Spoiler Free ‘Wonder Woman’ Review: A Sensational Origin Tale With Heart

Wonder Woman is a thrilling film that fans will find to be equal parts empowering and touching.

Summary

This picture takes us back to Diana’s (Gal Gadot) origins on her home island of Themyscria. Raised by her mother, Queen Hippolyta (Connie Nielsen) and trained by her sister General Antiope (Robin Wright), we are witness to the transformation of an average girl into an unconquerable warrior. Her Amazonian culture has long held the belief that the world of man doesn’t deserve them. These ideas are pushed to the limit when American spy Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) manages to crash land on their island. Before the shock of meeting the first man ever can set in, German warships appear on the horizon. A battle quickly unfolds, and the Amazonians blame Captain Trevor. They integrate the good captain using a certain iconic lasso and come to realize that they face a threat much greater than anyone knew. Diana wants to go stop this threat. Queen Hippolyta forbids her from leaving as she believes this could be the work of the god Ares. Diana doesn’t listen and sneaks off to fight in a war with no end in a world she knows nothing of.

What Worked

While some fans may have questioned the casting of Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, she stole the show in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In Wonder Woman, she asserts herself in the same way Christian Bale did as Batman. Bale never played Batman; he became The Dark Knight. Gadot’s isn’t playing Diana, Princess from Themyscria, she is Wonder Woman. Gadot performance is a mixture of determination, fierceness, and the naivete of a young woman who has just left her homeland.

The casting of Chris Pine as Captain Steve Trevor was in a word perfect. His dry sense of humor and overall charm were a perfect match to Gadot’s performance.

Patty Jenkins took the helm of what can only be referred to as DC’s most critical project. After the lambasting that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice received from the critics, the pressure for Wonder Woman to do well is at an all time high. Another misstep and it could have a long-lasting impact on the future of DC films.

Jenkins succeeds where other DC projects have misstepped as she allows these characters to be fully realized on screen. In Suicide Squad, they attempted to create a backstory where Deadshot (Will Smith) does what he does to provide for his daughter. It came off as thin and nothing more. We see in Wonder Woman that Diana is motivated by a deep love of humanity. She grew up hearing tales of Ares and his destruction upon man. No part of her wishes that type of horror to be unleashed on anyone. That’s why she gives up everything to join Steve on his journey back to the war. Jenkins is creating a character that’s motivated by love and driven by what’s right.

Jenkins even touches on the societal perceptions of this era. When Diana arrives in London, Steve quickly works towards getting her “suitable clothes.” As she is trying on gaudy dress after gaudy dress, Diana asks “How is one suppose to fight in this?” I also liked the sequence when the German spies are cornering Captain Trevor, and he tells Diana to stand back to which she responds by opening up a can of whoop-ass on their assailants.

Allan Heinberg, Jason Fuchs, and Zack Snyder (yes … that Zack Snyder) constructed a narrative that was both enthralling and empowering towards Woman.

What Didn’t Work

The third act of the film dragged slightly for me only because I was ready to see Diana face off against Ares.

Overall

Wonder Woman is a triumph for not only DC but the Comic Book movie genre. The film is enjoyable from the first beats of the opening sequence down to the final moment when the credits begin to roll. Patty Jenkins showed that you can take a comic book character and make a poignant film. Jenkins, Gadot, and Pine seemed to understand the importance of this film. It wasn’t just for super nerds and comic book geeks around the globe. Jenkins made this film for the Zoey’s, Scarlett’s, Grace’s, Joella’s, and Siena’s everywhere. Little girls everywhere now have their hero to look upon with wonderment.

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‘Steven Universe’ Excels In Wanted Special

Anthony Wendel

For Memorial Day, Cartoon Network decided to showcase an event with Steven Universe. It premiered four episodes together in a special called Wanted. After the events of season four and an intense cliffhanger, fans were glad they didn’t have to wait very long for more new episodes. How does the special play out? The short answer is extremely well.

SPOILER ALERT

Stuck Together

Steven and Lars spend some time together.

After the previous season’s cliffhanger and Steven agreeing to go back to homeworld, it’s quickly revealed Lars got stuck on the ship. He’s quick to confess he didn’t just get kidnapped but was a coward who wasn’t willing to show others his cooking. The entire special becomes a redemption arc for him. Which is good, considering he seems to be one of the few characters in a show which prides itself itself on character growth.

There is a moment as Steven and Lars talk which seems to get through to their captor, Topaz. It’s always interesting to see how Steven has such a way with people, or in this case gems. Still, he has too many opponents to simply try and win over every single one of them with the power of friendship. A pretty good episode by the others in the special dwarf it through what takes place.

The Trial

Steven goes on trial.

The name says it all. Steven Universe goes on trial for his mother’s crime of scattering Pink Diamond. As two Zircons serve as defense attorney and prosecutor, Steven is more than willing to take the blame for the crime and just receive his punishment as long as it means the Earth doesn’t get hurt. Great character moments like this is what keeps the audience addicted to this show. Steven knows he has no choice but to shoulder the burden if it means it will protect the people he cares for.

The trial, also reveals more information about the events of Pink Diamond’s shattering. Apparently there was no Rose Quartz assigned to Pink Diamond’s court. Which is suspicious already but the story also says everyone in Pink Diamond’s entourage didn’t see the assassin coming. It’s starting to seem like something isn’t right there. There are some theories but they won’t be mentioned here. Expect a future article featuring speculations of what happened.

Off Colors

Steven gets new allies.

After escaping the trial, Steven and Lars on the run. The pair meet up with a bunch of misfits, known as the Off Colors, a group of gems who have a flaw which makes them standout. There is Rhodonite (a fusion who shouldn’t have fused), Rutile (merged gem, so basically conjoined twins), Padparadscha (a sapphire who can only predict what has already happened. Which means she states the obvious a few seconds too late), and Fluorite (a fusion of six gems who looks like a giant grandma caterpillar). This group is captivating and hopefully will appear in future episodes because they would easily be very entertaining.

It’s also revealed one of the biggest defensive devices for the planet cannot detect others if they don’t have a gem. Essentially this means the if they were armed properly the inhabitant of Earth could save the day. This probably won’t happen but it would still be interesting if it did come to pass if Steven led all the residents of Beach City on a counter-invasion.

There is some great drama here as the Off Colors are introduced and Lars uses the fact he can’t be seen by the defenses to fight back. It ends with a nice bit of emotion and drama.

Lars’ Head

Steven finally gets to know the real Lars.

After the events of the previous episode, Lars is granted his own set of powers. He also has a very slow heartbeat but at least his hair seems to have the same power as Lion’s mane. With this new discovery, Lars is able to grow as a character, make a responsible decision, and it pulls on the heartstrings as it’s satisfying to see him finally become the kind of individual the audience wants to see more of in the future.

Also, the joke about Padparadscha being late with observation is adorable. Almost as adorable as the ending to the episode as things end in a great place, leaving the audience wanting more but at the same time showcasing there are plenty of great adventures on the horizon. The Steven Universe special Wanted was a great set of episodes which makes you want more leaves you satisfied in the end.

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‘House of Cards Season 5’ Review: Twisted And Diabolical For Our Pleasure

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

Premiering Tuesday, the fifth season of House of Cards returns to its deliciously sinister glory after two average seasons.

Summary

The new season picks up with about two weeks left in the election. Superfans of the show will read this and feel a sense of fatigue as most of the last season was dominated by the election. Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) and his vice presidential nominee, Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) are hoping to seize the moment created by a trumped up (pardon the pun) terror campaign to help distract from Frank’s various scandals. Will Conway (Joel Kinnaman) is starting to snap due to the stress of the campaign and not even Republican Fixer (Campbell Scott) can calm him down. Hard as they try, they have to contend with the twisted Doug Stamper (Micheal Kelly) and the cold hearted LeAnn Harvey (Neve Campbell) as they sprint to the finish line of this highly contested election.

What Worked

(Please note: That we’ve been asked by the Underwood Administration-aka Netflix, to be very careful about getting too deep into the narrative)

In the previous four seasons, audiences have been treated to glimpses of the brand of evil Claire Underwood (Robin Wright) could bring upon Washington. In the 5th season, we finally see Claire in all her evil glory.

Seeing Frank not necessarily in the driver seat of the storyline was a nice change. All the sins of Frank’s past, finally, are beginning to have ramifications.

Stamper and Harvey are reluctantly forced to work together on multiple occasions but the end result is dynamic chemistry.

Spacey and Wright have some of the juiciest monologues in this season that would make any actor jealous.

Based on the performances of this season alone, it would be easy to see Spacey, Wright, Kelly, and Campbell all be nominated for Emmy Awards for their respective performances.

Melissa James Gibson and Frank Pugliese take over for showrunner Beau Willimon. In the first two episodes of the new season, they manage to correct the half a season of boredom that was Season 4 with a scene that will no doubt be on Spacey’s Emmy reel.

What Doesn’t Work

(Once again, I will have to very careful in this category because as anyone who has watched the show realizes, The Underwoods are always watching.)

About half-way through the season, Patricia Clarkson is introduced as a character and I’m still not exactly sure what she adds to the show.

After sitting through 1/2 of last season and the first seven episodes of Season 5, I found myself wanting the election to end sooner rather than later.

While the end of the season was a tad bit absurd, it does set the next season up rather nicely.

Overall

As someone who has watched the series from its inception, the fifth season of House of Cards is the best show has been in quite some time. Spacey and Wright are just so much fun to watch. Some might make the argument that these days, art is imitating life. While there certainly are protests where “Not my President” is shouted in mass and perhaps Russia has a slight role in this season, overall that’s a bit of stretch. All I know is that people will be unanimously casting their vote to binge watch this season. The Underwoods wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Scott Snyder & Tom King On What Elements Make Up Batman

Anthony Composto - EIC

May 29, 2017

Scott Snyder is one of the most influential Batman writers in recent memory, and Tom King is following suit with his own best-selling run on the Dark Knight. Monkeys Fighting Robots had the chance to speak with the two of them at MegaCon this past weekend, and we cut right to the chase. We asked them 1) what core elements they think make up Batman, and 2) if there’s a line that they would never cross with the character as writers.

Watch their full response here:

“We each have our own version,” Snyder began. “I know what he’s about, you know, and I know Tom knows what his version is about, and you sort of push at the boundaries of those things. Like, I like him being more of a character of inspiration than he was when I was a kid, where he was a little bit more about intimidation, which was important for that moment [in time] … But that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t kind of put him up against the things that kind of push the limits…”

“He’s the good guy, and he wins,” followed King. “Those are the two things to me. He’s the hero of the story. Life is too hard man, like people need a hero and Batman should be that hero. On the way to winning, he’s gonna sacrifice, he’s gonna get hurt, he’s gonna make the wrong decisions, but at the end of the day Batman comes out on top.”

On lines he won’t cross, Snyder said, “I still can’t figure out a way that I would have [Batman] kill and have a story out of that that doesn’t really break him in some way.” Guns were also a gray area for the writers. The character is famously anti-guns, but Tom and Scott were both able to recall stories where the Caped Crusader used the weapon effectively: “I can kind of see him using a gun like the way Grant [Morrison] did, the Omega bullet.”

What do you think? Is there a line that Batman can’t cross? A line that, if he were to cross it, he would cease to be Batman? Sound off in the comments below!

Keep it tuned to Monkeys Fighting Robots for more MegaCon interviews from this past weekend!

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The WWE Universe Has An Extreme Twinkie Problem

Mikey Curalli

May 29, 2017

Should WWE Extreme Rules even be a staple in our sports entertainment viewing diet?

You ever notice Twinkies don’t taste the same anymore? Seriously, you could have sworn that Twinkies seemed “sooooo much better” when we were kids? They MUST have messed with the recipe. Too many chemicals, right? What else could explain the gigantic drop off in satisfaction?

Extreme Championship Wrestling is a lot like that, unfortunately. I encourage you to log on to your WWE Network account and just watch a random episode of ECW TV. The storylines are not quite as amazing as you remember, and the wrestling sure isn’t very great either. Now, before anyone takes a bite of out my skull, nobody loves those RVD versus Jerry Lynn matches more than me. However, does anyone realize those were three matches out of the thousands of matches ECW put on in its entirety?

Sunday Night, June 4th WWE presents Extreme Rules from the Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore, MD. The original premise (stolen from WCW Uncensored for the record) was that all matches taking place at Extreme Rules would be “hardcore” and “unpredictable” to for the performers. Honestly, all this idea became was a way to cash in on what little nostalgic currency remained of ECW. The special event equivalent of the schoolyard bully holding the feeble nerd upside down to shake out every last ounce of spare change remaining in their pockets. That metaphor could be seen as a touch “on the nose,” but that doesn’t make the message any less true. There is nothing extreme about extreme rules, just as there is nothing ECW about WWE these days.

The makeup of Twinkies has not changed a bit by the way. Hostess still puts out the same sugary cake filled with cream that it always has. Upon chewing a bit anyone can find flashes of greatness. Those little reminders of the great yesteryear of snack time. Much like Sunday night’s event will feature the same cage matches, kendo sticks, and multi-person melees that were former staples of Extreme Championship Wrestling. Only, much like its yellow sponge counterpart, Extreme Rules is lacking real substance. Instead, consumers have no option but to devour what is nothing more than someone’s idea of what cake SHOULD taste like.

In the end, it turns out, Twinkies were never really all that amazing, to begin with. Nothing more than a nostalgic remnant deemed tasty by immature taste buds. However, without even realizing it, fans grew up and their pallets matured. We desire a steadier diet of entertainment because as adults we eat our veggies now.

With all due respect, the WWE Universe should collectively decide to go on a diet and do away with the cream filled remains of Extreme Championship Wrestling. After all, that stuff will kill you eventually…

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DC on CW: Week in Review – Season Finale Wrap-Up!

Jon Barr - TV Editor

May 29, 2017

This series has been a brief, semi-comedic review of the CW superhero shows. You can check out last week’s review post here, or see the tally of winners below. The only shows discussed will be ‘Arrow’, ‘Flash’, and ‘Supergirl’. There WILL be some spoilers discussed, so only look at the reviews you’re up to date on!

BackNext

1. ARROW

“Lian Yu” (May 24)

Arrow tackles a lot in this episode. In many ways, the episode almost feels like a SERIES finale. Minus the major cliffhanger, of course. Having the giant forces of good and evil fight on Lian Yu was compelling. Not all of it was exciting, and some of it felt rather predictable. But the episode had a lot going on. The fact it pulled off so much properly is commendable.

At first, taking so many sidekicks out of commission seemed like a strange choice. However, it allowed for Oliver Queen to take full focus. Oliver not only lead the charge against Prometheus, he took out an island run by Dolph Lundgren in the flashbacks. By giving Arrow more guest stars than regular teammates, he was center focus. It’s a nice change to see Arrow not be about every Team Arrow member.

Bringing back Deathstroke was kinda cool, but his role is odd. Lest we forget, Deathstroke was Prometheus before Chase bought throwing stars. But now that Oliver’s broken him out, he’s offering advice? Teaching him how to get over his father’s death? It would’ve been more compelling to see Deathstroke take Boomerang’s place. Perhaps it was the more heroic role Deathstroke played that got Manu Bennett back.

Prometheus started as a great villain, but quickly became annoying. Arrow gave him every deus ex machina available. It was interesting to see Oliver “beat” him… but he didn’t, really. He definitely avoided killing Chase, which is what Chase wanted. But Chase’s plans still worked, to a certain extent. Even in death, Prometheus was overpowered. Having a not-too-happy ending isn’t bad, but Chase is never truly beatable, which makes Oliver’s victory feel unearned.

Now of course, there’s no way everyone on Lian Yu died. Certainly, someone died. John Barrowman, aka Malcolm, seems to be a likely contender. It’s also possible at least one of the new sidekicks (Wild Dog, Mr. Terrific, or Black Canary) died. Maybe even Thea Queen, who’s barely been in this season. It will be interesting to see just how many members died or survived. But that cliffhanger is far less foreboding that The Walking Dead’s death teaser.

Arrow came back strong this season, despite having a more bloated cast. At every turn, the show proved it had a good handle on what worked. It’ll be exciting to see how the show brings the show back from such an explosive finale.

SCORE: 7.5/10 Land Mines

WEEKLY AVERAGE: 7.19

BEST EPISODE THIS SEASON: “What We Leave Behind” (Ep. 9)

WEEKLY WIN TALLY:

**WINNER! Supergirl: 8.5 Weeks**

Arrow: 7.5 Weeks

The Flash: 6 Week

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Why Far Cry Is One Of The Best Video Game Series Out Right Now

Jahmssen Ruiz Castaneda

May 29, 2017

Far Cry

Far Cry 5’s trailer made me stop and think about what from that series excites me exactly. Is it those amazing trailers? Or how about how you can just get lost doing nothing for 4 hours? Maybe it’s how great the characters are? It’s all of the above and more! A lot of people might hate the games as being repetitive or unimaginative. I would be satisfied by the same game with a different story. I can’t talk about 1 and 2 as I’ve played them long ago and I have no real memories of them and obviously, spoilers ahead.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kdaoe4hbMso[/embedyt]

Trailers

I get it, it’s cool to hate on Ubisoft because of some of the bad decisions they’ve made over the years. Something they can’t really be faulted on though is how amazing their trailers are. Go back and watch all of the Far Cry 3 and 4 videos and you’ll see how hype you get.

Everything ranging from the music to the story told in those previews is great. The music chosen is easy to the ear and fits the chosen scenes splendidly. The images, in turn, match the song and are telling without spoiling much. The story told is minimal but interesting enough to lure you in for more.

What else could you want out of a trailer? There’s literally nothing else you could do to make them better.

In an age where trailers can ruin movies, video games, or any other form of entertainment, the person or group of people in charge of these trailers is a godsend.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JFOLJv4s6Y[/embedyt]

The trailer for 5 was lackluster, but only because it was the introduction, I have no doubt that the upcoming ones are all going to be better than what 3 and 4 put out.

Gameplay

A lot of games are open world but end up lacking anything of substance to fill up the world with. Examples of games with wasted environments are Yooka Laylee, Watch Dogs, or Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Far Cry games are packed to the brim full of things to do. You can capture camps, climb radio towers, look for masks or posters, and if all of that isn’t interesting enough you can just go to Shangri-La or take some magic beans to revisit the moments before your life went sideways.

It never really feels like a chore to go around the map and you always find things to side track you.

I remember the fun times in 3 going around hunting animals or liberating them from their cages so they would cause chaos in a camp. Hunting ferocious beasts or enemies alike with a bow was the best.

Far Cry 4 had me intrigued with all of the backstories for the Golden Path, and the Shangri-La missions. The whole game is just so colorful and is always pleasant to navigate through.

One thing I haven’t seen many games do is that every weapon can be gained for free if you just explore the radio towers.

“Oh but this game is the same as the previous one” I hear you say. My answer is: So? Who cares? When something is as entertaining as this, why change so much it becomes something like Halo 5? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it am I right? Leave reinventing the wheel to indie games.

Characters

I never really liked the heroes as they were often too whiny or too extremist in their methods. It wouldn’t bother me if only they weren’t so hypocritical in how they went about their lives. Dennis Rogers was a pretty cool dude though. His dialogue was some of the most entertaining and what I looked forward to when playing 3.

Plus siding with them all turn out giving you worse outcomes than if you had joined the enemy team.

Main villains

In my eyes, the best stories are often the ones with great villains. The Far Cry games encompass that statement so very well.

Vaas had the tragic story of once being in your shoes. He was a youth from the island that was torn from loyalties for his sister Citra and the great destiny that supposedly awaited him. Hoyt and drugs eventually taking away his choice in the matter were just so great. He was the type of villain that was loud and crazy. Seeing him was always a treat as his craziness could be felt in the air. Michael Mando’s acting as Vaas is still one of the best I’ve ever seen in television, movies, or video games.

Hoyt was okay, he came off as a last minute addition in my eyes. It was really cool though how he represented the corruption of civilized society.

Pagan Min being Ajay’s stepfather was so out of nowhere if you didn’t pay attention to the way he treated him throughout the game. Playing 4, I never really felt like Ajay belonged with the Golden Path and he should’ve just ruled alongside Pagan as his heir. I liked Pagan so much I never finished the game as I knew what awaited me; a game without his guidance isn’t meant to ever be finished, you know? I enjoyed the fact that while similar to Vaas, he was also completely different. He dressed better and was more refined in his violence.

Side villains

The first game (3) didn’t have much in terms of interesting antagonists apart from Vaas and Hoyt. The second game though? It had everything.

Paul “De Pleur” Harmon, Noore Najjar, and Yuma Lau are some very varied characters. Each one is a general to Pagan Min and has different specialties and different reasons to serve him.

Paul is some old man unwilling to work at a desk and instead of wanting to live a little. The solution he came up with bad news to everyone in Kyrat. His character represents that when bored, humans can do some scary things. Some great dialogue could be heard from him when he would call his wife and daughter while acting like a completely different person. Having different masks for different people was well shown with him.

Noore’s story was more tragic than the tragedy of Darth Plagueis. Having your family taken captive and later finding out that they were killed would break anyone. What’s worse is that she did countless bad things to the people of Kyrat with the hope that she would get to see them again. It’s no surprise that her story ended with suicide. It’s almost like putting a bullet to the back of her head was more merciful.

Yuma was the craziest of the bunch. In a way, she’s what comes out of encouraging the bad things in people. Had Pagan shown restraint when helping with her upbringing, she might’ve not ended up being insane and craving power at all costs. Min raised a power hungry monster and then showed weakness to her. Her story ending that way is no surprise. It was also kind of hilarious that she doesn’t really get any last words.

The bad

The game needs to stop the drug-fueled boss battles. I want to be able to truly see a villain’s final moments instead of hallucinating the whole thing. How anticlimactic was it to kill Buck, Vaas, Hoyt, or Yuma? They spent the whole game messing with us and they go out in a hazy dream. Nice, Ubisoft, just nice.

The future

Look, I wrote this because of how excited I am for Far Cry 5. It triggered memories I hadn’t thought of in forever and I need the game to be good. I’m excited for all the trailers to come and can’t wait to get my hands on it. By then I hope that the main villain is going to be developed a bit more because I’m not a fan of the whole calm whispering thing he’s got going on in the trailer. In the meantime, I’m going to revisit 3 and finally see 4 to its end.

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Calling For Help And Other Thoughts On Twin Peaks Parts 3&4

Erik Amaya

May 29, 2017

Twin Peaks continues to confound in its second two-episode installment. As Bad Cooper’s plan to evade the Black Lodge comes to fruition, the FBI catches wind of his presence. But is Bad Cooper’s plan merely survival?

Spoilers, of course, follow.

The Case

As Coop continued his journey through the various levels of the Black Lodge, Bad Cooper began his journey to the eastern end of South Dakota. But at 2:53pm (presumably Pacific Daylight Time), the Lodge began pulling Bad Cooper back into its plane of existence. In an explosion of Garmonbozia, Bad Cooper rolled his car and nearly returned to the Lodge via the car’s cigarette lighter.

But just as all this was happening, Dougie Jones of Henderson County, Nevada finished up an afternoon delight with a sex worker named Jade. As she was showering, he also began to issue Garmonbozia and switched places with both Coopers in the Black Lodge. Coop emerged in his place, still wearing his FBI duds, but seemingly missing his mind. Jade gave him a ride to the Silver Mustang Casino where the Lodge lead him to a number of slot machines ready to pay out. Despite winning “thousands and thousands” of dollars, all he wanted was to “call for help.”

Meanwhile in the Black Lodge, Dougie turned into a tiny, golden Phantasm ball which Mike collected. He also placed the distinctive Black Lodge ring on a black marble table.

Coop’s winnings were advantageous as Dougie owed enough money to get a hit called out on him. Presumably, that someone must be the same unseen terror in Las Vegas mentioned in last week’s installments. The next morning, Mike attempted to tell Coop that he has been tricked, but a cup of coffee — thanks to Dougie’s wife Janey-E (Naomi Watts) — appeared to help him get closer to remembering himself.

Bad Cooper’s crash put him on the radar of FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole (David Lynch) and two of his subordinates, Albert Rosenfield (Miguel Ferrer) and Tamara Preston (Chrysta Bell). The latter was the FBI agent tasked with the reading the dossier in The Secret History of Twin Peaks. The former was the curt, but brilliant forensic pathologist. After chief of staff Denise Bryson (David Duchovny) warned Cole not to get involved with Preston, the three flew to South Dakota to interview Bad Cooper. Cole immediately twigged something was terribly wrong with his old friend and Albert revealed something he held back for years.

Preston also briefs Cole and Albert on the incident in New York. The digital files from that case produce exactly one photo of the entity in the box.

The Updates

It makes all the sense in the world that Michael Sera is Wally Brando, the son of Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) and Andy (Harry Goaz). That he’s trying so hard to be like is namesake is just icing on the cake.

Other goings on at the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s department: Frank Truman, Harry’s older brother, has resumed being sheriff. According to The Secret History of Twin Peaks, Frank was the sheriff in the mid-80s, recruiting his brother, Hawk and Andy as deputies. The Trumans also later recruited one surprising person to the force — Bobby Briggs! Twenty-five years later, a photo of Laura Palmer can bring him to tears. Upon hearing about Hawk’s investigation, he reveals that Cooper was the last person to see Major Briggs alive. The Major died during a fire at his station on Blue Mountain shortly after the Miss Twin Peaks Pageant. Meanwhile, in the forest, Dr. Jacoby’s shovel order takes on a stranger turn as he spray-paints each one gold.

The Questions

Will we see the purple rooms of the Black Lodge again?
Why is Ronette Pulaski in the purple room? Why is her mother such a threat?
How did Bad Cooper “manufacture” Dougie?
How much did Major Briggs know about Blue Rose cases?
Who is “Mikey?” Could it be Donna ex-boyfriend Mike Nelson? Or Mike’s doppelganger.
Who do the Joneses have to pay back? And why would they name their son “Sonny Jim?”
Why doesn’t Janey-E notice that Coop draped a tie on his head?
Why is Bad Coop’s voice distorted when he talks to Cole?
What was improper about Bad Cooper’s greeting to Cole?
Who do Albert and Cole need to contact regarding Bad Cooper?

Not about Judy

Bad Cooper claims to be working undercover with Phillip Jeffries. He offers to tell Cole “all the twist and turns” if Cole will debrief him. After the interview, Albert admits that he authorized Jeffries to tell Cooper who “our man in Columbia” was. A week later, that man was dead.

Apparently, this happened “years ago,” but it is unclear when it happened. From Cole’s point of view, Jeffries has been missing long enough that Bad Cooper’s claim to be working with him appeared to be a surprise. One key to unraveling this part of the mystery lay in whether or not Jeffries resurfaced after the events of the Laura Palmer case.

And to further deepen the mystery of Judy, actress Joan Chen revealed a letter to David Lynch in which she refers to Josie Packard’s twin sister Judy; a plot point in early drafts of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, but eventually dropped. As the new episodes have shown, doubles abound on the edges of the Black Lodge, so Judy could be that simple. Chen is, unfortunately, one of the handful of still-living cast members not invited to return, so the Jeffries mystery may have nothing to do with Judy at all.

Redacted

The Lodge sequences are pure Lynch visions and nightmares. As such, it is hard to say which images will have relevance to the overall narrative or the ongoing mysteries. In some ways, it is easier to latch onto the rare snippets of dialogue in those scenes. But this has always been true as Twin Peaks is often a writer — usually Mark Frost — attempting to make sense of the images relayed to him by Lynch.

Michael Sera’s scene as Lucy and Andy’s son, Wally Brando, is one of the funniest and most awkward things filmed in the last fifteen years. A truly stellar moment that exists almost entirely out of context. A perfect free-floating unit of Twin Peaks.

Lynch continues to tease the audience as Cooper is both closer and farther from the Twin Peaks than ever before. At the same time, the mysteries of the Black Lodge also seem more accessible even as they introduce new imagery to confound us. But then, the mysteries create something exhilarating in their wake as we try to unravel something that may have no solution.

What do you think of Twin Peaks so far? Is it too obtuse or just the right level of complexity and weirdness. Log your opinion in the comments below.

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Emotional Torment Exposed On ‘Attack On Titan’

Anthony Wendel

SPOILER ALERT

It’s hard to talk about this episode without finally giving big spoilers for what’s been happening this season. The last few reviews have danced around this issue but this one has to put all cards on the table to effectively talk about what happened in the episode. Keep this in mind before you continue reading.

Eren wakes up with intense injuries and finds he is being watched over by Reiner and Bertholdt. Here is the emotion which was expected to come out in previous episodes. Now with the firm knowledge his friends were hiding the truth from him and were responsible for the death of his mother, Eren flies into an intense rage. He becomes so blinded by his anger, Ymir has to talk him down and insist if Eren does activate his transformation, he would be surrounded, defeated, and killed by stray Titans before he could do real damage. This is the reaction which was expected three episodes ago when Reiner and Berholdt’s secret came out in the first place. Eren is barely able to keep a level head as he suffers a betrayal even greater than when it was revealed Annie was the female Titan.

There also is a bit of introspective with Reiner as he struggles to remember what is real in his mind. For a moment he talks about the hardships he faced and returning to the Survey Corps in hopes of getting a promotion, unable to realize he has revealed himself to be a hidden Titan and would be imprisoned the moment he returned. It’s a quick moment but the confusion the character feels is real, showing the weight of working as a double agent has caused him great distress.

It’s an episode which is light on action but makes up for it by having some great character moments. The tension between the characters is thick and intoxicating as you find yourself unable to turn away, afraid you’ll miss a key bit of a character’s past or for them to have a truly defining moment.

Attack on Titan: Season Two is streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Sofia Coppola Makes History At Cannes 2017 With ‘The Beguiled’

EJ Moreno

May 28, 2017

Sofia Coppola Is The Second Women In History To Win Best Director At Cannes

As the results pour in from the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, history is made. Sofia Coppola took home the Best Director award for her film ‘The Beguiled‘. This makes her the second women to win Best Director at Cannes, the first being Russia’s Yuliya Solnteva in 1961. Sofia Coppola also wins the Best Director Award before her father, the legendary Francis Ford Coppola. Although, he has two Palme d’Or Awards under his belt.

While her film didn’t nab the coveted Palme d’Or Award, this is still a great sign for ‘The Beguiled‘ when it heads into Oscar season. Sofia Coppola’s eighth film is one of only four United States films to make into competition this year, the others being ‘Good Time‘, ‘Wonderstruck‘, and ‘The Meyerowitz Stories‘. Look for those films to be contenders at the Academy Awards, as ‘The Meyerowitz Stories‘ is getting Adam Sandler Oscar buzz.

After a fairly weak outing with ‘The Bling Ring‘, ‘The Beguiled‘ seems like more than just a return to form for Sofia Coppola. This film feels like a shift that could her turn her career into a new direction. A war drama is new for Coppola and only her second period-piece but it seems to be winning people over. Her Best Director win also comes at a time when female directors are making waves so this keeps up the momentum.

“At a girls’ school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been sheltered from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tension, rivalries, and an unexpected turn of events.”

‘The Beguiled‘ stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, and Elle Fanning. It’s based on a Thomas P. Cullinan novel and follows a 1971 version. Sofia Coppola serves as the writer and director for the film.

What do you think of this historic win? Will you check out ‘The Beguiled‘?

Let me know in the comments below!

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