Blog Archives
Gal Gadot Looks Pretty Wonderful
For fans of Wonder Woman, the news that the 5’9” Israeli actress Gal Gadot will portray the female superhero equivalent of Superman was likely met with long, overdue jubilation. Plus, a dose of ambiguity. Why? Because Wonder Woman fans have long wished to see this lasso waving superhero on the big screen as the central figure and not necessarily as a supporting cast member, potentially.
(Zimbio)
The specifics of her role will remain a mystery for everybody around the world except the very select insiders: writers, producers and director of the “Man of Steel” sequel. Before too much speculation and analysis, there are some positive characteristics Gal Gadot will instantly bring to Wonder Woman, regardless of her ultimate character contribution.
First, she is absolutely gorgeous. Second, she has some film experience (mostly with the “The Fast and the Furious” movies) and, therefore, will bring a fresh face and impression to audience members. In other words, most people will see her as Wonder Woman and not as a character from a past project/series trying to portray Wonder Woman. She will be Wonder Woman. And third, she will inherently receive an elevated standing (at least initially) because of the nature and anticipation of the movie and the sensational credentials of the director, producers and writers of “Man of Steel” and, yes, “The Dark Knight” trilogy.
Interestingly though, has the global box office success of 2012s “The Avengers” (~$1.5 billion) and forth coming sequel put a rush delivery on the DC Comics super get together for The Justice League, despite the global box office success of summer blockbusters with solo superheroes in “Man of Steel” (~$662 million) and “The Dark Knight” trilogy (~$2.74 billion)? Without seeing the “Man of Steel sequel, it’s impossible to judge the decision to inject the DC Universe together so quickly after introducing Superman. Still though, seeing a longer, deeper character and story arc for Superman, Wonder Woman, the new Batman (maybe not so much) and The Flash would be legendary.
But, because of “The Avengers,” is there enough time or patience? Time will tell, but the fans were willing to wait (and excitedly!) during the 7-year, A-movie quality Batman trilogy…
Lassoing back to Wonder Woman, here are 10 questions (for today anyways) surrounding the announcement of her presence in the untitled “Man of Steel” sequel that will hit theaters in 2015, in no particular order:
- Doesn’t Wonder Woman deserve at least a solo movie treatment, given the story and cultural popularity of her character, plus her positive superhero image for girls and women alike?
- Will and how will her character fit into the darker, grittier Zack Snyder/Nolan superhero universe?
- What “world” will she, Superman and Batman exist in? Will there be multiple locations/cities?
- Will her costume have a narrative like Superman’s in “Man of Steel?” (ie- his suit was actually made of steel links) If so, what will it look like and what will the narrative be?
- Will Gal Gadot look like the Wonder Woman people know from the comics and television show or will she be a new, modern adaptation?
- There was no Kryptonite in “Man of Steel.” Will Wonder Woman keep her Lasso of Truth?
- Will Wonder Woman be merely introduced or will she feature in a starring role alongside Batman and Superman?
- Will Wonder Woman battle Batman and/or Superman?
- Will Alan Harper make an appearance somewhere in the movie as a star struck admirer while slinging his own Lasso of Truth?
- Bottom line: Will Gal Gadot define Wonder Woman for a new generation?
The anticipation will be wonderfully mysterious and intriguing.
The Shot Missed ‘Round the World
…after Lee Harvey Oswald rattled off multiple shots at the motorcade carrying Kennedy past the Texas School Book Depository, a Secret Service agent riding in a car immediately behind the presidential limousine grabbed his Colt AR-15 high-velocity rifle to return fire.
But when his car stopped suddenly, the theory holds, Agent George Hickey lost his balance and accidentally discharged his weapon, sending a .223-caliber round rocketing into Kennedy’s head — the wound that later killed the 35th president.
This is an excerpt from an article posted this morning on NBC News online by NBC News Staff Writer Daniel Arkin. It summarizes the circumstance for the theory of the unknown shot that ultimately killed President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
Question: Is it possible that a logical explanation could ever win over a conspiracy-enthused American public?
This is a fascinating query to contemplate, especially considering the legend and lore this mystery has sparked for the past fifty years. When the assassination of a U.S. president happens, as we learned with President Lincoln and John Wilkes Booth, there is an instant reaction to conclude that a grand scheme or motive influenced the tragic event. Devastation like this does not just happen, even if by accident.
But what if it did, in part?
The purpose of this post is not to declare that the aforementioned theory is correct, valid or the truth. The reason for posing the question above is simply to ponder whether or not the answer to the assassination of JFK, after all the angles, motives, facts and hypotheses have been scrutinized for five decades by experts and amateurs alike, was an international conspiracy or simply one of the the worst friendly fires in history and if either answer would be acceptable to the American people.
Will the juxtaposition of our analytical minds and wild imaginations permit such a mundane conclusion of accidental friendly fire or does it require a grander reveal?
Actually, the better question is, “doesn’t it deserve a grand reveal/answer?”
Unfortunately, former Agent George Hickey is dead, as is Lee Harvey Oswald. The opportunity for any last second disclosure is a virtual impossibility.
The frustrating reality is that someone has or had the answer to this mystery of monumental proportion tightly locked up inside their head and heart.
Regardless, the pulse of intrigue to discover the whole truth beats on nearly as strong today as it did when Walter Cronkite famously removed his black frame glasses fifty years ago to announce in a reserved shock that, “President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. central standard time.”
It’s an eerily surreal feeling. The bullet was fired from somewhere relatively close to President Kennedy’s motorcade and crowd of people. It was fired by someone, somewhere nearby, yet nobody definitively knows by who or specifically where this occurred?
Unbelievable.
And You Thought Kinkos Was Good
The possibilities and questions are endless at this point.
3-D printing is progressing at such fast rate that it may become just another part of our daily lives within a decade. A heavy proposition for sure. What does it mean? It’s a perplexing dilemma. On the one hand, when LEGO forgets to put a single piece into a box set of Black Beard’s pirate ship from “Pirates of the Caribbean,” it would have been much more efficient to have had a machine at home that could have printed the missing gray piece in a matter of minutes for my nephew as opposed to calling the LEGO Store and getting it shipped from Denmark.
True story.
On the other hand, purchasing a machine that prints 3-D objects will undoubtedly reduce commerce in stores (offline and online), consequently hurting businesses that are run by our neighbors, friends and people who are just trying to make a good living. Society will become much more introverted, which is a dynamic that has positives like convenience, but is (currently) outweighed by negatives, such as the decreasing inclination to go outside to a video rental store.
What will be the landmark case be surrounding patents? How will businesses adjust to this evolution of people being able to make and/or copy-and-paste a wide-array of things themselves that are normally sold in stores? What will the quality of the printed objects be? What positive effects on society will it have? What negative effects on society will it have?
3-D printing is evolving into pivotal issues of need versus want and quality versus convenience (just two examples).
At least we don’t need special glasses to see all this coming at us…
I Have a Question…Actually, I Have More Than One
Why do we watch? Despite the fact it’s become a cultural phenomenon to millions of people, why do we, individually, sit on a couch and decidedly press the buttons on the controller that take us to The Discovery Channel for “Shark Week?” To discover something new I suppose.
“Shark Week,” in the literal sense, is a week of documentaries and informative stories about sharks, their habits, dangerously incredible close-ups, new revelations and so forth. In the metaphorical sense, it’s an opportunity over several days to revert back to our instincts of elementary school. What does this mean exactly? Reflecting on our experiences from kindergarten through the fifth grade, one of the constants was our insistence to learn as much about something that peeked our interest as possible. Whether it was sharks, bears, insects, adventures in books, sports, math, Sega Genesis, Nintendo, science, etc., we were hooked. We were not just thirsty for Capri Sun, but also for knowledge.
The amount of information we wanted to absorb was boundless. Do you think I’m wrong? If you have any nephews, nieces, sons or daughters around the preschool to elementary school age, try to compute just how many questions they ask you about anything and everything on a daily basis. Why? Why? Why!?
It’s their nature. It’s instinctive. Nobody tells them at a young age to ask a limitless amount of questions. They just do. Then, during the teenage years of our lives, we transition to a phase when we don’t seek as many answers to questions that are academically related. At some point though, we cycle back around to find the glow of knowledge from our younger days that rejuvenates an inner spark and desire to want to learn about what surrounds us and how everything works.
Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?
Some of you may be wondering why there were so many questions asked throughout this post? Because if nobody asks questions, how do we discover anything new? How do learn where we come from? How do we know where we are going? Where do great white sharks mate? Do sharks really mistake humans for seals? How do painters dream up their masterpieces? Do aliens exist? Will somebody ever invent a teleportation device? How has there not been a new “Bill & Ted’s” adventure made in more than twenty years?
This week, it’s sharks. What will it be tomorrow? The day after that? Next week?
Good question.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 