Occasional Nerd Rants and Woolgatherings

Because I'm an old FemNerd and sometimes I have to talk about Nerd things like movies, games, science, tech and occasionally my favorite actor, Ramon Tikaram.

[khateri]

5 Greedy Bankers

Hello everyone.  I’ve been away ill for several months now and any plans I had for this blog or any JA fan fiction fell by the wayside.  I’m improving daily so I may get back to my plans or I may not.  I have to play it by ear. But in the meantime, for any of you Ramon Tikaram/ Dorian Pavus/ Phylo Percadium fans, I came by to report that Ramon’s Indie film “5 Greedy Bankers” is now released for public viewing while it prepares to go on the festival circuit. It can be obtained very affordably at this link:  https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thisisallaboutrevenge  It’s a traditional UK heist film and I found it a lot of fun.  Ramon stars in it so unlike JA and some of his other work, it’s a full hour and thirty-plus minutes of him taking the lead (cheers!).  This is an entirely crowd supported film so spread the word and show the love :) Happy Holidays everyone.

[khateri]

Regen and who gets it...

I guess I knew in the back of my head that it’s likely not everyone in the galaxy/universe is entitled to RegeneX, but I think only now it’s come to the forefront of my mind along with the usual questions.  Such as, is it restricted only to Entitled or those with the money?  Can it be earned by merit of a very special skill set or heroic deed?  Do high level organizations get it at a bulk discount?  What about our favorite Aegis crew?  Are they considered an easily replaced asset or are they the knife in the dark corner charged with protecting Entitled and their entitlements? Are they possibly not the good guys afterall?  I could go on and on. More to the point, if it is only for a special few, why do the, so to speak, “unwashed masses” put up with it?  Who’s protesting this industry that wipes out whole planets for a privileged few?   I’d love to make this universe my playground but there is such a thing as having too much room to play.  I’m going to bump my head somewhere.   Now that I’ve done Woolgathering, I’ll commit that I’ve got a story running around my head.  A Phlyo/Aegis-centric story with some world building involved… for him at any rate.  It may be wildly off the mark but screw it, it’s my headcanon and I like it.  I just need to put away my other toys and make time to write.  I also need a planet.

[marcelliancahun]

The ordinary citizens of Jupiter Ascending definitely have access to Regenex, especially since it’s also explicitly tied to medical care (healing Caine’s wounds, reviving him and the Bolotnikovs, treating for Kiza’s illness), but the difference is in terms of quality – very much like with the current situation in real life as well. The more money and resources you have, the better healthcare you get. Which is why one of plot points of this movie is also about a father literally betraying his friends just for a chance to afford a cure for his sick daughter.

Jupiter Ascending is one of the very, very few action movies I can think of that don’t go down the route of “burning the system down” as part of its hero narrative, and instead chooses to acknowledge all the ways of how oppressive systems are perpetuated by those in power, and how everyone is also complicit as well, even the designated good guys. It’s a very accurate reflection of how capitalism works –  it’s impossible not to participate in the system. Balem’s death is never treated as the end of the system – like how Titus and Kalique themselves have reminded – there are still so many other families like them out there, and Earth is but a small part of the Regenex industry.

Via Jupiter’s characterization up to the moment she chose to sacrifice herself and her family to save an entire planet – the movie is saying that you can make a difference, can begin to make a change, but it will also be a very long and difficult road ahead. Just trying to survive the system itself is already a victory in itself, and I’m glad that this is a narrative resolution chosen by JA.

[khateri]

Sounds good.  Not sure why after all the times I’ve watched the movie I’ve completely missed that about Kiza.  I took a different interpretation on the healing of Caine’s wounds as some other medical technique but if it works for the masses that it was RegenX used then it works for me.  Before I started writing anything I wanted to see what the various opinions are.  Thx for the response and that goes to everyone else who has responded in some fashion out there in tumblr land.  -K

[khateri]

Regen and who gets it...

I guess I knew in the back of my head that it’s likely not everyone in the galaxy/universe is entitled to RegeneX, but I think only now it’s come to the forefront of my mind along with the usual questions.  Such as, is it restricted only to Entitled or those with the money?  Can it be earned by merit of a very special skill set or heroic deed?  Do high level organizations get it at a bulk discount?  What about our favorite Aegis crew?  Are they considered an easily replaced asset or are they the knife in the dark corner charged with protecting Entitled and their entitlements? Are they possibly not the good guys afterall?  I could go on and on. More to the point, if it is only for a special few, why do the, so to speak, “unwashed masses” put up with it?  Who’s protesting this industry that wipes out whole planets for a privileged few?   I’d love to make this universe my playground but there is such a thing as having too much room to play.  I’m going to bump my head somewhere.   Now that I’ve done Woolgathering, I’ll commit that I’ve got a story running around my head.  A Phlyo/Aegis-centric story with some world building involved… for him at any rate.  It may be wildly off the mark but screw it, it’s my headcanon and I like it.  I just need to put away my other toys and make time to write.  I also need a planet. [expand pls? Planets? they are space cops]

[ofabrasax]

Yes, write one please. 1. Stinger uses a spray to fix Caine (splice use), 2. Aegis on Caine again, 3. Aegis on Jupiter’s Family (general stock), 4. did I miss one? That’s a good question since all we have seen in the movie was Gov’t officials, the Corp, and the hunters. No on the money part because Bob used credits to bribe gov’t worker.

Aegis high crew: splices are valued like prized horses/canines, Orous citizens get a larger regenx stipend from giving their life to the organization not every human is accepted, all humans must serve for citizenship unless both parents are Entitled which means child will be correctly indoctrinated, and citizens that need re-education (for not using their small regenx allowance) are re-enlisted.

The Aegis ship and Balem’s main ship looked the same to me. As above so below; As below so above. Then yes, they protect Entitleds and Orous consumers/citizens. Aegis neutral. They protected Jupiter because of her DNA is Abrasax part of the Corp. 

Why we all put up with it? LOL not really LOL but I would cry instead. The same way why we put up with most injustices. The best way I had seen it explain below ‘keep reading’. Only click if ready for self-reflection.

Keep reading

[khateri]

Nice! You make excellent points.  I was hoping this post would generate a bit of brain storming like this as everyone takes something a little different away from their experience.  I need to watch the movie again and maybe again because there are things you point out here that I saw such as fixing Caine up that didn’t process in my brain apparently.  Though I did notice that Bob bribed with creds.  Or I assume it was creds and not “buy 1 get one free” Regenx Coupons.  LOL I started the first few paragraphs of the Phylo fic I mentioned before.  Then fell ill with some insideous, WWZ-esque illness that refuses to leave.   

[khateri]

Regen and who gets it...

I guess I knew in the back of my head that it’s likely not everyone in the galaxy/universe is entitled to RegeneX, but I think only now it’s come to the forefront of my mind along with the usual questions.  Such as, is it restricted only to Entitled or those with the money?  Can it be earned by merit of a very special skill set or heroic deed?  Do high level organizations get it at a bulk discount?  What about our favorite Aegis crew?  Are they considered an easily replaced asset or are they the knife in the dark corner charged with protecting Entitled and their entitlements? Are they possibly not the good guys afterall?  I could go on and on. More to the point, if it is only for a special few, why do the, so to speak, “unwashed masses” put up with it?  Who’s protesting this industry that wipes out whole planets for a privileged few?   I’d love to make this universe my playground but there is such a thing as having too much room to play.  I’m going to bump my head somewhere.   Now that I’ve done Woolgathering, I’ll commit that I’ve got a story running around my head.  A Phlyo/Aegis-centric story with some world building involved... for him at any rate.  It may be wildly off the mark but screw it, it’s my headcanon and I like it.  I just need to put away my other toys and make time to write.  I also need a planet.

[khateri]

Happy Birthday, Ramon Tikaram!  

[khateri]

A bit more on Phylo Percadium

So I followed Phylo around a bit more tonight and learned that the more I think I know about him and his crewmates the more ambiguous it all becomes.  And maybe that was the intent.  At this point the only thing I am sure about is that he is in fact the ship’s navigator ...when he’s at his bridge station.  When someone mentions Navcom, mass estimates and opens wormholes, they are probably a Navigator and I’m ok with that.  Navigators are cool.  Navigators do math in letters and symbols and that sort of math is sexy.   As for the rest of it, I’m less sure of my earlier estimate that he might be second in command.  I might have been guilty of judging space cops with a military bias.  He may be the obvious step-up in a pinch but he happens to do more scut than one would expect for an XO.   

Exhibit A.  The Brig.

At first I thought Phylo was observing in some official capacity.  But no.  At the end of the scene it becomes obvious from his posture that he’s had a space cannon ready to go the whole time in case Man-Bee got one over on Man-Wolf.  So, informed XO or bored Security guard daydreaming about that time someone actually listened to him for a change? Exibit B.  The Medic

Somewhere between Security duty at the brig and swabbing out the port head on deck 2 after some malcontent flushed their shirt down the loo, Phylo is wielding his medical magic.  It’s just another day in space for Officer Percadium. After a turn in the Galley making sandwiches and a trip off-ship to Earth,  Phylo finally makes it back to his Bridge station. Btw, this is the look of Nav One when ordered to do something incredibily irresponsible... 

...like opening a portal on a steep gravity slope in the middle of a giant refinery going to pieces.  Then potentiating the ship and hellish debris field with all it’s mass to another location and still land on target.  (It’s almost like those anime moments where the hero starts a slow burn towards a full rage and his hair begins to flair and stand on end.  Or maybe it’s because he just face planted on the console).  Anyway, Captain doesn’t want to hear about all that c and v and slope.  Just make it happen, Mr. Percadium. 

[khateri]

I’m just gonna say I’m completely obsessed with Phylo Percadium, atm and want to know more about him and his part in the greater universe.  Most of it is due to being a long time admirer of Ramon Tikaram, despite his frustrating on-screen history of 3 minute, “blink and you miss him” bit parts.  He really is a clever actor, as anyone who’s seen him in leading roles on stage or any admirer of Dorian Pavus (Dragon Age: Inquisition) will attest to.  He’s also a very compelling fellow to look at, which I don’t mind at all. But, back to Phylo.  I get that he’s a “Space Cop”.  But who’s in charge of them? What political body do they answer to? What position does Phylo serve on the Aegis Cruiser?  Watching the movie through a second and third time I was left the impression that he might be second in command.  When Tsing visits the brig, Phylo is there in the background.  He also interacts with her the most on the bridge.  Beyond that he also appears to fill a number of roles as needed which is not unusual on a small ship with a small command crew.  But what is his part on bridge?  Engineer?  Tac-O?  Navigator?  A combination of all three?  Or does he direct those stations remotely?  The only thing I saw him specifically do (maybe) is operate the portal systems. I have no idea.  Jupiter Ascending left me with too many questions without enough straws to piece things together.  Despite all the problems and gaping background holes, I still managed to enjoy the movie as a bit of Space Opera that never took itself seriously.  I’m just woolgathering at this point, if you couldn’t already tell.   Anyway, in the general lack of screenshots of Phylo, I came here to post a couple I grabbed since I lucked out with an early digital DVD release.