Wonder Woman

"I will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves."

The island of Themyscira is home to the Amazons.  The women, under the rule of Queen Hippolyta (Nielsen), are hidden from the rest of world and trained by Antiope (Wright) to protect their island.  The only child on the island is Hippolyta's daughter Diana (Gadot), who is trained to be the best warrior for the Amazons.

Everything changes when Diana sees a plane crash near the island.  She rescues the pilot, Steve Trevor (Pine), but his enemies follow and soon the island is under attack.  Steve is a spy for British Intelligence during World War I and tells them about his mission.  Diana helps him leaves the island, with the promise that he take her to the front to stop the war.

They travel to England to complete Steve's mission.  The leaders refuse to authorize a mission to the front, so they recruit Steve's friends: con artist Sameer (Taghmaoui), sharp shooter Charlie (Bremner), and track Chief (Brave Rock).  Can Diana and her new friends get to the front and stop the war before a deadly gas outbreak kills everyone?


The character of Wonder Woman debuted in DC Comics in 1941 and she has been a popular character ever since.  She is one of the most recognizable super heroes.

The character made her live action debut in 1974 on the TV show "Wonder Woman" with Lynda Carter in the title role.  They have tried and abandoned several other TV shows about the character.  With the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans were asking for a Wonder Woman film in the DC Universe.

Filmmakers have been discussing a Wonder Woman film since the 1990s, but it took until 2015 to bring the story to life.  Patty Jenkins was signed as the director, with a script by Allan Heinberg.  Even though the character appeared in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, they wanted to give the character her own origin story.  In the comics, she teams up with Steve Trevor during WWII, but they decided to move the story to WWI for this film.  The change in time period works

The cast is good, the characters are interesting, the cinematography / locations are beautiful, and the action holds your attention.  The film was a runaway success, and it is easy to see why.  It is an enjoyable film.

With the success of this film, they are already planning to make a sequel with Jenkins returning as the director.

Wonder Woman (2017) 141 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, and some suggestive content
Director: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Gal Gadot as Diana Prince
Chris Pine as Steve Trevor
Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta
Robin Wright as Antiope
Danny Huston as Ludendorff
Said Taghmaoui as Sameer
Ewen Bremner as Charlie
Eugene Brave Rock as Chief
Lucy Davis as Etta
Elena Anaya as Dr. Maru

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?"

The village of Hertfordshire is excited by the arrival of wealthy Mr. Bingley (Bonham-Carter) and his party.  He recently purchased a home in the village and everyone wants to make a good impression.  Mrs. Bennet (Steadman) is the most excited, determined that one of her 5 daughters: Jane (Harker), Elizabeth (Ehle), Mary (Briers), Kitty (Maberly), and Lydia (Sawalha) will catch Bingley's eye.  Bingley is instantly smitten with Jane, who returns his affections, while Elizabeth immediately dislikes Bingley's exceedingly wealthy friend Mr. Darcy (Firth).

Mr. (Whitrow) and Mrs. Bennet do not have any sons, so their estate will pass to the next male relative: Mr. Collins (Bamber).  Mr. Collins visits the family with the intent of taking a bride, but the girls find him ridiculous.  Collins sets his attentions on Elizabeth, but she is fascinated by Wickham (Lukis) from the newly arrived militia.  As she avoids Collins, she continually runs into Darcy.  Can she find happiness with any of the men in her life?


I fell in love with Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" when I was in high school.  I was then introduced to the 6 hour BBC miniseries (it is billed as a TV show, but I consider it a miniseries), which is the best version of the book.  While no film can match the book, this captures the spirit of the novel and characters, and shows a deep love for the novel.  The novel is broken into 6 hour-long segments, so you can watch it in pieces, or binge watch all 6 hours at once.

The casting is perfect.  Jennifer Ehle is smart and funny, and has a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  While Colin Firth is handsome and a little awkward, but in the best way possible.  David Bamber embraces the odd quirks of Mr. Collins and is funny throughout, through his mannerisms and facial expressions.  Julia Sawalha is perfect as the uninhibited Lydia, and is the right amount of annoying, while Polly Maberly whines well as Kitty and Lucy Briers is the right amount of disgusted as Mary.  Crispin Bonham-Carter is endearing and adorable as Mr. Bingley and Susannah Harker is sensible and loving as Jane.  The smaller characters are equally well-cast.

The soundtrack is beautiful and strikes the right mood in every scene.  The costumes and dancing are beautiful.  And they were mindful of the time period.  There are little details here and there that I don't love... but as a whole, this is a wonderful adaptation of a beloved novel.

This is Austen's best known novel (she wrote 7 novels).  People love the novel so much that they have written sequels, adapted it to TV and film, and modernized the story countless times.  The novel is still the best, but I appreciate the creativity.  I have to admit, I also enjoy the Keira Knightley version... and I thought "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" (the book, not the movie) was hilarious.  This is still the best version of the book and worth watching.

Pride and Prejudice (1995) 327 minutes
Director: Simon Langton
Starring: Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet
Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy
Susannah Harker as Jane Bennet
Julia Sawalha as Lydia Bennet
Alison Steadman as Mrs. Bennet
Benjamin Whitrow as Mr. Bennet
Crispin Bonham-Carter as Mr. Bingley
Polly Maberly as Kitty Bennet
Lucy Briers as Mary Bennet
Anna Chancellor as Miss Bingley
Lucy Robinson as Mrs. Hurst
Adrian Lukis as Wickham
David Bamber as Mr. Collins
Lucy Scott as Charlotte Lucas
Lucy Davis as Maria Lucas

Baby Driver

"The moment you catch feelings is the moment you catch a bullet."

Baby (Elgort) is a getaway driver.  He works as a member of criminal mastermind Doc's (Spacey) crew and lives with his deaf foster father, Joseph (Jones).  Baby is always wearing earbuds and listening to music.  The other members of the crew, which changes with every heist, question his behavior, but can't fault his driving.

Baby meets waitress Debora (James) at his favorite diner and starts to fall for her.  But their relationship is interrupted when Doc calls for a new job.  He is the driver for a four person team, working alongside violent Bats (Foxx) and married couple Buddy (Hamm) and Darling (Gonzalez).  Can Baby survive the heist and get the girl?


This is director Edgar Wright's 6th film as a director (following A Fistful of Fingers in 1995, Shaun of the Dead in 2004, Hot Fuzz in 2007, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in 2010, and The World's End in 2013).  I enjoy his directing style (in both film and TV) and was excited to dive into this film.

Wright had the idea for this film in the 1990s.  He used the idea in the music video for Mint Royale's "Blue Song" (video embedded below).

He loved the idea so much that he wrote a story around the concept (and included a clip of the video in the film).  The film, including the gun shots, is choreographed to the soundtrack.

The film opens with Baby dropping off the crew for a job, as they exit the car, he starts playing music.  The music plays while he waits for them to return and their escape from the police, all timed to the music.  That impressive scene is followed by a tracking shot of Baby getting coffee, as he dances to the music.

The cast is great and numerous musicians have minor cameos.  Ansel Elgort is great as Baby.  He doesn't say much, but you get to know him through his music selections and facial expressions.  Kevin Spacey is imposing and a clear authority figure throughout, while the rest of the gang is surrounded in an air of mystery.  You know they are criminals and you can't predict what they will do or say next.  I love CJ Jones as Joseph, it isn't a big role, but he is wonderful.

They used minimal green screen and CGI for the film.  They sent Elgort and Jon Hamm to driving school for a month, while also using a small army of stunt performers to achieve the action in the film.  It is an impressive film with a strong visual style and impressive stunts (whether completed by stunt performers or CGI).

This is the kind of film that takes multiple viewings to really appreciate all the intricacies of the scenes.  I enjoy Wright's style (and all of his previous works, including Spaced and Asylum) and from the opening moments I was hooked.  Reactions from critics and audiences is mixed... you either love or hate this film.  I loved it and look forward to watching it again to catch more nuances.

Baby Driver (2017) 113 minutes
Rating: R for violence and language throughout
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort as Baby
Kevin Spacey as Doc
Jamie Foxx as Bats
Lily James as Debora
Jon Hamm as Buddy
Eliza Gonzalez as Darling
Jon Bernthal as Griff
Flea as Eddie "No-Nose"
Lanny Joon as JD
CJ Jones as Joseph