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!

She-Hulk, Story - Oct 13

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about the ‘She-Hulk’ S1 finale instead.

…Actually, the ‘She-Hulk’ S1 finale – ‘Whose Story?’ – is not that much an improvement, either. Instead of returning ‘She-Hulk’ to the series’ MCU roots, the storywriters took the series in a weird direction. Pause.

Let us try again. With ‘She-Hulk’, the MCU tried to do something different from its’ previous installments – a rom-com TV series, just as the ‘Werewolf by Night’ special was supposed to take MCU into the horror genre area. This is not a bad concept, but the thing is that MCU, such as it is, does not fall into the ‘fit one, fit all’ area. Marvel comics are, well, action comics, and action-driven comics, and without that action drive, they… stagnate. Or, at least, they do not go anywhere – hence, the ‘She-Hulk’ series, (so far, but I am not being optimistic by now), which almost didn’t do anything to promote the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe further. Almost, because at the end of this episode the Marvel Cinematic Universe does go further – the actual Hulk returns, Titania seems to be a halfway decent individual after all, Blonsky is morally ambiguous instead of being a straightforward good guy, and so on.

Actually, about Blonsky – Wong does take him back to Kamar-Taj after all; given how neither of them were this season’s ‘Big Bad’, this does raise an interesting question: now what? What will this unlikely male duo do next? In addition, where does Madisynn fit into this?

Another pause. Here is the thing. The ‘She-Hulk’ S1 finale almost redeems itself; almost, because the middle five episodes of S1 had not much to do with either the first two or the last two episodes. These four eps actually have some of the ‘mainstream’ Marvel feel, and they work – more or less. The middle five – not so much. So what?

That is the tough one. On one hand, Disney/MCU can do whatever they want to do at this point – unlike the SW aspect of this juggernaut, the majority of their fans will swallow anything; on the other extremity – Disney/MCU has announced that they’re delaying a lot of their releases not too long after their official proclamation of the schedule, so, clearly, something isn’t going according to the grand plan. Consequently, Disney/MCU can diminish ‘She-Hulk’ to a nearly stationary rom-com; on the other, they may not be able to afford this, as when you think about it, any TV series, (or a movie, or a book, a magazine, etc.), is just a product that its’ maker must sell – to their audience.

…Here is not quite a pause, but more of an admittance: the above statement applies to fiction. In case of non-fiction, the situation is slightly different, as fiction applies to the audience in general, while non-fiction has a more specific, a more defined audience. However, since ‘She-Hulk’ is fiction, it is supposed to be sold to everyone, who cares about MCU…and maybe a few other folks. Instead, it appeared to have become not as successful as ‘Werewolf by Night’ was, implying that Disney/MCU is not as good at playing the market, as it would like to pretend.

This brings us back to ‘She-Hulk’. As an MCU rom-com, it was something of an experiment, here, and as such, it was expected to bring in success if it were to continue. So far, it did not do as well as Disney/MCU expected it to, and the more successful parts were the more old-fashioned and less experimental ones. Consequently, it is anyone’s guess as to where the future will take ‘She-Hulk’, and the rest of MCU, given that there already are delays and what else have you.

(Oh, wait, there is the ‘Wakanda Forever’ film coming in November 2022, but I am not holding my breath about it either, but let us wait for it to come out before we make any judgements).

…Therefore, for now, this is it. See you all soon, instead!

She-Hulk, Ribbit - Oct 7

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about this week’s ‘She-Hulk’ episode, ‘Ribbit’, since it is the penultimate one in ‘She-Hulk’ S1.

What is there to say? Let us talk about the ‘Devil’ in the room – a while back, MCU and its’ related/connected press services proclaimed that this will not be a sequel/direct continuation of the Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ series, but rather a straightforward restart – and so it is. Somehow, Murdoch made his way from the East Coast, (Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man movie, remember?), to the West Coast, (‘She-Hulk’ takes place in MCU’s L.A.), in order to have a relationship with the She-Hulk, apparently… Pause.

Now, again, I have no problem with the two of them being in a relationship. First, Cox and Maslany really manifest chemistry between their characters… plus they have the entire red/green contrast thing going.

Second, Marvel has already done this thing with the relationships – I am talking about Matt’s relationship with Jessica Jones back when they were featured on Netflix series instead. The fact that there was no mention of her, or any other ‘Defenders’ made on ‘She-Hulk’ (so far), doesn’t matter – it only means that their fates are up in the air for Disney/MCU to decide upon, that’s all. As for Matt and Jennifer, I am reminded of the Marvel comics’ Avengers: at first, they were going to set-up Robbie Reyes, (one of the Ghost Riders), with Carol ‘Captain Marvel’ Danvers. (Yes, that one).

…And then, abruptly, Robbie/Carol ship disappeared; now, Danvers seems to be mending fences with Tony, (who isn’t dead in the comics, BTW), while Robbie is hanging around Echo, who is now the host of the Phoenix force in the comics and is about to get her own show in the MCU. (Hint-hint). What’s more, Keanu Reeves is openly hinting that he is open to becoming MCU’s next Ghost Rider. Pause.

Now, MCU already has a Ghost Rider – Robbie Reyes, played by Gabriel Luna, who appeared in AoS’ S4, and who was supposed to have his own TV show, but that failed, and he vanished from MCU after AoS’ S4 finale. That said, there was another Ghost Rider – one who turned Robbie into a Ghost Rider in his backstory, so there is room for John Wick to enter MCU. In addition, yes, there were several Ghost Rider films in the past that featured Johnny Blaze, but they are not part of MCU, so no problem from this part either. Back to the ‘She-Hulk’?

…There isn’t much left to say, actually – somehow MCU tried to turn ‘She-Hulk’ around at the 11^th hour, by having the Intelligentsia, (yet another super-secret super-villain cabal, sigh), attack her when she was receiving some sort of an award, causing her to freak out, and allowing the Damage Control people to step in, suggesting that the show might be stepping away from its’ previous rom-com incarnation. Since ‘She-Hulk’ S1 has only one last episode left, I’m not feeling too overwhelmed here, not to mention that as far as power groups go, Damage Control is just a surrogate S.H.I.E.L.D. – and we’ve discussed both it and S.W.O.R.D. in the current MCU before, so, uh, excuse me if I’m underwhelmed; the fact that the titular character here is one of the least sympathetic and popular MCU super-heroes so far doesn’t help either, (no offence to Ms. Maslany intended). As such, I won’t be holding my breath to wait and see as to how J.W. gets out of this one, as both she and Damage Control people are flat-out lackluster, and we have to wait and see as to how the new Daredevil version fares. Is that it?

Well, no, there is also the ‘Werewolf by Night’ TV special, but first – a shout-out to the upcoming ‘Wakanda Forever’ movie for its’ line that Namor is ‘Kukulcan, the earth-shaker god’. Whoever came up with that line is a moron, because Kukulcan was a different name for Quetzalcoatl – the god, the pterosaur is called Quetzalcoatlus instead – and regardless of the name, he was not a sea or an underground deity, no, he was a sky deity instead. Earthshaker is a moniker that is, or was, associated with Poseidon/Neptune instead, a much more appropriate deity to Namor, what with the trident and all, but because he is Old World and all, the movie’s scriptwriters pulled Kukulcan out of their… orifices instead.

Keep in mind, that Disney is associated with Kukulcan already – via Mr. Riordan and a certain Ms. Cervantes, who’s YA novels deal precisely with this mythology. First ‘The Moon Knight’, and now this. No wonder that Mr. Riordan appears to become done with this universe and is writing straight-out YA novels instead that have nothing to do with myths or with Disney. Well, kudos for him, ‘because his PJ is going to be a Disney+ TV series soon, it seems.

However, what about ‘Werewolf by Night’? Succinctly, it works because, firstly, it was short, compact, and precise, and Disney/MCU did not stuff it full of their Easter eggs and co. as they tend to do. (In addition, such approach works best in MCU – just look at the AC TV series). Second, it works because it is only barely connected to Marvel – it might be just your typical horror mini-movie for all that it is so no problems there. Third, the same can be said about characters – they may be from Marvel originally, but so far there’s no indication that they’re a part – that their world is a part – of the greater MCU universe, and given how MCU has been playing with the concept of the multiverse, this might be the start of something new entirely – we’ll just have to wait and see.

…Otherwise, for now, this is it. See you all soon!

Hocus Pocus 2 - Oct 3

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us talk about the ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ film. Why? ‘Cause I have actually enjoyed watching it, unlike the ‘She-Hulk’ series.

Now, some of you have taken objections regarding her latest episode, ‘The Retreat’ and claim that J.W. is not a Mary-Sue here. To which, I reply: she is an only woman in an episode, surrounded by a bevy of men. Of course, she is a Mary-Sue; this is one of the telling marks of a M.-S. Character in fiction, (regardless of gender), but…

…But the men in ‘The Retreat’ were underwhelming, meaning that J.W. isn’t a ‘typical’ M.-S., but more of a ‘pathetic’, ‘underwhelming’ one; I never thought that a M.-S. Character could have such adjectives, but MCU managed to achieve that regardless – congrats to them! Not, and what about ‘Hocus Pocus 2’?

‘Hocus Pocus 2’ is something different, less like MCU, and more like ‘Frozen 2’. Why?

Because almost like the ‘Frozen 2’ film, ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ lacks a ‘typical’ antagonist; the Sanderson sisters – in the first film – certainly were that: unabashedly evil. The main protagonists of the first film – several plucky kids and one special cat – had to go unbelievable lengths to defeat them, (which they did). More importantly, while the Sanderson sisters had magical powers, (and some serious singing skills, let us be honest), the children – or the cat – did not.

In ‘Hocus Pocus 2’, the situation is different: practically everybody is a witch here, save for a certain cranky zombie, cough. Now the playing field is much more level, everyone can relate to each other better, and the secondary conflicts between the new children characters feel rather forced and, well, secondary.

Yes, aside from the Sanderson sisters, none of the characters from the first film appear; instead, we get a brand-new cast. This also connects ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ to ‘Frozen 2’, where the franchise had a complete remake and went in a completely new direction from where the first film (we’re talking ‘Frozen’ here) had gone. That said, the films in both ‘Frozen’ and ‘Hocus Pocus’ franchises were excellently made and fun to watch, plus…

…Plus whereas ‘Frozen 2’ went in the ‘green energy’ direction, (and we will talk about it at another time), ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ – not so much. Here, the issue was with the concept of witchcraft – no duh: from the old stereotype that we had during the release of the first film, now the witchcraft became a part of U.S.’ cultural history, and must be dealt with differently – which ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ did. Quite successfully too, given the movie’s reviews: it worked.

Why, again? Because it did not go too deep into various RL issues, but instead sought to entertain its’ audiences, which was a children’s/YA’s movie is supposed to do. Both the children and the Sanderson sisters were zany and fun to watch…and nothing else, actually: somehow, the stakes in this film feel lower than how they were in ‘Hocus Pocus 1’, but that’s ok: this franchise is just small enough, and compact enough, to endure this without much ado… and so they had. MCU, conversely, is much larger and more overblown than this, and so it is not doing as well: ‘She-Hulk’ is not bad, it is just flawed – but we have talked about this show before.

Therefore, for now, this is it. See you all soon!