Jake rolled his eyes at yet another cheap Halloween bowl with the hand that grabbed at you when you reached into the bowl. The teenager looked around but the owner wasn’t in sight. Good. He would take it all. He did notice that this bowl looked a little more realistic than others, but he shrugged and reached for the candy. The hand snapped out and closed over his wrist. He yanked but it would not let go. He tried to pry the fingers loose but he couldn’t. Finally, he yanked backwards, falling backwards as he pulled the hand out the bowl. The hand still held on to his wrist.

“Look what you did! You broke my bowl,” said an old woman coming around the house. “I guess I’ll just have to make a new one.”

She raised the machete in her right hand and came at Jake.

Ok, I won’t promise to write one a day like last year, but I will try to do it frequently. So here goes.

Jared reached up to feel the lump under his arm. It had appeared overnight and felt rather large. Did something bite him? That’s when he felt the sharp pain. He yanked his hand back. The top of his finger had been bitten off.

Perhaps because I had heard the movie was awful and I went in with no expectations, I didn’t think it was that bad. Not that good, but not that bad. (And better than Batman vs. Superman)

The beginning is exposition heavy as we get introduced to the characters but since non-fans wouldn’t recognize them, I can understand that. After that, the action sequencing wasn’t too bad.

Spoilers:

While this was supposed to be an ensemble cast and team, it really wasn’t. It was mostly a Will Smith/Deadshot and Margot Robbie/Harley Quinn movie team. Captain Boomerang was wasted (and in my opinion miscast). El Diablo’s character path was obvious from the beginning. Captain Flagg is barely characterized. Amanda Waller is scarier than any of the criminals she has “recruited.”

Jared Leto has said there was supposed to be more Joker scenes. I can’t say as I missed them and thought there were too many as is. The Joker’s presence in the present day story line made little sense and cluttered an already character packed movie. While the Joker may have been needed in the Harley flashbacks, he wasn’t needed in the overall plot. Leto’s Joker also seems to be too young to have been the foe of an Affleck Batman.

The ending is fairly predictable and sappy. I did wonder that Diablo seems to turn into a being resembling the Enchantress and her brother, as if he was also possessed by one of their race. However, nothing ever comes of that. It also engages in a version of “war porn,” when the Enchantress turns people into faceless monsters that get slaughtered by the team. While Deadshot seems horrified that these were once people, there is no effort to see if they can be saved.

In terms of developing another piece of the DCU movie verse, it makes the case for a world where the villains may be the best thing about it. Amanda Waller is more terrifying in her disregard for human life than even Harley Quinn. After seeing Batman vs. Superman, it seems terribly hypocritical that Batman would threaten her to shut down Task Force X when he killed more than most of the villains in this movie.

If the DCU wanted to make their world less dark, they didn’t really succeed. However, it does give fans a chance to see these characters in live action.

Just leaked! The list of songs proposed but ultimately rejected by the Trump Campaign.

“Hair”

“I Feel Pretty”

“If I Were a Rich Man”

“You’re So Vain”

“If I Only Had a Brain”

“On Top of Spaghetti” (he’ll make America grate again!)

“MacArthur Park” (since the lyrics make about as much sense as the campaign)

“When a Man Loves a Woman (and a Woman and a Woman)”

It only takes the first ten minutes to know that this is not a J.J. Abrams Star Trek. While there is a slight action sequence to start with, there are no huge explosions, cliff jumps, etc. In fact, you know you are watching a Star Trek movie and not an action flick with Star Trek characters. There’s a sense of wonder back as they visit Yorktown and internal conflict before we get to the external conflict.

Now, if you like action packed movies, you might find the first half hour or so boring, but overall I was pleased with the movie. I didn’t have any of those “oh please” moments or “who would build a ship like that?”

We do get the new sexy female alien who I’m sure will show up again and will be this incarnation’s 7 of 9. However, she’s already on her way to being a fully developed character and she is incredibly smart as well.

SPOILER ALERT

The one reservation I had was over the villain. Star Trek is well known for political allegory in its shows and story lines. (After all, Captain Pike was waterboarded in the first Abrams’ film.) So the villain in this piece is a former soldier who won the war but couldn’t stand the peace. He feels abandoned. Given the plight of far too many veterans, I did have trouble with him as the villain.