Hugo Awards 2025

I remembered to become a member this year in order to vote, huzzah! Which means I had access to the voting packet (AKA the giant packet of PDF books), which meant I was able to review many more things than I can on my own (given affordability and library waiting times).

Also, ALSO, WorldCon is in Seattle this summer, so I'll theoretically get to be there in person when they announce the winners!

Miscellaneous Movie Moments XC (March 2023, Part Two)

Now that Oscar season is over, I felt it was time to go on an action movie spree! Also, my Spring break started. We've got five delightful (to me) films that are nonstop violence, LET'S GO.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Creed III | 65 | Shazam! Fury of the Gods | John Wick: Chapter 4

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXXVII (November & December 2022)

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever | Rise of the Guardians | Slumberland | Avatar | Avatar: The Way of Water | Ratatouille | Christmas with a Prince

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 11 November 2022, Century Olympia 

I went to a 9 AM showing of the film, forgetting it would inevitably start with a funeral. Guys, I wept watching the friggin' Marvel Studios logo.

Four specific things I really, really love about #WakandaForever:

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXXVI (July/August 2022)

While I didn't watch all that many movies these past couple of months, the ones I did watch were pretty excellent. Action galore! #RepresentationMatters!



Thor: Love and Thunder | Everything Everywhere All at Once | Space Sweepers | Vengeance | Easter Sunday | Prey

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXXV (April/May/June 2022)

After my Oscars binge, I vowed to take a break from prestige films and go all in on my most beloved genre, science fictiony action. It's been a good three months, let me tell you.



Death on the Nile (2022) | Stargate: Continuum | The Batman | Spider-Man: No Way Home | The Lost City | Turning Red | Moonfall | Casablanca | Galaxy Quest | Ghostbusters: Afterlife | Ron's Gone Wrong | Dog | Moneyball | Morbius | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Movie Moments LXXXIII: The Tempest Edition (February/March 2022)

Adaptations of Shakespeare's The Tempest are hella wide-ranging, y'all.

The Tempest (2010) | Forbidden Planet | Yellow Sky | Ex Machina

Normally I try to watch these in chronological order, but I figured I should start with the most straightforward version first.

Movie Moments LXXV: ST Kelvin Edition

Happy Christmas, Deborah! I didn't have enough time to do a season of Voyager, but I swear it's coming.

What's the Deal?
As I mentioned back in my TNG Season 1 write-up, it's only recently that I've started seriously delving into Trek. I think as the Kelvin movies were released, I knew almost nothing about the original Trek. I knew nothing about what was supposed to be a change or not. Technically, I still don't! (Still haven't watched the original series.) That I adore, or at least immensely respect, every single actor they hired certainly helped with my enthusiasm, though.



If you're as out in the dark (it's a pun, heh) as I was, Space.com shared a handy breakdown of why the Kelvin timeline is different.

TV Tellings X: 22nd Century Sherlock Edition

Amelia, there are SO MANY versions of Sherlock out there in the world, but this one seemed the most hilarious.

I continue on with my deep dive into 90s kid cartoons because Y'ALL. Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, circa 1990, is on Tubi. (It is also findable on YouTube, if you wish.) I do actually remember watching this show when I was a kid--I distinctly remember the name Moriarty coming up a few times. But, honestly, I was kind of surprised to find out it actually existed and wasn't some nostalgic fever dream.



Whoever came up with this concept is a mad genius. Also, this theme song is going to be stuck in my head for WEEKS.

TV Tellings VII: TNG Season 1 Edition

Happy Christmas, Fernando and Jeff! And if Rowan is, indeed, a Trek fan.

So, like, while The Next Generation was going on while I grew up, I never watched it. (Enterprise was my first Trek, friends. NO REGRETS.) I feel like I've learned much about it through osmosis, but who knows what surprises this watch shall bring?

Logline
A bunch of awkward nerds and a belligerent Frenchman command a spaceship filled with science families into unnecessarily permeable conflict zones.

Dramatis Personae
Starting at the back row, from left to right:

TV Tellings VI: The Mandalorian S2

I did Season 1 of The Mandalorian just a few months ago, if you didn't catch it then. Now we shall continue on! I have watched the Ahsoka episode multiple times, but the rest of these, just the first time around.

Logline
"I've been quested to bring this one back to its kind."

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXXII (October 2021)

Three non-mermaid movies for the month of October: The Green Knight, Dune, and A Place Among the Dead.

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXVII (May/June/July 2021)

I didn't watch a ton of movies in the past few months (aside from my Superman, Little Women, Fast/Furious, and Beauty and the Beast clusters, I mean).

TV Tellings III: The Mandalorian Season 1

This is actually my third watch-through of the first season. Guys, it's possible I don't know how to watch TV without writing about it anymore.

Logline
A stranger comes to town;

Or,

An ambivalent bounty hunter discovers his latest quarry is the most adorable magic baby in the galaxy. Ambivalence becomes untenable;

Or,

It's cowboys! In space!

Movie Moments LV: Stargates Edition (January 2021)

I’ve spent the, uh, last five months or so rewatching all ten seasons of Stargate SG-1. Vala Mal Doran has taken over my brain much like Reylo did last summer. Also, Daniel/Vala. And Sam. And Teal’c. And Jack. And Jonas. And Janet. What I’m telling you is, I HAVE A LOT OF FEELINGS RIGHT NOW.

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LIII (December)

Wonder Woman 1984, 25 December 2020, streamed via HBO Max

• Amazon Ninja Warrior looks really cool but, like, how many Amazons are there? I feel like that stadium is WAY too large, given the size of the island and the relative density in the spaces we’ve seen.
• How annoyed would you be if you were one of the women competing against a demi-god? (Tiny athlete actress is ADORABLE, though.)
• Yeah, sure, a jewelry store in a MALL is totally going to have a side business in black market antiquities. That totally checks out. I have zero questions.
• Pedro Pascal is waaaay pleased to use his face for acting, isn’t he?
• Steve really takes well to being in a different body decades in the future, geez. (Did people not miss that poor, possessed guy? Was he weirded out that half of his apartment seemed to be rearranged?

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LI (November)

The New Mutants, 22 November 2020, Blu-ray via Redbox
Why didn’t anybody tell me this movie was about a queer interracial romance amidst a psychically haunted juvenile detention center? The writing of this movie is not great--not enough time to do justice to some psychologically complex trauma as channeled through an extremely ethnically and socioeconomically diverse group--but man oh man, it is crying out for some fic. I think I liked this, actually?

Movie Moments XXVIII: May 2020 (Alien edition)

I’ve never watched any of these before, so this is a grand adventure! You are getting slightly filtered, but entirely new thoughts! Meanwhile, I am slightly terrified! This is going to be gross, I’m pretty sure.

Prometheus, 26 May 2020, streamed via Google Play
I decided to watch these in chronological order, which should be fascinating, since I recall that folks were less than thrilled with whatever happened in this one.

• Crew: 17. Oh, THAT can’t be good to know. If ever there was a signal that most of the crew is toast, that is it.

Movie Moments XXV: May 2020 (Star Wars Edition)

After watching all the Harry Potter movies in a row, I decided to move on to all the Star Wars movies. It was...an adventure.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, 04 May 2020, streamed via Disney+
This whole shebang started because the Trade Federation wants to cancel the galactic post office or something, so this is, uh, shockingly relevant for our time? Also, so, like, do you think Senator Palpatine is already playing clones now? Do you think he keeps his Sith robe next to the holo-phone and sometimes mixes up who he’s calling and ends up telling the Jedi Council that he just came out of the jacuzzi? Also, Jar-Jar would have been at least half-again bearable if they hadn’t had him do the “how wude” thing over and over. Also, there’s totally a rich vein of Amidala/Handmaiden fic out there, right? There’s gotta be. Anyway, “Anakin was fathered by midichlorians” remains insultingly ridiculous, but “Duel of the Fates” still slaps.

Movie Moments IX: November

Twenty-two for November!

War for the Planet of the Apes, 03 November 2017, Blu-ray via RedBox
"I save myself."
"Is there anything left of you to save?"

These movies are stupendously good, y’all. I do wonder, though, how folks in the Deaf community experience the movie. Most of the dialogue is in sign language, but the CGI scenes are dark enough that I suspect it would be difficult to follow. Plus, what little I’ve seen indicates that some words are legible, but the overall use doesn't quite correlate to ASL. Hm!

I'm still impressed with how expressive Caesar-as-CGI is. There's an intensity of soul that I find more affecting than in most non-CGI lead actors. Kudos to Serkis and the team of wizards.

Thor: Ragnarok (3D), 04 November 2017, AMC Classic Central City 10
I wish there were more women, and apparently Asgard only contains, like, 350 people. I literally groaned aloud when Strange appeared, and I'm sad Thor’s old team was dispatched without ceremony.

All that aside: THIS MOVIE IS SO FUN. So, so, so fun. Also, Loki is a genuinely awful antihero who's been woobified way too much, but Tom Hiddleston's saunter, man. I am weak. Like, they could have had an additional 20 minutes of Loki and the Last Valkyrie power striding on the bifrost, if I had my way.

Monuments Men, 04 November 2017, DVD via university library
A movie about Cate Blanchett’s character would have been awesome. Like, a psychological thriller of Matt Damon, art curator, trying to get possible-quisling, possible-Resistance agent Cate Blanchett to reveal Nazi art smuggling routes? I want THAT movie.

The Imitation Game, 04 November 2017, DVD via public library
Someone call me when Benedict Cumberbatch finally plays against type.

Gasland, 06 November 2017, streamed via Amazon
For one of my writing classes I’m using Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America as our reader, so we watched this in three parts. It’s actually excellent text if you want to talk about research, because Josh Fox, the filmmaker, details pretty clearly how he went about doing investigation. There are a number of sequences of him just trying to get corporation representatives to sit down in the same room with him and a camera. (In one really fun scene, one executive rapidly backs out of the conference room as they see the camera and realize what the meeting is actually about.) And a lot of it is Fox being rejected, over and over, via voicemail, in contrast to the interviews he conducts with the folks who are being directly affected by fracking. (Even if you don’t know anything else about the film, you’ve probably seen the snippet of him lighting someone’s tap water on fire, which was the main feature of the documentary trailers.) As a narrative device, this works great: we, as an audience, are learning about fracking at the same time he is (or so it seems). The one major issue I have--and it’s possibly a silly one--is the mumblecore monotone Fox uses to narrate. It’s like he really, really wanted to sound like Werner Herzog, but couldn’t quite infuse his voice with the same conviction that Herzog manages. It’s...off-putting.

The Queen, 11 November 2017, DVD via public library
I remember seeing the news about Princess Diana's death and crying, really crying in my bedroom. My mom found me and gave me a hug, murmuring about how it was very sad, and how Diana had tried to do good in the world. (I'm actually crying now, thinking about it, which is odd.) I was too young to be cognizant of the context, so I can barely contrast the movie with the events proper. I am fascinated by the juxtaposition of personal turmoil and state-appropriate grief.

Jupiter Ascending, 11 November 2017, DVD via Netflix
The Wachowskis don't do anything half-measure do they? This movie is lush and imaginative, and Channing Tatum is somehow talking in an entirely different cadence, and I'm not surprised folks were completely weirded out by this movie, because what is happening in this movie? What is going on? (Still more satisfying than the Divergent trilogy. Actually, Mila Kunis would be perfect for a YA sci-fi romp. Someone make that happen immediately.) What glorious and incoherent nonsense.


THESE COSTUMES, THOUGH.

The Big Short, 12 November 2017, DVD via university library
This is the most expensive educational film made to show college sophomore economics classes ever made.

The Incredible Hulk, 13 November 2017, streaming via HBO Now
Weirdly, I had never watched this before (nor the Bana version), even though I am pretty sure I own it on DVD. I appreciate that the movie just dives right in without running us through yet another origin story. And it could just be I’ve accustomed myself to Ruffalo’s interpretation, but Norton's Banner is a bit too squirrelly for my tastes. This is sort of dissatisfying as all the individual MCU movies are, in that the titular hero is just fighting an evil version of themselves. Ah, well. I will imagine Betty, Jane, and Pepper get together for wine night once a month, because OF COURSE THEY DO. (Do I have to write this? I’ll write it if I must.)

Justice League (3D), 18 November 2017, Cinemark Colonel Glenn 18
I mean, it didn't suck? Though, as much as I appreciate Gal Gadot’s ass, I didn't really see a need for so many shots of it. Anyway, can confirm I did, in fact, cry through all the Amazon battle scenes.

American Hustle, 18 November 2017, DVD via university library
The real winner of this movie is whoever had the lightbulb moment about everyone's hair, because that's really all the audience can really focus on for the first half of the movie. By about two-thirds through the movie, I started to suspect the movie wouldn't end with JLaw's and Amy Adams's characters making out, and I was QUITE MIFFED. And then THEY DID.


I LEGIT THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST GOING TO TEASE US HERE.

Murder on the Orient Express, 19 November 2017, AMC Classic Central City 10
I am leery about any movie involving Johnny Depp nowadays, but Leslie Odom Jr is in this, too, so. In any case, it's a gorgeous movie with some fascinating camerawork (the overhead shots, zow), and I actually had never read this particular book, so the denouement was pretty fun.

This Means War, 21 November 2017, DVD via public library
What I’m learning from this movie is I’d really be interested in watching a Reese Witherspoon action movie. Also, Tom Hardy doing comedy is pretty disconcerting, while Chris Pine seems right at home. ALSO also, the movie clearly and immediately establishes Hardy/Pine is the REAL OTP. But nice try at making massive violations of a woman's privacy a romantic comedy, I guess? (It is entertaining, but I chalk that up to the undeniable charisma of the actors.)

Capote, 22 November 2017, DVD via public library
This is such a quiet movie, but it's difficult to look away from it. Most striking are the brief scenes of Capote holding court at parties, all jagged stories and sparkling wit. And we never see the beginnings or ends of tales, making those moments unsettling, in contrast with Capote as interviewer, as observer, as writer, as friend. (Early-ish in the movie, one of the murderers calls the other “mendacious,” but the word only resonates once we get a clearer glimpse of Capote's skillful and somewhat horrifying ability to manipulate.) And Keener as Harper Lee is wonderful--I would love to see a flipped version of this movie, focused on her experience in this handful of years.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, 23 November 2017, Blu-ray via RedBox
I wasn't sure what to expect, but the opening montage set to Bowie and the act of ceremonial greetings over centuries is really lovely. And then a longish CGI sequence of an alien civilization under sudden attack, which was entrancing. And then directly to a shot of Cara Delevingne’s bikini-clad ass and our two protagonists “bantering” about their “sexual tension” that ends with Laureline telling Valerian her heart would be won by a dude who would, I kid you not, “erase his playlist for me.”

I just. I can't. And to be entirely fair, the world-building is spectacular. They just could have introduced their leads (who read more as precocious teenagers than the uber-competent agents they're supposed to be, and it is entirely because of their hair-styling) in a hundred different ways that would have been interesting and not gross.

Also, there's an interlude with Rihanna doing burlesque, and then reciting Verlaine's poetry, and I have no idea how to parse it. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MOVIE IS BUT IT IS SO PRETTY. (So, pretty much every Luc Besson movie, it turns out.)

Talk to Me, 23 November 2017, DVD via public library
I wasn't sure what this movie was about, but I can't really argue with this cast.


I MEAN, SERIOUSLY.

I actually felt like it could have used a longer runtime--we see Petey’s success escalate almost exponentially, but the conflict between him and Dewey, and him and Vernell, needed development. The fight after the Tonight Show should’ve landed more sharply than the blunt actuality. What we get, though, is great--plus Taraji P Henson's playing proto-Cookie as Vernell.

Get On Up: The James Brown Story, 24 November 2017, DVD via public library
What with Black Panther coming up, I figured it would behoove me to get familiar with Chadwick Boseman. And he's pretty amazing here, along with Viola Davis, Nelsan Ellis (RIP), and Octavia Spencer. And I really loved the way scenes ricocheted from era to era. The breaking of the fourth wall was uncomfortable but interesting from a narrative standpoint--to what extent is the film itself influenced by our titular character, and to what extent is the movie constructed by him in the role of an unreliable narrator? (That scene of the boys fighting each other blindfolded for the amusement of rich people, set to that jaunty band, is possibly the most horrifying thing I’ve watched all year.) Side note: since I watched Talk to Me the day previous, with Petey Green opening a concert after the assassination of MLK Jr, it was kind of neat to see the James Brown side of the concert.

Step, 25 November 2017, DVD via RedBox
This is so lovely. It follows the arc of a Baltimore high school step team as they go on competition, but it focuses on three young women applying to college, and their struggle as they try to raise their GPA, or find enough funding, or get into a school where they can still help their families. The most heartbreaking scene was one young woman worrying, close to the end of the month, about whether they had enough food to sustain her six-year-old nephew. (Oof.) Largely, though, this is affirming, plus showcases some pretty damn excellent step routines.

Focus, 26 November 2017, DVD via Netflix
Can you imagine seeing Will Smith and Margot Robbie in this movie and then being excited to see Suicide Squad? That isn't to say they have chemistry, actually, but just borderline reality that if either one of these two came at you with intent, you'd run with it.

In any case, if you like Will Smith or heist movies, you’ll probably enjoy this.

La Vie en Rose, 26 November 2017, DVD via public library
I honestly know nothing about Edith Piaf, but the movie adhered to the rags-to-riches musician formula, and Marion Cotillard was wonderful, as everyone knew already. I will say, though, that the non-linear storytelling got old after a while, even though I do think it could have been an effective device, as I've previously noted in my Get On Up review. But by the time we reached the end of the Marcel sequence--which, to be fair, was a superb scene--I found myself wondering when this would end already.


SO PRETTY, THOUGH.

Bridge of Spies, 26 November 2017, DVD via public library
This is a pretty terrifying cautionary tale that is so far going unheeded.

War of the Worlds, 30 November 2017, DVD via public library
This might not have been the intent, but I would absolutely watch a movie about the mostly-amicable dissolution of the marriage of Tom Cruise’s and Miranda Otto’s characters. Seriously, this movie is hella good. Terrifying, but.

Movie Moments IV: May & June 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, 04 May 2017, 3D at Cinemark 12
It would be impossible for this movie to evoke the same joy that the first did, simply because the first movie was a surprise. This was predictably delightful (and delightfully predictable), but ye gods, the meta ran thick. (And Ben Browder! Doused in gold paint!) And there were so many stingers that I wasn’t sure if I should leave even after the screen went blank and the lights came on. Too many narrative branches! No clear signal of whether they’re Easter eggs or actually relevant to future stories! Giggles with diminishing returns! Guardians has become, it seems, the most Marvelly franchise of the MCU. I’m looking forward to the third.

Wonder Woman, 03 June 2017, Carmike 12 Cinema
I cried four times during this movie: During pretty much the entire introduction of Themyscira, during the first battle scene, during Diana’s entry into the World War I trenches, and at the battle-climax of the movie. I clocked a couple of plot twists almost immediately (this is a superhero movie, after all, and tropes are tropes), but does anyone really watch these movies for plot machinations? I’d argue that any blockbuster-type movie isn’t really built to wow the audience with plot (though, ye gods, I wish that were a goal much of the time), but rather deliver a particular combination of emotional triggers: nostalgia, anticipation, vindication, and catharsis.

This isn’t a perfect movie. The romance with Steve Trevor is, possibly, lent too much weight, and thus Diana is fairly isolated from other human interactions once she enters the realm of humans. The plot twists, as I mentioned before, are way obvious, and the final battle is yet another iteration of Superpowered People Grimace Unconvincingly. And, while I’ll have to rewatch the movie to be sure, there weren't many Amazons clearly of Asian or Latinx descent, let alone humans--and like Captain America's Howling Commandos, this Steve’s band of merry misfits is a similar “gotta catch ‘em all” collection of token ethnicities.

But, Diana.



Diana, Princess of Themyscira, remains tank of my heart. Funnily enough, at the conference I was attending the weekend I watched the movie, I had actually presented on leadership and tanks (link to a PDF)--in some gaming parlances, “tank” means the member of a questing group who leads the way through the battlefield and draws the brunt of enemy attacks so the other members can get by. In the No Man's Land scene, the scene that so many, many folks cried through, that’s exactly what she does. And I’m tearing up right now, just typing about it.

X-Men Apocalypse, 07 June 2017, HBO Now
Three scenes into #XMenApocalypse and I mostly just wanted to watch X2 again. It's not a bad movie--it just feels like nobody but the studio stylists was really invested in the movie’s existence. Also:

• Folk rolling up on Magneto like he isn't always twelve minutes away from contempt for their petty human fears and cruelties.
  
• How can Erik be a Holocaust survivor but also have two children aged approximately ten years apart but also look exactly the same as he did at the beginning of First Class?
  
• Not that I don't dig Psylocke, but she's pretty out of place amongst the merry band of worldbreakers. (Angel is present mostly for iconographic mascot purposes.)
  
• I'm so down with the Wolverine cameo.
  
• We’ve established Magneto can frickin’ shift the planet off its axis, but sure, his contribution to the final battle is throwing some rebar around. Totally effective.
  
• #XMenApocalypse needed so, so much more Storm and Jubilee.

Deadpool, 08 June 2017, HBO Now
That was as vulgar and hilarious as everyone said it was, and yeah, meta and violent. And yet it kind of had actual feelings deep, deep down? Plus, Zamboni.

I would pay cash money for a team-up movie with Deadpool and X-23. Someone make that happen immediately.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War, 10 June 2017, HBO Now
This was fine? I guess? It just had waaay too much going on. Is it a sequel? A prequel? A new fairy tale spun with familiar characters? I legit had no idea what the first act of the movie was trying to accomplish, and that's a problem, even as things slowly started to resolve in the next hour.


Then again, this happened, so.

Haywire, 10 June 2017, Amazon streaming
I am deeply in love with a deep bench of the most attractive (male) actors they could find, all as setting to a movie devoted to shining a spotlight on how immensely powerful Gina Carano is. Ye gods, this woman.

It's not an extraordinary movie, but it's solid and doesn't do any narrative hand-holding. It trusts the audience will follow along. It's an action movie assured in its own confidence, and I dig it.

Galaxy Quest, 12 June 2017, Amazon streaming
Watching #GalaxyQuest for the first time:

1. This bench is DEEP.
2. Wow, I miss #SDCC.
3. Enrico Colantoni is a wonder, isn't he?

Friends with Benefits, 14 June 2017, Amazon streaming
Whoa, remember when Emma Stone and Andy Samberg were not-famous enough to be the opening exes for a movie headlined by Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis? And flash mobs were exciting instead of annoying AF? The times, they have been changed.

Anyway, this movie is dumb, but I will never be immune to Mila Kunis. And, okay, fine, playing “Pumped Up Kicks” over the credits is pretty stellar punch line deployment. BUT THIS IS THE LAST AFFLUENT WHITE PEOPLE ROMCOM I WATCH, SO HELP ME GOD.

Spectre, 19 June 2017, Amazon Prime
Well, that was a movie that happened, I guess.

Finding Dory, 19 June 2017, Netflix
This movie has more suspenseful sequences than every single spy movie I've watched in a decade. And possibly the full run of Sherlock, I think. Also, two whales breaking out of Monterey Bay Aquarium (because, come on, it is), and nobody noticed? An octopus jacks a truck and nobody loses their frickin’ mind? What a jaded place Pixar World is.

The Girl With All the Gifts, 20 June 2017, Amazon Prime
This is a pretty canny zombie movie. I think it works a little better onscreen than on the page, even. (I famously cannot watch an episode of The Walking Dead without having a precise week of nightmares following.) The slow double-crack of a jaw being realigned pretty successfully conveys the horror without undue splatter.

Legally Blonde, 21 June 2017, Hulu

• I mean, having an understanding of the fashion industry would be good background for going into trademarks and corporate law?
• On one hand, I dig that the message is “don't let folks with their dumb biases constrain you,” but on the other hand, only a rich white person with a ton of support could pivot so extremely in a couple of months, no matter how much they study (but I appreciate the focus on studying)
• Victor Garber offering internships to his top law students, so I guess LB2 is Elle murdering someone and getting away with it.
• Good for Elle, but how hella lucky was she that the stepdaughter had a perm alibi?
• I'm glad the moral of the story is, in part, don't hitch yourself to a complete tool.

Wonder Woman (second viewing), 21 June 2017, Jordan Creek Cinemark 20

1. Still cried all through No Man’s Land
2. That Chris Pine sure can smolder.
3. Aside from the exact 90 seconds of reveal, I think I disagree completely with Thewlis's character work and the direction thereof.
4. I would be so down for The Further Adventures of Diana Prince and Etta Candy.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (second viewing), 25 June 2017, Regal Riverside Plaza Stadium 16
I should first note that our theatre was one of those fancy ones with reclining seats where you can reserve your spot when you purchase. The seats were plush, but of the wrong proportions for petite me. The experience of approved foot-raising was delightful, though.

As for the movie, the tonal whiplash is especially pronounced when you know when the smash cuts will happen--which, in turn, throws the manipulative music cues into sharp relief. Effective, but I'd rather have had them build Ego’s heel turn more organically. (For a dude millions of years old, he sure did fumble his “come to the dark side” pitch really, really quickly.) Even, yes, if it meant tacking on another twenty minutes. Or, HEY, doing something besides that cheesy as hell “playing catch” scene.

Anyway, knowing what happens to Yondu makes that two-second flashback of Yondu and young Peter a pretty painful gut punch. And the interactions between Nebula and Gamora have a depth I didn't quite catch while Gamora was hoisting a comically-giant piece of artillery onto her shoulder.

Groot: still adorable. Rocket’s arc: still overplayed, but touching nonetheless. Mantis and Drax: still delightful.