Travelling Through the #DCEU, Part I @GalGadot @russellcrowe @modernwest @HarryJLennix #WonderWoman #Superman #ManOfSteel #movie

Frylock3 Comments

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV

I really liked the DCEU, so I’ve decided to rewatch all of the DCEU movies in chronological order as I once did with the MCU. Doing so isn’t as important because the DCEU movies aren’t nearly as dependent on each other, but it’s something to do. 🙂 The order of the movies is Wonder Woman, Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey, Justice League, Aquaman, and Shazam!

Wonder Woman

This was a fun movie. Huge stakes, lots of action, and just the right amount of humor strike a proper balance between serious and campy. I liked the way they presented the effects of the Lasso of Hestia on Steve Trevor. Its effect on Aquaman was funnier, of course, but as he wasn’t resisting it, his experience wasn’t strictly inconsistent with Steve Trevor’s.

The premise of the Amazons is flawed. They make a huge deal out of the fact that once Ares is killed, everyone will go back to loving each other. If they only knew that World War II was on the horizon, not to mention everything else that happened after that. Things actually got worse. I wonder (pun intended) whether that will be addressed in the sequel.

I love David Thewlis, but he was miscast here. He’s too old even in the flashback scenes where they use CGI to de-age him. I would have preferred a younger actor.

I like that Diana starts as hopelessly naive. It gives her room to grow, but because of her superpowers, she can sometimes get away with it (e.g., crossing “No man’s land,” which was my favorite scene and music in the movie).

So much for Steve Trevor not wanting to sleep with a woman before marriage.

Diana uses a lot of Capoeira.

For a second, I thought Sameer was going to suggest. “Get help.” 🙂

As to my point above, Steve Trevor and Ares both try to explain away Ares’ responsibility for human evil, but then SPOILER ALERT Diana kills Ares. Was Trevor mistaken? Was Ares lying? Nope. Things continued to get worse after World War I.

All of the telekinesis in the first part of the fight against Ares reminds me of Luke’s first battle against Vader in the Empire Strikes Back. Ares’ creation of swords on the fly reminds me of Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.

I hope they come up with a really good explanation for Steve Trevor’s return in Wonder Woman 1984. Otherwise, it’ll cheapen his moving death scene in this movie. I know that characters always come back to life in comics, but this is a different medium. Death should be final. Otherwise, there are no stakes, and thus no drama.

Wonder Woman 1984

Dammit! I wish I could watch this now.

Man of Steel

I’m a HUGE fan of this soundtrack.

At times, the opening sequence reminds me of the Matrix, Avatar, and Apocalypse Now.

Heresy
noun
Belief or opinion contrary to orthodox religious (especially Christian) doctrine.

It’s heresy to have babies naturally?

Henry Cavill is my favorite Superman. Deal with it. And Diane Lane is my favorite Martha Kent.

I always found weird the theory that Aquaman saved Superman after the oil rig explosion. A natural, terrestrial threat could kill Superman? I have enough trouble accepting that he was knocked unconscious by it, but okay. Drama.

The most heroic thing about Clark Kent that’s obtainable by all of us is a complete lack of pride.

Everyone argues. It doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. If the last thing you say to someone you love is harsh, don’t beat yourself up over it. They understood. Wouldn’t you?

Kevin Costner’s sacrifice was far better than Glen Ford’s heart attack.

I love how Coburn Goss portrays a priest thinking, “Oh, shit!” but somehow keeping his composure.

So Kryptonians are ultra-sensitive to different atmospheres but totally cool with the vacuum of space?

The amount of destruction in this movie is horrifying. It makes sense considering who’s fighting whom, but how could you rebuild that?

It’s so funny to me that this is the same Michael Shannon from Knives Out. Great actor.

“106 Days without an accident.” Oops. The 1 and 6 just got knocked off. Hell of a joke to put in such a scene.

Wait. Why remove your armor, Zod?

Oooooooh, there goes Wayne Tower.

Superman kills! The direction in which he broke Zod’s neck should have killed the people anyway.

“Welcome to the planet.”

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Gal Gadot on Twitter @GalGadot
Follow Russell Crowe @russellcrowe
Follow Kevin Costner and Modern West @modernwest
Follow Harry J. Lennix @HarryJLennix
Follow the DC Universe @thedcuniverse

Good (Meh) Watch: History 101 @netflix #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

Netflix just released season 1 of History 101. This is a 10-episode season with each episode under 25 minutes long. I watched the entire season in a single evening after work. It’s intended to be a crash course on the history of fast food, the Space Race, the rise of China, plastics, oil and the Middle East, robots, feminism, nuclear power, AIDS, and genetics. Obviously, none of these topics can be thoroughly discussed in 25 minutes, but then again, not many people have the time or patience to learn everything there is to know about all of these topics.

Some of the episodes focus on history (as they should) but unfortunately devolve into opinion pieces. That’s not why I was watching, and they could have spent those 5-10 minutes providing more historical information. I appreciate series where the episodes are 30 minutes or less, but that makes time precious, so wasting it opinion soured me a bit to the series, especially considering some of the opinions offered.

As always, YMMV.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Netflix @netflix

Good Watch: Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich @netflix #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

You’ve all seen the memes, but this isn’t a joke. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich is a limited-run series of four episodes each about 1 hour long. As someone who grew up in the DC area and has had some experience with actual politics, this was nothing new to me. High-class prostitution runs rampant in the world, so it’s inevitable that teenagers and even younger children will be caught up in the mess. This may be a tough watch for a lot of people because of the subject matter, but if you can watch it, you should. It’s important to be reminded that the world of the powerful and wealthy isn’t the same world in which the rest of us live. It’s also important to realize that, in the unlikely event that the whole truth ever comes out, your heroes are as likely to have egg on their face as your villains. But none of them will take a fall. Who will prosecute them?

I’m not into conspiracy theories, but Jeffrey Epstein didn’t kill himself. As always, YMMV.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Netflix @netflix

Good Watch: #Unorthodox @netflix #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

Unorthodox is the story of a 19-year-old Hasidic woman in Brooklyn who escapes from her arranged marriage and heads to Germany, the home of her mother. I don’t know much about Hasidic culture, so I don’t want to paint too broad a brush. I’ll just say this: I see the value of organized religion, but it’s still a human institution, so it can be as flawed as the humans that run it. My experiences as a child in the Catholic Church exemplify that. This is an extreme case that disturbed me. There was little if any force. Even scarier, there was capitulation. The main character, Esty, willingly submits to the lifestyle for her entire life (often revisited in flashbacks), making change difficult and justice nonexistent. The present-day aspects of the movie show her finally breaking free from those social bonds, but she can’t quite escape her past. It’s long-term effects will always  be with her. Generally speaking, I can relate to all of that.

The limited-run series is four episodes each under 1 hour long. It was worth my four hours, but I did have to take some breaks while attempting to binge it.

As always, YMMV.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Netflix @netflix

The First Sale Doctrine #iplaw #law #copyright

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it.

Blog posts cannot substitute for legal advice. If the topics discussed in this post are relevant to a real case you have, please consult an attorney.

A copyright is a bundle of exclusive rights, including the right to make copies of an item, However, once someone purchases a copy of a copyrighted work, the purchaser owns that specific copy of that work. For example, if Ann purchases a copy of Bob’s book, Ann may not make copies of that book, but she may resell the specific copy she purchased without fear of infringement.

This gets a bit more complicated with respect to the resale of software. Most software comes with a “shrinkwrap license,” which is a contract packaged with the software. Under the terms of such a contract, just using the software is considered acceptance of the terms of that contract, and those terms indicate that software is merely licensed to rather than owned by the purchaser. If there isn’t actually a sale, then does the “no transfer” clause in the license prevent resale?

In Vernor v. Autodesk, Inc., Vernor was reselling unused copies of Autodesk’s “Release 14” auto-cad software on eBay. In determining that Vernor was a licensee rather than an owner of a copy, the Court developed and applied a three-part test: (i) whether the copyright owner specifies that a user is granted a license; (ii) whether the copyright owner significantly restricts the user’s ability to transfer the software; and (iii) whether the copyright owner imposes notable use restrictions.

Note that this is an exception applicable to digital works. In the context of nondigital, copyrighted works, the first-sale doctrine still applies but may be limited in cases involving illegally obtained goods. If you steal it, you can’t resell it.

Summary

  1. Once you purchase a copy, the First Sale doctrine allows you to dispose of that particular copy as you see fit.
  2. Most software is licensed, not sold, so the First Sale doctrine doesn’t apply.
  3. You can’t rely on on the First Sale doctrine when selling stolen goods.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)

Rob Bodine is a Virginia attorney focusing his practice on real estate and intellectual property law. He’s currently Virginia counsel with Cardinal Title Group, a Virginia title insurance and settlement company. Rob is also a licensed title insurance agent in Maryland and Virginia.

Good (Meh) Watch: Space Force @SteveCarell @LisaKudrow @dianasilvers13 @FunnyAsianDude @rejectedjokes @netflix #GoodWatch #SpaceForce #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

With much fanfare, Netflix just released season 1 of Space Force. It has some good star power (pun intended), including Steve Carell in the lead, John Malkovich, and Lisa Kudrow.

Malkovich is brilliant as usual, and as I’ve discussed before; Carell’s moving explanation as to why we have an expensive space program should shut people up about it (it won’t); and I love when the episodes are only (just over) 30 minutes each — I watched all 10 episodes in less than 12 hours — but I’m afraid that my opinion goes south from there. I was really looking forward to this show, but it just fell flat for me. It has some funny moments sprinkled in, but over all I thought the humor was ho-hum. I also imagine that, much like an attorney watching a legal drama or a doctor watching a medical drama, anyone with even basic understanding of the real U.S. Space Force or space travel will develop a nervous twitch from the inaccuracies. On this I say, it’s a comedy. Just roll with it.

More importantly, I didn’t care about the characters. There are very few criticisms worse than that. I really don’t care if Steve Carell’s General Naird, or the Space Force in general, succeeds at anything. Lisa Kudrow is reduced to a very minor supporting role, which I found as confusing as it was unnecessary. Maybe in the real world she didn’t want to commit to the schedule for filming, but if there isn’t a real world explanation, then I don’t understand why she was marginalized. In fact, we don’t even know why she was marginalized within the story. (I’m avoiding spoilers here.) She was my favorite “Friend,” and she’s really funny. She also provides the only scene in the entire season where I actually care about the characters. The one and only thing that’s good about her limited presence is that it sets up the possibility of a great dynamic between General Baird and his daughter, Erin, but the writing (not the actors) drops the ball on that. In fact, there’s little purpose to Erin’s character in the show at all.

Being a Silicon Valley fan, I’m happy to see Jimmy O. Yang  getting a good gig eventually with significant time on screen, but his role is more straight than funny. Ben Schwartz plays the same character he plays in absolutely everything else he does. I loved him in Parks & Recreation, but he didn’t get enough air time in that show for it to get old. It’s certainly gotten old seeing that actor play that role with an almost constant presence.

Then there’s Fred Willard playing General Naird’s father. Considering Mr. Willard just died, that was sad, but it also gave you reason to watch.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, the critics panned it (36%), but the audience like it a lot (71%), so as always, YMMV. I hate that I agree with the critics. I guess I must have died inside recently.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow  Steve Carell @SteveCarell
Follow Lisa Kudrow @LisaKudrow
Follow Diana Silvers @dianasilvers13
Follow Jimmy O. Yang @FunnyAsianDude
Follow Ben Schwartz @rejectedjokes
Follow Netflix @netflix

Good Watch: Apollo 18 @HWarrenChristie @RyRobbins @netflix #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

I saw a video on YouTube entitled, Alien Movies on Netflix That Should Be Required Viewing. It’s over 11 minutes long, so you may want to read the rest of this post before deciding whether to watch it.

Of the movies suggested, I had seen a few already, and have since seen a few more. I have to say that the list is, at best, hit or miss. That said, Apollo 18 was pretty good.

In the real world, Apollo 18 was cancelled for budgetary reasons. This movie presumes that was a cover up, and that the mission went forward. Here’s the short description:

Apollo 17 was the last U.S.-sponsored lunar voyage — or was it? Hours of found footage, classified for decades, point to a subsequent moon mission — Apollo 18 — that ended very badly. Astronauts John Grey (Ryan Robbins), Nathan Walker (Lloyd Owen) and Benjamin Anderson (Warren Christie), on a mission to install radar scanners, discover a Soviet space capsule nearby. The men also discover a dead cosmonaut, and unfortunately for them, learn how he died.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I’m not a huge fan of “found footage” films, but this premise intrigued me, and I enjoyed the movie. It’s just under 90 minutes long.

As always, YMMV.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Warren Christie @HWarrenChristie
Follow Ryan Robbins @RyRobbins
Follow Netflix @netflix

Good Watch: What We Do in the Shadows @Natasia1andonly @porksmith @m_proksch @HARVEYGUILLEN @DougJones @TaikaWaititi @hulu #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

FrylockLeave a comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it. Other posts in this series can be accessed by clicking here.

What We Do in the Shadows isn’t the kind of show I would have expected to like. I liked Galaxy Quest because it made fun of my favorite intellectual property, Star Trek, but I’m no into horror movies at all, so I didn’t expect this to appeal to me. However, after the first few episodes, I found it hilarious, which is unsurprising considering Taika Waititi’s warped brain is behind it. Kayvan Novak absolutely steals the show, but the entire cast has some great moments. 

WWDitS airs on Hulu, with new episodes every Thursday night. Catching up would be a snap, as each episode is less than 30 minutes long. That makes it easy to sneak in an episode whenever you have a moment. Plus, each season is only 10 episodes long, and they haven’t finished the second season yet.

As always, YMMV.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)
Follow Natasia Demetriou @Natasia1andonly
Follow Matt Berry @porksmith
Follow Mark Proksch @m_proksch
Follow Harvey Guillen @HARVEYGUILLEN
Follow Doug Jones @DougJones
Follow Taika Waititi @TaikaWaititi
Follow Netflix @hulu

Trademark and Laches: Enforcing Your Trademark #trademark #ip

Frylock1 Comment

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it.

Blog posts cannot substitute for legal advice. If the topics discussed in this post are relevant to a real case you have, please consult an attorney.

If trademark holders don’t maintain control over their marks, the law dictates that they’ll lose them. This results in some pretty aggressive behavior by mark holders that is often unfairly criticized by the public. The public needs to understand that businesses often can’t afford to lose that investment.

A trademark or service mark is a right to exclude competitors from using a catch phrase, logo, or other brand identifier (or one that’s confusingly similar) in connection with the competitor’s goods or services. A mark’s distinctiveness is defined by how strongly that association between the mark and the goods or services is to the average consumer. The distinctiveness of a mark can be derived from its very nature (e.g., how catchy it is), but also from its frequent and consistent use. That is, having a constant reminder of the association . Obviously, if a competitor uses that mark (or one confusingly similar), the mark will lose its distinctiveness. Because the purpose of granting the mark is not to reward the mark holder, but rather to provide the general public with a means to tell one brand from another, a mark that has no distinctiveness is useless. Accordingly, it’s well-settled that doctrine of laches applies to marks (unlike copyright). Laches commands that an unreasonable delay in enforcing one’s rights will result in a loss of those rights, so if mark holders don’t send out cease-and-desist letters and/or sue infringers, they’ll lose their investment and possibly have to start over again.

Mark holders are in a catch-22. If they pursue infringers, they’re characterized as heartless, greedy money-grabbers, but if they don’t, they could lose a lot … maybe everything. The truth is often somewhere in between those two extremes. As Mr. Vargas says, have a heart.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)

Rob Bodine is a Virginia attorney focusing his practice on real estate and intellectual property law. He’s currently Virginia counsel with Cardinal Title Group, a Virginia title insurance and settlement company. Rob is also a licensed title insurance agent in Maryland and Virginia.

90s Movies v. 80s Movies #QuarantineLife #movie

Frylock2 Comments

If you enjoy this post, please retweet it.

Quarantine life has me watch a ton of movies. Many are repeats, but even more are new to me. Of the latter set, quite a few are movies I never saw when they first came out, going all the way back to childhood (e.g., Taxi Driver). This past weekend, I watched Grosse Point Blank (1997) for the first time, which gave me a thought. I’ve noticed that 90s movies seem to hold up far better than 80s movies, and I’m not sure why. Is it because the filmmakers of the 90s were better at their craft, or is it because I’m more emotionally attached to the 90s? The latter makes more sense, but it could actually be both. Note: For the purposes of this post, my definition of “hold up” is I like the 80s or 90s movie even though I’ve seen it for the first time within the past 10 years. An equally interesting definition is Later generations like the movie. I’m curious as to whether any of you have had the same experiences in that regard as I did.

Is It Me?

I always try to place my bias in check, and I certainly have a bias when it comes to the 90s. Movies from a shared era follow similar themes, so a movie from a given era can often represent that era well. I don’t want to bring down the conversation, but to address this I have to point out a few things. My childhood wasn’t exactly happy, nor were my high school of college years. They were actually quite miserable, and I haven’t maintained the few, weak friendships I had from those eras. If it weren’t for Facebook, I would never have heard from them again, and that’s the extent of our relationships to this day. In fact, I have better online relationships with people I’ve never met. On the other hand, I finally had the “college experience” when I attended law school in my late 20s to early 30s. That was 1996-2000, and it was literally the best time of my life. I have close friendships with the people I met there, and whenever I drop into Chicago, my schedule is packed. This could certainly affect how I view movies from that era.

The Case Against the 80s

The best way to assess which decade holds up better is by watching movies for the first time at a much later date. I missed a ton, but I’m sure all of you missed at least a few. A good example of a cult classic that I didn’t see until after 2010 is Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. I don’t want to rain on your respective parades, but that was some stupid shit. To start, because of a scene appearing in the script that never made it to the screen, we know how Ferris financed this remarkably expensive day: He stole his parents’ bonds and cashed them in. I already hate this punk, though it wasn’t on screen, so perhaps we should ignore that one. That’s fine, because the dumbest part about the movie it its lesson. If you give it some thought, the moral of the story is “If your father claims you’re too irresponsible to drive his expensive sports car without destroying it, teach him a lesson by stealing the car, irresponsibly destroying it, and taking out a large percentage of his house along with it. That’ll show him!”

Only a kid in high school could get behind that.

Seriously, that’s stupid, but I fully expect you to like it if A) you’re in high school, or B) you first saw the movie when you were in high school. This is one of many examples of 80s movies I didn’t see until my 40s or later.

Other examples: The Dark Crystal (1982), Willow (1988)

Notable exception: The Princess Bride (1987). That holds up as well as any movie in history.

The Case for the 90s

The Big Lebowski. QED.

Alright, alright; here’s a little more. I first saw that movie about 5 years ago (2015 or so). It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen, and for a comedy to be funny to a later generation (which I effectively represent) says a lot about how well it was made. Usually, the joke gets lost on future generations. Dramas aren’t immune to this effect either. Grosse Point Blank did not evoke any emotional effect (other than some of the music), but I still enjoyed it more than I do most 80s movies.

Notable exception: American Pie (1999). Even though I still find the film funny, the surveillance scene doesn’t hold up well at all, though I understood that when I first saw it. I was in law school at the time and thought, “Everyone involved should go to jail.”

Facts are facts, but there’s no escaping the emotional bonds you have to media. Sometimes facts and emotional bonds are in sync. I suspect they are here. The 90s win.

Follow me on Twitter @gsllc (please retweet!)