It has actually rained for two days in a row in Southern California. For some of you that may not seem like a big deal, but here in the southern portion of the Golden State that many consecutive days of rain is fairly rare. In fact, in the past year, I can’t remember another time when it rained on consecutive days.
While we desperately need the rain and many more rainy days to come, I’d still rather see the sunshine. I love the sunshine and I’m not too big of a fan of the rain. To help me through our rainy days, though, I thought I’d share some of my favorite nerdy rainy days.
Thor
Unlike most people I really enjoyed the original Thor. It was a much smaller movie than either of the first two Iron Man movies and introduced the God of Thunder in a more personal manner. Thor had some entertaining action sequences but my favorite might be at the makeshift base S.H.I.E.L.D. built around Mjölnir. Thor wrecks house even without his hammer or any other weapon. I also like that Hawkeye makes his first appearance as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent tasked with bringing Thor down. And all of that takes place in the rain, which makes Chris Hemsworth’s hair look pretty cool.
Helm’s Deep
The battle at Helm’s Deep is probably my favorite scene from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Every time I watch The Two Towers I can’t wait for the Uruk-hai to show up and for the battle to get going. I get goose bumps when the Elves arrive and I cheer when Legolas rides a shield like a skateboard. I can’t imagine fighting a battle is very pleasant in the rain; I don’t even like walking to my car in the rain. The rain and the darkness made for an ominous battle, even though I’m sure it was remarkably unpleasant for all the actors, especially those in Uruk-hai makeup.
Kamino
Even though they have their flaws, I still have a soft spot for the prequels. Episodes I-III weren’t that great, but I still love them because I love Star Wars. Attack of the Clones may have had a terrible name but it did feature a great rainy day fight between Obi-Wan and Jango Fett. Their fight on Kamino is one of my favorite parts in Episode II; it shows us how awesome both Fett and Kenobi really are. The stories and the acting may not have been that great, but the prequels did have a lot of great action set pieces. And even though Obi-Wan’s lightsaber didn’t have a laser hilt, I still thought he was pretty awesome.
I may not like rainy days but at least I’m not fighting for my life or getting beat up by the God of Thunder. I know that the rain is good and a blessing from heaven, but I’d still rather be wearing sandals.
What are some of your favorite nerdy rainy days?
Maybe the rain storm that erupts over Arrakis at the end of the 1984 Dune movie? Not true to the book at all, but visually, emotionally, and thematically very satisfying.
Meantime, praise God you all are finally getting rain and, your dislike of rainy days notwithstanding, may many more come your way – California desperately needs them. Watching the effects of climate change is really very sobering.
I’ve never seen or read Dune. Big nerd blindspot.