Movie Review: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) co-written and directed by Patty Jenkins

Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) tries to keep a low profile as a employee of the Smithsonian Institution in 1980s Washington, D. C. She still pines for her lost love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). When people are in trouble, she has a hard time resisting suiting up and fighting them as Wonder Woman. In the opening sequence (after a flashback to the island Themyscria where the theme of devotion to truth is set up), Wonder Woman foils a stolen antiquities heist at a local mall. One of the items recovered is an ancient wishing stone that winds up at the Smithsonian for assessment. Diana's mousy co-worker Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) takes the stone and wishes to be less mousy, specifically to have Diana's amazing powers. Barbara doesn't know she's Wonder Woman, just that she's popular and cool at work. The wishing stone actually works and Barbara starts transforming. Diana has also made a wish and the spirit of Steve Trevor inhabits the body of some random Washingtonian. She's happy to be reunited and only sees Steve when she sees the guy.

Meanwhile, Max Lord (Pedro Pascal) is a con man trying to build a big, successful company speculating on crude oil drilling. Things aren't working out, so he was going to purchase the wishing stone from the antique dealer. He steals the stone from Barbara's office. His wishes start coming true and, in an attempt to keep the good times rolling, we wishes for the power of the stone. But the stone's wishes come at a price, forcing him to grant other people's wishes, causing more and more damage to society. People just aren't good at wishing for practical, simple things. Wishes for more money, more territory, and more nukes all cause catastrophic problems. Good thing Wonder Woman is here to save the day.

The set-up of the story was a little slow and the initial theme was lost along the way until the end of the movie. The special effects are amazing and the action sequences are fun and exciting. I was worried about re-introducing Steve Trevor in a credible way but the filmmakers handled it well. Gadot and Pine have good chemistry and their characters have a good mix of comedy, romance, and action together. Wiig does a good job transforming from the sympathetic nobody Barbara to the overly ambitious Cheetah. Again, the filmmakers dodged a fail by leaving Wiig in her human form until the end where she gets the cat ears, fur, and tail at the final showdown. The story was weak and rambling, as was Max Lord's abilities and motivation. The movie goes on too long and would probably would have benefited from a rewrite and a tighter edit.

Mildly recommended--it looks great but doesn't make a lot of sense.

Book Review: The Vision Vol. 1 by T. King et al.

The Vision Volume 1: Little Worse Than a Man written by Tom King and illustrated by Gabriel Walta

The Vision decides to find a more normal life. He makes a family for himself: a wife named Virginia and twins Viv and Vin. They move into a house in Arlington, Virginia, where the kids go to school and The Vision works as a liaison between the Avengers and the President of the United States. The story doesn't focus on the work, it focuses on the family life. Each family member has the same phasing and flying powers that The Vision has. They have trouble fitting in to the neighborhood and school. Making a family is more of an obsession than an experiment, and like most obsessions it quickly turns to tragedy.

While I found this premise interesting, I found the execution less satisfying. The Vision wants to be more human and finds an interesting way down that path. The family has to deal with prejudice from the neighbors and the school, though not always, so there is a good balance. There's a lot of reflecting on the situation, some of which are profound insights, others of which come off like nonsense. That would be okay if the nonsense was The Vision's plan falling apart or his faulty thinking. The rantings of the less than sane can be entertaining and explain how things go wrong. But that's not the case here. It's a shame, because the general idea is something new and different for a superhero comic.

Not recommended.

Book Review: Run, Shepherds, Run by L. William Countryman

Run, Shepherds, Run: Poems for Advent and Christmas by L. William Countryman

Countryman collects an assortment of poems for the Advent and Christmas seasons. There's a poem for each day, starting on the first day of Advent and ending on January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany (the celebration of the wise men visiting the infant Jesus and giving Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The poems run a good historical range, from the 1600s to the present day. They are written by a mixture of famous and less famous writers. Like many anthologies, the set is a mixed bag of good and average works, though I will admit my tastes in poetry are underdeveloped. 

I liked the book for the most part though I do not think that in enhanced my yuletide spirituality, which seems to be the aim of Countryman, who is an Episcopalian priest. I may hunt around for a more edifying day-to-day Advent devotional.

Mildy recommended.

Holiday Train Wonderland Walk

In previous years, we would visit the Ellicott City Fire Department to see their miniature train set up (see posts here or here). Due to Covid restrictions, the organizers decided on another plan. The train display was divided up and put in the windows of several businesses along Main Street in Old Ellicott City, resulting in the Holiday Train Wonderland Walk. The walk was short and fun. Each window had a QR code for a list of scavenger hunt items in that display. We drove over on the Monday after Christmas and saw most of the displays.

A bit of Main Street Ellicott City

Our first stop was at Su Casa. Their display had some of the classic Baltimore buildings, like the Bromo Seltzer Clock Tower.

City street

Clock tower on right

The tourism center on Main Street had an interesting piece of art outside. We explained to the kids that the title is the English name for the beloved fruit (because fruits are the parts of the plant with the seeds). The shiny reflectiveness made us think of other sculptures and how they dress up fruit in the market with wax.

Or maybe they just wanted it to rhyme with Chicago Bean

The next display was at MissFit, a women's fitness center. 

A fitting display

Right across the intersection from MissFit was the next display in the window of Sweet Cascades. Being a chocolates shop, their display featured a lot of candy-related decorations.

Sweet winter treats

More candy makers

The Taylor's Collective window had more traditional old-time buildings and vehicles, including horse-powered vehicles.

A peek in the window

A sleigh ride!

The set at Big Little Cheese (a breakfast/lunch place) returned to a more whimsical theme.

A bunch of Disney stuff

The name of the store blocks the shot!

The Old Shoemaker Building had two windows full of buildings. The first window had a bunch of fire department vehicles, including a ladder truck at a burning row house.

To the rescue!

Fire chief's car

The second window had a river, a quarry, and a train station.

Canoes!

Digging out stones

Using the stones for an elevated line

Manufacturing goods to go by train

By this point, we were down near the Patuxent River, which runs along the actual railroad. The Tiber River runs through town, literally, into the Patuxent.

Tiber flowing under buildings

Actual train bridge with actual train!

More of the train

The town's train station has been turned into a western annex of the B&O Museum in Baltimore. The original train line out of Baltimore ran to Ellicott City (which was called Ellicott Mills back then). Passengers would go out to visit the country and goods would be sent in to Baltimore's port.

The old train station

We missed one display at the very top of the hill. The creativity of the organizers was greatly appreciated. Hopefully they will be back at the fire department next year!

Book Review: Jonathan Dickinson's Journal by Jonathan Dickinson

Jonathan Dickinson's Journal: A True Story of Shipwreck and Torture on the Florida Coast in 1696 by Jonathan Dickinson

In late August 1696, the ship Reformation sailed from Jamaica intending to arrive at Philadelphia. The ship was caught in a storm and wrecked on the Florida coast with a crew of nine and sixteen passengers, including author Jonathan Dickinson. All survived the wreck but they were unable to salvage much from the boat. Dickinson had been traveling with his wife and infant son, a friend, a preacher, and several slaves. He was going to expand the family business in Pennsylvania. That plan changed as they faced hostile natives, friendly natives, and the Spanish during their trek northward. The journal was a popular account and provides some of the only first-hand information about the southern Florida Atlantic coast and the people living there before the Europeans came. Their adventure is exciting and miserable at the same time. They lost almost all their possessions as they progressed. They had to find or make shelters as the season grew progressively worse. Kindness and contempt came in uneven measures.

The subtitle's reference to torture is a bit sensationalistic but not nearly as much as the original title's reference to "the more cruelly devouring jawes [sic] of the inhumane CANIBALS [sic] of FLORIDA." The threat of cannibalism does come up but the only cases are second-hand information about a previously shipwrecked crew that were eaten by those other Indians. It reads more like a threat or scare tactic. The text is more straightforward and honest without embellishments or stereotypes. These English are marooned and pretend to be Spanish since the locals seem very hostile to the English and very respectful of the Spanish. The preacher, Robert Barrow, refuses to go along with the lie but he isn't the spokesman for the travelers and they get away with it for the most part. 

I found the book interesting as a tale I hadn't heard before told in an old-fashioned yet relatable style. It's about 100 pages long, making it a quick read.

Recommended for history buffs.

Book Review: My Hero Academia Vol. 21 by Kohei Horikoshi

My Hero Academia Volume 21 by Kohei Horikoshi

Endeavor proves himself as the new number one hero (replacing All Might) with an epic battle against Dabi. He's helped out by number two, Hawks, but the secondary hero has another agenda going on. The intrigue is sidelined when the story goes back to the school where Class A and Class B students are training together by being matched up against each other in team combat. So it's another quirk-a-palooza as the new characters from Class B are introduced. Midoriya, the latest wielder of All Might's quirk (which All Might gave to him), has some strange visions about the earlier users of the One For All quirk. 

More questions are brought up than answered in this issue. The school conflict is getting a little less interesting to me. The battles are fun but probably work better on the anime screen than the manga page. It is still very entertaining.

Slightly recommended.

Movie Review: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)

 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) directed by John S. Robertson

Want to be a new person in the New Year? Have we got the formula for you!

John Barrymore plays the title roles in this early adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale. Dr. Jekyll is a kind-hearted and morally-upright medical doctor with a progressive bent. One night as he dines with his finacee's father, Sir George (Brandon Hurst), the conversation turns to man's dual nature. Sir George doesn't believe Jekyll can possibly be as nice as he seems. He tells Jekyll that he can't surpress his dark side forever and that he should enjoy the pleasures of life more. They go to a music hall where George invites the voluptuous and scantily-clad singer to meet Jekyll. Jekyll is uncomfortable and soon leaves. But the seed is planted and he begins working on a serum that would allow his baser self to enjoy the morally dubious things in life while he, Jekyll, would remain innocent. The plan doesn't work out so well as his alter-ego, Hyde, lives a hedonistic lifestyle, often at Jekyll's expense, both financial and moral.

The story is fairly faithful to the book. Barrymore gives a great performance. He projects the moral uprightness of Jekyll and the loathsomeness of Hyde. Since this is a silent film, the acting is very over-the-top at times, especially when he drinks the serum and reacts with painful spasms. The transformations are the classic "fade into the actor in different makeup" (think of all the old Wolfman movies), which I didn't mind though it does look dated. The Hyde makeup is hideous in the proper way but not so silly as the monkey-boy look in the Frederick March version. 

This is a silent film. I watched the Kino version through Hoopla which has a good musical soundtrack added.

Recommended, though surely it is no substitute for reading the book.