A Movie Entry – 10 Things I Learned from LEGO Batman

1) A more accurate title would be “Apple Presents the LEGO Batman Movie.”
2) Batman, for kids, but that’s okay.
3) Batman’s favorite meal is lobster thermidor which probably doesn’t taste very good as a microwaved leftover.
4) Which villain properties WB/DC actually has the rights to and as such can use their names.
5) Batman’s rogue’s gallery has some very weird entries, even for Batman.
6) The film makers really love Batman.
7) The film makers really don’t care for Zach Snyder’s vision of the DCEU.
8) Even Joker knows it’s ridiculous for Batman and Superman to fight.
9) A movie can make fun of certain clichés and yet embrace them at the same time.
10) This is probably the best superhero movie to be released since Nolan’s trilogy (not necessarily the best Batman movie since this is for kids) and probably will be the best until WB/DC figures out how superheroes are supposed to act (hint – not like this, or this).

It’s not as good as the original LEGO Movie, but it’s still enjoyable. So go see it, if you like fun, slightly meta movies about kid-friendly versions of Batman and Joker. I don’t think this one requires a big screen, but I had free movie passes and a free night. Your favorite streaming service is probably just fine for viewing this one.

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A Comic Book Entry – My Pull List

Metaphorically speaking, anyway. I wrote how, after a long hiatus with comics, I got my hands on a copy of the Squirrel Girl Volume 1 tradeback (“Squirrel Power”) and how much I enjoyed it. So I decided to see what else was out there. In fact, I got so many tradebacks my friend D suggested I just get a subscription because it would be cheaper. I countered that a subscription would let Marvel Comics think I wanted to partake of all their offerings, whereas tradebacks show Marvel Comics what I actually want. Sure, it’s more expensive, but sometimes the extra expense is worth it. Anyway, I’m on a bit of a female superhero kick lately, so here’s what I decided to get:

A Writing Entry – Artificial Conflict

I had an entry awhile ago about contrived situations writers will often use to create conflict in the story. I only listed four examples, and three were situations, and one was a character type (the drama llama). Inspired by a YouTube video, I got to thinking about other character types who exist only to create some kind of obstacle for the protagonist to overcome and hopefully don’t exist in real life. Unlike a trope, these characters exist solely to move the plot forward. Their motivations don’t make sense, their characterization is flat, and their appearance in the story is either lazy on the part of the writer or contrived, or sometimes both.

A Media/TV Entry – Understanding Another’s Otaku

or, “Concerning Top Gear/The Grand Tour”

I’ve written before about how I would like to share my joy of certain media to other people even though I realize in general such media is not their taste. I wish to share my otaku, as it were, and even if I can’t get people to share it, I hope to at least get them to understand why I enjoy my otaku so much. And then I thought about whether or not this is feasible. People like what they like, right? So I decided to figure out if I could come up with an example in my own life in which someone else successfully got me to understand their otaku even if I didn’t adopt it. And when the show The Grand Tour debuted, I realized I had my example.

My Fiction – Holiday Parody, Part 2

As promised, this isn’t a parody of a song but a poem, one which almost no one seems to remember the actual title to. Anyway, it turns out this wasn’t easier but I hope it brings you a bit of enjoyment today.

A Comic Book/Movie Entry – Here Comes My Wonder Woman Movie

June of 2017. There are two trailers out, and I finally got the time to watch them. Wonder Woman was, by far, the best part of Batman v Superman: Seriously WB/DC How Did You Mess up Batman So Bad, and I’m glad she’s finally finally getting a movie. My thoughts, in three convenient parts:

A Comic Book/Movie Entry – Random Thoughts of the Midweek: Random-rok

Thor on Vacation
I know that the upcoming “Thor 3” is somehow a buddy road trip featuring Thor, Loki, and the Hulk in a quest to figure out where Odin has disappeared to. My questions 1) how does this team-up happen and 2) with Freya so ignominiously fridged, who’s running Asgard? But I came across this trailer (yeah, yeah, I’m behind the times) that isn’t canon but explains why Thor and Hulk weren’t in “Captain America 3: Avengers 2.5.” I guess this is the end of Bruce and Tony’s science-based bromance.

Spider-man: Homecoming
My only objection is that this movie seems to be taking elements from Miles Morales’ origin story, and I’d really rather just see Miles on the big screen in that’s the case. But otherwise, the actor seems perfect, Tony Stark is a jackass, the Vulture and Shocker look like legitimate threats instead of just guys in doofy costumes, and the trailer explains why Peter is so reckless – he’s a teenager out to prove himself, and that is very dangerous indeed. I just hope Iron Man doesn’t take up too much screen time. And if this movie skips over the death of Uncle Ben, I will be very pleased indeed.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favorite movies for many, many reasons. I probably won’t write a parody summary of it, though, because it’s meant to be funny as is. Parodies are more fun with serious movies. However, if I did, it would be alternately titled, “Peter Quill’s New Groove” because of how important the soundtrack is. Music is almost a character. That, and much other awesomeness, mean the sequel has a lot to live up to. The first trailer really didn’t catch my attention. It appears Drax is trying to learn how not to be socially inept (and mostly failing) and that’s really all that stuck with me. The second trailer is much, much better. Notably the music is much more prominent. It’s also full of little callbacks to the first which give me hope the film makers understand why the first was so successful. And of course, baby Groot. Yes, yes, I know Disney is going to merchandise the hell out of that, and I will be right there to throw in my hard-earned cash. I hope, “I want some tape to cover the death-button” ends up on a t-shirt.

That second trailer is going to be my go-to happy place to get me through the rest of the year. “I am Groooooooot!”