Film Review : "Deadpool & Wolverine"

 What a world we live in. Its a world where writers must keep a careful balance of internet theories to please their audience. In fact, Deadpool's entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe pokes fun at this in its smartest moments. It also pushed the bounds of what you expect Disney to allow as the studio shows there is more wiggle room than expected since even half the adult audience might have to Google the meaning of jokes about pegging. Then it is too late, and they already have the money of the more prudish patrons in hand. I am impressed by how they worked in a wide swathe of the company's media output making "Loki" almost required viewing before going into this. Also, the bulk of the Fox films could help when some characters are marched out.  Spider-man and Ghost Rider were the only corners of the bigger Marvel Universe not touched upon with only a few winks in the direction of Peter Parker.   If you are touchy about spoilers then go see the movie, nothing happens that was not part of wider speculation and had not already been spoiled. 

Reynolds and Jackman, make this a buddy cop team-up that works well against the absurdity of premise. The fight scenes between the two were some of the movie's strongest action sequences. The various incarnations of Wolverine worked better than the varied incarnations of Deadpool, I mean where was Gwenpool? Though like many aspects of the movie, If I blinked I might have missed it. Plotwise there was little surprise, stop this and save your world tropes. I have read critics praising the movie villain Cassandra Nova, and it really just felt like Emma Corrin was doing her best Tilda Swinton impersonation as there was no clear motive or really anything to flesh her out, I think Mojo would have made more sense and been a more inspiring link to the X-Men, would have given the baby Deadpool an ore sensical role. Paradox, worked better as his two-faced manipulations of things, with no real powers held more weight. 

It would be misleading to say there were no X-men in the movie, as Colossus, X-23, and Gambit are all part of the team. I think what they were looking for is Storm, Cyclops, or Rogue, and get a glimpse at how they are going to be brought in. We can pretty much not rest assured that Henry Cavill is not going to play Wolverine, as look what happened with the Reed Richards casting in Dr. Strange, just enough fan casting then take a left turn. My favorite parts of the movie were the NSYNC dancing at the beginning and the brief appearance of the Hulk during the search through Wolverine variants. Overall the chemistry between the two leads was strong enough to carry the film in the classic Hollywood formula even when given the Marvel spin. It did not make apologies for being a super-hero movie which is a must for any such film. 

Film Review : "Barbie"

The live action "Barbie" movie proved to be an amusing mess that works best when delving into the Barbie lore. Opening with a bizarre wink at '"2001 A Space Odyssey " with Barbie as the obelisk, you are taken to a meta-fantasy world that serves as a hyper-pink alternate universe that looks like a Katy Perry video. Since my daughter certainly went through a Barbie phase, I went into this movie with more knowledge of the Barbie world than most straight men without sisters or daughters. She is without question an iconic character and this movie if nothing else acknowledges that. Story wise it barrows the nuts and bolts of it's plot from "Toy Story" . "Pinocchio" , "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and countless other Hollywood tropes playing off the life of  toys or fantasy figures and their understanding of the real world.   After consulting with the "weird Barbie" Margot's "Stereotypical" typical Barbie must make the journey to the real world when life in idealized Dreamhouse World takes a turn when Barbie gets flat feet. Thus Barbie must go on a quest to the real world.

I appreciate that Los Angeles is where the veil between the Barbie World and the real one is the thinnest, and only a rollerblade ride away. The entire Mattel as the nefarious overlords starting off working for me then some where amid the chase scene lost it's momentum. There were also lost opportunities with the Mattel connection, they could have had cameos to toy properties like the Cabbage Patch Kids or Masters of the Universe. John Cena would have been better used as He-Man to give Ken body issues, than a mer-man .If Barbie Land exists then the American Girl dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids must fit into that mythos some how. But instead we did get a pretty dead on look at what the playsets might be when brought to life, as well as a glimpse at the marketing world of her interchangeable outfits. However somewhere between magic costume changes, the writers wanted to get to the moral of their story, and that is when they got lost in the jokes of the world they created here.  

They were wise to not go all in on Capitalism since Warner Bros a major cog in that machine made this movie that had been raking in hundreds of millions of dollars. Barbie's creator was a business woman who is rooted in it. Perhaps the Barbie and the body image issues she has created might have had more impact if there had not been an obese Barbie that never existed in Barbie lore, though they could have used the Fashionista lines' "curvy" body for the same purpose. Even more effective might have been calling out Mattel for their "I am Barbie" diversity line, which uses "diversity" as a marketing tool to sell more toys. Mattel will only make fun of itself to a certain extent.

 You can't really call this a children's movie or accuse this of being nothing but a long Barbie commercial, thanks to "Ladybird" director Greta Gerwig going all in on this. I would not be surprised if the bulk of " Warner Bros" marketing budget went to pay  Ben Shapiro for his press buzz regarding the film Perhaps to  provide the movie some press armor from being cancelled by purposing in 2023 that how Barbie became a real woman was by going to the gynecologist 

The movie's most important lesson came by way of a quote from Weird Barbie,  who says " You are either brainwashed of you are ugly and weird."   

Despite a lack of the Down Syndrome Barbie in all this, I found myself laughing out loud in several places, and I am normally not a fan of comedies. It never dragged even when the film lost direction midway in.  Determined to capture Barbie's world is where the film shines, from the restraints of the Barbie box to the pooping Barbie dog, they might not have gotten it perfect , but they were invested enough in the character to make this work more often than not. 

Marvel's Secret Invasion

Ok we can skip right past the fact that this has little to do with the story found in the comic book evet of the same name except for Skrulls being the focal point. It feels this is the epilogue to the Captain Marvel movie, which might have worked better than the story the Marvels is going to try to tell. Rhodes and Fury are the only two superheroes that are involved three episodes in and it is evident that this is not the story they were meant to support. They do bring up why they are not involving the Avengers, and while the real reason is budget and contracts, the in story reason makes sense as well., But what does not work is suggesting that the Avengers are the only super-heroes in the universe. This could have been a good spot to bring in Nova or other New Warriors. How would this effect the Winter Guard?  The Secret Invasion could bring up Secret Avengers, though really what this feels like is it should have been a season of   Agents of SHIELD. 

Instead we are having the character discuss a civil war amongst aliens with an action to discussion ratio that adds up to the most bring thing Marvel has put out so far. The writing is better than when it comes to dialogue, but the over plot pacing is at a crawl that makes it hard to watch. The interesting elements is the fact that this gives a clear cut example of what it might look like for reptilian shape shifters to pull the strings on the world from the background, but we already see enough of that on CNN and Fox, we watch Marvel shows and movies for the escapism of it.  Watching politicians argue and Russia threatening to launch World War 3, well that is everyday life these days, and it bores me when it's one the news now day, we have already seen Skrulls so trying to set an entire series on their shoulders, feels like what we have already seen on the various incarnations of "V".

This series is only going to be six episodes long, so it is more of a mini-series, there is no time for a slow burn, we are half way through it and nothing has happened. Marvel is releasing another clunker, when they need a win more than ever. Sure Guardians was great , but that is another chapter closed . It is unlikely the new Captain America movie without Steve Rogers is going to help the big picture, This us putting all the chips on Fantastic Four and X-men. Why is another failure such a big deal? It is time and resources that could have been better invested in bringing to life characters that matter more. Daredevil could have been fast tracked. The Punisher could have been invested in. Where is Ghost Rider?   A actual Hulk show ? More Were-wolf by Night? But as I have said all eras of a genre come to an end 

   

Film Review : "the Flash"

 

To credit this movie as being one of the best DC movies is not that big of a compliment, so I think I should say this is one of the best  live action comic book movies we have seen since , the last Spider-man film which is very fair as it offers the kind of fan service that No Way Home did. I have seen online a few reviews trying to say this movie is the problem with comic book movies, and those are the kind of journalists, who do not know anything about comic books to begin with. Frist off I have no horse in this race, as I am not a DC, my favorite DC character is Swamp Thing. Not sure the Flash would make my top 10 DC characters list. I do have an appreciation for his lore, and watched the CW show., which I think overall gets a better feel for the character, but this movie comes much closer than other versions of the character we have seen on the big screen . 

The film explores a wider range of the Flash's powers. Ezra Miller, the  actor who defied cancellation, plays Barry Allen with the kind of charisma that served as comic relief for Justice League. For this movie you can not really say this is their best movie that is not a Bat-man movie, as it is pretty much a Bat-Man movie, and Super-Girl had more screen time than expected. Keaton reprised his role well, and the new Super-Girl worked for me, though would it have killed them to dye her hair blond? Tonally you will see people hating on this for the same things they loved about Deadpool. It does humor much better than any other recent D/C Movie ...the Suicide Squad included. I have also heard quips about the CGI, which was way better than anything in the Black Panther movies or Wonder-Woman, but did not hear the complaints from those people in regards to those movies, so I am suspect of them, 

When compared to the popular CW take on the Flash, the bigger budget allows for a better representation of his powers and what makes the Flash tick, where the CW show is more about what makes Barry Allen tick, I think there is space for both. It seems comic book movies are leaning into Multiverses pretty heavy lately, well DC did it first as they beat Marvel to the punch before Marvel cranked up their Ultimate Universe where Miles Morales came from. The story takes from parts of popular DC sagas and blend them well and offering fan service to an extent that might go above and beyond what Marvel has done, and if the story got convoluted well DC stories have always felt like action figures were just thrown on the bed into two page fight scenes, and this movie makes more sense of it and uses a bit of restraint to tell a better DC story than we saw in Black Adam or any of the Shazam movies, this movie serves as a great bridge from the Synderverse into Gunn's vision of the future and hopefully fans will say fuck the press and give this film the shot it deserves, all this is coming from a Marvel guy with no horse in the race, but a deep appreciation for where they went here. 

Film Review- "Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse"

 “Spider - Man; Across the Spider verse” takes the stylistic brand of animation that gave 2018’s “Into the Spider verse’ it’s charm and takes it to the level of high art animation. It uses more mixed mediums, from live-action to LEGOs. The animators worked on “the Mitchells vs the Machines” in-between making the two Spider  films and learned a whole new bag of tricks that they made the most of when it comes to varying the animation styles to create a wide range of atmosphere and mood. Gwen Stacy’s Earth 65 home looks like impressionistic watercolor paintings that reflect her unsettled emotional state that is dripping with brooding teenage angst. They capture this with the shifting drip of color, as well as the futuristic landscapes you are whisked off to. 

Miles Morales is taller as he swings deeper into his teen years , which also comes with conflicts with his parents, almost more of a focal point than the main villain the Spot. I was glad to see this more obscure member of Spider-Man's rogue’s gallery get some recognition, I do not feel like he was the most well written cast. Though matters of multiverses once again are the focus of the movie’s main conflict, that involves a society of Spider-People trying to hold Miles down. The movie's best characters like Ben Reilly come from this. While it pulls from every corner of Spider-Man lore, Jessica Drew got the worst shake of things with her alternate replacement. Ben is also a parody of himself as he is depicted as being hyper comics accurate. Mile’s finds life is a struggle, but wins when the plot armor is laid on too thick, as the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man 2099, would wipe the floor Morales . 

I am sure viewer who want to read into this movie sub text that fits their narratives will find the fuel to do so, but Sony, unlike Disney did not bait their audience with the diversity tropes being pounded down our throats these days, despite the changes to character they made which would have left them open targets for such snark. Instead they just told a fun story free of agendas. A fact many viewers might not have even noticed since they were just enjoying themselves. Most of the things forced, just were organic working parts of the story being told. 

With the exception of Dr. Strange getting name dropped, this becomes an isolated corner of the Marvel Universe. This boxed the feel of the story into a smaller world even when they traverse other dimensions. But the movie’s main struggle is in the writing. They build up so many layers of plot and then get so lost in this web they have spun that the story is unable to find the third act, so they end with a cliffhanger. It would have been wise to take notes from “Infinity War” who might have resolved things with “the Snap” but opened it up for more questions, rather than this movie that found the writers not even finishing their sentence. Come for the art and you will be wow’ed, the story might work better as a cartoon series or comic book, but did not work in the adaptation to film,

Film Review : Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3"

 Marvel needed a win. They have been on a losing streak. If judging from the Marvels trailer , this might be the last Marvel movie worth a shit, and the best one since "No Way Home". It works in the ways that the last Ant-man movie tried , but fell flat. The High Evoluntionary The glue that held it together above all was the served as a better Kang than Majors for sure. The effects did not make you feel like you were in a video game most of the time. It's strongest suit was the chemistry of the actors who have settled into their roles until they now fit like second skin.  Perhaps this is why the depiction of Adam Warlock felt so awkward. It lacked the gravity of his comic persona. In future movies perhaps he is going to grow into who he really is , it seems like a common Marvel problem  they do not know how to write some one at full power because they feel it makes them not relatable, or in this case plays into the humor of the franchise, Adam Warlock came from a time when the Guardians were not played for laughs, so if the series continues with a new team as hinted, is that a dynamic that is going to work? 

The bulk of the movie plays like a comedy when we are not focused on Rocket's back story. Back stories are an odd way to say goodbye , but that is where the writing went and the made the most of it. Knowhere gained more sense of what it is, which could work in moving things forward. But why make any theories on it as most of the fan theories on this one got flushed down the toilet. The lack of death, means the stakes really could not be any lower. A few character who have died in the comics , could have come back in their more powerful forms, thinking Mantis and Drax, but contracts have come to an end, so why keep those doors open? It is also one of the movies with the less than essential mid credits scene which seems more obligatory. 

One of my common complaints is the MCU often makes up characters when they could have pulled from the bench of second and thirds string characters , this happens again, though the inclusion of Howard the Duck in one scene shows how they could make the most of the rich layers of mythology the comics hold. Not Howard's first appearance but it worked well here. Fans of the franchise are going to have fun in this film, as it balanced out the humor, action and heavy dramatic depth, by digging into the emotions of the character , by really letting us get to know them before saying goodbye. Much better than the second film, which felt a little flat to me. So enjoy this win while it lasts, as James Gunn takes his winning combination to DC

Film Review : Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

 

It is not secret the quality of Marvel Films has taken a nose dive the Avenger's Saga Concluded with the last Spider-man movie being the only redeeming movie to emerge. Ant-Man's third film is a dive deeper into the mess they are making. The Quantum Realm is worth investing in. The mythos of it they are developing finds a great deal of potential being wasted. This movie is mainly a vehicle to set up Johnathan Major's Kang as the replacement for Thanos. His mission statement is just as murky as ever where Thanos was clear cut in his designs. While Major's seemed a reluctant bad guy in Loki, his role here is plagued by overacting, accents that come and go, little to make you think that he follows the rule of the villainy , which states the big bad should always be the hero of their own story. 

Speaking of heroes Rudd seems less confident in his role than he did in the second Ant-man, some of this might be due to the script which struggle to depict him as a father to teenage girl. Instead Rudd constantly calls back to earlier films. They wrote this into the story by having him obsessed with an autobiography he wrote. Lilly's Wasp, also seems lost, granted Van Dyne is who should be in the role with a more well rounded backstory, finds her in the mire many Marvel movies face as they  divert from the source materiel to cater to the director's convoluted artistic vision which in this case feels like some one order Star Wars from Wish,  They come out with characters out of thin air, when deals should have been struck to have the Micronauts fill the roles, they could have even thrown in Crystar as a chef's kiss and kept with a similar tone and theme.

Modok who looked like a joke in the trailer, and is often used for comic relief here, is the film's best moments. When ever he is onscreen the movie feels better , as the character's have more chemistry with him than Kang. The big action scenes and final fights, were better than what happened in the last Black Panther movie, but largely a CGI mess. Sure we saw Cassie in a costume of sorts, but unless one of the post credit's characters were Iron Lad, there were no other Young Avenger's connections to be found, neither was much of a path opened for the Fantastic Four. Instead we got a wild mess of a movie, that was hard to stay awake for when it was supposed to be building to a climax. One of the few times where the Rotten Tomatoes score makes sense.