River Tam | Killing Time

Summer Glau was a dancer before she was an actress on Firefly, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and -most recently- Arrow. That shows during one of the best fight scenes I’ve ever seen (which also has one of the longest continuous takes I’ve ever see). Serenity, for Firefly fans, is pretty much the only thing that’s kept us from bursting into flame over ten years of resentment. We’re all still mad FOX canceled the show after 13 episodes (only 10 of which they aired…out of order…idiots). But if we hadn’t have been given Serenity to get a little closure for our band of ragtag space cowboys? Ka BOOM (sound of a random Firefly fan bursting into flame). Glau had a few amazing fight scenes in this movie, but the “Miranda Fight” as it’s most commonly known, is the most impressive. It’s a close call between this and two of Chiwetel Ejiofor‘s scenes as the film’s villain. If you’ve never heard of Ejiofor before, it sounds like 12 Years as a Slave will make sure you do soon.

PS – FOX, we’re all still pissed and we’re out there….and flammable.

Joss Whedon is now one of the most sought-after directors in the world, but there was a time when there were just a cult of us Whedonites preaching his awesomeness to the world. Quite simply one of the most talented writers, directors, showrunners and visionaries of the generation, Whedon has already compiled a large body of outstanding work. Now, with the clout of The Avengers, I can’t wait to see where his career will take him. In-between big projects and series, he stretches himself with things like Cabin in the Woods (which he produced), Dr. Horrible‘s Sing-a-Long Blog (which he did during the WGA strike a few years back) and his adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing which opens in theaters today. Whedon also has received an Oscar nomination for helping to write the script to the original Toy Story (which balances the fact that he wrote Alien 3 out). No one can take an ensemble, develop their characters and then ruthlessly break you heart by killing them off quite like Joss. A genuinely funny, nice guy in a business of people who are neither, I can’t wait to see Avengers 2 and perhaps a Star Wars in his future? Whatever he decides to do, though, it will be great. After all, it will be Whedon!

1. Marvel’s The Avengers