Travelling Through the #DCEU, Part III @GalGadot @modernwest @HarryJLennix @BenAffleck @realamberheard @thedcuniverse #BirdsOfPrey #JusticeLeague #movie

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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!

Birds of Prey

I had to rent this movie to stream it. Worth it.

That’s not quite the saying, but close enough.

Hyenas are cute. From a distance.

There isn’t a single major character in this movie that isn’t seriously damaged.

You couldn’t pay me enough money to eat that breakfast sandwich.

That’s a bold enough fashion statement even without being involved in a chase.

As always, physics takes a back seat to drama, but this movie doesn’t even bother to justify it with magic, or alien metal, or anything that makes it easy for me to ignore.

The back and forth through the timeline can be hard to follow, but this movie pulled it off.

“Other pocket.” 🙂

Baseball bats and knees don’t go well together. Nor do beards and lighters.

I saw this in the theater with my friend, Erik, and we were the only two in there. At the moment Harley looks into the camera, Erik and I both spontaneously laughed out loud. Sorry, Deadpool, but that’s how you break the fourth wall. Once. Voice overs are fine, but make the break count so it has an impact.

 

Go to 0:40.

Hyenas are feliforms. She should have fed Bruce cat food. 🙂

I love when popular songs are reimagined; in this case, Hit Me with Your Best Shot. And sometimes, using the original works really well too.

A fitting death for Black Mask. Not just in the sense that he deserved it, but also because it was sufficiently hideous considering the tone of the movie.

I enjoyed this movie, but only as a comedy, and I liked the directing. As an action movie, though, it was substandard, and sometimes the characters overacted. Basically, it wasn’t as good as I remembered it, which means — as always — I’m probably overthinking things. This isn’t the kind of movie where you should do that.

Justice League

Believe it or not, this isn’t a guilty pleasure. The audience score is 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you’re one of the squeaky wheels that didn’t like this movie, you’re with the critics. That’s not necessarily a bad place to be.

Based on the explosion, that bomb wouldn’t have blown up 4 city blocks.

I can think of several reasons to be pissed at being turned into a cyborg, but the ability to fly isn’t one of them. Nor is the ability to access whatever information I want.

I really didn’t think an arrow would stop Steppenwolf. Why did they? Well, I know the answer. It made for a great fight scene.

“Keep it moving!” Where to? You’re on an island and on horseback. He can go anywhere you can.

I want more Green Lantern. I hope he’s in the Snyder Cut.

“I need . . . friends.” Yet, the Flash is the only member of the Justice League that isn’t constantly brooding.

Bug spray. I hate bugs, too.

Wasn’t Superman in a suit? Where’d his shirt and shoes go? And why hasn’t anyone cleaned up the rubble from the monument yet?

CGI mustache-free lip aside, the fight scene between Superman and the Justice League was great. It established Superman as a bad ass. I especially loved that he threw everyone off, and before they could hit the ground, beat the Flash at his own game. The look on the Flash’s face when he realizes what’s going to happen is priceless.

The cop pointing a gun at Superman is a dipshit.

Again, Diane Lane is the best Martha Kent.

 

Once again, the physics of comics make no sense. If Superman were holding an apartment building like that, he’d produce a tremendous amount of pressure at a single point that would cause the building to split. I know, I know; I thought it was a cool visual and good joke too.

The only reason to keep the main villain alive at the end of a movie is so that he can be a threat in a sequel. My understanding is that Justice League 2 was supposed to start with Darkseid killing Steppenwolf because of his failure. That makes keeping Steppenwolf alive even dumber. There should have been resolution . . . and a threat of what was to come.

As an attorney that was working with REO properties (think foreclosure) at the time I saw this movie, I thought, “Why would Bruce Wayne buy the bank. Just buy Martha Kent’s house at auction (or by simple contract if it was currently REO). My friend, Erik, pointed out, “Because buying his way out of trouble is Bruce Wayne’s solution to everything. It’s just what he does.” Good point.

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Travelling Through the #DCEU, Part II @GalGadot @modernwest @HarryJLennix @BenAffleck @joelkinnaman @JaredLeto @thedcuniverse #Batman #Superman #SuicideSquad #movie

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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!

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Like everyone else, I was happy we didn’t get yet another Batman origin story. Handling through the credits was a great idea. I loved the music as well.

Around the time this movie was released. there was a video showing the fight scenes between Superman and Zod in both Man of Steel and Dawn of Justice. It showed that both of those scenes were synchronized precisely. I can’t find the video anywhere. All I could find was a 2-second clip. I love that attention to detail.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor.

A real Superman would exacerbate the already massive polarization in America on both political and religious grounds. Considering it was a side story, the movie did a good job of capturing that tension.

Superman isn’t the only one that kills. Batman kills people. A lot of people. That pisses off people. A lot of people. (Not I. It’s an action movie.)

Did Soledad O’Brien die in the explosion? She must have. Pat Lahey definitely did.

“It did on my world. My world doesn’t exist anymore.” Foreshadowing for a moment I love in this movie when Superman realizes something important.

Okay, I agree. Martha?

How exactly would Lex Luthor be able to control Doomsday if it had killed Superman? The first thing it tried to do was punch Luthor. It failed but would have destroyed the entire world after defeating Superman.

Doomsday at the top of LexCorp tower facing off with Apache choppers reminded me of the finale of King Kong (1976).

“This is my world. You are my world.” This is where Superman realizes something important. The musical piece, This Is My World, captures the scene perfectly.

Lex Luthor isn’t really bald if they simply shaved his head.

Suicide Squad

Solid star power.

In creating the team, they created the threat. That’s a bit odd.

I’m a fan of Adam Beach and was pissed he got only a few words of dialogue and not much of a role. But hey; no small parts, right? At least he served a purpose.

Like several movies in the MCU, I always find myself asking, “What are all the other heroes doing while the world is being threatened?” Then I stop overthinking it.

I hate to be an asshole, but Cara Delevingne really sucks.

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

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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.”

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Good Watch: #Unorthodox @netflix #GoodWatch #QuarantineLife

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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.

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The First Sale Doctrine #iplaw #law #copyright

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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.

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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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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