(series review) [STREAMING] - Secret Invasion

There comes a point where you simply throw in the towel. There comes a point where you reach great heights, but the "ceiling" of your own making prevents you from soaring to new heights. The MCU has gotten to a point where, while I would have stated, they are only competing against themselves in film, yes, but in TV shows, no. With numerous other TV shows from different IPs out there creating great content, the juggernaut of comic book movies' clumsy transition and decline in TV show production is starting to dilute the brand for the fans and we are very close to throwing in the towel. With that said, the MCU's movies of late have not been great also, so we fans are maybe, closer to giving up on the franchise because mediocrity does not enthuse us, the fans. This might sound harsh and it also might paint an ugly picture of how I ultimately feel about this show, but I kid you not, this show was actually, really really good, in places...but that is the problem, in places. I'll explain.

Secret Invasion picks up after the events of 'Endgame' and we are seemingly in the middle of a Skrull invasion. Skrulls are shapeshifting aliens last seen in the 90s when Carol Danvers fought off the Kree to protect the Skrulls. Nick Fury made them a promise to find a new planet for them to live on, but several years later, the leader of a group of rebel Skrulls decides to fight for his people and lead a group of Skrulls in a fight to take the planet for themselves.

A really good premise, excellently acted by Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Ben Mendelsohn and Kingsley Ben-Adir. Emilia Clarke was decent but was not given much to do. However, Charlayne Woodard was really good for the little screen time she had and Olivia Colman was absolutely superb. And here lies the issue. With a premise like the one it has, why were only some actors written great and had some excellent conversations and interactions where they were brilliantly acted, but other characters' dialogue and interactions were not as good or well thought out. It is the execution of the storyline and the setup of some of the scenes that are simply lacking. The show had the potential to be just like Captain America: The Winter Soldier but darker with more espionage and paranoia especially when you are dealing with shape-shifting aliens who could be anyone, but the show falls short of its potential.

There is a conversation between Nick Fury and Colonel James Rhodes which was excellently written and acted out. There was a conversation between Nick Fury and Talos on a train and that was excellently written and acted out. Every scene with Sonya Falsworth, Olivia's acting to dialogue was simply a standout and stole every scene she was in, so it begs the question, how come the show ended up being as lacklustre as it was? There is a conversation between Nick Fury and Gravik, but the whole scene falls a little flat in the end and does not really make any logistical sense. The climax in the end was simply nonsensical and has left us, the viewers and especially the fans with more questions than answers for the MCU going forward.

As I have stated earlier, it is a good premise, excellent even. Great actors in great roles with amazing scenes. The dialogue in some places was excellent and the special effects were great, although limited not to mention the climax. The show touches on some points and has something to say. The music, scenes and settings are all great. So with that said, this is not a show that is trash, but it is a show that was good but could have been great and it makes you wonder what is happening at Disney. If I am honest, the show was good but was a disappointment or it is quite possible that I wanted too much from the show because I saw the potential, but I did not get the tone of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and if anything, this show is more of a letdown, an enjoyable let down, unfortunately.

(trailer review) - Loki: Season 2

I am not sure how I feel about this at this rate. I say that because the trailer for Secret Invasion looked great, gave me all the feels of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but upon watching the entire series, it was not as close as I would have liked it to have been. So in turn, this is giving me all the feels of something really good, or at least something reasonably decent like the first season of Loki, but Marvel's track rate at present is very hit-and-miss, which does not fill me with enough confidence to fully feel excited about a Marvel property, just like if I were watching a DC trailer. Harsh I know, but am I right or wrong? I have tried to stay open-minded over Marvel's Phase 4 and I do simply boil it down to Phase 1 and how nothing made any sense until we got closer to the pieces connecting, but Phase 4 just simply seems like pieces with barely any connections or loose connectivity. Where are we going? It's just confusion really. I am adamant that there is a bigger story to be told here and that the pieces are coming together, albeit very slowly, but my confidence in Marvel right now is waning 

This trailer looks authentic though. And I mean authentic in a way that, season 1 looked a specific way, was a specific way and was executed a specific way. It was simply consistent in tone and everything. This seems to be a mirror to that and at least that is a great thing. Do not try to fix what is not broken. The trailer does not give away much and most importantly, maybe this show will give us a bit more of that connective tissue 'us' Marvel or comic book fans need to help piece together this phase since Kang in Ant-Man Quantumania was great and all, but let us see where we are going with this now. Bring us into the room Marvel so we can understand better where you are heading. Tom IS Loki at this rate, so there is not much to write home about here, but Owen is just excellent. Seeing Ke Huy Quan is lovely, especially after watching a film about a Multiverse with 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', It is about time we see him everywhere because 'The Goonies' and 'Indiana Jones' among a few others is simply not enough. I think Marvel also needs to let us know where and when these events are happening in the timeline because I think all this ambiguity is also not helping us. The trailer looks solid, the acting looks solid and I sincerely hope, the writing, the story and everything about this show is up to snuff, or Marvel will have a problem on their hands.

(film review) - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

It is definitely a surprise to not at all be surprised (when I really think about it) that I went to watch this movie. My earliest memory of the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (I am pretty sure they were called "hero" turtles in this foreign market for a while back in my day) was when I vividly remember my mum coming to meet me after school and she was running late, walking towards me with a big Argos bag. I could see through the bag a little and see the Nintendo Entertainment System logo and the outline of the box, I was soo excited. I could not wait to get home, set it up and play the game that came with it, Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles (the PAL Version of the game was different). Up to this day, I have not completed it and the sound of drowning, I am pretty sure has been implanted in my brain ever since. It's either Sonic, Turtles or Earthworm Jim, the sound I cannot shake. I watched the cartoons and had a T-shirt and possibly jeans too, I loved the Turtles when I was a child, but having watched this movie, I have come to realise in my many years on this planet living, that I am indeed a selective purist. And what I mean by that is, there are some things in life in regards to lore and accuracy regarding characters or IP (in some cases) that will not bother me. I do not subscribe to the nonsensical "woke" rhetoric these people are spewing these days because they do not understand the meaning of the word, but when they change specify characters to appeal to a broader audience, I am not that fussed about it. For example, having Michael B. Jordan as a Johnny Storm and having a black father was interesting. It did not take away from the character of Johnny Storm at all. Potentially, more black people went to see the film because of it, representation, it matters. In that version of the Fantastic Four they were adopted, so...why not. What about Johnny Storm must be blonde haired and blue eyed? Nothing! However, having a white person play the Black Panther (for example) is simply nonsensical and would not make a bit of sense at all; do you get my drift? The character of the Black Panther is intrinsically linked to who he is and where he comes from. So having a black April O'Neil was ok-ish, meh. Making her a teen, was ok-ish, meh. But the Turtles and some of the other characters, I actually do not know how I honestly feel about the changes they made. But did I enjoy the film overall? Yes!!!! I bloody well did.

This story revolves around the Turtles, Leonardo (the leader), Michaelangelo, Donatello and Raphael who are teens who live in the sewer with their Rat father figure, Splinter. Splinter took the Turtles into his care and raised them to whom they are and warned them to stay away from humans because humans will not accept them and will most likely hate them for what they are. But when the Turtles stumble across a budding reporter named April O'Neil, the Turtles also discover that not only are there good humans out there, there is a bad guy who has a devious plan to change the world as they know it and that they are not alone in this world as they had first thought.

They took creative liberties with this franchise, but there is an argument to be made that, the Turtles as a franchise has been going for almost 40 years with soo many different incarnations, how can they differentiate between this story and the twenties of others; make creative choices. And creative choices, they made. I cannot say I agreed with all of them, but so what. The film was still good, in my eyes. It has only been in the last few months, I have found out that the lore to the Turtles is extensive. There is a 5th and 6th turtle, Venus and Jennika, in whom I think are girls, I remember there is a rabbit with a sword or something named Usagi, so seeing a lot of other characters in this film was a breath of fresh air, honestly.

I believe having actual teens than a bunch of twenty to thirty something's voice act the characters was also great and refreshing. The turtles felt like teens. They acted like teens. They thought like teens. They behaved just like teens to a point where, Splinter does something and the turtles completely abandon him with not a care in the world. Not to be spiteful, hurtful or inconsiderate, but teens for the most part have not a care in the world and can be caught up in just being a teen, the world at large among other things, so being an adult who is old enough to have teens, I felt sad for Splinter and I personally felt hurt. The voice acting was superb. I actually think this may be my first voice acting work from Ice Cube I have heard, and he was just phenomenal. He has a voice and sound that is very distinguishable immediately and his voice gave his character a lot of weight. It fit and it felt natural. He needs to do more voice acting.

The art direction was bizarre, different, but very very cool and unique. Other than possibly, the turtles and Splinter, nothing really seemed perfectly drawn. The finish was a slight unfinished look with most of the characters oddly drawn or as if they were drawn by a teenager. While some might think the art style is close to the Spider-Verse movies, it really is not, so in a way, that was also refreshing. At times, the drawn characters almost looked like claymation.

While the storyline is something we have seen a thousand times, the creative decisions and directions taken simply lent itself to be a great watch especially when you factor in the music. Whilst I felt it was very hip-hop heavy, it did not feel as forced like the recent Transformers movie, 'Rise of the Beasts'. All in all, great movie. While I did not particularly like some of their choices due to the purist in me, a sequel could lend itself to being really good especially if they bring in loads more characters. I want to see more characters, only because I recently found out about them, but also a spin on the villains would be another great edition. Maybe the Turtles could be six of them and they could write that into the backstory somehow. This would definitely differentiate it from previous incarnations in a very good and inclusive way. Yes, there will be some backlash, but who cares...write the characters well and people will get over it. Maybe the sequel can be the Empire Strikes Back of the Mutant Mayhem Franchise. Come talk to me Seth, I got ideas man!

(series review) [STREAMING] - Atom Eve Special Episode

I heard murmurs regarding this show having already been out. I thought people were getting the TV show, (well episode) confused with the trailer. You see, Amazon Prime dropped the trailer, but a friend of mine told me the special episode was out too. Of course, I did not believe it, but I had a look for myself and low and behold Invincible: Atom Eve Special Episode was out and I really did not realise how much I was chomping at the bit to watch it. As stated in my trailer review, Atom Eve is a side character from the TV show Invincible and she helps Invincible be part of a team and become a better team player. This show is a prequel to the events of season one of Invincible and it dives deep into the background of how Atom Eve came about. But is it just as good as the Invincible series? Yes, yes it really is!

We start off with chaos and destruction as a team of super-powered people are wreaking havoc, but they are stopped by The Guardians of the Globe. We see how the team fights with one another, not as in-sync as we have seen them before as they are bantering to one another and fighting for hits rather than working as a team, but just when things were looking good for them, the roof begins to collapse in and it is caught by Omni-man. Around this time, a woman is pregnant and about to give birth, we later learn this is the birth of Atom Eve.

We get a short but visually descriptive montage, which soon leads to a young Atom Eve discovering her powers, figuring them out and wanting to do good in the world. This leads to her creating her secret identity, stopping crime and fighting figures who seem to know her and want her dead. At the same time, Atom Eve is being pursued by other figures who have their own agenda.

Not to drag the MCU through the mud and dirt, but if you do something successfully, you can keep on repeating that success if you understand what you have, what you are doing with it and how to deliver it. You can add to it, you can enhance it, you can explore and expand on it whilst continuing to deliver everything you did before. Season one of Invincible is just that. This special episode is just that and it is also, quality. I just feel when you do too much, you lose track of which plates are spinning and the quality dips and the plates begin to fall.

The music was decent in this episode, nothing too recognisable as season one of Invincible, but the voice acting was amazing. Hearing the late great Lance Reddick got me a little emotional because I didn't realise I could recognise his voice until I did. I looked it up and I was filled with sorrow. Such a great actor. The animation is simply top notch and when it comes to the fighting scenes, I feel the people behind this show have not missed a single step. Beat for beat and pound for pound, the show simply feels as though it picked up where season one left off as everything felt so fluid unlike the noticeable difference in quality when comparing Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse with Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. With the latter, everything went up a level where although I do not think that has happened here, that does not make it a bad thing, at least it did not dip in quality. Moreover, seeing the Guardians of the Globe was a refreshing touch, considering, and this taster simply makes me look forward to season two which ultimately upsets me as I want it now. If you have not seen the first season of Invincible and you are into cartoons/anime, get on it. Both this and season one is just great storytelling and I can only assume, season two will just be bigger and better. I wonder if Robert is going to give us more one-shots like this? I'd definitely not say no!

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(trailer review) - Gen V

 

I try to keep my ear as close to the ground as possible and I hear of a lot of TV shows and movies and for the most part, I remember them, even when I am not fully invested, but this one caught me off guard. I wasn't shocked as if I just didn't know, but it was definitely a wow, I forgot about that moment when I saw the trailer. And this trailer looks really good.

It seems as though the main character is the girl in it surrounded by supporting actors with a few guest stars from 'The Boys' universe which is brilliant for world building. I never watched the cartoon they did because I simply had to draw the line on that, but this looks like it could be quite good, I am just hoping that a lot of the scenarios are not simply gratuitous just for gratuitous-sake because the TV series sometimes feels like that, but there is heavy dramatic and moralistic themes and scenarios that ground the show to make it more relatable even though we are talking about super powered beings. I would say, a lot of people tune in because we are looking at super powered people being regular people even if that means the person is scummy or has zero values, the fact they are super, does not make them a better person and I think this show can stress this especially from a teenaged perspective. So far, from what I see, this looks interesting and while this has me intrigued, this will need to grip me more with a hook that makes me come back for more weekly because there is nothing like something riding the coattails of something else expecting to be great just like it's predecessor and it is garbage, so we shall see.

(trailer review) - Invincible: Season 2

There has been a lot of talk over the years regarding superhero fatigue but here is a reason as to why that is not accurate. Saying there is such a thing would imply that people are tired of comic book mediums, TV shows, movies etc. When shows like 'The Boys' come out and people love it or a cartoon comes out (like this) and people love it, what does that say? Are people bored of DC movies or the MCU? While there are arguments to be made surrounding this at present due to a number of things, especially with the "lacklustre" phase four of the MCU, I'd like to be specific and state, it is the mediocrity of such movies and TV shows that are NOT pushing the boundaries or applying anything new to storytelling so the experience feels samey. And I say that to say this, those who watched the Invincible TV show when it came out (which is a cartoon), a great number of us loved it. So to understand that, you must understand that, we fans have patiently waited for season 2 of Invincible and we are simply happy that it is almost here.

There is not a lot to see here due to it being a teaser trailer and it is likely they are still working on it currently (the animation, that is), but damn, with the little we got, I am filled with anticipation. I absolutely loved the way they opened the trailer talking to the students at graduation, but it kind of speaks to us, the viewers and fans who have been waiting patiently for season 2. Touching on not knowing who Omniman was and now the secret organisation Mark fights for, are maybe watching him closely because, at present, Mark is the strongest person in the world at this point. With his dad gone and I am guessing more enemies will come to Earth as the main Viltrumite "defender" has gone, Mark and his "team" will need to do what they can but it also seems like there will be a lot of drama and Mark will be tested this season, especially with that zinger at the end where (and I cannot be certain if he is talking to Mark, because Omniman has no manners), You should have died at birth, but I feel this season will pack a punch. I hope it delves deeper into the many other characters like Robot and Atom Eve. The cast list looks incredible and the music in the first season was also incredible, so I can only assume, if they are just simply going to build on what they did for the first season, this season is going to be amazing and let's just see if Mark can get through this season and if he really is Invincible. *Cue intro music* Also, they need to keep that up! So original.

(trailer review) - Atom Eve Special Episode

This is for the fans. This might even be for women, ladies, girls or simply the female audience to latch onto and bring them into this franchise. I cannot quite say, but if you know about the show Invincible and loved the show like many others, then yes, this is definitely for you and this trailer helps to flesh out the world of Invincible just a little more by giving us a little background on one of the popular characters going forwards. For those who are unaware of who Atom Eve is, the show and other, here is a quick synopsis of the show Invincible. Invincible centres around a teenager named Mark who comes into his superpowers and is taught to hone them through his father. Whilst trying to juggle schoolwork and his relationship, Mark decides to take on the responsibility of trying to become a superhero like his father. Atom Eve, a fellow high schooler who is also a superhero and a part of her own team, tries to assist Mark, helps him to become part of a team and how he can juggle his superhero life along with his school life and relationship.

This trailer looks great and is just a reminder to those who watched the Invincible show, how great the animation was for the character and the action. Watching this trailer transported me back to watching the first season and how great it was from the voice acting to the music to the storyline. Learning Atom Eve was a government experiment might play a part in how she is as a person later on in life regarding her decisions and it may give us an idea as to what might/could happen in season 2 of Invincible. Considering this is also a "flashback" it is possible we will see characters which may appear in season 2 of Invincible or even younger versions of the characters we got to know in season 1. Definitely, something I will be interested in as Atom Eve is a cool character among many and considering this might just be one episode, I will not be losing out on anything, as long as Invincible season 2 is not, let's say 10 episodes, but we get 9 episodes and the 10th episode is this one. I'd be pretty upset.

(trailer review) - The Marvels

 

You know, Phase 4 seems to be limping along. Whilst I will definitely say the MCU is struggling to meet the very high bar they themselves have set, the MCU's mediocrity is starting to show BUT the MCU's low, is still higher than most of the other comic book attempts at quality, it is wild. And whilst I'll take this opportunity not to bash the MCU, because we did have a whole pandemic between the ending of Phase 3 and throughout the entirety of Phase 4, I will not pretend that decisions were made that have intrinsically changed the MCU for somewhat, the worst, at the moment. I do feel that at the very least, this trailer for this movie should explain the new charcters a little more rather than leaving it to the film. We need to understand, why we should care for them and why we should watch the movie or better yet, be drawn to the TV shows that birthed them.

This trailer seems like it is an expansion of the teaser trailer. It is giving us a little more of what the film might actually be about, but it does not seem to let us know who the villain is and why they are doing what they are doing, other than the fact she calls Captain Marvel 'The Annihilator' and how she wants to "return the favour". More entanglement with the three main characters swapping places like a comic book version of Freaky Friday with three characters from the MCU. I think the main gripe I have with this trailer, is introducing characters and not explaining who they are to the non-MCU followers. With the MCU limping and not a feeling of any build up, why should we care to watch this movie? The trailer needs to do better. The Beastie Boys track is great and compliments the movie, it would seeme. Let's just hope the trailer is much better.

(trailer review) - The Creator

(TEASER TRAILER)

First of all, this looks incredible. This is now the second trailer for this movie, The Creator and as I said in my previous review, this is the type of sci-fi I love. Ex-Machina was great, District 9 was great and if you throw in some old school films such as The Terminator, we are onto a winner, right? Don't get me wrong, this movie could crash and burn a disastrous and horribly tragic death but it does look incredible. For the most part, this trailer does not really show anything too different from what we had already seen in the previous trailer, so while we understand that Joshua decides to protect this little child for, reasons, we do not necessarily know why other than maybe, children are inherently innocent and he thinks he might be able to teach this young child the good in humanity.

Whilst watching this trailer, there is a part where someone says to the child, "No we don't have that here, do you want Ice Cream"? And the child looks up and smiles happily to the thought of having Ice Cream. I will tell you this now, if Mr Edwards is able to finesse this movie in such a way, to evoke a lot of emotion through the bond between Joshua and this child, you are going to cry. Just witnessing the innocence of youth along with a "species" trying to defend itself from a threat, lends itself to some great storytelling where if done right, might actually just rip your heart out. The big vehicles, guns and warfare, it seems we could get the perspective of both sides to this war but I do wonder if this is something that could be resolved by the end of the movie or will there be sequels? Like, how do you stop the machines? An EMP? I would not think they are alllinked to a hive mind or something central, destroy the central "processing unit" and they all shut down? It will be very interesting as to where we go with this.

(trailer review) - Rebel Moon

 

I cannot say that this teaser trailer blew me away. But I can say that I am a Zack Snyder fan. Not a die-hard fan who petitioned and signed a "release the Snyder-cut", but I have enjoyed pretty much all of his movies. In my reviews somewhere, you will read several things I've said about Zack and his filmmaking, but unfortunately, I do not believe this teaser trailer helped sell this movie to me at all. And granted, this is a teaser trailer, but there has been much better teasers out there. I think one of the things I have learned about this movie, is that this movie initially started out as a Star Wars movie within that universe, so with that in mind, I am very conflicted. Star Wars has not really gone anywhere over the last few years, so it would have been nice to see something new and refreshing from a director with a unique vision, but this teaser trailer is just not it.

This trailer intrigues me. While some of the concepts look great and while we are not told what the story might be, this trailer helps to show us that traditional Zack Snyder action. One of the major drawbacks I have with this trailer, is the lack of, other worldly stuff and the sense of space and galaxies. The landscapes looked very earthy, very natural and maybe you could travel to the lands we see via train, plane or is it kiterally in somebody's back garden. I think of films like Dune where all the landscapes and even the wardrobe looked out of this world, while this almost looks fan made. But I will give Zack the benefit of the doubt and I just hope he is able to spin off a lovely franchise out of this, granted it is really good. We hope.