Wham! A Deadpool Review

What better way to spend Valentine's Day than at the movies? Under normal circumstances, this would be a dateless Valentine's Day, as per tradition. But this time, I had Mr. Pool...Deadpool. He was thoroughly enjoyable. The best Marvel movie to come out in a while.

Not surprisingly, the movie is already making headlines. The highest grossing rated "R" movie of
all time in it's opening weekend. Well deserved and well earned. I know there was concern with some about the movie not living up to it's brilliant advertising. I can say it not only lived up to the advertising and hype, but surpassed it by more than 83 confirmed kills--it exceeded my expectations.

I've been a fan of Ryan Reynolds for some time, since back in his Blade Trinity days. There could not have been a better choice for the "Merc with the Mouth". Plus, this gave Reynolds the opportunity to take another shot at the character of Wade Wilson and build upon it. Build he did...and shoot and stab and maim and kill...and repeat.


I also have to applaud Morena Baccarin on her performance as Vanessa, "crazy" good. This might just be my new favorite role for her, since Firely. I definitely liked this

character much more than the character of Dr. Leslie Tompkins in Gotham. She's a good actress and I've liked a lot of what she's been in. I imagine it comes down to writing and the freedom the character(and actress) is allowed to have. A freedom that is much easier to get in a rated "R" movie than a TV show on Fox(or other network TV channels for that matter.)

I've already decided that I will be seeing this movie again, in theaters, maybe even in 3-D next time. While it was easy to follow the story and Deadpool's antics, I did get the sense that I missed things here and there. Nothing major, a line was spoken too fast...there were so many moving pieces to that freeway scene I had to have missed something...references(there were soooo many). Although, even if I didn't feel like I'd missed things, I would still go see it again. It is that great.

I am not going to give away any spoilers but it would be an incomplete review without at least touching on the humor in this movie. Deadpool(aka Wade Wilson) as a character is known for being sarcastic, un-filtered, a wise ass, mentally unstable and...well, a deadly bad ass. He is an anti-hero who breaks the fourth wall, completely aware he is a comic book character. This breaking of the fourth wall is what led to many funny scenes in the movie, often involving speaking directly to the "audience". The dialog was also excellent and the way in which Reynolds delivered the lines, made the jokes and references all the better. I don't think I've laughed as much during any other Marvel movie, as I did with this one.

Often with movies, a soundtrack can be just as important as the story and the acting or the special effects. Similar to the greatness that was the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, this soundtrack too was amazing. You could not have songs that were more different, go so well together in a movie. They're catchy and I love them all. So much so, I bought the soundtrack off iTunes when I returned home from the theater. Wade had me at Wham. One of his prized possessions is the Make It Big album, Wham's second album known for the hits: Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, Freedom, Careless Whisper. Spoiler for me: Careless Whisper is my favorite Wham song.

So, if you haven't gone to see this film yet, do so. Immediately. I cannot recommend it more.

Deadpool wants YOU, to go see this movie.

The Weather Predicting Marmot

Every year on February 2nd, the United States celebrates a tradition dating back to the late 1880s--Groundhog's Day. On this day, the inhabitants of Punxsutawney, PA gather in masses at Gobbler's Knob (in the chilly hours of the morning) to observe a creature in it's mostly natural habitat. The rodent-like marmot (or woodchuck if you prefer), nicknamed Punxsutawney Phil, has been given the honor of predicting the weather. No other animal but the groundhog could ever hope to be bestowed with such an honor. Afterall, a groundhog is a most intelligent and sensible animal. At least that's what the early Pennsylvanian settlers believed.

How can a small ground-dwelling animal predict the weather? Simple. He either is or isn't able to see his shadow. If he pops up out of his hole on a bright day, his shadow scares him back into his burrow--there will be six more weeks of winter. Clearly, the shadow was a bad omen and the groundhog was sensible enough to know he had no business being out and about. But if he arose to find a cloudy, dreary day, with no shadow in sight--there would be an early spring. Such intelligence from our little furry friend!

In a never wavering fashion, the good people of Punxsutawney held strong to tradition this past Tuesday. P. Phil shimmied out of his hole and declared, "There is no shadow to be cast! An early spring is my forecast!" Well, a human MC spoke these words to the crowd. A ground hog does not have the ability for human speech, regardless of their intelligent and sensible nature. So this year we are in for an early spring. This did not however have the Punxsutawnians throwing off their jackets last week, the temperature that day was said to have been 22 degrees.

But this wasn't the case everywhere, as evidenced by a heatwave, at least here in the valley of the sun. Summer has broken out with temperatures in the mid-80s during the day and in the mid 50s at night. This is of course not uncommon for Phoenix at this time of year.

No one is quite sure where the tradition comes from that inspired Groundhog's Day. But most can settle on it's European origins. The English, Scottish, and even Germans all celebrated a similar tradition called Candlemas Day that centered around six more weeks of winter if the weather that day was clear and bright. The opposite (an early spring) if the day was dark and dreary. The Germans even used an animal, usually a hedgehog, to help them with their prediction by way of it's shadow. So when the first settlers(Germans) arrived in Pennsylvania, they brought their Candlemas Day tradition with them. Unfortunately, they didn't bring any hedgehogs(poor little guys must have been prone to sea sickness) and were forced to find the next best thing: a groundhog.

So began the American tradition, with a twist. But, once the groundhog makes his prediction, what next? Well, it's time to check and see if he was actually right. In the two months following Phil's(or Chuck, if you're in the New York area) prediction, the temperature is measured each day. If there are more days with 40 degrees or higher, the prediction of an early spring is confirmed. If there are more days under 40 degrees, then the early spring is disproved. So far, Staten Island's Chuck(also known as Charles G. Hogg) has proven to be far more accurate in his predictions than ol' Punxsutawney Phil. 80% percent accuracy for Chuck vs 40% for Phil, if internet sources can be believed(Stormfax Weather Almanac).

This year, both Staten Island Chuck and Punxsutawney Phil have predicted an early spring. I guess we'll have to wait and see who's stats get boosted with that prediction, in a couple months' time.