Jun 05 2017

Thoughts on Wonder Woman and “Wonder Woman”

Wonder Woman” has arrived and it’s a hit! This is a good thing for many reasons, not the least of which is that the movie is actually pretty good. Here are some of my thoughts about both the character and the new (hit) movie.

Wonder Woman's first TV appearance

(Note: the above is a screenshot from Wonder Woman’s first TV appearance, which apparently was on “The Brady Kids“.)

The Movie

It’s pretty good! I say this with the understanding the film has been deemed to be more than pretty good by Rotten Tomatoes. If you read those reviews, though, as I did, you will find that although the vast majority of them are indeed positive, there are some complaints, which is fair since there are no perfect movies. (Not even my beloved Avengers movie.)

Down to brass tacks. (Which sounds painful.) “Wonder Woman” is very entertaining. Read more »


Dec 14 2015

New Star Trek Beyond Trailer is Brilliant

This may seem weird because I’m linking to a site that says “The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans”. But I think the new Star Trek Beyond trailer is brilliant.

star-trek-blu-ray-at-amazon

Here’s what the other site says:

The first trailer for Star Trek Beyond, the third in the current series, has landed, and it’s very silly. While fans still crave a more cerebral film a la the Picard/Sisco golden years, Paramount looks to be going further in the other direction – the emphasis in the trailer being on comedy and action.

And here is the trailer.

Something needs to be clarified. This quote is also from the linked article: “It begins by shamelessly cribbing from Guardians of the Galaxy, with the crew enjoying anachronistic music, before rifling through one-liners, lurching spaceships and hand-to-hand combat with aliens.” (emphasis added)

That “anachronistic music” is the Beastie Boys’ song Sabotage (arguably the best song ever), and it was featured in the first JJ Abrams’ Star Trek movie.

Remember that? I know it was 2009, but that wasn’t THAT long ago. More importantly, it’s not a random choice of song. It’s a callback to the first of the new Star Trek movies, when a young lad named James Tiberius Kirk steals his stepfather’s car and cranks up Sabotage.

Does the trailer look a little goofy? Maybe. But it’s a first trailer. There’s clearly going to be more Scotty, which I’m in favor of, because Simon Pegg is awesome. He also co-wrote the screenplay, so I don’t mind that he’s giving himself more screen time.

But awful? Really? I think it looks like fun. The other two reboots weren’t perfect but what they did get right is the characters. As long as that continues, we’ll be fine.

Also — and this is very important — IT’S THE FIRST TRAILER. We have no idea what the actual film is going to be like. And that’s great. I’m tired of trailers telling me every friggin’ thing that’s going to be in the movie before I see it. For example, Idris Elba is in the cast. Love Idris Elba. No idea who he’s playing. That’s cool with me.

Spock is logical. McCoy is cranky. Kirk is something of a maverick who will sleep with anything. That’s what matters. After that, give it a chance, people. Don’t judge a film by it’s trailer. Be happy that there’s more Star Trek to consume. I know I am.

Source: The Star Trek Beyond trailer has landed and it’s going to annoy the hell out of fans (Independent)