Shmee.Me

October 18, 2013July 7, 2015

Shmee Picks Wonder Woman!

I decided that since I keep crying about Warner Brothers not making a Wonder Woman movie, that I would make their job easier by picking Princess Diana of Themyscira myself. Here are my top five picks:

5: Ashley Greene

I have to admit that I mostly just picked her because she has the look. She has been the in the awful Twilight movies, but I won’t hold that against her because she looks like Lynda Carter’s daughter. The fact that she is young and unknown works in her favor, so she could wear the red, white, and blue for a long time.

4: Kate Beckinsale

She has been a leading female action star for a long time now, and that might make her too obvious for this role, but movie goers would believe that she could beat up the bad guys while in the uniform, and that is a good thing.

3: Gina Carano

She is an MMA fighter turned actress known mostly for her role in Haywire. Unlike the other women on this list, she can beat up bad guys in real life, so being the first lady of super heroes should be pretty easy for her.

2: Jaime Alexander

Jaime already has a good job as a super hero as one of Thor’s side kicks, Sif, but she has proven that she could take on the fight by herself, so why not cross enemy lines from Marvel and star as one of the best super heroes period for DC. She has the look and the acting chops, so she would be a slam dunk.

1: Gina Torres

The other actresses on this list may have the classic Wonder Woman look, but Gina has the feel and grandeur of Wonder Woman down. I would feel very safe if I knew she had come from Themyscira to protect the mortals. Plus as a geek favorite, she would get butts in seats which would be important to executive types.

That is my list, and I am sure you disagree with me, so I would love to have you post your list women to be the Amazing Amazon.

October 17, 2013October 17, 2013

Shmee Hangs Out With The Emerald Knights!

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is an animated DC Universe movie that was released directly to video. DCU has been making quite a name for themselves in the comic book world by releasing good well told movies. This movie is about the Green Lantern Corps.

The movie is actually six short stories told by Hal Jordan (Nathan Fillion) to his new recruit Arisia Rrab (Elisabeth Moss) as they get ready for a battle against the massive Krona. The stories are meant to calm her as well as give her some history about the Corps. The stories are: The First Lantern, Kilowog, Laira, Mogo Doesn’t Socialize, Abin Sure, and Emerald Knights which is the fight against Krona.

The stories are all good, but like any time there is an anthology it can hurt the flow of the film. It does serve as a good way to get a foot in the Green Lantern universe, and it is way better than the Green Lantern feature film that Warner Brothers released. Just like Wonder Woman the DCU guys should be in charge of the Green Lantern feature films as well.

The voice actors do a good job, and anything with Nathan Fillion gets my approval. Elisabeth Moss does a good job playing the slightly overwhelmed new recruit facing almost certain death. Though as they say in the Corps, everyone dies.

This is not the best DCU movie they have released, but it is still worth a watch if you like the Green Lantern, or just want to lean more about the Green Lantern Universe. DCU continues to turn out good work, and Warner Brothers continues to ignore it, but at least fans are getting to see good DC Hero films. If you have an Amazon Prime account, this movie is free for streaming, so it is worth a look.

October 14, 2013October 14, 2013

I Enjoy All The Much Ado About Nothing!

Much Ado About Nothing is movie a Joss Whedon filmed in 2011 based on Shakespeare’s famous play. The movie came out in US theaters in June 2013, and has received a lot of critical praise for its fun adaption using Shakespeare’s classic language showcased in a modern day setting, and I have to agree.

For those of you that did not have to read the play in school, it is about a bunch of Nobles that get together for a weekend of feasts and drinking, and more than a little bit of wooing. There is an evil Prince who wants nothing more than to keep love from occurring, so tries to sabotage the whole weekend. Everyone is drunk and witty.

The movie was filmed quickly and at Whedon’s house, and since it stars all the regulars from Joss’s films and shows, It feels like a family get together. I would love to hang out and be witty with all of them. It seems like a lot of fun. It is a shame Nathan Fillion’s role is so short because he is a hoot to watch, and he really brings the incompetent constable Dogberry to life.

Since the movie uses the original langue it can be a little hard to follow at times, but everyone is having such a good time that I just smiled and followed along as best I could, and since there is not a lot of substance to the play you don’t to need know a lot anyway. Joss should film all Shakespeare’s plays at his house. It would make a great box set. PBS should call him and get on that.

If you want something a little low key, but still gives off a little culture Much Ado About Nothing is fine choice. It is probably one of the best screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, even though Much Ado About Nothing is really pretty much about nothing.

October 12, 2013

Get Pulled In By Gravity!

I finally got to see what all the fuss is about, and I went and watched Gravity. It is amazing! You should really stop wasting your time and just go watch it now. Don’t make my mistake and watch it on a standard screen: see it in 3D IMAX because it is stunning. Alfonso Cuarón has created a masterpiece, and he will be a force to be reckoned with this awards season.

The story is simple. There is a disaster in space, and Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) has to find a way out of the sky before she dies. That is it, but it is breathtaking. I literally stopped breathing few times. There is no time to look away, and there is no down moment. The disaster happens over three hours and you are there for an hour and a half of it. It is you and Dr. Stone trying not to fall out of space.

Ryan is brought to life by Sandra Bullock, and she owns this movie. Everything is from her point of view. I have never seen a movie use so much first person point of view camera work, but it works and it draws you in to Dr. Stone’s struggle. She is scared and courageous all at once, and she makes us all feel the same way.

Alfonso Cuarón has made a feast for the eyes. Everthing works, from the aforementioned first person camera work to the crazy good special effects. It looks and feels like you are in space, and you just want to Dr. Stone to get on the Earth in one piece. It is tour de force filmmaking.

Like I said when I started this review, you need to see this film, and you need to see it in theaters. You need to let space envelop you. Movies like this are the reason theaters were made, so go get your butt out there and check it out. Otherwise it will be like Pacific Rim and you will have missed it.

October 2, 2013October 2, 2013

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

As you can see above, the new Hobbit trailer is out, and it looks pretty amazing. The only problem I am having is that besides Cumberbatch as Smaug, I am pretty sure none of this is in the book. The white Orc is back, and Legolas is here for some reason with the elf from Lost. I am sure everything will be great, but this is definitely a different Hobbit than the one I read.

It also seems that the lighter tone from the first movie, and the book for that matter, are gone. I liked having a little light hearted fun, and I hope that it is still in this movie, but as long as there is a werebear I will be happy!