Black Panther - Wakanda Forever

 Dangrdafne review

What a wonderful tribute to Chadwick Boseman. So many tears. It truly was a wonderful story that included the loss of Chadwick and made it all work. I truly hope that the ceremony in the movie helped the actors deal with the loss. I felt that it helped me and felt that it allowed the public to be a part of the funeral.

I absolutely adored all the woman power in this movie. During the scene on the bridge I even said "there are three women of color as the main heroes in this movie!" I was blown away by the action and their stories. The actresses are excellent at their jobs and I am grateful for their portrayal of these incredible superheroes.

The costuming for this movie was beyond spectacular. Angel Bassett's outfits were out of this world beautiful and added even more to her beauty. I want to cosplay every outfit she wore. The white ceremony outfits were also simply beautiful and angelic. It was pure glorious beauty on the screen. I hope the costumers win the Academy Award for this movie.

I loved the music in this movie too. I feel like I don't recall lyrics in past Marvel movies, but I could just be misremembering, but each song really fit into the scenes and I definitely will seek out the soundtrack for this movie. I was a little thrown by the new Panther music but it does work very well. I do miss the tribal sound that was in the first movie but I understand why it wouldn't be in this one without Chadwick.

Namor was well done and the special effects for him were seamless and I was very impressed with how realistic he was. I did mention during the one underwater scene that even though I liked Aquaman, that this was the Aquaman movie that one was trying to be ;) Again I have no history with any of these characters, so I had no issues as some do and I liked the story and the portrayals.

I am grateful that some how I was not spoiled on anything in this movie and I will not spoil anything here now. I did figure out one thing while the movie progressed but I am ok with that. It is best if you can just watch and let everything unfold. I think it was an excellent story, told very well.

I do definitely wish we saw this movie in the theater, as I think it would have been all encompassing and hit even harder for the action but I am also so glad I was at home to cry throughout this movie.

Another excellent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

4 paws

The Sandman - Netflix

 Dangrdafne review:

I am again in love.

This time with Tom Sturridge as Sandman, Dream, Morpheus ... by any other name, he would be just as amazing in this role! Wow!

I have never read The Sandman but I know a lot about it from Brainwise and other friends who love the story and Neil Gaiman. I had no idea what to expect or if I would even like it. And I didn't like it.

I LOVED it! Although I will say having no background at all, I think there are some things that I missed and didn't understand. I am hopeful it is just a long game in the storytelling and it will all shake out in the end. But I am a little frustrated that we have watched the whole season and I still have questions. I guess I am more used to closed ended seasons, I will just have to let go and play along.

Death. 

What a glorious actress and performance for Death, sister to Dream. Their moments on screen together are some of the best acting and story I have seen, and I have watched a lot of amazing shows lately. I am completely taken with Kirby Howell-Baptiste in this role. It would sound a little funny to say that I think she was born to play this role :) I know she is completely different than the original but both are perfection and both can live in this story without any issue from me.

Vivienne Acheamong as Lucienne is another favorite of mine. I just love watching and listening to her. She is the perfect companion to Dream and I am completely jealous of her :)

I also adore Vanesu Samunyai as Rose Walker. She is brilliant in the role and although her story seemed to flip the storytelling around from the opening of the series, it ended up fitting right in and led to an incredible conclusion.

The music, the cinematography, the characters and the actors who portray them, the costuming, the everything is done to perfection. Including the end credits art that you definitely should not skip. 

Fair warning that there is lots of gore, violence and extremely difficult scenes but honestly they fit right in with our current times. I have to say that the show really affected me. I slept terribly each night we watched and I am not sure if was just The Sandman messing with my dreams or if the story lines had my mind working overtime. Worth every lost moment of sleep, mind you.

4 paws

Black Widow - Disney Plus

 Dangrdafne review:

I'll start with that this is my favorite MCU character. I love Black Widow and I love Scarlett Johansson's portrayal of her. And now I love her even more after this movie.

What a great back current story for the character. It was funny, heartwarming, sad, thrilling, violent and a great way to give Black Widow her time in the spotlight to tell her story. We know a lot of her story already but this definitely fills in the details and makes her a more rounded character.

I LOVED Florence Pugh in this movie. She is spectacular and her interactions with Natasha are perfect. I definitely suggest watching this movie BEFORE watching Hawkeye if you can. It isn't critical BUT it will offer some perspective to Hawkeye when you watch it. I do wish a little bit in retrospect that we stopped Hawkeye when we started and switched over to this move :)

I absolutely LOVE stories about families that are not blood families and this movie fits that bill 110% and it makes me love the movie even more.

It is ultra violent at times but that is to be expected for the Black Widow character and story. I don't mind it but sometimes the scenes got a little long and I would have preferred a little more conversation or story if I had to find one thing to pick out.

4 paws

WandaVision Disney Plus

 Dangrdafne review:

Wow!

That is where I will start.

What an incredible story, show, cast, music, visuals, and dialogue about grief.

This post may have spoilers if you haven't watched the show yet. I usually don't have spoilers but I can't not talk about the main point of this show.

Grief

I have never laughed so much at something so depressingly sad. The amount of pain and anguish that Wanda endures is overwhelming and they make sure you feel it in this show. But she tries to deal with it in the only way she knows how... family sitcoms of the 50's through current. What a clever and amazing idea and it is carried out with perfection.

We intended to watch this show over a few nights... yeah, that didn't happen... we watched it all in one night and I am so glad we did. It truly envelopes you and doesn't let go. The story is perfectly paced and put together. There is back story, there is history, there is future telling and there is pain and suffering to the nth degree. I feel so much empathy and sympathy for Wanda. She has lost so much and she just keeps moving...although maybe not always forward but she keeps moving.

Watching how her decisions affect others and how some of her decisions are made for her without her knowing is difficult to watch at times but that is a good thing. It means the show is doing what it should.

I am making this sound like a complete downer of a show but it really isn't. It is a wonderful take on grief and how it can affect someone even someone with incredible powers. Grief doesn't care if you are an Avenger or a superhero. And there is so much joy and laughter in the show too. If you know your family sitcom history back to the 50s you will be treated to the ultimate in honoring the various themes. Be sure to look all around the rooms in each episode and surprise yourself in guessing what show the episode is based on... if you haven't already been spoiled before you watch... we were not spoiled and we had fun picking the sitcom we were watching. We got all but one and we were in the right area for the one we missed.

Elizabeth Olsen has been quoted as saying she didn't want to become an actress at one point and I am forever grateful for whatever changed her mind. To me she is perfect as Wanda and I feel like they have become almost one and the same. Paul Bettany has always had my heart from back in his Jarvis days. He epitomizes Vision and I can imagine no other in the role. Then put Wanda and Vision together and it is a love story to end all love stories. Pure, genuine, all consuming, and truly until death do us part.

I loved this show and I am grateful to the minds who created it. It is truly so clever and detailed and moving and funny. I love that I have these stories in my mind now and can access them when I need a reminder of love or grief. I would definitely watch this again and again.

4 paws 

SDCC 2020 - Comic Con @ Home

So as you all know there is no in person SDCC this year. And while I will miss all my friends terribly and miss all the fun that is SDCC, but I am ready to enjoy Virtual SDCC or Comic Con @ Home.

I like the idea of not having to pick what to do or figure out what room I can get to for a panel... they are all in MY room. And if I really miss the run between the rooms, I can walk around my block between the video panels.

I like that I can even do more than one panel at a time if need be or I just want to. The very first day of panels, Wednesday, I had a conflict and I got my normal anger at first and then I realized, I can do both! I have a pretty packed schedule of panels for all the days now and it makes me so happy.

I loved seeing some names on the panel lists that I didn’t know were going to be there and I know I will get to see them. There were also some missing names but hopefully I will catch up with them in other areas.

I also got to add some panels I know I wouldn’t normally get to for various reasons.. hello Kevin Smith.

One very real part of Comic Con @ Home is that I still feel like I am going to miss out on things. I already feel like I am missing things. There is so much that can be done for this SDCC Virtual and so many places to find information that it still feels overwhelming, like I am really going to SDCC. I was hopeful for more quiet but apparently not.

Every day I turn on more Twitter feeds to get their tweets so I can follow along and try not to miss out. It is a lot of people :)

@CrazyForComicCon is tweeting SDCC lists for this year. One of the items is what will you miss? Besides the obvious of seeing my friends I only see during SDCC, I realized it would be missing out seeing the Legion of Superheroes table on the mezzanine. We visit them every year now and they are awesome! We always end up spending a hour or so talking to them and sometimes every day... as you have to pick up a pin every day. I will miss their smiling faces and catching up on our lives. It is a quiet respite and a perfect example of SDCC friendship. I hope they are all happy and healthy.

So I ask what will you miss most about SDCC this year?

And if you know of any special information I might be issuing out on, please let me know :)

Lastly, if someone could mail me the gluten free turkey burger with large fries and a Lavender Mint Lemonade from Burger Lounge, I will owe you big time!

SDCC last minute reminders

Print out all your confirmations: SDCC Merchandise pre-order, Exclusives Lottery wins, tickets to parties, anything that you think you can get on your phone, don't trust it and print it. Some places only accept the print out too.

Make sure you have binoculars, sunscreen, swimsuit, a few pairs of shoes, extra socks and underwear, and business cards if you are handing them out this year. If you are cosplaying make sure you have all the parts for your costume. And most of all, YOUR BADGE!

I was trying to go from memory for packing and I decided that I shouldn't trust that, so I pulled out my travel folder and found a fun checklist from Crazy for Comic Con's 2012 post!! It was perfect, it helped me remember to get the binoculars out and into my carry on. I love to use them when in our hotel room, if we are lucky enough to get a view.

Another fun thing that someone did and I "stole" :) was creating a secret Facebook group with your friends so that you can safely post where you are and when so a potential meet up could happen at any time. Instead of trying to text everyone or Tweet out your info publicly, I though this was a great idea. So I created one for my group of friends and I am hopeful it will work for us. *Crosses fingers and toes for good service in the center*

I also highly recommend using the My Sched that is offered by CCI. If your friends all use it and you are connected by social media then you can see your friend's schedules and see if anything overlaps. My hubby and I even use it for each other!!

Last but not least, have fun, be nice, sleep well and remember we are all here for the same reason... the love of comics and all that entails.

-Dangrdafne

SDCC 2019

So next week at this time we will be in San Diego anticipating the start of SDCC 2019, the 50th anniversary of SDCC. How amazing is that??

I am very excited for this trip and can’t wait to see all my friends and all the amazing panels and wares to be had on the floor. We don’t have many exclusives to get, except for one in the portal. We did our best to use our credits appropriately but only time will tell if it works out for us. Hopefully the 80th anniversary SDCC Batman will come home with us. What are you looking for this year?

I have some friends on panels this year so I was sure to put their times on my calendar and we always see the animated film on Friday night. Other than that there are no parties on the schedule with the ending of Game of Bloggers and the Hero Within closing party. While I am sad to not have the parties to go to and the time to see certain people, I am happy to have the time open. Hopefully we will still see everyone we want to.

What are your must do panels? Do you have any parties planned?

I am also just looking forward to being away and hanging out in San Diego. It is one of my favorite places to visit and the bonus of seeing my childhood best friend is a huge factor in my love of the area.

I hope everyone attending has safe travels and may all the odds be in our favor to get the exclusives we want and seats at the panels we want. Happy SDCC!!!!

Black Widow cosplay

So for this year's San Diego Comic Con, we originally had decided we were not going to cosplay. As SDCC drew closer I realized that I really wanted to do something. So I recalled a scene or two with Black Widow where she had clothing just like I had in my closet. So I decided to research Black Widow in the movies and see what I could find. The pictures below show you what I found. Please note I did not buy anything at all to make these outfits. Well except the arrow necklace that I decided I wanted to purchase as special piece for the outfits - I actually had an arrow pin that I could have mocked up but I decided to splurge a little. Everything else is my own and from my closet.

You can’t see it in her photo but she does have purple shoelaces in her shoes.

Who has purple shoelaces laying around??

It appears that I may actually be Black Widow in my secret life.