GotG holiday special - Nov 25

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk… about the GotG: holiday special? Yeah, no.

Here is the thing: this piece is a variant of the ‘Green Mary-Sue: Legal Eagle’ that we have been subjected earlier in 2022 – a ‘comedy’ piece that actually degrades MCU…but because it is a 45 minute long special, it works, as there is nothing to actually degrade. Instead, we mostly get Drax and Mantis traipsing around the world of MCU, channelling their old married couple vibe, while Kevin Bacon… is just Kevin Bacon, just as Megan Thee Stallion was Megan Thee Stallion in the J.W. show. These celebrities do not add anything to MCU; they just add gravity to the void of content in ‘She-Hulk’ and now – the GotG special. What is there to discuss? Nothing!

However, what else is there left? ‘Strange World’, a Disney original special movie. Whereas MCU took 4 phases to arrive in that particular place, ‘Strange World’ was there, and stayed there throughout its’ run, (i.e. 102 minutes long). Supposedly about living in homeostasis with nature, (i.e. the ‘Frozen 2’ film), ‘Strange World’-2022 does a half-assed job of it; rather, for most of the movie’s duration the show’s characters are running around their ‘strange world’, (which is rather reminiscent of a human body, cough), doing… nothing of substance. Yes, I know that this is a journey of discovery, with the discovery being the truth about the Pando plant and the rest of the world, but due to the speed of the movie, both the discovery itself and the process of discovering it, are downgraded and vanish in all of the rush and the special effects. Yuppie, only not, as we are the ones paying for this piece and get to watch the shenanigans of the Clade family for over an hour. ‘Strange World’ indeed! Anything else?

Sadly, no. The American Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Black Friday is upon us, and the winter of 2022-3 is upon in a matter of days. This is very disheartening… and I did say that the real life sucks, didn’t I? So I did, and rather than to drag it out, I am ending this rant for now. See you all soon instead!

Zootopia+ - Nov 16

Obligatory disclaimer – real life sucks, so let us talk about the ‘Zootopia+’ mini-series: is it any improvement? I confess that I have no idea, so let us proceed.

On the literal level, ‘Zootopia+’ is a straightforward idea: it is a November-2022 released mini-series, (6 episodes), dealing with friends, family and acquaintances of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. Herein lies the issue: why and what for?

‘Zootopia’ itself was a successful 2016 Disney film, featuring a world of anthropomorphic animals, (primarily mammals too), with the focus on the aforementioned Nick and Judy, who have to solve a mystery of the night howlers and co. (Spoilers: the sheep did it). As such, it was a fast paced, exciting and dramatic mystery and adventure animated movie. The aforementioned ‘Zootopia+’, conversely, is a 6 episode mini-series, focused on the various animals (mammals) that Nick and Judy have encountered in their mystery quest, and who’ve helped them, (rather than hindered, cough, sheep). The issue remains unchanged, however: what for, and why?

Disney is already implementing this ‘fill-in-the-gaps’ strategy – in its’ SW franchise. After their initial (overly) bold take on the SW-universe, which resulted in a fractured SW-fanbase and an increasingly certain possibility of the remaining SW-fans turning against Disney/SW and turning SW from a profit for Disney into a clear-cut loss – and so Disney/SW went in another direction: they stopped talking about the future after the SW9 film and instead began to increasingly hover around the world of the ‘first six’ films, going into the increasingly smaller holes and gaps to flesh-out the SW-world. The SW-world did this already to itself, if you ever read any of the SW: Legends material, but because it was not Disney-certified or approved, Disney/SW tends to ignore it instead – at least officially. Unofficially, it is more of a relationship that Disney has with Mr. Riordan: while not acknowledging this aloud, Disney is using Mr. Riordan’s material in MCU – first in the ‘Moon Knight’ franchise, and now in BP – and the same goes for the SW: Legends, as Disney/SW uses them to flesh itself out now – but how does that relate to ‘Zootopia’?

It does not and herein lies the issue: ‘Zootopia’ is a ‘Disney original’ film, and any information delivered in it is ‘Disney original’, one that has nothing in common with any other Disney material. However, while the original ‘Zootopia’ quickly enough became admired… that is pretty much the extent of its’ influence: these days it is more obscure than popular, hence the issue: why did Disney think that ‘Zootopia+’ would work? Given how it has hardly made a ripple even in the actual ‘Zootopia’ fan base… I would say that it had not – but Disney tried, money was issued (and/or assigned), product was released…and no one cared. Obviously, success is measured by other means other than online popularity, and the Internet is full of critiques that fall flat, (but gods keep me away from the ‘Lyle-Crocodile’ film), yet I find myself honestly confused: just what Disney intended to achieve with the release of ‘Zootopia+’? The closest I can come-up with is that Disney is gaging-up, or stirring-up, the interest in the franchise, before going out with the next movie installment of this ‘verse’, because otherwise there is no reason to this rhyme, to butcher a popular statement. Still, it is what it is, and I just had to share my opinions on ‘Zootopia+’, because why not?.. The PAW Patrol franchise has done/is doing/etc., etc. a much better job of world building, to the point when they have become a victim of their own success – but that is another story.

For now, though, this is it. See you all soon!

BP2 - Nov 12

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about the latest BP film instead.

What can be said about it? Firstly, the queen-mother Ramonda is dead. I was completely unsurprised, (just very, very emotional), for this fits perfectly into the theme of MCU’s Phase 4 – out with the old, in with the new. The wheel of time moves, and the generations replace each other: T’Challa took over when his – their – father died, and Shuri did the same once her mother was no more. Shuri is now the queen of Wakanda, and until her nephew comes of age, she is the last of that line.

…Of course, she could always marry someone else and have children, but for the moment, she has enough on her plate without worrying about continuing the family line literally. Given that she’s probably some sort of an emotional mess now, that is good. What next?

First, an obligatory shout-out to Killmonger… well, to his ghost on the ancestral plane (or plain, or whatever). This was a nice tie-up of a plot line – he is at peace now, as is T’Challa, and Shuri… she is getting there. She has not killed Namor… given how much MCU has invested into him, it isn’t surprising – he isn’t going to be killed-off after a single film… but still, having a villain redemption, (more or less), story than a killing-off tale, is a pleasant surprise. War and peace, (sorry, Leo Tolstoy), are an important part of the BP portion of MCU, so here BP2 had delivered fully again.

Now, on the topic of villains, we got the countess Val. Apparently, she’s also in charge of CIA, because of course she is, and she’s also the ex-wife of agent Ross, (who appeared in the ‘Civil War’ and BP1 MCU films). Wonderful. It is up for grabs if she is a human or an alien, so maybe we should focus on America’s role in BP2? I am not talking about senorita Chavez here either – the fact is that CIA/America had set-off the conflict between Wakanda and Talocan (Atlantis), but…

…But RL matters, and right now the U.S. is in a fix, as no one in there knows as to where the States are to go. The relations between the Democrats and the Republicans remain very bad, and no one has any idea as to what will happen in the U.S. in 2024, who will win, etc., etc. Since Disney, in all of its’ current incarnations, hates risks, especially ones that can cause it to lose money, so far it has downplayed the role of the U.S. in MCU…and may actually be remaking the up and coming MCU components on the sly. That said, there’s no U.S. in BP2-

-But there is an America in this movie: Talocan is America, Mesoamerica to be more precise. If the CIA director Val Ross (cough-cough), stands for a Republican, WASP-ish America, then MCU’s Namor/Kukulcan and his cohorts stand for a Democratic America/Mesoamerica/America of P.O.C.s – and because of CIA’s machinations it confronts the Afro-Futuristic Wakanda, which – as we have discussed in the first BP film – is a Western utopia of Africa, (so go and look at that review, would you?). Because Disney/MCU has its’ own agenda, and it is more pro-Democrat than pro-Republican, everything, of course, is resolved at the end, and there’s a happy end for everyone, except for the queen-mother Ramonda, who is dead now, and for Shuri, who now has lost everyone…except maybe her new nephew… are we done with the U.S.?

…In the BP2 film? – yeah, pretty much, for it should be noted that Bucky Barnes the White Wolf of Wakanda hadn’t been mentioned at all here; in fact, the Avengers may as well not exist (at the moment). Riri ‘Ironheart’ Williams is an American, of course, but that fact is downplayed as much as it can be so yay! …Or not, given how the U.S. is still the top dog, (especially since R.F. is experiencing increasingly many and new problems of its’ own), so Disney/MCU’s downplaying of U.S. in its’… products may bite it in the arse yet.

Overall the BP2 film works, however. Both the cast and the crew delivered to the max, and the script is tight and good and enjoyable – what more do you need? Since BP2 is a glorious spectacle for one’s soul – nothing else. I have certainly enjoyed watching it, and still heartily recommend it for everyone else to go and see it too, (if you are able).

For now, though, this is it. See you all soon instead!

Black Adam - Nov 2

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us briefly talk about ‘Black Adam’, before MCU’s ‘BP2’ steals the spotlight.

‘Black Adam’ works. It is not the most powerful or poignant installment in the DCEU series, it is not necessarily even ‘the most’, period, but it works. The villains are villains, (with the final Big Bad being an actual devil of all things), while the good guys… Pause.

The titular character is an anti-hero, right? Yeah, no, it does not work like that. When anti-heroes first entered the fray, the cultural landscape was still dominated by heroes and villains; an anti-hero was a sinner who had found redemption; the grey area was located between light and dark; people could dwell there, spiritually speaking, but sooner or later they would have to make a choice between the aforementioned light and dark… or else they were NPC characters who had no role in the piece of fiction at all. Now, though, this dichotomy is over, grey morality is a thing, and people like Black Adam are just heroes who aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty… unlike the Justice Society league, for example.

Here is…not so much another pause, as an admittance of a sticky issue: why was Amanda Waller bossing Justice Society league around? In the DC canon, she runs only the Suicide Squad, (which was absent in ‘Black Adam’), nothing else. True, the status of the Justice Society itself is suspect – these days it is more apocrypha than canon in the DC comics at worst, and a second tier to the JL at best…but we still got the JL in the DCEU, right? Henry Cavill is returning from the witcher-verse, and Gal Gadot has never left, correct? Somehow, the JL never gets a mention in ‘Black Adam’, and while the entire film never feels like a reboot, somehow it does not feel like a part of the already-established DC-verse.

…Yes, I am quite aware that DCEU - and the rest – are being overhauled by their superiors in real life, (re: the Batgirl film), but that is not a problem of ‘Black Adam’ cast and crew: they set out to make a movie, (and not, say, a pet project of The Rock), and they delivered. What else?

‘Black Adam’ is an entertaining movie. Well, naturally – it is a comic-book film, is not supposed to be informative or educational. The good people are good, the bad are bad, and Black Adam and his Kahndaq are not about to bow to the U.S. any time soon, Superman or not. Can the latter defeat the titular character is another issue, but it was not explored in the movie canon – and then there is Shazam. More precisely, Black Adam is a Shazam villain, (or at least a nemesis), so you would think that DCEU’s Shazam would appear in the movie under one pretext or another, but no, nothing. Is there some problem with Shazam’s actor in real life, I know not. Moving on?

Hard to say. Lately the Internet is being bombarded with the ‘BP2’ movie info, but I am holding out – lately MCU was more disappointing than not. ‘Ms. Marvel’ was pointedly downplayed for RL reasons… and she was flat-out lackluster, while ‘She-Hulk’ was a Mary-Sue story, period, with Titania getting the short end of the stick, here. See, a Mary-Sue cannot stand female characters that are equal with her, (and the same goes for the male characters in a Marty-Stu story), and does her best to get rid of them, or at least – seriously diminish them. This is exactly what happens to Titania: at the end of the ‘She-Hulk’ S1, the ‘Hulk-King’ and the Abomination are arrested, and Titania just… vanishes – clearly, the titular character’s deal with K.E.V.I.N. included getting rid of her for good – or something. In any case, the end of ‘She-Hulk’ S1 is all about the titular character and her new and updated family – though with her cousin the Hulk introducing his own son, the situation may begin to change – but what does this have to do with ‘BP2’?

Nothing, sadly. All I wanted to point out is that MCU’s Namor has at least some things in common with MCU’s Killmonger, (now deceased… probably). MCU’s Namor has strong Mesoamerican overtones, and some of his promo images show him wearing a jaguar-head helmet/headpiece/headdress… you get the idea. Plus, there’s his moniker Kukulkan, who was, or is, a Mesoamerican serpent deity in RL – and on the other…paw we have MCU’s Killmonger, who went with the moniker of the ‘Golden Jaguar’ in the first BP film. There are no wild jaguars in the Old World, (which includes Africa); they are an American-only species – and now we get a Namor with strong Mesoamerican connotations. Again, nothing is new under the sun, we already had a half-Japanese Namor, (located on Earth-13410, one Namor Miyamoto), so why not a Mesoamerican one?.. At this point, I am more annoyed with the endless barrage of pro-BP2 promotions, but that is another story.

For now, though, this is it. See you all soon, instead!