Movie Review (Not) - Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman will start to play this coming weekend in the local cinemas.

I have to say that I did enjoy watching the Wonder Woman trailers and am very excited to watch the movie itself as the trailers did exhibit the following:

• Great action scenes
• Greek/Amazonian Mythology
• Humor - I really loved the Etta Candy (Lucy Davis) trailer scene - "I'm not opposed to engaging in a bit of fisticuffs should the occasion arise." 
• Potential Romance between Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) and Diana
• Great Soundtrack
• Wonder Woman's costume is among the most accurate & faithful to the comics version than any other big screen super-heroes (except for maybe Deadpool)

 However, having said that, I do have my reservations because. I think if there's any chance of it being screwed up, it might be due to this - the film has been placed during the WW1 era. Yeah, I think that is not that great an idea. Let's hope I'm wrong about it. I want to see Wonder Woman succeed as a movie because it will open up a brand new whole other Cinematic Universe for the DC characters. Which fanboy geek wouldn't want that?

I foresee Wonder Woman to be a major game changer to the Super-Hero movie genre if they do not screw it up. This is because DC beat Marvel to the chase in having a full feature film with a Female Lead Character. For the longest time, viewers and fanboys are saying DC will not have any chance in catching up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe as they have had success after success. Wonder Woman may just change all of that!

3 more days to go...

TV Series - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency Season 1

Movie: 

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

Year: 

2016

Genre: 

Comedy, Sci-Fi, Action, Mystery, 

What it was about (in > 50 words)

A strange violent murder occurs at the hotel where Todd works. Unusual characters like Dirk Gently, a cat & a dog - intrudes his mundane life and they must to solve the murder before more strange & dangerous elements encroach into their lives.

Anything special/memorable?

Some choice words to describe the series: Weird, Bizarre, Odd, Errr, Quirky, Unusual, Strange, Rubbish, What The...?! The series starts with the focus on Todd Brotzman (Elijah Wood) & an extremely violent murder scene in a hotel room where the occupants seem to be murdered by a (get ready for this) ...SHARK?!!. However, all the authorities find at the crime scene is a cat!??And you'd think that Todd would be the titular star of the show, but NO. Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) is much more peculiar and I don't know about you, his peculiarity is quite the adorable sort, perhaps bordering on annoying, but still loveable. Dirk describes himself to be a detective who solves cases by "following fate" or where the universe leads him. His mantra being "everything in the universe is interconnected". Visually, Dirk Gently is very different from the comic book version (the comic version looks even weirder than the TV version).

Waste/worth the time?

Will I want to watch this series again? Yes (maybe not so soon but definitely yes.) The series has a good mix of action, a healthy dose of comedy, mystery, time-travel hijinks, vampires (not the typical blood sucking variety, but The Rowdy 3 Martin, Vogel, Gripps and Cross, are vampires that feed on emotion and mind energy) & X-File type government conspiracy that involves agencies that try to run their agendas against directives of another's (eg: CIA, FBI, Local Police, etc). Dirk was part of a government agency that studied individuals with 'special' abilities.Farah Black (Jade Eshete), the personal bodyguard of Lydia Spring was thrown into the mix as a future partner and romantic interest for one of the male protagonistsHence, the cat at the crime scene was weaponised with the spirit of a shark whose attack can be devastating, and the dog was Lydia Spring, the daughter of the multi-billionaire Patrick Spring (who we learn later on was the time traveler Zackariah Webb) who was killed in the opening of the series. The bad guys wanted to get their hands on what they refer to as "the Machine" (which was hidden by Patrick Spring/Zackariah Webb before he died) so that they could live forever, by transferring their spirits into younger host bodies. While all of this was happening, more madness was added to the mix in the form of the invulnerable Bart Curlish (Fiona Dourif) - a "holistic" assassin who feels that the universe leads her to people she has to kill. What is her connection to Dirk? Why did she want to kill Dirk?This is to me yet another winner from Netflix's stable altho' the 8 episodes were produced in collaboration with BBC America.

Movie Review - Swiss Army Man

Movie: 

Swiss Army Man

Year: 

2016

Genre: 

Comedy ,Drama

What it was about (in > 50 words)

A down & out suicidal man, Hank (Paul Dano) tries to kill himself on a deserted island before he's interrupted by a "dead man" on the beach. Hank names him "Manny" (Daniel Radcliffe). Fortunately, Manny's many hidden talents help bring Hank back to civilization. On their journey, they develop a friendship and discover the joys of being alive.

Anything special/memorable?

It took me quite a while to figure out the title Swiss Army Man, which was obviously referring to Radcliffe's Manny, but he wasn't a soldier or anything remotely militaristic. Then it struck me - he's the human version of the Swiss Army Knife! This was because Manny had so many uses he's just like a Swiss army knife! Hank used Manny as a boat, water collection device, hunting rifle, compass, etc.

Somewhere in the middle, on their way back to civilization, Hank shares his life with Manny and we get to understand his perceived failings as a man. And one of the major motivations to stay alive was his unrequited affections for a woman named Sarah Johnson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) whom they both see on Hank's mobile phone wallpaper.

 

 There are quite a few funny moments especially the ingenious ways Hank uses Manny as a survival tool.

Some choice words to describe the movie: Weird, Bizarre, Odd, Errr, Strange, Rubbish, What The...?!

Waste/worth the time?

This to me is really quite an original film unlike any other I've ever watched (and as you can surmise, I've watched quite a few...). However, having said that, this film is not for everybody because if you don't have the patience, you may just feel that the movie didn't make any sense and wasn't really going anywhere.

 I would definitely recommend this film to anyone who wants to watch something different - not the run-of-the-mill formulaic Hollywood fluff.

Will I want to watch this film again? Yes (maybe not so soon but definitely yes.)