4.0 Acting
4.5 Production
4.0 Story
4.0 OVERALL with a ♥

Captain America: Brave New World is a quite satisfying MCU romp. Much of it has the political / conspiratorial tone of Captain America: Winter Soldier, though it also contains the obligatory 5th Act super-hero punch-out extravaganza.

But up until that point, and after it, and even a little during it, it’s a much more interesting and introspective film than the movie trailers make it out to be. Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson is still feeling doubts about taking on the shield and mantle of Captain America, and even more doubtful about doing so working for the US government — especially since Thadeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, who once put Sam in the Raft during the whole Civil War business, is now the President of the United States.

Story

The film is about interlocking redemption arcs — Sam coming to feel himself worthy of the Cap name, and Ross trying to show the world, and his estranged daughter, that he’s not the fire-breathing pile of anger he used to be. How these arcs criss-cross and entangle amid a long-standing conspiracy makes up the substance of the film, and by and large I found it handled pretty well.

Interestingly enough, Ross isn’t out to use his new position to hobble super-heroes. In fact, initially, he and Wilson get along decently in a guarded way. His big push is for a treaty between competing nations as to how to handle the Celestial remains sticking up out of the Indian Ocean post-Eternals, especially because the teams that have explored there have found a nifty brand-new metal: adamantium, which provides an interesting entree for whatever the MCU wants to do with Wolverine and the other X-Men.

Having the focus be on a treaty for peaceful cooperation, with high stakes and even possible war looming in the background, makes some interesting scenes, especially since it’s “only” a high-tension backdrop for the actual plot unfolding.

Since most of the action in the film centers on public events, it’s able to make good use of newscasts to provide backstory and plot reminders.

Acting

Mackie has had plenty of time to build his Falcon role, and, with the under-appreciated Falcon & Winter Soldier TV series, his story works well, as he goes back and forth between quiet wise-cracking and calm seriousness.

Surprisingly, Harrison Ford turns in a strong performance, too, with his own varying degrees of calm, anger, urgency, and desperation. He does a solid job as a US President, as a man with his own demons to fight, and, ultimately, a man who is faced with decisions about doing the right thing.

The rest of the cast acts competently, with Carl Lumbly’s Isaiah Bradley (originally from Falcon & Winter Soldier) the best of the show. I found Danny Ramierez Joaquin Torres (Falcon) character annoying. Tim Blake Nelson’s Samuel Stens made for a nifty villain, as did Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder (even if that character was completely added in reshoot).

On the female side (caveat below notwithstanding), Xosha Roquemore does a decent job as Ross’ security detail head, Leila Taylor, though she doesn’t get a chance to do much other than take orders and look concerned. Shira Haas’ controversial role as security agent Ruth Bat-Seraph suffers a bit from how it was edited, but is still fun.

Production

So, not surprisingly, lots of flying, which by and large works well, as does the aerial combat. The shield-slinging is pretty good, too.

For some reason, I was less satisfied with the Red Hulk CG than I was with the Green Hulk’s a decade ago. It might have been because of the effort to make him look like Harrison Ford so much, but his movements (except for jumping) and actions just didn’t feel quite right to me.

Any other problems?

Sam Wilson keeps doubting himself for not taking the super-soldier serum that created Steve Rogers’ Cap as well as Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes. Even so, he is flawless in throwing the shield, an incredible hand-to-hand fighter, shrugs off multiple injuries until the very end, and wears a Wakandan-designed flight suit. Given that Tony Stark was nothing without the armor, it’s a character conflict that never quite seems real.

That flight suit also felt a bit jarring and not in keeping with the attempt to keep the film more reality-grounded. From force fields to super-sonic flight to deus-ex-machina Redwing drones, it makes Sam Wilson more than himan in his ability to affect events.

When we deal with the World Leaders that President Ross is trying to get involved in a mutual cooperation treaty, there some significant missing pieces (there are, after all, some other significant countries in the world besides the US, France, India, and Japan). As well, those World Leaders are all male, and much of their setting is all male as well, which seems like a missed opportunity.

Frankly, the Act 5 battle between Cap and Red Hulk is almost anticlimactic. It not only wildly and abruptly amps up the power levels in the film (with the obligatory destruction porn to go with it), but Thunderbolt Ross himself would be furious that his security detail even dreamed of taking on a Hulk with pistol fire, or even with helecopter drones. The battle’s resolution kind of makes sense (almost any other would have seemed unrealistic), but it just stays this side of being kind of hokey.

Net-Net

I liked it. I was happy to pay movie theater prices for it. I plan to watch it again when it streams and goes to Blu-Ray. It’s not the best MCU film, or even the best Captain America film, but it’s a strong lead for the three MCU flicks we get this year (with Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four arriving in coming months). Well done.

Do you want to know more?

• IMDb
• Wikipedia
• themoviedb.org
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Letterboxd

As in past years, I’m going to share out Christmas Card letter here on the blog, where the three of you who actually read it can enjoy it, and where I can keep a permanent-ish copy. It’s that historical aspect that gets me to actually do a Christmas Card letter.

Christmas Card letters are, of course, generally upbeat. It’s okay to share challenges and even tragedies, but letters that turn into a litany of health issues, large and small, are a bit problematic.

This time around I’m going to add some color commentary.

Well, that was certainly a year! We were really busy a lot of the time, managed to sneak in a bit of travel, had some major life transitions, and … well, mostly tried to keep out of trouble.

The generic introduction.

James continued his post-grad work, spending the spring in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the fall in Oslo, Norway. That all wraps up this coming spring, back in Reykjavik, completing his Masters in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies.

In answer to the question we’re always asked (after exclamations of “Oh, that’s really cool!”), “What is he going to do with that MA?” the answer is … nobody knows. He’s not interested in academia, but museum and/or archaeological support work are both things he’s working his network for — which might mean him staying on in Iceland or another Nordic country.

We’ll know more by the next Christmas Card letter.

All of which has been a great excuse, of course, for various folk to travel and see him. Margie and Dave did so in Iceland in the spring, …

Went there with Stan and Mary, and enjoyed it a lot. It’s a beautiful country, an an interesting combo of cosmopolitan Europe and rural backwater. Looking forward to another visit (I’m going to be helping James move in in a few weeks).

… and continued from there to a fabulous cruise of the Scottish isles – Shetland, Orkney, Outer Hebrides, Skye, Mull — and tours in the cities on either end, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Delightful.

Once in a lifetime trip, both in terms of all the cool places we were able to visit, and on sailing on a Ponant cruise, which was top-notch everything. Great trip.

In the spring Margie and Dave also took a long weekend trip with friends to Sonoma, where we drank much good wine (and, maybe, joined a few wine clubs).

Went with Jackie and Scott, and had a fine time there, too.

In the fall, Dave and Margie road-tripped with friends to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone (and points coming and going). Fun times, and wonderfully scenic!

Another trip, this time by motor vehicle, with Mary and Stan. I’d never been to Yellowstone before, and I’d love to go there again sometime. Also had the chance to see Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse memorial and all sorts of other cool locations as we circled back.

On the work front, Margie continues her (fully remote) work in Kaiser Permanente HR, focused on the data quality program.

And continues to get kudos and plaudits from her management team.

Dave, on the other hand, unexpectedly got laid off from his employer (while shoulders-deep in a mission critical project), and decided that both the job market and the financial numbers looked right for him to retire early – or, from a more important perspective, to become full-time coffee boy for Margie. That was at Thanksgiving, so we are both getting used to the new cadence in our lives.

More on that story here.

Our cats, Kunoichi (15) and Neko (13), are enjoying Dave and Margie being full-time at home. Kunoichi gave everyone a scare, though, when she slipped out an open door without being noticed until the next day, and went on a three-week (!) walk-about in October. She was finally found by a neighbor using a flyer Dave had put up. She’s recovered the three pounds she’s lost and seems to be in good health again.

We had, quite honestly, given up hope for Kunoichi, and it was one of the high points of the year when we found her.  Or, as Margie put it, “Best birthday gift of the year.

For entertainment purposes, we continue to be regulars in the local theater scene, especially at the Arvada Center and at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

I’ll put either of those up against any other regional theater in the country. Fantastic work.

Game-wise, we’ve been playing various tabletop fantasy role-playing games run by friends,

Including a D&D campaign (Phandelver and Below) being run by Stan, and a joint Frosthave game with Jackie and Scott. Busy!

and Dave in December started up his own new ongoing game about cozy murder mysteries in a New England town.

“Brindlewood Bay,” for the record, a PBTA-based system that you can think of as Murder, She Wrote, with a large dollop of Lovecraft lurking in the background.

Alas, we’ve been slackers this year in organizing monthly Game Days for board games – we’ll see what 2025 brings.

It was a stressful (and busy) year, all that fun stuff notwithstanding, and Margie and I both tend to cocoon a bit when things get anxious. We’ll try harder this coming year.

We hope you have a very Merry Christmas (and other seasonal holidays and celebrations) to you all, and here’s to what we hope will be a Happier, Safer, and more Enjoyable New Year.

So that’s all the Good News. Bad News, we actually were pretty well off in — no major illnesses, no family tragedies that I can think of offhand.

Biggest (and most dire) disappointment of the year was Trump getting reelected. I don’t know what madness has gripped a big chunk of the voting public, but for all our sakes I hope they get over it soon.

All that said, let me raise a toast to 2024, and repeat the good wishes noted above for 2025. Thanks to our family and friends for helping make our lives so good.

Yesterday I talked about the milestone of having lived in Colorado for 30 years.

Today’s milestone is a bit different.

So … I retired today.

It wasn’t in my original plans (and I don’t respond well to changes of plan, as all who know me will tell you).  But regardless of my plans, I got notification three months ago that my role was being eliminated, too bad, so sad, if you find another job in the company great, but that will zap your severance.

Harrumph.

Not the first time I’ve been RIFfed (and it was indeed a RIF of some sort — several others were all departing on the same day), and, in bygone days, I was sometimes that guy on the other side of the table (a real table in those days, not a Zoom table), so I know the drill.

Reasons Not To Retire

1. Not having a job will mean financial ruin and I will die, alone and unloved, in a damp refrigerator box in an alley. (This is my go-to catastrophizing trope, which I know is not true, but still gibbers at me in the dark.)
2. I am not quite of retirement age — close, but not quite there.
3. It wasn’t the plan yet!

Reasons To Retire

1. A very generous severance.
2. My wife earns well (and covers our insurance, too).
3. I’m pretty close to retirement age.
4. We can actually afford it. (And, yes, I am very aware how blessed / fortunate we are in that.)
5. Trying to find a job in the tech industry these days for someone of the age I was 6 years ago (when I finally got this job after a year and a half unemployed) was no easy task, and something I really wasn’t looking forward to trying again 6 years later (and being so close to retirement age).

Also contributing to the emotional mix was The Project I have been project managing, which has been a huge hairball for the last three years and is currently struggling between “We think we can get it done … in the Spring” or “Management Pulling the Plug.”  The stress of that has been … not healthy for me, in a variety of ways, which made the idea being no longer in that kind of rat race a lot more attractive.

So even if the company had offered to keep me on once they realized what they had done (whatever algorithm dictated the RIF was … weird; nobody who should have known about it, or the impact it would have on The Project, was in on it and they were all generally as gobsmacked as me over it), it is possible, even likely, I would have turned them down.

So, today was the last day, and quite likely my last day in White Collar America.  I finished cleaning my cube, I sent the last emails, I attend the last meetings, I said the last goodbyes, I turned in my laptop and card key, and drove away.

Yay?

Well, I’m not one of those people who defines himself by his job, or his company, or even as being the main breadwinner or being a professional or whatever. My work-life balance is fairly decent, and I have a plethora of projects and identified tasks around the house to keep me busy for, like, years. Plus hobbies. Plus being at my wife’s beck-and-call for coffee service, etc. And if I do get bored, there are a lot of volunteering activities I could do.

It does feel a little weird knowing I can turn off the 7 a.m. weekday alarm on my phone (with a skip for Tuesdays when I had to get up at 6:35 a.m. for a status call).  It’s odd that the place I’ve been going to, and walking near, and being paid by, for the last six years (minus one week, to the day) will now just be a place I zip past on the interstate — but any bitterness about my treatment is very much mitigated by a guilty sense of relief from being out form under The Project.

I’ll miss the people. I’ll miss the neighborhood.

I won’t miss the company, their irksome RTO policy, their continuous reorganizing, or  The Project.

* * *

So, generalizing between the two days of milestones, my life has had two 30ish-year phases:

1. Growing up in California, going to college, finding my career, getting married, getting divorced.
2. Moving to Colorado, getting remarried (much more successfully), continuing then wrapping up my career.

Given reasonable lifespans, I am now believably starting Phase 3, retirement and what I do with it.

Let’s see how that works.

Part of my DCEU Rewatch. First Watch? No.

(I’m skipping Aquaman (2018) and Shazam (2019), as it feels like I’ve recently rewatched and and reviewed them both (3/5, Shazam 3/5)).

3.0 Acting
3.0 Production
2.5 Story
 3.0 OVERALL with a ♥

Fluffy, violent, surreal, misanthropic, and fun. It’s like eating a whole bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos in a sitting — you know you shouldn’t, but, every now and again, you know you will.

Do you want to know more?

• I previously watched this, and here was my lengthier opinion of it on LetterBoxd.
• Birds of Prey (2020) – IMDb
• Birds of Prey (2020 film) – Wikipedia

Were there any movies advertised before Thor 4 that caught my eye?  Hmmmm. (Links are to the appropriate IMDb entry.)

Nope – This Jordan Peele film has looked largely like a horror film in the TV spots I’ve seen, but in a longer trailer, some interesting, off-beat humor shows up. I don’t know if I’m going to see it in the theaters, but it looks … intriguing.

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. – As presented in the trailer, this looks like a “televangelist couple trying to recover from a scandal that decimated their congregation agree to have their efforts filmed, hilarity ensues” movie. Some amusing moments, but not nearly enough of them.

White Bird: A Wonder Story – Presented as a sequel, of sort, to the movie Wonder from a few years back. As given in the trailer, it looks like a movie grafted into a framing sequence to provide a dubious tie to the original (though both are from books by the same author), but, in any case, it, like its pseudo-predecessor, appears guaranteed to require a test for diabetes after you’re done viewing.

Beast – Just the terrifying movie the African Tourist Board does not want you to see, with a terrifying lion terrifying a family just visiting the the continent. The trailer is kind of a mess, though, mingling numerous CG jump-scares with random threatening plot elements, all of them out of sequence. Not on my list.

Black Adam – It’s not a comic book character I’ve been a heavy follower of, except to know that he’s been retconned any number of times recently, and this movie, too, seems to be part of that trend. I’m leery of DCEU flicks, and a lot of this is painted in that dark anti-hero tones that have been a reason for that, but there’s a bit of humor there, too, and Dwayne Johnson certainly looks the role. I may see what the buzz is when it releases, and plan on an out-of-theater viewing after its run.

Strange World – I had no idea this Disney film was coming out, and it looks — zany, sort of “Jurassic Park meets Dr. Seuss meets Lost in Space,” but, aside from remarkable visuals, I could glean almost zero about the characters or plot. Keeping an eye on this.

So, nothing advertised that I would classify as a must-see, and it was a very odd, mixed batch, for the movie the audience was there to see. But, then, it was a Tuesday evening, and that might affect the distribution.

One thing of note — a lot of African-American casts out there (Nope, Honk for Jesus, Beast), plus a film starring someone of Samoan descent (Black Adam). That’s kind of refreshing.