Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Streaming Services: HBO Max
Movie Name/Year: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Length: 151 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Production/Distribution: Atlas Entertainment, DC Comics, DC Entertainment, The Stone Quarry, Warner Bros., Karo Premiere, Kinomania, NOS Audiovisuais, Vertical Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Singapore, HBO Max, Sky, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Patty Jenkins, Geoff Johns, Dave Callaham, William Moulton Marston
Actors: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Kristen Wiig, Pedro Pascal, Robin Wright, Connie Nielsen, Lilly Aspell, Amr Waked, Natasha Rothwell, Ravi Patel, Oliver Cotton, Lucian Perez, Gabriella Wilde, Kelvin Yu, Stuart Milligan, Lynda Carter
 
Blurb from IMDb: Rewind to the 1980s as Wonder Woman's next big screen adventure finds her facing two all-new foes: Max Lord and The Cheetah.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
There’s only one review left to complete our ‘Tis the Season’ series for this month, but it’s going to have to come after this. I saw Wonder Woman 1984 this weekend, I feel the need to remark on it. So, we’re just going to have to finish our Christmas movies on Wednesday.
 
I’ll start by saying that I’ve always been a fan of Wonder Woman. My mom and I used to watch the TV show. It’s both nostalgic for me, and something I actually just enjoy in general. I also loved the first movie. One of my favorite superhero movie visuals is Wonder Woman walking through no man’s land. That was just superbly done and still gives me goosebumps.
 
I was expecting something like that when I sat down to watch WW84. My expectations were bolstered by the official trailer for the film. It looked like it would be a serious DC-style film with just a couple of basic jokes thrown in now and then – like the first one.
 

However, that’s not really what WW84 was.
 
If anything, this sequel feels more like the original TV show than anything that DC has put out lately.
 
It leans further into a campy and corny interpretation of Wonder Woman. In fact, the CGI leaves something to be desired in a lot of places, but it almost kind of fits because of just how campy the story is.
 
The way I feel about the film goes far beyond just liking the first one better. I feel like this is another movie where DC tried to be the MCU instead of leaning into its own dark persona. People who like DC better, don’t want to see them become the MCU.
 

Granted, for the most part, I’m a Marvel girl. But I believe there’s space in our popular culture for the quippy films of the MCU and something darker that makes us think more, like what DC should be. They have the heroes and the villains to make that work.
 
In the first film, they gave us a world war. They dropped us into a time that was serious by nature and wove in a couple of funny scenes. They dropped the ball on the ending, but otherwise gave us a film that made us feel something. It was gorgeous to look at. It was empowering.
 
Now, in WW84, they gave us something that had none of those goosebump-inspiring moments and was pretty much behind the times.
 
It’s not a bad flick on its own; if you enjoy the older, campy handling of superhero films. However, in our big-budget superhero-blockbuster times, especially with how good the first film was, it’s almost insulting that it got this kind of treatment.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 64%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 73%
Metascore – 59/100
Metacritic User Score – 4.3/10
IMDB Score – 5.7/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5
 
P.S.: There’s a quick mid-credits scene.
 
Movie Trailer: 

Triple Frontier (2019)

Movie Name/Year: Triple Frontier (2019)

Tag Line: From the Director of A Most Violent Year and Producer of Wonder Woman and The Dark Knight Trilogy

Production Company: Netflix, Atlas Entertainment

Producers:  Madison Ainley, Robert Amidon, Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Andrés Calderón, Neal Dodson, Alex Gartner, Anna Gerb, Thomas Hayslip, Andy Horwitz, Helen Medrano, Daniel Messier, Juliano Moreno, Charles Roven, John Wildermuth

Director: J.C. Chandor

Writers: Mark Boal, J.C. Chandor

Actors: Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, Pedro Pascal, Adria Arjona, Sheila Vand, Rey Gallegos

Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime

Rated: R

Length: 125 minutes

IMDb Blurb: Five former Special Forces operatives reunite to plan a heist in a sparsely populated multi-border zone of South America. For the first time in their prestigious careers these unsung heroes undertake this dangerous mission for self instead of country. But when events take an unexpected turn and threaten to spiral out of control, their skills, their loyalties and their morals are pushed to a breaking point in an epic battle for survival.

Cat’s Point of View:

After wrapping up my second watch-through of this movie, I can tell you my opinion hasn’t changed since my first. It was a solid offering for the military-ish drama genre. There were actually some feels. I’d have to say that it went a bit darker into morality territory than I expected it to – but I think that ultimately helps it stand out in the crowd of its cinematic peers.

I placed this film as my #9 on my Top 20 list for this March. In my blurb I will admit that I gushed a bit about my desire to view the movie having less to do with the action genre itself and more about the dream-team of the cast. I’ll spare you a rehash here, I promise. Because of this, though, I knew I’d be at least a little biased on the outset while watching this. The second watch-through let me take a step back from my giddy self and get a more objective assessment of the overall production.

There’s a little bit that, perhaps, requires slightly more suspension of disbelief – but overall I didn’t feel like it was taking place in some fantasy-land. I don’t feel entirely like a swooning fangirl with my overall take-away. (Maybe a little.) I did have some confusion as to how the name of the movie fit with what was going on. For a hot second, I chalked it up to some nebulous metaphor or something. Fortunately, with a little light investigating, I discovered that the ‘Triple Frontier’ that is the film’s namesake is the geographical area in South America where the story primarily takes place.

Can we talk about the soundtrack for a moment? The music department on this production was seriously on the ball and I have to give them some serious credit here. The music was well paired with events in the story. Honestly, the moment the film began to Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” it really set the tone spectacularly for what was to come. I found it also fitting that the movie was end-capped by “Orion,” which is also a Metallica number. It’s not all metal through the whole feature. There’s some Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan in there as well.

I’d have no trouble recommending this Netflix original. I’m certainly glad it made its way out of its almost decade-long development hell and onto our screens. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 71%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 59%
Metascore – 61/100
Metacritic User Score – 6.8/10
IMDB Score – 6.5/10

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3.5/5

Movie Trailer: