(trailer review) - The Umbrella Academy: Season 3

You know, they have been teasing the trailer to this show since the beginning of the year and I felt it was going to drop any minute soon. Any minute soon it will come. The trailer is just around the corner. And five months down the line, here it is. In all it's umbrella style glory.  If you have not read my previous reviews on The Umbrella Academy, I implore you. Have you not watched the series before, I implore you. If this trailer feel makes you smile, if they trailer makes you interested or intrigued, I suggestion you start from season one as this show is soo so soooo good!  It's like X-Men but the team of X-Men are siblings that only just about get on.

After the events of the last movie, the cliffhanger is essentially where we leave off with season 3 and that is an adventure into the unknown. Sparrow Academy! Who are they? So basically, another version of the X-Men team and from another timeline? I have no idea. Nor do I know if they will stay going head-to-head throughout the third season or come together to fight a bigger and darker evil. It just looks like a lot of fun really and if I am perfectly honest, The Marvel movies are just that, Marvel movies. They have a distinct feel and looks to them. Shows like this, The Boys & Invincible stand 100 metres apart because not only are they slightly more or in some cases, even more adult in style and presentation, these characters are being fleshed out in a series where we get to learn about them and empathise with them or not. A two hour movie will not do that.  With that said, although the MCU has crossed into the series world like WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight, Hawkeye and the up and coming She-Hulk and Ms. Marvel, this show and the others i mentioned are just that different and a touch more appealing due to the storytelling and what it has to offer. But we shall see if this new season chrashes and burns or is well received. I really did enjoy the last season.

(trailer review) - Gangs of London

Out of nowhere a show called Gangs of London popped up and hit us with soo much grit, I thought I was participating in Tough Mudder. It was a combination of the film 'The Raid' mixed with UK, British sensibilities, let's say, a Lock Stock or Snatch. Not to say that this show has Guy Ritchie all over it, but it has that type of feel and style minus the dialogue and banter. With action scenes that pour blood with the spitting of teeth through raw violence, not that far from the Netflix Dardevil series, possibly a little worse, this show packs more than a punch. So, to see this show back, brings a smile to my face, because every show and film I just mentioned, I loved them, so to get a second series...which is only right of course...is just great.

This is just a teaser trailer which doesn't show much at all but I'm here for it. It is great to see the main protagonist back as he did a great job in the first show and I just wonder where they may go since the events of the first show. If I am honest, I am just a little apprehensive about the direction and if the second season/series will be just as good as the first as the first was such a hit, but I have faith in Gareth Edwards. Maybe I'd have more faith if he did The Raid 3 and did it like a family vacation but locked in at a hotel resort, a little like Die Hard (I guess), I reckon, could make a great movie. To be fair, it could be the guy at the end of The Raid 2 and the main protagonist going around in circles for two hours and I'd love it. Bring on the main trailer, I need me some action that is not just flash cuts.

(film review) - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

What I will say first and foremost is that, I have taken a little time to think about this movie before I wrote this for a few reasons. By no way am I trying to justify this movie's shortcomings on the pandemic and reshoots, but more on how the movie was actually presented to me in the end. The end result in which everyone watched and from the buzz I am hearing, seems to be dividing people. I would like to say secondly, this movie is not trash, it is not terrible, it is not rubbish, though I really really enjoyed this film, I do believe this film lacks something that could have made this movie great (in my eyes of course), but this film...for me anyway, is good, really good...but not great. I'll explain.

After the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Stephen Strange finds himself having nightmares that seem very real. In a nightmare, Strange is running with a young girl named America Chavez however, he soon bumps into her finding out not only is this young girl special, but in a vast multiverse with many different realities, there are many different threats that threaten the world and also, many different Doctor Stephen Strange's. Strange must find a way to stop these demonic forces and threats so he seeks out Wanda Maximoff for help.

This is a very divisive movie for a few reasons.  This is a horror movie. For those who do not like horror, will be turned off by this. I will say that the horror is light in comparison to actual horror movies, but the elements and themes are still there. This is a Sam Raimi movie who is also known for horror and there is a specific style of directing he carries out in his movies. It is like campy or slapstick, maybe? It is dark comedy infused with horror and that style may not be for everyone. This is a Marvel movie and although it is not imperative to watch all the other 20+ movies before it, some of those movies can help paint the narrative and storyline as to what is happening in this movie as well as watching the TV show, WandaVision.

With that said, what did I think of the movie?

I feel the movie is divisive for me for a few reasons, but overall, I really enjoyed it but could have enjoyed it more due to a few things I feel was missing. Although this movie shows the growth of Stephen, it also shows us the personal struggles he has along with trying to be the Scorcher Supreme.  The character is still learning and Benedict owns the character. As for Wanda, excellent! Elizabeth Olsen does a fantastic job here and a lot of the movie is carried by her acting and storyline, but I do feel, more could have been done to help flesh out the character more for those who did not see WandaVision. Whilst Xochitl Gomez is brilliant in the role, I felt more could have been done with her and her abilities. Which leads me onto the Multiverse of it all. Maybe it is Marvel trying not to show their hand too much for what is to come, but a film called 'The Multiverse of Madness' needed more Multiverse......and madness. It is not like, what we get is not good, but what we got was lacking. I am under the impression that this film could have been and could quite well have been longer, but it was cut short.

Sam Raimi has always been great with visuals so there is no loss there, but the music was equally just as good. The film is a little choppy and very fast paced whilst although there was an element of character development which dragged the movie a tiny bit, I just felt more character development should have been done to help flesh out the motivations of these characters, leaving the movie feeling a little rushed. There is also a scene with music I thought was a little corny at first but I ended up enjoying it.

This movie could have been soo much more and whilst there are some great and amazing visuals and moments, the film does lack that little bit more, like a spicy kick to help deliver the material in a more meatier fashion. I mean, Endgame was meaty, why could this not be just as meaty? And we cannot say due to timing constraints, especially when some Marvel movies do not shy from being 2-3 hours long. Have a watch and let me know how you feel.

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