrified by what he knows that she’ll hire grunts to kidnap him. Then again, perhaps I have greater faith in motherly affection than most.

I don’t think that Arrow is doomed. I was quite glad to see that the later episodes seem to feature different writers, and it’s possible that actors who didn’t excel this time around will find their characters and hit their stride at a later point. However, if this calibre of production continues for too many episodes, the show may become an example of what not to do with regards to geek entertainment.

Did you watch Arrow’s first episode? If so, what did you think of it?

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I absolutely love Geek Chic Cosmetics. I had the opportunity to interview the lovely Chantel from GCC (as well as Phil!), and because I want you all to go take a look at their new Cthulu-themed collection, I’m sharing it with you today.

What made you decide to tailor your product lines to geeks? What do you think makes geek ladies a viable market?

In the early phases of developing what kind of company GCC was going to be, part of figuring out the viability of the business was to determine its target demographic. I decided early on that I wanted to sell to people like me, and I identified most with the geek community more so than strictly fashion or beauty focused groups which always felt so unnaturally rehearsed and, I don’t know how to say it best… superficial? I feel like there’s still a huge segment of women that don’t even approach makeup because the industry makes it look and feel so daunting sometimes, and that’s exactly why we are going after that group. I want to share the nerdy joy I find in essentially playing with makeup, in having fun with something that generally takes itself so seriously. I don’t think geeky ladies are any less interested in the concept of what makeup can do, some are just hindered by its apparent inaccessibility, and GCC aims to make it more accessible by bringing the fun back.

Non-Euclidean, from the Strange Aeons collection

What sort of feedback have you gotten about your products? Can you give examples of support and criticism you’ve received?

I’d like to think that our customers don’t hold back either way, positive or negative, and since we launched two years ago we’ve been committed to turning feedback into change with the quickness. Almost everything we do well today is a result of fixing something by listening to our fans. Support is always great to hear, our Facebook wall is pretty much 95% that, and is generally people excited about stuff they bought or having ideas for products, so I’d probably just direct someone there if you want to see happy people. Criticism-wise, oh gosh, well here is a short list of things we have/do now because of criticism (mostly constructive): shrink bands, full INCI ingredients lists, attribute icons on every item page, clamshell samples, eyeshadows listed by color on the site, gift certificates, a free shipping offer, cheap shipping (used to use flat rate boxes), customer registration, added an organic preservative to lippies, changed a few product names, and added a floating cart on the site. I know I’m forgetting a bunch but you get the idea.

The Last Best Hope Collection

For a new customer, what product or products would you say are the “must haves” and why?

Well, Momo gloss and Solid Snake shadow are our two most popular items, but not by an overwhelming margin. The Solid Scents are also extremely popular, Frisky Pirate especially. I would avoid pointing to any of our products as must-haves for everyone, because taste and “what looks good and doesn’t” plays a huge factor. We get feedback from time to time that some things that are incredibly popular totally don’t work on some people. My best advice to newcomers is to read reviews, there are a handful out there for pretty much everything we make, and get samples if you’re unsure.

KAOS

How does your creative process work when designing new products?

It always always always starts with the creative inspiration for the set. Usually we have these planned out about a year in advance. Someone on the team will bring up at a meeting, “I want a set based on _________”, and we decide how viable that would be and slot it into the schedule. The actual process depends on what we are making, so we’ll use scents as a good example. I’ll let him explain his process.

Phil: I recently had the idea for the Badasses of Fiction solid scent set, because we got a lot of feedback after Thedas that people wanted less-sweet, more unisex, dude-friendly scents. So I brainstormed as many badass fictional characters as I could, weighed their baddassery against the conceptual clarity of a scent based on that character, weeded through the list based on which cosplayers who would/wouldn’t return my emails, and then sat down to formulate the set. For each character, I imagined what that character would smell like based on where they live, what they wear, their habits, etc. Then I ordered a ton of fragrances after making a list of mixture of scents that made sense. Making sense on paper and smelling right are crazy different. We don’t use 80% of the fragrances we own in products yet because the concepts are so hit and miss. So I start with small quantities, a couple drops here and there, slowly building all the scent elements in the right proportion. Once I’m confident I have it, I test it on anyone I can grab. Before we released the set, I had tested each scent on no less than ten people, male and female, to make sure they were compatible with different body chemistry and no one disliked any of them (too much, or at least not consistently).

Lipstick of the Shifting Sands

How would you like to see Geek Chic Cosmetics evolve in the next five years?

Speaking of the future, it might now be a super exciting answer but I’d really like to see our reach and visibility grow to the point that it can fully support its employees monetarily. As a business, we can have all the fun in the universe but if it’s not paying the bills it won’t be around long. Our community has proven itself uniquely dedicated to spreading the word, and I think geek culture is exactly the reason for that. Geeks inherently want to share things they are passionate about. Ask Deb about Supernatural sometime. Overall, money is a big factor, but I’d also like to have the volume that would allow us to outsource our production cycles to an independent lab to have products created and labeled and jarred for us so we can focus on ideas, creation and the business side of things. Not that we don’t enjoy it, but moving out of the “covered in Versagel and glitter” phase is a nice thought to work towards.

Inevitable Betrayal from the Big Damn Heroes collection

What has been your favorite part, and your least favorite part of having your own business? Do you have any feedback for ladies looking to do the same?

My favorite part by far has been the support of the indie community. We didn’t know that other companies like ours even existed when we first started. We really went from scratch with things others had been doing for a while when we came on the scene. Giving people what they want is just good business, and seeing their excitement about things we are excited about is rad. For up and coming indies, I’d suggest engaging with the community early and often. Get a good idea for what’s acceptable and what’s not, get clear on all the laws and regulations. There’s just so much really dry boring stuff that happens behind the scenes to protect the safety of our customers and as a business owner you have to basically become an expert on all of that, which isn’t fun but totally a requirement.

My least favorite part, by far, is failing to make everyone happy. It may sound obvious, but I take our reputation very seriously. We rely on word of mouth as marketing because we just don’t have the money to go any other route. All we really have are our customers/bloggers and they are the difference between success and failure. The indie makeup community as a whole is a vibrant, healthy, connected, positive group, but there are always people in every group that cannot be pleased as a self-evident rule. I’m saddened when people aren’t into what I do, but beyond that, there’s a self-serving destructive negativity that certainly exists in the industry and you have to deal with it as a business owner. The best metaphor I can think of is a fanboy who likes Doctor Who so much that he stalks the actors from other scifi shows on Twitter, waiting for the opportunity to send something scandalous to TMZ and calling them out on rumors and just yelling at them constantly. It’s not enough to just like what you like, you must attack and destroy everyone else. It’s an unfortunate but not unexpected side effect of appealing to the geek community: rabidity isn’t always going to go your way. Listening to everyone is such an important goal for us that when we see meanness out there for meanness’ sake (not only directed as us, but other indie owners as well), well… it’s the absolute worst part of being in business. But at least it is a two-sided coin.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

The ability to control time is the most powerful power I can think of. I can’t think of many superpowers that the ability to stop or slow time couldn’t defeat. Plus, then we’d have a ten-second order turnaround time. You know, to let our shipping software keep up.

We Are Coming from the Timey Wimey Collection

Which famous geek gal (or guy) would you choose to be your ultimate spokesmodel?

Oh, we can dream, can’t we? Anne Wheaton (VandalEyes is hours of entertainment) or Felicia Day would be just… words failing. That said, even one mention of us by either would close us down at this point because of the size of our operation (a good problem to have!) so maybe its best if we don’t hold our breath on that one just yet.

If you’ve not checked out Geek Chic Cosmetics, you should definitely do so. And if you’ve been considering making a purchase, I highly recommend you just do it – their product won’t disappoint!

So, as many of you know, I have largely been ignoring this blog, as I was writing for Geek Girls Network. Unfortunately, Kristin Rielly has decided that she just doesn’t have time to run the site anymore, so GGN will be closing. I plan to do some sort of “communal” blogging project in the near future, but in the meantime will put what I’ve learned from GGN to use here. Expect somewhat regular updates, some theme updates, and more in the near future.

As you may have noticed, my GGN posts have been getting linked here, thanks to the lovely Thom, so if you haven’t been reading them, now’s your chance. I have also decided to make a Facebook devoted to the TGC blog, which you can like here if you’re so inclined. I’ve also got a new theme, as the old one hasn’t been updated in some time now. I’ll be working on categorizing older posts and the like once I have a bit of free time.

Throughout the month of November, I’ll be participating in NaNoWriMo, so my updates will likely be a bit sporadic, but I do have several topics I want to discuss here in the near future.

I know that it hasn’t been that long, but it feels like eons since Season 5 ended. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love everything that Felicia Day is doing for geek culture and the like, but as a huge fan of the series that rocketed her into nerd stardom, I’ve been desperate for new episodes of my favorite web addiction. If you haven’t watched it yet, you need to! Take a look, then click the link below for my thoughts.

First off, I have to admit that I love the look this season. The new opening animation is awesome, as is the new intro music. For some reason, the old intro always reminded me of the Marilyn Manson song “Heart-shaped Glasses,” so I was glad to hear it gone. The video quality has improved considerably, and the new equipment that they’re using has added a lot more flexibility with the sorts of shots that they are capable of using. Gone is the stationary camera of previous seasons, replaced by far more dynamic shots!

I loved that they started off with hyper-Codex. Felicia Day is all adorable when she’s all happy and bubbly, and I really don’t think it’s possible to watch her without grinning. I’ve been fiercely envious of her since the end of last season, because I totally want a job with my dream gaming company (*cough*BethesdaSoftworksHireMe*cough*). Of course, the dream couldn’t last for too long, as the show wouldn’t be the same without conflict. I loved the cameo from Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime, which I thought was a brilliant touch.

It might just be me, but the tone of this episode seemed a bit more “emo” than opening episodes from previous seasons, but this may just be an attempt to quickly jump into the storyline. They definitely set up conflicts for many of the characters, and I’m quite interested to see what happens… and whether or not Codex will still be employed at the end of the season.

I also hope that my Codex/Fawkes ‘shipping needs will be fulfilled this season. There’s a good person inside of Fawkes, he’s going to show up at some point! Or… maybe not, but I can’t say I care. Wil Wheaton plays one hell of a good asshole.

What did you all think? Did you enjoy the episode? What are you hoping to see this season?

I’m certainly not the first blogger who’s noticed a trend towards both dystopian themes and time travel in science fiction films. And though I don’t see it as the hallmark of a dying genre, it annoys me. As a Trek fan, I’m more interested in a lighter view of the future, and as a film buff I value innovation and creativity. Despite the fact that I knew Looper was a dystopian/time travel flick, I had extremely high hopes.

I tried to go into Looper as untainted as I possibly could. I refused to watch trailers, I avoided reviews, and I ignored interviews. Even if I wouldn’t have avoided the hype, I would have still loved it just as much, though. Those who’ve said that Looper has the potential to be 2012′s Inception are spot on.

**Spoilers ahead! If you haven’t seen Looper, stop reading now, and go watch it before someone spoils it. Seriously, see it in the theater, show Hollywood that a Sci Fi film can sell without being a sequel or a remake. If you’ve seen it, continue on below!**

I’ve long been a fan of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and once more he delivers a phenomenal performance. He’s quite rapidly gone from supporting roles in Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises to a leading role in Looper, and is proving that he has considerable talent in action films. His performance was aided by prosthetics to make him convincing as a young Bruce Willis, which also helped to diminish a bit of his youthful “pretty” appearance. Lighting and camera angles were critical in this aging as well, and contributed to an overall look that reminded me of the film noir stars of the past.

Bruce Willis had a strong performance as well, and his little bloodbath through Abe’s place delighted my inner Die Hard fan. I loved how he was characterized as being a more-worldly Joe, without seeming like a decrepit old man. His witticisms regarding young Joe’s faults were both humorous and useful in furthering characterization in a film that inundated its audience with tons of stimulus Without old Joe’s perspective, some viewers might have overlooked Joe’s selfishness because of everything else that was going on.

Exposition was handled brilliantly, with a lot of information being conveyed in deft fashion. The voice-overs by JGL weren’t so frequent or detailed as to be annoying, nor did they make the audience feel stupid. The intricacies of time travel were touched upon, but as Willis quipped, they avoided wasting considerable time on menial details. The basic gist of time travel’s constraints were explained just aid in suspension of disbelief, but not so much as to bore.

Foreshadowing was another of the film’s strong points, save one ham-handed scene that caused me an eye roll. After young Joe sells Seth out and returns to straighten his silver, we see that Joe quite literally has Seth’s blood on his hands. In contrast to director Johnson’s usual subtlety, this was annoying, but I believe it was necessary to convey to less attentive audience members that Joe was partially responsible for Seth’s demise.

I was quite impressed with the pacing of Looper. It’s the first film in a long while that I didn’t find myself wishing to go faster at points. Some of Sara’s scenes continued longer than needed, but they gave the audience a moment to catch our breath before racing off onto another adventure.

I normally loathe precocious child characters (and I suspect this is why Cid didn’t feature in the previews), but even this aspect was handled well. Not once did I find myself wanting to strangle the kid, as Pierce Gagnon managed to convey enhanced intelligence without being obnoxious. I don’t think Cid would have been nearly as sympathetic a character if he would have been any older, so it was necessary for him to be a child..

The montage showing how Joe spent 30 years after closing his loop was positively brilliant, and certainly features on my personal “Top 10 Montages of All Time” list. Hopefully Rockstar Games will decide to market a video game spin off based on this scene, as I think it’d be amazing.

I only had one real issue with Looper, and that was the scene that dispensed of Seth. While time travel-related torture is a rather untouched topic, the gradual loss of body parts will likely cause me nightmares for years to come. This is more of a personal trigger than anything else, and I think in the end that the scene was handled exceptionally well. It’s a testament to Johnson’s skill that he didn’t allow the scene to turn into torture porn, or get excessively gory.

Seth’s demise served it’s purpose, which was to illustrate just how bad the consequences were if Joe failed. It was disturbing by design and with good reason, but I’m sure I’ll cover my eyes for it in the future.

Overall, I was really thrilled that Looper lived up to my expectations, and it reminds me that not everything that Hollywood produces nowadays is terrible.

What did you guys think?

So last week, Bree made some really compelling arguments against going out and buying a flimsy mass-produced Halloween costume. But now, some of you might be thinking, “Well crap. Halloween is in two weeks! What am I going to dress up as this year?” Might I humbly suggest that you take some of your favorite geek characters and Rule 63 ‘em?

I know what you’re probably thinking. There are tons of super awesome female geek characters. But let’s be honest, half of them are half-naked, and a good majority of the rest are wearing costumes it’d take you weeks to put together. I’ve selected a few super awesome characters that you could put together over the course of a few days from things you have lying around anyway, things you could get at a thrift store, or things you could cheaply (and quickly) acquire.

Han Solo: Let’s break down Han’s costume. Off-white shirt. Black vest. Tight pants with a red stripe up the side. Knee-high Boots. Save the stripe on the pants, which you can easily add with even minimal sewing skill, everything Han wears is pretty simple. Head over to the toy department, pick yourself up a nice holster and blaster, grab yourself a Chewie and you’re good to go.

Along the same vein: Try one of Harrison Ford’s other iconic characters! Hit up the local sports store and get a safari-esque shirt, khakis, and boots. “Borrow” a friends worn leather jacket and fedora, or find them at the local thrift store. Then off to the kid’s department for a holster, gun and whip.

From Tumblr – Please Tell Me Who The Artist Is!

Doctor Who: Obviously, this isn’t one costume idea, but eleven! Fortunately, the large majority of the Doctors wore some variety of suit. Thrift stores in well-to-do areas tend to be well-stocked with all manner of women’s business clothing. Find a nice brown pinstripe number? Pair it up with a nice tie, and find yourself some Chucks. More the bow tie type? Well then Eleven’s your man! Can’t find any suits at the thrift store, but you went through a Goth phase in high school? Break out the leather, the fishnets, and the ass-kicking boots, and call yourself Nine. Or find yourself a friend who knits and channel your inner Tom Baker. No matter who you choose, don’t forget to build yourself a Sonic Screwdriver. Or if you’re a non-Gallifreyan like myself, just buy one. And don’t forget to have your significant other dress up as your Rule 63’d companion!

Along the same vein: If you didn’t want to follow Rule 63, you could always go with one of the Doctor’s many companions. If you’re the craft sort, you could always make a TARDIS dress, or a Dalek dress (although I’m uncertain of their respective genders, if any).

The Men of Firefly Fortunately for us, the Browncoats didn’t have fancy uniforms. Mal, Jayne and Wash all seemed to favor boots, khaki pants and wide belts. Pick up a button-down shirt, brown trench coat, and suspenders, and you’ve got yourself a Malcolm Reynolds costume. Are you more the tee-shirt type? Then Jayne’s your man (knit hat optional!). Or get yourself a nice Hawaiian shirt and some toy dinosaurs and you’d do Wash proud. Just don’t forget to pick up a gun in case Reavers decide to haunt your Halloween party. Wear a fancy outfit with a nice stylish vest if Simon is more your style

Along the same vein: The large majority of Jedi wear long robes, with something vaguely reminiscent of a martial arts uniform underneath. If you know someone who’s gone as Ghostface or the Grim Reaper in the past decade, you could easily convert that costume into a Jedi’s robes. A black or tan Snuggie would do in a pinch too, and you wouldn’t have to freeze all evening long! And if you don’t have either of these, who is going to argue that you’re not a Jedi if you have a lightsaber? TOS-era Starfleet uniforms are incredibly simplistic, too. A fitted, solid-color long-sleeved shirt (or dress!), with black pants and black boots. Add a bit of black around the collar (or wear a turtleneck underneath), and a Starfleet logo, and you’re good to go.

Classic Video Game Characters: You know what’s good about 8-bit characters? Few of them have super complex costumes! A red shirt, overalls, and a red hat make for a quick Mario, and mustaches are totally trendy right now (I think? Maybe they’re ironically trendy…). A green shirt and leggings with a belt and a hat turn you into Link with ease.

Along the same vein: Your favorite Street Fighter Character! Realistically, most of the male characters in fighting games wear some sort of karate uniform, or a “signature” shirt and pants combo. Bust out the uniform from your martial arts days Hadouken! your way to success.

Sparks Mcgee by Lar deSouza

Random Meme Character: Sick of all the “normal” geek costumes? Are you a cosplayer who dresses up so frequently that it’s become old hat by now? Are you going to the sort of party that will already have half the crowd dressed in full Klingon garb? Think outside of the box! Sparks McGee is a great costume that can be achieved with your existing Starfleet uniform, a fake tattoo, and a cowboy hat. Don’t have a Starfleet uniform? You can quite easily replicate this hideous sweater with a relatively small amount of sewing. Did you get a bad spray tan and hairdo intending to be Snooki? The Ancient Aliens Guy is the meme for you. Have a hideous plaid sweater and a string of bad luck? Why not Bad Luck Brian?

Is Halloween looming, and you’re utterly lacking in time and skill? You can always go as a level one character in your favorite RPG game. Fashion yourself an attractive tunic out of a burlap sack, secure it with a length of twine, and grab a wooden toy sword. If anyone asks you what you are, mournfully respond, “I should have been the Dragonborn!”

So what do you have planned for Halloween this year? What are you dressing up as?