The Muse

The sequel to 2017’s Wonder Woman has been released. Wonder Woman 84 features the return of the Amazonian demi-god warrior Diana, played by Gal Gadot, as she covertly continues her super heroics in Washington, DC, while also working as a Smithsonian anthropologist. A colleague of hers Barbara Minerva, played by Kristen Wigg, has been given a number of artifacts to document, including one known as the Dream Stone, a stone that according to legend can grant wishes. Meanwhile, a failing oil tycoon Maxell Lord, played by Pedro Pascal, is willing to take desperate measures to keep his business afloat, and is willing to believe in the power of the Dream Stone. Can Diana stop Max before his ambition brings ruin to the world?

The best way to describe this movie is comparing it to one of the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies from the 2000’s in that it’s lighthearted and corny, which honestly doesn’t work to Wonder Woman’s favor. In her first solo film, we were taken to World War 1, one of the worst and bleakest times in human history.  That first movie starts off with Diana saying how she used to be a hero, how she used to want to save the world, giving an impression that her experiences in World War 1 had shaken her. But the first twenty minutes of WW84 shows off Diana saving people out in the open for everyone to see. Sure, there’s no video evidence or anything, but would someone who wants to keep their heroics on the sly be running around a busy shopping mall, tying up criminals and thwarting jewel robberies? If she had kept her civilian identity on or used more subtle ways of stopping the criminals that would have worked perfectly, but as it is the scene is more distracting than entertaining.

Sad to say that unlike the first Wonder Woman, there’s a lack of truly eye-catching or memorable scenes. That’s not to say there aren’t any, Chris Pine returns as Steve Trevor who died in the first movie, and both the reunion and last goodbye between Diana and him are heartfelt and emotional. As well as a car chase in Egypt which is a lot of fun. But I can’t help but remember the first film’s No Man’s Land scene, the battle on the beach, and storming the occupied town. Throughout much of the runtime, Diana isn’t doing a whole lot.

One of my biggest problems is the waste of Barbara Minerva. Actress Kristen Wigg does a good job at playing the character, but I hate how she seemed wasted in this movie. For those who don’t know, Barbara Minerva is known as The Cheetah, one of the Wonder Woman’s greatest nemesis. But she’s kind of used as a backup villain for Maxell Lord. Sure Maxell Lord can be seen as a Wonder Woman villain just due to one moment in DC history, but he’s barely in the top ten of greatest Wonder Woman villains. It’s like having a Batman movie where The Joker is playing second fiddle to The Ventriloquist. The design of Cheetah is another problem, because she looks absolutely horrendous. The main reason the big fight between Wonder Woman and Cheetah is so dark is so that the effects for Cheetah aren’t distractingly bad, but darkness can only help so much. I honestly hope Kristen Wigg comes back for a future Wonder Woman sequel, something that’s more deserving to the Cheetah name.

Surprisingly, one of the strong points for the movie are the villain motivations. I was expecting there to be a betrayal by Diana that sent Barbara towards villainy, or she’d pull an Electro from Amazing Spiderman 2 and go evil just because the hero got more attention. But no, Barbara’s turn to the dark side is understandable and kind of sympathetic, a person usually seen as invisible and dispensable finally achieving power and not being willing to give it up. Even Lord’s motivation is compelling, he’s not motivated by greed but desperation, at first needing to not be seen as a failure by his son, but later in the movie he’s motivated by his health due to deterioration from the Dream Stone.

It pains me to say this, but Wonder Woman 1984 was a disappointment. I hesitate to call it awful or even bad, but this was honestly a dull and boring follow-up to one of the best superhero movies in the past ten years.

Wonder Woman 1984 gets two stars out of five.

With the new guidelines for social distancing, each theatre can only fit a small number of people. Buying multiple tickets at once ensures sitting with your desired group, but the nearest person will be at least 6 seats away. Honestly, I preferred it like this. Having a seat to my left to put my jacket on? Yes please. It also meant less noise and less disturbances from the audience.

At times, it felt like I was the only one in the theatre, which definitely added to the thrilling nature of David Prior’s new horror-thriller title The Empty Man.

THE EMPTY MAN (2020)

After a group of teens from a small Midwestern town begin to mysteriously disappear, the locals believe it is the work of an urban legend known as The Empty Man. As a retired cop investigates and struggles to make sense of the stories, he discovers a secretive group and their attempts to summon a horrific, mystical entity, and soon his life—and the lives of those close to him—are in grave danger.

20th Century Studios

Going into this film, I expected a psychological thriller about kidnapping. That was mostly due to my own ignorance… and reading the wrong movie caption, but nonetheless, I did not expect to come out of it with more questions than I had going in.

Now, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Honestly, this film had me reeling. I love a good, meaty plot, especially if it confuses me to the point of tears.

Bringing an urban legend to life, The Empty Man sent me back into my early school-days, bloody-Mary type style. It had me angry at one of the main characters for being so damn predictable, and then even more angry when she ended up being completely unpredictable.

It kept me up at night, googling theories and explanations. I slept with a nightlight on.

With compelling characters and an intriguing story, The Empty Man will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Content Warning (CW): suicide, death, hanging, animal death, blood, jump scares, gaslighting, scars/implication of self-harm, possession, flashing lights (at end), mild sexual content (no nudity)

My rating: 8/10.

I would watch it again, I liked the cast, the filmography in general was pleasant, and I enjoyed the plot. The only problem I had was how unclear things were at times, which I won’t get into spoiling, but you’ll understand if you watch it. Halfway through the film, I already hoped there would be a sequel, or even a prequel. By the end, I just wanted to know what was going on.

(Disclaimer – I have only gotten to Season 4 as of writing this article.)

SPOILERS FOR Dawson’s Creek SEASONS 1-4

Dawson’s Creek is a teen drama that began in 1999 and ran for six seasons. The show follows Dawson Leery, Joey Potter, Pacey Witter, and their ragtag gang of friends as they try to navigate relationships, hormones, parents, and growing up in a small town. Since quarantine, many people have begun watching the show in its entirety for the first time – including myself. But the one thing that is so shocking is how blatantly offensive the material would be if the show had come out today.

The show tries its best to be progressive, but in only two areas, which happen to be a feeble attempt at feminism and an even less impressive gay/straight alliance. While the show tackles some modern themes, the way those storylines are handled show just how dated the show is. Being 21 years old, there are bound to be differences, but I was not expecting them to be so stark right off the bat.

First, the slut-shaming. Jen Linley is played by Michelle Williams, and is the cliche “new girl in a small town that came from a big city” character. Right off the bat, her ‘promiscuous’ past puts a target on her back that many characters poke fun at. Over and over Jen is shamed for embracing her sexuality, and while her character arc is beautifully complex and brutal at times, the story is always tied to her mysterious life in New York that she cannot seem to run away from. While Jen is an incredible character with more depth than most on the show, her enjoyment of sex is always the running joke in the background. Dawson’s Creek preaches feminism and girl power, but does little to actually put that message into action, leaving its most complex character to suffer from a vicious cycle of slut-shaming.

Next, the characters of Jack McPhee and his sister, Andie McPhee. These two are the best written characters besides Jen because they all have an agenda behind them – awareness. Jack realizes he is gay, and this is a major plot point for his character. He struggles with admitting it, and even struggles to truly embrace it once he has come out to his friends and family for fear of the backlash. Perhaps the backlash is due to a small-town setting, or because the show is over 20 years old, but the way his loved ones react in the beginning is shocking – especially by today’s standards. Andie refuses to consider the thought, saying that their family has enough issues to deal with, Dawson is in his glee because that means Joey will come crawling back to him, and Joey is so terrified of the truth that she ignores her boyfriend’s struggle in an attempt at normalcy. The only appropriate response is from Pacey, who supports Jack and fights on his behalf. The initial response to Jack coming out genuinely surprised me, since they seemed so out-of-character. Of course, everyone comes to accept and support Jack in his struggle with his sexuality, but not before expressing some sense of victimization on its account.

Andie McPhee goes through one of the most amazing and realistic character arcs in season two. Not only are we introduced to her character, we are also introduced to her struggle with her mental health. Her manic obsession with school is portrayed as a quirk in her personality, but it gradually reveals a larger problem that she is terrified to admit she needs help with. Instead of being ostracized because of her mental break, her brother Jack, and boyfriend Pacey, talk her through an episode and encourage her to get the help she so desperately needs. If anything, this is one of the better so-called ‘progressive’ storylines in the show, as it is dealt with in the most understanding and sympathetic of ways. Season 2 of Dawson’s Creek delves into Andie’s character and her mental struggles

Finally, (as of season 4, at least) the show deals with the pro-life argument. While Dawson is the titular character of the show, he is by no means the best one. He is very narcissistic and sees himself as superior to his friends on account of his taste in movies. He is the largest participant in the slut-shaming of his ex-girlfriend, Jen, and takes pride in Jack’s internal struggle with being gay because it results in Joey coming to him for advice. While all of this is definitely questionable, what is even more questionable is his obsessive views on his parents’ marriage. He uses every opportunity to remind his parents how they have failed in their marriage, and bullies them into getting a divorce, then bullies them into getting back together. As of season 4, he also makes his feelings on his mother’s surprise pregnancy very clear after realizing that his mother does not want to keep the child. Without a second thought, he asks his father what he wants, ignoring his mother’s final decision, which his father supports. Instead of using this moment to explain to Dawson the intricacies of a decision to give up a child, and how devastating it can be, the writers allow Dawson to be talked into accepting the decision by a friend, only for his parents to decide to keep the baby after all. The storyline had so much potential to teach both the naïve character of Dawson and the show’s audience about an incredibly important issue, but chickened out of the commitment at the last minute.