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Review of WONDER WOMAN (Blu-ray combo)

September 23, 2017

James Plath, Family Home Theater Action-Adventure, PG-13 rated Leave a comment

Grade: B+/A-
Entire family: No
2017, 141 min., Color
Action-Adventure Fantasy
Warner Bros.
Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action and some suggestive content
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Featured audio: Dolby Atmos TrueHD
Bonus features: B+
Includes: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD
Trailer
Amazon link

In a way, Wonder Woman is DC’s version of Marvel’s Thor. Both are ancient gods with one foot in the mythological sphere and one foot in the saving-the-planet contemporary world. Thor has his hammer, but Wonder Woman tops that with her indestructible bracelets and Lasso of Hestia (and Truth, and Butt-Kicking). Like Captain America, this Amazonian goddess has to train to learn how to fight, and one super-accessory that she shares in common with Steve Rogers is a powerful shield. She also carries a special sword, making her one formidable superhero.

The brainchild of psychologist-writer William Mouton Marston and artist Harry G. Peter, Princess Diana of Themyscira, Daughter of Hippolyta made her appearance in DC’s All Star Comics #8 (October 1941) and was enough of a feminist icon that she made the cover of Ms. magazine 30 years later and in 2016 was named “U.N. Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls” by the United Nations. Marston explained that he wanted “to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman,” and that character has resonated with people. In this 2017 film, she can leap high as tall buildings, she can deflect speeding bullets, and she can cause a devastating shock wave both on-screen and off. Wonder Woman earned more than $819 million at the box office, making it the highest grossing film directed by a woman (Patty Jenkins, Monster).

The biggest change the film makes from the comics and 1970s TV series starring Lynda Carter is that Wonder Woman enters the world of humans during WWI rather than WWII. It’s the Kaiser, not Hitler, that leads the enemy, and the plot revolves around mustard gas, trench warfare, and biplanes. There’s no shortage of villains, but the standouts are David Thewlis as Ares, Diana’s distant half-brother and son of Zeus, and Elena Anaya as the demented Dr. Maru, a.k.a. “Dr. Poison.”

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Review of BRING IT ON: WORLDWIDE #CHEERSMACK (Blu-ray)

September 10, 2017

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, Sports Leave a comment

Grade: C-/?
Entire family: No
2017, 95 min., Color
Sports-comedy
Rated PG-13 for crude sexual material
Universal Pictures
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Featured audio: DTS-HDMI 5.1
Bonus features: C
Includes: Blu-ray, Digital HD
Trailer
Amazon link

#KindaDumb

I get it. We live in a digital world, where everyone who walks from here to there is on their cell phone checking email, posting or replying to social media, or doing everything but watching where they’re going. Cyberbullying can be more devastating than in-person bullying, and bodyshaming and trolling are more common than “your mom” insults used to be. So it #KindaMakesSense that the sixth installment in the Bring It On franchise would tap into that. And the potential was certainly there.

But Bring It On: Worldwide #Cheersmack really is kind of dumb. The acting is bad, the cheerleading acrobatics take a backseat to online insults, and the characters are so cardboard you could knock them over with a little finger or hearty belch.

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Review of FLIPPER (1964): SEASON 1 (Blu-ray)

September 9, 2017

James Plath, Family Home Theater Family, TV Adventure Leave a comment

Grade: B/B+
Entire family: Yes
1964-65, 780 min. (31 episodes), Color
Family adventure
Not rated (would be TV-G)
Olive Films
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Featured audio: DTS Mono
Bonus features: n/a
Opening/Closing Theme with snippet
Amazon link

When Flipper debuted in the fall of 1964, it became an immediate hit with boys and animal lovers—which are often the same thing. It was every boy’s fantasy: 15-year-old Sandy (Luke Halpin) and 10-year-old Bud (Tommy Norden) lived with their widowed father, Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly), in a cottage right on a lagoon that was part of the Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in the Florida Keys that their dad patrolled. As the park’s lone ranger he was responsible for protecting the environment, looking after the welfare of the sea creatures, and also monitoring any scuba divers, snorkelers, or boat enthusiasts that visited the park.

The boys helped their father some of the time, but mostly struck out on their own. It was like a permanent summer vacation, where Sandy and Bud could take the skiff out any time they wanted and go diving or snorkeling to their heart’s content. Often they were accompanied by Flipper, a wild dolphin that took a shine to Bud (who can communicate with it) and hangs around the boys of his own volition. Good thing, because he’s needed to come to the rescue in just about every episode. In a way, Flipper is a marine version of that earlier iconic ‘50s show Lassie. What’s that, Lassie? Timmy’s trapped in the well?

Only here, Flipper tries to communicate that Bud is trapped inside a sea cave, or Sandy and another boy are trapped inside a sunken wreck, or one of them is being held captive in a boat by a poacher or treasure hunter or other nogoodnik. But while Flipper is just as wholesome as Lassie and seems to have one foot in those innocent ‘50s, it’s a whole lot more entertaining.

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Review of THE WEDDING BANQUET (Blu-ray)

September 6, 2017

James Plath, Family Home Theater Comedy, Drama, R rated Leave a comment

Grade: B+/A-
Entire Family: No, older teens and up
1993, 106 min., Color
Comedy-drama
Rated R
Olive Films
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Featured audio: DTS Mono
Bonus features: C-
Trailer
Amazon link

Though Ang Lee’s The Wedding Banquet is rated R for language and brief frontal nudity, it’s included here because the 1993 comedy-drama deals with issues faced by people on the fringe of society. Suitable for families with older teens, it’s the kind of film that can put a humanizing face on the LGBT and immigration headlines, the kind of film that in the process will have you both laughing and tearing up.

It’s almost hard to believe that The Wedding Banquet is more than 25 years old, because it’s still so topical and relevant. It’s about a gay Chinese man who has yet to come out to his family, and a Chinese artist who needs a green card or must marry an American citizen to stay in the country. Lee (The Life of Pi) does a fine job of exploring the anxieties faced by people in their situations, while also managing to create a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing film. An added bonus is the insight we get into another culture, as the wedding customs themselves will fascinate family audiences.

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