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Monday, June 19, 2017

Wonder Woman and the Rest of Summer

Alright!  Last week, I went to the city to see Wonder Woman.  I've been putting off all week sitting down and writing my usual "I went to the city and saw a movie and did stuff!" blog entry.  But now, I've got some time set aside on Sunday night, so let's do this.

Wonder Woman is awesome and you should go see it.

The end.


Mostly, I was just glad to see the third in DC's big trinity finally showcased in her own movie...one of those things I'd been hoping for for a really long time.  Hell, when Batman v Superman came out last year, polls said that #1 thing people were looking forward to about that film was seeing Wonder Woman for the first time.  So this is a movie that we've been primed and ready for.



I was curious about how the World War I setting would work.  I mean, most superheroes, and the Golden Age of Comics, kicked off with World War II.  World War I is an era where we've never seen superheroics.  But, since it still stands as one of the most brutal global conflicts the world has ever seen, it was actually a nice place for superheroics.  Where else, but in the trenches, would an ass-kicking Amazon warrior inspire?

Gal Gadot is just beautiful in every way as Diana/Wonder Woman.  She's able to pull of Diana's naivete at being in the real world for the first time, and able to shut that down and go into warrior woman mode at the drop of a hat.  And she does it in such a way that's believable and lovable.

Equally good is Captain Kirk himself, Chris Pine, as Steve Trevor...the American spy who crash-lands on the hidden island home of the Amazons and winds up bringing Diana back out into the world.  He's seen enough shit in the trenches that when he encounters the Amazons, he's just able to roll with it.  Gadot and Pine make for a great pair.

But, all in all, unlike DC's offerings last year, (Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad), this film is bright.  It doesn't try so hard to be dark and gritty.  It has a sense of hope and optimism to it.  And that just make me love it more.

So, yeah.  Wonder Woman rocks.  I give it the full 4 Nibs.  Full review over on the main site.

Oh, and I will give you one spoiler warning.  It's got no post-credit stingers, so you can go pee as soon as the end credits start.

And after the film, I was heading home.  I had nothing really to see or do in Edmonton, so this was a simple "Get in, watch the movie, get out" operation.  Although, I was ready for supper.  I was feeling a little adventurous.  I always have to drive through St. Albert to get to Edmonton, and on the north side of St. Albert, there's a big new Costco.  Well, not new new.  It opened up in about the last three years or so.  Anyway, a power centre has sprung up around the Costco, so I decided to cruise the power centre for something new.  And I happened upon a Panda Express.  I'd often heard of this Chinese food joint, but I had never stumbled across one in the wild.  So I decided to give Panda Express a try.

Obviously, the clerk realized by my confusion that it was my first time, so he explained how their ordering system works.  They've got three different kinds of combo meals, so I decided to go with their biggest one, the larger plate.  With that one, you get three main dishes and one side.  "It's my first time, so I may as well try as much as I can, right?" I said to the clerk, to try to mask my obvious gluttony.

For my side, I went with the fried rice.  For my three mains, I went with the walnut shrimp, the mushroom chicken, and the Beijing beef.  Clerk convinced me to grab a spring roll for an appetizer, and with an icy cold Pepsi to wash it down, I was ready.

And for the food I was...whelmed.  It's nothing special when it comes to Chinese food.  If you've had any of the Chinese food at any of the Chinese food kiosks in West Edmonton Mall, you've had Panda Express.


And before I wrap this up, I have to share this photo I snapped in the lobby of the movie theatre.

A post shared by Mark Cappis (@chaosinabox) on


That's the movie posters for Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi.  As I am quite fond of saying, it is so good to be a geek right now.

And it's got me kinda planning out the rest of my summer, movie-wise.  The Mummy has been out for a few weeks now, and I'm still on the fence about seeing that.  It's not the negative reviews that have got me down, I'm just thinking, with every other franchise I follow, do I really want to commit myself to another cinematic universe? 

And I find myself beginning to abandon cinematic universes.  Transformers: The Last Knight comes out this Friday, and, for the first time since this franchise started, I am feeling absolutely nothing for a Transformers film.  It looks like Michael Bay finally wore me out.  I think I will be giving Transformers: The Last Knight a pass.

That being said, I'm still a pretty big whore for Pixar, and I am mildly intrigued by Cars 3.  There is just enough in the trailers making me go, "Huh.  This actually looks...kinda good."  And the reviews are saying that, while the first two Cars films have been aimed squarely at kids, this is the first one that finally has some of that grown-up subtext that Pixar is famous for.  So, yeah.  I'll probably wind up seeing Cars 3

But, surprising even me, is how over-the-moon excited I'm getting for Spider-Man: Homecoming.  I was just texting a friend trying to figure it out, and I think it stems from a conversation me and my friend had about 10 years ago. 

10 years ago -- 2007 -- we had both Spider-Man 3 and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in theatres.  For those who have blocked out the memory, Spider-Man 3 involved Spider-Man getting his famous black costume, eventually revealed to be an alien symbiot.  My friend and I lamented, "Aw, man!  In the comics, Spidey has Reed Richards analyze the black costume to discover its alien nature.  We've got a Spider-Man film and a Fantastic Four film out this summer!  Why couldn't the studios work out the crossover to make that happen?" 

Well, look at that shot in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer of Spider-Man swinging alongside Iron Man.  They figured it out.  The crossovers are here.  IT'S HERE AND IT'S HAPPENING!

So I think that's why I'm getting super-pumped for Spider-Man: Homecoming

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