Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Books Editor (673 KP) created a post

Sep 15, 2017 (Updated Sep 15, 2017)  
New September Reads from Penguin Books.

This month is all about space, action, activism and loving your body. Not a bad combo! Let us know which books were your favourite reads this summer.

The books in this video:

Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Riot Days
Body Positive Power
Nyxia
Warcross

     
Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Leigh Bardugo | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.6 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Bardugo truly brings the fierce Amazon to life! She empowers the other female characters by highlighting all of their different forms of strength that they possess, while also emphasizing that none of those strengths are any less valuable or important
Critic- Brittanys Book Rambles
Original Score:

Read Review: http://www.bookrambles.com/2017/04/wonder-woman-warbringer-by-leigh.html
  
40x40

Ellen Fox recommended Gone With the Wind (1939) in Movies (curated)

 
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
1939 | Drama, Romance, War

"My ideal man was Christopher Reeves’ Superman; my ideal woman Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman. But here was my first glimpse of the electricity that can crackle between two such sexy grown-ups. Like Oz, it’s another 1939 tale about a dark-haired, willful farm girl. But Scarlett O’Hara’s desires aren’t as heady as Dorothy’s; they run hot and elsewhere. Thanks to the manic perfectionism of both producer David O. Selznick and Vivien Leigh, it’s the best depiction of female desire ever captured on film."

Source
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman Chris Pine as Steve Trevor No Man's land sequence The score Girl Power F YEAH Steve and Diana's relationship (0 more)
Third act is a little generic Villians aren't as memorable as other DCEU villians (0 more)
"I can save today, you can save the world"
Remember when some trickster claiming to be a former worker from Warner Bros. wrote an open letter saying that Wonder Woman was just another mess of a DC movie, et cetera? I remember how Patty Jenkins responded to that. She tweeted: "Just wait and you'll see".

Honestly, I don't know how anyone could even consider that there was the slightest chance of this movie not being good, and I'm gonna tell you why: this is the very first big female-led superhero movie, in which the title character also happens to be the greatest female superhero in history. If you really think that Patty Jenkins, also the first woman to ever direct a superhero movie of this caliber in a industry where women barely stand any chances to get to direct major blockbusters, would let this movie be anything less than great... You've got another thing coming, mate.

Wonder Woman is a traditional, oldschool superhero movie, but the first essentially feminist one at it, and they couldn't have chosen a better setting to tell this story, or a better character to star in it. The movie's social comments are strong and constantly present, but never forced, because it is only natural: by placing Diana, a princess raised in an island of warrior women, in the middle of the reality of World War I, the absurdities of the feminine role in the world - and so many other human corruptions - automatically come to light. The way Diana reacts to this world raises a great sense of awareness, with a touch of poignant humor to it. There is a very funny subtle arc of her wanting to take out her cloak, but not being able to because her armor is "barely any clothes", hinting not only at society's sexist feminine dressing code - which is still a thing today -, but also gradually adding power to the iconography of Wonder Woman in full costume; this is Wonder Woman's much awaited debut on the big screen in a solo movie, and like Superman and Batman before her, her first appearance needed to be something incredibly striking. Patty knew that, Gal knew that, and they made it happen. Even if we already saw her in BVS, the very first time Wonder Woman walks up in full costume here is undoubtedly one of the most iconic moments in superhero cinema.


Jenkins is extremely devoted to giving Wonder Woman the iconic debut film she deserves, and she nails it - there's quite a bit of remarkable shots and set pieces that let out the same imagetic power as in Donner's Superman, Burton's Batman or even Raimi's Spider-Man, and I must highlight the No Man's Land sequence. It's my favorite part of the movie; Jenkins and Heinberg carefully work on Diana's mindset as she first witness the horrors of human war, not being able to help everyone, horses being hurt so they can move faster, a mother and a child begging for help, and it all leads up to the powerful moment of a woman crossing the land no man could cross - and Heinberg's dialogue doesn't rely on obvious statements such as "fortunately I'm a woman" (I'm looking at you, Batwoman trailer), it simply lets the image strike us, because it is powerful enough by itself, and boy did that cause some serious goosebumps.

Speaking of dialogue... It's so terrific, so well written. The exchanges between Diana and Steve Trevor are very clever and funny, but most of all natural. All the characters are also extremely likable; Allan Heinberg's writing knows that not all of them can be given deep development, but nonetheless he gives them stories, personalities and purposes, and that - plus the charismatic performances - makes them very empathetic. The villains are not as remarkable as in some of the other DCEU films, but they didn't need to be; the movie doesn't require in-depth arcs from its villains. They have a strong presence when they're in scene and a well elaborated lore, and that's everything they need.

Contrary to the Nordic mythology depicted in the MCU, here we are talking about real gods, true deities, not superpowerful aliens that only strike a similar image - and that also brings a few narrative dangers along with it, after all, it was in greek mythological stories that the concept of Deus Ex Machina first appeared. Heinberg's screenplay, though, makes a few clever twists in that mythology to avoid easy solutions, which adds to the storytelling, the world building and the developing of the themes as well. The lore surrounding the God of War Ares, for example, is not a simple Diabolus Ex Machina as "he influences men to war and if you kill him every man goes back to being good and everything's alright", no, it's more narratively complicated and socially engaging than that.

And Gal Gadot... I'm at a loss for words. I'll confess right here that when she was first announced as Wonder Woman, I was one of the few who were very opposed to that casting. I've never been so wrong in my life, and I've never been so happy about it. She really is Wonder Woman. She's so graceful and adorable, but a major badass when she needs to be. The way she moves, the way she curiously looks at things, the way she speaks, and the way she incarnates Diana's evolving from her naive beginnings to the wise warrior... She's not only an icon, she's a true hero. Comparisons to Christopher Reeve's Superman were made for good reasons.

Chris Pine is also great, he walks perfectly in the line between funny and serious, Steve Trevor is a darling character and his chemistry with Gal is on point. Their relationship is very well constructed and becomes highly emotional by the end - there are scenes that filled my heart with joy, and others that made it ache.

The action is exciting and full of originality, and I like how Jenkins uses slow-motion differently than Zack Snyder. I know that Snyder helped her direct some of the action sequences, which is understandable since Jenkins had no experience with this type of movie, but you can tell it's not the same. In the fights themselves, there's this feel of sensibility to how these people react to Diana, and it's slightly different from the typical "regular people react to superhumans among them" trope. The cinematography is very keen on portraying the difference between Themyscira - an island of colors and natural beauty - and "jolly ol' London" - desaturated and smoggy, a scenario in which Diana's colorful armor shines in a most beautiful contrast.

And the soundtrack. Rupert Gregson-Williams made a beautiful score that brings out the best in every scene. It's heroic, very heartfelt, and loyal to the foundations of what makes superhero music so memorable. Gregson-Williams adds new themes to compose Wonder Woman's musical identity, but Hans Zimmer's main theme from BVS still lives, and it plays in some heart-pounding scenes. I love that they're dedicating that much attention to the musical continuity, because amongst Marvel's many qualities, they're doing a lousy job in that area. Wonder Woman's theme is the most catchy superhero theme in a long time, it quickly gained a lot of appreciation and by continuing on using it, Gregson-Williams collaborates to making Wonder Woman the strong cinematic icon she's setting out to be.

The irregular reception of previous DCEU movies also extols the impact of Wonder Woman, as do the distinct styles between the films. One of the DCEU's biggest virtues is that singularity of each film; be it a near disaster movie epic such as Man Of Steel, a complex deconstruction of heroic values such as Batman v Superman, an stylish chaos such as Suicide Squad or a traditional, graceful superhero film such as Wonder Woman, these movies are all in the same universe, and that very fact is an example of its richness. A lot of people will think Wonder Woman is the best DCEU movie of the lot, some will stick to BVS, others to MOS, maybe for some it's Shazam, but that's the fun of it: we can discuss this forever. Each of these movies mean different things to different people, we're way past simply labelling one as "better" and the other as "worse".

Wonder Woman, however, is not simply a movie about a very strong woman. It's an achievement for every woman. There were tons of girls dressed up as Wonder Woman in the theater, and just seeing how ecstatic they were after the movie brought me joy. There were tons of applause. It's a mark. Be that as it may, Wonder Woman will be remembered as the most impactful superhero film of its time. In 1978, Superman showed to the world how a man could fly; in 2017, Wonder Woman showed to the world how a woman can fight.
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
I am a very picky person so naturally I was laser focused on everything and the only negative thing I could find was that there were a couple of moments where the CGI looked very clearly like it was done on computer.
Critic- The Movie Oracle
Original Score: 5 out of 5

Read Review:http://the-movie-oracle.tumblr.com/post/161316972099/wonder-woman-2017-review
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
Gal Gadot (0 more)
Length (0 more)
Pretty Decent Movie
Overall, I think this was a good start to the Wonder Woman franchise. Although I think the movie ran a bit too long and they could have cut a lot of it out to make it about 30 minutes shorter and it wouldn't have affected things at all. Anyway, I look forward to the sequel.
  
Aquaman (2018)
Aquaman (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Entertaining, action packed, funny at times, nice actor's performances and battle scenes. Badass women included (they actually appear much stronger than Aquaman ?) (0 more)
DC tries as always to be darker and funnier than Marvel, and fails. CGI could be better, and the love story less cheesy in my opinion. (0 more)
Exceeded my expectations
All in all, better than most DC movies, apart from. Wonder woman.
  
Wonder Woman (2017)
Wonder Woman (2017)
2017 | Action, Fantasy, War
A glimmer of hope
Contains spoilers, click to show
After a fleeting visit in Batman vs Superman (bleugh), my hopes weren't high for Wonder Woman.
But as everyone knows, it's actually pretty good.

One of the main problems with BvS is that it felt rushed, like Warner Bros were trying to pack in as much as they could in a short amount of time to establish a far reaching movie universe. Wonder Woman is a perfect example of why they should be concentrating on standalone movies first.

Given a full film to shine, Gal Gadot is a great fit as DCs First Lady. The time devoted to her backstory makes you care for her, and her surrounding team mates.
Gadot, and Chris Pine make a duo worth rooting for.

The story being set in wartime is used to great effect. The scene where Diana steps out into No Man's Land is nothing short of breathtaking. The visuals used throughout are great, and the script is a vast improvement on what we've had so far. There are no silly gimmicks like with Suicide Squad, just a good solid superhero adventure, with a good solid lead.

Wonder Woman falls apart at the final hurdle however. After Danny Huston (who is just sort of there) is set up to be Ares, it is revealed that David Thewlis' character is in fact Ares, and what follows is a climatic battle that is a dodgy CGI overload.
I have no problem with David Thewlis playing Ares, but his little mustache peeking out from underneath his Ares war helmet looks absolutely ridiculous.

But honestly, with the exception of the last 15 minutes, director Patty Jenkins has done a pretty decent job of bringing Wonder Woman to life. It's stands alongside Shazam! in terms of quality, and I'm actually looking forward to the upcoming sequel!
  
I may be in the minority of people that actually liked that DC blew up everything prior to the New 52. Prior to New 52, DC was even more convoluted than Marvel's universe (if that's possible). They did go with a different origin, but I preferred it, and I was glad that the DCU film, Wonder Woman, borrowed from it. I also really liked the art.
  
40x40

Geepee (0 KP) created a post

Jun 16, 2017  
Wonder woman, pretty good I thought but the photography was a little poor in the night scenes. Too grainy and not enough detail for my liking.
The story line was good enough. Dc are still miles behind mcu though, can't see them gaining much ground any time soon if this is the standard they're producing.
I know that last part is a little damning but I still enjoyed the film