Bryana Fern
Bio
English major who never left college. Lover of Victorian novels, Ravenclaw, and Rivendell. Teaching applications at Hogwarts and Starfleet Academy still pending. Find me on Instagram @coffeenerd.writer and Twitter @bryanafern
Stories (20/0)
Remembering Bernard Hill
It was a sad day today to check my Tolkien group chat, which consists of a few book club friends and nerds, and see the shared news that Bernard Hill had died. It was not how I wanted to start my summer break from school. (I'm still grading Finals and submitting grades to the registrar.)
By Bryana Fern2 months ago in Geeks
My State Upon Rewatching TNG’s “The Offspring”
Ever since the end of Picard, I’ve been rewatching The Next Generation. Like many, I’m filled with nostalgia at episodes that, when I first watched them as a kid, felt so fresh and new and exciting. In a way, I guess they still are. There are episodes I cringe at and pass over, but most I’m excited to revisit. And when I started “The Offspring,” it’s not like I didn’t know what happened. It’s not like I hadn’t seen it a few times already.
By Bryana Fern12 months ago in Geeks
Titans Season 3: What We Have So Far
Like a lot of Titans fans, I eagerly hopped onto HBO Max today as we got the first three episodes from the series' third season. After the second season finale of the team reuniting to defeat Deathstroke (and then losing Donna, for the moment), it seemed like they were in a steady place to move forward with some more commitment to each other than ever before. New members like Conner aka Superboy and Dick Grayson's new emergence as Nightwing helped make that even more definitive. Now...now I'm not so sure. If you haven't watched the new episodes yet, I'd stop reading right about now.
By Bryana Fern3 years ago in Geeks
Success of the Snyder Cut
Fans who waited four years for the Snyder cut of Justice League are finally appeased, and it was well worth the wait. It is thanks to DC fans at all that we ever got Zack Snyder’s full vision for this film. In truth, his full vision for the Justice League will never be realized, since it began with Man of Steel and planned to include multiple films in its full telling of the threat of Darkseid and Apokolips. And unfortunately, between Snyder being blocked at turn after turn, and the ranging issues of Warner Brothers and Joss Whedon allegations and Amber Heard, as well as Cavill’s and Affleck’s departure, it’s just simply never going to happen. And it’s a shame, even though it’s not a surprise, and it’s just one more reason why DC live films have so much trouble. (Do yourself a favor and just dive into the DC Animated films if you haven’t already.) And do yourself another favor by not reading further if you don't want spoilers.
By Bryana Fern3 years ago in Geeks
Defending Wonder Woman 1984’s Ambition
It’s hard to imagine how an almost 3-hour film could leave us questioning so many plot holes. But if it’s a superhero movie, it’s almost like it’s part of the packaged deal now. Just think Avengers: Endgame. I am a huge Wonder Woman fan and I spent well over a year in anticipation of WW84. And while I am satisfied and still as in love with Diana as I ever was, this one was a stretch. But it made it--with some great moments. (Riding the lightning with the lasso was one of my top favorite things.)
By Bryana Fern3 years ago in Geeks
Why #drjillbiden Means so Much. Top Story - December 2020.
More than a few academics and non-academics alike have taken issue with the latest Epstein article from The Wall Street Journal in which he stated his opinion that upcoming First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, remove her doctoral title from her name on the basis that it "feels fraudulent, even comic," as he proclaimed in the article's subtitle. What follows in his article is an opinion so misguided and infuriating that it is what rather feels comic.
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Viva
Happy Birthday, Viggo Mortensen!
It’s hard to believe that Viggo Mortensen is 62 years old now, celebrating his birthday on October 20. Best known in his role of Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Viggo is loved by fans for his contribution to Tolkien’s Strider-turned-King-Elessar: a role he almost turned down if not for his son, Henry, who convinced him of the character’s importance. In the years after Aragorn, though, Viggo has not been idle, and there is far more to him than the average viewer may know.
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Geeks
Happy Birthday, Freddie!
Who could have known that on September 5, 1946 in Zanzibar (now Tanzania), a legend would be born? Mercury, or at that time, Farrokh Bulsara, born to Parsi-Indian parents Bomi and Jer Bulsara, would have said he always knew. He became known for his confidence and showmanship that was rivaled by no other, and he always felt that he had that something extra.
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Beat
The Impact of a King. Top Story - August 2020.
It seems all year we have been saying how it can't get any worse. Every day, there are new memes appearing about 2020 and its nightmares. Go home, 2020. You're drunk. Well, now 2020 got behind the wheel of a car while drunk. Everyone across social media and news outlets is expressing shock and heartbreak over Chadwick Boseman's death on August 28. The day the Black Panther died.
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Geeks
More Credit for 'Capone'
Streaming this month on Amazon Prime was Capone, a film that critics hacked into like one of the renowned gangster lord’s cigar cutters. And while I can certainly agree that there was a lot more the film could have shown (I remember finishing it the first time thinking, “That could have been a lot better”), the reason that what it accomplished has gone largely unappreciated is because it wasn’t what people expected from a film named after Scarface himself. It was not an action film, but a dark, psychological drama about the horrors of physical and mental degradation.
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Geeks
Geological Gratitude
Steady earthen swirls of amber you find everywhere in the rocks, in clouds lifting and spiraling to celestial plains. In the design of your thumbprint. In the design of your thumbprint used to finger paint. In the design of your thumbprint used to finger paint the way your therapist showed you. In the design... In the...
By Bryana Fern4 years ago in Poets
