Wonder Woman / Conan review

Quickly put: I really enjoyed Wonder Woman / Conan. Gail Simone does a masterful job of crafting a fantastic fantasy story. Pacing-wise, it's pretty great - it has a bit of a slow start, but builds really, really nicely, weaving in so many excellent elements thanks to the medium (particularly the flashbacks). There are some great themes, setup-payoffs, fantasy motifs, and the relationship / dynamic between Wonder Woman and Conan is excellent. It ends really nicely, too. Solid job, all around.

Plus, the artwork by Aaron Lopresti was just fantastic (and the included covers, including those by The Boys' Darick Robertson, are awesome). The coloring brought the world to life in a stunning way.

I'd love this as a movie, complete with an epic score (RIP Basil Poledouris), but I'm glad we have the story in excellent form as a comic. In a brief exchange on Twitter, Simone revealed she listened to Poledouris score while creating the book, and that makes me love both even more.

Conclusion: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Bright Movie Review

Bright is a great example of a film with an interesting world (magic in the modern day, prophecies), but the execution left much to be desired.

For my two cents, the film needed less David Ayer and Max Landis and more... quality. Flat direction and questionable writing (Landis was not a good choice for an LA-based cop drama about racism) made for an underwhelming experience. A number of scenes were trying to heighten the drama, but just fell completely flat due to bad direction (and cinematography) by Ayer. Had this been Ghostbusters' great blend of horror and comedy meets John Carpenter's auteur style meets fantasy, I'd have been all over it.

Acting was OK, with Joel Edgerton being the highlight, but the rest of the cast was racial stereotypes to an awkward degree. Noomi Rapace was wasted. It'd also be great to know WHY Edgerton's character wanted to be a cop, rather than wanting to be a cop since a kid.

This movie had a budget of $90 million - where did it go? The movie's look alternated between good fantasy (20%), shakey-cam street cop drama (15%) and a TV show (65%). There were some cool shots, but they also looked low-budget, to an extent.

I was hoping it'd be run-of-the-mill with some interesting elements, and it was, but it was also largely a waste of time.

Takeaway: Didn't care for it, but, as always, your mileage may vary.

First Podcast: Star Wars The Force Awakens

Two friends and I go in-depth on Star Wars: The Force Awakens in an epic 3-hour podcast:

In the podcast, we discuss the how the film relates to the original trilogy, including its use of the old characters, how it uses the new characters and where it can go in the future. Spoiler: I sing at one point and we all endorse Ryan Coogler as a director on a future Star Wars movie.