Wonder Woman 1984

Other than Tenet there haven't been any big-budget Hollywood blockbusters in movie theaters this year so I have been anticipating the release of Wonder Woman 1984 for a long time!  I saw it last night in an IMAX theater with Dolby ATMOS sound and, while it didn't quite live up to the original, I loved the spectacle (I think it should be seen on the big screen with a giant tub of popcorn, if at all possible) and the message.  It is 1984 and Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) curates antiquities at the Smithsonian and anonymously rounds up criminals as Wonder Woman but she is sad and lonely because she has been mourning the loss of her lover Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) for over sixty years.  She is befriended by Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), a gemologist at the Smithsonian who is warm and compassionate but also awkward, mousy, and forgettable.  The Smithsonian acquires an ancient artifact that is purported to grant the wish of anyone who touches it and both Diana and Barbara wish for their deepest desires, not really believing that they will come true.  Barbara idolizes Diana and her wish is to be just like her which leads to more confidence and, rather unexpectedly, an increase in strength.  Max Lord (Pedro Pascal), a sleazy oil tycoon, visits the Smithsonian looking for the artifact which he believes he can use to save his failing business.  He seduces Barbara so that she will give it to him and ultimately wishes for world domination.  The artifact grants wishes but also takes what the recipient holds dear in return; however, even though Diana's strength is depleted and Barbara loses her humanity, they are unwilling to renounce their wishes.  As Lord's wish causes instability in the Middle East and brings the world to the brink of nuclear war, Diana must decide what is most important.  For me, this movie lacks the emotional resonance of Wonder Woman and is a bit convoluted but there is still a lot to enjoy.  Some of the best scenes from the original are when Diana is a fish-out-of-water who marvels at everything she sees in the modern world of 1918.  These are mimicked when Steve is amazed by the technology of 1984, especially supersonic planes and escalators, and there is even a fun scene with Steve trying on clothes. The loud and colorful action set pieces are thrilling, particularly a car chase in the Egyptian desert and a stand-off in a corridor of the White House, and there is a truly awe-inspiring sequence that gave me goosebumps.  More of the Wonder Woman mythology is introduced, including the invisible jet and the Golden Eagle armor, and these scenes are also clever and exciting.  Gadot gives another charismatic performance and I loved Diana's character arc because, even though she is less naive than she once was, she is still eventually motivated by the goodness within mankind in a pivotal scene.  Both Wiig and Pascal look like they are having a lot of fun portraying these over-the-top villains, especially Pascal as a megalomaniac con-man who perfectly embodies the excess of the era.  The story is a powerful indictment of greed and instant gratification and I really liked the message that it is better to live with the truth than an illusion.  I loved seeing this with a large socially distanced crowd (and the aforementioned popcorn) and I would definitely recommend it!

Note:  There is mid-credits scene with a really fun cameo but no end-credits scene.

Soul

After opening presents yesterday I watched the new Pixar movie Soul which is now streaming on Disney+.  It is an incredibly clever exploration of the true meaning of life that is funny, touching, and profound.  I really loved it!  Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) is a jazz pianist who has aspirations of being a professional musician but is stuck in a job as a middle school band teacher.  He gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he auditions for jazz legend Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) and is offered a position in her band.  On his way home to prepare for the gig he has an accident and his soul leaves his body.  Angry that he has died right before his big break, he runs away from the Great Beyond, which is the afterlife, and ends up in the Great Before, where souls get their personalities before coming to Earth.  Joe eventually poses as an instructor and is assigned to mentor 22 (Tina Fey), a soul who has been in the Great Before for many years because she doesn't see the point of living.  Joe decides to help 22 find her spark and is helped by Moonwind Stardancer (Graham Norton), an enlightened soul who sends them both to Earth, and is pursued by Terry (Rachel House), an accountant who is obsessed with finding the missing soul in her count.  As Joe helps 22 find her passion through a series of adventures with his mother Libba (Phylicia Rashad), his neighbor Paul (Daveed Diggs), his barber Dez (Donnell Rawlings), and his student Connie (Cathy Cavadini), he also learns the importance of living life to the fullest.  I loved the message that the journey itself is just as important as the destination and that you shouldn't get so caught up in achieving a big goal that you miss out on the little things that give life meaning.  I loved the character design, especially the shape-shifting line drawings (they reminded me of Cubist paintings) used for the mentor souls because they are the physical manifestations of a theoretical construct and the almost amorphous shapes of the new souls because they have not yet developed any characteristics.  Finally, I loved all of the humorous pop culture references (as with most Disney and Pixar animated movies I think this is actually much funnier for adults than for children), particularly the commentary on 22's former mentors Mother Teresa, Copernicus, Mohammad Ali, Marie Antoinette, Abraham Lincoln, and Carl Jung.  I also laughed out loud over a reference to Tetris!  This movie is even better than I thought it would be (there is an amusing twist about midway through that I wasn't expecting) and I highly recommend it.

Note:  I am not a huge fan of jazz music but I enjoyed the songs composed by Jon Batiste, especially the music performed by Joe when he is in the "zone."  I also loved the ethereal score, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, used in the Great Beyond and the Great Before.

Christmas 2020

I was given very strict instructions by Sean to be at my parents' house by 8:00 yesterday morning to start opening presents and I made with a few minutes to spare!  He was a bit excited!  We always take turns opening presents one at a time, starting with the youngest (Sean) to the oldest (my Mom), so it takes a couple of hours but it is so much fun.  It is also tradition to have cinnamon rolls and orange juice while we open.

Sean got a bunch of new games and, after we opened presents, we didn't see him again for the rest of the day because he was downloading and playing them.  Tashena's big present was an Apple watch and now I think I need one!  I got a new rolling duffel bag, a puffer jacket that folds into a small bag, a Hydro Flask, some winter boots, and some more DVDs for my Alfred Hitchcock collection.  If I am actually able to go to Iceland next year I am all set!  My Dad gave everyone $50 which is a tradition we have had since my sisters and I were really young (Sean already bought another game online).  In the afternoon we had a wonderful Christmas dinner with turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, pomegranate salad, rolls, and vegetables with dip.  We took a break and then had another game of Shanghai rummy.  I didn't come in last place this time but it still wasn't pretty!  It was a really nice Christmas!

Monster Hunter

I thought my nephew, an avid gamer, would want to see Monster Hunter with me since it is based on a popular video game but, apparently, he thinks the game is really stupid so he declined my offer.  He gave me a very detailed explanation of why he doesn't like it but, frankly, I didn't understand most of what he told me and I thought the movie sounded interesting so I saw it last night.  I should have listened to him.  A group of U.S. Army Rangers led by Captain Artemis (Milla Jovovich) go in search of a missing unit in the desert.  A sand and lightening storm transports them to another world where they find what is left of the missing unit and then what killed them.  After an intense battle with a giant monster, Artemis is the only member of her unit to survive.  Soon she encounters a mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa) and, after they realize that they are allies rather then enemies, they join together to fight one of the biggest monsters.  Up to this point, I was willing to suspend my disbelief and just go with what was happening even though there was very little exposition, character development, or plot because I liked the goofy camaraderie between the Ranger and the Hunter (who do not speak the same language) and I liked the fact that it takes both her advanced weapons and his more primitive ones to defeat the monster.  I also liked the design of the monsters and the action sequences are a lot of fun even if the editing is a bit choppy.  However, in the third act everything goes off the rails when the two of them meet the Admiral (Ron Perlman) and his band of pirates (and a cat that acts like a human!) who were also transported to this alternate world in the prologue.  He provides a bit of an explanation and then they all embark on a mission to get Artemis back home which necessitates fighting another terrifying monster.  The tone is so wacky in this act that it seems like an entirely different movie (I rolled my eyes when the cat made an appearance because it seems so out of place).  The final action sequence (with the coolest monster in the movie) ends so abruptly that it is obvious the filmmakers are trying to set up a possible sequel but let's hope it doesn't come to that!  I can definitely enjoy an escapist action movie as much as the next person but this is just so bad (people in my screening were laughing out loud by the end of it).  I will never doubt my nephew again!

Gingerbread Houses 2020

On the Sunday before Christmas Marilyn and I have a tradition of making gingerbread houses with Sean and Tashena so that is what we did last night.  This is so much fun because we always have a few mishaps and we usually eat more candy than we put on our houses!

My house sort of turned into a Peppermint Palace.

Tashena meticulously piped all of the snowflakes on her house and I think it turned out so beautiful.

Sean just does his own thing and I love it!

I love the snow on Marilyn's house.

Our Gingerbread Village!

I love how they all turned out this year!