A Late Monday Movie Mania - Captain America: Brave New World

DH and I went to see Captain America: Brave New World over President's Day Weekend. I wanted to go see it when it came out on Valentine's Day, but we had a series of ice storms. As much as I love the MCU, I'm not risking my life because other people won't treat ice with respect.

Now here's my lecture:

Okay, kids. You can't tell me the latest Captain America isn't being sunk by the current fascists in our country because he's Black, one of his sidekicks is Jewish, and the other is Mexican-American. I've been a comics reader for nearly sixty years. Sam Wilson has been Captain America off and on for a few decades, mainly on for the last ten years. Just like at various times Storm and Rogue, along with Jane Porter, have been the official Asgardian God of Thunder. The douchebros telling you otherwise are lying.

I was hoping Sam would take over as Cap in the MCU, too. When Anthony Mackie first appeared on screen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I knew he'd make an awesome Falcon, and an even more awesome Captain America. It was even more special when Steve handed over the mantle, ur, rather the shield, to Sam at the end of Avengers:Endgame because he lived by the same values espoused by the Greatest Generation.

So here's the rest of my thoughts on Captain America: Brave New World:


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SPOILERS!!

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PROS
1) I'll say this again, Anthony Mackie is the perfect guy to play Sam Wilson/Captain America. He conveys that Sam has the same resolute sense of right and wrong as Steve, but he's got communication skills that Steve didn't quite master, which is why I loved this movie. He used his non-superhero counseling skills on two fellow service members in bad situations which makes Sam even more of a hero in my book.

2) My first point segues into this: There's more than one way to "win". Sometimes, saving the "bad guy" from himself is more important than beating the crap out of him.

3) Harrison Ford did a nice job of replacing General, now President, Thaddeus Ross. While I miss William Hurt in the role, Ford's version actually showed regret for what Ross did to his daughter in The Incredible Hulk. Even more tragic, Ross doesn't turn into the Red Hulk by his own volition as in the comics. He's slowly being poisoned by The Leader in revenge for keeping him enslaved for nearly two decades.

4) Point 3 leads to the delightful return of Tim Blake Nelson. Marvel teased that Nelson's character Samuel Sterns would become The Leader shortly before the climatic battle in The Incredible Hulk. Although he's never addressed as The Leader here, Sterns' revenge plot to turn Ross into exactly what he hates the most makes an appropriate twist on the original stories.

5) The first appearance of Sabra! Instead of being a former Mossad agent, the movie execs made the character a former Widow. I understand the change considering the current Gaza War, but that didn't stop anti-semites from blasting her appearance. Personally, I would have rather seen a story where she and Cap are working together against a global threat with her actual comic power set. However, that would have been difficult under the current storylines since Ruth Bat-Seraph (Sabra) is a mutant (and the MCU just introduced adamantium). I still think Shira Haas did a wonderful job, and I hope we see her again!

6) This flick also introduces the new Falcon. (Sorry, folks! We ain't going backward!) Joaquin Torres is simply adorable as the gung-ho Air Force Lt. Danny Ramirez who is dying to become the new Falcon. He reminds me of the new recruits my own son taught at one of the bases where he was posted.

7) My favorite part was  Liv Taylor back as Betty Ross. I wish they hadn't cut so many of her scenes. I think it would have added to poignancy to Ford's performance. However it was nice they've tied up the ends to The Incredible Hulk original storyline.


CONS
1) My only gripe is that a superb actor like Giancarlo Esposito was wasted in this movie. Giancarlo has excelled as a baddie in so many different projects. His Sidewinder and the Serpent Society would have been better as a solo antagonist(s) to Captain America.


Overall, this is my favorite Captain America movie. I give it 10 stars out of 10.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

One more 2CELLOS video for February!

A Sunny, Bright Monday!

Except it's VERY cold! I wore jeans over my leggings while driving to yoga class this morning. But the sun is reflecting nicely off the four inches of snow we got yesterday.

Ironically, this meant I was wide awake at 8:30 a.m. as opposed to the oversleeping I've been doing thanks to the ice, rain, and snow we've had over the last five days. DH has the holiday off, so he already made plans for us.

The releases on last Friday went smoothly. I think I'm finally getting used to such a thing. I didn't lose any sleep fretting over everything that could possibly go wrong the night before the books dropped.

And I'm already working on the two books I need to finish. Plus, I need to carve out a little time to edit the first draft of Death Goddess Walking.

All in all, the first month and a half of 2025 is going pretty well!

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

A little more awesome cello music from Luka and Stjepan!

New Releases Start This Week

I feel much better and much more productive this year, and it's good to feel relatively normal again.

On Friday, Feline Navidad (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #4) will finally be hitting retail stores. Yep,  Christmas story on Valentine's Day. That's assuming everybody goes live at that time. I'm still uploading to the files to the other retailers, but Amazon has been on pre-order for a bit.

I'm also getting Alter Ego's books reissued on Amazon, again FINALLY. I made the mistake early in my career by releasing my books under my personal account rather than a business account. Same with a couple of other retailers. I started switching titles over to the business account back in 2016, but I didn't get everything moved before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So, while I update the back matter, I'm updating the covers before I upload them. It's been years since I looked any of them over, it's been interesting how my style has changed.

Plus, I'm assigning the copyrights to the company, so when I pass, the administrator of my estate won't have to do much paperwork for the company to change hands.

83 books takes some time to update and move. So, I'm glad I'm glad to finishing up that portion of the business changes.

After nearly two years, I also glad to release Feline Navidad into the wild.

BLURB

After a horrible, traumatizing autumn, the Wilson family panics when a holiday tree mysteriously appears in their living room. As the twins search for their benefactor or foe, neither Kaley or Kristen bothers to ask their familiars. And Teller and Penn know who the real culprits are.

Enjoy this light-hearted tale of friends trying to make the holidays special for the people they care about, the cats who face a major translation problem, and the fae-blessed man in a red suit who can fix anything.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Google Play
Kobo
Smashwords

Computers, Ice, and Naps

Time got away from me over the last couple of days.

First, the hard drive caddy for Baby Blue 2.0 arrived. I bought a replacement for Baby Blue because I can no longer update her. Baby Blue 2.0 is a rebuilt, higher end version of the same computer model from Dell. Even though a decent solid state drive ("SSD")and a new battery had been installed, it was missing the caddy and some essential screws, which meant the SSD kept sliding out of its socket. So, Tuesday morning was spent installing the caddy and screws. I now have a working travel laptop again!

Tuesday afternoon was dedicated to fixing the cover and a typo on the interior of the paperback version of Magick and Murder (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #3). I didn't leave enough dead space next to the edge, so the trimmer at the printer was whacking off part of the three. I'm waiting on the author's copy to double check the spacing. I'm waiting for my formatter to return from a trip before the typo in the ebook is fixed.

(Hey, I know my limitations with tech.)

On Tuesday evening, I sprinted with writing buddies in Boise, so I got a couple of pages written on Death Goddess Fighting (The Books of Apep #2).

Wednesday morning, I went to yoga class, and...

...fell asleep in my recliner while I was going through email. *sigh*

I woke up shortly after 5 PM. DH and I had ordered new phones because several of our apps on our old phones were no longer working. We both rely on our phones for business. A fully functioning phone is necessary.

Anyway, both phones had arrived, and we went over to the AT&T store for assistance in setting them up and transferring our data from the old device to the new.

(Even DH admits to his limitations with some of the newer tech.)

We picked up dinner and spent the rest of the evening installing the necessary apps, syncing with our other devices and accounts, etc.

After DH went to bed, I started writing the first chapter of Divination and Distribution (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #5) to include it as a sample on Feline Navidad (Millersburg Magick Mysteries #4).

As for today? Well, it depends on whether the ice from last night's storm has melted sufficiently for me to safely pick up my drugs and the Grandpuppy's.

And for the rest of the day, I need to finish that first chapter for Divination and Distribution and edit Feline Navidad since my formatter should be back by tomorrow.

I'm making progress on my stories, just not as fast as I would like at times.

It's Been a Busy Monday and I Can't Shut Off My Mind

I know, I know. Monday is usually Movie Mania Day, but DH and I haven't gone to the theater in a while. That will probably change after the Super Bowl. We're cutting out a streaming service.(We've already axed Apple+.) Plus, we've got the monthly deal at our local AMC theater. The subscription pays for itself in just two movies, and there's a few new flicks coming out this month I absolutely want to see. (Hint: Captain America 4 starts to lay the groundwork for the X-men to join the MCU.)

Our 2024 returns were electronically filed tonight. Seriously, this is the earliest I've ever had my taxes done, but dammit, I want my refund before a certain douche bro raids the IRS.

After I dropped off the check for out new CPA, I finish the first draft of Feline Navidad this afternoon in a rush of mad typing at Starbucks.

Tonight, I worked on Death Goddess Fighting while sprinting with gal pals in Idaho.

So, tomorrow will be my breather day. A day between writing and editing where I work on some other creative things. I sorted through dolls and came across some original Jem & the Holograms dolls.

These figures were the reason I started into repainting and rerooting dolls. These poor toys were ones I'd stripped for clothing and accessories I was missing from my collection. I couldn't throw them away or resell them. The animated show meant too much to me.

As I was working, I got to thinking. It's been ten years since the disastrous Jon Chu big screen adaption failed on its first week in theaters. Seriously, when DH and I walked out of Wicked two and a half months ago, he asked me what I thought.

The first thing out of my mouth: "At least, Jon Chu didn't fuck up this one."

I can't blame everything on Mr. Chu. Hasbro threw an easy nine figures to do decent versions of Transformers and G.I. Joe, but only threw a measly $5M into the Jem production.

Anyway, Jem & the Hologram's fortieth anniversary is this year. I think it's time to give the girls a makeover.

And that, gentlefolk, is the hamster wheel of my mind.

Music I've Been Listening to Lately

Yes, I've been on a 2CELLOS kick. Here's another awesome video.