Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Movie Review: Captain America - Brave New World

 Movie Number 11 of 2025

The Movie: Captain America: Brave New World

The Cinema: Hoyts Melbourne Central

Stars: 3.5

Keeping up with the Marvel Universe is like keeping up with your single Aunt Trisha's love life after Valentine's Day. If you haven't been paying attention, you're going to be asking a lot of questions, even if you don't know if you should or not. 

And part of me feels like this about Captain American: Brave New World. Do I need to care about this? Maybe. It's good for entertainment value. And I went with my Punjabi kid brother, with whom I bonded with over a mutual love of Marvel Movies. 


So, what is this about? The new Captain America, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) is having a hard time breaking into the mainstream, made worse by the new President, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) who doesn't think the world should have anything to do with superheroes. Very quickly, he works out he does need them, and Captain America soon becomes a pawn in some geopolitical games. With his trusty sidekick, Joaquin (Danny Ramirez) they try their best to get to the bottom of what is going on. Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) is the quintessential baddie who is keeps putting a multitude of spanners in the works. 

I'm not going into too much detail here with the plot. If you're not into Marvel Movies, it's going to go through to the keeper anyway. 

There's good and not so good with this film. Raj and I agreed on this. 

On the good side of things: 

  • Anthony Mackie is great as the new Captain America. He's got the right amount of comic timing and seriousness. 
  • His sidekick Joaquin is great too - and he plays things for laughs a lot, which is good. 
  • You know that all is not well in the America when you have a President popping pills. Harrison Ford brings the right amount of gravitas and paranoia to the role. You find out near the end exactly what it is he's hiding. 
  • And the action, as always in great. 
  • And the CGI and special effects were well cool. 
Julius Onah, in his first job as a Director of a Marvel film does a more than adequate job on the film. 

My reservations come with the knowledge that in this the first of the fourth iteration of Marvel films, this is setting things up for the next round of movies. They're already saying the following movies and series will be coming out this year. 


Another thing about this film was that there were so many Easter Eggs in there. Raj pointed out the island they went to near the end of the film what the place where The Eternals. There were other things involved that if you're not a Marvel fan, you're going to miss. It's the Easter Eggs which make these movies even better. 

Is this as good as some as its predecessors? No, but it's not as bad as say Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania or XMen: Dark Phoenix. 

It was enough to keep me interested but not enthralled. I don't know how you'd go if you'd never seen a Marvel movie before this. (If you haven't, get a Disney subscription and work your way through them.) I know it's also setting things up for more of the movies to come. 

If you want to win over a teenage boy, you could take them along and they won't hate you. 

For me, I want to go back and start the Marvel journey again, back when I didn't know about Infinity Stones and Wakanda and The Hulk was green. 

One last thing, in this film, there are scenes where Washington D.C. and The White House were badly damaged through the actions of the President. Life imitating art, much? 

Today's song: 

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Unfollowed

 Three times in three weeks. It’s getting worse. After a number of years where I’ve unfollowed people on social media, I’ve found myself unfollowing three people in the week. 

For those out of the loop, unfollowing somebody on social media means that you’re still connected to the person, but you don’t receive their posts. It’s not as blunt as unfriending somebody, and there are times you will want or need to do this, but it’s a gentler way to save your own sanity. 

My other tactic for approaching friends with views which are polar opposite to my own, is to ask them to explain why they think as they do. Try to engage them in a constructive conversation about their views. Try and find out why they are thinking these thoughts. 

A case in point, a very old a dear friend posted something about how they thought JD Vance was wonderful and what he was saying in Europe was a great thing. In the last week, they’ve also posted some pro-Trump material. Again, disturbing, but as they are in Australia, they can’t do much about it. 

Let’s break this down. JD Vance was saying that Europe should be listening to hard-right, read Neo-Nazi, voices. These are outlawed in Germany, as they are outlawed here. We won't mention that he met with the leader of the Far Right party, but did not meet with the German Chancellor

Now, being pretty well read in history, I’m fully aware that the Nazi’s pretty much destroyed Germany – and killed millions at the same time. Killed for a failed ideology that pitted neighbour against neighbour. Look around the papers. Notice anything similar. 

I don’t think my friend was thinking of this. Then again, I don’t think my friend is really thinking when he reposts stuff from Andrew Tate. (I call them out on this too). We’ve also had some pretty intense discussions about abortion rights over the years. 

Rather than calling them a dickhead and a loser, I approached them gently and kindly. 

I asked them what drew them to this conclusion. The other thing I did was state that I can see the need for some disruption in the political system, but is this the change you’re really after, where power and funds go into the oligarchs instead of into the hands of the people. If I were them, I’d be very careful what they wished for. 

Thankfully, my friend took this with the intention it was meant and thanked me, nicely, for my viewpoint. 

I still unfollowed them. They’ve been in my life for years. I do like them as a person. I just can’t stand their unformed and reactionary political views. 

I'll continue to get my right-wing opinions from Channel Nine. At least their centre-right drivel is a bit more palatable than anything Newscorpse puts out. 

Today's song:




Monday, February 17, 2025

Your Soundtrack

 Dev Memoir Card: If your life had a soundtrack, what songs would be playing at significant moments?

As I'm a bit tired and don't feel like writing, I'm going to list a few songs and albums that would feature heavily in a movie about me. 

The first one is Talking Heads seminal album, Stop Making Sense. I think that got played all the way through high school. 


There's The Pixies Doolittle album which has been around for a while, has a very special place in my heart. The Pixies are still God. 


Australian Crawl's Reckless has forever been my favourite song. I've fallen in love to this song many times over. 


The same with this little gem from Jeff Beck. This has a story to it. But that's for another time. 


From my time in London, we need some Classic BritPop. 


And for the side of me which is a Francophile, we'll bring in some Yann Teirsen. Deep down, I am Amelie. 

That will do for the minute. I'm not in a writing mood. 

Sunday, February 16, 2025

After the Date

Who's idea was it that I go internet dating? 

Oh, yeah. It was mine. 

Was it a bad idea. No. 

Did everything go well? Yes. 

Do I want anything more for this person. Umm, no. Happy to catch up as friends. And that is okay. But that's it

We met in a bookshop and went for a coffee and chatted for two hours. 

Tick. 

On paper, there is a lot going for him. He's neat and tidy. Tick. Very intelligent. Tick. Has some niche interests. Well so do I. Tick. Appears to have some friends. Tick. Has a similar political outlook to my own. Tick. (I could never go out with anybody more than a small L Liberal - and they are becoming few and far between, and even then, that might come to blows, as friends don't let friends vote Liberal.) 

So, it went well? It did. 

But... I know, you're waiting for the but. 

He's being clingy, and it's a complete turn off. 

I spent the afternoon with my book group, thankful for something to do. 

I was greeted with a text first thing in the morning. Would I like to go for a walk in the morning. 

Ah, no. It's Sunday. I have stuff on. 

Would I be up for a chat later. 

Umm, no, I have a lot on today - I told him about the barbeque we were having for book group - and how I was making a cheesecake. No thanks. 

I got a text while I was over at book group. 

And whether it's insecurity, or love bombing or heaven knows what, it's all a bit much. 

I've been clear about my boundaries. If I'm busy, I'm busy. Please don't contact me during working hours. (He's between jobs at the moment, and I expect boredom may a reason he's been in contact so much). Then again, if I say I'm going to be free after 8 p.m, I'm a bit unnerved when he calls at 8.03 p.m.

Sorry, he's just a bit too keen. 

And I'm looking at myself. I've been on my own all of my life. I do make time for people. I live a busy life. And I need a LOT of time to myself. Classic introvert and a writer. 

So, when somebody tries to encroach on my time, I get a bit miffed. 

As for what I'm going to do about this. First up, I'll be reiterating my boundaries. I know he's going to suggest we meet up again in the week - and it's going to be a hard no. With training, my Punjabi kid brother's birthday, a play, a blood donation, a mason's meeting and I want a night to myself. 

And if he keeps bombing me with texts and calls? 

Cut him off and block him. 

I've already decided I don't want anything more than friendship. Maybe I should pull the band aid off sooner rather than later. 

I'm proud of myself for coming to this decision quickly, and without angst.

You gotta do you, and this one doesn't quite fit right.


Today's song: 



Saturday, February 15, 2025

Things you find at the back of the cupboard

I was hunting around for an old cup to use in the microwave to melt down some butter for a cheesecake crust. 

I found this. 


Aha. A pristine coffee mug from the defunct bank that spectacularly went out of business in 2008, back when the markets went into a tailspin. 

I'm not sure where I got this piece of fantastic corporate merch from. It was possibly stolen from the kitchen from the first floor of 6 Bishopsgate Circus in the late 90's. I used to be quite good at stealing coffee mugs.

Yes, I worked at Lehman Brothers for five years in the 90s as a corporate actions clerk in the Stock Lending department. I made some great friends there. I fell in love there. I drank a lot of beer and smoked a lot of cigarettes. This is back in the day when I had a 'Norf Lundun'/Australian hybrid accent and still wore heels to work, even though I walked about like a bad drag queen in them. 

I still know of people who are working on the Lehman cleanup crew, although is under another name and everybody is still disillusioned. 

Looking it up on the web, I could sell it on for up to $50, but it holds a bit of sentimental value. I think I'll push it to the back of the cupboard again. 

But how is it, 25 years after I worked in that cesspit with the sexist, boorish blokes that this coffee mug is still sitting at the back of the cupboard. 

And I wonder, if I poke around enough, if I will find a Merrill Lynch coffee mug - as I worked there, in Australia, for a few years. Another defunct, corrupt American institution. 

So shoot me. I'm a corporate maggot. 

Who likes to keep the occasional piece of corporate merch. 

Today's song: 




Friday, February 14, 2025

The Date

I have a date tomorrow. 

Yeah, me. The undatable one. I'm going on a date. 

And before you ask, no, this is what I call a go see. My expectations are low and my boundaries strong, the person in question seems nice. We've been chatting on the phone for a few days. He ticks quite a few boxes - you know - likes books, is this side of the Warrigal Road, age appropriate. Scorpio. Can string a sentence together. 

Dating in your middle-age comes down to this sort of thing. It's no longer a criteria of the other person being hot and smelling good. (But clean and smelling good is a non-negotiable). 

He was asking me what sort of burning questions I have for him. Of course I have a lot of questions. But can I learn about things slowly? I ask questions for a living. Let me learn things organically.

And for somebody I'm just meeting, how do you tell them that you've been single all your life, never had a partner, don't have kids - and then they inevitably ask you why this is so. 

Can't first dates just keep to music and movie tastes and the best concerts / film / plays you've seen or the best places you've travelled to or that you found out today that you can still count backwards from ten in Greek. 

Oh, on their profile they put down that they're after a short-term relationship. I'm not sure what that means. I'm not after anything quick. I know I'm better off getting to know somebody before anything happens. I also know that I'm hard to get to know - I've got lots of practice hiding myself away, only letting people in when I'm ready. 

Regardless, with any luck I'll have a nice wander around a bookshop with a seemingly nice fellow and a cup of coffee and if I have a pleasant time, then I'm doing alright. 

Now to not overthink it too much.

Today's song:


 

Thursday, February 13, 2025

Movie Review: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

 Movie Number 10 of 2025

The Movie: Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

The Cinema: Hoyts Victoria Gardens

Stars: A solid 4

Hands up, I do love Bridget Jones. I've read the books. I've seen all the movies, from the lovely Bridget Jones' Diary (2001), the diabolically sad Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) to the redeeming Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). And having read the book years ago, I wasn't going to be surprised by the plot of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Helen Fielding, who wrote the book was also responsible for the screenplay. Good move. 

What has surprised me is how many tissues I needed. 


So, here's the crux of the matter. Our heroine, Bridget Jones (Renee Zellweger) is a widowed mother of Billy (Casper Knopf) and Mabel (Mila Jankovic). Mark was killed four years before and Bridget is finally getting out of her funk. At the start of the movie she's ready to go back to work and get out there, albeit gently. 

There are two potential suitors. The first being Roxster (Leo Woodall) a much younger park ranger / mature aged student who you wouldn't say no to under any circumstances. Roxster is fun and savvy and sexy and just what Bridget needs to get out of her funk. 

When her friend Miranda (Sarah Solemani) puts her up on Tinder, she and Roxster connect in a big way. 

There is also the probably much better suited, age-appropriate Science teacher, Mr Wallacher (Chewitel Ejiofor), somebody who's a bit quirky and a grown up who has also taken Bridget's eye. 

As I said - I read the book when it came out - there's no surprises. 

For me, there's a lot to like about this film. I love the continuation of the character. Bridget is a fully realised grown up - a Mum, and unfortunately a widow. This is handled well. And she, and the rest of the cast, have lines on their faces. Thank heavens for English actors and their desire to age gracefully. 

I love that the characters that you've seen through the other movies are back, from Shazza (Sally Phillips), Miranda, Tom (James Callis) Jude (Shirley Henderson) and Magda (Claire Phillips). And it wouldn't be a Bridget Jones movie without Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver. He never learns. 

Colin Firth also makes an appearance as the ghost of Mark Darcy - which is where a lot of the tears came from. 

But there's also the silly hilarity which you expect from these films too. Michael Morris's direction keeps things moving, and it navigates the emotions that comes from grief and acceptance with ease. 

It also has a killer soundtrack. 

And sure, there are moments when the film borders on being twee, and I really, really, really want to have words with the person who did the hair design (Tom's hair - For fuck's sake!). 

But this is a very good last film in the series. Bridget Jones, we wish you very well. You are my Everywoman and I will love you for eternity. Just like Mark Darcy.