Author Archives: Satis

Movie Night: Ant-Man (and the MCU)

Year: 2015

Director: Peyton Reed

Production Company: Marvel Studios

Leads: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas

I remember when Marvel was a comic book company, creators of sometimes-cheesy print heroes like Spiderman, Iron Man, and the Incredible Hulk. Now they are multi-billion dollar entertainment company, with enough bank revenue for Stan Lee to retire on a private Caribbean island (probably), largely thanks to the insanely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, kickstarted back in 2008 with Robert Downey Jr.’s inimitable turn as Iron Man.

Superheroes have never been more popular. According to Wikipedia, the first true ‘superhero’ movie was The Mark of Zorro, back in 1920. I would argue that Zorro isn’t quite superhero material, but Batman is, and made his first big screen debut played by Adam West in 1966 (based on the still-amazing TV series). However, I would argue that the true age of comic book superhero movies started in 1978, with Richard Donner‘s Superman. To this day, there is something profoundly memorable about Christopher Reeve‘s portrayal as the Man of Steel, and Donner truly captured the essence of the comics.

What Marvel have managed to do … since Iron Man … is nothing short of astounding.

In this regard, DC Comics truly reigned supreme for the first decade and a half, with 1989’s Batman introducing us to the darker side of comics (one could hardly argue there is much darkness in Adam West), despite the sequels becoming increasingly cringeworthy. Superman and Batman, already the bread and butter of the comic book world, triumphed in the cinematic universe, and Marvel remained sidelined as a second-rate imitator (the same year as Tim Burton‘s Batman, Marvel’s The Punisher was released direct to video).

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I’m Back … And Trying to Stay

Well … well, well, well. Look who’s still around.

I can only offer my sincerest apologies for my prolonged absence of late; I realize it’s been nearly two months without a word, even to say whether I’m still alive. I feel particularly bad, since I was off to such a great start this year; fifty-five posts between the new year and June—more than I posted for the entirety of 2014. And then …

Well, to be honest it seems to have become a bit of a pattern. Last summer was one of my worst, in terms of my mental health and depression, and this summer has been one of my worst in terms of simple motivation. I haven’t gone off my medications (like last year, fool that I am), but nor have I done much of anything creative, for nearly three months now. The Redemption of Erâth hasn’t seen a new word, and this blog has languished.

Being cooped up … led to an absolute loathing of my surroundings.

For what it’s worth, though, I haven’t been entirely idle. Here’s a short list of what I’ve done in the past two months:

  • Listened to a lot of new music, thanks to Apple Music
  • Bought an Apple Watch (totally unnecessary, I know)
  • Cleared my desk
  • Gained a new (thought temporary) position at work
  • Moved house

That last one really kind of took a toll, to my surprise. It turns out that packing everything into boxes, shifting it from one house to another, and then being entirely unable to find anything for the next six months is kind of stressful.

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The Redemption of Erâth: Two-Star Review

I sent out copies of The Redemption of Erâth: Consolation to a number of online review websites some time ago (around the new year, if I remember correctly). Most places never responded, but a couple said they would try and read it. The other day, I received an email from Erin over at A Drop of Ink Reviews, letting me know she had finally managed to read the book, and write a review. You can read the original review here.

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