In The Area of Critical Commentary....

Some quickie critical commentary as The Grandstander still tries to catch up from vacation.....

We saw the new "Wonder Woman" movie last week, starring the incredibly beautiful Gal Gadot in the title role.

You have heard me say time and again that I am not a super-hero, comic book movie fan, but something drew me to this one, and, yeah, maybe it was the chance to see a beautiful actress in a skimpy outfit, but Mrs. Grandstander attended as well, and we both liked this movie quite a bit.

If you can accept the idea that there actually ARE super-heros, then this was a pretty good story.  There were a lot of neat special effects and slow motion filming that I enjoyed, and Miss Gadot was charming and delightful as the kick-ass amazon warrior princess.  Like a lot of these movies, it went on too long (2:24), and the climactic battle between Diana and the Evil Bad Guy was implausible, even by comic book movie standards, but when the next WW movie comes out, and as this movie is killing it at the box office, there will be more of them, we shall be in line to see it.

Three stars from The Grandstander.

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The newest Lucas Davenport thriller from John Sanford finds Lucas in his new role as a US Marshall.   A couple of crooks/killers have robbed a drug cartel of millions of dollars and killed several people, including a little girl, in the process.  This sets both the Cartel and the US Marshalls on their trail.  Typical Davenport/Sandford action - brutal criminals, some new partners for Lucas, a compelling storyline, and a most interesting ending to the story that will set up future stories in the series.  As a side note, the story also describes a US Presidential election with fictional candidates, of course, but comparisons can certainly be made.

Three and one-half stars.

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In 2001, a college freshman is drugged and gang raped at a college fraternity party.  Thirteen years later, the woman commits suicide, and shortly thereafter, one of the football players who took part in the rape, is killed, and another one turns up missing.  

The missing guy was last seen in Portland, Maine, and that brings Portland police detectives Michael McCabe and Maggie Savage into the case.  This is the fifth novel in James Hayman's series about McCabe and Savage, and I have written of this series before. "The Girl on the Bridge" continues the series and is another excellent police procedural thriller.

There is a bit of a twist in this one as to who the villain is, and, I must say, I did see it coming, but not at first!  I highly recommend this one, and all of the novels in the series.  Oh, and this one also ends with a hint of a possible change in store for McCabe and Savage in the future.  Can't wait for the next book.

Four stars.

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Yesterday we took advantage once again of the fabulous TCM/Fathom Events Series of classic films on a Big Screen.  This one was Billy Wilder's 1959 classic - and it truly is a Classic - "Some Like It Hot".

Has anyone not seen this one?  In 1929 Chicago, musicians Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In order to escape the Mob, they disguise themselves as women, join an all girl orchestra to escape Chicago and get to Florida, where they will then ditch the band and go on their way.  Of course, another musician and singer in the band is played by Marilyn Monroe, and complications, and hijinks, ensue.

This movie is lauded as the Best Comedy Movie ever made, and it is hard to argue the point.  The three stars, Curtis, Lemmon, and Monroe may never have been better in anything that they ever did, Wilder's direction and script (with I.A.L. Diamond) was fabulous, and, of course, there was that memorable closing line from Joe E. Brown.

No matter how many times you've seen this movie, it is always funny. Always.

Four stars all the way.