What I’m watching…
I had no interest in watching Jupiter’s Legacy. The only reason I knew about it was that it was sitting at number 1 on the Netflix Top 10 in Australia.
I browsed past it multiple times and then one night I was bored so I watched the first episode. I’m glad I did. I had an absolute blast watching this series and finished all eight episodes over three nights.
My initial reluctance was probably due to superhero fatigue. I’ve seen all the Marvel films/series along with the brilliant The Boys (Amazon Prime).
Jupiter’s Legacy treads over familiar ground, even rehashing Spiderman’s famous line “With great power comes great responsibility” in the opening scene, but what captured my imagination was the fantastic backstory. The storyline cuts between modern-day and the 1920’s depression era, delving into the way the main characters discovered their powers.
In the present, our beleaguered hero Sheldon Sampson (The Utopian) debates the right to kill, an act that defies his superhero code. But crime has changed. The bad guys are no longer just simple bank robbers, they kill innocents and behave like terrorists. The new generation of superheroes question Sheldon’s ideals and outdated rules.
However, back in the 1920’s storyline none of our main characters have their powers yet. This mystery unfolds like a classic adventure tale in the vein of King Kong, with the characters searching for a mythical island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I won’t reveal any more as it would spoil the fun, but I highly recommend this series for escapist entertainment.
Jupiter’s Legacy is based on the comic book series of the same name, written by Mark Millar and first released in 2013.
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What I’m listening to…
I couldn’t resist keeping with the Jupiter theme. The Jupiter Ascending soundtrack is one that I have been meaning to write about for a while. It’s an epic score to a big-budget space opera romp that’s a guilty pleasure of mine.
Michael Giacchino’s score to the Wachowski’s (Matrix Trilogy) film doesn’t hold back. It’s a majestic and sweeping soundtrack, feeling like a cross between John Williams and Wagner. The orchestra and choir are used to their full power throughout.
The reason this score feels more like a classical piece is due to the fact it was recorded before the film was shot. Giacchino stated: “We’re actually recording all the music first, before they’re even done shooting. It’s been done sort of backwards, and it’s much more freeing doing it that way. I’m not locked down to any specific timings and what the film is doing. I can do whatever I want. It opens up a lot more possibilities.”
This approach allows the themes and ideas time to develop and breathe. The music doesn’t feel edited or restricted in any way, which is a unique accomplishment in modern-day film scoring.
I own the CD version of this score which was released as a double-disc edition. This expanded edition showcases most of the music from the film and is also available on vinyl and Spotify.
A highlight is The Shadow Chase. This 5-minute action cue underscores one of the best sequences in the film, an alien attack high amongst the buildings of Chicago.
This film didn’t get much love when it was released. It currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes at 27% Critic Reviews and 38% Audience Reviews. Sure, it’s not the best sci-fi film out there, but it’s still enjoyable. Plus, it’s not often we get original content on this scale. Most of the time we’re given remakes or adaptions of successful books, comics, and video games.
I guarantee you we will never see another 200-million-dollar Hollywood film where the hero uses a pair of levitating roller-skates to save the heroine!
What I’m reading…
I love reading about history, especially extreme tales of perseverance and survival. A Land So Strange: The epic journey of Cabeza de Vaca by Andrés Reséndez delivers on both fronts.
I find it fascinating how an author can piece together events from 500 years ago and create an engaging narrative. Reséndez breathes life into these ancient explorers and opens a door into a brutal, unforgiving world that was yet to be explored.
The official synopsis sums it up perfectly:
In 1528, a mission set out from Spain to colonize Florida. But the expedition went horribly wrong: Delayed by a hurricane, knocked off course by a colossal error of navigation, and ultimately doomed by a disastrous decision to separate the men from their ships, the mission quickly became a desperate journey of survival.
Of the four hundred men who had embarked on the voyage, only four survived-three Spaniards and an African slave. This tiny band endured a horrific march through Florida, a harrowing raft passage across the Louisiana coast, and years of enslavement in the American Southwest.
They journeyed for almost ten years in search of the Pacific Ocean that would guide them home, and they were forever changed by their experience. The men lived with a variety of nomadic Indians and learned several indigenous languages. They saw lands, peoples, plants, and animals that no outsider had ever before seen.
In this enthralling tale of four castaways wandering in an unknown land, Reséndez brings to life the vast, dynamic world of North America just a few years before European settlers would transform it forever.