My Review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026) - SPOILERS INCLUDED

 

Written by Chris McKenna And Erik Sommers

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton 

Peter: "Hi. My name is Peter Parker. You don't remember me, but we used to know each other. Something bad was gonna happen, and the only way to stop it was to make everyone forget about me. Because I'm not just Peter Parker. I'm Spider-Man. And sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing, even if it breaks Peter Parker's heart."

Has it really been nearly five years since Spider-Man: No Way Home? It was the perfect end to Tom Holland's first Spidey trilogy. Now it's time for the beginning of what I'm assuming would be a new trilogy for this particular iteration of the infamous web slinger.

For those hoping for a more grounded film after the Multiverse heavy previous one will be happy with this one. It's as grounded as you can get but there's still some big potatoes as Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) would like. Yup, she's in two scenes and her banter with Peter and later MJ Watson (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) was rather delightful to watch.

Peter's got a lot on his plate. He started the film by stopping a few of his own rogue gallery members like Scorpion (Michael Mando) and Tombstone (Marvin Jones III) while also forming a rather snarky rapport with Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal). Honestly their dynamic might be the best thing about the whole film in itself.

Of course the other highlight would be Sadie Sink herself. Yes, she's Jean Grey and the film didn't waste too much time in revealing both that and the extent of her powers. However for a large chunk of the film, she's more of an antagonist who had no problem trying to get into Peter's head and everyone else around him.

Jean's actions saw both Frank and even Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) being under her control. It's particularly for the latter who ended up losing himself to the Incredible Hulk yet again. Although I do generally like the character in the MCU, I don't think this was the best use of the character for this film.

While Jean definitely caused a lot of chaos in the film, I don't really think she was the baddie here. It's clearly meant to be Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman). As the head of the Department of Damage Control, he appeared as a neutral party until what transpired with Jean's sister, Sara (Olivia Booth-Ford) revealed him to be the absolute worst. No wonder Jean was the way she was here.

As an introduction to a side of the MCU that's on the way, I do think the film handled Jean Grey interestingly enough. She's volatile but sympathetic and of course, it would be a shared loss between her and Peter to be the thing to get her come around. I also think that Peter saving her from a bullet might have factored into things as well.

Going beyond the big threats (which also included The Hand but they were underused), I liked the way in which both MJ and Ned ended up remembering who Peter was to them. Both done in separate moments and both effectively handled. In particular, Zendaya got some of the best material she's had in this franchise. I hope that bodes well for further appearances.

- Peter's friendship with Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas) was rather sweet. He even knew her kids names.

- I loved the use of Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in this film. I still miss her. 

- MJ's boyfriend is called Harry (Eman Esfandi) while characters such as Cindy Moon, Ramrod, Boomerang and Tarantula also popped up briefly.

- Yelena's office was a bathhouse while Frank had a boat as his base of operations. Bruce was sent to a mental health facility.

- The credit scene teased about Spider-Man returning. A fifth solo movie will definitely happen but I'm betting he's in the upcoming Avengers movies as well.

- Chronology: It's been four years since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day turned out to be the second best movie from this iteration. There's strong performances from Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink and Jon Bernthal and an obscene amount of man flesh on display. Not everything worked (Hulk, The Hand) but they're minor quibbles. As a later summer blockbuster, there's a lot of fun to be had here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of The Breakfast Club (1985)

 

Written And Directed by John Hughes

Andrew: "We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all."

If you've watched any teen drama in the last thirty years, chances are you'll have seen a homage or reference to this specific film. I've only watched it once a long time ago and sought it out last night to remind myself. My god, what a film.

It's so gloriously simple. Five very different teenagers spending a Saturday in detention. It's so simple but so effective and so brilliant to see play out. Now let's look at the teenagers in question, shall we?

There's the popular Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), wrestling champ Andrew Clark (Emilio Estevez), delinquent John Bender (Judd Nelson), brainiac Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) and compulsive liar, Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy). All of them being badly supervised by vice principal, Richard Vernon (Paul Gleason).

As a group, they mostly clashed and antagonised one another. In particular, John absolutely enjoyed getting a rise out of both Andrew and Claire and was pretty scornful of Brian's healthy choice in lunch. John was also the target of scorn for Vernon. The latter seemed to enjoy being an absolute bastard towards John, purely just because he could.

There's at least one scene where Vernon did give some context for his behaviour. Much as I disliked the guy, his conversation with janitor, Carl (John Kapelos) revealed a very real fear about the next generation. It at least gave some context behind his attitude towards the teens in this film.

Getting back to the teenagers, in between all the sniping, discussions of virginity, family life and flirting, all of these characters were full fleshed out. We learned so much about them and saw a bond form between them. A few different ones actually.

- There was a plan for a sequel that never came to pass. I'm glad this was a one and done tbh.

- John Hughes has an uncredited cameo as Brian's father. 

- Standout music: Simple Minds Don't You (Forget About Me).

- Chronology: Took place on March 24th 1984, which was a Saturday in Illinois.

The Breakfast Club is the perfect teen movie, regardless of when you were born. It's as relatable now as it was upon it's initial release and all five teenagers are brilliantly fleshed out as characters. It's an incredible movie.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of The Number 23 (2007)

 

Written by Fernley Phillips

Directed by Joel Schumacher 

Walter: "There's no such thing as destiny. There are only different choices. Some choices are easy, some aren't. Those are the really important ones, the ones that define us as people."

Twelve years prior to the release of this film, director Joel Schumacher and lead actor Jim Carrey had of course worked on Batman Forever. Their second team up. I really wanted to like this.

Trading DC Comics for a more horror crime thriller, this film had Jim Carrey in one of his more serious roles. He's a dog catcher named Walter Sparrow. He's a bit fixated on the 23 enigma (the basis for this film) and a certain book has become an obsession of his as well.

It's enough to cause concern for his wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen) and son, Robin (Logan Lerman). In the book, Walter's also a detective named Fingerling who killed his lover, Fabrizia (who's basically Agatha) when he learned that she was having an affair. There's a few dark sex scenes involving Walter and Fabrizia in the film.

The death of a woman named Laura Tollins (Rhona Mitra) drove a lot of the movie. It especially drove Fingerling into talking to the convicted Kyle Flinch (Mark Pellegrino). The latter denied killing Laura and also denied writing the book that was making everyone crazy in this film.

The more things went on, the more convoluted this whole thing was. Walter failed to commit suicide, which he forgot about for the most part. Then there was the reveal of Agatha's own part in Walter's past and also the involvement of Dr. Leary (Bud Cort). 

Honestly, Walter's 23 obsession destroyed his past family and it was on the verge of doing the same again. It took a lot for Agatha to get through to him and even by the end of this film, I got the impression that Walter wouldn't be free of his 23 enigma.

-  Numbers 32:23 - "Be sure that your sin will find you out." That certainly was applicable to Walter here.

- There's some supporting roles for Danny Huston, Lynn Collins and Corey Stoll.

- Standout music: Dean Martin's Blue Christmas.

- Chronology: Walter/Agatha met when the former was 23. He had thirteen years of peace before the events of the film.

The Number 23 had a good idea and an interesting director/lead actor combo but the results are a mess. It's a fairly dull thriller that moved too sluggishly for its own good. I wanted to like this one, I really did but I just couldn't get into it.

Rating: 5 out of 10 

My Review of The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)

 

Written by Jon Bernthal And Reinaldo Marcus Green

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green 

Ma: "Loneliness... Right, Frank? It's like a hunger. A dreadful nasty, ever-present hunger you just can't shake."

I'd be putting this one off for a while. While I don't mind Jon Bernthal's version of Frank Castle/The Punisher, I can't say that I've been compelled by his solo adventures. I didn't even really bother with his Netflix show.

As a character, we know that Frank's got a shit tonne of trauma, following the death of his wife and children. There's more reminders of that here with Frank having flashbacks to his fily and visiting their graves. In fact, Frank seemed to be seeing a lot of people who aren't currently around.

Other characters that he was seeing that weren't there included Karen Page (Deborah Ann Woll) and Curtis Hoyle (Jason R. Moore). Those scenes were fine I guess as they served to highlight Frank's general isolation.

Of course Frank being the volatile one man killing machine that he's been in the MCU and Netflix universe so far, he's stacked up an enemies list. In particular of the crime family kind. This would be where Ma Gnucci (Judith Light) would factor into things.

Frank killed her family (they deserved it) but he didn't kill Ma Gnucci and she was determined to make him regret sparing her. The second half of this special had Frank literally fighting for his life. Of course, he won and got a costume upgrade. Just in time for his big screen appearance this week in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

- The moment that thug killed the homeless man's dog, I wanted him to get a painful death. Frank delivered on that front.

- News casters Annika Pergament and David Collins had appearances in this one. Barracuda also appeared and played by Jamal Lloyd Johnson.

- Standout music: Hatebreed's I Will Be Heard and Danzig's Mother.

- Chronology: Present day New York. Seemed to in the same timeline as Daredevil: Born Again.

The Punisher: One Last Kill was an okay co-written effort by Jon Bernthal. It doesn't offer any new insight into this version of Frank Castle but it's diverting enough for under an hour. It needed more of Judith Light tbh. She was an excellent foil for our moody antihero.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of House Of The Dragon: "Faceless Men"

 

Written by David Hancock And Shyam Popat

Directed by Loni Peristere 

Oscar: "I made a promise to the dead, Cole. I promised I'd build a sept out of traitors bones. I don't have near enough bones yet."

Much as I do think Fabien Frankel has done a great job with Criston Cole as a character, I've been looking forward to the character's demise. Instead of a heroic blaze of glory, Criston went out in a rather anticlimactic way.

It even happened at the start of the episode. He was surrounded, had Oscar Tully talk about making his bones into a sept while Alysanne Blackwood (Annie Shapero) was the one to kill Criston from afar with arrows. Not exactly the glorious deaths that Criston was hoping for. 

Of course with Criston out of the way, there was more screen time for the rest of the Greens. First of all, I am loving the dynamic that's with Ormund, Daeron and Gwayne. I love that Daeron wants to be a decent person and his conversation with Gwayne reinforced that. Daeron seriously needs to stand up to Ormund.

Then there's Ormund himself. He's certainly threatened by Gwayne's influence on Daeron but had it not been for Gwayne's smart, Ormund would've been a dead man in this episode. Ormund might not like Gwayne but right now, he can't afford to lose him either.

As for the other brothers - I'm also really loving the bond that Aemond has developed with Alys. It's pretty clear that it's going to turn romantic within the last two episodes. Alys absolutely feeds into Aemond's ego and he's letting her do so.

Aegon II on the other hand decided that Essos would be his best bet. It's not something that Tyland agreed with but both him and Larys ended up going along with the idea. This story felt like a means to put Aegon II on pause until next season. Right now, he's the least of Rhaenyra's problems.

The problems kept piling up for Rhaenyra this episode. She had to get stricter with both Alicent and Helaena before sending the former to Harrenhal. On top of that, she was showing herself to be unsympathetic to the small folk. In fact, a certain moment also happened that was expected a few episodes ago.

As for Daemon, he's certainly dealing with the Gold Cloaks problem in the way he best could. I was impressed with the undercover job he did and it was nearly successful until Ulf had to open his big mouth. That's both Rhaenyra and Daemon that Ulf has pissed off these last two episodes.

- Lady Jeyne went that step too far by slapping Rhaena. Why is the latter getting the Meg Griffin treatment this season?

- Baela seemed to be getting close to Addam last episode but closer to Alyn this episode. Alyn gets points for calling out Corlys's hypocrisy.

- Mysaria lied about not knowing of Helaena's pregnancy. I think Rhaenyra picked up on that when she wasn't getting cut by the Iron Throne.

- Alys showed Aemond a batch of dragon eggs while talking of their future prospects. Hugh couldn't get through to Kat and there was a sweet moment between Vermithor and Silverwing.

- The episode ended with Corlys being captured by Jon Roxton. Ormund puked over the sight of blood and practically revealed that Gwayne might be gay.

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

Faceless Men started off a little sluggish but got better as it went along. Criston's death was anticlimactic but made thematic sense and the downfall of Rhaenyra's rule kicked off with this episode. 

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of My Adventures With Superman: "The Ex Games"

 

Written by Sari Cooper 

Directed by Jen Bennett 

Good Lex (re Superman): "Did everyone know this but me? I regret not listening to Superman when I had the chance."

If you ignored the trailer for this episode, I guess it was still a little surprising that it was Mxyzptlk who actually kidnapped Clark, Lois, Jimmy and Kara at the end of the previous episode. His motives though were even more surprising.

It turned out that Mxyzptlk was getting divorced from Ms. Gsptlsnz and the former couple wanted to use our gang, plus their alternatives (swap out Superman for Good Lex) to play a series of games in order to see which imp would comd out on top.

Having the gang face their counterparts was a good way of getting some self reflection. Lois faced up to her own insecurities and there was some further movement on the whole Jimmy/Kara story that's made up their screen time this season.

The most amusing part was seeing Clark and Good Lex interact. The latter's reaction upon realising that Clark was Superman was a highlight in the episode. This episode also seemed to turn a corner on Clark accepting his humanity while using his wits to defeat Mxyptlk for good.

Then there's the last scene. Lois and Clark got a tender moment and it's interrupted by a returning Jon and a young woman. I'm guessing the woman's meant to be Lara Kent but nothing has confirmed that as of yet.

- There was no need for Clark and company to be Baywatch ready but it kind of worked.

- The Cosmic Anvil was a device that both Mxyptlk and Gsptlsnz were competing for in order to reshape the universe.

- The Hell Hippos were more cute than menacing. They did make for good treats.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off.

The Ex Games had a good idea and ran with it pretty well. The games were fun, Mxyptlk and his wife made for good antagonists and the last scene was a good set up.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

SDCC 2026: MCU Edition - Avengers: Doomsday, New Movies Announced

San Diego Comic Con has come once again and while I'll be covering the DC content next week, Marvel fans weren't lacking in that department.

To no surprise, there was a large focus on both Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 31st) and Avengers: Doomsday (December 18th). In fact, the majority of the cast for the latter movie were on stage as was Kevin Feige. Ryan Reynolds also popped up as a grey version of Deadpool and the re-release of Avengers: Endgame will contain an exclusive look at Avengers: Doomsday. Spider-Man: Brand New Day also had exclusive footage shown, involving the Punisher and Incredible Hulk.

Now while I was slightly disappointed we didn't get anything on the X-Men, we did get the announcement of two movies that will be coming out in 2028. First up, there's Ghost Rider with Ryan Gosling in the title role. The movie will be directed by Shawn Levy, who last directed Deadpool & Wolverine. This definitely feels like it's being fast tracked for a summer release. 

Of course the biggest news concerned Black Panther III. Not only was the movie officially dated for December 15th 2028 and Ryan Coogler confirmed to direct but that wasn't the only announcement. David Jonsson was confirmed to be playing an older version of T'Challa and would be assuming the Black Panther mantle along with his aunt Shuri. Letitia Wright was also confirmed to be returning for the film. The film will also be shot on a larger former celluloid film.

Overall, I think this was a good panel. We got two movies announced and more hype for the two that are coming this year.

A Series Of Glorious Failures

It's been a few months since the last TV Jumble Blog and here's a look at some of the things I've been watching over the last while.

Interview With The Vampire: Or as Season 3 was known as The Vampire Lestat. Seven episodes of Sam Reid taking the lead and going all glam rock with Lestat doing a tour with his band. It's a series of mostly good new songs, deep dives into Lestat's past, including his incestrous relationship with his own mother and both him and Louis being on a more even playing field. For the most part, it's a solid season but weaker compared to the first two. Daniel and Armand's arcs are particularly unsatisfying and the Claudia/Regina storyline just seemed like an excuse to bring the actor back. Saying that, the set up for the next arc was good.

Rivals: It was back to 1987 for the second season of this campy series and I had forgotten just how much fun it was to watch. I shouldn't have been shocked that Tony wouldn't be dead and these first six episodes had fun with being alive. Tony took great delight in making Cameron, Declan and Rupert's lives as difficult as possible while he got involved with Declan's wife while his own wife ended up dying. Going the route of so many shows these days, this was a split season with the remaining episodes set to be released in November.

Spider-Noir: I'm not sure if 2026 has been a great year for superhero shows. A few years ago, Nicolas Cage leading a noir themed show as Ben Reilly would've blown up on social media. This year, barely a whimper and that's in spite of having the option to watch it in black and white or colour. The show itself was mostly fine but even I waited over a month to actually watch it. Cage was good in the title role as was Brendan Gleeson as the main antagonist of the piece.

The Bear: Setting the majority of the final season over the course of a night with the restaurant practically collapsing in on itself was certainly a creative choice and all the while everyone finding out that Carmy had quit the business. It made for a stressful time but lead to some really enriching character bits. I can happily say that while the third and fourth seasons had some hit and miss moments, the fifth season was an excellent return to form. The final episode in particular managed to stick the landing.

Widow's Bay: I didn't think this show would be quite the powerhouse for Apple TV as it would turn out to be, but what a pleasant surprise. The first half was a nice set up for the show but the second half ventured into some truly mad places. There was a flashback episode with Hamish Linklater that might be one of the best bits of television this year. Matthew Rhys has had plenty of acclaimed television roles over the last twenty years but this one might be his most definitive yet. It's not hard to see this show has really dominated at the Emmys and why it's got a second season.

• The Baywatch reboot will air on FOX from January 2027. 
• The Beauty will not return for a second season on FX. The actors have been released from their contracts.
• Queen Of The Damned will be the title of the fourth season of Interview With The Vampire.
• Crystal Lake will premiere all eight episodes on Peacock from October 15th.
• Filming has completed on Ryan Coogler's pilot episode for The X-Files, starring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel. It'll air on Hulu.
• Zosia Mamet has joined the cast of HBO's Industry. The fifth season has gone into production.
• David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, Nicola Coughlan, Sean Teale and Simone Ashley have joined the sixth season of Only Murders In The Building.
• Carrie will also drop all eight episodes on Amazon Prime from October.
• Francois Arnaud recently joined the cast for Count My Lies. It'll air on Hulu in 2027.
• Disney+ have picked up the zombie themed Afterlife With Archie for a Halloween 2027 release.
• Both Sky and AMC will both air upcoming supernatural drama, Yaga from Crave. The show stars Noah Reid, Carrie-Anne Moss and Hudson Williams.
• The upcoming fifth season of Apple TV's The Morning Show will be it's final season.
• Tom Hardy will continue to be a part of the main cast for Paramount+ show, MobLand for its third season.

My Review of The Odyssey (2026)

 

Written And Directed by Christopher Nolan 

Odysseus: "Don't look for gods in men; you'll always be disappointed."

I intended to watch this movie opening day but things took a turn and in the last few days, I completed my Christopher Nolan rewatch of movies. Now, I've actually caught up with this one, was it worth it? I'd like to think so.

Having Christopher Nolan do an adaptation of Homer's Odyssey wasn't something that I expected and like many, I was concerned that he'd ground some elements too much fof his own good. He kind of did but not really. Perhaps Nolan has realised a little fantastical can be a good thing.

If you're familiar with the story, you've got Odysseus (Matt Damon) who left his kingdom Ithaca abandoned for twenty years, following the Fall of Troy. This left his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) fighting off unwanted admirers such as Antinous (Robert Pattinson) while refusing to accept the possibility of her husband being dead.

Then therss Odysseus's son, Telemachus (Tom Holland). Both him and blind servant, Eamaeus (John Leguizamo) believe in Odysseus being still alive and both were desperate to keep Penelope's unwanted admirers at bay. Telemachus even sought out Sparta King Menelaus (Jon Bernthal) and Helen (Lupita Nyong'o) during the film. 

Of course the film largely focused on Odysseus and his men. There's a good deal of focus on the Fall of Troy and the consequences of that particular action. The death of a soldier named Sinon (Elliot Page) would have quite the impact on Odysseus as would encountering at least three prominent women during his journey to get back home.

Athena (Zendaya) would show up to give Odysseus sage advice that would of course end up becoming true. Circe (Samantha Morton) would take delight in turning Odysseus's men into pigs until Odysseus could persuade her to reverse it and help him. Both Zendaya and Samantha Morton gave some great performances here.

Then there's Calypso (Charlize Theron). She fell in love with Odysseus and kept him tethered to her for seven years. It was her realising they Odysseus loved Penelope more that had her let him go.  Add in some stuff with sirens and a Cyclops and Odysseus had one hell of a journey in getting home.

Having Odysseus taking so long to get home also meant that the movie almost had to wrap up the unwanted admirers and reuniting with Penelope and Telemachus a bit quickly. Antinous was a delightfully snivelling baddie who got one hell of a deserved comeuppance. I really loved Robert Pattinson in this role. 

As for the family reunion, it's a very beautiful moment throughout with Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland playing out their respective scenes wonderfully. Ithaca ended up with a new ruler and there was a mission of redemption that ended things on a powerful note.

- There's so many support performances to also note from the likes of Mia Goth, Himesh Patel, Corey Hawkins, Travis Scott, Logan Marshall-Green and so on. Lupita Nyong'o also played Helen's sister, Clytemnestra. The latter also murdered her husband, Agamemnon (Benny Safdie).

- I loved the practical effects for the use of the Cyclops. That scene along with the Circe plot really leaned into pure horror.

- Calypso used the lotus flower in order to keep Odysseus around. Then she helped him get back on his journey to go home.

- The idea of Odysseus's dog waiting for him to return home before dying was one of the most touching moments in the movie.

- Standout music: Ludwig Göransson's score was beautiful. James Blake and Travis Scott's When I'm Home was good.

- Chronology: Odysseus was missing for twenty years before he finally returned to Ithaca.

The Odyssey (2026) might be the best summer blockbuster this year. It's by no means perfect but there are so many Standout performances, character moments, showing the power of the gods and of course, the battle sequences themselves. Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton and John Leguizamo were the standouts here.

Rating: 8 out of 10