They might not be raindrops on roses or whiskers on kittens, but that doesn’t mean that we love them any less. Welcome back to My Favorite Things, a weekly column where we gab about the greatest in geek. This week, we’re all about Wonder Woman, apparently. Don’t believe me? You will when you see that references to the superheroic film somehow managed to sneak into three out of the four selections for this week’s My Favorite Things. But seriously, we do have a slightly broader selection to present to you today. This includes a brand new trailer for one of next year’s biggest blockbusters, a beloved sequence from a favorite film, and the best place to head for video games when you want to take a mental break. Oh yeah, and a scene from a little known movie called Wonder Woman.
Barbara’s Favorite Thing is… No Man’s Land!
My crazy schedule kept me from chiming in on Speculative Chic’s Sound Off! for Wonder Woman, but I was so there opening weekend, armed with Twizzlers and a crap ton of high hopes. Praise Hera, those hopes were not dashed. My favorite moment, no question, was the No Man’s Land scene. There were tears, and the internet tells me I’m not alone in that.
I knew I wanted a Wonder Woman movie. But that was the scene when I realized I needed a Wonder Woman movie.
That moment felt like such a metaphor for trying to get through life some days. Diana’s being led through this trench and hearing nothing but, “No, Diana,” and, “There’s no time, Diana,” and, “There’s nothing we can do, Diana,” until finally she says screw it, there is something she can do. Off comes the clothing she had to put on to fit in, and up she comes out of the trench, our first full-on glimpse of her in that armor. The real her. And then she just badasses her way across that field, fired at every step of the way, but she keeps going and it’s glorious. And when everyone else realizes she’s getting shit done, they step up, and together they get even more shit done.
I’ve had that cut from the soundtrack on near-constant repeat for days now. And it’s inspiring as all hell, folks. Because if Wonder Woman can power her way across No Man’s Land, then I sure as hell can power my way through a crappy day.
Lane’s Favorite Thing is… the Black Panther trailer!
Okay so my favorite thing right now is Wonder Woman. Oh wait, I’ve said that already and at length in our Sound Off! But something else that rose to my attention and has totally hooked me? The freaking Black Panther teaser trailer. I LOVE IT. I may have watched it more than once, or twice. Okay, I may have watched it half a dozen times by now. And that was in the first 24 hours.
Why do I love it so? Because I went into Captain America: Civil War all about Captain America and the Winter Soldier and The Falcon and came out going… wait, when is the Black Panther movie? Why isn’t it NOW!?
I think that the one thing I’ve taken away from the sudden boom in superhero movies is how essential casting is: Robert Downey Jr took on Iron Man and he made a character I cared nothing about become a living, breathing entity. But he had a whole movie focused on him to do it in. Chadwick Boseman just stepped forward and stole the entire movie. I’m all about character arcs and he had, arguably, the best one. Captain America wanted to save his friend and preserve his independence. Sure, you do you, Steve. He’s wanted that for every movie. Bucky was the McGuffin. Zemo was evil. Tony was an obstacle. But T’Challa? He went from suffering through an enormous personal loss to swearing vengeance, then doing his best to enact vengeance, then recognizing that revenge wouldn’t ease his pain. And he does it all dressed like a giant cat without looking silly.
So I actually made an effort to find the teaser trailer and oh boy do I love it. The ending voiceover promises exploration of that same difficult type of conflict: can you be both a good man and a good king?
And yes, the movie looks gorgeous. After Wonder Woman, I’m really ready for more women doing awesome things awesomely and the Dora Milaje look like they’ll do that.
After watching the trailer (the teaser trailer) I’m back to asking, wait, when is the Black Panther movie? WHY ISN’T IT NOW??
Sherry’s Favorite Thing is… the Potions Scene in Harry Potter in the Philosopher’s Stone!
I’ve been listening to audio books on my commute to work lately. Today I started Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone narrated by Stephen Fry. I’ve listened to it a few times. He’s a brilliant narrator. Inspired by listening to the audio book, I decided to watch the movie again. It’s fun to see the actors so young again. But my absolute favorite scene is when Professor Snape first enters the potions class, his robes billowing around him, saying, “There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class.” Alan Rickman was a brilliant actor, and he so perfectly epitomizes Professor Snape in that moment. I’ll tell you a little secret. I work at a university, and part of my job is planning our annual convocation. That means we have to wear the grad gowns and at least once, every time, I will walk down the hall, robes billowing, snarling, “There will be no foolish wand-waving…” I think maybe this year I’ll tuck my Hermione wand into my pocket and challenge a student to a duel. Which brings me to the other reason I love the potions class scene so much: Hermione. I was a total nerd in school, always near the top of my class, and her insistent hand raising, practically bouncing out of her seat to answer Snape’s questions, well, that was pretty much me, and it makes me giggle every time I see it.
Carey’s Favorite Thing is… Neave Interactive!
When I’m not writing, reading, rewatching Wonder Woman, or committing general mayhem, I like to head over to Neave Interactive, the digital playground of a guy named Paul Neave, who once upon a time was a web developer and now is an app developer. That’s literally all I know about Paul Neave the person. I do know that Neave has been around for many years, because I have been addicted to the site for a long, long time. Paul Neave hosts a number of choices for nearly endless entertainment — games, web interaction, etc. They are all pretty simple concepts and fun for someone like me who has never moved on to Halo or even Nintendo. I still play the games of my childhood: Galaga, Space Invaders, etc (Never liked Pac-Man, though). So this site’s offerings are right up my alley. For example: Bouncy Balls responds to the concussive force of the music I play. Neave TV consists of, well, anything and everything. I don’t know what I’m going to get, from a few seconds of overdubbed Japanese anime to video of a lamppost. It often feels like a sociological experiment, but that’s part of the draw for me. Imagination is also best to music — I like moving my computer mouse to the beat, just for fun, and enjoy the ensuing mesmerizing designs. It’s also kind of meditative and relaxing. I also play Snake, because I haven’t had that on a mobile phone since 2005. Zoom Earth features daily uploaded NASA satellite photos. My favorite is Tetris N-Blox. I have been a Tetris fiend for 30 some-odd years. I don’t know when I discovered Neave Interactive, but I love it. I am still happily playing Tetris and a host of other games whenever I need a mental break.
Any thoughts on the selections above? Let us know in the comments.
I am absolutely stoked for Black Panther!!!!!