My little brother and I watched every episode of Speed Race before dinner growing up. Our Mom didn’t like it because it described Speed as a “demon” in the intro song, so we had to convince her they meant “speed demon”. Anyway, Funimation has released all 52 episodes on Blu-Ray, and you can get the collection on Amazon for around $20. A word of warning though, this only has the English dub, so if you want the original Japanese version you will have to hope for a future box set, but for someone like me who is nostalgic for the crappy US dub, this is great! Go Speed Racer Go!
Wonder Woman Is A Wonder!
I left the theater last night relieved. Ever since Suicide Squad I had been worried that DC was going to screw up Wonder Woman’s first solo film in her 75 year existence, but Gal Gadot, Patty Jenkins and crew pulled it off, and more than that, they gave the DC Movie Universe the hope and charisma it so desperately needed.
Wonder Woman follows Diana (Gal Gadot) from childhood on the island of Themyscira to her first outing as a hero in World War I. This of course is a change from her comic book origins where she fought in World War II, but the time swap works well for this movie. Seeing the horrors of The Great War really drive home her belief that she needs to stop this before more people get hurt or killed, and the world has not advanced so much that a sword wielding warrior on horseback would seem that out of place, but it still has advanced enough to provide plenty of opportunity for a little fish out of water humor.
The cast of this film is fantastic. Chris Pine (the best Chris) as Steve Trevor is funny and brave, and a great guide to the “man’s world” for the Amazonian Princess. His rag tag crew is a delight, but without Gal Gadot’s charm and strength this movie wouldn’t have worked. She embodies Wonder Woman perfectly. Angry at the injustices that are all around her, but still hopeful things can be changed for the better. I also love Elena Anaya and Danny Huston as the main villains, they are wonderfully comic-book-y, but not in an over the top way. They strike a good balance between maniacal sneer and believability.
That is not to say Wonder Woman is perfect however. The final fight is a little forced and long and has too much dodgy CG. The film at two hours and twenty-one minutes could have been tightened up a bit, but man, the second act of this movie is pretty much perfect, so I will take the slow start and generic end for those moments of perfection. Watching Diana become the hero the world needed and enjoying doing it was rousing, and I am not exaggerating when I say, it made me cry a little.
We have been waiting forever for Wonder Woman to get her chance to shine on the big screen and Patty Jenkins delivered. There have only been a handful of female led superhero films, and they have all been trash, so leave it to most iconic female comic book hero of all time to finally get it right. Make sure that we don’t have to wait another 75 years for another Wonder Woman and go see this movie. When Justice League comes out this November, Wonder Woman is going to be the draw.
The Paladin Wasn’t Hard Enough On Spectre!
The Paladin warned us that his toffee popcorn was more interesting than the 24th Bond film Spectre, but I didn’t listen. It was sitting there on my Amazon Prime queue saying, “I am a Bond film, I will at least have some good actions scenes!”, but it was just a siren song. Spectre was just a long heartless slog of Bond stuff. Everyone was going through the motions, and apparently no one wanted to be part of this movie for any other reason then the money. I blame The Paladin for all of this because toffee popcorn is pretty interesting, so to be worse than that is not that bad.
I think the biggest problem with this film is its namesake. Spectre is kind of a crazy organization with volcano hideouts and moon lasers, and the new Daniel Craig Bond films are grounded and realistic. The only thing over the top about them is the action. Everything else in them is “plausible”. Nothing in Spectre is plausible, but instead of having fun with this wild evil crew, the film plays it straight. WARNING MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW. No it is not strange there is a massive underworld organization run by James Bond’s foster brother. It is totally normal for a bad guy to have a massive base in the crater of a meteor. Automated lobotomy chair? Sounds legit to me. A ring that contains the DNA of all of the recent Bond’s villains with no explanation? Why not. Anyone comment about any of this in the film? Nope. They just parade all this insane stuff in front of you without any joy or whimsy. Which makes it all land with a thud.
By now I am sure you can tell that I don’t think you should see Spectre. If it was bad in the old fashion cheesy Bond way, I probably would have enjoyed myself, but instead I was just bored, and that is inexcusable for a Bond film. Anyway, I am in an airport right now, so I am going to go see if I can track down some toffee popcorn and think about how interesting it is, and how The Paladin let me down.
Shmee Visits 10 Cloverfield Lane!
The Cloverfield franchise is shaping up to be a strange one. First a found footage kaiju monster movie in 2008, and then a bunker/abduction film with 10 Cloverfield Lane in 2016. The third film, that they are doing their best not to talk about, is coming out this October which is supposed to be different still. I am guessing with its October release date it will delve more in to the horror genre. What do the films have in common thus far? They are very good. Though specifically today I am reviewing 10 Cloverfield Lane.
The plot is minimal. Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) gets in a car accident and then wakes up in a bunker chained to a wall being told the world has ended. Her captor/savior, Howard (John Goodman), is kind of creepy, so she is having a hard time trusting him. They are not in there alone. A local to the area, Emmett (John Gallagher Jr.), forced his way in to the bunker seemingly confirming Howards story.
10 Cloverfield Lane’s stripped down nature really serves it well. There are only three main actors, and the plot only has one major question: Can you trust someone who kidnapped you? But the tension these three people achieve while exploring that question is fantastic. Had they added anything else to the mix it probably would have been worse. This is not the type of movie that needs an A, B, and C plot.
Of course it helps when you have John Goodman as your morally questionable survivalist. The man is an acting tour de force. Winstead pulls off the cagey and smart Michelle quite well. She knows something is not as it seems and she will figure it out. Meanwhile Gallagher’s Emmett is just around to provide some laughs so the whole flick doesn’t get too overwhelming and melodramatic.
If you are getting a little tired of bombastic blockbusters and need something a little smaller, 10 Cloverfield Lane might be just the sort of film you need. Don’t worry, knowledge of the first Cloverfield movie is not required since they are barely related. They are more like third cousins to each other instead of siblings. Though you should still see Cloverfleid, but only because it is a good movie. I look forward to Cloverfield Whatever this October.
What Is Sony Doing With Their Spider-Man Universe?
A few days ago Sony dropped the bomb that Tom Hardy was going to be the new Venom, and I instantly started to wonder how an almost forty year old Eddie Brock was going to be in “competition” with a teenage Peter Parker, but then Sony dropped the next bomb that there will be no Spider-Man in their newly minted Sony Marvel Universe. How can this be? Sony is making an interconnected Marvel Universe without their one hero. In other words, Sony is making a villains universe.
Part of me thought that maybe Venom was going to be a one shot deal, but no, Sony has doubled down with their next Marvel movie Silver and Black featuring Silver Sable and Black Cat. Who are Silver Sable and Black Cat you ask? Silver Sable is a generic sexy morally gray mercenary from 90’s. A time that featured a ton of generic sexy morally gray mercenaries, and Black Cat is Catwoman. Not like Catwoman, but just Catwoman. I can’t wait for the Cardiac solo flick.
I am not sure how any of this is going work, but I have an idea to try and tie it all together. A different Spider-Man. There are several Spider-Man universes, so why not pick one of their Spider-Men. There are a lot of good options:
- Spider-Gwen, this would make up for killing her recently, and she is sooo popular right now.
- Spider-Woman, she would change things up, and let Sony use a popular hero to anchor their Universe.
- Old married Peter Parker, because then having an old Venom makes sense.
- Miles Morales, because then old married Peter would be dead and the older villains still make sense, and everyone loves Miles. Even more than Peter.
And of course there are still more Spider-Men to choose from, and they are all pretty good choices to lead Sony’s Marvel Universe. Better than Spider-Man’s villains anyway. Especially villains like Silver Sable and Black Cat (to be fair Black Cat is pretty cool, but so is Catwoman). We will see how Sony does, and I am pulling for them, but considering the last few Spider-Man movies, I am going to be very cautious. This from a guy that just pre-ordered Wonder Woman tickets, and the last couple of DC movies have been less than great, or even good.