LETTERS – July 2012
Another busy month in the Geek Speak mailroom – aw, shucks, guys – with a particular focus on our treatise on all things mutant, Bugs vs. Sharks vs. Snakes vs…. Kitties? When Mutant Animals Attack.
First this, from Not Roy Scheider:
JAWS is beyond everything the best movie of this genre, and there wouldn’t even be a genre if it wasn’t for Spielberg’s seminal shark-attacking master piece. And you put DEEP BLUE SEA in the same paragraph with it, said they were both “Awesome”? WTF?! Loved the look at monster movies, overall, but that really shocked the hell out of me. Your love of EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS, INFESTATION and DAY OF THE ANIMALS, at least, I can get behind. Haven’t seen THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS or THE HOST yet but will now – thanks for the heads up.
Then this, from Snarky Sam:
Big ups to Rachel Hyland for watching all of those horrible, horrible, awesome movies. There are now a bunch of new movies added to my Netflix queue – Grizzly! Them! Warbirds! And if I can find it, Beaks: The Movie sounds frickin sensational. Great round up.
And then this, from Ginny:
Are you kidding? Damnation Alley IS NOT AWFUL. I agree with most of your other verdicts, at least of the ones I have seen, but Damnation Alley is one of the best bad movies I have ever seen. It’s right up there with Phase IV. (Thank you for the link to the MST3K take on that. So f’n funny!!!)
And even more, with this, from Benjamin Brennan:
The caption on your pic from The Prophecy made me snort Coke out of my nose. Also love the “Great Title if Nothing Else” section. “GiAnts” IS a great title!
[That image: A giant, bloodied bear rears up menacingly. That caption: “If you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise…”]
Elsewhere in our last issue, Chris Nagy’s The Many Crimes of George Lucas: Episode I: Star Wars Edition got some notice, with this, from C3PO’s Dad:
Lucas lost me the day he had some little brat with a moptop create C3PO, probably the most interesting character in all of Wars. The prequels don’t exist in my world.
And Leia Organa had this to say:
You forgot to mention the Crime that is The Clone Wars!
And Bobbba Fettt said:
Dude, you went way too easy on the Ewoks. WAAAY. And Jar Jar a Misdemeanor??? In the words of dopey teen Darth Vader: “NOOOOOOO!”
Moving away from Star Wars, we segue into our Top 13… Genre Heroines Who Kick Ass, Small Screen Division, with this, from Elfy:
No Kim Possible? C’mon! If you include the Powerpuff Girls (awesome, I grant you), you must have Kim Possible. She doesn’t even crack it for an honourable mention. My heart, she is broke.
Rachel responds:
You are so not wrong. Our apologies! If it helps at all, way back in Issue 3 I praised young Kim here, and in my review of Megamind way back when I drew a parallel between the titular anti-hero and Dr. Drakken. Also, be on the lookout for next month’s Top 13, which will hopefully somewhat mitigate against this egregious oversight on our part. Forgive us!
Finally, let’s take a look at some of the feedback we received regarding our Geek VS. Geek on Game of Thrones.
First this, from Sarah, regarding the “con” case, A Painful Exercise in Dread:
YES! Very much this. The books were so sad and depressing, the show just feels too much like reliving a painful memory for me to be able to watch it. I think it’s probably fine for anyone who hasn’t read the books though.
And this, from Laura Meade:
At first I thought that the charge of child molestation was a bit harsh, but the more I thought about it, and the more I thought about Dany in particular, the more I saw the point was valid. But they made her older in the show, like 16 or something instead of 12. Doesn’t that make the show LESS troublesome than the books?
Rachel responds:
Being sexually abused by your mad brother and then being sold into sexual slavery for the sake of a political alliance is troublesome at any age, surely?
Taking on the “pro” side of the debate, A Story That Bears Repeating, came this, from Sencha:
Hearty applause to Regina Thorne for her spirited defense of Game of Thrones, and the whole Song of Ice and Fire series! The feminist backlash against the show and the series has gotten kind of ridiculous, when we’re talking about a feudal patriarchal society reminiscent of our own Middle Ages. George R. R. Martin has brought history to life in a truly riveting, if often upsetting, way and I agree entirely with Ms. Thorne that his Big Themes really make the series more than just about the “misogyny/rape/child molestation” that the other side complains about. Great piece!
Then came this, as was perhaps inevitable, from, among others, Maester Carla, Sensei 22, Login Name, and Past Participle:
WINTER IS COMING!
Indeed.
And with that, we wrap up another month of correspondence here at Geek Speak HQ. As always, we can’t publish every note we receive, but we adore them – and you – all.
See you next month!
– The Geek Speak Staff
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