DCEU News: Castings for The Flash, Zatanna Movie In The Works And More

It's that time of month and with DC, there's some interesting developments on the horizon.

The Flash: It's been confirmed that Kiersey Clemons will reprise her role as Iris West while Ron Livingston will replace Billy Crudup as Henry Allen. Meanwhile Maribel Verdu will play Nora Allen, Ian Loh a younger Barry Allen while Saoirse Monica-Jackson and Rudy Mancuso have been cast in undisclosed roles. Filming will begin next month in the UK with a November 4th 2022 release date in mind.

Emerald Fennell will also be penning the upcoming Zatanna movie which will be produced by JJ Abrams and linked to the upcoming HBO Max projects involving Constantine and Justice League Dark. The movie will also get a theatrical release.

Static Shock movie will be written by Randy McKinnon and produced by Michael B. Jordan and Reginald Hudlin.

An Hourman movie is also in development with a script co-written by Gavin James and Neil Widener.

Black Adam will now be released on July 29th 2022 and Pierce Brosnan has been cast as Doctor Fate. Filming begins in May in Atlanta.

Shazam!: Fury Of The Gods has cast Helen Mirren as Hespera, who will be the main villain for the movie. Filming begins in May with a June 2nd 2023 release scheduled.

The trailer for The Suicide Squad, due for release in theatres and on HBO Max from August 6th 2021 confirmed that Starro as the main villain and Sylvester Stallone as the voice of King Shark. Spin off series, Peacemaker has also gotten an early second season renewal, although it's first is currently filming and won't debut on HBO Max until January 2022.

Following the release of Zack Snyder's Justice League, Warner Media CEO Ann Sarnoff has confirmed there are no plans to work with the director on any other upcoming DC projects and has also confirmed there are no plans to release the David Ayer Cut of Suicide Squad. Needless to say, this has not gone down well with certain fans. Oh well.

Wallis Day has been cast as an altered version of Kate Kane for the second half of Batwoman's second season. Whether she remains beyond an initial arc remains to be seen.

Jordan Fisher as been cast as Bart Allen for the seventh season of The Flash. However in this version, he will be the son of Barry and Iris and will debut in the 150th episode.

Kaci Walfall has been cast as Naomi for the upcoming CW series. There's also rumours of a Ghostmaker series in the works as well.

So, we've got some interesting times ahead in the DC Universe.

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x05: "The Best Of Smallville"

 

Written by Nadria Tucker And Brent Fletcher

Directed by Rachel Talalay

Captain Luthor: "One thing I know for sure about this world. Wherever Lois Lane goes, Superman follows."

I knew we had to get to the point where Captain Luthor would have to start hiding in plain sight and with this fifth episode, he made his presence known to Lois by posing as a fellow reporter and former employee of Lex Luthor.

Of course Lois seemed skeptical of her new friend August wanting to help her expose Morgan Edge but gave him her number nonetheless. Then we found out that on Captain Luthor's world, he was actually married to Lois and needless to say, he's pretty miffed when learning that she's married to Superman on this one.

It's a nice reveal and further adds to the intense hatred that this Luthor has for Superman while at the sane time, he came close again to taking out his love rival when the latter was battling an erratically powered up Derek Powell this week.

The Derek Powell returning with an unstable power set was exactly what we got with Tag last week but unlike the latter, Derek combusted here, but only after Chrissy was able to uncover Derek's link to Leslie Larr and Morgan Edge. It begs the question - is Leslie a full blooded Kryptonian because she doesn't seem to be experiencing any power problems so far?

As for Tag, I did assume we'd see him later on in the season and not at the last scene where he beat Jordan to a pulp. Other than that, Jordan was having the better week as his friendship with Sarah was blossoming while Jonathan took being dumped by his girlfriend badly and made a fool out of himself at the Harvest Festival.

The Harvest Family was the community element of the episode and it gave Clark a nice chance to reflect on his own teenage angst and dealing with Jonathan's rebellion this week. I also thought it was a lovely gesture of the town through Lana to have a bench for Martha Kent outside the Smallville Gazette. I still wish Martha was actually alive but this was a nice way to factor her into this week's adventure.

- It's not me. Kyle is clearly suffering from kind of depression and I get the feeling his story is going to tale a very dark turn as the series progresses.

-  I loved the flashbacks with Clark and Martha a year after Jonathan's death but I wish we had seen the younger Lana and Kyle as well.

- No General Sam Lane or Morgan Edge this week, though the latter did donate money for the fire that destroyed many items.

- Chronology: It's Fall time in Smallville.

The Best Of Smallville certainly delivered with that connection between Captain Luthor and Lois, had great town spirit scenes, excellent flashbacks and a strong cliff hanger with Jordan and Tag. It's going to be a long eight weeks until the show returns.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021) - SPOILERS INCLUDED

 

Written by Chris Terrio And Zack Snyder And Will Beall

Directed by Zack Snyder

Batman (re Steppenwolf): "I don't care how many demons he's fought in how many hells. He's never fought us together. Not us united."

This movie has created a lot of division over the years. For years, many were sceptical of it's existence, then sceptical of it ever getting a release but now that it's finally here, courtesy of HBO Max,  two questions need to be asked. Was it worth it and just how different is it to the 2017 theatrical version that was released instead?

The answer to the first question is a resounding yes. This definitely was worth the wait and the release is more than justified. As for the second question, well the core mechanics are the same here. Both Batman (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) recruit Aquaman (Jason Momoa), the Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher), form a certain group, revive Superman (Henry Cavill) and try to stop Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) from joining the Mother Boxes in order to take over the world for his tyrant of a nephew, also known as Darkseid (Ray Porter). Some beats are very familiar but a lot are different.

Steppenwolf in particular is better served by this movie. He's actually far more menacing and brutal in his ongoing mission to atone for a previous slight he had done to Darkseid while chief torturer DeSaad (Peter Guiness) seems to take a bit too much pleasure in the conflict between nephew and uncle. Steppenwolf's fight scenes alone with the League look better, his defeat is far more humiliating and while Darkseid only appears in a handful of scenes, he's an excellent looming threat for the newly formed Justice League. Add a tantalising history lesson featuring various groups working together, including one Green Lantern, the Anti Life Equation set up and a CGI Granny Goodness and everything related to Apokolips is promising.

Then there's our heroes themselves. The best for me was of course the Flash and if you had doubts about whether Ezra Miller can carry a solo movie, this will put you at ease. Again he's trying to help his father, Henry Allen (Billy Crudup) get out of prison but he also has a brief encounter with future love interest, Iris West (Kiersey Clemons) and his humour feels more organic here. Not to mention his powers are showcased in one of my favourite scenes in the whole movie.

Then there's Cyborg. A lot of fans felt he was short changed in the theatrical movie and after seeing this movie, I definitely get why. A lot of his emotional scenes were needlessly cut and watching the heart breaking losses he suffers with losing both Elinore (Karen Bryson) and Silas Stone (Joe Morton) does make you realise how fantastic this character can be. The idea of Cyborg as a digital god is too interesting not to run with and it's a pity that we might not see more of him in the DCEU. I do hope something can be sorted behind the scenes.

Wonder Woman on the other hand is also someone better served here than in the theatrical version as well. Here we get to see a certain robbery play out far differently while her stance on reviving Superman is vastly different as well. She's also the one to deliver the killer blow to Steppenwolf and there's a poignant scene where she mourns the loss of her sisters. For those who prefer the warrior aspect of the character, this movie has you covered.

As for the Batman segment of the movie, it's also strong stuff. For me, this is easily Ben Affleck's best performance in the role and it's great seeing this Batman step up throughout the entire movie in order to connect with his new friends and take out Steppenwolf with them. As for the big hero cameo, it's none other than Martian Manhunter (Harry Lennix) and he's here to warn that Darkseid is on the way and that he'll be there to help. I think most would've already guessed the cameo before watching this but it's a great way to end the movie. Alfred (Jeremy Irons) also gets some nice moments to shine here too.

As for Superman - well, I'm glad he's back, but it takes a long time within the movie in order to get him back in the game. A certain fight scene is played somewhat differently but there are some beautiful and emotional moments between the newly revived Kryptonian as well as with Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane), the use of the Black Suit and a nice second flight scene. I do have one other question: is Lois pregnant? Will an upcoming movie shed any light on that?

Arguably the weakest of the main hero stuff would be the Aquaman bits. There's nothing inherently bad, except for Amber Heard's diabolical take on a British accent for Mera but it's more that his scenes somewhat contradict the continuity to Arthur's own movie. Vulko (Willem Dafoe) doesn't really add much to proceedings either but it's a minor quibble though.

I do imagine that the highlight for a lot of people watching this movie would be the infamous Knightmare sequence and I gotta admit, as someone who didn't particularly care for Jared Leto's Joker, he does an excellent job when forced to team with a few certain survivors in Bruce's dream. There's also a better written version of the boat scene between Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and Deathstroke (Joe Manganiello) to enjoy here as well.

- The movie is dedicated to Autumn Snyder, who passed away during production of this movie. Zack Snyder talks about the fan campaign for AFSP at the start of the movie.

- For those who might find a four hour movie hard to sit through, breaking it into six chapters and an epilogue was a smart move.

- Ryan Choi (Ryan Zheng) taking over STAR Labs should set him up for a return in another upcoming movie.

- A physical release is due in summer for those who don't get to see it on streaming as well as black and white version later in the year.

- Standout music: Junkie XL's score was exceptional along with a stunning version of Hallelujah by Allison Crowe at the end credits.

- Chronology: Several months since the events of Batman V. Superman.

Zack Snyder's Justice League is a triumph. Yes, I had my doubts but I was genuinely surprised with how incredible this movie really is. Every main hero gets their moment to shine, Steppenwolf is a better realised baddie with Darkseid nicely set up for hopefully a future outing. Tonally, it hits all the right spots in all the right places. This is far superior to the theatrical version and while I don't know if Snyder's vision can be continued in the DCEU going forward, there's a lot to admire here.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x04: "Haywire"

 

Written by Michael Narducci

Directed by James Bamford

General Lane (re Clark): "I don't like his priorities changing."

Lois: "It's called being a father."

Oh boy. It really did not take long for General Sam Lane to go the direction I expected him to go but also hoped that the show would avoid for a little longer. I saw it coming but again, it happened quicker than expected.

Sam has not been shy in his disapproval of Lois and Clark moving to Smallville. He was less pleased about the boys finding out their dad is Superman and now he's not so thrilled with the idea of Jordan having powers and joining the football team.

On top of that, he's also worried about Clark's shifting priorities and this episode almost justified his fears when it took Superman longer to respond to radicalized criminal, Thaddeus R Killgrave (Brendan Fletcher), due to another storyline involving Jonathan and Jordan's football friend, Tag.

I'll have to admit there was probably potential in Killgrave but he was a wasted guest villain and seemed to serve more to make a point about Clark being pulled in different directions more than posing an actual threat, in spite of his neat sonic gun. Saying that though, he'll probably resurface again.

As for Tag - his story reminded me of Smallville and the freak of the week episodes they would often do. It was the weakest element of the episode but it was nice to see Jonathan and Jordan try to solve the problem first and also nice that Jordan wasn't entirely responsible for Tag's predicament. Actually the episode noticeably was less angsty for Jordan though we did see Jonathan struggle a little.

As for Lois - Morgan Edge got the better of her twice this episode. He managed to use the threat of legal action to prevent her writing another damning article on him for now and the town meeting went in his favour. That now means both him and Leslie Larr have a lot of Krypronite at their disposal to make an army for themselves.

- Morgan seemed to take a fancy to Lana, she was rightly annoyed by him and Kyle remains an insensitive prat, though he did make pancakes for the family.

- Brendan Fletcher who played Killgrave also played the Star City Slayer in the seventh season of Arrow.

- I'm gonna keep saying this but the Smallville Gazette could do with more staff, other than Lois and Chrissy and why didn't they include the latter on the girls night out with Lana?

- Chronology: We took a trip six years ago for some Morgan Edge backstory but other than that, not a lot of time has passed since the previous episode.

Haywire is probably the weakest episode so far but there's enough to keep it going. I do love the family drama but it's a shame that guest villain like Killgrave was wasted in the mix between Lois, Clark and General Lane but other than that, the show is still delivering on the right moments.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Captain Marvel (2019)

 

Written by Anna Boden And Ryan Fleck And Geneva Robertson-Dworet And Nicole Perlman And Meg LeFauve 

Directed by Anna Boden And Ryan Fleck

Captain Marvel: "I've been fighting with one hand tied behind my back but what happens when I'm finally set free?"

It's been two years since this movie was released and it's amazing that in some respects that it seems to be quite a controversial film within the MCU with extreme groups either declaring it the best or worst of this particular franchise.

I say that because after finally sitting down to watch it, there isn't anything remotely controversial to behold here. I will say however that it took the MCU far too long for a female led property but overall this movie itself is a delight.

Brie Larson is wonderful as pilot turned super powered force of nature Carol Danvers/Vers/Captain Marvel, though she's never called the latter in this movie. Carol's origins are nicely set up, going from her discovery that her mentor Lawson (Annette Bening) was a Kree scientist named Mar-Vell  to being forced into working for the Kree, as somewhat led to an extent by Yon-Rogg (Jude Law), along with some fellow teammates who don't especially care for Carol.

However it's an encounter with the Skrulls in which Carol finds herself questioning the last six years of her life and crash landing back on Earth with Skrull leader, Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) in hot pursuit along with a teaming up with a rather younger Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is definitely where things get more interesting and Carol finds herself learning a lot more about her past self.

The reunion with her friend and fellow pilot, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) and the latter's daughter, Monica (Akira Akbar) adds a nice touch of domesticity to proceedings along with the nice twist of Talos being more friend than foe.  Mendelsohn does some brilliant work through this movie as Talos and I really enjoyed his scenes with everyone here.

Also the more said about the Flerkin known as Goose, the better because that character more than justified the character poster it was given for this movie. Goose had some brilliant moments, especially with Fury and how it handled the Tesserect to boot.

Anyways this motley crew make for a good team against Yon-Rogg and the fight between the latter and Carol are especially well done. Of course the movie also ends with there being the plot threads of Carol wanting to end the war, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) also wanting Carol as a weapon and of course, whatever the Supreme Intelligence also has planned next.

- Gemma Chan who played Minn-Erva will also play Sersei for Eternals. Clark Gregg's younger Agent Coulson popped up here as well.

- The opening credits were a massive tribute to Stan Lee and he was a train commuter in this movie for his cameo.

- Standout music: Too many 90s goodness but the highlights were Garbage's Only Happy When It Rains, No Doubt's Just A Girl and Hole's Celebrity Skin.

- Chronology: Carol went missing in 1989, most of this movie took place in 1995 and the post credit scene with Natasha, Steve, Bruce and Rhodes was in the present day to set up Avengers: Endgame.

Captain Marvel is an interesting movie to watch. In terms of MCU movies, I'm not sure if it's a Top 10 for me but there's a lot to enjoy here. I loved the 90s and that in a lot of a ways, it's essentially a prequel for a lot of the MCU we know along with being a strong origin movie for Carol Danvers.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Long Live The Scarlet Witch

It's time for another brief look at some of the shows I've been watching over the last while.

Batwoman: Season 2 continues to be rather solid but not spectacular so far with the latest episodes. Here we briefly get to meet Amygdala, learn or basically be drip fed Alice and Ocean's connection to one another as well as Safiyah doing nothing of note in the background and there's also Ryan losing her girlfriend again, suffering from Kryptonite poisoning and getting closer to Luke and Mary while Sophie and Jacob look for a purpose. It's okay stuff but it's largely treading water.

Schitt's Creek: I watched the fourth season over the course of three days and I think it might be my favourite season yet. It's amazing that for a show I was hesitant to watch that I cannot get enough of it and now I'm doing my best to savour the last two seasons because I don't want it to end at all. This season had the brilliance of David and Patrick as a couple, Stevie and Johnny running the motel, Moira helping Jocelyn to give birth, Roland still be an amusing thorn for Johnny and some genuinely affecting character growth for Alexis and Ted. Then to top it all, the finale is now one of the best Christmas episodes I've ever seen in my life. 

The Flash: The first two episodes of the show's seventh season and it's definitely off to an okay start. There's still the need to finish off the Eva/Iris/Mirrorverse plot, along with original Wells return and figuring out what to do with everyone else this season. The Thinker style version of Barry in the second episode was a highlight but other than that, not too much has stood put so far.

WandaVision: The moment has come and it was certainly prepared for. After nine episodes, Wanda embraced her destiny, became the Scarlet Witch, found an appropriate way to punish Agatha Harkness, let go of Vision, her kids and Westview and it was satisfying. As was the continued presence of  Jimmy Woo and Darcy Lewis and Monica getting her own origin story for something else along with the mid and post credit scenes. The only less satisfying bits were Hayward being a one dimensional character and the Quicksilver thing but other than that, this series is easily a Top 5 MCU property for me.

• Michelle Gomez will be a regular in the third season of Doom Patrol, taking on the role of Madame Rouge.
• Grey's Anatomy may be ending with it's seventeenth season.
• Chloe Bennett, Dove Cameron and Yana Perrault will be the live action Powerpuff Girls for the upcoming CW series.
• Aya Cash, Ben Cook and Jake Picking have also signed up for Showtime anthology series, The First Lady along with Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Gillian Anderson.
• Special's upcoming second season on Netflix will also be it's final season.
• Annie Murphy has joined the cast of Russian Doll for it's second season.
• Supergirl will return for it's sixth season from March 30th while Superman And Lois goes on a break until May 18th.
• Josh Holloway will reunite with JJ Abrams for the upcoming HBO Max series, Duster.
• Katrina Law has bagged a recurring role on the current season of NCIS.
• America Ferrera will return for the series finale of Superstore.

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x03: "The Perks Of Not Being A Wallflower"

 

Written by Brent Fletcher

Directed by Gregory Smith

Clark: "Thanks for the assist."

Lois: "You sure about this?"

Clark: "No, but I gotta try."

Lois: "Alright, I gotta run. See you later, coach,"

I gotta be honest. I have never watched a single episode of Friday Night Lights in my life and even I could tell this episode was massively influenced by it. I already read up that the writer for this episode a'so wrote for the popular NBC series, so it kind of makes sense.

The main plot points of this episode for the Kent boys was learning that their father has super hearing and while they were keen to know if Clark ever heard anything involving nudity, they were a lot less keen when they realised that their father could also hear them.

Clark making a promise not to eavesdrop at Lou's's behest managed to win Jonathan round but a less pleased Jordan decided to try out for the football team and both Clark and Jonathan had their own mixed feelings on the matter.

I genuinely thought this would lead to Jordan inadvertently injuring some of the lads giving him a hard time but if anything, it resulted in him and Sean (who Sarah dumped) into being cool with each other and Clark taking on an assistant coach role in order to be closer to his sons.

As for the more cape related stuff, Lois has only been working for Chrissy Beppo for a few days and already her investigative nature has seen come afoul of Morgan Edge with the likes of Subjekt 11 (Daniel Cudmore) being sent to deal with her as well as worried mother, Sharon Powell (Jill Teed).

This lead to a really strong fight sequence between Superman and Subjekt 11 but any hopes of a potential rematch were cashed when Leslie Larr incinerated the latter at the end of this one. I have to admit the reveal of Leslie being Kryptonian wasn't something I saw coming and congrats on the show for keeping that one under their cape until the episode aired.

As for the Cushing-Lang, we got a lot on them this week. Sarah dumped her boyfriend, quit cheerleading, seems to like Jordan while at the sake time had no problem verbally annihilating her family. We did get some insight into Lana and Kyle's rocky marriage as well as Sophie being a bully along with a nice later scene with Lana and Sarah where both opened up a little more to each other.

- No appearances or mentions of Captain Luthor or General Sam Lane this week. Even Morgan Edge stayed out of sight here.

- New Carthage seems to be the place for any investigation for Lois. At some point Chrissy will have to add another staff member to cover those other stories.

-  Daniel Cudmore who played Subjekt 11 previously played Jackhammer in Arrow, Gridlock in The Flash and a Minotaur in Legends Of Tomorrow.

- Chronology: It's been a week since the Kents moved to Smallville.

The Perks Of Not Being A Wallflower arguably might be the first standalone episode but it's surprisingly stronger than expected. I do wish they hadn't gotten rid of Subjekt 11 so quickly but the Leslie Larr was a nice surprise and the family drama from both the Kents and Cushing-Lang was good.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Unsane (2018)

 

Written by Jonathan Bernstein And James Greer

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Sawyer: "I'm not fucking crazy!"

I have it admit for both a psychological thriller and a horror movie, this is definitely an unusual film to watch. I'd even go as far as to say it's a bit of an acquired taste and that's putting it mildly. I'm not sure whether I liked this film or not.

I do of course like Claire Foy, who thanks to the first two seasons of Netflix's The Crown has deservedly become a household name. In this divisive thriller, she's playing the role of stressed out banker, Sawyer Valentini who finds herself being duped into committing herself at an unwanted stay at Highland Creek Behavorial Centre and it's from there that things naturally go bad for her.

Her counselor tricked her into the involuntary stay and once there, she's at the mercy of the police being unwilling to help her, unsympathetic medical staff, an annoying room mate named Violet (Juno Temple) who enjoys antagonising Sawyer at every turn and an unwelcome blast from the past in the form of stalker, David Strine (Joshua Leonard) who has everyone else convinced that she's crazy.

The only allies that Sawyer have are her supportive well meaning mother, Angela (Amy Irving) and undercover journalist Nate Hoffman (Jay Pharaoh) but an overzealous David takes both of the before managing to get Sawyer all to himself in the final act of this movie.

The back and forth between both Claire Foy and Joshua Leonard as both Sawyer and David try to outwit each other is decent enough but not ultimately not enough to elevate the mostly average material they have to work with. David's also a pretty bland and not really that threatening a villain, despite his body count in the movie.

I quite liked Jay Pharaoh's character and it was a pity that he didn't make it out of this one alive, even if the movie avoided the trope of pairing Sawyer with Nate. As for the ending, it was downbeat in a way but it could've been worse.

- Soderbergh directed the entire movie on an iPhone7 Plus in 4K and you can definitely tell at certain moments when watching it.

- There's a moment where Soderbetgh's 2002 movie Full Frontal is playing in the common room. 

- Incidents like what happened to Sawyer with people being involuntarily committed until their insurances pay out do happen in real life.

- Chronology: Gonna assume it's when the movie itself was released.

Unsane on paper is a decent and interesting idea but despite some solid performances from Foy, Leonard and Pharaoh, it's a largely unsatisfying and disjointed film. It's fine to watch for the length it runs for but you'll come out of it with the feeling that it could've given a lot more than it did.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x02: "Heritage"

 

Written by Todd Helbing

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

Morgan (re letter): "What's this?"

Lois: "That is the best writing I've done since you took over."

Leslie: "He's going to crush you."

Lois: "Let him try."

Now that is the Lois Lane we all know and love. Morgan Edge might rewrite her articles and undermine her credibility at council meetings but neither of those things are enough to stop Lois from wanting to take him down. If Clark has Captain Luthor, then Lois has Morgan Edge for her personal antagonist.

Considering how largely wasted Edge was in the third season of Supergirl, it definitely seems like this show won't make the same mistake here with the character. Saying that, Edge already has the locals on his side with the promise of new jobs and Kyle also seems to be on Morgan's team despite being framed as a character unwelcoming of outsiders.

As for Lois, I liked that she reacted to Edge's tampering of her article by quitting the Daily Planet and even told his right hand woman, Leslie Larr (Stacey Farber) that she wasn't intimidated by Morgan. Lois also seemed to land herself a job at the Smallville Gazette pretty fast and her teaming up with editor Chrissy Beppo (Sofia Hasmik) has potential for the series.

Speaking of outsiders, this episode also saw Clark take Jordan to the Fortress of Solitude to meet the AI version of the long dead Jor El (Angus Macfadyen) and it seemed that Jor El didn't see his grandson as special, which the latter didn't take too kindly to. There's a limit to the amount of angst I think audiences will take from Jordan but he does shine more in scenes with Jonathan, especially when they're on the same page.

As for Jonathan, we saw the effect of moving to Smallville affecting his popularity as well as bearing the brunt of Sarah's annoying boyfriend's wrath on the football field. The football scenes was the weaker stuff in the episode but it's good that the show is showing how things affect both twins.

As for Captain Luthor - this episode not only saw him on the lookout for more Kryptonite but he also managed to sow some seeds of doubt into General Lane about Superman, which was interesting, especially with the reveal of that final flashback. After this episode, it feels more like this Luthor might not actually be a baddie but more justified in his fears of Superman. 

- General Lane reacted badly to learning that Clark told the twins about being Superman. The medal Luthor gave him had the numbers 7734 or 'hell' if turned upside down. I also cannot believe we saw Black Suit Superman again so soon.

- Does Lana actually know that Clark has powers? I get the impression she suspects something from her comments last week.

- Lois did the narration for this episode, which makes me think both Jordan and Jonathan will get the chance as well. 

- Chronology: Not long from the previous episode.

Heritage filled in a few nice gaps for Jordan on his father's planet's history and I'm not too disappointed they're not going too fast with showcasing his abilities for now. The Lois and Morgan Edge scenes were the highlight and I'm loving what they're doing so far with the Captain Luthor story so far. Oh and congrats to the series for getting an early second season renewal.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Happy Death Day 2U (2019)

 

Written by Christopher Landon And Scott Lobdell

Directed by Christopher Landon

Ryan: "You sure you want to go back?"

Tree: "Can't spend my life living in the past. Gotta take a leap of faith."

It was only a few months ago that I watched the first movie and I have been meaning to catch up with this sequel. Like most sequels, there's a sense of not being as good as the first one but for me, personally, I think this actually is on a par with the first one.

At first you're lead to believe that it's actually Carter's (Israel Broussard) roommate Ryan (Phi Vu) who will lead the movie as the first few minutes see him fall victim to the same loop that got Tree (Jessica Rothe) last time as he relives the same day, only for another version of himself gets revealed as the killer and things get more confusing.

It seems Ryan and his friends - Samar (Surah Sharma) and Andrea (Sarah Yarkin) are responsible for inventing a machine nicknamed Sissy that has opened up parallel dimensions and low and behold, the story then shifts from Ryan back to Tree who finds herself not only reliving her murderous birthday but she's reliving it in a different dimension.

Yup, it's a dimension where Carter is dating Danielle (Rachel Matthews), Lori (Ruby Modine) isn't a killer, Tree never had an affair with Gregory (Charles Aitken) and Tree's mother (Missy Yager) is also alive. Needless to say, this puts Tree in a tricky position as she keeps killing herself to figure out the right way to get back to her own world all the while falling in love with Carter all over again.

There's amusement to be had in Tree's various methods of bumping herself off while the movie deals with the emotional conflict of the life she could have if she remained in the other universe. It's amusing, clever and heartfelt stuff in places.

The only real let down is that Gregory and his wife as a murdering duo, rehashing Lori's old playbook isn't as compelling this time around and too often feels like the weakest element of the entire film. There's also Dean Bronson (Steve Zissis), who constantly seems to be screwing up Tree's initial attempts to fix the problem but there's something delightful in the way Danielle is used to foil him during a crucial moment. I also have to give this movie points for giving Tree a gang instead of just trying to solve the problem with only Carter, which made for a good change of tack.

- While this may be the horror version of Groundhog Day, I'm not surprised they got a Back To The Future reference in there. Tree might want to watch that trilogy for next time.

- The idea of Stephanie as a killer was originally going to happen in the first movie.

- Standout music: Paramore's Hard Times during Tree's various deaths moments.

- Chronology: September 19th to begin with, then September 18th, before going back to September 19th.

Happy Death Day 2U surprisingly delivers big time on the sequel front. The time travels are still rather strong, though this movie pushes the sci-fi elements harder than the original but a part of me does think the upcoming third movie might be where this particular franchise should bow out as well. Still though, I enjoyed this as much as the first movie.

Rating: 8 out of 10

DCEU News: Snyder Cut Approaches, A Kryptonian Reboot And More

It has been an extremely busy month for DC fans with the imminent arrival of a certain movie, discussion on upcoming streaming shows and certain movies that are entering production. Shall we?

Zack Snyder's Justice League will be streaming on HBO Max as well as getting international releases from March 18th and the movie will clock in at four hours and two minutes with some timed chapters to allow people for breaks. At this rate, you've seen all the trailers, read various interviews with Snyder himself and probably have guessed the cliff hanger ending, so there's not much else left to discuss until the movie's release.

Meanwhile The Flash still scheduled for November 4th 2022 for now has finally added another cast member to the list. The Young And The Restless star Sasha Calle will be taking on the role of Supergirl for the Multiverse themed movie. Other cast members are Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton and Billy Crudup but with filming scheduled for the end of April, expect more casting news pretty soon.

Arguably the biggest news reveal and  one that's proving to be a mixed bag with fans so far was the announcement of the inevitable Superman reboot, which will not see Henry Cavill return in the title role but instead cast a black actor, possibly taking on the Val Zod or Calvin Ellis version of the character. This reboot will be produced by JJ Abrams and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, who has previously written for Marvel titles such as Black Panther and Captain America.

Black Adam might still be looking for a new release date at the moment but it does at least have another cast member with Jafar himself, Marwan Kenzari added in an undisclosed role (though it was rumoured he would be playing the villain, Sabbac a few months ago). Casting has yet to be announced for Doctor Fate, Red Tornado and Osiris and filming is slated to start in April.

Meanwhile Shazam!: Fury Of The Gods has cast West Side Story actor Rachel Zegler in an undisclosed role and while other details have yet to be revealed about the sequel for the 2019 movie, we do know that filming is meant to be starting in May and that the movie is slated for a June 2nd 2023 release.

Another future movie we can add to the pile for the DCEU will be Blue Beetle, which will focus on the Jaime Reyes version of the character and will be directed by Angel Manuel Soto from a script by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer with Zev Foreman as an executive producer. Filming is slated for Autumn 2021 but no release has been given yet, though casting for the title role should be coming soon.

On the HBO Max streaming front, writer Guy Bolton will be bringing John Constantine to the platform in a series that will be produced by JJ Abrams, will cast a 20 something BIPOC actor in the title and focus more on the horror aspect than religious ones. Elsewhere casting for the Green Lantern series is on the way as filming is set to happen in April, there's a really hideous first look still for the upcoming Aquaman: King Of Atlantis series and Peacemaker will debut from January 2022 and has added  Nhut Le as Judomaster to the cast.

That's a lot of news this month. What are you looking forward most or least, DC wise?

My Review of Promising Young Woman (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Emerald Fennell

Al: "It's every man's worst nightmare, getting accused of something like that."

Cassie: "Can you guess what every woman's worst nightmare is?"

They say revenge is a dish best served cold but with a protagonist like Cassie (Carey Mulligan), well her methods of fighting wrongs are downright bone chilling. Before going any further with this review, this is definitely a movie that once you've seen will definitely stick with you.

Seven years ago, Cassie's friend Nina was raped by Al Monroe (Chris Lowell). No one except Cassie actually believed Nina and at some point, Nina died. Unable to move on from her friend's ordeal, Cassie made it a one woman mission to get revenge and her methods weren't just reserved for the menfolk either.

With the women who failed Nina, Cassie put them through the gamut of gaslighting. She made another former friend Madison (Alison Brie) panic about having drunken sex with another man while tricking a college dean (Connie Britton) into believing that her daughter was in a room with a bunch of frat boys in order to give both women a taste of what Nina had gone through.

The only positive result from that was it served to guilt Madison into giving Cassie vital evidence she'd later use for her final act of revenge but before then, she played the role of drunk girl to scare the shit out of Neil (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) as well as give Jerry (Adam Brody) an offscreen beating. Or did she kill him? I'm actually not sure with that.

Between schemes of revenge, Cassie also had a nice boss at the coffee shop in Gail (Laverne Cox), worried parents in Susan (Jennifer Coolidge) and Stanley (Clancy Brown) as well as even a brief conversation with Nina's mother (Molly Shannon). Unfortunately none of them could veer Cassie off her revenge driven path.

Then there was Ryan (Bo Burnham). He seemed promising and he seemed like he really could've been the one for Cassie until that bit from his past came to light and it's a shame because I was rooting for the guy until then. At least Al's former lawyer (Alfred Molina) had developed a conscience and aided Cassie at the last minute.

As for the final revenge itself. I loved the final confrontation between Cassie and Al and while it was brilliant that not even death could stop her from getting her revenge, I still would've preferred to have seen Cassie be alive and well and to have witnessed Al's downfall for herself. Still though, she definitely got her revenge in glorious style.

- Emerald Fennell who wrote and directed this movie also makes a brief cameo as a makeup tutorial video artist.

- The title refers to the infamous Brock Turner case from 2016.

- Standout music: Far too many choices here but the best ones are DeathByRomy's version of It's Raining Men, Paris Hilton's Stars Go Blind, Britney Spears Toxic and Juice Newton's Angel In The Morning.

- Chronology: By the end of this movie, it was July 27th.

Promising Young Woman is an ambitious, bold piece of film making. Emerald Fennell delivers a biting script and gets extraordinary performances out of her cast, especially Carey Mulligan. The latter delivers a career high performance and while I'm not sure about a certain outcome, there's no denying this film has left a lasting impression.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Superman And Lois 1x01: "Pilot"

 

Written by Todd Helbing And Greg Berlanti

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

Clark (re Martha): "I think she felt this family needs Smallville."

Lois: "As much as the world needs Superman?"

Clark: "I know it would be a huge change."

Lois: "Yeah, it would but I think she was right."

You wait a while for another Superman series and after years of his cousin flying the cape for the CW, it's time for the most famous Kryptonian to make his television return and with this pilot episode alone, it really does prove that the world will always need Superman.

I know DC shows on the CW can be divisive for some but the good will that the trailers for this show has generated over the last two months are definitely justified. This is an impressive pilot episode, feeling somewhat more mature for a Superman show while at the same time also feeling familiar enough too.

Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch are equal partners as both Superman and Lois and both of them are given the right opportunities to shine here. You buy their partnership immediately and this episode filled in the gaps to their first meeting, marriage and parenthood with ease as they face a lot of adult problems in this 63 minute premiere.

One problem being their fourteen year old twin boys Jonathan (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin). Both kids are tonally different to each other - the jock and the loner with mental health issues and within this pilot we see Clark struggle with Jordan as it's revealed surprisingly fast that he's the one with actual powers as well as a budding love interest in Sarah Cushing (Inde Navarette).

I'm not surprised that Jordan turned out to be the one with powers or that both boys didn't initially take it well when they learned that their father is Superman but the characters along with Sarah do make up the teen quotient for the CW and I thought all three came across well enough. 

As for the bigger threats - relocating to Smallville to save the farm following Martha's death might be what Clark intends to do but it's clear that Lois has her own arc that will likely involve Lana Cushing-Lang (Emmanuelle Chriqui) bank that now seems to be owned by Morgan Edge (Adam Rayner) who clearly has been set up to be an ongoing problem for Lois and Clark going forward.

This episode didn't actually feature Edge but he's mentioned a lot and he's responsible for the Daily Planet being gutted and Clark losing his job. However with Lois quickly agreeing to relocate to Smallville, it's unlikely she'll be remaining in the Daily Planet much longer either.

However the main villain of this opening episode and one who took delight in testing Superman's abilities was of course called The Stranger (Wole Parks). If you've already been spoiled, you'll know who he really is and if you paid the attention before the reveal, then it being Lex Luthor from a different Earth won't be a shocker.  You can't have a Superman show without Lex Luthor and we've got one from a different Earth. This is gonna be fun.

- The opening flashbacks were stunning, even Clark's first Superman suit as well as the neat ways they managed to get Donner, Siegel and Shuster on a notice board.

- Other characters we met that are of  importance are Lana's firefighter husband, Kyle (Erik Valdez) and Lois's father General Sam Lane (Dylan Walsh). The latter seemed to have more cordial relationship with Superman than he did with Supergirl during the latter's first season.

- Some of the darker stuff in this episode was mostly real life, such as Sarah telling Jordan about the horrors of her father's job. It sort of offers clarity for his abrasive behaviour around Lois and Clark.

- Chronology: Let's assume it's 2021 for now.

Superman And Lois takes all the bits from previous iterations and does something wonderfully new with it. This feels more grown up but still capturing the wonders of the character and his world. There's no denying that the CW have stuck gold with this series. Watch it soar.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Batman: Death In The Family (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Brandon Vietti

Bruce (to Clark): "If I've learned anything over the years, it's that the impossible is just the unthinkable lying in wait."

Yeah, we did this already animated wise back in 2010 but if DC can give us two animated movies the same Superman arc, then why not another variation of Death In The Family/Under The Red Hood for good measure.

The first half hour of this interactive, fate choosing feature has Bruce Wayne (Bruce Greenwood) telling Clark Kent (Nolan North) the events of the previous movie and I got to be honest, while it's nice to get Bruce's perspective on how he failed Jason Todd (Vincent Martella), it's also the definition if paddling and easily could've been conveyed in about five minutes.

Still though, there's the nice banter between Bruce and Clark and once you get past the overlong, you can sail through the scenarios of how things would've played out had Jason not died during that fatal encounter with the Joker in Bosnia. Most of then are not as surprising as they could've been.

You can have Jason avenge a Batman who died, you can have him still become the Red Hood or even Hush. There's even a scenario where Jason gets to kill the Joker along with the options of either having Jason fight or kill Batman and even a battle with Two Face.

Overall, the options of either killing or spring the Joker seem to cover every aspect if Jason's personality - the volatile sidekick, the victim, the villain and the grudging antihero. There's really an ideal option for however you feel about the character and that particular in general as well as seeing as how other Bat family react to things. 

- I'm surprised they didn't try and get Jensen Ackles back for this one, but Vincent Martella does a good job voicing Jason Todd.

- Wonder Woman and The Flash make brief cameos here and Cheetah even winds up as one of Jason's victims.

- I see they managed to slip in clever reference to Joker's first ever appearance in DC comics as well.

- You need the BluRay version in order to access the interactive choices for this movie.

Batman: Death In The Family is a solid but unnecessary retelling of the 2010 movie and if you have that in your collection, you don't really need this. The alternative scenarios are fine, animation is great but I cant help feeling that this was little more than a cheap cash grab and a simple Red Hood story might have been the better idea.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Wrong Turn (2021)

 

Written by Alan B. McElroy

Directed by Mike P. Nelson

John: "I was wrong about you, Jen. You are strong."

Jen: "I had to be if I was ever gonna get away from you."

Okay, forewarning time. As a horror franchise, I have no real attachment to Wrong Turn whatsoever. I've only seen the original once and have never bothered looking out for the five sequels that followed but for some strange reason, I decided to watch this one and the results were largely mixed to be honest.

The story is simple enough - six people decide to go on the Appalachian trial and by the end of this, only one makes it out of the traumatic events that follows but as the end led to believe, you can never escape the creepy, villainous tribe of the piece, also known as the Foundation.

Our six protagonists are three couples - two straight couples with Jen (Charlotte Vega) and Darius (Adain Bradley) and Adam (Dylan McTee) and Milla (Emma Dumont) along with gay couple, Gary (Vardaan Arora) and Luis (Adrian Favela). I'm gonna tell you right now, there's zero point in being even the tiniest bit invested in any of these pairings.

It's great for a horror film to have a gay couple among the main characters. Less great would be the way that Gary got quickly dispatched and Luis himself suffered a fate almost worse than death until he too was eventually killed off. So close but yet still drastically too far in the wrong direction for LGBT rep in the horror genre.

That's not to say the straight pairings fare better either to be fair. While trying to escape the Foundation, Milla fell into one of the many traps set out by the savage group and Adam paid for bashing a member's head in by getting his own bashed in.

The remaining couple of the piece are only spared by the Foundation's brutal leader Venable (Bill Sage) by Jen literally offering her and Darius's services to the tribe, which saw the latter eventually being brainwashed as the former got help escaping with her father, Scott (Matthew Modine), tribe girl Ruthie (Rhyan Elizabeth Hanavan) while also dealing with jealous tribeswoman Edith (Daisy Head) and some other threats along the way.

As baddies go, the Foundation are pretty poor even if Bill Sage does a little to dimensionalise his character, Venable. Charlotte Vega does a decent job as Jen but I'm not sure the character would go down in the pantheon of final girls, Everyone on the other hand are poorly served, though given rather brutal outcomes that have no emotional weight at all.

- The alternative title for this movie is Wrong Turn: The Foundation which would help differentiate it from the 2003 original movie. It only opened in US cinemas for one night.

-  The film has no opening credits at all for some odd reason. You have to wait until the closing credits to even get the title.

- There's no connection to any of the sequels but it's not entirely remaking the original either.

- Chronology: Gonna assume 2020, which was when it was meant to be released.

Wrong Turn definitely is a mess of a movie. Not quite another sequel but perhaps not enough of a reboot and the Foundation are just pretty poor characters along with the main characters. Maybe this franchise should just stay dead until someone can come up with a far better idea than this one.

Rating: 4 out of 10

My Review of It's A Sin: "Episode 5"

 

Written by Russell T. Davies

Directed by Peter Hoar

Jill (to Valerie): "He died because of you. They all die because of you."

Onto the final 'La' for this powerhouse series and of course, it ended how I think we all predicted it would. Time had passed and despite Ritchie's determination to live and some bits of hope, eventually he died. And it felt small but gutting.

Gutting due to the way that Valerie Tozer made herself into the biggest bitch by heartlessly removing Ritchie from his friends during his final weeks of life and for the cold and callous way in which she informed Jill a day later that Ritchie had died from something that wasn't her fault.

Keeley Hawes delivered a powerhouse performance in this episode but my disgust for Valerie and her mistreatment of Jill went into overdrive here. I loved that Jill wouldn't let Valerie intimidate her and I especially loved that she gave Valerie the dressing down the latter deserved here.

By comparison, Clive was surprisingly the better parent of the two, though he could've stood up to Valerie for Ritchie's sake. Still though, Ritchie's death hit as hard as Colin's and every other death this miniseries has given us.

In five episodes, Russell T. Davies highlighted a beautiful but tragic world. We lost characters like Colin and Ritchie bit at the same time, we also know that Roscoe, Ash and Jill also lived and I'm hoping went on to have amazing lives. 

Roscoe even got a second chance with his father and Valerie's actions were reprehensible, even I'll admit that she did love Ritchie in her own way. I do feel that maybe Ash should've been there too in the Isle of Wight with Jill and Roscoe but he still had some nice moments in this one.

- Russell T. Davies mentioned about wanting to do a sixth episode with Jill in the present day, which I would've loved to have seen.

- There was a nice flashback to an earlier with all the gang and Greg where Ritchie had his ice cream ruined by a sea gull. That was a lovely last scene.

- Standout music: Gonna go with Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill.

- Chronology: This episode started in November 1988 before jumping quickly into November 1991.

For a finale, this was a satisfying way to end the series. There was sadness, there were tears but there was also joy in getting to know these characters and further proof that Russell T. Davies continues to knock it out the park. Whatever his next project is, there's no doubt I'll be watching it.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Oh, Brother, You Don't Look The Same

A bit unusual for me but two TV Jumble blogs this month and here is the second one ...

Batwoman: The show took a two week break before coming back with a nice enough character piece that gave Ryan an old enemy to confront, a young boy's life to save and an ex-girlfriend to reconnect with. The same ex who also seems to be involved with Ocean, that guy that Safiyah wants Alice to kill who also has a romantic past with Alice to boot. On top of that, there's more hints of Black Mask coming, Jacob actually can work with a new Batwoman while Sophie, Mary and Luke all have different ways to deal with Kate's absence.

Bridgerton: I've finally finished the series and needless to say, I will be coming back for seconds. The second half of the season certainly put Simon and Daphne through the gamut while Eloise's hunt for Lady Whistledown surprisingly led to the latter's identity being revealed a lot earlier than expected. There was also the social downfall of the Featheringtons, a near scandal for Colin, Anthony reassessing his priorities and Benedict embarking on his own sexual escapades though sadly not with Henry. Maybe next season.

Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina: I have to admit that while I liked the final season enough for the most part, there's no denying that it felt very rushed for it's own good. The Eldritch Terrors were often easily dispatched off and Sabrina and Nick's own 'happy ending'  was a questionable way to end the series. I did like the return of the original Hilda and Zelda from the 90s series and the show certainly had fun with the two Sabrinas angle but overall, this was hastily ended series.

Schitt's Creek: Finishing up the second half of the third season, I really have come to love this series and these batch of episodes were some of the best yet. The introduction of Noah Reid's Patrick has certainly been a great addition to the series and while I'm surprised they didn't hold off a little before David and Patrick got to share their big kiss, I can see why so many love this couple. Now it's time to move on to the fourth season.

WandaVision: These last two episodes have been quite the adventure for the show. Is Wanda really controlling everything? SWORD think so. Both Norm and Agnes have implied to Vision that she is and anyone who has threatened Wanda's newly created world has paid for it. However it does feel like someone else has been pulling the strings and the return of Pietro with a new face definitely raises more questions too along with Wanda and Vision's rapidly aging kids. Along with the brilliant trio of Monica, Jimmy and Darcy, things really are heating up now.

• Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay have been cast in the lead roles for HBO's upcoming adaptation of The Last Of Us.
• JJ Abrams and HBO Max will be doing a reboot of  Constantine with a BIPOC lead. Guy Bolton will be head writer for the series.
• CBS will be ending both Mom and NCIS: New Orleans with their current seasons.
• The CW have passed on the Wonder Girl pilot but will go ahead with Naomi.
• Alan Cumming will make a guest appearance on Prodigal Son.
• The Flight Attendant will air on Sky1 from March 19th.
• Jamie Chung has landed a role on the upcoming revival of Dexter.
• Simone Ashley will play Kate Sharma, who will be the love interest for Anthony in the second season of Bridgerton.
• Brooklyn Nine Nine will also be ending with it's eighth season.
• Angus Macfadyen has been cast as Jor El for Superman And Lois.

My Review of Breaking Fast (2020)

 

Written And Directed by Mike Mosallam

Kal (quoting Superman): "Excuse me, Miss. I've got you."

Mo (quoting Lois Lane): "You've got me? Who's got you?"

It's Valentine's Day and I felt like watching something sweet and in terms of movies to pick, this was definitely a great choice to make. It's been on my list to watch for a few weeks now and today seemed the most apt of days to cave in and finally watch it.

Set in WeHo, or West Hollywood if you like, we've got our main protagonist, devout doctor and Muslim Mo (Haaz Sleiman) celebrating the last day of Ramadan with his family, only for his boyfriend Hassan (Patrick Sabongui) to break up with him, in order to marry a woman to appease his father.

A year later and Mo's friend, Sam (Amin El Gamal) tells his single friend to get back on the market and when Sam celebrates his birthday, the opportunity for Mo to seek love again comes in the form of aspiring actor and general cool guy, Kal (Michael Cassidy) and it's definitely a fun adventure these two love birds go on.

Recently while promoting It's A Sin Russell T. Davies talked more candidly on representation and having gay characters played by gay actors. In the context of Breaking Fast, Haaz Sleiman is openly gay while Michael Cassidy is straight. While I definitely agree with RTD's sentiments on the topic, there's no denying that both Sleiman and Cassidy have amazing chemistry, regardless of their own sexualities in real life.

We see Kal surprise and charm Mo by being able to speak Arabic, know his way around Ramadan customs and spending the majority of the month breaking fast with him almost every night. Then there's the fact that both men are massive fans of Christopher Reeve's Superman and this film earns even more great will, especially with both of them shamelessly quoting one particular scene twice in this film.

Of course while they do ultimately end up together and celebrate the last day of Ramadan with Mo's family, we still had moments of tension with Mo not being able to accept alternative views on his faith as this led to a heated confrontation with Sam where the latter related his own experiences as a stark contrast to Mo's own beliefs.

Kal's own turbulent relationship with his own family also came into play as well and while I definitely wish we had met his father and brother, his backstory definitely gave the right context to his love of acting, relationship with alcohol as well as giving Mo food for thought on how he's dealt with problems in his life. The subplot about Mo and his grandmother was also a nice poignant bit of writing here too.

Overall, I really loved this movie. Both Sleiman and Cassidy were fantastic to watch and while I found Sam a little OTT to begin with, he really is someone you want on your side and he had some genuinely funny moments like the one with his gossiping cousin at a funeral. Mo's mother was another delightful comic character that I would've liked to have seen more of but the focus was Mo and Kal and that was more than fine by me.

- The Superman references are even more on point when you remember that Michael Cassidy played Jimmy Olsen in Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.

- This is actually a remake of a short film from 2015 that was also written and directed by Mike Mosallam.

- Standout music: Haaz Sleiman's version of Climb Ev'ry Mountain.

- Chronology: I'm gonna assume 2020 tbh.

Breaking Fast is a joyous, lovely film with two wonderfully delightful protagonists and a believable love story. I don't know if this will generate any kind of follow up but if it does, I would absolutely watch it in a heartbeat. Haaz Sleiman and Michael Cassidy are both sublime.

Rating: 9 out of 10