Nyanko:
Hai! Wonder Woman 1984 was another of the movies of 2020 we most eagerly awaited! In spite of the Zack Snydery stylistic influence, we liked the purrior Wonder Woman movie and her role in the Justice League movie, especially because Gal Gadot is like totally perfect as Diana Prince a.k.a Wonder Woman!
The wonderful cast also includes Kristen Wiig as Barbara Minerva alias The Cheetah: Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielsen as Hippolyta, Robin Wright as Antiope, and Pedro Pascal (who we love in the The Mandalorian TV series) as Maxwell Lord, and there are surpurrise appurrances that I should not spoil!
The story was written by Geoff Johns, it was directed by Patty Jenkins, who directed the 2017 Wonder Woman movie, and the score is by Hans Zimmer. The story, performances, stunts, choreography, costumes, make-up, FX, sets & locations are excellent, and I loved the art direction that captures the 1984 period!
It has the great balance of the drama, humor, action and myth-making; and my only quibbles are that it seemed too rushed and short, and I did not care for the slo-mo / speed ramp technique of certain fight scenes. Nevertheless, it is one of my favorite movies of 2020 and I eagerly awaited this DVD + Blu-Ray combo!
Both discs purrsent the PG-13 rated 151 min. movie with the audio choices of English, English Descriptive (read by Laura Post), French, Spanish & Purrtugues, with the optional subtitles of English SDH, French, Spanish & Purrtugues. In this combo pack, the DVD’s one featurette is the 5 min. making of the mall scene.
The Blu-Ray has that and several other special features, such as the nearly 36.5 min. “making of” documentary, the nearly 6.5 min. gag reel, the 21.5 min chat with the amazon actresses, 1.25 min of Gal & Kristen k, the 6+ min, study of the road chase sequence, the 10.75 min, “Small but Mighty” featurette…
…. the 1.5 min. Black Gold infomercial and the wonderful 1.5+ min WW84 retro-remix, which is the 70’s TV series’s animated opening sequence done with the movie cast! I was very pleased with the quality of the movie and special features so this’un gets the high purraise! I am done, and nyow here is Mike to discuss
Godzilla vs. King Kong!
Mike:
Basically a remake of the 1962 Japanese movie King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs King Kong is the latest of Legendary Films’ MonsterVerse series which includes Godzilla (2014), Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island. In offering my opinion, I’ll try to be succinct and spoiler-free!
Well, it was wayyy too rushed and short, not serious enough, had a few unnecessary expository dialogue moments, and as usual most of the human characters were not very bright, and yeah, as with any giant monster / disaster movie, there are a few bits that aren’t credible enough, but otherwise, it was awesome!
The continuity, mythology, FX, monster battles, mecha and scenery, are totally awesome, with pretty good music too! It’s a great homage to the showa (1954-1975) & hesei (1984 – 1995) era Zilla movies, which the writers & director seem to be fans of. I think that It’s the 2nd best Kong movie ever made since 1931.
(I thought Peter Jackson’s Kong was OK, and Skull Island was a lotta fun). For me, It’s by far the best American Zilla movie, although that hasn’t been a very high bar to cross. I think It’s better than most of the Showa era, all of the Millennium era (1999 – 2004), Shin Gojira, and better than half of the hesei era’s Zilla movies.
I’m just including actual Zilla movies, not the other Toho daikaiju films that he was not in (such as Rodan, Mothra, Latitude Zero, etc,) just as I’m not including the somewhat Kong-ish movies that Kong wasn’t in (such as Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young). I haven’t seen the 2017- 2018 animated Godzilla Planet trilogy.
By the way, I’m rather fond of the late 90’s Rebirth of Mothra trilogy. Godzilla vs King Kong ranks in my top six zilla movies along with Gojira (1954), Destroy All Monsters (1968), Return of Gojira (1984, not the 1985 American version), Godzilla vs Biollante (1989), and Godzilla vs MechaGodzilla II (1993).
Stick a fork in me- I’m done, and now, we’ve got a little surprise for y’all. Ah, as this is our anniversary Mew, we wanted our web master Jamie to join the in the discussions, so here he is with his review of
The Falcon and Winter Soldier!
Jamie
(wearing a Skyrim “shirt – 0 gold t-shirt, jeans and tennis shoes):
The second series on the Disney+ streaming service is Falcon and the Winter Soldier, starring Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan as James “Bucky” Barnes. The series takes place six months after Avengers: Endgame when millions of people returned from Thanos’ snap, (also called the blip).
Like WandaVison, the first original Marvel show on Disney+, FatWS is an experiment in storytelling. It uses the format of television to tell a low key version of a typical marvel movie. In doing so, FatWS allows the characters to breathe and deal with tough subjects such as racism, PTSD, grief and loss.
The strength of the show lies within the characters and the actors who portray them such as Wyatt Russell as the new Captain America, John Walker. However, it is Daniel Brühl as Baron Zemo who steals the show as an atypical villain and therein lies the heart of Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
There are no typical villains in the show. Their methods may be highly questionable, but every major “villain” has a just cause. The stumbles in FatWS are pacing and the Marvel formula. Presented as a six hour movie chopped into six parts, FatWS may have been better served as three two hour movies (or one six hour film to outdo Zack Snyder’s Justice League).
Then there is the Marvel formula, which was fresh when it was 2008’s Iron Man or 2012’s The Avengers. Unfortunately, the formula has become stagnant. In Falcon and the Winter Soldier the formula resides in the beats and structure of the story, so there is little variation from a typical Marvel movie.
Despite some bumps, FatWS delivers Marvel at its best, reminiscent of tales from “The House of Ideas”. Weaving comic series such as “Truth: Red, White, and Black” and “Captain No More” into morally grey areas where heroes become villains and team up. Now here’s Vonny to begin our
comic book mewsings, with her review of
America Chavez: Made in the USA #2
Yvonne:
Hai! America Chavez, a.k.a Miss America, is the latinx- American lesbian supurrheroine with the supurr strength, stamininter-dimensionala, invulnerability, speed, interdimensional travel and the star blast, nya!
She has been in the Marvel Comics since 2011, so it is appurropurriate that for her 10th anniversary she should have this mini series, nya!
Purrior to this mini-series, she starred in the Avengers West Coast series which was sadly cancelled after 10 issues in 2019, nya. In issue #1 of this mini-series, her supurr powers were malfunctioning whilst she and Spider-Man investigated the mysterious force field around her adoptive purrents’ town, which is on fire, nya!
Written by Kalinda Vazquez, illustrated by Carlos Gomez, colored by Jesus Aburtov, lettered by Travis Lanham, and edited by Analise Bissa with the purrduction design by Carlos Lao, issue #2 is available with the main cover art by Sara Pichelli & Tamra Bonvillain; and the variant cover art by Bengal, nya!
Nyow is the happy reunion with her rescued adoptive family the Santanas, with the more slice – of – life moments and the food truck, but she still has the mysteries to solve, such as the cause of the fire, the forcefield, and who is sending her the ,messages, which seem to be leading her into the trap, nya!
Peppering the tale are the flashbacks to 13 years purrior when she was adopted and no one believed that she was born in the other dimension known as the Utopian Purrallel, so this beautifully drawn issue has the good mix of the action, suspense, charm, and poignant developments, nya! Nyow here is Trini-chan to discuss
Marvel Action: Captain Marvel #2, nya!
Trini-chan:
Hai! Jointly published by Marvel And IDW, The Marvel Action series are among my favorites comics of the recent years! It is the sort of anthology series, with story arcs that focus upon the different characters. This time it stars Carol Danvers a.k.a. Captain Marvel, her alien catlike Flurrken friend Chewie, and Gwen Stacy a.k.a Ghost Spider who are in the middle of Times Square when the villain known as The mad thinker and his Awesome Android attack!
This $3.99 issue has the uninterrupted 20 page tale followed by the preview page, 2 pages of cover art gallery, and the 5 pages of the ads. It was written by Sam Maggs whose book The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy I enjoyed! It was drawn by Mario Del Pennino, inked by Isabel Escalante, colored by Heather Breckel whose work on IDW’s pony comics we love, and edited by Megan Brown who has edited many of those pony comics!
The design & production of the issue was by Valeria Lopez, the main cover art is by Sweeny, and the variant cover art is by Kaela Lash! Not only are Carol and Gwen are not impressed with the villain’s scheme to mind control a flash mob through the hacked social media, but the smart-alecky android is not impressed either! Jessica Drew (a.k.a Spider-Woman) makes another brief appurrance too, but I should not further spoil the plot!
I liked every aspect of the tale, from the plot, pace, dialogue, the action and the humor, to the poses, expressions, costumes, and FX, with the great scenery, typography, and the graphic narrative of the sequential artI I Iove Marvel Action’s wonderful sense of fun, and is my current favorite comic book from either Marvel or IDW, although as a pony owner, I must admit to a bias for the comic book that Tara-chan wants to discuss-
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #96!
Arigato, nya! We love these comics which so faithfully capture the style and – and spirit of the animated TV series, but with the different strengths of the comic book medium, nya! it is hard to believe that the Friendship is Magic animated series started ten years ago, and – and that the pony comics have been around for the eight years, nya! They have the great stable of the artists, writers, editors, colorists and – and the letterers, nya!
They include this issue’s writer Jeremy Whitley, artist Tony Fleecs, colorist Heather Breckel, letterer Neil Uyetake, editor Megan Brown, and – and group editor Bobby Curnow, nya. Heather and – and Neil have worked on almost every issue, and – and I think Bobby has worked on them all! Cover A is by Tony, cover B is by JustaSuta, and – and cover RI is by Matt Bellamy, nya! We have met Tony and – and Jeremy at the conventions!
Jeremy has written many other comics such as My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Vampirella, Sea of Thieves, Thor vs Hulk, Freedom Foundation, The Unstoppable Wasp, and he is the creator and the author of Princeless, Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess, and School for Extraterrestrial Girls! Anyway, Issue #96 is the 8th epurrsode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’s 10th season, as the animated TV series ended after its 9th season, nya.
Nypw for a taste of the plot, in which Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Trixie, Discord, Capper, Lyra Heartstrings, Sweetie Drops and – and Spitfire are aboard Captain Celaeno’s airship on the way to the xenophobic feline kingdom of Abyssinia which is ruled by King MeowMeow, nya! It is the bittersweet time for capper, who tells the tale of his former gang which was compurrised of Chummer, Shadow, Molly, Max and – and Admiral Fluffington, nya!
The diplomatic mission does not go well, but I should not further spoil the issue which has the great plot, pace, dialogue, developments, poses, expurressions, compurrsitions, details, fonts, color and – and the graphic FX, so I will give it the “A” as in Applebuck, nya! That will conclude my pony report, and nyow here is Myayr -sama to discuss the
Beasts of Burden: Occupied Territory #1, nya!
Hai! Created by author Evan Dorken (Milk and Cheese, The Eltingville Club) and artist Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother, At Death’s Door) Beasts of Burden is the beautiful bittersweet fantasy tale of heroic friends who have investigated the purranormal incidents and defended their town from evil supurrnatural threats, but in this case those defenders are cats, dogs and other critters!
To most of its human residents, Burden Hill seems like the pleasant purretty town, but little do they know of their pets’ vigilance against wicked purredators! It is the very charming, Eisner Award – winning tale of wonderful characters, amewsing and thrilling but sometimes sadly tragic situations. At the 2012 Heroes Con, Jill & Evan signed my copy of the Beasts of Burden hardcover!
Some of the tales were tales co-written by Evan’s wife Sarah Dryer (Action Girl). “Occupied Territory” is the latest mini-series, which ocurrs after the events of the “Wise Dogs and Eldritch Men” mini-series. On the way back from their mission to thwart a cult in the town of in Derrington, the dogs bivouac at their bulldog friend Huxley’s rural home, which is owned Arthur, who can talk to dogs.
This tale was written by Evan & Sarah , illustrated by Benjamin Dewey, lettered by Nate Pekos, edited by Daniel Chabon, and assistantly edited by Chuck Howitt & Konner Knudsen, with the issue’s graphic design by Sarah Terry & Kathleen Barney, the digital technical wizardry by Chris Horn, he main cover by Benjamin and the variant cover by John McCrea.
Appurring in this issue are Lundy, Gerda, Miranda, Dempsey, Brigid, Charlie, Huxley, Arthur, and the Fire Salamander, but the main plot is Emery’s tale of how she and her meowster Jonathan and a dog named Mullins investigated a ghastly situation at Ogara Airbase in Japan in 1947! The plot & dialogue are captivating at the purrfect pace, whilst the art beautifully depicts the story, characters & scenery!
There are some violent, gory, scary incidents & ambience which might not be the cup of tea for everyone, but such things often occur in these macabre tales. I will give this tale of the Beasts of Burden the high purraise grade of the “A” as in Arthur and as in my anticipation for the next issue! I am done, so nyow I will turn The mew over to Meryl, who wants to tell us about
Kitty’s Cosmic Fashion Show!
Meryl:
Arigato! Created by Dan Parent and Fernadno Ruiz (whose Archie Comics we have loved), originally published by Chapterhouse and purresently published by Astrcomix, Die Kitty Die is the whimsically ribald occult tale of Kitty Ravencroft the sexy celebrity witch who can turn into a cat!
She has been targeted for the assassination by her own employers, who hope evilly that her demise will result in much publicity, increased merchandising, and more control for them over the purropurrty rights! Kitty’s evil cousin Katty is in cahoots with the conspurracy because she hopes to replace Kitty in the spotlight!
This frisky fun series is filled with sexy clothes, dark comedy, clever satirical homages and purrodies of Archie, Harvey, Marvel & DC comics, plus the cute pics of Kitty and her macabre friends in the lovely fashions amidst her travels through space and time!
This full color, 28 page (including 6 pages of ads) issue has whimsically purretty, pin-up pics which are full-page pics or two-page spurreads by Dan, Fernando, J. Bone, and our friend Andrew Pepoy, who was a special guest of The Mew in December 2008 and July 2010!
This issue was lettered by Taylor Esposito, edited by Tony White, colored by Jason Millet, Nick Caponi and Dan, and is available in the sexy variant covers.
It starts with the three pages by Andrew which depict Kitty in the beautifully sexy leopurrd purrint, goth, and steam punk attire!
Then there are Fernando’s three pages of amusingly alluring homages to Back to the Future, One Million Years BC, and the various supurr heroines! Nextly is the three – page fashion show of the 60’s, 70’s & 80’s appurral graced by Kitty and her co-stars, Mimi, Derek and L’il Satan!
After that are J. Bone’s full-page pics of winter garments, Heavenly ensembles, Hellish fashions & posh couture; the two-page spurreads of the “Kitty Kat Pool Party”, and the lovely macabre outfits of the “Haunted Hallway”, “Monster Makeover”, and “Witchy Wall-Art”!
To top off this lovely issue are the full-page pics of he Kitty in the devilish and angelic attire, so I will heartily recommend this issue to the fans of those artists and the peppy cheesecake! That is all for our reviews, and nyow here are Petra and bunny to purrsent the latest