I review it: Cowboys and Aliens

Indiana Jones and James Bond fighting aliens in the Old West!  How do you *meh* that up?  Cowboys and Aliens isn't a bad movie.  It's just not as fun, surprising, or inventive as it should be.  I mean, it's no Serenity.

I look at it this way: if you removed the science-fiction material, you’d be left with a decent Western that covers pretty familiar territory. If you just focused on the fantastic angle, you’d have a fairly typical alien-invasion yarn. Because neither one of the two ingredients is exceptional in itself, the melding of the genres is uninspired.

Exactly, Leonard Maltin!  Exactly.   And while the film is beautifully shot and cast - yes to Clancy Brown, Sam Rockwell, Keith Carradine, and Adam Beach - I never really felt invested in any of the characters.  Especially Olivia Wilde.  I could have cared less about Olivia Wilde.

This about sums it up.

2 leather chaps out of 5.

The movie would have been better served to ditch the aliens (keep the dog) and just have Daniel Craig roam the New Mexico badlands, glare into the middle distance ...

drink whisky, and beat the crap out of people.  That's 2 hours of entertainment!

source

He could also occasionally stop to adjust his hat.

source

So, in conclusion: You're doing it right.

You're doing it better

I'll be in my bunk ...

Col. Tigh approves this message

YEAAAAHHHH!!!

But Starbuck is stunned she didn't make the cut.



via io9

You're bossy.  And short.

Geek girls represent!

EMBED-Geek and Gamer Girls Song - Watch more free videos

via Neatorama

#Musicmonday: Double Rainbow

All the way, yeah.  An autotune two-fer.



via @NathanFillion

#Musicmonday: Broken Bells "The Ghost Inside"

Yosaffbridge, our Mrs. Reynolds



via io9

You can't take my keys from me

Jellus?

Now available from Quantum Mechanix.  Why yes, I did pre order mine in February.  Why do you ask?

Your Monday morning moment of nerditry, part of the second

Friday's wake up call to the Space Shuttle Endeavor.  As if there was any doubt that NASA is full of browncoats.



via io9

British Friday Observed - Slingers edition

This started making the rounds of the intertubes several weeks ago. The fabulous @mixiemoxie sent me the link, and my reaction was "What is this?? Want moar, moar, MOAR!!!"

Warren Ellis put it best - it's Ocean's Eleven in space with Sean Pertwee grandly standing in for Frank Sinatra.

With any luck, I'll get my wish. According to creator/writer Mike Sizemore, they hope to start shooting the pilot in 2010. Hurry. All my other shows are leaving me. Help me, Sizemore. You're my only hope.

via @sizemore and io9

I'm A Snowflake On The Wind

Joel Watson / HijiNKS Ensue

No, we can't let it go. We're browncoats.

Well played, Castle. Mission accomplished. I might just have to start watching you.

I'm not going to lie. There may have been some squeeing during the first 30 seconds. The man is strapping on the holsters. I'm not made of stone.

UPDATE! According to the Captain himself, there's another piece of meta hiding in this scene:

@NathanFillion Look closely, when Mal comes out the door- under the gun, under the boat, just to the right. It's a nothin' part, till ya need one.



And for those of you in the not-Hulu enabled world. No one should be deprived of Nathan Fillion getting his Mal Reynolds on.



SWEET MOTHER OF GOD HE'S WEARING A LEATHER KILT!!!

Season Two: Dollhouse Returns!

Dollhouse returns tomorrow night, YAY! For a show that was touch and go before it ever even premiered, Season 2 comes as a welcome, happy surprise.

And to kick things off, a BSG reunion!

"Vows"

Picking up a few months after the Season 1 finale, Echo is the new bride of a charismatic businessman (guest star Jamie Bamber), who is tied to an old FBI case that Paul was unable to close. Meanwhile, Dr. Saunders struggles with her discovery that she is a Doll and targets Topher. Written and directed by Joss Whedon.

Mo Ryan at the Chicago Tribune has the scoop, including episode summaries and video interviews with Joss, Helo, and Eliza.

What do we have to look forward to?

The relationships inside the Dollhouse are what Whedon and his writers will be taking advantage of in Season 2 ... Though he didn't rule out doing self-contained episodes, the show would move away from an "engagement of the week" for Echo and move more toward the conspiracy-flavored character drama we saw in the last few episodes of Season 1.

"This year we're going to see the results of everything she [Echo] went through last year -- particularly the event [in the finale] with Alpha, where she was downloaded with all the personalities -- we're going to see the effect that's had on her and we're going to find her to be a great deal less passive and a great deal more directed in what she wants, and that of course is going to make her life a lot harder," Whedon noted

The Watcher: Joss Whedon, Eliza Dushku talk 'Dollhouse' Season 2

The Watcher: Getting 'Dollhouse' in order: What's coming in Season 2

If that's not enough spoilery goodness for you, io9 has the inside intel on the roles Summer "River Tam / Cameron" Glau and Ray "Nobody plays the devil with as much glee as me" Wise will play.

Summer Glau and Ray Wise Live In Joss Whedon's Bizarro Dollhouse - Dollhouse - io9

For another take on where the show might be headed, check out my recap of Epitaph One over at Tubular.

First you get the money. Then you get the women. Then you get the Firefly.

io9 - What It Would Take For New Firefly?

Not much really.  T:TSCC is sadly no more, which frees up Summer.  Next, we let loose the hounds with bees in their mouths on Castle and Chuck.  Mal and Jayne; check and check.

The rest will soon follow ...

Lizard baby! Lizard baby! Lizard baby!

I'm in.  

via io9

I would like to see this please

Too bad he'll never be cast, and this particular version will never be made.

*sad trombone*

io9 - For Your Consideration: Nathan Fillion As The Green Lantern - green lantern

Monday morning moment of Zen: Cha-cha heels edition

Chiwetel Ejiofor should totally be the new Doctor, imho.

Jayne, stop this crazy thing!

Better luck next time Serenity.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Space Module: Colbert - Sunita Williams
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

Jayne is a girl's name

This must be what going mad feels like.



io9 - There Is A Band Called The Browncoats And Yes, They Sing About Jayne - Firefly

Apparently you can take the sky from me

NASA naming contest falls for Colbert prank | The Social - CNET News

According to the Associated Press, write-ins for 'Colbert' crushed all of NASA's four poll options, pulling in 230,539 votes; the second-place choice, NASA suggestion 'Serenity' (a nod to sci-fi hero Joss Whedon) was more than 40,000 votes behind.

Well played Colbert Nation. Well played ...

Yay! Captain Tightpants Returns!

Nathan Fillion has a new romantic procedural debuting tonight on ABC at 10:00. Mo Ryan at the Watcher has clips and first impressions. She's not wowed, but interested enough to stick around. I'm not sold on the premise, but I'll check it out. We Browncoats have to stick together.

Ooh! Shiny!

Help NASA Name Node 3!

NASA wants your opinion in naming the International Space Station’s Node 3 – a connecting module and its cupola – before the two segments travel to space and are installed on the orbiting laboratory. The name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station, and follow in the tradition set by Node 1- Unity- and Node 2- Harmony.

Or the name can reflect the spirit of big damn heros who aim to misbehave. Which could be why Serenity currently has 85 86% of the vote.  Poll is open until March 20, so do be sure to vote early and often.

UPDATE!  There seems to be a bit of a write-in battle between Xenu and Colbert.  Heh.

We are legion.  We are Anonymous.

via gizmodo