DCU Blog - February 2024 Edition: Joker sequel pics, Batman Beyond Potential and Superman: Legacy Truly Begins

Wow, February really knocked it out of the park for DC news and I have a feeling by the time I post this, anothet big item will drop. Here goes.

Filming for Superman has officially begun with filming in both Norway and Ohio as well as Cleveland and Atlanta. Terence Rosemore has been cast as Otis, pictured along with the rest of the cast. Yes, quick edit to note the change of title for the movie.

Bassam Youssef had auditioned for a role, which was removed from the script prior to the strikes.

Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom final box office came to $433 million and is now available on Max to watch.

David Zaslav has confirmed that the script for Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is complete and a director is being sought for. 

Joker: Folie A Deux released more pictures of Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Joker and Harley Quinn during Valentine's Day. Expect the trailer to debut in April.

Jeffrey Wright has expressed hope in seeing more of Jim Gordon for The Batman Part II. The script has yet to be completed though.

The Penguin has been confirmed for Quarter 3 release on Max. Filming was completed this month.

The character of Booster Gold has been supposedly cast, though no actor has been confirmed as of yet.

A Batman Beyond animated movie from the Spiderverse directors has been pitched but as of now isn't currently in development.

Will Friedle and Matt Ryan will reprise their roles as Batman Beyond and John Constantine for the second part of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths. Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill will factor into the third part.

Danielle Brooks will reprise her role as Leota Adebayo in both Waller and the second season of Peacemaker. The latter is now written.

Creature Commandos will premiere in Quarter 4 on Max.

An animated movie based on The Jurassic League miniseries is in development with the script being written by Brian Lynch. 

Superman & Lois fourth season will premiere during the autumn on the CW.

Jenna Coleman will reprise her role as Johanna Constantine in the second season of The Sandman.

Dead Boy Detectives will premiere in April on Netflix.

That's it for this month but more exciting times ahead. 

My Review of Poor Things (2023)

 

Written by Tony McNamara

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

Bella: "I have adventured it and found nothing but sugar and violence."

Making my way through more of the recent award contenders brought me to what might be the weirdest and by far, the wildest movie of the bunch. Yes, I finally watched Poor Things.

What felt like an acid trip that lasted 142 minutes saw Emma Stone as Bella Baxter. Bella's a strange woman with a childlike sense of wonder and a serious lack of filter while being looked after by her "God" father, Dr Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Her eccentricities also attracted the likes of Godwin's assistant, Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) and sleazy cad/lawyer, Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo).

Even though Bella had become betrothed to Max earlier in the movie, it didn't stop Godwin from letting Bella explore the world with Duncan. Bella went from discovering self pleasure to doing a lot of furious jumping with Duncan as they boarded a ship that ended up causing a lot of problems for the mismatched pair.

It's not often that you get to see Mark Ruffalo play a villain and I have to admit that Duncan's more snivelling and pathetic than actually menacing. Granted,  Duncan's openly threatened by Bella making friends with fellow passengers such as Martha (Hanna Schygulla) and Harry (Jerrod Carmichael) and one act of compassion ended up being too much for Duncan to deal with.

On the plus side, Bella ended up in Paris and found liberation in the oldest profession in the book as well as socialism through new friend, Toinette (Suzy Bemba). However her connection with Toinette had something more than just politics attached and then the imminent death of Godwin brought her back home.

The last act of the movie though had the strangest reveal of Bella being a woman called Victoria Blessington who was pregnant, committed suicide and had her unborn child's mind transferred into her. Along with that revelation came an abusive husband named Alfie (Christoper Abbot). The comeuppance that's given to Alfie was suitably macabre but nowhere near as strange as the majority of the movie.

Summing it up, this might be one of the weirdest movies released in the last year and the fact that its gotten so much traction might be as big an achievement as the award love. I really don't know what to make of this one.

- A good portion of the movie was in black and white before Bella ran away with Duncan.

- Like most movies these days, this is an adaptation of a novel of the sane name by Alisdair Gray.

- The costuming in this movie might be some of the best we've had. Bella alone had some of the most striking looks throughout the movie that informed her character development.

- Chronology: A futuristic looking Victorian London with trips to Lisbon, Alexandria and Paris.

Poor Things might be the wildest movie I've watched in the last year. It's highly chaotic from start to finish with sublime performances from Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo. I think it's going to stay with me for quite a while.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part One (2024)

 

Written by James Krieg

Directed by Jeff Wamester

The Flash: "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Central City any more. Except I am in Central City."

With the DC Extended Universe ending a slight whimper with Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom, it was up to the Tomorrowverse (a similarly divisive DC movie universe) to go that extra bit harder. Time for a Crisis. 

Yes, four years ago, the CW tackled Crisis On Infinite Earths over the span of five television shows and in my opinion, they did a damn good job with it as well. This first part of a three part event also has gotten off to a good start with one character well and truly driving the narrative here.

I'm talking about The Flash (Matt Bomer) himself. In a different continuity, both him and a certain someone else were responsible for this new universe and while that person's punishment finally got revealed here, the focus was largely on Barry Allen himself having his past catch up with him.

Jumping in and out at different points in time, we got one of the best depictions of Barry and Iris's (Ashleigh LaThrop) relationship. We got to see them meet for the first time, fall in love, getting married, grow old together all while the threat of total annihilation dominated proceedings. I think this movie might have given one of the best depictions of their relationship in media.

Of course there was also the formation of the Justice League. Previous movies hinted at them being a team but this one showed the origins of The Flash, Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson), Superman (Darren Criss), Batman (Jensen Ackles), Vixen (Keesha Sharp), John Stewart (Aldis Hodge) and Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi) banding together. A good portion also being focused on defeating Lex Luthor (Zachary Quinto) and freeing Amazo (Nolan North) from the latter's grip.

However, that was the least of The Flash's problems. He ended up on a world where the Crime Syndicate, comprising of Johnny Quick (Liam McIntyre), Superwoman (Stana Katic), Power Ring (Aldis Hodge), Owlman (Lou Diamond Phillips) and Ultraman (Matt Lanter) reigned supreme before also becoming casualties as the Crisis spread over towards different Earths. We didn't get to see enough of them as villains to make impact but I liked their screen time regardless.

With the Crisis getting worse and worse, we had both Harbinger/Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) and The Monitor (Jonathan Adams) bring virtually every hero they could onto the station in order to formulate a plan. It meant finally having Wonder Woman (Stana Katic) again with contemporaries but gave the chance to see Blue Beetle (Matt Lanter), Hawkman/Psycho Pirate (Geoffrey Arend), Doctor Light/Huntress of Earth 2 (Erika Ishii) and Earth 2 Robin (Zach Collison) to name the many appearances we got here.

Then there was the Homeless Man (Nolan North) who kept stalking both The Flash and Crime Syndicate throughout the movie. When he wasn't warning them that world were ending, it was also practically confirmed that it was none other than John Constantine taking on the Pariah role as punishment by the Spectre (Lou Diamond Phillips). I was delighted with this particular reveal and the link up to Constantine's DCAU appearances was much appreciated.

As for the rest of the movie. It took a lot of people but mostly Barry to stop the Crisis and it almost worked, excepr it didn't. History got changed yet again and that alone set up a big cliffhanger for the second part that I cannot wait. Poor Barry, he can't do right for wrong in these situations.

- There's a dedication to George Perez (1954-2022) at the end of this movie.

- Other characters who appeared included Aquaman, Hal Jordan, Alfred Pennyworth, Lois Lane, Hawkgirl, Dawnstar, Creeper, Nightshade, Captain Atom, Wally West, Brainiac 5, The Question, Batgirl, Zatanna, The Ray, Mister Terrific, Swamp Thing, most of them in silent cameos though on the ship.

- There's a nice reference to Death from The Sandman, courtesy of Spectre. 

- While it's made clear the Homeless Man is John Constantine, he doesn't seem to remember himself, just that he's being punished and walks all doomed Earths as a warning.

- The second part of this trilogy will be released on April 23rd.

- Chronology: Present Day Central City, Gotham, Metropolis and outer space as well as scenes from previous movies.

I've been a mixed on the Tomorrowverse as a whole but I personally thought this was a terrific start to their take on Crisis On Infinite Earths and having The Flash anchor the first part of this story was a smart move. Easily the best movie from this verse after it's debut one of course. Looking forward to the concluding parts of this saga.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - The Secret Inner Lives Of Swans

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Max Winkler

Capote (to James Baldwin): "My Swans are trying to kill me."

Well, if you spend your time revealing all of your supposed friends innermost secrets, then that might be the most natural of responses. Why was it that the episode that focused the least on the Swans turned out to be the best?

Not only was it a nice episode for Tom Hollander to display some more vulnerability as Capote, the big reason why this episode hit so well was down to Chris Chalk's excellent guest performance as James Baldwin. I'd even go as far as to say, it's the best performance of the season in regards to this show.

Truman was in full self pity mode, feeling the effects of being a social outcast, due to revealing Swans. Enter James Baldwin, who insisted that Capote met him at the scene of the crime for a much needed reality check. He wouldn't put up with Capote's bullshit and the episode was all the better for him.

Effectively this episode could've been a two hander in that restaurant and it would've been perfect. However as Capote talked trash about the Swans, we cut to flashbacks of them being largely portrayed in a negative light. Truthfully this episode highlighted their foibles and hypocrisy.

We saw how the likes of Lee and Slim mistreated Ann themselves as well as their own extra marital affairs. We also how both the likes of Babe and CZ were poor mothers, not to mention a biting commentary on their classism, body shaming and covert racism. This was all the while we got some details on actual Swans themselves.

By the end of this episode, James Baldwin had snapped Capote out of his self inflicted and the latter was back to writing/trashing his former friends. Truman talked about the Swans trying to kill him, only for a certain meal by a cute waiter/chef (Will Hochman) signifying that he won't be so easily killed. He ate a fucking Swan.

- I noticed that Joanne was the only Swan that Capote didn't talk shit about and was the only one who didn't appear in the episode.

- Although they didn't actually sleep together, the chemistry between Capote and Baldwin was the best. Tom Hollander and Chris Chalk played off each other so well.

- Lee didn't hold back with her biting comments on Capote's looks at all.

- Chronology: This episode was set during 1975. 

The Secret Inner Lives Of Swans was by far the best episode of the season. Tom Hollander and Chris Chalk were on excellent form and the dialogue the most pithy as well. I think we needed more focus on Capote's thoughts on his Swans and this showed he didn't care for them at times.

Rating: 9 out of 10

My Review of Mean Girls (2024)

 

Written by Tina Fey

Directed by Samantha Jayne And Arturo Perez Jr

Regina: "My name is Regina George and I am a massive deal. Fear me, love, stand and stare at me."

Last month, I went back and rewatched/reviewed the original movie and now that I've had the time to catch up, it was time for me to watch this musical remake. I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't surpass the original but there's a lot of fun to be had with nevertheless.

Going over familiar territory, we've got Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) who with her mother (Jenna Fischer) traded in Kenya for Northshore and it's not long before everything felt familiar but that little bit different. Given that it's a musical, why not, right?

Cady quickly befriended fellow outcasts Janis 'Imi'ike (Auli'i Cravahlo) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), developed a crush on popular school boy Aaron (Christopher Briney) and of course, there was the Plastics. Yes, the reason the original movie was so iconic in the first place.

You've got Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Shetty (Avantika) and yet again, Cady went from befriendin them, scheming against them to becoming a tad worse than them. Like I said, it's familiar territory but being a musical certainly made things a little different.

Given how iconic the roles were for certain actors, I will give the cast here props. All of them are well cast in their respective roles with particular shoutouts to the likes of Reneé Rapp and Avantika really bringing a new energy to Regina and Karen.

However to keep things familiar, both Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles as Ms. Norbury and Mr. Duvall while there's fun performances from both Busy Philipps and Jon Hamm as Regina's mother and Coach Carr respectively. 

- Lindsay Lohan appeared briefly as a moderator at the Mathletes competition while Ashley Park appeared as French teacher, Madame Park. She played Gretchen in the stage version.

- Originally this was slated for just a release on Paramount+ before getting a theatrical release. 

- In this version, it's made clear that Janis actually is a lesbian, even getting a spring formal date as well. 

- At one point in the movie, both Janis and Damian are watching Friday The 13th Part 2.

- Standout music: A lot of highlights but Cautionary Tale, Meet The Plastics, Apex Predator, Revenge Party, World Burn and Not My Fault.

- Chronology: It's definitely been updated for 2024.

Mean Girls (2024) might not quite hit as big as the original but it's a pretty entertaining update on a classic movie. The roles are well cast for a second time, the musical numbers are great and there's plenty of fun to be had. Plastic can be fantastic second time around.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of The Iron Claw (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Sean Durkin

Kevin Von Erich: "I used to be a brother."

I got to be honest, sports movies are generally not my thing and I have a very sporadic interest in wrestling at best. Saying that, there's been hype for this particular movie, so I decided to watch it out of curiosity.

Again, due to my sporadic interest in wrestling, I didn't have a clue who the Von Erich family were or their legacy as a wrestling team but it appeared that this movie summed up everything I needed to know.

The Von Erichs themselves comprised of brothers Kevin (Zac Efron), David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons), all of whom had various aspirations to be the best wrestler with their father, Fritz (Holt McCallany) essentially playing off them each other while their mother, Doris (Maura Tierney) seemed more detached than Fritz from the boys at times.

One of the most interesting things about this movie was the discussion of a family curse for the Von Erichs. Fritz seemed dismissive of the idea while Kevin very much believed in it and given how death followed the Von Erichs, Kevin was right to believe it.

As the movie progressed, the deaths of David, Mike and Kerry all weighed heavily on Kevin to the point where it even affected his marriage to Pamela (Lily James) before his own sons were able to pull him out of his despair. The bond between the Von Erichs definitely anchored this movie.

However while decent screen time was given to the brothers, for logistical reasons, the focus was largely on Kevin. It's a pity this movie has been almost left out of the awards love because Zac Efron alone definitely delivered a career best performance here. He's grown a lot as an actor over the last few years and he did some fantastic work in this film alone.

- Maxwell Friedman appeared as Lance Von Erich when Mike had to sit out a wrestling match due to toxic shock.

- Doris admitted that she had aspirations to be a painter and Mike originally wanted to be a musician before going into wrestling.

- Yes, the scene where all the dead brothers and Jack Jr was a very emotive moment in the movie.

- Chronology: From 1979 to 2009, going by the textual epilogue.

The Iron Claw turned out to be a very engaging movie with some great performances and fight scenes nicely recreated. There's some bits that lag a little but overall, it's a strong movie that probably should be getting more award love that it's getting.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Justice League: Warworld (2023)

 

Written by Jeremy Adams And Ernie Altbacker And Josie Campbell

Directed by Jeff Wamester

Superman: "Where on Earth are we anyways?"

Martian Manhunter: "Not Earth. Warworld."

With the last two Tomorrowverse movies giving focus to characters like Green Lantern and Supergirl, it was time to focus back on the Trinity and by doing that, we got a movie where our three heroes were scattered in different time zones.

First of all Wonder Woman (Stana Katic) ended up in the Wild West where she had to contend with both Bat Lash (Brett Dalton) and Jonah Hex (Troy Baker). It's a simple enough tale with Diana struggling to remember her name as well as controlling her rage when Hex stepped out of line. 

Then there was Batman (Jensen Ackles). He ended up on the world of Skartaris where he went from being a mercenary/slave of the warlord Travis Morgan (Teddy Sears) to allying with him in order to raid the castle of Deimos (Damian O'Hare) for freedom and gold. It's during this plot that a certain slave woman and a golden lasso along with the mercenary that both realised they needed to get to a portal to be in their own time.

Then there of course Superman (Darren Criss). Stuck in 1950s town of Grovers Mill, he was a federal agent along with King Faraday (Frank Grillo) and quickly reunited with both Bruce and Diana. There was also subplot here involving White Martians before it turned out that the setting wasn't real to begin with it.

It was revealed that the our Trinity along with Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi) were being kept prisoner on Warworld by Mongul (Robin Atkin Downes) with Lobo (John DiMaggio) assisting him. Fortunately having Martian Manhunter helped in turning both Mongul and Lobo against one another.

Then there was the final few minutes of the movie. Warworld got destroyed and a mystery woman, who the next movie would reveal to be Harbinger (Kari Wahlgren) informed the Trinity about the coming Crisis as this particular continuity of animated movies would head to it's three part send off.

- Superman's plot was in black and white, riffing off The Twilight Zone.

- There's another brief appearance of The Flash (Matt Bomer) in this movie as "old man".

- Other characters who appeared included Ginsburg and Snapper Carr. 

- Chronology: Various timelines, considering what Mongul was subjecting the Trinity to in this movie.

Justice League: Warworld I guess should be lauded for trying something a bit different. Much as the various timelines for the Trinity was an interesting idea, it didn't quite gel as well it could've done. Still, this movie did serve it's purpose as a prelude to a much bigger event on the horizon.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Legion Of Super-Heroes (2023)

 

Written by Josie Campbell

Directed by Jeff Wamester

Supergirl (to Superman): "Batman's right. I don't belong here. With Krypton gone. With Mom gone, I don't belong anywhere."

Back on to the Tomorrowverse side of things and perhaps I timed this movie well. With a certain Maid of Might getting another casting, this movie largely focused on Supergirl (Meg Donnelly) and all the better for it.

The opening scene focused on the destruction of Argo City with Kara Zor-El and her mother, Alura In-Ze (Jennifer Hale) being separated from one another. Then we cut to Kara in Metropolis struggling with Earth life.

Even donning the guise of Supergirl and working with her cousin Superman (Darren Criss) and a sceptical Batman (Jensen Ackles) didn't exactly help. A fight with Solomon Grundy (Darin De Paul) only made Kara feel more isolated and for that, Superman had the perfect solution - send Supergirl to the 31st Century.

Yup, Supergirl got to go a thousand years into the future thanks to a time bubble device Superman had and train with the Legion of Super-Heroes. That meant initially finding Mon-El (Yuri Lowenthal) charming and aggressively coming to blows with Brainiac 5 (Harry Shum Jr). Kara assumed he was going to be like his famous grandfather and for at least a few scenes, we were led to believe she might have been right.

Of course it turned out that the original Brainiac (Darin De Paul) was the main villain of the piece with both the Dark Circle and Mon-El as his faithful acolytes. That along with previous Brainiac clones entrapped into the current Brainiac meant that both Supergirl and Brainiac had to rescue their fellow Legionnaires and teachers in order to stop Brainiac.

As for the rest of the heroes, there was a nice amount of screen time given to characters such as Dawnstar (Cynthia Hamidi), Triplicate Girl (Daisy Lightfoot), Bouncing Boy (Ely Henry), Phantom Girl (Gideon Adlon), Invisible Kid (Zeno Robinson) and Arms-Fall-Off Boy (Ben Diskin) to name but a few. Not to mention between stopping Brainiac's grand scheme, there was a hint of a romance between Supergirl and Brainiac 5.

- The Flash (Matt Bomer) briefly appeared in this movie, following Grundy's capture.

- Meg Donnelly who voices Supergirl in this universe did audition for the character in the DCU. Milly Alcock would get the role.

- There's a post credit sequence, leading to the next movie, Justice League: Warworld.

- Chronology: Both 21st and 31st centuries for the movie.

Legion Of Super-Heroes was an enjoyable trip to the 31st Century with Supergirl being a great focus along with a very strong plot for Brainiac (all of them). I had a good time with this one.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - It’s Impossible

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant 

Capote (to Babe): "You should buy that dress anyway. So what if there's no party. Who needs parties anyway?"

We're halfway into this season and after last week's Black & White party from 1966, it was time to go back into a later period. The focus again being on both Truman and Babe's declining health and essentially the notion of forgiveness.

Babe felt like being in a forgiving mood, much to the chagrin of the somewhat hypocritical Slim this week. Capote wanted to accelerate the Swans forgiveness of him by recreating the Black & White party. It nearly worked but it didn't.

Initially it seemed like Slim was going to derail Capote with her own acts of revenge on her former friend. Blind items definitely felt like they were beneath Slim as Lee was only too quick to casually point out but this episode really highlighted Slim's own hypocrisy. Specifically Lee did it and with such style that Ryan Murphy better be lining Calista Flockhart for a future project. 

Anyways for all of Slim's anger towards Truman for exposing secrets, it was both Lee and Babe who were aware of Slim's affair with Bill. Lee called Slim out on it and rightly so while Babe chose forgiveness, which only made both Bill and Slim feel worse than they already did for deceiving Babe.

As for Truman, Jack nearly got him to take responsibility for his deteriorating health but Capote preferred booze and continuing his destructive relationship with John O'Shea until the latter decided to go back to women. The arrival of John's daughter, Katy though gave Capote a protégé he didn't want but seemingly embraced.

The last scene between Capote and Babe was the highlight of the episode. A bittersweet moment between two friends who wanted to reconcile but weren't quite there yet. I do wonder if Babe's death will be before the finale, given that the episode reinforced that she hadn't long to live. 

- The episode was dedicated to Treat Williams (1951-2023) who passed away after filming for the series. 

- Of course Truman was happy to tell both CZ and Joanne about his sexual antics while he was supposed to be getting better. Jack also went to Switzerland after Truman relapsed. Truman also gossiped about Richard Avedon's sexuality.

- Standout music: The use of Perry Como's It's Impossible throughout the episode was nicely done. It was also Babe's favourite song.

- Chronology: I'm guessing around 1977 or 1978. The episode doesn't specify though Jodie Foster is referred to as a starlet by John and Truman.

It's Impossible was a delightful episode that certainly did well on the talks of forgiveness, even if one character wasn't willing to go down that route. The last scene was my favourite but I really want more of Lee Radziwill in the second half of the season.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The Fantastic Four - Cast Officially Announced & New Release Date

After months of possibly the worst kept secret in the industry, Marvel decided that Valentine's Day was the best day to reveal the cast for The Fantastic Four.

The news will not shock you one bit.

Complete with a gorgeous poster and a release date, the following actors have been cast as the following characters. The poster alone also seemingly confirmed a long standing rumour of the movie being set in 1963.

Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play Ben Grimm and Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm. As we've known for the last several months but at least they're finally announced and today was a good day to announce it.

As for the release date, originally it was going to early 2025 but now will be July 25th 2025 and will undoubtedly be the summer blockbuster along with Superman: Legacy and the next Jurassic Park movie. Summer 2025 will be insane with three particular movies released so closely to one another.

Filming for The Fantastic Four will begin shortly for it's July 25th 2025 release date.

My Review of Big Boys - Series 2 (2024)

After the surprise success of the first series of this charming show, Channel 4 finally premiered the second series and now I'm reviewing it.

Written by Jack Rooke

Directed by Jim Archer

Jack: "I keep fancying straight guys."

Danny: "Yeah, that's going to be a problem."

If you watch the first series, you know who the main players are. You've got Jack (Dylan Llewellyn), his straight best mate Danny (Jon Pointing) and fellow students Corinne (Izuka Hoyle) and Yemi (Olisa Odele). It's their second year at university and once again, they're trying to find themselves as best they can.

It's a good depiction of that struggle as the foursome tackle mental health issues, new partners, an unexpected pregnancy which lead to an abortion as well as an episode dedicated to work experience. While Jack put his mouth in it at a radio station, you had both Danny and Corinne somewhat in their element while working for a lads magazine. As for Yemi, there was a brief look into his work as a cam guy, which naturally also connected to Jack in a way.

Specifically it connected to the character of Oscar (Jake Dunn). He's the closest to a love interest that Jack got this series but Oscar was also a big fan of Yemi's and hooked up with him too. Jack almost copped off with Oscar for real in the penultimate episode this series, only for another major storyline to impede said hook up going ahead. Oscar's quite the cutie but we don't see enough of him to get invested.

Jack's love life really didn't progress that much this series. We didn't get a lot with him and Oscar and there was an episode where he was a bit too obsessed with knowing what his abrasive tutor Tim's (Robert Gilbert) sexuality was that even Danny had to call him out on it. As for Danny and Corinne, the show kept hinting at an endgame for them but we didn't quite get it, in spite of some genuinely great moments with both characters throughout this series.

One thing that also stood out this series was a larger focus on Jack's cousin, Shannon (Harriet Webb). At times, the focus was a bit more than expected as Shannon fell pregnant by nice delivery guy Tariq (Shane Zaza) and ended up giving birth in the last episode. As for the name she gave the baby - Nanny Bingo (Annette Badland) wasn't wrong about the child getting bullied. The last episode alone had some great flashbacks to the last few days of Jack's father, Laurie (Ian Burfield), especially for the scenes with Shannon and Nanny showing their softer sides.

Speaking of softer sides, I absolutely loved the various scenes that Peggy (Camille Coduri) had with both Jack and Danny this series and I thought her burgeoning romance with Russell (James Doherty) was rather sweet. Peggy definitely proved to be a better parent to Danny than the latter's father, Dennis (Marc Warren), who really was awful and wanted to take poor Iris's (Sheila Reid) flat during Danny's birthday. There's a great line about choosing family that really packed a punch when it came to the finale.

- Episode titles were The Boys Are Back In Town, Strictly Cum Dumping, Tennis Table Tennis, Surprise Surprise, All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Gay and The Night When.

- Jack Rooke appeared in the very last scene of the series, giving this a very final feel.

- I did laugh at that glory hole gag Jack had to endure in the first episode.

- We got a Derry Girls reunion as Louisa Harland popped up as a midwife in the last episode.

- All4 released the series in December but Channel 4 waited to air it during Sundays from January.

- Chronology: A few months after the first series before heading to May 2015.

Series 2 of Big Boys felt like it could've been a good place to have the series end, given that final scene but at the same time, it kind of left me wanting one more series. There was a lot to enjoy with the series and yet again, the male friendships are some of the best depicted on telly. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

Scream Franchise - Current Chaos And Will Scream VII Happen?

To the last part of that question, the answer is yes, we will get Scream VII but for a franchise that's usually had its shit together, these laat few months have been a headache that Spyglass could've easily avoided.

One thing that I've noticed with the last two movies was that we've got something of a generational divide between old school Scream fans who grew up with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) as their final girl and new fans who have taken to Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) as their final girl. With both the Core Four not returning for the next movie and doubts as to whether Sidney herself will return (I'm leaning towards no), surely there's some light at the end of the tunnel? Right now, not quite.

Back in December, Scream VII director Christopher Landon took to Twitter (never calling it X) to announce he had stepped down from the project. Given the torrential abuse that younger fans gave him over the whole Melissa Barrera debacle, I actually don't blame him stepping away. Saying that, I was looking forward to seeing what he would've brought to the franchise. However, anyone hoping that Spyglass were going to cancel this movie will be inevitably disappointed.

Yes, for the time it seems that not only are Spyglass going ahead with the seventh movie, written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick but some directors have been rumoured (and I stress the *rumoured* bit) for taking on the sure to be divisive movie, also rumoured for a 2025 release. The frontrunner seems to be John Hyams. He's directed movies such as Alone and Sick (the latter co-written by Kevin Williamson) and probably would be a good fit for the franchise as Spyglass are determined to make this movie regardless of online discourse.

Now that we know Scream VII will be happening, where will it go as a movie? Like I said earlier in the blog, the Core Four are done and I genuinely don't believe they will get Sidney back either, so I assume a new script has been written to accommodate for those losses to the franchise. Do we go the reboot territory, take on a true crime angle or foolishly remake the first movie? My guess will be it'll be a new cast with possibly Gale (Courtney Cox) and/or Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) as a supporting character but I do think that perhaps to mix things up maybe go for a male protagonist this time around.

I'll provide more updates as things move further along with Scream VII over the next while.

My Review of Green Lantern: Beware My Power (2022)

 

Written by John Semper And Ernie Altbacker

Directed by Jeff Wamester

John Stewart: "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil's might beware my power ... Green Lantern's light."

I had started the Tomorrowverse but then had dropped it but now I'm back at it, considering that it's ending this year. So far we've had Superman and Batman, not to mention The Flash and the Justice Society. Time to focus on the space side of DC in this animated movie universe.

It's where of course the Guardians come in and specifically the Lanterns. Specifically John Stewart (Aldis Hodge), who was coping with his former military days as a civilian before being drafted into a war off world. Yup, whether he liked it or not, John Stewart was destined to be a Green Lantern.

Largely thanks to Ganthet (Jason J. Lewis) passing Hal Jordan's (Nolan North) ring to John with Jordan being presumed dead. John struggled to get the ring to remove itself from his finger and it wasn't long before he clashed with Vixen (Keesha Sharp), Martian Manhunter (Ike Amadi) and Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson). Of course much bigger problems were ahead.

Being paired with Green Arrow (who gave good advice in absence of other Lanterns), John soon realised that a war was brewing between Thanagar and Rann as a brief truce between them had ended and it wasn't long before both Shayera Hol/Hawkgirl (Jamie Gray Hyder) and Adam Strange (Brian Bloom) were forced to put their differences to one side and work together to save both their worlds going the same way as Oa did. 

As for the baddies of the piece, at first there was the use of Sinestro (Rick D. Wasserman) and his band of Yellow Lanterns and then there was the trigger happy Sardath (Simon Templeman). Both looked like they were going to be the main threat of the movie until John took out Sinestro and Hal killed Sardath on the spot. Yeah, about Hal.

Halfway through the movie (and to Green Arrow's delight), it turned out that Hal was alive but somewhat more relaxed about killing. Then it was revealed that Hal got taken over by Parallax, killed his fellow Lanterns, took their rings and made Sinestro into his acolyte. I have mixed feelings on this development.

On one hand, Hal/Parallax made for an impressive final act villain who did get a very poignant defeat at the hand of his best friend while another character made a heroic sacrifice to prevent world destruction. On the other hand, I don't like Hal being made into a villain to boost John or John replacing him in general when both can co-exist. Saying that, the movie was John's from start to finish and he's a likable lead, so it does work. 

- Aldis Hodge went on to play Hawkman in Black Adam a few months after this movie's release.

- The Trinity and The Flash are mentioned but surprisingly don't appear at all in the movie. We also missed Wonder Woman going from Justice Society in World War 2 to Justice League in the present day.

- John's had relationships with both Vixen and Hawkgirl in other media. He did seem to warm to the latter as the movie progressed and she with him too.

- Chronology: I'm guessing it's been a while since Batman: The Long Halloween two parter.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power made for a solid debut into the Lanterns side of things for the Tomorrowverse. Regardless of my feelings about Hal's overall depiction, it was a good outing for John and a nice use of other characters too. For the most part, I really liked this one. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of They/Them (2022)

 

Written And Directed by John Logan

Owen (to the teens): "I can't make you straight but if you give us this week we might be able to help."

Okay, more LGBT horror. I was going to leave this for a bit but considering it came out well over a year, perhaps I had left it too. The general premise of this movie certainly raised an eyebrow though.

Setting a movie at a conversion camp with LGBT teens and a group of bigoted/closeted counsellors administering some of the worst conversion was horrifying in itself. However this movie decided to throw a serial killer in the mix. Dony worry, the victims are the very characters you want to see die in this particular setting.

However going back a bit, let's look at the LGBT characters spotlighted here. The main protagonist would be trans non-binary Jordan (Theo Germaine) who quickly made an enemy of the counsellors but they're the closest to a hero of the piece and the one who by the end of the movie declared that they didn't need saving when confronted by the killer.

The other LGBT character included Sondheim loving Toby (Austin Crute), trans girl Alexandra (Quei Tann), bisexual Veronica (Monique Kim), closeted lesbian Kim (Anna Lore), abrasive jock Stu (Cooper Koch) and secret plant Gabriel (Darwin Del Fabro). It's a decent mix of characters to go up against the counsellors whilst worrying about a serial killer in the mix.

The counsellors themselves included husband and wife duo Owen (Kevin Bacon) and Cora (Carrie Preston) and deeply closeted/self loathing anti-couple goals Zane (Boone Platt) and Sarah (Hayley Griffith). Owen and Cora were quick to drop their initial nice act, both aiming their ire at Jordan specifically while Zane seemed to enjoy torturing Stu and Sarah likewise too much pleasure toying with Kim and Veronica.

As for the killer themselves, having a counsellor named Molly (Anna Chlumsky) be a former victim of conversion camp seeking revenge was a move. Honestly, I probably would've helped as she only went after the counsellors and none of the kids themselves. Her methods might have been brutal but it was hard not to sympathise with her overall. 

- The film is literally pronounced They Slash Them and was another Blumhouse exclusive for Peacock.

- The camp was called Whistler Camp and at one point, Veronica and Kim mentioned Jason Voorhees. Kevin Bacon was in the first Friday The 13th movie.

- Standout music: Nice use of Pink's Perfect.

- Chronology: Summer 2022, likely tying in with it's release on Peacock.

They/Them does seem to be a well intentioned horror flick and probably didn't need the serial killer plot. The characters are fine and there's an attempt to nuance both the villains and killer with mixed results. Overall not bad but could be a lot better.

Rating: 6 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Masquerade 1966

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz 

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote: "The fun of having a party is who you don't invite."

After last week's double bill showing Capote falling out with his Swans and being a social outcast, this episode flashed back to a time where he was the belle of the ball and knew how to throw a fabulous party. Albeit one with a twist, format wise.

Nearly all in black and white, this episode had Capote and his Swans being part of a documentary by David (Yuval David) and Albert Maysles (Pawel Szajda). It was a chance to get an insight into Capote's individual relationships with each other the women as they all had their reservations about being filmed.

Mostly Babe and Slim seemed the least keen on the idea. For Babe, it was during yet another affair from Bill being revealed while Slim wasn't thrilled with the idea of her ex husband and his new partner, Pamela Harriman (Allison Wright) being at the masquerade ball. Then there was also the honoured guest plot.

Slim was absolutely convinced that her small town connection to Truman would cement her getting the honour while Babe was visibly disappointed when it was Katharine Grant who had been honoured instead. You can tell that Babe really does see herself more as Truman's best friend than the other women.

Then there was CZ, who was going through a divorce and felt self conscious being at the masquerade party while having to listen to other party goers talk shit about her. Lee on the other hand was at her scathing best, showing a skepticism to Capote over a decade before his big betrayal of the Swans. Lee certainly had his card while Joanne was more enabling of Truman. Even Jack was exhausted by Capote this week.

As for Ann Woodward, I felt so bad for her this episode. She gatecrashed the ball with her handsome son, only to be cruelly humiliated by Capote. I do think because of the pointed commentary about Ann being similar to Capote's mother, it's largely why he was so horrible to her. Saying that, Ann was somewhat prophetic in her parting choices of words to Capote. He should've been a lot nicer to her.

- There was brief appearances from Andy Warhol and Camdice Bergen during the masquerade ball.

- Jessica Lange appeared again with Capote talking to his mother during the last minute of the episode.  She's also a producer along with Naomi Watts who plays Babe.

- I had to laugh at Lee implying that her sister, Jackie Kennedy stole her man. 

- Chronology: 1966, following the release of Capote's book, In Cold Blood.

Masquerade 1966 was a solid diversion episode. I do think how the way the Swans see Capote compared to how he sees them was rather interesting to watch unfold throughout the episode. Saying that, it's a bit weaker compared to the first two episodes.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of Sick (2022)

 

Written by Kevin Williamson And Katelyn Crabb

Directed by John Hyams

Miri (to Parker) : "This isn't a vacation, it's a quarantine."

The last type of movie I want to watch would be a COVID themed. Aside from the fact that feels too soon to be doing these sort of movies, we've already too many things tackle this pandemic in a short space of time. However saying that, this was surprisingly decent.

The opening felt like it could've been lifted out of a Scream movie (considering the co-writer of this movie, you won't be shocked). We start off with a college guy named Tyler (Joel Courtney) who masked up and went to a store to get stuff while also receiving some creepy text messages.

Then Tyler went back to his dorm and within minutes he was killed by a mystery assailant. He put up a decent fight before dying but it set up a precedent as the killer(s) had bigger fish to fry than just Tyler. This would be where our actual protagonists would factor into things.

The protagonists being two young women named Parker (Gideon Adlon) and Miri (Beth Milion). They decided to take a vacation in a cabin and it wasn't long before Parker's boyfriend DJ (Dylan Sprayberry) also joined them. We get an insight into the no strings dynamic that Parker was trying to set with DJ with the more health conscious Miri also psychoanalysing her best friend.

As protagonists, the three are fine enough. Truth be told, they do feel like they could be in the Scream franchise (and I wouldn't be shocked if one of these actors winds up in that franchise) and it wasn't long before the mystery killers was doing their best to kill them one by one. As for the killers, the motive won't shock in the slightest.

Yes, it's a COVID related motive where parents Jason (Marc Menchaca) and Pamela (Jane Adams) wanted revenge on Parker for inadvertently killing their son, Benji (Logan Murphy). You'd almost feel bad for them but they're basically hypocrites and wind up getting their own just desserts with both Parker and Miri making it out of this movie intact.

- The main villains are literally named after a mother and son duo from a classic horror franchise.

- This was a streaming release, debuting on Peacock in January 2023. 

- Standout music: Erasure's A Little Respect.

- Chronology: It's specifically revealed to be April 2020, so around the time where lockdown was taking effect.

I had not low but not too high expectations for Sick. While I definitely don't think it's the best horror in recent times, I liked it far more than expected. You can see Kevin Williamson's influences here while John Hyams did a solid job with the direction. Some decent kills too helped.

Rating: 7 out of 10

My Review of All Of Us Strangers (2023)

 

Written And Directed by Andrew Haigh

Adam: "You and me together into the world."

I've been waiting a while to see this movie that I really did hype it up in my head. Upon seeing it, it certainly lived up to any preconceived ideas I had about the movie.

Based on Taichi Yamada's 1987 novel Strangers, this movie focused on a lonely screenwriter named Adam (Andrew Scott). Living in a tower block in London, Adam encountered the much younger and sadder Harry (Paul Mescal) but turned down the latter's offer for a drink on one particular night.

On top of that, Adam was a man dealing with the trauma of losing his parents before his twelfth birthday and thirty years later, he's meeting up with his dead parent. First by encountering his father (Jamie Bell) at an off licence and then going back to his childhood home to reunited with his mother (Claire Foy).

Yes, it's clear very early into the movie that Adam is talking to ghosts and as the movie progressed he was able to hash out certain things with both parents. For his mother, it was admitting that he was gay and that society's views on homosexuality had progressed since her time. His mother's initial stance on Adam being gay felt believable as she then embraced the idea of son falling in love with another man.

As for Adam's father, there was some beautifully written scenes where his dad had suspected Adam was gay but was also apologetic for not comforting Adam when the latter was bullied in school. Both Jamie Bell and Claire Foy are on excellent form as Adam's parents.

Of course, Adam couldn't maintain his relationship with his dead parents and a big part of the movie was him having to let go of them once and for all in a rather fitting scene set in a diner. Then there was Adam's other prominent relationship in this movie, one that came with a twist that made sense in retrospect.

Adam's relationship with Harry might be one of the best relationships between gay men depicted on screen. It's certainly got a level of authenticity that writer/director Andrew Haigh has pulled off in past works such as Weekend and Looking. The chemistry between Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal was incredible to watch.

I'm not exaggerating here. Both Scott and Mescal are absolutely compelling to watch, not just for the sex scenes and physical intimacy between Adam and Harry but the emotional scenes too are nothing short of stunning. The twist with Harry at the end might have added a bittersweet taste to things but there's no denying that both actors gave it their all.

- In the book, the protagonist was a straight man who befriended a couple that looked like his parents.

- Andrew Haigh's childhood home was used for the scenes where Adam visited his parents.

- Adam went to live with his maternal grandmother in Dublin. Andrew Scott keeps his own accent here whereas Paul Mescal did have an English accent for Harry.

- Adam was an only child whereas Harry had an older brother and sister but seemed to be somewhat distant from his own parents.

- Standout music: Pet Shop Boys Always On My Mind and Frankie Goes To Hollywood The Power Of Love.

- Chronology: Over thirty years since the death of Adam's parents, who died during Christmas. Adam's in his forties.

All Of Us Strangers was an absolute delight of a movie from start to finish. Andrew Scott gave a career best performance and he was backed up in brilliant supporting roles from Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy. Andrew Haigh's writing and directing was his best yet. This movie was note perfection in every way. I loved it to bits.

Rating: 10 out of 10

My Review of Child's Play (2019)

 

Written by Tyler Burton Smith

Directed by Lars Klevberg

Chucky: "If they don't let us play, they all go away."

After seven movies of following the same continuity, for some reason not only was it time for this franchise to go back to theatres but it was also time for it to get a reboot.

Reboots are mixed bags. Sometimes they're moderately decent like A Nightmare On Elm Street (imo of course) or flat out terrible like Halloween and Friday The 13th. This reboot felt it had elements of both. I didn't hate this movie but I definitely didn't love it either.

One of the best elements of this franchise was the idea of the soul of a serial killer trapped inside the body of a Good Guy Doll. This time around it's MyBuddi Doll also named Chucky (Mark Hamill) and it's more of an AI gone bad than an actual serial killer.

On the other hand, we have Andy Barclay (Gabriel Bateman) and his mother, Karen (Aubrey Plaza) - the latter working in the store where Chucky was sold. They have a bit of strained dynamic and at first Andy's resistant to Chucky before accepting him as a friend. Then Andy made some real friends with Falyn (Beatrice Kitsos) and Pugg (Ty Consiglio) as well as a frenemy in Omar (Marlon Kazadi).

Andy's dynamic does seem a bit more fleshed out but when Chucky murdered the cat and even Karen's awful boyfriend Shane (David Lewis), even Andy knew that Chucky was bad news. Then there was Detective Mike Norris (Bryan Tyree Henry) and his mother, Doreen (Carlease Burke), both decent characters that intersect into Andy and Chucky's story well enough.

As for the final act, it's not entirely dissimilar to a movie that would come out years later and would be far better overall. There was also a clear sequel hook but considering how this franchise would pan out, this wasn't meant to be. 

- The only movie in the franchise with no involvement with creator Don Mancini. I don't think he was a fan of this.

- Mike mixed up Millennials and Gen Z and that Tupac reference just didn't work at all.

- Standout music: The Buddi Song, which was used a lot in the movie.

- Chronology: 2019 Chicago, seemingly around Christmas time.

Child's Play (2019) certainly isn't awful but as a reboot, it definitely lacked. I'm a fan of Mark Hamill but Brad Dourif is Chucky and the change up of the character's backstory just didn't work for me. I'm really glad we got the TV series after this one.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Cult Of Chucky (2017)

 

Written And Directed by Don Mancini

Tiffany: "A true classic never goes out of style."

In some ways, this movie would represent a temporary pause of the overall continuity of the saga given that it would be followed up with a remake of Child's Play. As for the movie, well, let's look at how the previous one ended.

The previous one had Nica Pierce (Fiona Dourif) framed for Chucky's (Brad Dourif) killing of her family and she's been transferred from one institution to another. On top of that, a certain Good Guy Doll isn't done tormenting her and this movie does seem him up the ante there.

Taking an idea that had been in creator Don Mancini's back pocket for a while, this movie had fun with the idea of Chucky transferring his soul in multiple Good Guy Dolls. One which was already there and being used by a fellow patient Madeleine (Elisabeth Rosen) who's convinced it's her dead son while a visiting Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) left another for Nica.

The asylum setting was definitely something that got utilised well enough here. You had a sympathetic gay nurse named Carlos (Zak Santiago) who was nice to Nica as a contrast to the horrendous abuse that Dr Foley (Michael Therriault) subjected her to understand hypnosis.  Foley's such a scumbag that even Chucky was disgusted with him.

Other characters in this setting included Angela (Grace Lynn Kung) - a woman who was convinced she was a ghost, the rather abrasive Claire (Marina Stephenson Kerr) and split personality addled Malcolm (Adam Hurtig). The latter made the foolish mistake into thinking he was Charles Lee Ray and definitely paid the price for it.

As for Chucky and Nica, well the former ended up in the latter's body and Andy Barclay (Alex Vincent) ended up locked in the asylum as Chucky/Nica escaped with Tiffany. Tiffany didn't seem to mind that her boyfriend was now in the body of a woman. She didn't seem to mind at all.

- Nica's niece Alice died between movies. It was implied that when Chucky possesed her, he went after someone who fought back.

- Michael Therriault who played Dr Foley would go on to appear in two different roles in the Chucky TV series.

- A post credit scene saw the return of Kyle (Christine Elise) to torture the head of Chucky that Andy had been torturing throughout the movie.

- Chronology: Four years have passed since the events of the previous, similar to the release pattern as well. 

Cult Of Chucky definitely had fun with multiple Chuckys and changing up things with the possession lore. As great as Fiona Dourif is as Nica, I have to admit that I really like her take on Chucky as well. While this might have been the last movie in terms of continuity, at least a TV series would expand greatly on the things set up here.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans - Ice Water In Their Veins

 

Written by Jon Robin Baitz

Directed by Gus Van Sant

Capote (to Lillie Mae): "I am not on your schedule. I still have a masterpiece to finish and they're waiting, they're waiting for it, so I'm not going anywhere with you."

With this double bill, things moved a bit quicker with this second episode. The fallout of Capote making the wrong enemies was certainly felt as most of his beloved swans committed to freezing him out with consequences for him. Being persona non grata definitely took its toll on Truman.

Keeping with freezing him out was definitely Slim Keith. She was the most dedicated to the idea and refused to even entertain CZ being somewhat more sympathetic to Truman's social isolation. However she wasn't entirely unforgiving when CZ did break the ranks and actually had lunch with the disgraced Capote.

Then there was Lee Radziwill (Calista Flockhart). So far, no backstory was provided but she certainly had no problem being the second in keeping Truman frozen out of society. She wasn't pleased about CZ spending time with Truman either but again, she didn't have a lot of screen time here. 

As for CZ, yes she broke ranks and spent time with Truman but she also castigated him for the article he had written and later uninvited both Truman and John from Thanksgiving, which did seem to break Capote's heart. Not to mention that John also got violent twice with him in the episode, with the latter time being the most severe.

The other Swan introduced here was Joanne Carson (Molly Ringwald) and she definitely seemed rather indulgent of Truman, even inviting him to her Thanksgiving meal and being horrified by John's attack on him. Even when isolated, Truman still had his supporters, notably ever loyal boyfriend Jack and even Bill Paley of all people.

Leading to the last bit was Babe. The one most hurt by Truman's betrayal and also wavering on whether or not to let him back into her life. This episode also focused on her cancer as she wanted to give away jewellery to her friends while encouraging Bill to learn to cook. There was also parallels to her declining health and Truman's own lingering problems, including being taunted by his dead mother, Lillie Mae (Jessica Lange).

- Truman was filming a movie but couldn't focus due to hallucinations of the women he betrayed.

- This show marked a reunion between writer/showrunner Jon Robin Baitz and Calista Flockhart as both worked together on Brothers & Sisters beforehand.

- Babe gave Slim the jewellery from Bill's affair with Happy. Slim ended up giving it to CZ. 

- Chronology: Definitely before 1978 as Babe Paley died that year. Thanksgiving 1977 perhaps?

Ice Water In Their Veins certainly didn't let up the momentum. We saw Truman at a very vulnerable time with his social disgrace and while I would've liked more screen time for Molly Ringwald and Calista Flockhart, at least both made a good impression nonetheless.

Rating: 8 out of 10