Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXXV (April/May/June 2022)

After my Oscars binge, I vowed to take a break from prestige films and go all in on my most beloved genre, science fictiony action. It's been a good three months, let me tell you.



Death on the Nile (2022) | Stargate: Continuum | The Batman | Spider-Man: No Way Home | The Lost City | Turning Red | Moonfall | Casablanca | Galaxy Quest | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Ron's Gone Wrong | Dog | Moneyball | Morbius | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXIX

Everybody should read Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic and Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow immediately.


Transient Desires, Donna Leon
'Ah,' Brunetti exclaimed, forcing his voice into a deeper register, 'The voice of love responds, and my heart opens, brimming with the joy of...?'
'What is it, Guido?'

Murder in the Sentier, Cara Black
Every poem has an unwritten line. In this case, Aimee thought, a tragic one.

and

The small room didn't hold more than fifteen people. All men. And as much ethnic variety as bechamel sauce.

Romancing Mister Bridgerton, Julia Quinn
Penelope turned to her sister in disbelief. "Surely you're being a little melodramatic."
Felicity's overblown shrug was worthy of the stage. "Am I? Am I?"

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXVIII

Any Way the Wind Blows, Seanan McGuire
These are the people with whom I have been instructed to preserve reality. I used to wonder why cartography captains only ever seem to want a single tour of duty. I don't wonder anymore.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - North and South Part 1, Gene Luen Yang
SOKKA: Kid, you don't wanna miss this! It's gonna be awesome to watch! Painful for those guys, but awesome!

A Killing Frost, Seanan McGuire
That's mortal magic. They patch the holes in the world with words, and sometimes those words can hold long after the truth has worn away.

Taste of Marrow, Sarah Gailey
"I've killed men," she said in a low voice. "I think that qualifies me for something other than 'little girl.'"
"We've all killed men," Hero said--but then they gentled their voice and tried to remember a time when having killed a man had meant something significant to them, too.

Stargate SG-1: Drift, Diana Dru Botsford
Any visual sign of his earlier trepidation was gone, tucked away in a room so locked down that even Sam didn't have the key.

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXVII

I have been reading so many Star Wars and Stargate books, guys. I am living in all timelines at once.


Stargate SG-1: Survival of the Fittest, Sabine C Bauer
"Daniel Jackson. What are you doing?" Teal'c used the exquisitely cautious tones of someone dealing with a raving lunatic.

Stargate SG-1: Alliances, Karen Miller
Daniel radiated concern the way Chernobyl radiated...all right, radiation. You could toast marshmallows on the warmth of his regard.

Stargate SG-1: Roswell, Sonny Whitelaw & Jennifer Fallon
"Ten blocks," Daniel whispered in her ear, which was both informative and a rather pleasant sensation. She should make Daniel whisper vital information into her ear more often.

Star Wars: A New Dawn, John Jackson Miller
"But seeing and doing nothing isn't the worst thing," Hera had said. "The worst thing is to see and not care."

TV Tellings III: The Mandalorian Season 1

This is actually my third watch-through of the first season. Guys, it's possible I don't know how to watch TV without writing about it anymore.

Logline
A stranger comes to town;

Or,

An ambivalent bounty hunter discovers his latest quarry is the most adorable magic baby in the galaxy. Ambivalence becomes untenable;

Or,

It's cowboys! In space!

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXVI

Star Wars: Master & Apprentice, Claudia Gray
"Surrender?" Pax said. "Give up before the battle's even begun? Why would I do that?"
"Because you're not holding a blaster in your hand, only a shovel," Qui-Gon said patiently.

City of Ghosts, Victoria Schwab
If we were in a comic book, this would be our origin story.
Some people get a spider bite, or a vat of acid.
We got a river.

Tender is the Flesh, Agustina Bazterrica
While they smoke, she says, "I don't get why a person's smile is considered attractive. When someone smiles, they're showing their skeleton."

This Is My America, Kim Johnson
An AK-47 in a white hand has more rights than a Black kid with Skittles.

Could You Repeat That? CLXXXV

The Burning God, RF Kuang
"It doesn't go away. It never will. But when it hurts, lean into it. It's so much harder to stay alive. That doesn't mean you don't deserve to live. It means you're brave."

Lirael, Garth Nix
"I'm afraid, too," Lirael said quietly. "Of Death and Hedge and probably a thousand other things. But I'd rather be afraid and do something than just sit and wait for terrible things to happen."

Fairest, Gail Carson Levine
The mood in the hall was leaden.
My mood was livelier. Fright is livelier than lead.

Movie Moments LV: Stargates Edition (January 2021)

I’ve spent the, uh, last five months or so rewatching all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1. Vala Mal Doran has taken over my brain much like Reylo did last summer. Also, Daniel/Vala. And Sam. And Teal’c. And Jack. And Jonas. And Janet. What I’m telling you is, I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS RIGHT NOW.