brainwagon

I had intended to go catch Elektra, the latest of the many Marvel epics, last night after Wil Wheaton’s booksigning, but by the time we got out of that it was after 10 and we really weren’t up to it. So, instead we waited till this morning and caught as a matinee.

On the way there, I read yesterday’s San Francisco Chronicle review which showed the little theater guy sleeping in his chair. The reviewer mused that if Jennifer Garner continued doing Elektra, that we’d look back fondly on her appearance in 13 going on 30 as the apex of her acting career.

Having seen the movie, I think that’s a bit harsh. If Spiderman and X-men represent the apex of the pantheon of Marvel properties, then I think that Elektra, while not reaching those lofty heights, does not belong in the sub-basement with Daredevil, Catwoman and Hulk.

The story is very similar to the Batman theme: seemingly rich child suffers the death of her parents, leads a troubled life, guided by an older mentor who tries to guide her back to the path of good. If it was a man, he’d be Bruce Wayne. As a woman in red lingerie with sais, she’s Elektra.

Because the plot is so predictable, I won’t really bother giving any details. It is neither poorly nor masterfully done: it was a decent matinee, and I neither feel that my $5.75 was stolen, nor am I putting it on my list of much have DVDs. I give it a solid C+: if you are a fan of the genre or Ms. Garner, check it out.

Note to future casting directors though: Ms. Garner is radiant when she smiles, so try to give her a role where smiling occurs at regular intervals. It’s money in the bank.

Where your host forgoes his usual activities at Chabot Observatory and instead accompanies his wife to Wil Wheaton’s booksigning at the Border’s in Union Square.

As is true of many things, it was actually my wife who took notice of his blogging activities. I’ve read his blog off and on for quite some time, and have just become more and more impressed as time goes on. What I find most attractive about his day-to-day writings is that you can see the conflict that we all have within us: the conflict between our ego which tells us we are great and our doubts which tell us that we are failures. As an actor (and a struggling one), Wil experiences this inner battle with a frequency that may be higher than your typical individual, but we all can empathize. What I think is really remarkable is that while he still fights these battles, he’s clearly winning. Not winning in the sense that these battles no longer trouble him: only conceited asses never suffer from self doubt, but rather in the sense that he seems satisfied with the ride. He takes joy in his wife and children. He can now look back on his Star Trek experience, and he can look forward to a bright future as a writer, as a speaker, doing improv, and probably a bunch of things he hasn’t even thought of yet.

It’s great to see such a nice guy survive his early success and become a well rounded adult.

He also took time in the beginning to mention how terrificly empowering blogs are, repeating some of the themes that I’ve mentioned from time to time in these pages and in my podcasts. He’s a guy who realizes the power of the Internet is that we don’t have to approach so called “gatekeepers” for permission to participate in popular media: we just need very modest computer equipment and an Internet connection. He was really plugging the Internet as a vehicle for public expression. Right on!

Wil went way over on time, and then patiently signed and posed for photographs, doubtlessly listening to dozens of people’s stories, nodding patiently and good naturedly. When my wife went up to sign, he wrote a very nice note thanking her for her support, and noted that she had one of the very early copies of Dancing Barefoot. Wil, you get my thumbs up. Keep up the good work.