The climactic battle scene in “Kung Fu Panda 2” begins with an armada of ships armed with super-fireball-shooting cannons sailing out the harbor of fictional Gongmen City to confront Po, the furry action hero of the title. I imagine (like Claudius daydreaming of the fall of Rome) a ghostly flotilla far out ahead, made up of all the hundreds of animated movie sequels that have come before, and another one in its wake made up of the thousands yet to be born. They just keep on coming, the untold, faceless hordes out of Hollywood’s moneymaking machine. I mean, what else is there to say about “KFP2” that hasn’t been said countless times before about similar franchise-extending movies, and won’t be said about countless more? It’s not even a bad movie. “KFP2,” which I saw with my daughters in 3D at the Cinerom, is pleasing to look at, satisfying in the most basic of ways, and has a top-drawer voice cast. Above all, it was received with expressions of delight by its target audience, the 5- to 12-year-old demographic, which was quick to proclaim it the best movie of the year. Until the next one comes along, I’m sure. In the manner of a second-grade primer, “KFP2” is nominally about the journey of self-discovery. Po the Kung Fu Panda (Jack Black) sets out to challenge the evil peacock Shen (Gary Oldman), and, at the same time, to learn the secret of his birth, which eventually brings him face to face with Voldemort. Oops, sorry, with Shen, again. Po has his trusty sidekicks, the “Furious Five,” an odd assortment of creatures evidently escaped from the Bronx Zoo. They are Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Crane (David Cross). Fortunately, they all know how to kick some, uh, peacock tail. How is it that a movie, whose lesson is “you are who you choose to be,” can be, at the end of the day, utterly lacking in personality, indistinguishable from a galaxy of other movies? Such are the mysteries of the focus-group-driven marketing world. An exception could be made, I suppose, for Black, whose wisecracking, slacker-style vocal mannerisms turn Po into a black-and-white version of … Jack Black. Were he a more compelling personality, rather than the person who starred in the execrable “Shallow Hal,” I might cut him some slack. (Now that it’s been 10 years since “Hal,” I’ll consider a pardon.)Continued from page 7 An exception can definitely be made for production designer Raymond Zibach, whose dazzling computerized recreations and elaborations of Chinese landscapes and chiaroscuro palette are a cut above the ordinary. Nevertheless, even these will fade from memory in a heartbeat. What would it take to make a game-changer? Where is the next “Nemo” or “Avatar”? Perhaps it all comes down to a kind of evolutionary numbers game. If enough animated action films are turned out at a fast enough rate, one of them will mutate into something new and different. Or, Hollywood could slow down and actually bring together creative people to work on something truly groundbreaking, an “Apocalypse Now” for our time. They might, like Po, even find “inner peace.” Nah. “Kung Fu Panda 2” is rated PG for mild violence. It is playing at the Moviehouse in Millerton and in 3D at the Cinerom in Torrington.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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