Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor -Captain America: The First Avenger -The Avengers -Iron Man 3 -Thor: The Dark World -Captain America: The Winter Soldier Now here is a film that no one expected. After their long string of unbroken financial success, Marvel took all their money and audience good … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
Thoughts
Equality at the Everyman
At the Everyman today, I discuss why holding 'equality' up as an ideal is a terrible, terrible idea: Which raises a more fundamental issue. Before you can say any two things are equal, you first have to have a common and objective standard of measurement between them. I can say that two people are of equal … Continue reading Equality at the Everyman
Thoughts on ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor -Captain America: The First Avenger -The Avengers -Iron Man 3 -Thor: The Dark World Thus far, the post-Avengers MCU wasn’t looking very impressive. We first had the disastrous Iron Man 3, then the underwhelming Thor: the Dark World. The real question was whether the … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’
Thoughts on ‘Thor: The Dark World’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor -Captain America: The First Avenger -The Avengers -Iron Man 3 Well, almost anything short of The Last Jedi would have been an improvement after the last entry (the key word there being almost, but we'll get to that), and Thor: The Dark World is certainly a … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Thor: The Dark World’
Everyman Article on Why You Can’t Just Agree to be Wrong
A new piece is up on 'The Everyman,' this one discussing how false logic doesn't work even if everyone agrees about it: When I say or write a word, such as “four,” I am attempting to convey an idea that is in my head to yours. Our minds have no direct common communication, so the … Continue reading Everyman Article on Why You Can’t Just Agree to be Wrong
A Record of the Past
One way or another, I watch a lot of old films, whether old TV shows, old movies, or even old instructional videos. It’s informative, and not just in the way the original filmmakers intended. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, consuming work produced in a different time doesn’t just tell you what the work is about, … Continue reading A Record of the Past
A Point of Linguistics
I was listening to audio versions of some of C.S. Lewis's essays today, and came across an interesting point. Talking about the judgment that so many of the Psalms call for, he points out that "judgment" in Hebrew, as in the Book of Judges, doesn't so much mean 'render a verdict in a court of … Continue reading A Point of Linguistics
Thoughts on ‘Iron Man 3’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor -Captain America: The First Avenger -The Avengers So, it should be clear by now that I really like the MCU. Even the films that aren’t so good, I still retain a fondness for. I recognize they’re bad (e.g. Iron Man 2), but I don’t … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Iron Man 3’
Thoughts on ‘The Avengers’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor -Captain America: The First Avenger This is the film no one ever thought we were going to get; the one that comic fans dreamed of, but never expected. We’d had lots of superhero films, but they were all self-contained, apart from a few jokes … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘The Avengers’
Thoughts on ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Past entries: -Iron Man -The Incredible Hulk -Iron Man 2 -Thor Concluding the first round of solo films is Captain America: The First Avenger, which, like Thor, takes another sharp detour in style from its predecessors. In the first place, it’s a period piece, with the main action taking place during World War II, while … Continue reading Thoughts on ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’
Serpent's Den 