(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!