The Bandits of Boom!

by Trish Milburn

We're all writers here at the gullar sahir, and we love good stories -- whether in book, TV or movie form. But there are a few of us who really like stories with some boom too. That is, stuff that blows up, goes kablooey -- you know, boom. So we thought we might share some of our favorite recent "boom" entertainment

I saw lots of boom, but the movie that I can't get out of my head is Avatar. It spoke to me on so many levels -- the love story between Jake and Neytiri (rising stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana), the message about taking care of our planet and respecting people who are different from us, finding something that is worth fighting for. But in addition to those aspects of the story, there's some serious boom in this movie, particularly when Col. Quaritch makes his big move on the Na'vi, the indigenous people of Pandora, who happen to live atop a valuable deposit of the mineral unobtanium. Quaritch pulls out all the stops and throws all the firepower he has at his disposal at this people who do not have "boom" on their side. The soundtrack for Avatar, which I've played over and over, has lots of great James Horner music to go along with the boom, particularly the tracks "Quaritch" and "War."



Zoe Saldana also starred in Bandita Nancy's boom contribution. In Nancy's words...

My favorite “boom” movie of 2009 was, far and away, hands down, and every other emphatic expression possible, Star Trek. I’ll concede that the plot didn’t always make the most sense. No, the time ship coming through as Kirk was being born and then never being seen or heard of again for 20 years didn’t make sense. I really didn’t care as I watched the movie, which means this little problem doesn’t really bother me much now.

The opening, with George Kirk (played by the actor stepping into Thor’s giant boots) trying to save the ship and his wife and child, grabbed me right away. We saw it on Mother's Day, which might have influenced me, but I had the same reaction when I saw it again with the boy and his girlfriend later in the summer. As the story unrolled, the emotional intensity of the character development engaged me enough that I really didn’t wonder where the time ship was or, when it reappeared, what it had been doing in the interim.

The relationship between Kirk and Spock became Star Trek’s linchpin. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto did a great job of building and then cementing that rapport on the screen, with help from an excellent supporting cast.

And plenty of stuff blew up. What’s not to love?



Bandita KJ finds her boom on the small screen...

Looking for boom on prime time? Check out NCIS, a fabulous show with plenty of firepower, bombs, and romantic sparks. Former marine sniper Jethro Gibbs leads a team of zany agents—including a lab tech who sleeps in a coffin, a female Mossad agent who misquotes American slang, a techno-geek, a brilliant but verbose medical examiner, and a movie-buff Italian hunk—who solve crimes in unique and fascinating ways. Not only does NCIS have a big boom factor, it offers viewers countless other positives. Laughter, for one. Tune in, or better yet, rent the show’s DVDs and start at the beginning. You won’t be disappointed!



For Bandita Jeanne, her boom came from Iron Man, a 2008 film...

Boom? You want boom? If so, my vote is for the one, the only, Iron Man. Nobody does boom like weapons maven Tony Stark. And really, no one could have played Tony Stark any better than Robert Downey Jr. Slightly seedy and just over the edge into debauched, Tony's the devil-may-care playboy who suddenly gets the ultimate wake-up call. No more suits, or steaks or even real food that doesn't have sand in it when he's nearly blown up in the desert, in the middle of a hot spot conflict zone. No more sycophantic sucking up when he's taken prisoner. He has to survive and he has to figure a way to get his illicitly sold tech out of the hands of a hitherto unknown enemy.

Once he does, losing his new mentor in the process, he not only has to live with that, he has to discover and defeat the enemy within his own company. All the while, he's decided to go back and clear out the crappy hell hole in which he was held captive.

Yep, you guessed it, it goes BOOM! Bwahahahahah! I loved this movie. It's witty and sharp, the dialogue and relationships are believable even though its a superhero movie. The almost-romance between Tony and Pepper Potts adds spice, and the boyish charm of the straight-as-an-arrow best friend, played by Terrence Howard, rounds out Tony's circle of friends and confidants. He's isolated himself, and he has to grow as a man and a human being through the course of the movie and it is done, brilliantly, by Robert Downey, Jr. He still has enough of the daredevil left to be believable, enough of the screw-this-we're-doing-it to let you know he's fundamentally himself, so it isn't a total, unbelievable makeover, which I appreciated.

Did I mention stuff went BOOM? My favorite. Did you see it? What was your favorite scene? And wasn't the music fabulous?



So, do you all like some boom in your movies and other entertainment? If so, what has been your favorite recent boom?