What I'm Watching - Wonder Woman

So, I'm sure everyone's seen the Wonder Woman movie. I got to see it in June for my birthday, which is super unusual for me. I hardly ever ask to go see anything in the theaters. It's not my thing. I'd usually prefer to curl up in the comfort of my own home, with our decently sized TV and a snack of choice. I've always liked Wonder Woman though--I'm not sure if I can claim being a legitimate fan because I never watched the old TV show, and I never read any of the old comic books, although this was partially because of lack of access when I was younger, and lack of time now that I'm older.

Anyways, I made an exception to my policy to avoid movie theaters. I think I made a brilliant choice. Wonder Woman is the best DC movie that has created since the Tim Burton Batman movies. This is my personal opinion. My husband argues that it is since The Dark Knight, but he was much more fond of those movies than I was.

Anyways... I loved this movie. I liked this movie enough to see it a second time in the theaters, which is a really big deal for me--I haven't wanted to see a movie again like this since The Lord of the Rings movies (not The Hobbit movies). I got to see it a 2nd time a week or so ago with my mom. We went out for a girl's evening and had a great time.

The rest of this may involve some spoilers. Just saying...

I loved the parts with young Diana. I totally want to cosplay Hippolyta and dress Sophie as little Diana. *squee* There is at least a 74% chance that this cosplay set will happen.

I also kind of want to cosplay Wonder Woman. Kind of. But anyways. I digress.

My favorite part after young Diana was where she climbs out of the trenches and charges the German lines. And all I could think during the entire scene is: "She's a tank. This is how a tank should function--draw aggro from enemies and let the squishy DPS go around the sides." Of course after that moment she proceeds to out DPS the DPS, so the comparison really ends there, but meh. I like it because my class of choice happens to be tank. Nevermind that I suck at being a tank because of insecurity issues and perfection issues, but I still like it and deep down wish I could be just like Wonder Woman was in that moment.

And can I talk some more about how much I loved the costume design. No, you say. Well tough. It's my blog, and I love talking about costumes. I loved the way they did the Amazons warriors. (I also loved that Princess Buttercup was Antiope--I want to be that awesome when I get to be her age.)

There is so much more that I want to say about this movie, but I don't have words for. So, I'm going to stop rambling. I was so pleased that this was done well. I really wanted it to be good, and usually that leads to disappointment. This was a pleasant break from that trend.

Obssess Much?

Have you ever known someone who was so much of a fan of something that they knew most everything about it? They are the kind of fan who absorbs not just the movie or book, but they also consume all supplemental material such as commentaries, reviews, fanart, fanfics, and so on. On top of that, they collect merchandising and even participate in various personal expressions of fandom where possible, such as cosplay, drawing fanart, or writing fanfiction.

I know some fans like this--my cousin happens to be this kind of fan for the shows My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Psych, Doctor Who, and several others. Well, I happen to be this kind of fan too, although I'm usually fairly picky about what gets added to my list. I can think of only two anime that are on this list: Full Metal Alchemist (that should be obvious though if you've been reading my blog) and Code Geass. There are plenty of animes that I love and enjoy, but those are the two that will turn me into a hyper, excited, giggly fangirl. There are a few books that I am a fan of as well. First, I absolutely adore the Dragonlance Chronicles and Legends trilogies written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I will obsess over my two favorite characters: Raistlin and Sturm, although not together; I really dislike slash art and fics. Also a good read by the same pair of authors is Rose of the Prophet; I'm only moderately less obsessed with that trilogy. Moving away from M. Weis and T. Hickman, I am also a fan of the Lord of the Rings and most anything Tolkienish.

Those are the big titles for me for anime and books. Movies are a little bit more complicated. There are five movies that I tend to pick up when I need background noise or something to watch while working on tedious handsewing on cosplays. At the very top of that list is the Lord of the Rings--I am the obsessed fan who watches the extended versions of the movies every month or so has listened to all the commentaries at least twice, and watched all the extra disc footage at least twice as well. I currently stalk news sites and twitter feeds for updates on production of the Hobbit. Following behind Lord of the Rings is A&E's Pride and Prejudice, Enchanted, Tangled, and The Forbidden Kingdom. Beyond this my fandom in movies is fairly mild; I tend to stalk actors more than movies. My current top actor list consists of Colin Firth (<3333), Geoffrey Rush, and Karl Urban. Obviously I loved the King's Speech, felt that Pirates 2 would have been better with more Barbossa screen time, and have thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek, R.E.D. and any other movie I've caught Karl Urban in.

This post was inspired by the fact that I spent two evenings earlier this week watching The Lord of the Rings yet again. Last week I was watching the cast commentary--I'm about part way through the first disc of the Two Towers on that, so I'll probably be spending much of the next couple of weeks eating through the rest of the cast commentary and maybe the director commentary and also possibly selections of the extra production footage while I buckle down to do some binge working for Anime Weekend Atlanta. Obsess much? XD

What kinds of movies, books, animes, etc. make you go crazy?