Category Entertainment

Feb 25 2021

Superman & Lois Takes Off To A Promising Start

When the latest DC superhero TV show on the CW, Superman & Lois, was announced, many of us shrugged our shoulders based on the previous quality of superhero shows on that network. While the so-called Arrowverse DC TV shows are usually entertaining, they quickly fell into a worn-out formula that catered to the YA audiences of the CW. These shows were known for humdrum cinematography, average-to-obvious CG effects, a quirky support team for the main character complete with a nerdy IT person who talks too much. and a light tone with angst-driven melodrama.

Adding to the preconception about Superman & Lois was this version of Superman (Tyler Hoechlin) was the same one introduced in Supergirl and many fans complained loudly over how the showrunners intentionally made Superman inferior to Supergirl in her show. This was the last thing the character needed in this day and age where he struggles to stay relevant. 

Well, after viewing the pilot episode of Superman & Lois, it is  great to discover that the show, so far, has taken a different approach with an emphasis on quality that approaches what one would see on HBO Max and even on film. 

The pilot begins with a summary of Superman/Clark Kent’s life from the moment he arrived on Earth as an infant to how he met his future wife, Lois Lane (Bitsie Tuloch) and to the birth and raising of their twin sons, Jon (Jordan Elsass) and Jordan (Alex Garfin). During the pilot, a life-altering event occurs which forces Clark to return with his family to his childhood home in Smallville, Kansas. He and Lois find themselves at a crossroads in their lives and careers as they find out being journalists does not offer career or financial security. Real world problems invade their lives. Throughout the episode, Superman investigates a mysterious villain, while the boys struggle with their sense of identity and finding their way in a changing world.

From the start, the show featured exceptional special effects and cinematography, a more mature tone, and actual characters. Tyler Hoechlin turned in a fine performance as Superman and Clark Kent, who is conflicted with his responsibility to his family versus his life as a superhero who is constantly on call. Even though he is invulnerable, can bend steel with his bare hands and is faster than a speeding bullet, Clark still struggles to relate with his teenage sons. One of them has a social anxiety disorder while the other is an up-and-coming jock. These revelations showcase a more vulnerable and relatable side to the superhero, which is needed since he is criticized often for being a perfect boy scout. 

A caveat with the pilot episode of Superman & Lois is that it does feel at times like a CW show, especially when it devotes screentime to the boys. Their moments of teenage angst comes off as an updated version of Smallville complete with the dumb jocks, coy would-be girlfriends and teenage social gatherings that go awry. The partial reveal of the villain’s identity could produce some groans because Superman has a large gallery of villains to pick from that have yet to appear in live action. The episode could have used a bit more humor to liven up the mood. Then again being that the Arrowverse usually goes overboard with humor to the point it detracts from the drama, the more serious tone of Superman & Lois is very welcome.

Another point to be made is that Superman & Lois casts off much of the Arrowverse trappings to the point that it can be argued that it does not take place in the Arrowverse. It takes its inspirations from Man of Steel instead of Supergirl and it shows from the redesign of Superman’s costume to its hand-held photography (it is more brightly lit than Man of Steel, however) to its grittier tone. Be that as it may, Tyler Hoechlin’s take on Clark Kent and Superman is much closer to Christopher Reeve in the early Superman films than Henry Cavill in the recent films. the rest of the cast are also fine in their respective roles. 

Also, there is a terrific nod early in the pilot to the Max Fleischer Superman cartoons and even the first cover image of Action Comics #1 where Superman sports an early prototype costume complete with the red trunks. The cinematography during the opening segments/flashbacks contrast nicely with the current setting and helped set this episode apart from the other Arrowverse pilots. 

The first episode of Superman & Lois is a welcome surprise in a crowded TV landscape of underwhelming superhero shows. The makers realized that unlike the early Arrowverse shows, it is competing with other shows that raised the bar in terms of production values and writing. It is only the first episode and it remains to be seen if it can maintain this tone. The big test will come with the inevitable crossover episodes with the Arrowverse properties. But based on the pilot, Superman & Lois has taken off to a promising start. 

José Soto and Walter L. Stevenson

 

Feb 19 2021

Who Will Be The WandaVision Surprise Cameo?

By now, most fans have heard of a recent interview with actress Elizabeth Olsen where it was revealed that there will be a surprise cameo at the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Disney+ show WandaVision. Supposedly it will rival the shock and magnitude from the surprise guest appearance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the second season finale of The Mandalorian.

Of course, Elizabeth Olsen did not elaborate on this and only confirmed to the interviewer that there will be a surprise cameo. In another interview, Paul Bettany who plays the Vision mentioned he will work with an actor he’s always wanted to work with, so take that as a clue or a misdirect. This MCU show is already proving to be adept at the art of misdirection. It could be this already happened with the appearance of Evan Peters as her brother Pietro aka Quicksilver. But it is doubtful that actor’s appearance is of the OMG scale many are now expecting. Then again it could be and all this could be a misdirect, which would be a huge disappointment for many WandaVision viewers.

However, let’s assume that the final episode of WandaVision will have a surprise cameo appearance that will keep the internet busy with buzz and hype for months. Who could that person be?

By now, most fans have heard of a recent interview with actress Elizabeth Olsen where it was revealed that there will be a surprise cameo at the end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) Disney+ show WandaVision. Supposedly it will rival the shock and magnitude from the surprise guest appearance of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in the second season finale of The Mandalorian.

Of course, Elizabeth Olsen did not elaborate on this and only confirmed to the interviewer that there will be a surprise cameo. In another interview, Paul Bettany who plays the Vision mentioned he will work with an actor he’s always wanted to work with, so take that as a clue or a misdirect. This MCU show is already proving to be adept at the art of misdirection. It could be this already happened with the appearance of Evan Peters as her brother Pietro aka Quicksilver. But it is doubtful that actor’s appearance is of the OMG scale many are now expecting. Then again it could be and all this could be a misdirect, which would be a huge disappointment for many WandaVision viewers.

However, let’s assume that the final episode of WandaVision will have a surprise cameo appearance that will keep the internet busy with buzz and hype for months. Who could that person be? Be sure to leave a comment or two

Feb 12 2021

Little Fish, Large Emotions

Little Fish is a new romantic film relevant to our times with sci-fi elements has just come out in video on demand and a few select theaters which will please sci-fi fans and their dates while offering genuine emotions to all viewers.

Little Fish takes place during a pandemic where people from all walks of life are randomly infected with a debilitating disease that robs them of their memories. The disease, neuro-inflammatory affliction (NIA), can be easily compared to Alzheimer’s disease but young people contract the disease, as well. Little Fish devotes its screentime on how NIA affects a young newlywed couple, Emma (Olivia Cooke) and Jude (Jack O’Connell), as the disease eats away at their treasured memories of their relationship.

Elevated by strong performances and haunting and scintillating cinematography, Little Fish hits the appropriate emotional beats as it explores the couple’s love for each other as they grapple with NIA. At the start of the film, the couple see firsthand how devastating the disease is when their mutual friend Ben (Raul Castillo), a musician, struggles to remember how to play his guitar and then his relationship with his partner, Samantha (Soko). It is not long before she becomes a complete stranger to him, who he sees as an actual threat to him.

Emma and Jude go about their lives; she is a veterinarian who is forced to euthanize dogs after their owners forget them, while Jude is a photographer who begins to forget certain little things like his wedding photography assignment or a recent conversation he had with Emma. Now that Jude has contracted NIA, the couple is desperate to find at least some kind of treatment. Throughout the film, we see other NIA sufferers and the impact on society. These include, roving and constant police patrols searching for missing persons who forgot their addresses or who they are; people who have their personal information tattooed onto themselves; throngs of desperate people rioting as they try to get treated for NIA. Then there are the quacks and conspiracy nutjobs flooding social media and the internet with supposed cures.

Director Chad Hartigan knows enough not to let the film’s focus drift away too much into the outside world. Instead, the attention is kept on Emma and Jude. Olivia Cooke and Jack O’Connell have a pleasant and easygoing chemistry with each other, which makes Jude’s descent into amnesia all the more disheartening. There are many insightful moments when we witness how his memories become faulty. In one scene, we are shown how people in the memory of his wedding become little more than fuzzy silhouettes. Many of their moments are poignant as Emma and Jude clutch onto the small moments in their past that drew them to each other. There are times, the film potentially becomes treacly, but Hartigan has enough restraint to reel in such emotional hazards and keeps the feelings in check.

Little Fish is an emotionally satsifying indie film that leaves you pondering and treasuring your own memories. It is the kind of film that will please romantics without being overly sentimental since it is quite honest with its story and the journey of its characters.

Feb 7 2021

Quicksilver: We Didn’t See That Coming!

Spoiler Alert: If anyone reading this has not seen the latest episode of WandaVision and do not want to be spoiled then click away!

With that out of the way, it’s time to go over the latest WTF moment in the Disney+ TV show WandaVision, which is the kickoff to Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The show stars Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as the Avengers Wanda Maximoff and Vision. Unlike previous MCU incarnations the show was in a sitcom format but recent developments have revealed WandaVision to be much more than a comedy.

Apparently, Wanda has experienced some kind of emotional breakdown and used her powers to create an alternate reality in a New Jersey town called Westview where she lives a sitcom existence with her husband, Vision, complete with a laugh track. However, cracks have manifested in her reality as we are fed clues as to what is actually happening. Each question answered led to new questions including the shock reveal at the end of episode five of WandaVision called “On a Very Special Episode…”, which was a true head spinner.

In the MCU, Wanda’s superpowered brother Pietro aka Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) died during Avengers: Age of Ultron and Wanda is still mourning his death. But at the end of the episode Quicksilver shows up in her front door as her long-lost brother (complete with audience cheers at the revelation of the special guest star). The true shocker was that Quicksilver was not portrayed by Taylor-Johnson but by Evan Peters who played the same character in the Fox X-Men films, a completely different film universe unrelated to the MCU.

Needless to say, fans online are geeking out over Peters’ reprisal of Quicksilver because it now creates a link between the two film universes and is just a taste of what is to come with the MCU films. The next Spider-Man film will bring back several actors from the Sony Spider-Man films to reprise their roles and the sequel to Doctor Strange tells us that the sorcerer will be up to his ears with alternate realities by the sequel’s title, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, the crossing over of film universes actually began in the most recent Spider-Man film (Spider-Man: Far From Home), which showed J.K. Simmons reprising his role of J. Jonah Jameson from the Sony Spider-Man films.

Quicksilver’s appearance in WandaVision raised many questions such as is that actually the Quicksilver from the Fox X-Men films? He acted differently than the speedster featured in the last X-Men films. Or is that his personality has been supplanted by Wanda’s powers? In “On a Very Special Episode…” it was revealed that the townspeople in Westview had their true personalities supplanted by fictional characters to serve the comedic hijinks in Wanda’s sitcom reality.

Also, if this is the Fox X-Men Quicksilver then he is replacing the MCU version of Quicksilver because he is dead and Wanda clearly makes a point in the episode five that she cannot resurrect the dead. That contradicts the fact that Vision is alive in the Westview reality and she is aware that her husband is dead in the MCU. then again Vision is an artificial being so she may have been able to bring him back to “life” with her powers. Also, since the episode takes place in the 1980s, Quicksilver in the Fox X-Men films was alive during this time period and it would have been easier to transport him to the 80s setting of the Westview reality.

The special guest appearance of Quicksilver gives us hope that other Fox X-Men characters portrayed by the original actors may appear in the MCU. Olsen has said WandaVision will feature a surprise cameo on the level of Luke Skywalker/Mark Hamill appearing in The Mandalorian. Who could that be? Patrick Stewart as Professor X? Hugh Jackman as Wolverine? There were reports a year or so ago that those actors met with Marvel Studios for undisclosed reasons. Maybe it was to negotiate them returning? On the other hand, both actors made it clear they were done with their roles. Perhaps Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) will be the surprise. His breaking of the fourth wall would fit in well with the meta nature of WandaVision, if one thinks about it.

Of course, there could be another explanation and Quicksilver could be Mephisto in disguise or another hapless townsperson whose personality was altered to becoming Pietro, but not his appearance. In other words, Peters is playing a Westview resident forced to assume the Quicksilver personna and the fact that Peters is playing the person is just a nod and wink to viewers and fans. Still, the casting was a bonafide treat not just for MCU fans but for those fans of the Fox X-Men films who can take heart that those films have not been forgotten.

Jan 31 2021

Memo To Marvel Studios: Release Your Films!

OK, the title of this post does come off a might hyperbolic, but the feeling is justified among many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) who have been without any new MCU films in over a year and a half.

Of course, this is not the fault of Marvel Studios or even Disney since the COVID-19 pandemic has been so disruptive in our society. Disney cannot do any widescale release of films in theaters because most of them are closed for safety reasons. Who wants to go to a crowded movie theater during the middle of a pandemic? Even if Disney was inclined to release a film widescale now they would lose money. Just look what happened last year when Warner Bros. released Tenet in the summer.

Last month, Disney and Marvel Studios announced a release schedule for their films for this year with Black Widow due on May 7th. This announcement was done with the understanding that the pandemic would be under control. However, at this point it will take some more time, with the latest estimates of widescale vaccine distribution happening during the late spring, summer and early fall. This jeopardizes the release schedule of the MCU films with Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (due on July 9th) and even Eternals (November 5th).

The problem with the MCU films, and one of its strengths, is their interconnected nature. To fully appreciate the films they have to be watched in order as certain scenes connect with the other films. For example the post-credits scene in Captain Marvel deliberately led into the next MCU film Avengers: Endgame. Another example can be seen with the Infinity Stones. The Reality Stone was the main macguffin in Thor: The Dark World and was seen been placed in a specific spot for safe keeping at the end of that film. But in Avengers: Infinity War, the main villain traveled to that spot and obtained the Reality Stone.

A new wrinkle is that are the new MCU TV shows on Disney+ are certainly part of the MCU, and what happens in those shows will be referenced in upcoming films.

Rumor had it that even though Black Widow was a prequel film, it set up future events in the MCU from the introduction of the Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers to Black Widow’s sister, Yelena Belova, becoming the new Black Widow. Yelena has already been confirmed to appear in the Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. So this is a strong reason why Marvel Studios wants Black Widow to be the first MCU film out of the gate and not launch the cinematic part of the MCU’s Phase Four with Shang-Chi or Eternals.

But the problem is that pushing back Black Widow pushes back other slated MCU films. Some of us are eager to see the next Doctor Strange film, which was already delayed to next year, as an example. What would be the reaction if it got bumped to 2023? Would this imperil other announced films in pre-production to the point of them being cancelled?

The delay also could jeopardize the release of the Disney+ shows and in fact already has. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was supposed to be the first Disney+ TV show to stream followed by WandaVision. Now that has been reversed with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier coming out this March as WandaVision is currently streaming. But who knows how more film delays would affect the future Disney+ shows?

Something has to be done. At this point it would be best if Black Widow and even Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings were released on Disney+ this year. This would satisfy fans who are eager for new film content (though many are pleased with WandaVision), entice more subscribers to the streaming service, free up the backlog of films piling up now, and maintain the viewing order of both films and TV shows. Also consider this, is there a great demand to see Black Widow knowing the character’s fate or Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which features a character who was last popular during the 1970s?

Yes, this will hurt Disney financially but the company is already losing money and are going all in with their streaming platform. Releasing the films on their app would generate revenue so it would not be a complete loss. Of course, this endangers the filmgoing experience later on but this is inevitable. No matter what Marvel Studios and Disney decides, this situation cannot continue, but we’ll know soon what they decide. 

It could have been worse. Take comfort that at least we got to see Avengers: Endgame in theaters before all this started.