My Review of Jonah Hex (2010)

 

Written by William Farmer And Neveldine & Taylor

Directed by Jimmy Hayward

Jeb Turnbull: "You killed me, Jonah!"

Jonah Hex: "You drew on me, Jeb."

Jeb Turnbull: "Yeah, that was a mistake."

Jonah Hex: "Well, obviously."

Venturing into some of DC's worst failures, I have a confession to make. Prior to yesterday, I had never watched this movie and after yesterday, I can honestly I'm not inclined to watch it again. Oh boy, did I find this to be a stinker.

A character would be much better handled on the CW via DC's Legends Of Tomorrow, this live action version had Josh Brolin taking on the title character and quite frankly, he gave a very lethargic performance throughout the movie. It's like he knew this movie had bomb written all over it and gave up.

The movie opened with Jonah coming afoul of commanding officer, Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich). Refusing an order from his superior saw the latter killing Jonah's family and badly scarring him for good measure. This event sent Jonah on a dark path where Jonah was convinced that he had gotten his revenge.

The stinker being that Turnbull had faked his death, wasn't remotely repentant for killing Jonah's family and even had grand plans of his own for the Fourth of July. It's these plans that led to the government seeking Jonah out in order to stop Turnbull from attacking the U.S.

That's about the short of the movie. There's also the female led and given the genre, it's a gun toting prostitute named Tallulah Black (Megan Fox). She's mostly a love interest for Jonah, gets slut shamed by the men of the movie but also proved to be a lot smarter than all of them combined. That included Jonah as well.

In terms of villains, both Turnbull and his right hand man, Burke (Michael Fassbender) are some of the worst seen in a comic book movie. Fassbender's Irish accent in particular was atrocious to listen to and I was certainly pleased when he got a much deserved comeuppance along with Turnbull. There's also the fact that the movie ended with Jonah going from solo bounty hunter to government hire to boot.

- It's funny watching this movie knowing that Brolin would go on to play both Cable and Thanos for Marvel as would Fassbender play Magneto as well. We also might be getting Brolin for the DCU.

- DC has had some flops but this movie bombed so bad it barely made a quarter of it's low budget. Yikes.

- Standout music: Stephen Foster's Ring da Banjo.

- Chronology: 1876 South Carolina for a good portion of this movie.

Jonah Hex was a mess. Fortunately, it was only 81 minutes but it felt like a slog to get through. Lifeless performances from everyone, a dull revenge story and some casual sexism that hasn't aged well. I was thoroughly bored with this one.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of William Tell (2024)

 

Written And Directed by Nick Hamm

Willam: "We will take back our homes, our town, our country. We will summon up our skills and we will teach our enemy how we war."

Going for a bit of historical fiction, I'm fairly familiar about the story of William Tell (Claes Bang) and here, it's a two hour war epic with our title hero finding himself immersed into a war between Switzerland and Austria.

As the film started, Switzerland found themselves as a province under the rule of the Austrian royal house of Habsburg and it's a ruling where Switzerland found themselves under the tyranny of Habsburg to the point where farmer Konrad Baumgarten (Sam Keeley) killed constable Wolfshot (Billy Postlethwaite) for attacking his wife.

Of course this further escalated tension and the tyrannical Habsburg King Albert (Ben Kingsley) got his vassal Gessler (Connor Swindells) to hunt for Baumgarten. Albert's niece, Bertha (Ellie Bamber) was more keen on peace and hated her uncle's treatment of the Swiss. Unfortunately for her, not even being royal blood prevented her from being in danger.

There's a romance between Bertha and the heir to the Swiss House of Attinghausen, Rudenz (Jonah Hauer-King) that's developed through the movie. Rudenz spent some time fence sitting in the movie, which frustrated his ailing uncle, Attinghausen (Jonathan Pryce). Of course the worse the likes of King Albert and Gessler got, the more Rudenz was forced to pick a side and throw his lot in with William Tell.

Going back to the villains, I do think that both King Albert and Gessler are strong enough villains to carry the movie. Gessler was the more physical force, intimidating Tell's wife and son, Suna (Golshifteh Farahani) and Walter (Tobias Jowett). However there's something delightful in Gessler's realisation when the odds turned against along with Albert's daughter, Agnes (Jess Douglas-Welsh) declaring vengeance on the Swiss. 

- Thanks to Gessler, we did get to see William using his arrow to shoot an apple on his son's head.

- There's some nice supporting performances from Wanna Hardwicke, Emily Beecham and Rafe Spall to name a few.

- Of course there's still no historic evidence that William Tell actually existed.

- Chronology: The movie takes place during 1307 in Switzerland.

William Tell made for a decent if somewhat plodding historic war epic. The performances are solid along with some of the fight scenes but it's not the most compelling of takes on the legend. It's not bad as such, just plodding.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of The Blood On Satan's Claw (1971)

 

Written by Robert Wynne-Simmons And Piers Haggard

Directed by Piers Haggard

The Judge: "You must have patience, even while people die. Only thus can the whole evil be destroyed. You must let it grow."

Delving into some 1970s British horror, this was a movie that I had been meaning to catch up on. I finally did so yesterday evening and I was certainly glad that I did.

The movie had a brilliantly macabre opening with local farmer, Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) finding a skull with a fresh eye and strange fur. However when he tried to alert others to his creepy finding, it wasn't there.

Then there's the young couple, Peter Edmonton (Simon Williams) and his fiancé Rosalind Barton (Tamara Ustinov). Rosalind didn't endear herself to Peter's aunt, Isobel Banham (Avice Landone) but it didn't take long for both women to come afoul of the Satanic activities going on in this movie.

In fact, it seemed like everyone was involved in some way or another. The Reverend Fallowfield (Anthony Ainley) found himself unable to control his younger congregation, especially local girl Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) and he was nearly killed for a false accusations made by Angel.

This movie got especially gory when the youngsters targeted poor Cathy Vespers (Wendy Padbury) and subjected her to a Satanic sacrifice. On the other hand, one of the Satanists, Margaret (Michele Dotrice) had her furry mark removed and found herself on the outside with both sides of the village.

By the time we get to the end of the movie, many characters have been killed in the bid to raise Behemoth with The Judge (Patrick Wymark) having to step to save Ralph's soul. This movie did not hold back with the gore throughout and there's a fiery outcome for a cult following.

- Doctor Who fans will easily recognise both Anthony Ainley and Wendy Padbury but also Roberta Tovey and Simon Williams.

- The film often seems to be paired up with Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man for the progenitor of folk horror.

- The film was originally conceived as three separate stories that would be linked by Satan.

- Chronology: A rural village in early 18th century England.

I really enjoyed this. The Blood On Satan's Claw certainly lived up to its creepy reputation for a folk horror. There's several disturbing moments throughout and it's got one hell of an ending. 

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Snow White And The Seven Dwarves (1937)

 

Written by Ted Sears And Richard Creedon And Otto Englander And Dick Rickard And Earl Hurd And Merrill De Maris And Dorothy Ann Blank And Webb Smith

Directed by David Hand And Perce Pearce And William Cottrell And Larry Morey And Wilfred Jackson And Ben Sharpsteen

Snow White: "We are standing by a wishing well / Make a wish into the well / That's all you have to do / And if you hear it echoing / Your wish will soon come true."

With the arrival of the live action movie in two weeks time, it was long past time for me to go back and rewatch the original. Has it aged it well? Is it too problematic for a modern audience? Are people incapable of separating fiction from reality? Those are the questions to be asked, notably the last one.

You got to remember, this was the first animated Disney movie to come out and it's success has reverberated the whole franchise ever since. It's partially why the upcoming live action adaptation has generated so much pushback but truthfully, it's a really good movie.

You've got your Evil Queen (Lucille La Verne), who for some time has been used to being the fairest of the land, if not the nicest of rulers. Then her Magic Mirror (Moroni Olsen) gave the Evil Queen a harsh reality check - that her stepdaughter Snow White (Adriana Caselotti) would surpass her in beauty. The Evil Queen didn't exactly take that news very well.

Unfortunately for her, the Huntsman (Stuart Buchanan) had enough of a conscience not to kill Snow White and despite taking over their house, the Seven Dwarves also liked having her around as a mother figure. The Dwarves being Doc (Roy Atwell), Grumpy/Sleepy (Pinto Colvig), Happy (Otis Harlan), Bashful (Scott Mattraw), Sneezy (Billy Gilbert) and Dopey (Eddie Collins). Those dwarves definitely lived up to their names when they werent mining for diamonds.

As for the Evil Queen, she decided that if a Huntsman couldn't kill her stepdaughter, she'd do it herself. She disguised herself as an old woman and tricked Snow White into eating a poisoned apple. Then she got a comeuppance herself courtesy of being atop of a cliff during a thunderstorm.

As for the Prince (Harry Stockwell) part of the movie, well he's just there to fall in love with Snow White and bring her back to life via a kiss. Other than that and like a lot of Disney princes that would follow, there's nothing there, character wise to grasp onto. 

- In the original story, the Evil Queen had a far worse fate than the one given to her in this movie.

- Originally the Prince was captured and nearly drown by the Evil Queen but elements of those would factor into later movies.

- Standout music: Someday My Prince Will Come, Whistle While You Work and Heigh-Ho.

- Chronology: An unspecified time period for both this and the original tale, though European in origin.

Maybe it hasn't entirely aged well but Snow White And The Seven Dwarves certainly made a last impression that's still felt to this very day. Is it my favourite Disney movie of all time? Probably not, no but it's definitely one that's iconic, if dated in certain ideas.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Doctor Odyssey: "Shark Attack!"

 

Written by Mike Schaub And Liz Friedman

Directed by Millicent Shelton

Avery: "Then I have to ask, what were you all doing in potentially shark infested waters?"

Brooke: "That was my client's call. Which I'll regret not saying no to for the rest of my life. And now Brody is my patient, so it's my call."

It's been nearly four months since this show had fun with rubber ducks and a pregnancy storyline for our trio - Max, Avery and Tristan. However, less time has definitely passed between episodes in the show itself and this mid season premiere injected some much needed danger into the mix.

The episode began with Max and Avery at odds over her pregnancy while a surfing lesson between Tristan and Spencer resulted in the latter being bitten by a shark. We don't see the creature in question but The Odyssey being in warm waters meant that sharks and orcas were a problem for our main players this week.

Of course it wasn't just the main ship in troubled waters but a smaller one named The Flicker also found themselves interacting with our crew this week. If we're getting potential new characters for the rest of the season, then Dr Brooke Lane (Adrianne Palicki) could be a very interesting spanner in the works for the trio.

First of all, while Max managed to show self restraint during his scenes with Brooke, there's definitely a spark between the pair of them. Avery wasn't exactly shy in expressing jealousy towards Max and Brooke but to be fair, Avery also rejected Max in this episode as well. Suddenly this triangle has potentially become a quadrangle.

Anyways, work related hook ups to one side, Brooke's crew included the autistic Ray who Tristan was initially a bit hostile towards before realising his mistake. Ray made a more positive impression on Robert, especially given his knowledge for sharks and orcas while Max, Brooke and Avery had to amputate the leg off a man named Brody while Tristan took care of his girlfriend, Josie (Rumer Willis).

Then there was Spencer himself. The first episode to really focus in on him had him attacked by a shark and at risk of death and leg amputation to boot. As for the cliffhanger, the lights are out on the ship and the waters are dangerous. Here's hoping the second part can deliver on the promise of this first part.

- Spencer talked about fishing trips with his father. Tristan also stepped up as a friend to him during the sick bay scenes.

- Rosie really knows her saws, which came in handy for this particular episode. I did miss Corey though.

- This was the first episode not to be co-written by any of three creators of the show. It had to happen sometimes.

- Chronology: Not long from where the mid season finale left off.

Shark Attack! might not be a game changer of an episode but it's a good start to hopefully a more campy and insane direction for a show that's been a bit too tame compared to its network predecessors. Brooke and Ray are two characters I hope we get to see more of beyond this two parter.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Harley Quinn: "Family Feud"

 

Written by Vidhya Iyer

Directed by Christina Manrique

Ivy (to Harley): "Lena did it. The bitch actually bottled the city."

Yup, that's exactly what Lena Luthor did and can I just say that while appreciated the Supergirl show having a more conflicted but ultimately good version of the character, I love that this version embraced their villain. This version really isn't that different to her brother.

In fact, Lex was the reason why Lena descended the path she's currently on and when she wasn't turning Harley and Ivy against each other, Lena had the foresight to try and kill them. Of course she didn't succeed but she got close enough.

With Harley, this meant her own father was willing to betray her and have her cut up for parts. It didn't end well for Nick and it also meant that Harley's mother somewhat tagged along at the end of the episode, being somewhat helpful in getting Lex from prison.

As for Ivy, well she did have the bight idea to access a transporter to face Lena but between a heartbroken Bruce, a homicidal security bot named G.A.I.L. and the transporter destroyed, it didn't pan out. Lena won that round but Harley and Ivy did make up by the end of the episode.

Now, we've got Metropolis bottled up, two episodes left, Harley and Ivy with the former's mother and Lex. Will they be enough to stop Lena and her plan? They're going to have to be, aren't they?

- Using thumbs was Brainiac's way of expressing the middle finger. He didn't like it when Lena did it to him.

- Bruce and Lena 4ever was certainly a tacky password but fitting for this version of Bruce.

- Apart from one brief scene with Frankette, Harley and Ivy's other allies were nowhere to be seen here.

- Chronology: Took place from where the previous episode left off.

Family Feud might have had Harley and Ivy at odds for most of the episode but they did come back together at the very end. I did like their separate attempts of staying alive from Lena's attempts to have them killed.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Off To Thailand, Back To Hell's Kitchen Or The Wilderness

Yup, a lot of shows have popped up in the last few weeks with at least one ending for good and others getting their latest seasons in full swing.

9-1-1: Lone Star: Those last three episodes really came and went by so fast, didn't they? While it's baffling that FOX axed the show after five seasons, I'm glad the show went out on a strong note. TK and Carlos adopted the former's half brother, Owen went to New York, Tommy survived, Marjan got married and Judd took over the fire house. Not to mention some crazy antics involving an asteroid. At least the main show will still be around for the foreseeable future.

Daredevil: Born Again: It's felt like an eternity since the announcement of this show and the massive retooling that happened between filming but yesterday, Disney+ released the first two episodes and the reviews were a bit more mixed compared to its Netflix predecessor. Personally, I liked both episodes though I'm over the show trying to find ways of keeping Charlie Cox out of his costume more than that spoiled death. Still, I am enjoying Matt's new dynamic with various new characters as well as the mayoral story with Wilson Fisk and the White Tiger story. So far, I think the good outweighs the bad here.

Dexter: Original Sin: I'm genuinely impressed with how this prequel series has managed to become as entertaining as the original. I'm also impressed with how Patrick Gibson has embodied the role of Dexter Morgan as well as Michael C. Hall back in the day (and again this summer). Hiring Patrick Dempsey to play the main villain so depraved he'd mutilate his own child was also a clever move along with the death of Laura in flashbacks and arrival of Brian Moser in the current day. The Deb plot did falter a bit but I loved her scenes with Tanya and Maria in the penultimate episode.

Prime Target: Have you ever sat through an entire season of a show and not had a bloody clue why you bothered? Apple TV+ attempts of a conspiracy show with Leo Woodall as gay mathemacian Edward could have been a thrilling show or even mildly entertaining if it leaned a bit sillier but sadly, it took itself too seriously, was very dull and plodding and wasted a lot of talented actors like David Morrissey, Martha Plimpton, Harry Lloyd, Stephen Rea and so on. The finale tried to inject a bit of edge into it but it was a case of too little and too late. I'll be surprised if this gets a second season.

The White Lotus: It's been over two years since we've had this show dominating the conversation and trading Sicily for Thailand, we've got the returning Belinda from the first season and a slew of new characters. There's the very rich and very dodgy Ratliffs, with some sexually inappropriate siblings while age gap couple Rick and Chelsea spent most of their time getting bitten by snakes, interacting with other age gap couples and one of them taking an overt interest in Sritala (the manager). I am loving the bitchy friend trio - Jaclyn, Kate and Laurie but the staff haven't been as dynamic as some of the past ones. As usual, there's the mystery of a dead body and right now, it could be any of them. 

Towards Zero: Over the last few years, there's been a mixed reception towards the BBC's adaptations of Agatha Christie books. Usually some complain because the casting has been more diverse than in the past or because the person adaptating usually changes too many elements from the source material. Of course, there's no exception with the same criticisms but honestly, it's a pretty decent take on the novel. You've got a disgraced tennis star with both his former and current wives, a bed ridden matriarch, estranged family members, a sympathetic lawyer, a world weary detective, beleaguered staff and a murder where you probably guessed the killer and motive without having read the book. I do think these adaptations should be done as 90 minute TV movies than three hour long episodes but it's a decent if slowish take on the classic novel.

Yellowjackets: Season 3 so far has been entertaining but it's also raised the question of how much gas is left in the tank for this show. In the present day, Natalie's death barely had time to register when Lottie also ended up being dead. Shauna and Misty clashed while Taissa and Van had some better news and both Callie, Jeff and Walter had their moments. In the flashbacks, there was the girls setting up camp outdoors, Ben's trial and Shauna getting closer to Melissa and becoming more antagonistic towards everyone else along with some more screentime for Mari. It's a solid start but I'm still waiting for the likes of Joel McHale and Hilary Swank to show up. 

• Drew Starkey and Anya Taylor-Joy will play a married couple in upcoming Apple TV+ series, Lucky.
• The Recruit has been cancelled after two seasons by Netflix.
• Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, Krysten Ritter and Neil Patrick Harris will appear in Dexter: Resurrection, which will premiere in June on Showtime/Paramount+.
• Harry Lawtey won't be returning for the fourth season of Industry but Kit Harrrington will and Max Minghella has also joined the HBO/BBC series.
• The second season of The Last Of Us will premiere on HBO from April 13th.
• This month on ABC will see a crossover event between 9-1-1 and Doctor Odyssey, factoring Angela Bassett's Athena Grant.
• 9-1-1: Nashville will be the new spin off and will premiere on ABC in the autumn. Expect casting news very soon.
• Mid-Century Modern will premiere all ten episodes on Hulu from March 28th.
• Filming for the second season of Daredevil: Born Again has begun while Vision has added Ruairidh Mollica in an undisclosed role to its cast.
• James Norton has been cast as Ormund Hightower for the third season of House Of The Dragon. Lucas Aurelia has also been cast in an undisclosed role.
• The fate of Heartstopper on Netflix is currently unknown. 
• Netflix have ordered limited series Vladimir, which will start Rachel Weisz as a woman who becomes obsessed with her new colleague.
• The fourth season of The Bear is currently in production and will premiere on FX/Hulu during the summer.

My Review of Strangers On A Train (1951)

 

Written by Raymond Chandler And Czenzi Ormonde And Whitfield Cook

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Bruno: "My theory is that everyone is a potential murderer."

I'll be catching up with more Alfred Hitchcock movies over the next few months and one that was on my to do list was this one. I already liked Farley Granger in Rope and I was keen on seeing his performance in this often mentioned classic.

In the role of tennis star, Guy Haines, Granger gave one hell of a performance as a man with a messy personal life that would get a lot messier upon a chance meeting during a train journey. Sometimes it's best not to talk to strangers on public transport.

Guy made the mistake of being cordial to psychopath Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) and it wasn't long before the idea of a criss cross murder would be a conversation piece. A conversation that Guy should've taken a lot more serious than he initially did.

Bruno was more than keen to bump off Guy's estranged wife, Miriam (Kasey Rogers) and given the short screen time she had, you can see why Guy was happy to see Miriam dead. Guy also had another lover with Anne Morton (Ruth Roman) and didn't want his wife around to cause him any more headaches.

Of course, there was Guy having to kill Bruno's constantly disapproving father (Jonathan Hale). Bruno was attached to his mother (Marian Lorne) and wanted his father dead. Guy wasn't keen on actually keeping his end of the deal and went to great lengths to not kill Mr Anthony.

The rest of the movie was a nice battle of wits between the two characters, along with a physical altercation that didn't end well for Bruno. Bruno died, didn't get what he wanted and everyone knew he killed Miriam. Guy managed to keep Anne and learned not to talk to strangers on certain modes of public transport.

- Like most of his movies, this was based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name.

- Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia also appeared in the movie as Anne's sister, Barbara. Anne's father was a Senator (Leo G. Carroll).

- There's cameo appearances from Alfred Hitchcock as well as Jack Cushingham and John Doucette.

- Chronology: The movie is set in the town of Metcalf as well as Washington DC.

Strangers On A Train was a sublime adaptation of the source material (regardless of some big changes). Both Farley Granger and Robert Walker are on superb form as two very different men drawn together with the grim realisation of a hypothetical made into a reality. It's an excellent movie.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

Scream 7 - The Dead Returns (Spoilers/Speculation, etc)

With filming for Scream 7 likely to finish this month, the last few weeks have revealed more casting news.

Before that, a reminder of the previously confirmed cast being Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, Roger L. Jackson, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Isabel May, Joel McHale, Mark Consuelos, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, Asa Germann and Sam Rechner.

First of all, let's talk about those returns. Last month it was revealed that Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley would reprise their roles as former Ghostfaces Stu Macher and Roman Bridger, last seen in both Scream (1996) and Scream 3 alone. Right now, something they're not the only former Ghostfaces that we'll see in the upcoming seventh instalment.

Announced tonight however was the return of David Arquette as former deputy Dewey Riley. Yes, his character was killed off in Scream (2022) and its not likely he's being resurrected here, given the grounded nature of the franchise. My guess is that any confirmed return of a dead character will be courtesy of an AI/deep fake from the current Ghostface(s). Or maybe a dream/hallucination/flashback, etc.

As for more new faces to the franchise, Ethan Embry was also cast last month in an undisclosed role. There was a rumour that he might be playing either a drama teacher or a mental patient while the movie will be located in a fictional town named Pine Grove.

Aside from that, the general plot has managed to remain under wraps. Also with filming likely nearing the end, it'll be interesting if any further announcements are made before the release of the first trailer. 

Scream 7 will be released in theatres from February 27th 2026.

Doctor Who - Series 15 (Season 2) Airdate Confirmed, New Trailer And Guest Stars

Yup, last week certainly gave Doctor Who fans quite a lot to go on. Let's dive in, shall we?

New Friendships: In the recent Christmas special, the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) was told to get a new friend. Taking that advice to his hearts, he's got one and it's nurse Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) or is that Miss Belinda Chandra? It'll make sense in the new series. Oh and if you were expecting a connection between Belinda and last season's guest character, Mundy Flynn, it looks like we're about to get one. Interestingly enough, a part of this season's arc will involve the Doctor trying to get Belinda home it who or what is stopping him from doing such a thing?

Ruby Returns: While the Doctor might have found a new friend in Belinda Chandra, his old friend Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) will also be back. Since we've last seen her, she's allied herself with UNIT and gotten herself a new boyfriend named Conrad (Jonah Hauer-King). We know for certain that Ruby will first appear in the fourth episode as well as the two part finale. The latter episodes will also see the return of former companion, Melanie Bush (Bonnie Langford) along with Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley) and Colonel Ibrahim (Alexander Devrient) while answers surrounding Mrs Flood (Anita Dobson) should also be given this season.

Guests Ahoy: It wouldn't be a new season without a nice round up of guests. You've got Alan Cumming returning but this time as cartoon menace Mr Ring-A-Ding while Rylan Clark will appear in Juno Dawson's episode, The Interstellar Song Contest. Other guests this season include returns for both Michelle Greenidge and Susan Twist as Carla Sunday and Susan Triad, with Rose Ayling-Ellis and Christopher Chung also confirmed. Unofficially confirmed however are Archie Panjabi, Charlie Condou and Freddie Fox. 

What To Expect This Season: From the trailers and press releases and set pics, quite a bit. In the eight episodes due to air from next month, there's robots and skeleton creatures, 1950s Miami and living cartoons, potentially a look into the Anansi for one specific episode, a barely concealed Eurovision spoof and some reality bending antics and a new Doctor/Companion dynamic. What we don't have (as of yet) are any returning monsters or enemies. It's possible we are getting them but they're being held back as a surprise but if certain rumours are true, then I really do hope our current Doctor gets at least one encounter with a classic for or two before he departs.

Series 15 Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MPxtqx55PA0

Series 15 of Doctor Who will be released on iPlayer at 8am every week from April 12th and air during the evening on BBC1. That's 12am for Disney+ on the same day.

My Review of Elektra (2005)

 

Written by Zak Penn And Stuart Zicherman And M. Raven Metzner

Directed by Rob Bowman

Elektra: "The second life isn't like the first one, is it?"

Stick: "Sometimes, it's even better."

2005 was certainly a year for comic book movies but not every one of them could hit the heights of Batman Begins and Fantastic Four. At least one of them had to hit rock bottom. This would be the case for Elektra.

Yesterday, I reviewed Daredevil (2003) and pointed out how much of a mess that movie was. However, the highlight of that movie was Jennifer Garner's antihero, Elektra Natchios. Given that the movie was a hit and Garner had a popular show with Alias at the time, giving her a spin off movie felt like a no brainer.

Unfortunately during the making of the movie, someone forgot to give the character a decent script to work with. With this film, you've got something that's marginally less worse than Catwoman (2004) but also something lacking a camp factor like Supergirl (1984). 

Between movies, Elektra was resurrected and left New York for some unknown island. She became a contract killer and was also being trained up by Stick (Terrance Stamp) while also working for McCabe (Colin Cunningham). Also for the most part, Elektra wanted to be left alone. 

However with this movie, that idea went out the window where a father and daughter duo named Mark (Goran Višnjić) and Abby Miller (Kirsten Prout). At first they seemed like a normal family before it was revealed that Abby was Treasure, which was rather important to the villains of the bunch - the Hand.

Yup, with that reveal, Elektra not only found herself having to protect Abby but she also bonded with the teenager while battling the likes of Tattoo (Chris Ackerman), Kirigi (Will Yun Lee) and Typhoid (Natassia Malthe). Throw in some flashbacks, antics in a maze and kiss with Mark, this movie mostly saw Elektra put her demons to rest.

- Ben Affleck actually filmed a scene as Daredevil but it was removed from the movie.

- The directors cut extended the movie by three minutes with some extra scenes. 

- Standout music: Hawthorne Heights Angels With Even Filthier Souls.

- Chronology: Years after the events of Daredevil (2003) and set during Christmas time.

I wanted to like Elektra but like the movie it came from, it's just not a good movie. Jennifer Garner tried her best but it's just a dreadful showcase for both her and the character. Thank fuck a certain appearance in 2024 gave the character the redemption needed.

Rating: 4 out of 10 

My Review of Daredevil (2003)

 

Written And Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Daredevil: "As for Daredevil, well... soon the world will know the truth. That this is a city born of heroes, that one man CAN make a difference."

There are some actors out there who are arguably not cut out for the superhero genre. If Ben Affleck made for a divisive version of Batman between 2016-2023, then cast your minds back to a time when he played a different superhero for another brand.

Picture it: It's 2003 and Affleck at a good place in his career decided to take on the role of blind lawyer Matt Murdock and his alter ego, the vigilante, Daredevil. I'll be blunt, he's absolutely miscast in the role from start to finish.

The early part of the movie skimmed through a younger Matt's (Scott Terra) backstory, involving bullies and the highs and lows of his boxer father, Jack (David Keith), with the latter's eventual death at the hands of local crime boss, Wilson Fisk/Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan). Wilson's not to be messed with.

Throughout the movie, Fisk did everything to assert his power, including hiring Bullseye (Colin Farrell) to take out Nikolas Natchios (Erick Avari). By doing this, he created a vengeance seeking antihero in Nikolas's daughter, Elektra (Jennifer Garner), who was determined to get her own back.

Throughout the movie, Elektra was the obvious highlight of the whole thing. There's a good chemistry between Elektra and Matt, even when the former initially thought that Daredevil was responsible for her father's death. Of course she found out that Bullseye did the deed before she ended up dead at his hands.

The rest of the movie kind of rushed through both Daredevil taking out both Bullseye and Kingpin while also getting something of a media champion in Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano). The latter could've outed him but chose not to, especially following the downfall of Kingpin.

- Other characters included Foggy Nelson (Jon Favreau) and Karen Page (Ellen Pompeo). Theres also cameos from Stan Lee and Kevin Smith.

- A post credit scene revealed that Bullseye survived and still had his skills intact. Colin Farrell using his own accent was something else.

- Standout music: Evanescence's Bring Me To Life.

- Chronology: 2003, Hell's Kitchen in New York.

Daredevil wasn't a great film when it first came out and over two decades later, it's still a rather poor live action adaptation for the character. Ben Affleck was woefully miscast as the character but both Colin Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan are dire too.

Rating: 4 out of 10