I have never been one to attend a sneak preview of a movie. I usually say, "Oh, I'll just wait a week." Not so with Whip It. A few posts ago I posted the trailer for this film, and, given my interest in roller derby, I've been excited about it since. After the rain changed our plans, we decided to give it a shot (plus, there was a free t-shirt in it for us). We got to the theater early, and took our seats. Soon after, our local roller derby girls showed up to peep the film. And that was pretty much it: me, Mr. Geeky V, our friends, and the roller girls. I don't know if it was the rain or Fame, but people weren't interested apparently.
They missed out. Honestly, this film was inspiring and beautiful in the most dangerous way. Drew Barrymore kicks ass as a director, and Ellen Page does a bang-up job as our heroine. For those of you who haven't seen the trailer, the story follows a teenager whose mom drags her to beauty pageants. Bliss (Page) sneaks off to Austin with her best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat in a role that rivals her work on Arrested Development) to a roller derby bout. She falls in love with the sport and after the bout tells Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) that they are her new heroes. Maggie says, "Well, put on some skates and be your own hero." (Incidentally, one of the Hard Knox Roller Girls said something similar to me at AdventureCon this summer.) Needless to say Bliss, after a training montage, becomes one of the Hurl Scouts, and the rest, well, you'll just have to see for yourself.
The movie is funny, inspiring, girl power goodness. Guys will enjoy it for the girl fights, and girls will go join their local roller derby league the next day. The message is not heavy-handed or cliche at all. And the soundtrack rocks (see "Pot Kettle Black" by Tilly and the Wall).
This is definitely one not to miss. Girls, grab your tribe, and head to the theater. By the way, the t-shirt kicks ass, too.
By the way, after the movie, one of the roller girls invited me and my friend to a practice. I'll keep you posted if I decide to go. :)
Psst...hey you. Wanna have some fun? Some good clean nerd fun? Mark your calendar, fanboy (or fangirl). AdventureCon is coming next weekend! Comics, toys, celebrities (like Ernie Hudson!), and geeks, nerds, and dweebs galore! (And please know that I use those terms with the utmost of love for my fellow geeks.)
It's a lot of fun, even if you don't buy anything. (I, however, am never able to leave the place without an armload of something. For example, I brought home My Little Cthulhu last year.) There are people in costumes, and a lot of merchandise to peruse. A lot of times I leave thankful my husband is as normal as he is (of course it's a sliding scale, especially in a place like that).
On the nerd front, I'm working on cataloging our comics so we can have lists to take with us. (Gee, nerdy girl, would you like a pocket protector with that statement?) Nothing is more disheartening to a comic book geek (CBG for short) than coming home with a duplicate or passing up on something you needed. I'm using Comic Collector Live, and it's making things muy easy. The software is free, so if you've got a stack that needs organizing, download CCL and make your geeky life easier! (Because you've got better things to do--video games to play, blogs to post, movies to nitpick....)
My latest comic obsession is turning once again to Wonder Woman. Plagued with shitty writing throughout her Amazon life, WW is really underestimated (except for me and the gay community...LOL). Not that she's not popular, but fanboys don't often take her stories seriously, especially the older stories. And I was one of those haters for a long time. I bought WW comics because I like the covers. Then I started reading some of them. Most notably, WW vol. 1 #329. It's the end of the first set of WW comics, and it ties in with Crisis on Infinite Earths. It's a kick-ass story about WW and Themiscyra (or Paradise Island), and how it's affected by the crisis. Another one I really dug was WW vol. 2 #62. My Secret Pal at work sent me a quote from this book that was amazing, and I happened to pick it up a couple of days later.
The other part of WW comics I'm trying to find are the ones where she's out of her costume. Dubbed "The New Wonder Woman", Diana loses her powers and decides to ditch the tiara. These 20 issues or so are more kung-fu and often made fun of by critics. I've managed to get 5 or so so far, and I like them. They're kinda like the first arc of vol. 3 ("Who Is Wonder Woman?"). I like WW when she's a little conflicted and trying to find her identity. It makes it a little better when I feel that way. :) Interesting fact about those issues--many fans demanded WW return to her costume, and the biggest proponent was none other than Gloria Steinem, who felt it sent a bad message that WW changed who she was for the world around her. I don't know about that, but I like having a kinda dark piece of WW's history.
Which brings me to what's going on now. I started subscribing to WW at issue 195 of Vol. 2. Greg Rucka had started writing, and it was a really good story--elements of mythology (she fights Medusa and Circe and goes blind at one point) mixed with a modern WW (going on a book tour, being a diplomat). Then it ended with #226. A little later, Vol. 3 launched. Allan Heinberg (writer most notably of "The OC") took the helm with Terry and Rachel Dodson doing art (they are one of my favorite artist couples). The first 2 story arcs were great. Then Gail Simone started writing. Her first few issues were pretty good. The last 2 or 3, not so much. In the latest issue (*SPOILER*), Wonder Woman is put in a trance by this guy whose name I can't recall, and she thinks she's in a mead hall looking for none other than Beo-f**kin'-wulf. Ummmm, really? I had my doubts when she started writing for the book, knowing what I knew of what she did with Superman a while back (Superman with a heart shield fighting a dinosaur/dragon). And yet, everyone loves her. Maybe I'm overly critical, but Beowulf? I'm just holding my breath that things improve. If not, I may need to take a WW break and read my back issues.
By the way, I went back on my vow. I read The Walking Dead #49. It was brilliant. I can't wait for issue 50. Curse you, Kirkman!!!
Madman Atomic Comics: Some people call it weird, but I call it genius.
The Sword: If you're not reading this book, you don't like comics. Or things like Kill Bill. It's so good--go buy this book (if you can find it).
I won an auction on ebay for the Tara McPherson Hellboy Qee.
I am so excited, I can hardly stand it. She has become one of my favorite artists. I'm starting to look for copies of The Witching just so I can have more of her artwork.
*SIGH* I am such a nerd. But I love being a nerd, so there.
That's why they call me the Geeky Vixen! ;)
