Episode catch-up

Looks like the last episode we published here was at the start of 2024, with Episode 25 – Echanger. We’ll take the time to link one episode a day, getting caught up, starting from then.


The indie version is also getting up to speed. Not quite to the point where I’m publishing simultaneously to both, but the archives are coming along nicely. We have full episodes of the newsletter available, and we’re working on a couple different feeds too. I’m excited to get those going. 🙂

The big job, of course, will be moving all the previous blog posts over. Still looking at a way to automate that effectively, as it’s way easier than doing that by hand.

I’m also going to try and post some of the content that feeds the sections of the newsletter here first, things like the Current Reading and Multi-Melting sections, as well as podcast episodes and other feed info. We’ll still have something unique for each issue, so feel free to subscribe here.

Indie version

The Implausi.blog is hosted on a WordPress site, and let’s be honest, we’re not really using all the functionality of it. We’re pretty much plain text with a few nice elements. It grinds my gears a little bit that the site is as slow to load as it is, with ridiculous file-sizes, and requires javascript to show a basic page.

So with the recent turmoil in the WordPress community, I started looking for options, and one of those is right here. Apparently I had the option of running a subdomain on the site, so currently indie.implausi.blog is available, as a very lite version of this site. (Raw HTML, baby! We’ll add some basic CSS in the near future).

We’re moving some of the basics over, not all at once, as described on the landing page there. The blog will mostly be raw xml, with podcast full text available as we go.

Over time, we may switch the main channel to a non-WP version entirely, but right now we’re doing some parallel development. See you there (or here)!

Alien: Romulus (2024)

Also a love story?

Having sworn off the extended Alien franchise after finding myself hating both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant back-to-back, I was surprised to find me watching this on the opening weekend. Good word of mouth from a few friends whose opinions I trust had me checking it out, in IMAX no less, in a late afternoon matinee.

And surprise, it’s good!

Now, the challenge with any movie in a franchise with 45 years of history is to deal with the accumulated weight of expectations, of both the hardcore fans and casual movie-going public, and even those lapsed fans like myself. So, to achieve some modest success in creating a movie that is genuinely terrifying, and expands on the universe, fitting in as a piece in the larger story, and leaving room for more development later, is no easy task. Well done on all those involved.

That isn’t to say it’s perfect: there are a few scenes that feel like level design in a video game adaptation, which has been an ongoing trend in movies since at least the Star Wars prequels. It’s the curse of cinema in the new millennium. And a couple notable lines that tie too close to the past movies in the franchise fell flat, not having enough room to breathe. But these quibbles aside, it was a fine film, that never felt like it dragged, and kept the tension up throughout.

There’s room to expand the Alien universe off this; more with Andy, obviously. But I’d also like to see a wider universe, beyond the Weyland-Yutani corporation, and see what other approaches to outer space there might be. Because in a galaxy where the Xenomorph is a solution, what kind of problems might lurk out there?

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

A love story?

Knew I was going to see this one pretty early on. Despite my issues with previous Ryan Reynolds vehicles, his work in the first two Deadpool movies was great, and as the initial teasers started showing up, I started actively not watching any of the other trailers that were showing up everywhere online. (I’ve had this practice of nescience for a while, even though I haven’t named it until recently.) Arranged to see it with a few friends, and bought tickets ahead of time, though it was the into the second week of release before we caught it. I went in pretty much blind.

And really enjoyed it!

(There’s something to be said for actively avoiding the spoilers and the level of enjoyment of a given work.)

The movie lived up to the hype, a frenetic bundle of kinetic energy that only slowed down when it had to interact with the TVA HQ, in it’s studio mandated ties to “metaplot” and the wider MCU and streaming series (which perhaps says something about the issues with that part of the franchise, that it’s such an anchor that it can drag the momentum of Deadpool to a halt). But the jokes landed, the violence was cartoony (in the way of Warner Brothers, not Disney), the cameos were a genuine delightful surprise, and the 4th wall was repeatedly broken.

With a wink and a smile. 😉

Deadpool’s charm is that the character seems aware. I saw Deadpool with someone who hadn’t seen the previous films and had skipped most of the larger MCU, and they found Deadpool acting as their voice in the movie, asking the questions they wanted asked (what is Gambit saying?) and pointing out the absurdity of it (“til you’re 90!”). Deadpool’s superpower is being able to break the 4th wall, but that break goes both ways, bringing the audience into the film to enjoy the movie alongside him. And it’s that joy that is infectious, and makes the movie fun.

With Deadpool‘s success as the highest-grossing R-rated film ever (at the time I’m writing this), I fear we’ll see a slate of movies leaning onto the violence and profanity in the hopes of the chasing that same success. But in doing so they’ll be learning the wrong lessons from the film.

What have we learned?

  • Move fast
  • Have fun
  • Keep it short
  • Don’t worry about explaining the plot (too much – show don’t tell)
  • Realize the whole premise is ridiculous
  • Invite the audience in
  • Enjoy!

Seems simple enough. Hope we see more like it.

Multi-melting

I mentioned this a few months ago in Issue 1 of the Newsletter:

In the Warhammer 40000 game, there is a weapon called the “multi-melta” a ludicrous gun made better by strapping more of them together.  It’s awesome.  I always think of it when I hear the term multimedia, so here we go.
Dr Implausivble, Echoes of Implausibility – April 2024

So we’ll keep that up on the mainline blog and on other platforms as well.