DCEU Blog: SDCC Edition Of Sorts, Batfleck Returns, Trailers And Test Screenings Galore

Well, this has been a busy month with two animated movies currently released (DC's League Of Super Pets and Green Lantern: Beware My Power), the return of San Diego Comic Con and a lot of other stuff to power through, so let's go ....

Possibly the biggest new item was Jason Momoa revealing that Ben Affleck will be appearing in Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom instead of Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman. 

Michael Keaton however will be Batman in both The Flash and Batgirl.

Speaking of The Flash, test screening have revealed that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau will appear in the movie as well as archived footage of Adam West, Lynda Carter, Christopher Reeve and Helen Slater. Expect to see another version of Superman in the movie as well.

Brendan Fraser revealed that his version of Firefly in Batgirl will be called Ted Carson and he wants to see Gotham burn as he's a veteran who has lost his benefits. 

Shazam! Fury Of The Gods unveiled their first trailer at Comic Con and revealed that Rachel Zegler's character is called Anthea. 

Rizwan Manji also appears in the movie, possibly playing a different character from the role of Jamal from Peacemaker.

Blue Beetle has finished filming. It'll be released on August 18th 2023 in theatres.

Dwayne Johnson took to the stage of SDCC dressed as Black Adam, unveiling a second trailer for the movie.

Although she didn't appear in the trailer, Viola Davis has officially been confirmed to return in the upcoming movie as Amanda Waller. A version of Superman has also been rumoured for the movie.

There are rumblings for potential castings for both the Black Canary and Zatanna movies but I want to hold off talking on it until confirmation comes for them.

Matt Ryan will reprise his role as John Constantine in animated form again as he will be appearing in the third season of Harley Quinn.

Teen Titans Go will feature Zack Snyder in an upcoming episode.

The upcoming third season of Stargirl will air on the CW from August 31st. It'll have thirteen episodes and go under the subtitle of Frenemies.

Colin Farrell has confirmed that filming for The Penguin HBO Max series will start early next year while also talking about Matt Reeves working on the script for The Batman sequel.

And that's it for this month. Be sure to check out The Sandman on Netflix from August 5th.

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x03: "The 83rd Annual Villy Awards"

 

Written by Jamieson Borak

Directed by Mike Milo

Joker: "And the Villy Award goes to ... Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy."

Was there any doubt that Harley and Ivy would win Best Couple? Maybe. I did think Riddler and Clock King clearly wanted it more but it's also another award that the Joker stole from his ex as the winning couple didn't stick around to pick it up.

The titular award ceremony of the episode was a good opportunity for the bad guys to get their moment to shine while Harley did battle with an android in the mens bathroom in order to find out if her and Ivy actually won before a nice conversation with Kite Man gave her a real insight into what mattered more.

Speaking of Kite Man, it was awkward having him seated with Harley and Ivy but I have to give the show props for not vilifying him and for allowing him to move on to a healthier relationship with Golden Glider. Ivy's conversation with the latter was also a nice way of getting closure on thongs there too. I liked this show's depiction of Glider.

As for the show's depiction of Catwoman, it's still pretty tepid at best bit having her blow up while wining the Joe Chill award was pretty on point. As for her relationship with Batman, he might not do that thing but it seems that he's not opposed to giving Catwoman a foot rub at the very least.

Last but not least we had Clayface posing as James Gunn in order to have dinner with Billy Bob Thornton (yup, it was him) before Catwoman's pet tiger mauled him to death. The tiger them also possibly mauled to death by King Shark. Mostly a filler storyline but fun nonetheless.

- Cock King (a guy in a chicken suit) and Man-Bat were Villy award winners, Joker re-enacted his Jason Todd attack as part of his opening skit and the likes of Penguin, Freeze and Queen Of Fables were in the In Memorium segment.

- Bane is still determiend to get his pasta maker back while also failing to charm Cheetah at the ceremony.

- Kite Man and Golden Glider will be leading their own spin-off, which presumably will be released next year.

- Chronology: Not long from where the previous episode left off.

The 83rd Annual Villy Awards might have been shameless in spoofing various award ceremonies but it was another fun episode nonetheless as Harley and Ivy continue to find the balance between their goals and their relationships. Let's bring this idea back again next season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x02: "There's No Ivy In Team"

 

Written by Adam Stein

Directed by Joonki Park

Nightwing (to Batgirl): "Hi, let's try this again. I'm Nightwing."

You got to hand it to this show, it may be about Harley Quinn and her crew but it doesn't mean that they won't show the Batfamily nonetheless. We've already gotten to know Batman, Robin, Batgirl and even given Alfred a superhero identity - Macaroon, but there was someone missing and now he's back.

Yup, Dick Grayson (Harvey Guillen) has returned to Gotham, now as Nightwing and he's not impressed with the change in dynamic with the Batfamily while also struggling to find his place in it as well. Even a simple mission against Firefly has him questioning his role as a hero. Perhaps a group activity can make all the difference. 

Someone who can somewhat relate to Nightwing's dilemma would be Poison Ivy. She's been put in the position of leader Terraform Earth and her great plan to snare a mosquito to help with said plan turned out to be more of a disaster than Harley's usual schemes. Again, surely a group activity might help her out. Funnily enough, it did.

The two doubting members of the Riddler's great escape room activity were of course both Nightwing and Poison Ivy and it was both Harley and Batgirl who brought their respective teams to the escape room, only for Batman to resolve the whole thing in minutes to spare. Still, some lessons were learned and thanks to Ivy, Frank has now leveled up in a big way.

As for Bane, all he wanted was his damn pasta maker back but instead he got his credit card declined and a bank teller giving him some food for thought on his erratic spending habits and mental state. Add in some Carrie Bradshaw style monologues and Bane was used pretty well in this episode.

- Of course Harley and Ivy started the episode stealing Nightwing's ride and ended it with the mall being destroyed.

- Batman didn't seem best pleased when he learned what Clayface's new role was going to be. Damien on the other hand seemed bored by it all but he's still scared of King Shark.

- Calendar Man briefly appeared as well, behind Bane at the checkout.

- Chronology: More or less from where the past episode left off.

There's No Ivy In Team did a good job in introducing Nightwing, teamwork and of course gaining a little momentum in the overall arc of Ivy's plans, even if she's nowhere near successful with it so far. A very strong second episode.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Harley Quinn's 3x01: "Harlivy"

 

Written by Sarah Peters

Directed by Juan Meza-Leon

Harley (to Ivy): "Let the Eat, Bang, Kill Tour begin."

Can you believe it's been two years since the events of the previous season? I can't but it has been and now we're back and needless to say, slightly less time has passed for both Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. They've been taking a honeymoon of sorts, crashing at the Fortress of Solitude (Superman doesn't want a HBO Max subscription) and running amok with Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet. Yup, wherever they go, chaos isn't far behind them.

And I mean chaos to the point where even Ivy's patience are being slightly tested with Harley's exuberant penchant for mayhem and violence. Saying that, Harley does prove that she's a considerate girlfriend and brings Ivy to an old stomping ground and with that, some old memories resurfaced for the biggest plant lover on the planet.

Ivy once had ambitions to terraform the Earth and while Harley found herself bored being stuck on Iden (yes, it's with an I), she wanted to support Ivy's renewed goal, ending this episode on a positive note and with a mission statement. Of course this was also between kidnapping Amanda Waller and having Plastique wreck Ivy's good work before she ended up being blown to bits.

While Harley and Ivy were enjoying their vacay time, they also managed to break both King Shark and Clayface out of prison in Gordon's desperate attempt to capture them. Shark and Clayface didn't get a whole lot to do in this episode, though there was a fun subplot with the latter auditioning for James Gunn's biopic of Thomas Wayne. Needless to say the only role Clayface could manage to snag was that of the directors chair, but it's a start I suppose.

As for Gordon, he's still petty, small minded, ineffectual and incompetent, so him as a mayoral candidate seemed to be a natural next step. It also helped Gordon that the current mayor also died by the poles and that Two-Face had no problem being his campaign manager. However going by the trailer for this season, Gordon will have bigger problems on his hands soon enough.

- James Gunn actually voiced himself and Harley and Ivy got their porn movie starring Kylie Kryptonite and Britney Bionic who also appeared in The Drilling Joke.

- Easter Eggs galore for Suicide Squad fans. Not just with Amanda Waller and James Gunn, but also references to the Ayer Cut, cameo appearances from Enchantress, Deadshot, Killer Croc, Katana and Captain Boomerang designed similar to the 2016 movie.

- There's a comic miniseries called The Eat Bang Kill Tour that bridges the gaps between last season and now.

- Chronology: 19 and a half days since the last season.

Harlivy kicked things off on a fun, chaotic note with the fabulous duo living their best lives with the references being an absolute joy to watch as well. This was an excellent start to the season and with HBO Max releasing the first three episodes in one go, I have two more to catch up on.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Aura"

 

Written by Manny Coto

Directed by Max Winkler

Bryce: "Open the door, Jaslyn."

Last week threw in a connection to Coven and this week, well an actor from that season who also appeared in Hotel has appeared in this one, also with an actor from the latter season. Saying that, this episode is a reference free zone from the parent series.

Gabourey Sidibe and Max Greenfield find themselves playing married couple, Jaslyn and Bryce Taylor who have moved into a nice neighbourhood with a nonexistent crime rate. Now this should be a good thing but Jaslyn's a rather jumpy person so she took it upon herself to get a door security system named Aura to reassure her, much to the annoyance of her control freak husband.

With Bryce being annoyed and dismissive of Jaslyn's need for Aura, the matter finds herself being stalked by a face from the past. For a good portion of the episode we're lead to believe that Dale Hendricks (Joel Swetow) a former janitor had bad intentions towards Jaslyn but when the latter opened the door to him, things took a rather surprising turn for the episode.

Having Dale atoning for his stalkerish behaviour of the past was a nice surprise along with Jaclyn apologising for her previous mistreatment of him during her high school years. Of course it was then made abundantly clear that Dale was a ghost and making amends with Jaslyn was his way of crossing over and he did that in a style that felt reminiscent of how Thanos vaporised people.

Of course with the Aura device also bring revealed to show ghosts, it turned out that Jaslyn wasn't the only one with a past. Bryce who spent most of the episode dismissing Jaslyn was revealed to have a pregnant former lover named Mary Jeane, whom he looked after she was hit by a truck. Also Bryce found himself being killed by Mary Jeane, so he got his just desserts.

Bryce's comeuppance would've been a perfect to have ended the episode but we got a minor time jump, a new location for Jaslyn and another installation of Aura. Now Jaslyn has an abusive dead husband haunting her until she can find a way to get rid of him.

- This was meant to be the third episode of the season but for some reason, some of the episodes have been shuffled. 

- Seeing as a certain video sharing app cannot be named, Jaslyn had to watch Aura prank videos on TechVid instead.

- Dale looked like one of the Pales from the previous season of American Horror Story.

- Chronology: I'm assuming 2022 with a three month time jump and flashbacks to twenty years prior where it was revealed that Jaslyn's parents were murdered in a home invasion.

Aura was a fine enough second episode with solid performances from both Sidibe and Greenfied and while it's nice when this show does do stories not tied to anything we've previously seen, the questionable ending does mar this one a bit. It's not bad but it's an average one at best.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Hercules (1997)

 

Written by Ron Clements And John Musker And Donald McEnery And Irene Mecci

Directed by Ron Clements And John Musker

Hercules: "I want to become a hero, a true hero."

I noticed that late 90's Disney movies were definitely gearing towards male heroes and their success rates were certainly interesting, box office wise. You had undeniable big hits like Aladdin and then you had something that was more of a smaller hit like Hercules.

On the conveyor belt of an imminent live action adaptation and celebrating it's 25th anniversary, this animated movie certainly shook things up a little. For starters, only Disney could get away with the portrayal of Zeus (Rip Torn) and Hera (Samantha Eggar) as loving parents to baby Hercules on Mount Olympus without making you want to side eye too much, considering that we're talking about Gods who were anything but the depictions they're given here.

Then there's Hades (James Woods), our villain of the piece and also Zeus's brother. It's quickly revealed in the movie that Hercules will pose a threat to Hades future plans to take over Mount Olympus so the Underworld God took the initiative to get his abused minions Pain (Bob Goldthwait) and Panic (Matt Frewer) to deal with the infant God. 

Except again, this of course was a Disney movie so instead the duo rendered baby Hercules into a demigod and he ended up living on Earth with adopted parents and being something of a town outcast before realising his destiny. Yup, the dashing Hercules (Tate Donovan) wanted to be a hero and only a Satyr named Philoctetes (Danny DeVito) could get him into shape to become a hero. Oh and did I mention Hercules best friend, Pegasus (Frank Welker)? Every hero does need a flying horse.

Also what a hero needed was a village full of skeptical folk questioning his motives for wanting to be a hero, a series of challenges (Hydra, Titans, Cyclops, anyone?)  and an anti-heroine love interest in the shape of Megara (Susan Egan). Add to that a ghoulish depiction of the three Fates working for the band guy of the piece and five singing Muses who chronicle the whole journey and you've got one hell of an adventure here.

Hercules love story with Megara and the latter's initial team up with Hades before switching sides was nicely done. They're a believable pairing who believably fall for one another that their sacrifices for each other make sense. The ending of their love story while following the Disney format nonetheless felt earned as Hercules ended his journey by finding his place on Earth, love and the true meaning of being a hero.

As for Hades, he's a delightful mix of Jafar, Scar and Frollo all mixed into one with even a bit of Gaston as well. I'm not the biggest fan of James Woods as a person but I can't deny that he put in an excellent performance here as Hades, playing brilliantly against Tate Donovan's handsome hero. Not to mention the comeuppance that Hades received in this movie was suitably fitting, given his penchant for making deals.

- Needless to say that Hercules got his own straight to video sequel titled, Hercules: Zero To Hero in 1999 as well as an animated series which ran for 52 episodes.

- Another sequel idea involving the Trojan War was pitched but cancelled back in 2006.

- Standout music: The obvious ones being Go The Distance, Zero To Hero, I Won't Say (I'm In Love).

- Chronology: Ancient Greece of course with a lot of creative licencing too.

Hercules might not be quite as iconic as some of the 1990's Disney movies but there's a lot to love with this movie from it's likable lead, campy villain, strong supporting cast, catchy songs and simmering love story. This movie definitely had plenty going for it.

Rating: 8 out of 10

SDCC 2022: MCU Edition - Mayor Developments Revealed

When Kevin Feige decided to bring the MCU back to San Diego Comic Con, he decided to go pretty damn hard. 

The amount of reveals that were unveiled here were something else.Some were confirmed casting rumours/characters appearing in upcoming projects but there were some genuine surprises in the mix here.

In terms of trailers, we got ones for both She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (August 17th on Disney+) and a rather stirring and emotional trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11th in theatres). Both of these projects will conclude the MCU's fourth phase but they alone were the tip of the iceberg as Feige decided to announce the contents of the next phase. Before that you can check out I Am Groot on Disney+ from August 10th.

2023 will kick start Phase 5, starting off with movies such as Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Volume 3, The Marvels and Blade as well as Disney+ shows such as Secret Invasion, Echo, Loki Season 2, What If Season 2 (also renewed for a third season and has a spin off titled Marvel Zombies in development) and Ironheart. The now newly retitled, Agatha: Coven Of Chaos will premiere in late 2023 and likely bleed into early 2024. That year will also include movies such as Captain America: New World Order and Thunderbolts. Oh and a certain man without fear will also be getting his own Disney+ show titled, Daredevil: Born Again. Speaking of which ....

Matt Murdock is back with a vengeance. With Charlie Cox's Daredevil also appearing in She-Hulk: Attorney At Law (with a new costume no less), his Disney+ series will break the MCU format by having a whopping 18 episodes. That genuinely surprised the heck out of me. You know what else was surprising though? Not only did Kevin Feige disclose presumably all of the fifth phase of the MCU, he also decided to go a bit further beyond for good measure.

If the first three phases in the MCU had the title of The Infinity Saga, then title for Phases 4-6 now have the title of The Multiverse Saga. Not only that but three movies confirmed for the sixth saga are Fantastic Four (November 8th 2024), Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (May 5th 2025) and Avengers: Secret Wars (November 7th 2025) with the latter movie being the conclusion of Phase 6. With Jonathan Majors playing the multiversal villain Kang throughout the saga, this could be an incredible conclusion to five years worth of content. Also while it might seem like a lot was revealed here, there's still more to come courtesy of D23 in September.

What reveals excited you the most at SDCC? Was there anything you wish they had revealed? Did you feel too much was unveiled or just the right amount? What can we expect at D23?

Halloween Ends - Official Trailer Released, Character Spoiler/Speculation And More

Needless to say this is a spoiler/speculation blog post concerning the forthcoming movie, Halloween Ends. You have been warned.

On Wednesday, Universal released the first trailer for the final saga between Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney/Nick Castle). Unlike trailers for the previous two movies, this one was a little over a minute long, created a tense atmosphere while at the same time, it also did it's best to reveal as little as possible. However an official synopsis was also released, which gave us some indication as to where this final installment from Blumhouse would be going. Notably with the addition of new blood into this saga's conclusion.

The new blood in question being a young man named Corey Cunningham (Rohan Campbell). In the synopsis, it's revealed that Corey was a babysitter responsible for the death of a young boy as well as being a new boyfriend for Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak). The more interesting or perhaps polarising rumour making the rounds about the newcomer turns out that he might be a copy cat/someone who potentially succeeds Michael Myers in becoming a major threat to the residents of Haddonfield, There are definitely scenes in the trailer that indicate a connection between Corey and Michael as well as two killers clearly at play. I'm not sure how I feel about this particular development. It definitely feels like something that could go down badly with audiences if mishandled. Let's hope they get this right if this rumour happens to be true. 

As for the rest of the synopsis, four years has passed since the events of the 2018 Halloween movie and Halloween Kills and Laurie and Allyson are not only living together and getting on with their lives but Laurie has finished a memoir and following a cascade of terror and violence, Laurie will be forced to finally confront the evil she cannot control. Other returning characters for the movie include Lindsey Wallace (Kyle Richards), Frank Hawkins (Will Patton) and Sheriff Barker (Omar Dorsey) while another new character, Dr Mathis (Michael O'Leary) will factor into this conclusion of the Blumhouse trilogy. 

As for the future of this franchise - will Halloween Ends actually be the end? Truthfully, I doubt it. It's undoubtedly the end of Blumhouse's involvement with the series but regardless of what this movie winds up doing with both Michael Myers and Laurie Strode, I cannot see the 50th anniversary looming in 2028 passing by without another big screen outing. That's speculation on my part though. For now though we are getting a conclusion of sorts and hopefully, it'll be a good one.

Halloween Ends will be in theatres from October 14th.

My Review of American Horror Stories: "Dollhouse"

 

Written by Manny Coto

Directed by Loni Peristere

Spalding: "Don't leave me."

Coby Rae: "I still promise I'll be your mommy but you can never come back here."

After something of a disappointing first season to this anthology spin-off and an over reliance on the events of Murder House for the first and last episodes, I was hoping this opening episode would be it's own entity. For the most part it was and then the last five minutes happened and a link to Coven became very apparent. A link I assume will factor in the remainder of the season as well.

Kicking off the episode, a young woman named Coby Rae (Kristine Forseth) applied for the role of secretary for a toymaker named Van Wirt (Denis O'Hare). He didn't find Coby qualified for that position but instead had a much more sinister line of work intended for her instead.

Soon Coby found herself trapped in a house with four other women and like them was also forced to dress as human dolls and perform a series of tests. It turned out that the crazy dollmaker killed his adulterous former wife and now wanted a new mother for his son, Otis (Houston Towe), who like his father also had a habit of throwing away his dolls when he tired of them.

While Coby's presence in the house earned the wrath of a fellow captive doll (Abby Corrigan), she seemed to have built a rapport of sorts with Otis and the episode didn't waste too much time in revealing that she had some magic of her own. It might not have been enough to have successfully escaped from the dollmaker's sinister plan but it did attract the right attention.

As Coby found herself trapped in a doll like body forced to served her owner and his son, two unknown witches from a certain Academy rescued both her and Otis while giving Van Wirt and the latter's right hand man their just desserts. As fates went, both of them certainly had it coming.

As for Coby and Otis, now going by the name Spalding, well, they found themselves at the Academy and while I'm not sure if we'll ever learn what happened to Coby, we all mostly know what happened with Spalding as he made a new friend by the name of Myrtle Snow. 

- The title credits played into the doll and happy homemaker theme rather well while using the old theme.

- Van Wirt's wife and her lover ended up in the well as did some of the other unfortunate dolls. Coby worn a clown like costume for most of the episode.

- Unlike last season, the marketing hid the link to Coven though many fans did speculate that Denis O'Hare's character would be linked to that specific season.

- Chronology: Mississippi 1961.

Dollhouse has managed to kick this season off to a promising start and with any luck, it's a sign of a more consistent season in terms of writing. For this franchise, writer Manny Coto has been fairly hit and miss but this was definitely one of his stronger efforts and I hope he can match it as he's writing more episodes for the show.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Thelma And Louise (1991)

 

Written by Callie Khouri

Directed by Ridley Scott

Thelma: "Louise, no matter what happens, I'm glad I came with you."

I have to admit this movie was a first time viewing for me. Yes, it's over thirty years old, has been references in many TV shows and of course, I like both leading actors in this production. Do I like this movie? As it happens, yes I do like it. I like to a lot.

The premise was straightforward enough. You've got Thelma, played by Geena Davis, stuck in a loveless marriage with a feckless idiot named Darryl (Christopher McDonald) and then you've got Louise (Susan Sarandon), a bored waitress in need of an adventure and with this movie, the two best friends get exactly that and a lot more than they bargained.

Heading off on their adventure, the two ladies stop at a bar where Thelma gets acquainted with a man named Harlan (Timothy Carhart). It doesn't take long for Harlan to show his true colours and when he tried to assault Thelma, he ended up getting shot by Louise and that's where the trip went from being a simple girls trip to no turning back for either of them.

Throughout the movie, both women's friendship gets severely tested and they're in need of money to make it all the way to Mexico to start their new lives. Thelma's on-off boyfriend, Jimmy (Michael Madsen) gets the pair enough money only for Louise's petty criminal new friend, J.D. (Brad Pitt) to steal in on them, forcing Louise to rob in order to fund their travels.

With the pair of them becoming fugitives in such a short time frame and a sympathetic detective named Hal (Harvey Keitel) trying to get the ladies to turn themselves in, the movie becomes more of a cat and mouse game with the pair doing the damndest to evade the law at all costs. Also while teaching some of the menfolk in how to respect women as two minor characters learned the hard way in the desert.

Of course the biggest takeaway from this movie was the final chase itself. The lines between platonic and romantic love with the title duo seemed to blur as they made the decision to sacrifice their lives than surrender to the authorities. It's one hell of a way to end things.

- Originally it was meant to be Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster for the title roles but both ended up leaving the project due to other commitments.

- George Clooney, Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo were also considered/rejected for the role of J.D.

- Needless to say, the studio were not keen on the ending but let it remain when no alternative could be found.

- Despite this movie coming out in 1991, the script was written all the way back in 1984.

Thelma And Louise is definitely the ultimate feminist film where the menfolk (bar one character) are not portrayed in the most sympathetic of light. It's a brilliant road trip film with both Davis and Sarandon giving career high performances and it's not hard to see why it's left quite the lasting legacy.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)

 

Written by Taika Waititi And Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Directed by Taika Waititi

Thor (to Gorr, re Jane): "You've won. Why should I spend my last moments with you, when I can spend them with her?"

Every once in a while, the mostly invincible MCU has a little wobble of sorts. The odd movie or Disney+ series doesn't quite escape the scrutiny of critics. It happens and with a franchise that has tried to experiment with it's current phase, this scrutiny has become a bit more intense. This movie in particular has certainly generated more scrutiny than solo movies in the past.

It appears that while a lot of people found Taika Waititi's shake up of Thor's world refreshing with Thor: Ragnorak, this romantic of sorts themed follow up has seen Waititi's format proving that sometimes lightening really doesn't strike twice. I have to admit myself, there are some issues with this particular installment that leave a bit to be desired.

First of all, you've got two very big storylines competing with each other in something of a limited time frame. The first one being our villain arc of the piece with Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) on the rampage to murder some gods and he's bored of picking off the lesser known ones. His attention doesn't take long to pivot on Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and he's not above taking the children of New Asgard to lure the himbo God of Thunder into his shadow realm.

Thor of course doesn't shy away from the fight. After going his separate ways from the Guardians Of The Galaxy (who add nothing to the main story at all), he's soon reunited with Korg (Taika Waititi), King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as they head to Mount Olympus and fail to get party boy Zeus (Russell Crowe) to help in their efforts to get an army against Gorr while royally pissing off the orgy obsessed God instead.

The MCU have had a mixed success rate with villains to put things mildly and while Christian Bale looked suitably creepy and delivered a fun performance as Gorr, I'm not sure he actually worked as a baddie. With the limited screen time he had, I think Gorr lacked a bit as a villain (except for one exchange when he had Thor and company bound and gagged in his realm) and his redemption at the end, while a bit of a dynamic game changer for Thor himself, did feel very rushed and unearned. 

Then there's the Mighty Thor plotline with Jane Foster. In the comics, it's a storyline that factored in with the character having cancer and it's no different here. Natalie Portman definitely delivered a strong performance, was convincing in her action scenes as Mighty Thor and her romance with Thor itself got some reasonably good closure. However as with the Gorr storyline, the Mighty Thor arc while good undeniably felt rushed as well.

As for the much hyped LGBT content, it's another case of the MCU really doing the bare minimum. We did learn that Korg's species are all male and he does get a husband, there's at least one trans/non binary character in the mix and Valkyrie alluded to an ex-girlfriend of her own but didn't get a female love interest in this movie. I definitely on this front, the MCU can pick up the pace here.

- The mid credit scene introduced Brett Goldstein as Hercules with Zeus recruiting him to kill Thor. 

- The post credit scene had Jane go to Valhalla with Heimdell (Idris Elba) greeting her. Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) made their returns here too.

- Aside from flashbacks to previous movies, this was also a Loki free zone. We did however get actors, including Melissa McCarthy to reenact the events of the previous movie.

- Chris Hemsworth's daughter, India played, Love, the daughter of Gorr who Thor ended up adopting at the end of the movie. Lets just say she gave Mjolnir a bit of a makeover.

- Standout music: Guns n Roses Sweet Child O' Mine and Enya's Only Time.

- Chronology: It's a bit a while for Thor since the events of Avengers: Endgame

Thor: Love And Thunder definitely could've fleshed out it's two main stories better than it did and while I can understand that the humour wasn't for everyone, I felt it was the least of the movie's problems. Overall, there's definitely enough to enjoy with this movie but it's also a movie that maybe needed a little longer to breathe and should've been better than  it was. Still, it has it's moments.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of The Green Knight (2021)

 

Written And Directed by David Lowery

Gawain: "I'm ready now."

Green Knight: "Well done, my brave knight. Now ... off with your head."

It's a 14th century poem familiar to many and one that has had it's fair share of adaptations over the decades. With A24 and writer/director, this adaptation of Sir Gawain And The Green Knight, it's more of a racy, violent, and somewhat artful affair at hand.

It's Christmas Day and our heroic knight, Gawain (Dev Patel) goes from sleeping with a local prostitute, Essel (Alicia Vikander) to being greeted by his mother (Sarita Choudhury) to taking part in a festive game that would end having a dramatic turn of events of his life. Gawain lamented about not being destined for greatness, only to wind up with a much deadlier destiny in mind.

The game itself involved the arrival of titular Green Knight (Ralph Ineson) who challenged the King's (Sean Harris) knights to strike him, only for him to return the same strike exactly a year later. With Gawain stepping up to the challenge, the not so brave but reckless knight sealed his own fate and with a year passing by very quickly, it was time for Gawain to face likely death.

Given a protective green sash by his mother, Gawain's journey to the Green Chapel was definitely a long affair with it's own unique set of challenges. The first being Gawain getting robbed, bound and gagged by a group of scavengers led by Barry Keoghan, who didn't take too kindly to the dashing knight brushing them off. It's a minor obstacle compared to other obstacles faced by Gawain.

Along the way, Gawain also found himself having to retrieve the skull of the ghostly Sister Winifred (Erin Kellyman) in the darkest of waters all the while a fox followed him and a group of giants appeared in one of the stranger scenes of the movie. Still though, Gawain's journey continued ahead and he soon found himself making some new friends.

The friends in question being the Lord (Joel Edgerton) and his Lady (Alicia Vikander). Gawain's dynamic with this pair was definitely the highlight of the movie. Between raising questions of the Green Knight and both of them in their own ways trying to seduce Gawain, there was also that rather chaste kiss that Gawain shared with the Lord before the two of them parted ways. Given how homoerotic this poem was, I thought that exchange played out rather interestingly.

As for the final confrontation. Gawain and the Green Knight. The fantasy sequence of Gawain's would be future could've definitely been shortened but as the film tested both Gawain's bravery and honour, the final and more ambiguous ending was certainly a way to end this particular tale. Did Gawain survive? Perhaps not. Perhaps he did. We will likely never know. Except we do, if we look at the source material.

- I liked the way this movie was broken into chapter titles. Both David Lowery and his wife provided the narration for the movie.

- Gawain's mother was implied to Morgan Le Fay while Sister Winifred was not a part of the original poem.

- In most interpretations of the poem, both the Lord and the Green Knight are usually the same person but here, they seem to be separate characters. 

- Although obviously set in Medieval England, this movie was filmed in Ireland.

The Green Knight unashamedly embraced the arthouse feel of this poem. Dev Patel delivered a strong, engaging performance as the conflicted and often cowardly Gawain and it's undeniably gorgeously shot film with beautiful scenery, plenty of intrigue and moral ambiguity along with a stirring  use of music to boot. It's definitely worth a watch.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

 

Written by Alex Kurtzman And Roberto Orci And Jeff Pinkner

Directed by Marc Webb

Peter Parker: "You know what it is I love about being Spider-Man? Everything."

Never since the events of 2007's Spider-Man 3 has there been a movie for the webslinger that upon it's initial release that has garnered such a divisive reaction. For an actor as beloved as Andrew Garfield, there's no denying that both his movies generated such a response. Saying that, ti,e has seemingly been kinder to both of these films.

The sequel to Garfield's first movie does see Peter Parker and Gwen Stacey (Emma Stone) both graduating from high school and on the verge of entering the big bad world. This movie also saw the couple breaking up but unable to stay away from one another as two different threats wrecked havoc here. Threats that I'll admit work well for this movie.

The biggest one would be in the shape of Peter Parker's old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) who resurfaced in New York, following the death of his father, Norman (Chris Cooper). It's not long before Peter and Harry reminisce over their past, reconnect and have their friendship absolutely devolve upon Harry's growing paranoia and mistrust over Spider-Man. The fact that his father's company was also being seized from under him certainly didn't help matters either.

I'm a little surprised this movie decided to kill off Norman so early and essentially do the Green Goblin storyline with Harry as quickly as they did but I sort of get it. Tobey Maguire's Spidey trilogy covered the more traditional handover of that particular villain so for this movie to do something different kind of worked well enough.

I don't find Dane DeHaan particularly menacing and I always preferred Norman than Harry as Green Goblin but DeHaan does play the role well enough and arguably better than James Franco did in the Maguire trilogy. DeHaan also had a strong rapport with Andrew Garfield and the battle between former friends turned enemies also resulted in the tragic death of Gwen Stacey here.

Let's talk about Gwen Stacey. There's no denying that Emma Stone gave a strong performance in these movies but the writing definitely wasn't to the character's strength here. Her death was handled well but it's often the most memorable thing about the character in these two movies aside from being Peter's love interest. Similarly Sally Field felt a little bit wasted as Aunt May, even if she did get some emotional scenes with Peter.

As for the secondary villain of the piece, I know Spider-Man: No Way Home did a lot to improve the character but at the time, Jamie Foxx's take on Elektro was more of a mixed bag. Like Osborn, he started off as a fan of the webslinger before becoming his enemy. There are some cool fight scenes between the pair but largely he's second fiddle to Green Goblin. 

- Other major canon characters in this movie included Felicia Hardy (Felicity Jomes), Alistair Smythe (BJ Novak) and Rhino (Paul Giamatti) with Mary Jane Watson (Shailene Woodley) being cut from the film.

- The Man In The Shadows from the previous movie also made an appearance in this movie as Harry planned to set up his own team against his former friend.

- Standout music: Alicia Keys It's On Again.

- Chronology: Two years since the events of the first movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 might not been quite as strong as the first movie but it's a movie that I feel has somewhat improved over time. Andrew Garfield definitely gave his best performance, Gwen's death had the right emotional impact and Green Goblin made for a decent baddie. It's a pity we didn't get a third movie before moving on to the Tom Holland era for the character for the MCU. 

Rating: 7 out of 10