Fantastic Four: First Steps Spoiler-Free Review

Fresh off watching this movie, it seems that the MCU had a similar idea for the Fantastic Four as the DCU had for Superman (2025): do away with origin stories, and present heroes as already established and living in an already full realized world lore-wise. So, in this Multiverse-tale, the Fantastic Four - Reed Richard (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The Thing) - are based on Earth-848, and have been in action for 4 years since they gained their powers post-exposure to cosmic rays. I am glad to say that unlike Superman (2025), it was actually refreshing to get a montage of the superheroes at work. A lot of the montage had already been used in the marketing of this film, and even more of it was added online with the recent release of the first 5 minutes of the movie. Their powers are very well presented, particularly Mr. Fantastic's stretching powers, and the Human Torch's ability to basically suck up surrounding flames to put out a runaway fire is an awesome permutation of the power that I never knew he had. However, the Fantastic Four is more than just their powers: Reed Richards contributes a ton to technological development due to his intellectual prowess, and Sue Storm has quite the knack for diplomacy. Though it's a very short moment, the opening chapter of this movie shows us why this world idolizes the Fantastic Four, and it very quickly introduces something that Superman (2025) seemingly lacked: Stakes!!!

However, peace and serenity doesn't rein for too long; the director isn't "burying the lead" in this movie. Therefore, it doesn't take long before the Silver Surfer pops up on the scene heralding the eventual destruction of the earth, thus setting the tone of the movie; this is a disaster movie plain and simple.   

If I had to rename this movie (because I simply never understood the whole "First Steps" idea), I would've gone with Fantastic Four: Year 4...which I understand is "on the nose" with everyone trying to squeeze as much mileage out of the "4" as possible; it just works. The movie does a good job of showing that the FF who've never had secret identities are celebrated and fully integrated into the life of this society. They have a cartoon which endears them to kids & kids at heart, and Johnny even gets to ink an ad deal. However, far from their celebrity, we get to see that Reed wrestles with the guilt of the team's cosmic rays exposure, and especially what it may pose for any of his potential children; Johnny, despite his fame and his eligible bachelor status (no womanizing this time around), finds himself itching to return to space. Ben has a more subdued struggle this time around; though he's the most obviously disfigured of the bunch and Reed's biggest regret, the movie didn't hype this up as much as has been done in other iterations...but the loneliness is still palpable.  

Personally, this felt like a well-crafted movie. The retro-futuristic aesthetic was done to perfection. The environment is its own character, and it just feels believable that if the world was allowed to progress as it should, this is one of the workable permutations. Along these lines, I initially didn't think the introduction of Herbie the Robot would work so well, but Herbie can be added to the list of useful loveable droids in the line of R2D2, Wall-E and BB-8. It was a deep-cut to pull him in - originally a character from the animated series - and plop him into this film, but it worked. He is a welcome addition who goes so far as to dabble in some tasks that Reed abandons, and he is essential to the team on their space missions (just like R2D2).   

I am glad that they got Galactus right this time around. Comic book accurate Galactus is perceived in a form that is familiar to the planet dwellers who are about to be destroyed, but choosing to make him a big ominous cloud in Fantastic Four II: Rise of the Silver Surfer rubbed people the wrong way. This time we get to experience him as the massive gigantic force of nature that he really is. His gigantic eyes peering down on the heroes very easily evokes Dormammu from Dr. Strange. He is a complex character, knowing what he used to be before, and transformed into a slave to his hunger; however, he is somewhat ambivalent. His relationship to his herald and her responsibilities also adds to the complexities of his actions. 

The action was top-notch. It felt well-deserved after the setup had been laid. I think Mr. Fantastic got a lot more screentime in the thick of things than he has in previous iterations, and the CGI looked great. It also made sense. One decision bt Galactus during their battle reminded me of the World War Hulk panel below, and it made perfect sense in context and in real-life too. It was a bit distressing to almost witness "spaghettification" onscreen though. 

 

This movie probably did the most to elevate Johnny Storm's character because it actually turned him into a genius. Gone is the airhead who'd mistakenly sleep with Dr. Doom's fiancee, and in his place is a subtle soul who provided one of the most important breakthroughs in the movie. Definitely didn't have this one on my bingo cards. Also didn't have Reed and Sue pegged as the kind to give us one of the movie's darker moments, but it was pragmatically handled.

The MCU and director Matt Shakman have knocked it out of the park with this film. The casting was great, and everyone felt suited to their roles. The movie is bright and colourful, the science and tech is great. Take a bow.

This movie is an A- in my books. 

God Bless.

Definitely going to watch it again...for the culture. 

Superman (2025): Spoiler Review

I have really been going through a whole set of emotions since watching this movie. It seems like a large majority of people watched and enjoyed this movie (my twin brother included), but I seriously can't relate to any of them. Initially, I thought that perhaps the Codeine + Diphenhydramine syrup that I'd taken to stifle my cough might have impaired my judgment a tad. I was actually thinking of going to watch the movie a 2nd time to see if a 2nd viewing might change my mind, but I decided against it. I figured that I already knew the major beats of the movie and a 2nd watch would be really unnecessary. In fact, I challenged myself to write down the major beats from memory unassisted; I figured if I could do it well enough, then I'd prolly remember the movie well enough to dive into a spoiler review. So this is how that looked. 

• Prologue
• Krypto to the rescue + Healing Scene; Destructive Krypto
• Back to Metropolis (Hammer of Boravia’s return to LexCorp)
• Off to The Daily Planet
• Dinner @ Lois Lane’s + Interview
• Releasing the Kaiju
• Kaiju shenanigans in the morning + Lex and Co. break into the Fortress of Solitude
• Jor-El and Lara outed
• Supes retreats and then returns to the Fortress of Solitude
• Faces off with Lex @ LexCorp
• Has a heart-to-heart with Lois (Solaris|Justice Gang Fight in the background)
• Supes turns himself in in the morning and is sent into the pocket universe (Metamorpho irradiating Supes with Kryptonite)
• Daily Planet: Lois and Co. query Supes' disappearance; Jimmy gets the scoop about the pocket universe
• Lois visits the Justice Gang; gets Mr. Terrific to help
• Mr. Terrific kicks ass, then activates the portal to the pocket universe; sends his T-spheres to look for Supes
• Metamorpho ceases the Kryptonite poisoning; recreates a mini-sun to power up Supes.
• Supes frees Metamorpho’s child, then rescues Krypto
• Fight out of the pocket universe; Mr. Terrific stays to prevent the collapsed portal from being re-activated
• Supes is taken back to the Kents to heal from the radiation poisoning
• Lex reactivates the damaged portal causing the pocket universe to become unstable and “leak out” into the real world (to draw Superman out).
• Invasion of Jharanpur is imminent, but Supes is forced to return to Metropolis
• Attack by the Engineer and Ultraman; Engineer injured and Ultraman revealed to be a Superman clone
• Justice Gang intervenes in Jharanpur
• Krypto to the rescue Part II and Ultraman|Superman fight
• Lex’s private army defeated
• Confrontation at LexCorp
• Supes + Lois reunite
• Supergirl Reveal    

I'd say that pretty much summed up the whole movie. It's not usually my intention to give people a direct blow-for-blow breakdown for what happens in movies, but this situation is kinda special. I've already mentioned in my previous review that this movie should've probably been named "Superman: Year 3". Apparently, at this point, everyone knows how the ol' Superman story goes, so James Gunn decided to do away with the origin story. He wanted this world to feel like it was a fully realized and lived-in world. I feel like his mantra while coming up with this movie was something along the lines of the meme below.

The problems with this movie began from the prologue. James Gunn decides to give us the cliff notes of this universe: 

• Metahumans around for 300 years; 
• Clark has been around for 30 years; 
• Clark has been Superman for 3 years; (most powerful of the metahumans)
• 3 month ago, Supes inserted himself into Boravia's invasion attempt of Jharanpur;
• 30 minutes ago, the Hammer of Boravia came to Metropolis to draw Supes out;
• 3 minutes ago, Supes lost for the first time

From here, we're inserted into the already released clip of Supes pancaking onto the ground, his rescue by Krypto, healing by the Superman bots, and his return to Metropolis for a 2nd short ass-whooping. You've literally watched the first 7 minutes of this movie (sans-Prologue) if you just watched those 3 clips together. My stomach basically churned once I learned that Superman had been defeated. This is not the first time the Man of Steel has been defeated onscreen. I remember him fleeing from Zod and Co. in Superman II, falling to Nuclear Man in Superman IV, being manhandled by Lex and his goons in Superman Returns, etc. I remember connecting with the characters vulnerability at each of those moments, and eventually enjoying Supes being able to power through the challenge, and triumph.

In this movie, the ass-whooping is treated like an afterthought. Superman takes such a beating that it results in broken bones and damaged organs, but all this happens offscreen; that's just another level of insane because how is it that someone who watched the whole movie and someone who watched the clips know the same level of nothing about the ass-whooping. The Superman bots manage to essentially heal him about 80%, and then he just flies away to get summarily whooped all over again. Then we have the opening credits, and Superman shows up all spick and span, and ready for work at the Daily Planet. Supes was until then considered the most powerful metahuman, has already endeared himself to the world by his heroics, but yet we get such a muted response from the whole world when he falls. Mr. Gunn basically commits the same mistake that Zack Snyder did with Man of Steel: the sin of "Tell NOT show." Even the precipitating event of Boravia invading Jharanpur (Part 1) is only alluded to in Superman's interview by Lois Lane. Even the relationship between Lois and Clark - dating for 3 months - is just something that's there. The way it goes down, it honestly felt like Lois was being a "dick" to Superman; she just can't seem to empathize with a being who basically sits above us all, and who is morally and duty bound to help people when the situation calls for it; borders and lines on a map and political platitudes are not barriers to him like they would be for mere mortals. Lois is always portrayed as a hard-hitting reporter and I realize that this was her "Bad Cop" routine, but the scene honestly could've profited from her tempering her approach afterwards to accommodate her boyfriend's very specific conundrum.

Things aren't left to marinate for too long in this movie. A whole lot of conveniences happen which are there merely to set up the next series of events. Something that feels really off in this world is the technology available. Superman's next challenge comes from a Kaiju; Lex's henchmen pretty much release it when it's a 2-footer in the middle of the night, by morning it's grown to 7 feet, and at midday it's several storeys tall. Superman kind of empathizes with the creature, embracing the fact that it too might be alien, and would be better off "housed" in a special setting; however, he has to share this moment of heroics because we get the insertion of the Justice Gang whose response is hit first and ask questions later. Supes subsequent heroics in this scene (rescuing child, woman, squirrel, etc.) end up being in response to the fallout from the Justice Gang taking on the Kaiju. The Justice Gang is brash, callous, and end up executing the Kaiju!

In this 2 hour movie, it feels like James Gunn felt the need to load this thing with so many easter eggs that some things end up being portrayed poorly. I'll just list off a couple of these contrivances:

1. Supes' Kryptonite weakness is already known, but apparently there's none currently available on earth. Thus, they throw in Metamorpho - who's basically having his child held hostage - in lieu of creating Kryptonite
2. Ms. Teschmacher is, apparently, Jimmy Olsen's "love interest". She's pretty much a sleeper agent whose only role is exposition, exposition, exposition.
3. Krypto. He is cute and a ball of mischief. Unlike other interpretations, Clark and Krypto don't have a tight relationship, and he views the dog as a sort of nuisance. Clark lets on that Krypto is not his dog; in the end, Krypto, apart from being a Deus ex Machina, is a "tether" here for the introduction of Supergirl.
4. The collapsed portal, which Lex reactivates ends up setting the stage for a "world ending" event, which draws Superman back to Metropolis; the Justice Gang is also here to intervene in Jharanpur because Supes is held up. (which feels like Supes and the World Engine from MoS). Hawk Girl has the dubious distinction of dropping a president to his death, which can't pose anything good for superheroes from here on out. 
5. Solaris, an existential threat from All Star Superman, is thrown in as a background character whom the Justice Gang fights in the background as Superman sulks about the reveal of his parents' evil plans. 
6. This iteration of Lara and Jor-El are pretty much James Gunn's insertion of his movie "Brightburn" element into this story. MoS elevated Jor-El to the detriment of the Kents, but Gunn goes in the opposite direction demonizing the Els to elevate the Kents.
7. Ultraman is a Superman clone courtesy of Lex who was able to collect hair samples after one of Superman's fights. (kinda like Nuclear man in Superman IV). He's for the most part mute and "slow"; their way of getting past this was incorporating the "video game combo" system that Lex uses to wire him fight commands. I'm guessing this was their incorporation of Bizarro into this universe. (How in Hell do we already have a clone saga this early in this cinematic universe?)

There are just too many irons in the fire, and things aren't given time to marinate. Perhaps they could explain away some of these advancements as the influence of smuggled tech (a la Intergang), which is an element in the animated series, comics, etc. that usually end up involving Apokolips. This movie would actually have been a better fit as a follow-up to Henry Cavill's Man of Steel, not the jump-off point for a brand new Superman. A lot of what happened offscreen could've actually made this movie a whole lot better. Maybe Mr. Gunn can only do team-up movies at this point, which would be detrimental because Superman is a big enough draw to hold up his own movie. Every minute spent on these extra characters was time taken away from the real star of the show. Stashing Supes away for about 20 minutes so that the Justice Gang and Lois & Co. could get their shine just felt like wasted time.

Lastly, I gotta take a pause for the cause to talk about the mischaracterization of the Boravia/Jharanpur conflict. A lot of people are trying to make this a direct Israel|Palestine comparison, but that is more inferred. Conflict between countries have been shown multiple times in comics, animated features and DC movies. Heck, I can still remember that one of the points in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was the destruction of nuclear weaponry. One scene that comes to mind specifically was the airplane assault scene from Superman Vs. the Elite.

Since the 2 warring nations - Bialya and Pokolistan - were evenly matched militarily, Superman's solution was to disable both their fleets to give negotiation of peace talks a chance. In the Boravia vs. Jharanpur conflict where Boravia is the obvious aggressor with military might basically swung their way by Lex, comic-accurate Superman could ONLY act in one way: even things out by protecting Jharanpur. (comic-accurate Superman wouldn't haze the Boravian president by propping his back against a cactus though!!! Damnit James Gunn, this is Superman: Year 3, NOT amateur hour!!!) If we really wanted to do a deep-dive with real world analysis, you already actually know where a comic-accurate Superman would stand on the Israel-Palestine conflict; there just wouldn't be any other possible choice. 

I wanted to love this movie, I really did; but its moments don't feel "deserved". This is a brand new Superman, and should've been treated as such. I just can't invest myself emotionally in characters that are portrayed as THIS familar without any work being done to flesh them out. This just doesn't feel like my Superman as of yet.

Superman (2025) "Spoiler-Free" Review

 

With the draft of changes that were made to the DCEU as we've known it thus far, I was looking forward to seeing what that would spell for a new iteration of Superman. Henry Cavill's Superman portrayal was rather broody, and I had a whole bunch of gripes about Zac Snyder's read of the character, and the industry's need to Nolanize everything under the sun.

Originally, this movie was to be known as "Superman: Legacy", but that eventually ended up being dropped. If I had the chance to name this movie, I would have named it Superman: Year 3. At the very beginning of the movie, we are presented with a bunch of factoids: Metahumans have been around for a while, Supes was sent here to earth 30 years ago, and he's been in action for 3 years. This time around they've done away with the need to present an origin story; the assumption is that everyone knows the typical beats, so they're depositing us into a fully lived in world. 3 months ago, Superman partook in some international incident for which we are about to experience the blowback.

For such major storybeats to be presented in this manner was certainly jarring. You feel like a lot of the story only happened offscreen. I feel like we would actually have profited from seeing Superman in the thick of the action to get a feel for what this new lore is like. My gripe was precisely that with the last iteration: they spent so much time telling us that Superman was great, and was supposed to be this big beacon of hope, but they spent very little time showing it to us. So we're immediately thrown into a fight whose ramifications don't seem to match up with what's being presented onscreen. 

We get introduced to his Clark Kent persona, which I have to say, was only sprinkled in sparingly through out this movie. He and Lois are already in a "situationship", which the movie never really elucidates. Gone is the mystique of the steps leading up to her discovering his identity, so it's a case of "Less Mystery, More History", which means we get a helluva lot more of Superman. It wouldn't be a Superman movie without the villain du jour, Lex Luthor (played very menacingly by Nicholas Hoult). This has got to be the most menacing maniacal vision of Lex Luthor that we've seen onscreen. Gene Hackman played it suave, but ever so intelligently devious; Michael Rosenbaum played him as a betrayed childhood friend; Kevin Spacey's impression was menacing with a sort of aloofness; Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor (Jr.) was an annoying rich techie with frenetic mannerisms and unexplained rage. Nicholas Hoult's impression is rather sadistic, jealous, cold and calculating, and you immediately understand that he feels Superman is the bane of his existence.

Superman is not alone in the heroics this time around; a sponsored team - The Justice Gang (consisting of Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Hawk Girl) is acting parallel to him at this point. The standout of the group was Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), but the adddition of this group to the mix does exactly what the JSA did to the Black Adam movie: it detracts from the story of the main character. I can't for the life of me figure out why James Gunn chose to play things this way. One moment which seemed pivotal from production stills was Superman seeming almost sullen and defeated as "Solaris" run amok in the Metropolis background. What should've ideally been a moment of gravitas, ends up being tossed aside as a joke. The movie is just too busy with "too many irons in the fire". 

One thing that'll also stand out is the technology of this movie. Going along with the theme of this being a "lived in" world, seemingly impressive technology just exists. I don't know if this is James Gunn preparing us for the influence of Intergang and technology smuggled in from Apokolips, but I just couldn't get a grasp of it. Due to the fact that I've watched the Superman and Justice League (Unlimited) series, I can kind of see what they're trying to do, but without it being couched in the new lore that they're setting up, I feel rather rudderless. 

At least James Gunn got the Kent parents right; you don't see too much of them, but you get the impression that they care about Clark and they're happy about his decisions. You could actually see Clark wanting to be a Superhero this time around; however, for the life of me I do not understand why they take such a sharp U-turn with Lara and Jor-El. We already know the beats of this story and that Clark can benefit from the influence of both his biological and adoptive parents; there is no need to change such foundational truths, and then just leave us stranded like a bunch of hobos. 

Whereas Zack Snyder left us with the impression of spectacle and grit, James Gunn has given us spectacle and whimsy without any sort of emotional tether. He's dug deep and mined the intellectual property for deep cuts that might make sense in future, but for now we can't really see how all those things fit together. It turns out that even the introduction of Krypto (the dog) is something that's there as a placeholder.

This movie really broke me. I wanted to love it. I enjoyed the music which harkens back to a lot of John Williams' original theme. Perhaps there is a story to be told here, but it is concealed by all the responsibilities that this movie has to bear as the rebirth of this DC universe franchise. The hullaballo about Immigration, Wokeness, etc. is misplaced. It's shown up multiple times onscreen (Heck, it was very well done in "Superman vs. The Elite"), and any Superman fan knows that as an idealized figure, he typically stands above the typical selfish nationalistic tendencies seen in typical life; as an alien with an affinity for earth, he's expected to make the most benevolent choice.

As much as it pains me, this movie is worthy of a "C Grade". I might watch it again just to see if a repeat viewing will help tie all these concepts together in a better fashion. 

God Bless.  

Thunderbolts* "Spoiler-Free" Movie Review

The MCU has been a bit of a hit-or-miss affair lately. I've missed a few movies and mostly stayed away from the TV shows. Captain America: Brave New World appeared to be a welcome return to form, though it carried on the story from one of the weakest MCU entries: The Incredible Hulk. 

Well, this week I got to check out  "Thunderbolts*". This is their team-up movie in the similar vein as "Guardians of The Galaxy" or "Suicide Squad". All the individuals on the team are 'augmented', but their power sets basically makes them street tier level superheroes. The team of Winter Soldier (Bucky), White Widow (Yelena), Red Guardian (Alexei), US Agent (Walker), and Taskmaster mostly plays up as a team of anti-heroes who for the most part don't work well with others. In fact, they are merely brought together by circumstance due to the machinations of CIA Director Valentina Allegra De Fontaine, and for the most part you feel they'd betray each other given the chance. Into this already tumultous mix, a seeming nobody named Bob ends up worming his way into their ranks. Now, if you'd watched any of the trailers, you'd know that Bob is basically the answer to the age old question of whether anyone can be super or if anyone SHOULD be super. Like Dr. Malcolm would say, 

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should!" 

In the MCU, this dichotomy has existed in the case of situations like Capt. America (Steve Rogers) vs. The Red Skull or even US Agent, and The Hulk Vs The Abomination who kinda end up with similar "juice", but end up with varyingly different results.

Sebastian Stan's "Bucky" is the veteran on the team this time around, and he anchors us to previous Avengers team members. Ghost was introduced as a tragic figure in the stellar Ant-Man 2, but has been incognito for a while; White Widow, Red Guardian and Taskmaster were fleshed out in the Black Widow movie (which I haven't watched yet) and US Agent was basically a Capt. America replacement from Falcon and The Winter Soldier, who's basically what you'd end up with if the American Army was the deciding factor in choosing Cap, and not Dr. Erskine - a big douchebag!!! I can attest that despite not spending too much time on their related backstories, the movie still fleshes them out enough that you won't feel cheated if you haven't watched prior movies or related series involving the characters. Bucky shines through as the leader, but the plot mostly revolves around redemption of these disparate characters, and it is chiefly typified by Yelena's story arc. Red Guardian is the most whimsical of the lot, and acts as the cheerleader of the group; he needs it to gel and work most of all, because through the group he feels like he attains a sense of purpose. Him being Yelena's father figure also reinforces his role as the "heart" of the team.

The weak point of this film comes from the vast scope of its villain's threats. In a world of established superheroes, you always wonder where the stronger heroes are when something seemingly insurmountable threatens to take over the world; why would you only send in the B-Team? (on a separate tangent, this was the same scenario in the first Suicide Squad movie and also interestingly the Justice League Unlimited episode, "Patriot Act). Also, in an era where we've been able to explore horror elements in the Dr. Strange branch of the MCU, why they didn't play up the horror angle of the final antagonist is beyond me. I can appreciate that the MCU has now given us a condition which is infinitely worse than being blipped from reality, but didn't pay as much attention to its progenitor.   

Sadly, Marvel has also Von-Struckered another villain. This is sadly one of the flaws that they've carried over into many of their movies, and most people had already hinted at this from watching the trailers. At this juncture it just seems like cruelty is the point, because, coming from the comic book world, there's so much to tap into and glean in order to expand the characters; offing them summarily seems a little defeatist.

The ending, while trying to wrap everything up in a neat bow, ends up feeling a little like being robbed. One character was due for a very big comeuppance, but instead we get a Hail Mary play that just comes out of nowhere, and saves the character. It's kind of played for laughs (like Tony Stark's engagement to Pepper Potts in Spider-Man: Homecoming when Peter snubs the chance to be an Avenger), but it felt like levity just wasn't the right fit for the moment. It sets up a complication that the 2nd post-credits scene hints will be more prominent in future instalments. 

Also, just like in Brave New World, against this big of a threat, you just know that the protagonists are going to have to apply a lot of "Talk No Jutsu" to resolve the conflict. Makes you wish that you'd actually have a god-tier hero to deal with a god-tier threat. It's something that the writers have to learn to deal with, but it seems that they'd already painted themselves into a corner. 

All in all, this is a new direction for the MCU; it doesn't quite stick the landing, but I hope they finetune the formula so that we can get more movies with heart and stakes (The Marvels felt like a movie where nothing was really at stake, and I don't think I could take something like that again; Thor: Love and Thunder was a TRAVESTY that will remain unspoken!)

Grade: B-

P.S: Planning to catch a second viewing of this with my twin brother, so let's see if it marinates better second time around. 

God Bless   

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves "Spoiler-Free" Review

 

Today was a day when I just felt I needed to get out and watch a movie. There's so much at the theaters that I haven't yet watched, but I had a feeling that Mario Bros. was what I was likely to watch, with Dungeons and Dragons as a possible second choice. After only getting to the theater slightly late, I was treated to a fiasco of having so many kids in line before me (which had proved to be an all too aggravating for me during Antman:Quantamania). With the Easter season still in play, it was guaranteed that that entire ensemble of kids was headed to watch Mario Bros., and I wasn't in the mood to deal with shenanigans. So as soon as I got up to the counter (sure that I'd be late to get into the movie), I bought a DnD ticket, and went straight to Screen 3. The room was mostly empty; couldn't have been more than 10 of us in that room. Simply blissful! (and on time!)

Personally, I've never played any DnD. My experience pretty much involves the 80's cartoon version (which saw the heroes dragged into a fantastical world, but never ever managed to return them home), and every once in a while a YouTube vid or some show like Stranger Things regales us with a bunch of nerds taking turns at the tabletop game. Suffice it to say, the movie respects that, and you don't really have to be a diehard DnD fan to get into it. This movie has a lot of exposition, but in much the same way that a Dungeonmaster would build the world of a DnD game, control its pacing, and continuity, etc., this very art of exposition is weaved into the movie. Most of this is done through Edgin Darvis (Chris Pine), a harper; he is the master strategist who is full of bravado and contingency plans to boot, and has a knack for getting the members of his troop in all kinds of mischief and schemes. Though Michelle Rodriguez has played the same mean, gruff character in practically all her movies, here - playing Holga Kilgore, a barbarian - she produces the best permutation of that character. She play second fiddle to Edgin, and the humour that the movie is able to extract from the interplay of the two characters is extremely rewarding.  

Justice Smith plays Simon Aumar, the wizard of the group; he is the most disregarded member of the group, drawing ridicule from other members (Edgin excluded), but still manages to come through for the team when they need him the most. I feel like he excels at playing the bug-eyed hesitant group member (similar to his role from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom). Sophia Lillis of IT fame portrays the shapeshifting Doric, perhaps the most versatile member of the group, and its most reluctant. Each of these characters is perfectly cast, and every interaction and line of dialogue melds their relationships even tighter. These are characters that you can, and will fall in love with as the story goes on.

 

The showstopper has to be Regé Jean Page's Xenk Yendar, a paladin. Full of wisdom and an age that is not betrayed by his youthful look, he is the stoic character who contrasts greatly with the skullduggery of Edgin's troop. He is, however, a literalist, immune to sarcasm, irony, cynicism, etc. He plays it off even better than Guardians of The Galaxy alum, Drax the Destroyer.

Hugh Grant as Forge Fitzwilliam is the wily quick-talking scoundrel of the lot; always in for a scheme, and egging Edgin on to even bigger schemes.

The villainous Sofina, (Daisy Head) is the big bad", and doesn't have a single redeeming quality about her; she is evil incarnate, and totally menacing. Her role is somewhat subdued (for the mechanics of the movie), but she is shrouded in a foreboding aura that suggests that there is more darkness  soon to follow where she treads.   

I predict that this movie will be the sleeper hit of the season. The only other time I've been this surprised at the movies is when I RELUCTANTLY got to watch the first "How to Train Your Dragon". It totally caught me by surprise! The pacing is perfect with nary a wasted moment; the humour could very well have gone the Marvel-esque route, but it surprisingly fits so well. The emotional weight that every character is given will have you rooting for the protagonists, and have you invested in each of them. The action is well-choreographed and well weaved into the story, and all the CG and practical effects are a pleasure to watch.

I will definitely be going in for a rewatch. This movie is an A+ in my books.

God Bless

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever "Spoiler-Free" Review

After the disastrous Thor: Love and Thunder, an MCU outing so terrible that I've never been able to pen even a decent review for it, this movie was needed as something of a palate-cleanser; there was just no way that it could sink any lower. Low expectations can be a blessing at times. There was a lot of hype surrounding the original Black Panther, some of which it didn't exactly fulfill; being an MCU movie, it fell into the trope of having the Super hero fight an exactly similar super villain, and it also killed off good protagonists who perhaps had more to add to the future of the MCU.

In an case, this movie starts off as a dirge. It is, after all, the first chance that we get to address the passing of Chadwick Boseman on film since his untimely passing. They address this at the start of the movie, and in a very realistic way, the passing of King T'challa hits us like a sledgehammer (an exact replication of the true life event). This movie gives us a chance to grieve in a most colourful celebration only the likes of which Wakanda could provide. With the passing of the King and the vacancy of the Black Panther mantle (thanks to Killmonger's antics from the last film), the world powers continue to antagonize Wakanda sensing that the nation is at its weakest. It is in fact a facet of this antagonism that sets in motion events that reveal to us Namor the Submariner, and his Kingdom of Talokan.

This movie definitely marks a return to form for the MCU. With the new additions of movies and characters that have made their way into the MCU recently, a lot of the recent stories have emphasized the cosmic otherworldly portions of the MCU, and it can become rather easy to get lost in the mix. Here we have a more grounded story, which at its heart is centred on dealing with grief and embracing loss. Angela Bassett steals every scene as the strong Queen Ramonda who has faced more than her fair share of loss, and finds herself having to steer Wakanda's affairs yet again as its leader. She also has to deal with a despondent Shuri (Letitia Wright) who despite probably being the smartest person in the MCU, is unable to reconcile the mixed bag of emotions she's experiencing, tradition and the spirituality that she's grown up with her whole life.

Thrown into the mix to stir things up even more is Namor (Tenoch Huerta), an imposing figure who rues the antics of the colonizer that he has witnessed in a storied life. While the Wakandans chose to reveal themselves to the rest of the world in the last installment (and even played a part in saving the world from Thanos in both Avengers' wars), Namor craves secrecy for himself and his people. He views the rest of the world as an impediment that might eventually bring war to his doorstep, and he is not averse to waging an preemptive strike to quash any such issues. His mythos is really well done (changes from "Atlantis" and all), and well established. He is a complex villain, but this is well balanced with the fact that the world powers are pretty much established to be just another set of villains sitting at the same table, jockeying for position. His love for his people is unquestionable, it's just that his methods are unsavoury. He marks a new start for the MCU as they finally give us Marvel's roster of mutants. 

I really enjoyed this movie. It was tight-knit and cohesive, and never once did my attention wonder. Character favourites like Okoye (Danai Gurira) and M'Baku (Winston Duke) are a joy to watch whenever they're on screen; despite their slightly reduced screen time, they manage to provide both moments of levity and gravitas; and the "colonizer" aka Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) has his story interwoven herein too in a very sensible way, and binds him further to the Kingdom and story of Wakanda. The MCU chose this moment to introduce IronHeart aka Riri Williams, another genius in the vein of Tony Stark. I don't believe she got much love in the comics, but this MCU portrayal might be a chance to update that (just like the Spiderverse did so well for Miles Morales).

Everything fits so well in the story, and it was a joy to watch. I am sad that we lost Chadwick Boseman, and the story had to pivot so much to embrace that. The war between T'challa and Namor is legendary in the comic books, and I think we lost an opportunity to see that fully brought onto the screen; but I have to admit that despite many constraints, this movie made a wonderful soft landing. All thanks to Ryan Coogler and a wonderful cast for a job well done. 

Definitely an A- in my books.

God Bless.

Spider-Man: No Way Home "Spoiler-Free" Review

This is my first foray into anything MCU this whole year. I missed out on "Shang Chi" while it was in theaters, and I still haven't yet managed to watched the prolific "What if..." anthology yet. Anyway, I am glad to say that "No Way Home" reflects a return to form for this Spider-Man series. I had honestly had this series pegged as yet another "Iron Man" trilogy where it was just a case of diminishing returns with each returning installment. The underwhelming "Far From Home", which basically played like a bootleg "If Looks Could Kill", certainly filled me with a whole lot of doubt, but I'm glad that my doubts were eventually cast aside.

Far From Home starts off right where No Way Home ended: Mysterio, in a last ditch attempt at revenge, outs Spider-Man's secret identity, and now the whole world is suddenly aware that he's Peter Parker. Unlike the usual peril for his loved ones that tends to be occasioned by such a reveal in the comics, here it just proves to be an unbearable nuisance to those associated with Peter. 

People familiar with the comics will be aware that the MCU has attempted to adapt the much maligned "One More Day" storyline for the big screen. In that outing, Peter in his ever self-sacrificing way makes a deal with the Devil (Mephisto) in order to save Aunt May's life. The MCU doesn't typically translate these storylines to screen verbatim, and in this case, Dr. Strange is used as a welcome substitute for Mephisto. Dr. Strange, appearing to be of a more mellow demeanour towards Peter since Infinity War (& Endgame), opts to help him out by basically making the world forget about the secret identity. The MCU's Spidey is still pretty much a child, so of course he tries to throw all kinds of caveats at Dr. Strange about people who should be unaffected by the "forgetting spell", and this ultimately messes the spell and throws his reality into disarray.

This is a return to form for Spider-Man; the "home" series has been lacking that Je ne sais quois of what we've come to expect from Spider-Man. This was basically spelled out in Captain America: Civil War where during our introduction to Peter, in his first talk with Tony Stark, he basically stumbled over the "With great power comes great responsibility" pitch. They then proceeded to basically write out Uncle Ben and handed over this surrogate parent role to Tony Stark. Spider-Man is a great hero because he's basically had to handle most of his adversity by himself, and the MCU basically knee-capped him by making him a Tony Stark fanboy. In Homecoming, he spends his time trying to earn Tony Stark's favour; in Far From Home, he finds himself living in Tony's shadow, and still ends up making the biggest rookie mistake. And why on earth are they referring to his Spidey sense as "the Peter tingle"? (Most annoying change ever!)

The great thing this time around is that there isn't a single mention of Tony Stark. Sure enough Stark-Tech is still involved in the MCU, but even the memorial murals that seemed to permeate Far From Home are gone now. After Peter makes his debacle, he goes about fixing it in the most adult pragmatic fashion possible with the best outcome for everyone involved. From the trailers, you'd know that the mechanics of this story involve "The Sinister Five" - Doc Ock, Sandman, Electro, Lizard, and Green Goblin - drawn in from their different corners of the Spiderverse, and ensuring good outcomes for this disparate group of villains poses a high stakes game that will take everything in Spidey's arsenal and more. A superhero is only as strong as his rogues gallery, and the foil against which he is compared. Alfred Molina's "Doc Ock" and Willem Defoe's "Green Goblin" are the standouts in this movie. Both of them are tragic figures born of intellectual hubris; where they differ is that "Doc Ock" is still fixated on his goals, whilst "Goblin" is psychotic and vengeful. These two provide the most poignant moments and it really is great to see them rehash their performances from the Raimi side of the Spiderverse. 

The villain who really gets the biggest makeover is Jamie Foxx's "Electro". The all-rage-all-the-time demeanour of a fanboy turned villain from The Amazing Spiderman II was a rather poor take on the character; this time around he's played as a straightforward snide character with an unfortunate penchant for being literally power-hungry. He doesn't get too much time in the movie, but every bit of it is deeply redeeming.

I have to say that the most beautiful elements in this movie was the addition of Dr. Strange. His mysticism is such an eclectic bag that allows him to fit in well within any portion of the MCU; the addition of the trippy Inception-esque visuals also manages to seemlessly fit in to the story, and always enthrall.  With the events that this story sets into motion, the MCU have done more than enough to whet our collective appetites for the Dr. Strange sequel that's due to come out later this year.

The story is very well written and fast-paced, and the action is top-notch. The only gripe I had with the movie is that Marvel can sometimes be indisciplined when it comes to lingering over their jokes. One time during the finale, it got so bad that it took me out of my suspension of disbelief. Shaving out a few minutes of this indiscipline could very well have given us a tighter story; other than that, there was a great deal of fan service draped out for all the fans on this outing. Truthfully, you can't please everyone, but I think you can achieve a fine balance that caters to the masses. 

The trailers managed to keep most of the story under wraps, so I will end the review here, and save the rest for a "Spoiler" review; but suffice it to say, this is the strongest Spidey offering that the MCU has ever put together. This is the most mature presentation of Spider-Man thus far, and a delight to watch. Definitely gets an "A" grade from me.

God Bless.

IT: Chapter II "Spoiler-Free Review

I actually watched this movie more than 2 weeks ago, but I really haven't been in the mood to review it. This movie just suffered from a serious case of sequel-itis and is one of the few moments that  find myself wishing I'd watched the superior preceding chapter in theaters. This has happened to me twice already this year with "Us" and "Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald". 

All things considered, IT (2017) was an okay movie; it, however, was not the superior experience that most people emphasized that it was. I still feel that the original IT (1990) was actually a more scary experience. Not to take away from Bill Skarsgard's brilliant performance as Pennywise, but Tim Curry's Pennywise is still the superior one in my opinion.

The second part of both IT iterations tend to follow the same beats: less Pennywise and less interesting/scary than their predecessors. This is more evident in IT: Chapter II. The movie is extremely long and drawn out. It makes sense in the beginning because it needs to re-introduce us to the grown version of the protagonists (The Losers' Club); but it just slows down somewhere in the middle, and it just becomes this sort of unfulfilling slow-burn.

Most of the adult characters are believable versions of their teenage counterparts; the casting department deserves a lot of respect for their casting choices, especially for the Bill Hader/James Ransone rendition of Richie and Eddie combo. I'm guessing that what lets us down is the adaptation of this Stephen King book for the big screen. Despite how far we've come technologically (yeah, the IT: 1990's underwhelming version of a Spider monster was a real letdown), this movie really struggles to get me to believe that the clown evokes as much fear in the adults as he did when they were kids. A big part of this is due to the use of computer generated imagery (CGI) where practical effects would have sufficed; the CGI is so obvious that it just pulls you out of your suspension of disbelief. If I wasn't so disappointed, I would have laughed out in some of the areas that were meant to cause scares.

The CGI actually gets irritating in places because it cause an "Uncanny Valley" effect. I can understand that the child actors grew considerably since the filming of the last movie, but there are a few notable areas in the movie where you can see the wonky effect of CGI on Eddie (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Ben (Jeremy Ray Taylor).

The character of Henry Bowers also feels really wasted this time around. Implausibly, he resurfaces after that death-defying fall down the well in the previous installment, and reappears as an adult to wreak havoc. Teach Grant plays adult Henry as someone who's insane, but he just doesn't seem like that much of a menacing character.

All this eventually leads to a final act that seems more stuffed with overkill than John Wick: Chapter 3. Initial scares followed by a plot twist, then solo scares and more teamfare just makes this a painful slog until the end. One of the more touching moments in the movie is that of the team comforting a crying Richie, but that's the only saving grace in a long joyless affair.

If I were you, I'd wait for this when it comes out on DVD/Blu-Ray if you really feel you must watch it.  Definitely give this movie a well deserved B-/C+.

God Bless

Spider-Man: Far From Home "Spoiler Free" Review

Time for yet another MCU adventure after the massive event that was the Infinity saga came to a close. This sees a return to some light fanfare with the latest Spidey installment. As per the after effects of the events known as "The Snap" and "The Blip" (which is what they now call the moment that the other 50% of people reappeared thanks to the Professor Hulk's use of the Infinity Gauntlet), our team of high school comrades find themselves back in school with a bit of a twist: they haven't aged at all, but the people that remained aged a natural 5 years in their absence. And, as per where we left off in "Homecoming", Michelle is going by MJ now. In true comic book fashion, Peter is now enamored with her, and romantic shenanigans ensue. It seems like the European tour the school has scheduled will provide the perfect opportunity for Peter to step up to the plate and ask her out.

Unfortunately, Nick Fury has other plans for Peter. Substituting for Tony Stark, this is Nick's first "true" introduction to Tony's protégé. The MCU has thus far only paired Nick with the older superheroes, so it is interesting to see him paired up with the inexperienced needy teenager. This thus makes Fury appear more ornery as he serves as the annoyed mentor who feels he should be dealing with a lot better than this. In true MCU fashion, the Avengers are "off-world" or incommunicado, so Spidey is really the only one that he can count on. Well, with the exception of Jake Gyllenhall's "Mysterio", who appears as a response to the Multiverse's Elementals threat who happen to be this outings "creature-feature".

This movie made me nostalgic for 1991's "If Looks Could Kill". In that movie, a high school slacker basically got confused for a secret agent, and he ended up thrust into larger-than-life espionage scenarios. Pretty much the same thing happens here, especially once Nick Fury starts to meddle with Peter's Euro Trip, and once Happy (Hogan) entrusts Peter with the E.D.I.T.H artificial intelligence system that was handed down from Tony Stark.

Unfortunately, the movie falters in terms of its story mechanics at times. To explain this, I need to contrast MCU/Tom Holland Spidey with Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire Spidey. People complained that Tobey Maguire seemed too old and didn't portray the young Spidey too well, but he was ultimately self-sufficient. This is in fact what made the adaptation of the "Spider-man No More!" storyline possible. His biggest debt is the death that he cannot undo: Uncle Ben. However, as overwhelming as things may get and the chips may be stacked, he continues to prevail as a solo hero. This is why "Spider-Man II" prevails as one of the best superhero movies ever made.
Tom Holland's Spidey is cast in the mold of the animated "Ultimate Spider-man". A teenager who is basically a Tony Stark fanboy. In "Civil War", we get a glimmer of his homage to Uncle Ben as his justification for donning the suit; however, by the time of "Homecoming", he's in full Tony Stark hero-worship mode, and comes to rely on his augmented suit as a crutch. Sadly, "Far From Home" propels us farther down this path with the notion that Spidey is in some way supposed to take up the mantle of Iron Man. This overwhelmed teenager storyline thus becomes the reason for some of the dumbest decision-making ever committed to screen time.

This is an MCU movie, so it definitely looks good. The SFX department dedicated to Mysterio really did a top-notch job; seemed like they were channeling their inner Dr. Strange. The action and comedy blends in very well, and this will definitely be an enjoyable time at the movies. However, the high school gimmick abounds in this movie. I'm looking forward to seeing an older Peter Parker put to screen so that eventually we might even be able to have the "Spider-Totem" story made for the big screen. Mayhaps the MCU needs to finally divorce this convoluted Iron Man - Spidey relationship and let him stand on his own two feet as the true hero that he can be. Only time will tell.

I give this move a B+.

God Bless

Avengers: Endgame - "SPOILER" Review

By Eileen Steinbach

SPOILER ALERT!





This movie is a work of art! The Russo Brothers certainly have made some of the best MCU installments to date, but the soul sapping Infinity War was an extremely horrendous gut-punch that left the world (both real and MCU) in a dark place. We just needed to see how things were meant to end. They had to tie up a lot of loose strings.

Gladly, they followed up with Endgame. I am not going to do a blow-for-blow recap of the movie, but I will address some salient points that really stood out to me. I am happy that they put us in the thick of things, pretty much shortly after Thanos' snap: the world was awry, and the Avengers were still scrambling to make some sense of the world, finding some sort of solace in heroics. By the time that arc is resolved (shortly afterwards), they are plunged into true despair, and it is only then, after a well placed time jump (ahem... "Venom") that the mechanics for righting the world finally show up with the appearance of Ant-Man (yep, the Quantum Realm).

The seamless integration of all the various MCU characters started earlier, but cemented in Infinity War, continues to shine through in this movie: the Guardians of the Galaxy (GoTG) roster is basically only Rocket and Nebula, Tony's basically retreated into family life and has abandoned the Avengers (specifically Captain America); Black Widow is basically running point for Avengers operations, Hawkeye has become the anti-hero Ronin, and Bruce Banner has managed to bring forth the Professor Hulk identity thanks to some Gamma experimentation.

Thor has a really sad arc to his story (it's just been a steady decline), but the Russos can't resist the urge to poke more fun at the character, in much the same way that Taika Watiti started off in "Thor: Ragnarok". After the jump, Thor pretty much turns into "The Dude"from "The Big Lebowski" (I managed to catch the "On your left..Lebowski" on rewatching the movie). I haven't even watched that particular movie yet, but I recognized the character immediately he strapped on some shades and a cardigan. They really did Thor dirty!

The movie is not as fast paced as Infinity War in the beginning, but that is certainly not a weak point; Infinity War was pretty much a heist movie that was moving to the beat of Thanos' frenetic plans. This movie is a character study of the survivors, many of whom are dealing with "Survivor's Guilt", the pain of loss, and ultimately DEFEAT. People need to pick up the pieces before they can really become the heroes that we need them to be. Thor is about the worst possible manifestation of how far someone can fall; however, wise words from his mother Frigga end up putting him on the right track.

"Everyone fails at who they're supposed to be. The measure of a person, a hero, is how they succeed at being who they are"

The trippy mechanics of the Quantum Realm gave the directors a wonderful opportunity to reinsert future characters into a lot of past moments with future hindsight as something of a boon. It was also a chance to flesh out some going-ons that were merely glossed over/ segued out of in prior MCU installments. It was great to see that the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) did her part to protect NY during Loki's siege. It was also a joy to see the Shield/Avengers politics that played out regarding Asgard's jurisdiction with regards to Loki's judgment. All in all, it was just wonderful to see the vast roster of characters - villainous and heroic - that have been a part of this MCU-world reprise their roles, even if only for short cameos. Not only was it great fan service, but any excuse to heap more layers on already developed characters is a worthy endeavour in my books.

As with any movie that focuses on time travel, this movie sought to put its own spin on the time travel trope and put a lot of previous time travel movies on blast (usually through Ant-Man/Scott Lang). It did set us down some confusing paths in the process. I can understand that they returned the Infinity Stones back to the past from which they stole them to preserve the timelines as the Ancient one had hoped. (Definitely couldn't have Dr. Strange "bargaining" with Dormammu without the Time Stone!) But what about them taking Mjolnir away from Thor in his Dark World outing. Mjolnir was pretty important in Thor's battle against an overpowered Malekith. Or are we just meant to consider that Odin might have commissioned "Storm Breaker" to be made earlier in the new setting?

(Addendum: Cap just returned Mjolnir when he went back in time. Y'know, for a moment there, I'd thought that Mjolnir had become his new weapon of choice, but in all likelihood, he returned it just like he did the Stones.) 

Also, they never let us know how Valkyrie, Korg, Miek and the other Asgardians were able to escape from Thanos' clutches between the events of Thor: Ragnarok and Infinity War. I mean, I knew New Asgard was definitely going to be included in this continuity, but they owe us a resolution to that little missing bit of info (along with the whereabout of Lady Sif). It is plausible that he could've just killed half of them and let the other half go, but if they could show us that for Gamora's world, they could certainly have shown it for Thor and the Asgardian remnant. Another thing that was also glossed over was how Thanos was able to steal the Power Stone from the Nova Corps. Infinity War just had a Power Stone wielding Thanos show up to obliterate Thor's ship, and Thor - while talking shop with the GoTG crew - mentioned that the Power Stone was stolen from the Nova Corps and that Thanos would be headed for Knowhere to get the Aether (Reality Stone). It seemed sad that this important event was relegated to the realm of exposition in such a summary fashion. I had hoped that this movie's time travel plot would at least have given us a glimpse into the raid on the Nova Corps

The Black Order is also a very overlooked element; their role was even smaller this time around (though Ebony Maw is an enticing character no matter how little screen time he receives). It would have been insightful to see how they came to serve the mad Titan, but that would have taken this movie beyond the epic length it already had. We know what their final destiny is, but I hope that there are plans to continue to use them in MCU stories about the past - similar to what was done with Capt. Marvel - and that way a full story can be told about the denizens of the Black Order.

Anyway, these few questions/ruminations aside, this movie remains a work of art. We have received fitting ends to the character of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. Tony suffered character assassination under the reins of Shane Black, but his appearances in Russo movies (Civil War, Infinity War) and Spider-man: Homecoming actually made him a more well-rounded and likeable character; and here, he shines like never before. Cap finally got his last dance, and to live a fully realized and enriched life - no longer that fish out of water. He's handed the Capt. America mantle over to Falcon, but it could just as easily shift over to Bucky (something that's already happened in the comics). It seems like it was curtains for Black Widow, but then we know she has a solo movie in the works; I pray that it contains a team-up between her and Hawkeye, and we can finally get to see the "Incident at Budapest" that they've been referring to since the very first Avengers movie.

Hawkeye and Nebula got the biggest character boosts from this movie. On a team of superpowered individuals, having someone who's merely an olympic-level athlete at peak fitness with no other augmentation means that Hawkeye typically has gotten overshadowed. However, as Ronin, he was very much in his element, taking the fight to street level thugs and handing out summary justice on the fly. Just like Age of Ultron, he now has another death on his hands, and it'd be interesting to see how things progress;  he probably will name one of his children after Natasha...but first we need to see him in a Widow movie. Nebula on the other hand usually had limited range as an angry sneering individual. This time around we see the full switch with her bonding with Tony, and then Rocket, and even becoming part of a team. Everything comes full circle when her present self is juxtaposed against her subservient past. I think she will make a great anti-hero.

As for Hulk, the MCU needs to do him justice. The Professor Hulk is interesting, but he is not the strongest Hulk incarnation there is. Louis Letterier's Incredible Hulk was a travesty to the character, and managed to do much less with the character than Ang Lee's seminal Hulk movie. (Besides have Hulk utter the line "Hulk Smash!"). Perhaps they should consider a similarly serious approach to the character as was the case with Ang Lee; they could always throw in Joe Fixit for added measure. There's a lot to unearth here, and I'm sure the MCU could do it right.

In summary, my biggest highlights from this movie:

1. "On your left"
2. "Avengers assemble"
3. Captain America is worthy!
4. "Hail Hydra"

Strange that they all involved Capt. America. From the applause that rocked the cinema during the first three of these, I think that everyone else in attendance also agreed.

Here's to the close of one chapter, and the promise of a new and better lineup of movies with great stories to tell.

God Bless

Avengers: Endgame - Spoiler-Free Review

By Eileen Steinbach

One does not merely watch Avengers: Endgame and leave without having a life altering experience. This movie has touched my heart so much so that this time around I made sure that I'd have both a Spoiler-Free and Spoiler review for this movie...and I basically ensured this by writing the Spoiler version first. But you need not worry, I won't be spoiling the Endgame for anyone: I would love for everyone to walk into this movie with the little info gleaned from the trailers (trust me, it is very little) and walk out of it with a sense of utter joy and satisfaction.

This was a great companion piece to Avengers: Infinity War. After all the darkness that Thanos' snap introduced into the universe, we needed a whole lot of light to put things right again. Infinity War was basically Thanos 1.0; it was really astounding how a villain who had only previously appeared in a handful of cameos was able to steal the show so easily. In fact, Thanos as a villain is such a complex and compelling character. Similar to a character like the Joker, he is deeply invested in his villainy: in the Joker's case, there is obvious insanity tied to the character, but Thanos comes off as an Obsessively Compulsive individual who fully embraces his psychosis, and takes it as serious business. No laughs are to be had where Thanos is involved. The way they continue to evolve him this time around is as logical a progression of his madness as you'd expect.

This movie is the flip side to the chaos of Infinity War. For this reason, the pacing is slightly slower (only slightly). I couldn't even really call it a "slow burn" because every little bit of the heroes coming to terms with their vulnerability, loss and previous defeat is an interesting character study. You get to see the whole spectrum of reactions from ambivalence to obsession. However, once the pieces start to fall into place, the heroes rise up to the task and make us proud. I guess coming from all those previous wins that they'd had in their careers, it always seemed like winning was an inevitability. Thanos thus became the true litmus test for what it means to be a hero when you are brought down to your lowest point. I guess the best summation for this sentiment comes from one of my favourite movie quotes:

"Why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up!"

There is a growth to all these characters that have come to be a part of our lives in this 11-year journey, and that is palpable throughout the course of the movie. I daresay that Hawkeye, who hasn't had that much to do since they introduced him in the first Thor movie, gets the biggest character development from this movie. It is good to see him getting the respect that he deserves, and I've always felt that he should definitely be a big supporting character in the Black Widow movie that will definitely be getting off the ground in the coming future.

The epic 3-hour runtime felt well earned for this movie. If you can sit back long enough to enjoy excellent world-building and storytelling, the time will pass by very quickly. From my previous Infinity War experience, I was peeved about having to watch this type of movie in a theater where kids are in attendance. As if fate was trying to spite me again, there were even more kids in attendance this time around; but, to my shock, they kept it together for the whole show. Their parents must've threatened to disown them if they embarrassed them in public! (Or maybe the movie was just that compelling!)

However, in that last hour, when the action goes down...it goes down (Russo style). Scores in attendance became child-like again, and people were cheering wildly. (When you do watch the movie, you'll understand what I'm talking about!). Having watched this movie twice, I can definitely tell you that it pays to be watching it with a "good crowd". The enjoyment level will be infinitely better for the action scenes. And they bring things to a good conclusion, that'll have you leaving the theater and feeling very satisfied, whether you're slightly teary-eyed or holding those tears on the inside.

I highly recommend this movie as a wonderful time at the theaters for the whole family. A+ movie making and storytelling. It feels just like catching up with an old friend.

God Bless

Alita: Battle Angel (Review)

I'd been looking forward to seeing this movie since the very first trailer dropped. The massive mangaverse seems to be a treasure trove of wonderful titles just waiting to be discovered. The adaptation process hasn't always gone so flawlessly (a la "Ghost in the Shell"), but less bad press seemed to follow this project around so it seemed like it was at least off to a good start. It helped that it was a passion project anchored by none other than James Cameron; this didn't seem like the usual fare for director Robert Rodriguez, but I was willing to bet that their partnership would yield a great movie.

The movie is set in a bleak dystopian future already alluded to so well in the trailers. It is a tale of two cities as the dregs of humanity congregate in Iron City while a select few live in the floating city of Zalem (very much similar to the dichotomy displayed in Astro Boy when it comes to "Metro City"). Within the scrapyard of Iron City, Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz) discovers the core remains of a cyborg, whom he takes home and rehabilitates. Since she is basically a blank slate, struck with a severe case of amnesia, he decides to name her Alita and acts as her surrogate father. As expected, he is overly protective of her as Iron City is very much a lawless land; he is also aware that there is more to Alita than meets the eye, something that would make her an easy mark for people trying to exploit her.

A fair deal of the story was shown in the trailers that preceded its release, but that still does not detract from the experience of watching the movie. Its creators have excelled at the massive task of world-building, giving us both the scope involved, but also giving us that very lived-in feeling that makes the world seem all too real. As a totally digitally rendered character, Alita seems very real; forget what initial impressions there may have been concerning her larger-than-life sized eyes: she never has any "uncanny valley" moments and you will fully empathize with her as you delve into the plot, discovering things just as innocently as she does.

The crew really did a great job in getting the character design down for this movie. Alita might be a fully digitally rendered character, but a lot of the citizens of Iron City are mechanically augmented individuals, and they don't seem out of place at all. You only have to get a glimpse of the character Zapan (Ed Skrein) in motion to see what's going on. The amount of detail in his design, particularly that of his back, is astounding. This kind of wizardry is reflected throughout the whole world, reflecting different classes of individuals who are augmented to perform different functions.

The fast paced spectacle that is "Motorball" is yet another highlight of the movie. The "street" alternative that Alita first encounters seemed like a more competitive sport; the true version of the game is more gladiatorial with a basic kill-or-be-killed mentality behind it. Truth be told, this will not sway you in any way from enjoying every single moment of its fast paced turbulent energy.

The multilayered characters also serve the story well. Alita (Rosa Salazar), an amnesiac who basically has to find her humanity by doing the one thing she was designed for - fighting - is both innocent, simplistic, but utterly fearless; a true berzerker.  Dr. Ido and Chiren (Jennifer Connelly) share a convoluted past, not fully explored in this installment, but events in their lives cause them to diverge along very different paths. Jennifer Connelly didn't have much material to work with, but she certainly makes Chiren a fascinating character.  At this point in his career, Mahershala Ali has played his fair share of villains (can't forget his recent turn as "The Prowler" in Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse); he plays "Vector" in a style very reminiscent of his take on "Cottonmouth" from Luke Cage. Last, but not least, I have to highlight the villainous Grewishka voiced so menacingly by Jackie Earle Haley; rendered as a monstrous behemoth, he has a loud bark, but unfortunately gets to endure a lot more punishment than he usually deals out (making him more of a running gag).

What we have at play here is a wonderful unique story, told with spectacular visuals that will totally immerse you in the whole experience. The movie is well-paced, and its 2 hour run time seems well and truly earned. With all the uncredited megastar appearances going on in this movie, it definitely will be getting a sequel, and I will definitely be lining up to watch those sequels.

This was a masterclass in movie making. A+

God Bless

Glass: "Spoiler-Free" Review

Just got done watching the latest addition to the surprise Unbreakable-Trilogy. "Split" was a fascinating movie that clearly is an excellent standalone story; however, finding out that it actually shared a universe with "Unbreakable" opened up a whole bunch of possibilities, not least of which was the chance to delve into the superhero lore entailed in the fairly grounded world of Unbreakable.

The movie immediately thrusts us into the thick of things. David Dunn (Bruce Willis) continues his vigilante ways, now currently known as "The Overseer". His son, Joseph (reprised by Spencer Treat Clark), aids him in this effort as his "guy in the chair" to provide him with relevant info. They currently have their eyes set on Kevin Wendell Crumb aka "The Horde" (James  McAvoy). Since he let his beast persona run rampant, he has carved a trail of destruction throughout the city, and, as per his modus operandi, has kidnapped yet another set of individuals. The stage is set for these two individuals to meet and sparks do fly when they meet. Having never faced an equal, their initial encounter is humbling for the both of them. Suffice it to say, sometime after this encounter they end up confined to an asylum under the watch of Dr. Staple (Sarah Paulson); the aforementioned asylum also coincidentally happens to house our favourite antagonist Elijah Price aka Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson), conscious, but thoroughly sedated and kept under wraps. On cue, the appearance of the two super-powered individuals reinvigorates him and reignites his joie de vivre.

This movie is a fulfilling slow-burn, similar to both Unbreakable and Split; however, unlike its two predecessors, it runs at a faster pace. Unbreakable gave us a more grounded universe, and did not have much in terms of action scenes; this movie gives us a few more action scenes, but even better than that is an underlying intensity and sense of urgency that kept me enthralled through the whole movie. The acting chops of the 3 leads in their Protagonist, Antagonist and Deuteragonist roles is impressive; this movie sequentially follows their 3 arcs and makes extensive use of flashbacks to carefully knit this universe in some unsuspected ways. James McAvoy is a joy to watch. Seeing him dissolve into the various personalities is a thing of beauty. Even after all this time, I distinctly remembered the proper and domineering "Patricia", the OCD and ever serious "Dennis" and innocent "Hedwig". Impressively, we get to see more personalities exhibited this time around, if only for small fleeting moments. Undoubtedly, McAvoy receives more of the spotlight so that he can shine.

Samuel L. Jackson is ever the thunderous voiced villain. Some of his portrayal of Mr. Glass is merely physical, but even then you still get the impression that there's a lot bubbling under the surface - planning, scheming, mischief. Though he's up to no good, he's the kind of villain that you find yourself empathizing with.

Bruce Willis is subdued in his representation of the reluctant hero. The only sad thing is that his character supposedly disappears for an extensive portion of the second act (which is a tragedy). His David Dunn, far from being the kind of hero upon whom people heap praise, is held in deep suspicion and the police basically make him a marked man. Despite this, he continues to risk life and limb to do what only he can do to keep people safe.

The supporting cast is also great, adding more layers to the story; the movie also benefits from a great script and beautiful cinematography. I think most people will be fine with this movie, until it gets to its final act. Just when everything promises to propel us into a fiery climax, Mr. Shyamalan decides to take us on a different tangent. A lot of people who have reviewed this movie were turned off by this turn of events. This director is famous for his use of plot-twists in his earlier movies, so it isn't something unexpected from him; the direction he chooses is really anticlimactic. I can understand that this movie threatened to join the mould of other big blockbuster superhero movies in the manner in which it plays out, so Shyamalan chose to ground it further to fit in with his vision. It unfortunately unfurls a thread that leaves a big unanswered question at the movie's end. From a movie franchise standpoint, it means that he could pelt us with another sequel at any time if he so chooses; however, it feels like an injustice to the groundwork that was beautifully laid out in both Unbreakable and Split. A good analogy would be for us to be given "Avengers: Infinity War" without the prospect of an "Avengers: Endgame". It just can't end this way.

The ending is truly conflicting; this seems like too beautiful a movie for it to come down to this. As such, I will be splitting my rating for this movie:

1. the stellar work of everything that went into the mix: A
2. the ending: B-

However, even the ending should not detract you from experiencing this tour-de-force. Loving hands have crafted it; they may have wavered along the way, but the execution is wonderful.


God Bless