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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)

Artistically amazing, Charactesationwise authentic, this is trully a TEENAGE MUTANT Ninja Turtles movie. But not without its flaws... However, this is the way to go!

While with plot issues and overreliance on exposition, the movie is a blast artistically and characterisation wise. I relish the prospect of any future animation project as we go through this Animation Revolution. As long as they don't lose track of what makes animated movies tick, I welcome more!

I'll start with the good, this movie is obviously a piece of art. Each aspect is done with as much care and style as any actual piece of art, regardless of whether or not you like what they are trying to do. For instance, I didn't like the horrific human designs and disgusting portrayal of human locales but I respect the fact that the artistic direction is going this way deliberately. They aimed for this vision and went with it the whole way, and I applaud them for that. That added with a classic dose of Nickelodeon goo obsession and you got a genuine experience.

The characterisation is engaging and most importantly authentic, you truly believe there are teenagers voicing these turtles as they talk, act and think like one. The side characters also had great characterisation, particularly the new characters; I just had some reservations with the portrayal of Splinter and April. I didn't like the direction they took them in this version of the TMNT but I can get on board with what they went for. I personally think the portrayal of a stoic, strict, wise martial arts dad on part of Splinter is part of the DNA and the essence of his fatherhood, he is strict with them because of his martial arts sensei persona. Having him forbidding the turtles from going to the human world because "they didn't accept them when they showed up out of the blue" it's a bit weak narratively and doesn't play into his supposed age-given wisdom. And April's arc of acceptance in High School resonates with that of the turtles, but I feel the human world is not built up enough to let us into her actual world or New York city for that matter. I know it's not fair to compare, but Spider-verse did a better job at letting us into the heads of "the general public" reacting to the extraordinary circumstances that were happening. Here, we only get a bunch of news reports reporting in a very black and white way and I know it's played for laughs but sometimes it feels the movie doesn't take itself seriously, at least emotionally.

It rushes through scene after scene, joke after joke, action set piece to the next to get the flow going but it rarely ever slows down to swell up the music and let us sink in the moment. I think there was one scene, when they were grounded they had a heart to heart when they talked to each other, another when they were walking in the sewers after saving April and the lighting is perfect. I don't know, I feel like subtlety is always better than erratically expressing feelings or overall not digging deep enough. I lack an emotional engagement with the plot and characters in this movie. Because I could have overseen the actual plot of this movie which never really climaxes into an emotional one as much as they tried. Surely it is unique in execution, the villains definitely are not one dimensional in this aspect but they do decide one dimensionally to turn on the bad guy in a whim and without any sense of remorse. And this wouldn't feel strange if the relationship between them and the bad guy wasn't built as a healthy "family type" one. I don't know, some decisions seem to have been made to move the plot forward and not for trying to tell a moving emotional and cathartic plot or character arc.

And the last issue I have with the movie is the teenage angle. While the actors had authentic chemistry and age-appropriate behavior and dialogue, unfortunately the reliance on current world references and trends like twerking and current movie moments or even anime (attack on titan) to explain a plot point; it's a very poor way to connect with the teenage spirit. While the references to current pop culture media is okay and the use of smartphones is subdued in the movie while still representing the smartphone-obsessed era we live in, highlighting trends like twerking which, while popular, was never received as a positive trend and therefore make the movie cringy is not a decision that will date the movie in a good way. I don't know, some aspects of the movie really references specific fads that have not gone down in a popular way. And this goes with any reference to very specific outdatable content like memes, online fads and social media trends. I'd stay away from that if you don't want to be instantly outdatedly cringy.

Aside from that, the movie is definitely unique in style and the animation is superb despite some creative decisions that I subjectively don't like but can get along with. The comedy was decent, some jokes and musical scenes were great but other jokes just felt forced; the characterisation was on point and I love the new characters, specially the Geko. I think we are heading towards the right direction and this movie adds to the new fad of unique Animated movies that I hope we keep on getting.

Elemental (2023)

It's good, but it focuses too much on what it wants to be than what it ends up being. An unfortunate waste of potential for such an interesting yet underdeveloped world.

To say the world of Elemental is a not-so-subtle allegory of real life wouldn't be an overstatement. To say the themes and plot points explored in this movie diverted a bit of the typical rom-com and immigrant family struggles wouldn't be an oversimplification. I liked this movie, and I think everyone will too. What's not to like?

The animation style is unique and virbrant, mixing 3D and 2D fitting the trend Spiderverse began; the characters are charming, the story endearing and the world stunning and.. a tad underdeveloped. I know what this movie is trying to do, it is attempting this mix between real-life allegory prejudices from Zootopia and metaphysical introspective foud in Inside Out. However, it fails at nailing what these two succeeded at doing:

Zootopia made the effort to establish the pillars of how society worked. Surely the nature of the members of its society (animals) themselves explained most of the prejudices and "class distinction", but the environments and cities were explored in a montage to a certain extent to explore a bit how these different creatures lived together. Here, there are so many obvious questions unanswered that it becomes distracting. You don't need to explain every single rule of how the world works but you still have to establish the grounds for an understandable story. I know the director drew inspiration from his childhood and his parents childhood into the story, and that's why I like it, it feels personal, it feels like I'm being let into the past and the heart of someone who cares. That's why it's more frustrating when some elements presented weren't explored or developed enough to make sense out of everything. So many questions needed to establish the backstory of this world and family: what was this other place the father had to leave from? How is it connected to the Elemental City? Are they the first immigrant family in the Elemental city? Are each element a different race? Why did they move to an abandoned neighborhood, and why was it abandoned? If the world was an allegory of New York or America, why is there only one-sided racism towards fire? I know it makes sense when talking about elements but do other couples combine too? Can they? Will they? The story seems to have a lot of firsts that the setting (inspired by the modern day) doesn't correlate to, if this allegory of the world we live in was as 1 to 1 as the movie presents it to be; this idea becomes a bit anachronistic.

If the fire people are seemingly the immigrants who are not given any help to settle in the Elemental society, are other elements being prejudiced against? And it is just unfortunate because I really believe there are some nuggets of good ideas but the script never takes any chances with it. In turn, every element becomes the most average version of itself: the rom com tropes feel retraced, the relationships father-daughter familiar and stereotyped, the family of the boyfriend somehow white-guilt-tripped.

Not to mention the character arcs. Amber has so much potential in the first half of the movie, boyfriend is a bit annoying but his heart is in the right place. But this is Amber's story, mostly because the boyfriend never had any motivation outside his job and her, he is a blank slate, and that's okay because Amber is the main protagonist. And what a waste. And mostly, her emotional moments were robbed from her: We never saw that Amber wanted to do something other than owning her father's shop, we never knew she wanted to do glass sculpting until bf's mom told her she should do it, and even then she thought no other alternative is to be thought off, only choice is the store; we never saw a inner conflict of her finding her true calling, she just "stumbled upon it", and when it was time for her to be honest with her dad, it was her bf who robbed her of that confession, he forced her to tell him in the worst possible time (in a bad way); she should have confessed that herself, out of courage and with the hope that her dad would understand and respect her choice; not to mention her dad never really lears to accept water people, we only learn he accepts her choice of not taking care of the shop. He never has a heart to heart with the one member of the society who has proven him the water people may not be that bad.

No only that, but during her entire upbringing, Amber was always shown excited to take care of the shop, we never thought she'd be intrigued in pursuing another career path, she went straight to what her father taught her. And then when we see she may not have the patience to deal with bad customers, this could have been a great opportunity to challenge her to be better. Or what I thought would actually happen, that her bf, who was shown to be good at expressing his feelings and hyping up people, would be the one with whom she would learn to cool down and not stress. The element's natural essence work wonders for this concept, she is fire so she can get irritated and blow up, but water is calming and soothing, he could have been the perfect element to combine with.

Unfortunately, the story was too focused on the particular themes it wanted to explore, too personal to the artist to let us into the world they created. The world-building was lacking because the story and characters were more important, and that's fine, but then the world of the elements is wasted in its conceptual potential. This story would have been completely fine as a live action or in a world with people. Zootopia had an overarching plot, a detective case used as a backdrop of their story, a way for the main characters to explore every aspect of the society they had presented. And applying prejudices and commentary on our current society.

The few emotional payoffs do not hit as hard because the story never delves into the intricaccies of any of the themes it presents. It tackles all of them well enough, but it feels shallow as we never get to see how certain prejudices or preconceptions affects the world around them. We learn the water people are actually the "high class" but we never see what the other elements are, and it's not like you can tell right away based on elemental hierarchy because there is no preestablished hierarchy like we can find in the Animal kingdom. The movie rushes through everything and never takes a moment to breath, to settle in the notions it establishes. If anything, the biggest emotional payoff was the salute betwen daughter and father at the end, harkening back to the flashback scene with the dad. It's just that movies like Turning Red have represented this aspect of mix-cultures better than in this movie,

The movie doesn't know what it wants to be, it starts being a "passing the baton" from father to daughter where she must prove she is up to the task, then finds a conflict in that she must calm down in order to do a good job and then she worries about fixing the water fissure so that her dad doesn't learn that the pipes bursting was her fault even though it wasn't her fault because it was the water dam who was at fault so it wasn't really her fault; and yet later suddenly is told she is good at doing glassware and she suddenly decides to leave and.... I just, don't understand the correlation between any of the resolutions of this story. I know on paper they make sense how things "could" be connected, but we never see them connect.

Again, my conclusion to this movie is, I applaud PIXAR for not doing a sequel and creating a new style and world; it says a lot about their capacity to create new worlds and the animation is amazing; it's just that the story retreaded a lot of familiar beats, never trying to tell something new or use its unique world to flesh out new ideas and concepts. I can see the story had personal significance to the director and I'd love to see more of these sort of personal stories and unique perspectives about society; just make sure you also deliver an impactful climax and emotionally resonating but also well-fleshed out pay-offs. But definitely this is the better path for a better PIXAR.

The Flash (2023)

A perfect execution of The Flash's most important story

I am not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best DC movies so far. It perfectly adapts the source material to the current characters of the Snyderverse and bridges the gap between the old and the new DC universe that began with a more colorful and characteer-driven Aquaman and Wonder Woman movies (in spite of the flaws these may have).

The screenplay in this movie, that is the story and character arcs, is absolutely gold. It is witty, funny and splendidly well-rounded. All the jokes land perfectly and it is all thanks to the great performance of Ezra Miller, which would be more acclaimed if it weren't for the bad reputation that preceeds him.

And perhaps a bit surprisingly, every other character introduced and "returning" do a fantastic performance, elevated by their characterization. Audiences should be really satisfied with the directions they took every main character in this film.

I don't want to get into spoilers so I will just mention that the costume and set design is incredibly imaginative. The story is inspired by a famous Flash comicbook but it is modified enough to be more relevant to the current iteration of the Flash while maintaining the core messages and themes. And in some aspects, actually improve the story itself. All amounting to a climax where the emotional payoff is earned.

It is obvious the care and effort that was put into this movie in almost all aspects except one. One that seems to be the weaker link in all DC movies: the subpar CGI. I don't doubt the talents of the CGI artists at Warner Bros, but there's something happening behind close doors. Either time constraints (which seems unlikely given DC doesn't pump out as much content as Marvel), lack of workforce or simply budget constraints? (again, highly unlikely given the budgets these movies have). It's unfortunate because it is subpar enough to break the illusion (is very noticeable when you see shots of Flash's costume switching from CGI to physical costume on a close-up). But is imaginative enough to be overlooked.

And again, the heavy lifting is done by the story and characterisation, which is stellar. Add there the performances and visually stunning action set pieces and you have great entertainment. The relationships between the characters is well defined and come full circle in the end, I applaud the use of every character and their comic book iteration and I thank the good and restraint use of the easter eggs and references which the nature and trailer of this movie clearly disclosed there would be (so that wasn't really a spoiler)

All in all, this is a great direction to take DC on and in some ways, this movie feels kind of James Gunn-y: the characters are compelling, some wacky and hilarious, others more subdued but also witty; the relantionships between them are earned and emotionally satisfying and the story is character driven; and things like the editing and music-heavy montage scenes (not saying they are uniquely Gunn, but they reminisce of GUnn). And most importantly: the movie has something compelling to say. Which may sound obvious, but a lot of superhero movies lately have lost track of it. Surely they are visually stunning and action driven, but we can't forget the characters and their flaws and strengths, and exploring both is always a great idea! So more, please, more of this quality of DC.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Respect. That's all it takes. Respect for the lore and mythos. And flawless storytelling skills. Thank you Phil Lord and Chris Miller. You did it again.

The writers behind the Spiderverse movies are some of the best of our time. Not only do they know how to craft a unique, high-staked, deeply personal and riveting story, but their respect for the legacy of Spider-Man is beyond perfect.

And that's all it takes, folks. For everyone and anyone whose working on preestablished franchises (Star Wars, Marvel, DC...), who want to follow up the adventures or stories in a robustly-built universe, all you need is to "read up". To understand what makes it work and use those strengths to your advantage.

This movie is one of the best Spider-man stories I have ever seen. It's unlike any other told in the comics and movies, it's fresh, provocative (in the good way) and all out bonkers. Needless to say, the animation is top notch. I mean, Sony Animation Studios has developed into a powerhouse of stylised animation. It already showed in the trailers, but if you liked the different styles used in the animation of each spiderperson from other universe, you are going to have a fieldtrip with this one.

Almost everything works in this movie, the comedy, the set pieces, the world-building, the emotional and dramatic moments. It's simply top tier cinema, not animated cinema alone, but overall cinema. The romantic tension, the new character's personalities and relationships, it's all around perfect, I would not change a thing.

There's so many pros that I don't think I can put into words the amount of things this movie does right. The long action scenes, animation style, sound design and soundtrack, the script, the characterisation of old and new spider people. I have only praises for this movie. But the biggest one is what I said previously, the respect and understanding of the mythos and lore of Spider-man is what saves this movie for the bigger fans. Because Spider-man is not a hard story to adapt, but there's a lot of good stuff in it and the way the writters play with preestablished media and introducing new media to the people while not being too much to handle for the audience is brilliant.

There're references for everyone, for those who saw only the movies, or the shows, or the games, or the tv shows, or the comics. I don't want to jump into spoilers, I just want to point out all the good qualities this movie has, that carries from the previous and some which are improved and amped to the max.

Just the ambition of the story they are trying to tell here already surpases any and all expectations. I whole-heartedly believe they are breaking grounds here and they are changing the way the Spider-man universe works and I applaud their fantastic work. I hope the next one fulfills the catharsis that left me wanting more after the credits roled in this one.

If anything, and I mean very mildly ruined the experience for me, that is, I lowered from a 10/10 to a 9/10, was two aspects that bugged me more than I expected. One of them is, you can tell this movie was divided in two while you watch it: the pacing is a bit slow in some scenes, action scenes that drag just a bit too much some times or emotional scenes that go on when all that was meant to be said was done. And the other aspect is, and this may be a bit spoilery, so if you don't wanna read more NOW IS THE TIME NOT TO READ MORE IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET SPOILED:

I think the prologue and recap of the previous movie at the beginning of this one wasn't too.. right. It threw me off a bit just because they went on for too long, like they tried to flesh out the background story of someone and, despite how this comes back full circle in the end, it just carries on and on it's a bit too long before we get to where everyone is. Also, and this is last spoilery thing, I feel there's a bit of a flaw of continuity when Gwen "comes back to see Miles", like between the ending of the previous movie, and this one. They didn't connect it too well I think (ahem, Miles seems different).

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Wrong Jedi (2013)

It has to be said. Mid-way point review of the show as a whole.

I never got into the wave of the Clone Wars when it came out, I wasn't particularly fond of the animation style and I never wanted to see Star Wars reduced to what I assumed would be solely a children-oriented "cartoon". Never have I been happier to have been proven wrong in my life. For now, Clone Wars is for me officially canon and has improved the prequel trilogy's lore immeasurably. And this episode is its catharsis (at least for now).

It's impossible to express the amount of things that culminate in this episode. Fully aware that there are 2 more seasons for me to enjoy, yet back then this was the last season before Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm. Meaning this may have been (and actually was for a time) considered the last season of a very beloved show for the fans. So they went hard on the narrative and the animation.

This episode successfully shows and communicates how the complex world of SW operates, more so the narrative intricacies of this era (The Republic vs Separatists, and the Clone Wars). And I will use it to give my half-point review of the show as a whole.

In spite of how belic most of the episodes are generally, with heavy-reliance on light-saber and trooper-action plots and subplots, the show has sprinkled throughout its plots but mostly throughout its characters the grounds for narratives beyond any of us thought were possible in SW content. Coming from a perspective of a disillusioned fan of the newest SW content that came from the Disney era, the more I began to investigate and learn more about George Lucas and Dave Filoni (at the dawn of the new Mandalorian and later the Andor show), the more I began to realize there was a piece of SW history I've been missing. And it was through rewatching the SW media chronologically for a change, that I decided to give this very praised show a chance. And boy am I glad.

Figuring amongst the best stories and characterization I have ever seen not only in SW but in media, I want to highlight the character development of the Clones (particularly Rex, the Bad Batch, and Gregor), Asajj Ventress, Cad Bane (and other reoccurring mercenaries), and the lesser known Jedis (Kit Fisto, Plo Koon and the younglings). All aside from the main characters we know from the live action movies who are stellar and have amazing developments in this show: Obi Wan and Anakin. Which leads me to the new ones: Ahsoka Tano. I was never (and still am not) a massive fan of hers, her personality is too similar to that of Anakin and (for now) I find her to be a carbon copy of him except for a few traits, but not enough to make her unique. However it was in this episode that I realise how invested I was not only in their relationship but also in the current circumstances in regards to the war.

I'll try to be brief and not give away any spoilers. During the last seasons, new ideas had begun to be presented in the show. On the one hand you could find adventure-filled, action-packed lighthearted stories and on the other you could find provocative lore-heavy or even controversial ideas as the main message of some of the episodes. And these are the most highly rated of them all. Episodes like the Mortis arc, Umbara arc or the Jedi Temple attack arc. I never thought SW content will make me see the shades of gray that lie on what essentially looked like such a black and white conflict that seemed to be the Clone Wars in the live-action movies. We saw the order 66 in Revenge of the Sith as the ultimate betrayal to what we thought was good and bad; yet this show uses that resolve to make it its own to craft stories that would hit you so hard you would begin to wonder why these weren't made into movies.

I cannot state the brilliance of George Lucas and those who understood what he was going for in the prequels. What was seen as a "cinematic failure" never hoped to be redeemed, Dave Filoni and the crew behind this show managed to not rewrite history, but add appendices and episodes to it that would layer the conflict much more. To use the backdrop of this war to show all sides in this conflict and all the paths one could take and not take. And here's where we begin with spoilers.

SPOILER WARNING

In this episode, the biggest take away I get is exactly what transpired during this entire Attack on the Jedi Temple and fugitive Ahsoka arc. At the beginning of it, I thought it would be just another adventure for Ahsoka as they pursue the actual culprit, yet as we see it unravel we begin to see the cracks... Deep inside you know it's coming, because we have all seen Revenge of the Sith. We all know what will eventually happen, but it is because we have followed these characters for so long that that realization hits the hardest. Seeing Ahsoka realize that, in spite of how important the ways of the Jedi, the Jedi Order and most importantly Anakin is for her; that Barriss was right. That the Jedi have lost their way, they have become greedy, action-seeking soldiers that in the pursuit of peace have brought war with them. And your impotence to side with her as you know and have seen Obi-Wan and Anakin forced to deal with situations where force was needed because else people will suffer, innocent and defenceless people. Man, this is so simple yet communicated so perfectly. Anakin, who we know what he will become, know that like Ahsoka before him, the Jedi will fail him too. Just remembering Yoda talk about it in the OT, mentioning to Luke how the Jedi had lost their way during that time and because of that evil found a way out. THIS is Star Wars. It is tackling simple concepts of good and bad and address how they affect you and the people around you. It is this relatability, this groundness in historical events that serve as analogies to inspire these stories. The amount of storyarcs presented here, questions being asked to the characters and therefore the audience about their ideologies and reason to make decisions. I know most people like the Darth Maul arc and most of the revenge arcs presented in the show, but I have to be honest, I have heard so much about the return of Darth Maul that I was a bit disappointed when I saw his return. The lead up to his confrontation with Obi-Wan is very underwhelming as they confront each other almost rightaway and Obi-Wan almost dies.. However, I do find this storythread to not have culminated yet. It found its halfway point in the Duchess and take of Mandalore arc, but as some people have mentioned already, we haven't spent too much time with Obi-Wan and his old gf. I feel like if we had seen flashbacks, or they be more open about their feelings other than "i will always love you" bare surface stuff, her death would have hit harder.

Nevertheless, the show is definitely very consistent with its quality, something I thought wouldn't be possible as some arcs involve droid hijinks, political dispute or even Jar Jar. Not that I hate any of these, but I found some standalone arcs to be a great addition to the lore of SW, particularly the Younglings arc where they must find their crystals (Byph, my man, you are the best!). The show manages to remain cinematically epic in spite of all, and that is commendable for what I have seen of long running 20-episode Animated Shows. There're a trend in these shows to add filler and extend stories so as to have more episodes yet they deprived everyone of more stories. So in the end I am grateful I gave the show a chance and I can't wait to watch the last 2 seasons and see how it all concludes.

Lightyear (2022)

Missed the mark. An unnecessary reboot of Buzz's universe that could have chosen to build upon what it had set up in Toy Story 2 and Star Command TV show rather than ignore it

The good:

• The first 34 minutes. Action-packed, filled with snappy and coherent sci-fi archetypes setting the science and world-building in a short amount of time. The Interstellar, Star Wars and time-traveling sci-fi concept are set with a more than engaging premise. But then the "far timetravel" happens and we are provided with a cliched, run-of-the-mill, underdog adventure where every single plot device and sci-fi reference serve little to no purpose.

The Bad:

• The humor. Doesn't work at all. It's quippy but not smart, it is on the nose and egregiously stops the flow of scenes simply to elongate the punchline halting the pacing of some scenes and sometimes even ruining emotional moments. And the pen joke is too much, it's just too much. Making Taika Watiti's character unbearable and not as charming as Thor's Korg.

• After the first half hour, the IQ of the movie drops by a lot. They start speaking on-the-nose cliched phrases, inconsistent action direction with characters popping wherever the plot needs them to be, a serious lack of stakes or consequences for any of the inexperienced characters and lastly some of the most child-like abrupt changes of mind. The plot has stakes and the story has an engaging, high-stakes premise but once Buzz goes to the future and we meet the rookies, no context is given to the current state of the planet. This info is saved till later for shock-value so we aren't as invested in the action that ensues because we don't know who is who. And for the rest of the movie, Buzz's attempts to fix things are interrupted by the rookie's incompetence. It simply becomes too much, to a point of these mistakes being hard to redeem given every relevant plot advance is halted by a supposedly emotional moment where they feel miserable for being so incompetent. This is not how you do an underdog uplifting character arc, we need the rookies to be scolded, shaken into acting and composing themselves, give them some tough love to try their best. Not only to cry and acknowledge their feelings all the time. Also, they need real personal consequence not just plot-relevant ones: e.g. When Buzz is captured and the hyper speed crystal is stolen because of Izzy's incompetence, these are plot-related consequences not personal to her. There should have been real ones, like she had one of her friends killed or severely injured, or she herself received a wound or damage of some sort. These rookie characters just act like dumb kids, always getting involved even though they know they aren't prepared for it... And all they do is get sad when things don't go their way, why not get angry? Is either that or they just appear where the plot needs them to be. And lastly, proof of how there's a lack of consequence is the ending for Buzz when he returns to the human colony: he is made the captain of the space rangers and applauded despite having caused all the problems in the first place and that he should be arrested.(which again we don't know what he did because we know nothing of what future old Buzz has done to the colony...). We have spent no time getting to know the rookies or their relationship with Buzz, so any attempted emotional pay-off in the end is just unearned.

-The Ending is so dumb. The fact that the reason Zurg is called Zurg is because the robots can't say "buzz" (which is the simplest syllable to pronounce) is stupid. This trend of explaining the most small and irrelevant things is bafflingly tiring to me (like Han Solo's last name). But more egregiously to me is the double damage that Zurg's reveal "plot twist" causes. By retconning Zurg's identity, the movie actively executed the most tired cliche in sci-fi (the "i am you but from the future and am secretly not secretly evil" trope) and kills any sense of consistency from the previously established Zurg characterisation in the Toy Story media.

Anyways, the movie decides to leave ALL the reveals to a flashback expository scene. Granted, the reveal that circles back to Buzz's original mistake that marooned everyone in that uninhabitable planet is a satisfying idea; but it feels predictable in its message. Also, the history of evil Buzz is so stupid, his plan is motivated because when he came back he wasn't received with applause? No wonder they don't trust him, he failed so many times people had lost hope. So, it's too drastic a decision to leave and hold that grudge for the next 50 years.

• The tempo of the movie. It isn't a bad thing per se, just a very distracting one. I know kids have a short attention span and this movie is action-packed but the movie does not halt for a second and this harms some of the more realistic aspects of the sci-fi physics scenes. Like, when Buzz is trying to help with the rookie's damaged spaceship reentry in the atmosphere, he flies around in space in the middle of reentry at high speeds without reheating, only the ship; then when the ship lands it does so with more speed than Buzz's landing yet he manages to land, remove the heavy jetpack and run to the landing of the ship just in time for the doors to immediately open and everyone gets off in like 5 seconds unaffected by the rough landing. It's not something super wrong, is just distracting because the movie is rushing and you don't feel the weight of the physical toll these sort of maneouvers take. Like, wearing that chunky armor must limit mobility and must affect how fast you can walk and run yet they move like if it was a second skin. Also, after a hard landing, I feel like I'm missing a scene where the characters breath in and sigh after successfully accomplishing a hard task. There's no such moment in this movie, noone gets tired nor gets harmed nor suffer bumps in their heads even though they never wear their helmets and they fall from seilings and get blasted by bombs. I'm not saying people should die or get injured but if the movie is choosing to represent a more gritty and realistic sci-fi movie, it feels off that everything is so "okay" all the time.

• The Art style just doesn't fit the context. I'm not talking about the realistic CGI rendering, I'm talking more foundational. This movie is supposed to be the "live action" movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toy line in 1995 and it was released in the "live action Toy Story universe", that is, is the one that inspired Andy to buy the toy. So here comes the stylistic discrepancy: the movie's style has a very clear modern visual take on sci-fi in the likes of Halo and ironically Wreck-it Ralph's Hero's Duty fictional arcade game but it is more reminiscent of the gritty and chunky-armored warriors of games like DOOM, Gears of War and Warhammer 40K. Some of these trends were set before the year the movie is supposed to have fictionally been released. So stylistically it makes sense, and I am not saying these are bad by any means. Gritty sci-fi settings are one of my favorites. But the design of Buzz Lightyear's toy is inspired by a mix of 60s/70s Space-age Sci-fi in the line of more commando-articulated action figures like ActionMan and GI Joe.

When you are portraying toys, it's very easy to "time" them in the era they were released. If you did a movie that was supposed to be the inspiration for a line of toys, if the inspiration is too far design-wise from the style of the toy, it won't "look" like the toy is from that movie, it just looks like, well, the movie was done years later inspired in that toy but with a modern mentality. Which is the real life scenario in this case. I think this is a perfect example of a failure to capture nostalgia. And this notion is hammered home even further by the fact that PIXAR already released two pieces of world-building media around Buzz Lightyear in the fictitious video game featured in Toy Story 2 and the 2D animated TV Show during the 2000s. Both of which I love as they follow the aesthetic set by the design of the original Buzz.

• The tone. It's not a bad aspect per se, it's just a preference. And it's biased by my love for the original animated TV show. But I think they went about the tone and characterisation in this story all wrong. Granted, there're some decisions copied from the show like the classic trope of the "underdog rookie team" proving that they can be legendary space rangers, the classic sci-fi tropes that always work no matter the style (like an AI robot that helps our heroes) and the design, action pieces and space-ships that work because these styles are so synonymous with sci-fi that they become timeless. But yet, I would have made this movie more "cartoony", that is, more light-hearted and over the top and more self-aware. Because this movie is attempting to do something that is very very hard: try to present this movie as something from which an already established IP came from. The icons and the symbolism linked to Buzz have already been ingrained in our subconscious and the younger generation doesn't know the trendy toy simplification pre-Y2K. Like with the 1990s Ninja Turtles movie, if you look at the tone and feel of the movie and then look at its toy line you see that the commercials, design of the turtles and other related media is a "colorful simplification or more striking adaptation" of the movie in toy form. So all in all, I know what they are going for with Lightyear, they want this movie to be the equivalent to the Ninja Turtles live-action movie to an already "cartoonish" version of humans in the Toy Story universe. And this toy-ception is too much to ask from the audience and creative director Pete Docter admitted this too.

All in all, I don't think this movie deserves the hatred people have been giving it. I don't even think it deserved to flop either. I think its ambition and generic diverting style harmed its reception, sadly making it a tad too forgetable. And in the context of the new Animation revolution with media like Puss in Boots 2, Arcane and Into the Spider-verse breaking records, the times are changing.

Cocaine Bear (2023)

A movie as high in cocaine as its bear. It knows what it is and it goes full on bonkers with it

It knows exactly what it is and it relishes every second of it. And you know it too.

If you are looking for a horror/comedy R-rated bonkers movie of, well, what would happen if an apex predator did a lot, and I mean, a lot of cocaine? This movie is for you. Imagine if you will, a monster disaster movie. But instead of being dragged down by human subplots or "protect nature" messages, it went full on crazy bear mauling hijinks with it. The gore is amped to the max, next with horror build ups and decently set up jump scares.

In a more critical perspective, the film was very competently made for what could very well be a B-movie monster madness creatuee attack on the likes of Sharknado or Anaconda. And the biggest surprise for me was the humor. Great comedic timing and dark humor that makes perfect use of its R-rating. After seeing the premise and thesis of this movie when it was announced, it was bound to the limitations and expectations these set. Yet it exceeded mine in simply one aspect: how freaking bonkers it went. I mean. I'm talking not tamed at all. I thought it would be somehow tamed or be pandering given todays era of delicate comedic sensibilities, but it doesn't preach any messages nor has an agenda. With now that I realise, it's a very sad thing to be so concerned about.... for a horror comedy... about a bear... who did cocaine. Just saying it out loud it just sounds like an 80s or 90s spoof movie. And the premise enhanced by the mere fact that it is actually based on true events to some extent. It's the perfect example of how to satirize a concept and amp it to its full potential. All improved by the backdrop, the 80s, with the techonological limitations, the synthesized music and the over the top outfits, it becomes a sight to behold. I have no issues what so ever with anything in this movie. Granted it isn't cinema really, like, it's not a contender for any Academy Awards but it doesn't try to be anything it isn't.

I really hope this becomes a franchise because it could very well be. Between its insane premise and great editing and humor, the only thing left is a new round of funny characters and a new wacky premise.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Whose Show Is This? (2022)

Okay, you have completely lost me. She-Hulk vs Reddit? Breaking the illusion of the MCU just for an unwarranted meta moment? Was it worth it, Marvel?

Great start. See, this is the sort of self-aware Hulk references I love with the homemade old-timey dream sequence. It plays on the legacy of the character, it pokes fun of itself in a charming way and its funny. For however brief it was.

Because no long after that every hint at the fact that the show was amounting to something meaningful for anyone involved goes out the window. Here ensues the biggest 4th wall break that serves as proof of the danger of abusing this power in the entertainment business of movies and TV. You see, 4th wall breaks are fun and in small dosis actually comedic, but when you actively change the narrative and POV of the show by having a meta moment like this in what it's supposed to be an entry in the MCU then it becomes a mess. Because now it raises so many questions: is She-Hulk a god? A watcher or some sort of omnipotent being capable of leaving the reality and the fiction she was built in to speak with those who created her? I thought she was just Bruce Banner's cousin.

You see, here it no longer is a POV on the character. Is no longer a chosen channel or a TV genre picked through which to introduce She-Hulk into the MCU. It is a Deadpool-style attempt at having a meta moment that destroys every previously featured pre established MCU character like Daredevil, Abomination and Hulk and turns it into a joke. Not a comedy, a joke. We are speaking to the audience, we are diminishing the fiction we have created, we are breaking the illusion of what is the story.. And all for a self-deprecating joke?

Wow, I mean, no better way to prove the naysayers right than acknowledging the pitfalls or flaws you have been doing all this time that, while repetitive, have established yourself as a trustful production studio with many accomplishments that you have decided to ignore. It's just insane to me how far Marvel is willing to go to hammer down the notion that they know about their errors. They go so far as to neglect and actually ruin some of the recent products they have made just for the punchline and commentary. I actually don't know what is worse, this or a Marvel bad-guy smash down cliche finale.

Also, is Jen and Matt together now? I have so many questions. Especially after the Hulk reveal. But I can't quantify my disappointment at the ending of this show. It's been to unpredictable and not in a good way... Although in some things it has surprised for the better. But the negatives outweigh the positives. I just would like to know what was the goal of this show. What was the end goal of Marvel self-deprecating itself so outwardly in the execution of the show. Where they that desperate to get everyone's approval? To those who bored MCU products they just came across as "try-hards" and actually kind of mean towards the others; these being the ones who still were faithful to every single MCU product and believed and loved the stories they were telling who have now being insulted in their faces by the very same media they look up to and consume.

Being meta just to indulge those who weren't enjoying Marvel entertainment anymore is a vain attempt at luring them back. We who started to lose faith in Marvel didn't do it solely because the stories were beginning to get repetitive and tired, we also did because we saw that the previous interconnected storylines, while constituted by independent stories, amounted to a grand finale that felt like it had been brewing for a while. And it was natural than after the conclusion of the Infinity Saga, the new "saga" would require slowly build up again. Something that required talent and above all time... I think Marvel didn't want to earn the new "Endgame" climax, they didn't want to have to wait 10 or 15 years more to be able to earn and accomplish as much as the latest Avengers movies have. So instead, they began to poke fun at what they had accomplished in a vague attempt at lowering the bar people had. Instead of slowly building its reputation little by little in what should have been the new Golden AGe of the MCU, now that its merits and success already serve as a stern wind to push it forward.

There's still a lot to do and tell from the comics, so why opt for the self-deprecating angle and diminish the work done in the last years? Anyways, She-Hulk was okay until the finale which burned everything. No wonder people hate the show, it single-handedly destroyed the core structure and reputation of the MCU. Thank you and goodnight.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Ribbit and Rip It (2022)

Daredevil saves the day. Our second "okay" episode. But yeah, mostly because of Matt and Jen. Finally a "real character" for her to talk to.

The fact that the latest lawyer case for Jen has to do with the manufacturer of superhero textile and the appearance of our very own Matt Murdock is reason enough to deem this episode actually good. For the first time Jen has someone smart, layered and with an agency to bounce off from.

It's sad to see how this show could have been about this all the time. How, even though we haven't seen a serious attempt at a sitcom-themed Marvel product prior to this, if it had stuck with the three legs it was leaning on: lawyer, superhero, comedy. It could have been the grounds for something trully special. But the showrunners decided to make a goofy, ludicrous and absolutely self-aware story of a superhero that refuses to be a superhero (unless when it matters) and refuses to develop anything other than a surface level character development that could have been solved in one episode, maybe two seeing how short these episodes are. Instead we just have this parade of obnoxious, stupid characters accompanying a "normal character" like Jen through out this saga of skits and "what ifs" scenarios branching from the premise "what if hulk was a woman and didn't want to be a superhero". Which in essence sounds intriguing and actually quite engaging. And that's actually what I thought on the very first episode, that it may not be as bad as people say.

About Daredevil... Matt Murdock's scenes I enjoyed, Daredevil's.. I thought seeing the CGI Daredevil leaping around would be the only issue I may have but it's a bit beyond that too. I know why they changed his outfit so that it was a comic book reference, but it's so modernized and so loosely based on its reference that it comes across as weird. Like a Fortnite skin or unlockable suit and not a genuine reference. Anyways, other than that the fighting style is completely different and worse because obviously they didn't film him doing the stunts nor was the director or stunt coordinator involved at all. The banter between Daredevil and She-Hulk is decent enough, and the jokes actually play on what I just mentioned so I will give it a pass. But idk, there's something unsettling about seeing Matt making so many jokes and quips. About their romantic tension and eventual hook up... I like Jen, I always have. I think she is interesting and has some great character traits, it's just she hasn't had any deep character development other than "I'm not going to get hung up on this dude".

But yeah, I can see them hitting it off. Again, the Matt and Jen scenes and the way they met was interesting however brief it was. But I don't know what they will do in Born Again nor if they managed to sign up the other main characters of the Netflix show, so I don't know how the romance between Karen Page and him ended up. Also, they both have an affinity for the law and its use before using force, given they are lawyers. So it could work. But again, seeing Matt so humoristically behaving is unsettling and plus his walk of shame as Daredevil in plain daylight when normally he is so careful about being seen... Again, depends on how things were reintroduced after Season 3. I have read more light-hearted Daredevil stories in the comics so I am not opposed to a more light-hearted Daredevil. As long as, when it matters, they deliver.

And I have to say, the ending of this episode was actually a cliffhanger. I would have imagined watching this when it came out thinking, woah, can't believe all these shenanigans will amount to something after all! Good thing is, I don't have to wait to find out. So overall, an actual okay episode.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The Retreat (2022)

Absolutely ludicrous. But overall inoffensive... I have no idea where the show is going (still).

I can't believe anything my eyes are witnessing. I don't know how I keep getting surprised at the show's lack of cohesiveness. What's with this cosplayer superheroes? Such cheap make up and costumes! They look like the cosplayers in the Hawkeye episode of Roll playing. What is going on? Where is this heading? What's with the romance subplot?

TO be fair, I like the spanish joke they make. As someone from Spain, I liked it. Spanish is also a country or what we refer to people from there, not only a language. "Yay, poking fun at the american education system!..." I see the gag of a superhero/villain "therapy group" as a joke but to see that be the way Jen opens up about her "issues" with She-HUlk is just... Tacked on. Is forced and doesn't build up to any other character development or interaction. I know it kinda the first "self-contained" narrative the show ever attempted to do or one that actually succeeded in some way, like starting the episode with a problem that Jen later resolves at the end of the episode and there's actually character growth and pushes forward the narrative (if there ever was one).

I have nothing else to say, pretty average, inoffensive episode I guess.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Just Jen (2022)

It finally did it. The show finally went woke. What I dreaded finally happened. That's unfortunate...

Oh, how my hopes were up. After the way the previous episode ended I thought "Okay, maybe the slacking off part of the show is over, let's get to the meat of it all". They set up some evil people who wanted to steal her blood, they teased the appearance of Daredevil, they even have a character moment for Jen in the trademark courtroom scene.

Well, the episode starts by telling us this is some sort of wedding "filler episode" of some sort, which works in other comedy shows but doesn't in this show because it was never exclusively comedic or there were any story or character development we were following; and also the lawyer scene with the paralegal friend with the immortal dude and the whole "you don't know how to have an argument with your partner" gag... Did not do it for me. Unless the backstory to this immortal man ends up being super wild, I have zero interest in anything to do with this subplot. I don't even see what it has to do with She-Hulk's story, it's literally filler. Or worse, a social commentary with no purpose in the current story but a throwaway woke thought. Okay...

And wow, this episode is the final proof I feared I would find. The reason why this show was deemed feminist and man-belittling. Between the lawyer subplot with the immortal man and the way they portray men in the wedding with the whole "the groomsmen got their suits wrinkled because they were playing videogames" it's completely denigrating and uncalled for. Every single man in this episode is either stupid, childish or completely oblivious. And that's a bit much, even if it's for the punchline of a joke. I know there were some dumb men in the show but this is a new low. I mean, I don't mind a bash on our gender and bad behaviors but this is too much.

Everybody is drunk in this episode, and not to be amusing or trigger any sort of plot thread or start a new character conflict. Even the one thing Jen wasn't supposed to do, which was turn into She-Hulk, when she did there were no consequences because... people were drunk! Oh my god, there's just no logic to this show. No structure or endgame of its own, it really just wants to be shallow entertainment, bare bones characterization and narrative.

Trolls, reddit-bootleg version, memes that lead to death threats. I feel there is a way of going about the way society and social media work these days, to actually create conflict in the narrative. But man, everything they use them for is surface level and just a woke-attack. Is it so hard to have them coherently use or excuse their use by creating something actually constructive for the show rather than having another banter or hit at men and toxic fans. Not that I am defending trolls or toxic fans, but I want to believe they aren't just using their mention in the show just to have a hit at them.

I have no idea what they plan to do with this, but by god it better be at least cohesive. So far it's loosing me.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Mean, Green, and Straight Poured into These Jeans (2022)

Show still doesn't know what it wants to be or how it wants to approach things. The second half of the episode is interesting though, are we seeing some character moments?

There's something I haven't mentioned yet about the comedy the show is going for, mostly because it is failing so hard at making it stick. And that is the commentary on the current social media, life and pop culture. I bring it up in this episode because I feel it's the one that more directly addresses its own: the influencer/social media power over the legal system.

I know the joke is about She-Hulk's trademark name and the commentary on fake beauty products and all. But, and I can't stress this enough, how is Jen friends with her "best friend"? (sorry I don't remember her name). I mentioned this in my previous episode review, but she kind of peer pressures her to make a dating app profile and get into the dating stuff not out of worry, she now is like doubting Jen's suspicions about the products... I know she is supposed to be more shallow than Jen but that only begs the question, what does she see in her? What do they have in common? Why are they friends? And again, I wouldn't have a problem with this if we were shown a character building moment between both. But again, I am fooling myself as that's not what the show is interested in so why should I bother wondering. It's just, Jen is so down to earth and smart and has an interesting personality; and this other woman is just like, and it goes for the other male coworker too (who speaks so weird, he seems like he is high all the time), these people are so over the top they don't seem real. And if they are, wow, I really never imagined cartoons were so faithful to reality. I know it's for the sake of comedy, but it is just too far on the opposite spectrum from Jen that it is jarring.

And then it gets a serious lawyer woman for a semi-serious lawyer case. I really don't know what their angle is. But I gotta say, the whole secret superhero fashion designer gag is meh, fun enough. And who would have thought that the writers put some thought into some of the jokes they had, and of course I refer to the fact that the whole "how would She-Hulk fare in the dating app world?" came into play on the courtroom scenes coming, surprisingly, full circle (that is, fulfilling some sort of punchline) while at the same time providing a funny-embarrassing new scene. Huh.

And the outcome of the scene actually has an emotional core message for Jen... Wow, I guess not everything is just for the punchline in the show. And next to the fact that Jen wants to befriend the lawyer that helped her out of the lawsuit, may this be a change for the better? Are we about to witness some character growth? Is the story of She-Hulk starting to unravel? Stay tuned to know more. Plus, Daredevil coming right up.

In conclusion, I'm just happy to see some development happening in regards to characters. I still know the pacing, writing, CGI and other more technical aspects of the show are as atrocious as ever but I just need something more. At least if there's some sort of interesting characters, they can always write better stories, like, I remember not a lot of people like the first Dr Strange movie but the character was interesting and people loved him in other Dr Strange stories that came after. So really what I'm asking of Marvel is that, at the end of it all, they make a decent character so that when she shows up in other Marvel movies is a welcomed addition and not a "Oh, it's Jen the She-Hulk, I know her...". We'll wait and see.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Is This Not Real Magic? (2022)

Wow, so this is what rock bottom looks like. No rhyme or reason for anything the show is attempting. It doesn't know what it wants to be.

I have no words. There's probably a good idea behind the comedic approaches here, but the execution just fails. I like the premise of having a "debate" between illusionism or stage magic against real magic with Wong at the center. I even approve of the comedic approach to it. But any simile the show had for a semi-decent lawyer show is all gone as not even the judge is taking it seriously.

I hate to admit it but, this show doesn't know what it wants to be. I get the whole "let's be and do everything": the action, the slice of life, the sitcom, the lawyer stuff. However, surprisingly, I am not bothered by it. I mean, it made me chuckle sometimes, I like the super dumb party-girl character shtick and how she made a pact with a demon from another dimension, I love that absurdist humor of jokes pushed to the max, like this girl is probably doomed for all eternity and the show just doesn't give a what not even herself. If we are going down that route I am all up for it, but unfortunately, like others have said, so far only this episode embraced this off-beat, serious-show-rule-breaking gags. But I can understand why people think this is bottom of the barrel stuff. There's nothing to be said here, the show has no overall message it wants to send. THere's no character development for ANYONE, and I mean, anyone. Not even Jen, we just assume she is She-Hulk and happy with it. We 4th-wall-break, make the dating app profile gimmick, and probably every other slice of life sitcom gag without rhyme or reason.

Also, I feel the whole dating app thing is a bit false and the fact that she cares so much about whether she gets matches or not is a bit degrading. And not because it is featured in this particular show but because in general it is a complicated world and it hits hard when dealing with the dating sphere of this time. Sure dating apps are too integral to the dating sphere today, but I feel men are the ones mostly "having" to "search for girls"/get matches and girls generally can "choose" amongst the ones they matched with. Or at least that's my experience (as a man) who consulted his female friends. I find it hard to believe that beautiful actress Tatiana Maslany got 0 matches after swiping for a while. I get the gag, like I know the whole approach is "oh no, human woman can't get matches I'm sure her superhero counterpart does" and see a bunch of weirdos match with her instead. I know the joke here, is just the punchline doesn't land for me because the theme of the show hasn't embraced at all, at least in a more "serious" matter, whether Jen is jealous of her "other self" because it attracts so many "positive" things like dates and jobs. I just wish the show would address more these things, I find it interesting the trope of "embrace your true self" that Jen is mostly giving vibes about rather than "become who people want you to be". She is worried that She-Hulk provides more to her life than her true self and it would be nice to have a moment to slow down and contemplate that character moment.

And the whole dating app thing is just so shallow a subject to address. Our main character succumbs to what I can only consider "peer pressure" after her friend tells her she has to get a boyfriend through that channel. A channel that is so manipulative and depends on so many pitfalls of social media it is sad to have Jen navigate it. But I guess it's something that exists and is happening today, so I guess it's understandable the show would explore that avenue.

Also, it unceremoniously spoils more than once The Sopranos show for many who haven't seen it yet... I swear this show is just a mess. A black hole for everything it could have been or strived to be. It is provoking (which so far I had no issues with), attempts to be funny or at least not take itself too seriously. But then why construct a narrative involving old characters and featuring returning faces, it only makes me think less of Wong, particularly on this episode where comes across as full of himself and I cannot take himself seriously. Between Wong from the first Dr Strange and his latest iterations, there's a massive character drop where he is just a joke machine that comes and goes in and out of stories. It's really hard to see him as a character with an agency of his own. Anyways, here we are.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: The People vs. Emil Blonsky (2022)

A little dose of reality would be good right about now. Are there any consequences anymore? Is this happening in the same MCU where a mad titan killed half the population?

I'm watching these back to back and they are all just blend together and I can't distinguish what happens in one episode or the other. I feel like Episode 2 and 3 could be joined together to create an actual "court room" episode for Abomination's case. I have no idea why Marvel would split 1 40 min episode into 2 20 min ones, it's a bit waste of time. Thankfully I waited until the entire season was released to watch these, otherwise it would have been unbearable.

Lets get right to it then, I just think it's tiring reiterating what I find to be the beats this show is going for. You can predict everything, and I mean everything. And for some reason the show's humor is grounded in some commentaries on certain toxic Marvel fans, fans of superheroes in general and the premise of the show itself. The show is so surface level entertainment that it's hard to take any of it seriously. The humor doesn't work, like, the timings are all wrong and yet they are there. Emil's case was so "came and went", no lawyer-show shenanigans, complications of any sort, they even cut away Wong's explanation of how he so unusually liberates a villain monster with no remorse nor apparent complex reasons; or if there were they were, not only were they never disclosed in front of the law, but he suffered no consequences whatsoever. Just for the punch line of "oops, time for me to leave through my portal and not deal with the consequences of my actions" and let's not talk about it ever again. So my question is: is this happening in the MCU? Like, is this the same MCU where a megalomaniac titan killed half the universe and where a superhero act was imposed to superheroes to lead them to a Civil War; where the multiverse was split by outwordly magic, where aliens attacked big cities,... And now we have some magic people doing bad things and "we are just gonna let him go, but hey, don't do it again ey!".

I know the show is trying to take itself very very comedically, like, insanely comedically. Like even the news reporters don't seem serious at all about any and all repercussions of the current state of circumstances. I'm all for new genres and filmmaking styles in the MCU but if this show is going to function so closely to the "main MCU events and storyline", like, this is happening in LA of all places. Then I might need a little dose of reality. Also, curiously, I heard of the twerking scene and I know its purpose is comedic and actually a commentary on social media trends... But it actually happened "after the credits" so, even though it still happened and is a crime against humanity, I don't know, it's still not in the main episode runtime. It seems like an afterthought. So I guess I can excuse it, I literally had no idea there were after credits scenes in this show until now tho.

Overall, meh. I am waiting for when the show gets good I guess. Though it may never be. It just feels like a series of skits and gags one after the other, just scene building after scene and comedian cameos coming in and out. I guess I like the quirky characters, but they are like cartoon-level one dimensional. They are just a quirk. Is not even sitcom level anymore, every court case is like how I assume I would write court room scenes given my zero expertise in law or law-related shows. I just feel bad for the She-Hulk fans who were expecting more out of this show, i would have like to pat them in the back and tell them to join the club of disappointed new-phase-4-Marvel-state of the MCU.

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: Superhuman Law (2022)

A transitional episode. More sub-par storytelling and execution. Another bare-bones B-list comicbook issue with familiar faces and CGI buildings for some reason

Oh no... The disrespectful comments about superheroes She-Hulk makes at the bar are uncalled for. Didn't like that at all. There seems to be a trend lately at Disney where the past or the legacy of some media that were products of their time are either rewritten or disrespectfully insulted or belittled. Like a kid who doesn't want to get made fun off so it turns to make fun of whoever the loudest voice tells it to: "Superheroes are dumb, they are just narcissistic or depressed orphans with superpowers". That is not how you are going to keep your audience Disney, a superhero studio is supposed to make superhero stories (otherwise people won't look up for them there).

Other than that, the outcome of the court scene is as expected. Granted, the fight scene was horrendous but we already established that the CGI is very weak in this show so, no surprise there. The "chick Hulk" reveal of her name is a bit weak... but i guess it works. I don't envy the task of providing an origin to the name "She-Hulk", it's a very old-timey term and nowadays it sounds weird. I like the "superhero law division job" for Jen, although knowing a little bit about what she does in the crossover comics like House of M, I can see where this story thread is leading towards. Yet I still might enjoy it. But it's interesting the new office, everyone is nice and there's some weird humor going on (it's not funny, it tries too hard, like shot-lingering-for-the-laugh hard, but I kinda like it, is different than the common MCU quips). But I have noticed something with the show... some buildings are CGI, what's up with that, like, the facade of the prison is CGI, seriously? They couldn't film on location?

The story is a bit rushed, like, we don't slow down to get to know the side characters or coworkers or even her new boss. And maybe it's because the episode length is like 20-30 minutes (even though it says 38 min in Disney+, the credits are super lengthy). I guess Jen is always saying something witty which makes the show be taken less seriously, even when a tense scene is happening. I know Peter Parker uses humor to handle a stressful situation so this could be Jen's thing too, but so far it hasn't been for other purpose than to add to the "sitcom" of it all. Also, I can't handle the 4th wall breaking, I know she started doing that in the comics way before Deadpool did, but the way they go about it with her just talking as she walks next to someone else who is talking to her is weird. Most of the times when characters do this in other media the movie would literally "stop" for the witty remark or at least wait to be alone or turn their head to speak away from where the interaction or scene is taking place. In this episode she just "bubble-thoughts" herself as she walks, and if there were actually bubble-thoughts like in Into the Spider-verse it would be more of a gag, but here it comes across as "who is she talking to and how is it that nobody hears her, her boss is walking right next to her".

Abomination-wise, it's very hard to screw things more than they did in The Invincible Hulk. The character is as "bare bones" as it can be so the show has the "easy task" of building him up a little more. Apparently CGI is expensive because Marvel's solution to not having to use them all the times the characters are in a scene is to simply have them "control their powers''. A storyline where almost half of the characters are monsters, we can't have them. I feel like that was always going to be the main aspect of a Hulk-related show, because it features heavy CGI as opposed to other superheroes that don't have an inhuman appearance almost all the time, it's only fitting that the show should have been given more time for these effects to have been perfected. But nowadays there's no time to waste so off we go. Which is just... Copy-paste, lazy and just plain boring.

Also, the whole "that was so long ago it's forgotten" shtick... I'm going to wait to see how it develops, but I don't feel it is "constructive" to completely disregard The Invincible Hulk movie that much. Granted it was a basic superhero movie but if they don't want it why not start from scratch rather than bring back characters from there: either embrace the legacy or disregard its existence. But doing this "embracing and then belittling" everything that happened there and making fun of how "he was a different person" to refer to Edward Norton's work. Idk, I'll wait and see, maybe he will change his mind after he breaks loose.

In conclusion, a pretty "by the books"-narrative episode. So far the trailer has revealed all of these plot points so I feel like I'm just watching everything unravel, hopefully more details will unfold. I like however the "interconnectivity", if you will, with other MCU events. Marvel Comics always had to do with one another, and it's part of the charm to have events we have seen already appear in other media to enhance another story. It makes the world more lived in and interconnected. However, they really have to give a good excuse as to why Abomination will go to an underground fight club after he broke out from jail (OFF SCREEN). We haven't had the chance to know more about his way of thinking so I'm going to wait to see what they say.

So far, another okay episode, nothing to write home about but it does its deeds and presents a yet-unfunny slice of life superhero sitcom lawyer show. Let's wait and see. But yeah, it's pretty much "by the book" when it comes to story beats: a superhero lawyer that gets fired because of it, can't find another job because of it, and suddenly gets hired in another place because of it but "oh no she has to defend someone she doesn't want to defend". I'm actually okay with it because mainly I had no expectations for the show and so am not waiting for anything, well, perhaps the appearance of one of my favorite superheroes, but that's a hush hush (although they spoiled it in the trailers so, not spoilery). Also, this shallow plot points are made more enjoyable because the scenes are not relishing themselves, they are straight to the point, fulfill their purpose and then we move on, they don't stop to savor the moment but rather chew the food and off we go to the next. Let's hope they do stop for the entertaining parts though (i feel there should be more character moments or development for the why and how, but the show does not want to take itself too seriously at all costs so, no chance of that happening)

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: A Normal Amount of Rage (2022)

Let's give it a try. Coming in with very low expectations and with no idea about the comicbook character. Conclusion: MCU Phase 4 quality strikes again...

General takeaway: fine. This episode is fine, it's inoffensive. Granted it rushes through a lot of "origin story" stuff (struggle, coping with the realisation of a new life, training phase, etc.) but at this point in super-joke-oriented-don't-take-it-too-seriously MCU, it's about as shallowy deep as it's gonna get. But it sets Jen's work environment and dynamic, her relationship with Bruce and her personality traits and what she thinks of her new Hulk life. All the claims that the show was manipulative and portray men under a bad light were exaggerated, I didn't see any heavy-handed scenes without build up nor purpose.

For instance, in her work dynamic, he has a narcissistic and misogynistic boss, but that's a plotpoint for her. An "everyday villain to deal with" if you will. But it's not like "Every man is evil in this show or belittled by women". Or if they are, as a man myself, I don't see it.

Another example, when the guys come out of a bar and start hitting on her, that scene serves a purpose later, on Jen's outrage in front of Bruce. It's a reality that women have to face almost always, so why treat it like it wasn't something to deal with. Besides, there's a scene exactly like that in Daredevil Season 3 with Karen Page and I didn't hear anybody making a fuzz about it. I'm not saying the show is exempt of flaws, as a show it doesn't really know what it wants to be: it's produced by a generally superhero-oriented studio yet it wants to be a Layer-show AND a sitcom... Well, it isn't super funny so as to be a sitcom (the jokes aren't build up or well-delivered enough to be a sitcom) and I think they just meant to say it is a "slice of life" show, which if it is then I would get it.

But in general, I have no issues with any of Jen's "Origin story". I think she reacts just as I would expect (perhaps calmer) to someone who was just told they might change into a hulking monster when they get stressed and enraged with almost no control, and for the rest of their lives. But she listens to Bruce, we get to see a little bit more of how Bruce used to live, I personally hate that there's no more alter ego for him (but that's an Endgame story decision that is simply wasteful of the duality that makes the character so engaging). Granted, I will say the whole "making Jen stronger than Bruce", and yes, she is better than him, and I don't mean in "oh look, she learned balance quicker than Hulk" no, that could be a particular skill that she (because she has a different body type when she turns) could be good at. No, I mean the nailing the "palm attack" after just one try, or the not having to deal with an alter ego (this is a decision that is never explained why, so it doesn't justify the nature of hulking out). It's a bit convenient, but I trust in the show's reasoning behind her living as a monster rather than turning into a monster and forgetting what she did. I think it gives it a lot of nice threads to explore. I am just disappointed that the marketing gave away the fact that her conscious self stays when she turns, I'd love to have seen this episode with her turning and having a bit of horror vibes to it, because some scenes were built that way. But they just came across as "why is she doing this, I know she is like conscious so why'd she runaway and shout and growl like a monster".

Some people mentioned there were some personal attacks to Bruce and Steve Rogers so I'm going to address that: her comment on Steve was a bit disrespectful especially coming from someone who didn't really know him personally, but i never felt like she meant is as a belittling insult to him, she later actually at Bruce's Bar sighs "Steve" when Bruce mentions him in a toast as if she had some sort of "crush" or respect for him. Secondly, I will say, a bit of the things she says to Bruce about how she had to take more crap than him, specially after he'd been telling her all he had to go through during 15 years, she lacked a bit of empathy there but the show was aware of that and pointed out that Bruce was kinda "gloating" a little bit. Besides, who likes to be told "okay, I know exactly what you are going through so listen up and do everything exactly as I say"? I've had people talk to me like they know my situation when in reality they may not entirely. People are different, and the mere fact that their powers originated from the same source yet were obtained and manifested themselves differently should be made a separate case. Yet Bruce was not aware of this, so Jen had to put him in his place.

All in all, good start of the show. The characters are a bit one dimensional, the story surface level but engaging and the premise could be described in one phrase but it's not nearly as bad as people are saying (so far). The CGI is a bit weak, but I like the characters so far and I like the cousins' banter and Jen's life (and what lies ahead for her). Let's see how the story evolves. And if people bash the show for being "low quality" and "not funny", where have you been all phase 4? I am not excusing the show or Marvel, but at this point I don't look at their products as top tier as the other times anymore. Endgame was Marvel's "Endgame" and it will take a lot to dig themselves out of that one. Also, really quick, the last scene when Jen says "This in no way is going to interfere with my life, Bruce is wrong and I'm right" right before Bruce proves her wrong at the court scene is called character building moment. There's no attempt at belittling men for no reason, in this case men were right and they handed it to us. Stop complaining that the show is woke cause, so far, I don't think it is. Looking forward to the next episode.

Wednesday: A Murder of Woes (2022)

Coming full-circle: Ending the season with a BANG! Had my doubts but I was proven wrong yet again (and I love it)!

Forget all I said, everything is back to normal. EVERYTHING works in this episode. Humor (dark and quippy/witty), the introduced elements throughout the show like the sirens' "mind-controlling" song are used to great success in two occasions (and the effective use of the shape shifter's ability, coming full circle with a previous conversation she had with Wednesday and precipitated by newfound information provided naturally through Eugene), the reveal of many plot threads like the character treatment and reveal of the prophetic purpose of a character (the reason for Christina Ricci's character and Tyler's character to be interested in Wednesday); every plot point serves its purpose and the scenes flow with gravitas (like the wolfing-out scene happening not by coincidence alone to serve the battle but also as a character arc culmination based on a decision), the writing is as witty as it is sharp. Even small details like the exchange Christina Ricci's character has with the resurrected racist pilgrim who obviously gets easily mad at her because he is a freaking misogynist of the old days (and her small quip is brilliant, "never meet your heroes").

Even the CGI transformations are pretty amazing and film-level worthy. Everything comes full circle, Wednesday's final fencing-sword showdown. All the things I said I had a gripe with in the previous episode were the most premature I have ever had. All the gripes I had with the forced romance between Wednesday and Tyler is now render as such on purpose now that I know what were his intentions all along in this episode. So many wrongs are righted here and I for one am really glad I was proven wrong. I really really enjoyed the season finale of Wednesday Season 1. I even like the last conversation she has with Xavier through the smartphone gift. Brilliant and perfect for a character interaction that involves someone like Wednesday. And I am also particularly glad, the season finale has such a sense of closure. They could screw up in the next season and yet we would have this "self-contained season" to look back to and rewatch. I really like that. Also, the finale felt like the end of any of the first three harry potter movies: the talk of those who passed during the school year, talking about whether they'd see each other next school year, melodic music while (injured) people say goodbye,... And the references on this episode don't end there (all welcomed of course) but if I may list them, they would be: the underappreciated teacher (Quirrel) that ends up being the villain, the resurrection which needs some sort sacrifice on behalf of the main character (just like in Goblet of fire), the fight between two monsters involving a werewolf (like in Prisoner of Azkaban), the ornamentation of the principal's office reminds of the snake's lair headstone from Chamber of Secrets.

But all in all it was the final reveal of the "bad guy monologue" that sold me on this show's brilliance leaving me looking like a complete idiot. So much so that I had to go back to my previous episode review and change it.(there could be a case made about whether you should judge a new episode of a show before knowing what happens in the next, but we won't get into that). Particularly the part that I always thought was not planned: the fact that Wednesday arrival to Nevermore set in motion EVERYTHING that happened. I thought at first it was a "narrative coincidence for entertainment's sake" that when she got there for some reason weird murders began to just happen and she "happened upon them". But as the story progressed and she learned more about the mystery so did we (I) and now in retrospective I feel like a complete idiot, judging the merits of the show based on my soapbox-claims, creating an opinion without giving the show "a moment to explain".

Now to be fair, the show isn't perfect, there are a lot of convenient things that happened (and didn't happen) that a case could be made up for. Things like: what is Marilyn's motivation to hate "outcasts" so much? She had a relation with the Main Pilgrim murderer but she never said why she wanted to kill the outcasts. Also, there's a bit of Voldemort-defeteaded-by-kids-vibe going on too, like, granted Wednesday was stabbed (so technically killed) by him so he did cohesively outpowered what some would say is "a normal odd girl" (i don't know what Wednesday's powers are other than having visions and having a lot of "magical friends" to help her get out of situations). But later on he and Marylin could have killed her (shot her) but she wanted to quip a little more. I don't know, overall I like the final fight and the underlying theme with the fencing and I like it's not drawn out and Wednesday's "arrow-sacrifice". It's a bit weird she "shrugged it off" but it serve her character growth's purpose.

And finally some weird scene development, like the murder of the Principal. She just allow herself to get stabbed and Wednesday didn't even flinch or attempt to call anyone. But these are mere nittpicks. I think all decision in general in the episode were gold, and I am glad the writing got so much more better and climactic than it was on 7. I just in general feel 7 did so much progression in such small amount of time. Like, there were 3 "plot twists" or villain reveals that ended up not being true, so it just looked like the show wanted to misdirect us and yet it resulted in a mishmash of disorienting plot culminations that weren't really in the end.

Lastly, I want to commend Jenna Ortega, every single character, everyone in the art, music, prop, every department relative to the creation and in support of this show because they really made some trully special that I haven't watched in a while. I'm already looking forward watching it next year over Halloween season just to get the vibes just right! Thank you and good job!

Wednesday: If You Don't Woe Me by Now (2022)

PERSPECTIVE. When watching this episode, what's lacking is a bit of perspective and patience. Stones begin to get turned and the show is building up to a bang!

EDIT: I started the review of this episode in a completely wrong headspace. I thought I knew everything there was to know about the story and where it was going and I was proven wrong. And never have I loved being disproven.

This is totally my own personal opinion, but the show is fantastic and remains engaging throughout... But where maybe others saw a quirky, well-structured show, I saw the next step in artistic filmmaking arriving to TV. When a renowned, visually-distinct movie director will grab the helms of a franchise that begged to be rebooted and provides the same amount of quirkiness he applies in his movies to TV. With its macabre visuals and characters backdropped in our current world, it was a collision of circumstances that gave birth to this fantastic piece of media.

When I thought the visual and stylistic flair of the show had began to slowly wear down; it was instead replaced by great narrative and character writing. And I was wrong to judge the show too harshly on its stylistic and filmmaking merits given its progenitor had step down from direction. The rest of the music and visuals are impeccable. But I yet can't help but have this sensation of being trapped between the slowly deflation of the flair the show had in the first episodes and feeling excited about the resolution of what the story had been building up to.

Uncle Fester shows up, and I can't help the feeling that Fred Armisen is trying too hard. I thought the same of Chris Lloyd at first but I have seen him do wacky roles before and his mannerisms and gestures sold me his erratic, oddly behavior. But Uncle Fester here doesn't strike me as odd, just as someone who is acting odd. But by the end of the episode he was fine. It wasn't subtle the fact that he was there merely to help Wednesday out and to provide some needed information, not really to be introduced as a new character. Granted the show at this state was in the middle of the build up to the mystery's climax, but I would have loved to know/see more of him.

The mystery continues to unravel and while I like well constructed mysteries, I really didn't follow this show for it. Or better, I followed the show for it because of how the show was being presented as: a Tim Burtonesque, oddly-filmed, artsy, visually-over-the-top Addamesque look at how Wednesday perceives the world. It was one of those instances where the "content" is not the main event but the "container" is the piece de resistance. Because "show-wise", the story being told here isn't as groundbreaking as the unique voice of the visuals. They are magnificently told, but they aren't anything we haven't seen before; but it was the execution, the how it was approached that was groundbreaking. I just felt at some point we forgot about the cynicism, dark humor and charming awkwardness of it all. For a straight forward but great murder-mystery.

So it saddens me (just a little bit) to be watching the conclusion of this first season as a fan of the mystery and the characters but not really because the direction or visuals are strikingly different from what we have seen before. Like, it's been a while since there as a scene with such "high" and visually striking as Wednesday cello scene in episode 3, where there's so much happening that elevates that moment: the music change, the build-up to that scene, the reactions of the adults, the outcome of the mayhem created by Wednesday,... But as always, I'll keep an open mind and wait to see how things develop.

The fight and banter between Wednesday and Enid is good... just not as sharp. I don't know what happened to the writing and characterisation in this episode but Wednesday just comes across as mean, and I know that's how it's supposed to be. She has difficulties showing her emotions, and I didn't expect her to open up right away the minute her friendship was flaking; but, again this could be entirely subjective, but she doesn't have the wit about her that she had in the previous episodes, it's hard to describe. She had this sense of unpredictability that made me stay on edge when it came to the way she reacts to things and people. But now it has become predictable and a bit tired. I still love these characters, and will follow their adventures, but there's something about their writing that isn't quite there. And it isn't as bad with Enid or any of the other characters, but between the sudden appearance of Uncle Fester, the missing Addams parents and the weak writing for Wednesday I'm starting to feel a bit down.

For the Uncle Fester issue, I would have just had him referred to in an old photo or appeared in a flashback to give us a grasp of who this character is to the family rather than spring him (literally) out of the blue. I know who he is, but it just felt like we had only been introduced to this show's version of the Addams and he was never part of it until now (considering they aren't the same actors). Also, I completely forgot I saw him in the trailer.. I really thought he was more a part of the show, but I wouldn't mind that he appears briefly, the show hopefully will last more seasons and we had plenty of characters to fill the runtime, more would have been too bloated.

The reveal of who was the monster and the build up to it, all the stones unturned, they were fine. I mean, they were fine. You can predict some things but the twists sort of worked themselves out. I think I have a bigger issue with the romance. I think if this show's main target is teenagers, the romance is good enough. A bit cheese for me and cringy at times, but I like the characterisations of both characters, it's just that it feels rushed for no reason. Like Tyler comes accross as too "pushy", I feel like knowing how Wednesday is with those "touchy-feely" uncomfortable situations, it would have taken more time for her to let him "closer". And perhaps through other "forced scenarios" like, they were trapped in the fright lift instead of Enid or some other place where they'd have to come in close contact, unable to escape because of the danger that awaits; I feel it would sort of break that barrier a little bit. I know it also sounds cliche, but it comes less rushed than having him set up a date, confess his feelings AND try to kiss her all in a row.

EDIT: And here comes the edit, in this part I bash over how I don't like that the show didn't "prepare" us for the build up to this romance and instead of trusting the writers I did what I always do lately and assume they had screwed up. New information in the previous episode make me rethink a lot of the truths I thought I knew about the show and that includes this one. But it'd be kind of spoilery so I won't say a thing. To be fair though, I still think Wednesday let herself be "romanced" a bit too fast considering the kind of person she is. But I can understand it given she is a teenager underneath all her precociousness.

Eitherway, I may have criticised a lot the show here but I must say I still love it. I found flaws in Stranger Things yet I still consider it one of my favorite shows. Just the visuals, characters, aesthetic, story and subplots and world is fascinating to me and I will follow this show, see where it leads to. But even if it wavers a bit in the style of unique filmmaking established at the beginning by the master, Tim Burton, I commend the rest of the crew involved in the project for keeping up with it as best they can. I think part of the problem for me personally was that the show started strong, with strong direction and presentation of the story; and as the story grew and took more of the focus of the show, all the characters' development and interactions were focused on the main plot. Which isn't bad, is just that now all the attention is going to one of the storythreads that Wednesday was going on for herself. I know the town has been affected by the main plot's development, but what happened to class? What happened to the other kids' problems? It reminds me of the Harry Potter series of books, up until the 4th book (before the return of Voldemort) the books were focused on the school, kids, teachers, history and world-building. Once he came back, all character, world-building, story-threads, decisions development went towards him and the plot he started. And don't get me wrong, this is how it should be. The return of a very important and status quo altering being or story development isn't just ignored until it becomes relevant, but it simply changes the DNA of what the story began as. Now there are "two Harry Potters'" I enjoy: the whimsical one-off adventures; and the "bad guy is about to conquer the world, we gotta stop him" adventure.

All in all, great 7th episode, let's see how it concludes!

Wednesday: You Reap What You Woe (2022)

Great episode. However, the lack of Tim Burtonisms is noticable. I hope we don't begin to lose the essence and self-awareness of why this show was unique

Interesting episode where the Addams parents take center stage. It is definitely interesting to see their younger selves in the very same institution where we have been discovering secrets about. However, I think the flashbacks should have been more extensive and detailed to give us a better grasp of the backstory and setting. Many convenient information was provided as exposition where I myself would have loved if they had took their time to present the younger versions of the Addams parents and their relationships with the other students so it didn't come as "forced" the eventual animosities that catapulted the events that unravel here.

But I see that as more of a personal filmmaking preference of mine. The show remains as interesting as always through the development of its story. Nevertheless, you can feel the absence of Tim Burton's direction here. There aren't as many wacky shots, framing, staging nor other visual flairs nor character comedy as in the previous episode. The show is beginning to focus more on its serious drama-mystery than the dark comedy, macabre imagery and self-aware nature the show stood out so much for. This isn't Riverdale, this is isn't Chilling Adventures of Sabrina; the show was unique and genius in its absurdist approaches at the Addams-in-the-real-world shtick. But it always maintained a grasp of the cleverly constructed mystery and drama behind the amazing world-building.

It seems the show is beginning to stagnate a bit or in other terms starting to prioritize other aspects of it that are not the ones that make the show unique. The show is unique because it presents a pretty "straight forward" narrative built on mystery-teen-drama through a unique Tim Burtonesque lense of self-awareness and over-the-top romanticised macabre, cynical and even a smidge of sadistic reaction to all the events that unravel. While every other Non-Addams character is interesting in their own way, they don't stand out as great as the nature and personalities of the Addams. I'd just hate for this traits of them to diminish as they become as two dimensional as the other characters can end up being. Lets not forget there's yet a lot of things we haven't seen yet and I hope we get to them in the wacky and over the top way the Addams are known for. I'd just hate to see the show devolve into a cookie cutter teen-supernatural-mystery drama featuring the Addams. There are great performances, fantasticly well-fleshed-out characters, rich and engaging School and town backstory and I hope they keep up the narrative with the same gusto as the previous episodes. And never forgetting that black comedy, that is the cherry on top.

Wednesday: Woe What a Night (2022)

Steady, we can't be losing steam now. A fantastic episode with a bit more of cheese than expected. Doesn't really takeaway from the great narrative though.

Their Spanish heritage and musical influences as one of the choice of music that Wednesday listens to is brilliant and suiting. Everything from visual, costume, music and prop designs for this show is amazingly unique and screams of Tim Burton meets The Addams. Can't get enough of it. The unique flair of this show is intoxicating.

Wednesday acting as a corpse, over-the-top acting that still remains as engaging as it is amusing, the proper and subtle uses of current social media practices amongst teens like pinterest, instagram and others; for a franchise that is as old as The Addams, it has become part of its iconography the uses of certain romanticized macabre things like old phones, old gramophones, typewriters, crystal balls instead of iphones, and such. So when bringing them to the modern age, it could be a daunting task to have them interact with so many replacements that have appeared without them having to lose that identity "stuck in the past" aspect of them. So I really commend this show for blending both in such a natural and fitting way. Wish other modernisations of old franchises could succeed as such.

And the High School stuff arrives. Love the writing in everything related to Wednesday about this dance she must go to to find out more about the mystery. It's still teen drama, but it's made more engaging than ever with this crowd and especially knowing Wednesday's aversion to it. With your classic "asking a boy out to a dance" and a make-over scene, we are hitting every beat and theme of this mixture of genres in the show. Although with some inconsistent character behavior on part of Wednesday and most notably the two guys we saw a relationship being establish with, overall the dancing scene is great and helps develop the "love triangle". And a great Carrie-inspired finale and a reaction on Wednesday's part absolutely gold. But yeah, the boy drama was a bit tacked on and rushed, I hope the show doesn't pull from that overly-dramatized take on teenage angst and love.

First sign of wavering, yet not too bad. The show has a lot going on for it and I for one am super excited to see how it goes. "If you hear me scream Bloody Murder, there's a good chance I am enjoying myself", can't get enough with the great writing of the show.

Wednesday: Friend or Woe (2022)

The Plot Thickens... Fantastic world-building, mystery-threading and characterisation all around. Tim Burton presents The Addams Family. Can't get over that cello shot.

A look at the town folk, their relation to the Nevermore institution, Elite secret societies, a Pilgrim-themed theme park and a history-revealing episode provide another incredibly well-rounded view at our setting for this show.

"It's amateurs like you who give kidnapping a bad rep". I love the fact that Wednesday is above everyone else when it comes to morbidness and cynicism. Like sure, this is a school of outcasts and freaks, and yet she is still above them in a non-condescending way. She is quick on her feet and smarter in the things she is good at and interested in: solving mysteries, "killing", scheming, and such. She doesn't take crap from anyone and is incredibly smart. However, like Sherlock Holmes, her brilliant and analytical mind outweighs her capacity to emote or engage socially with others. Not that she doesn't have feelings or that she is trying to avoid them, but more like she doesn't feel comfortable embracing them.

In spite of her stoic, hard exterior I especially like the vulnerability certain aspects of her age gives to her: she writes novels and dreams about being a novelist, so she has ambitions of her own; she's a lonely creature yet when she sees a struggling fellow student she doesn't ignore but help them; she doesn't think twice about righting a wrong when she sees it; she had suffered bullying when she was younger and even though she outgrew the memories, they still define who she is reflecting that desire to be respected in petty revenge plots that, while never fatal, are morbid in their own way and she enjoys quite much. Her sadistic side is never too much for the show, just balanced enough to not make it an over-the-top goof. Her writing is excellent and despite how some in the school have abilities and powers, they still fear her or react shocked when she outwits them (always with a quippy remark).

Love the fact that the school is an elitist institution famously known for their weird kids, yet the town depends on its donations to stay afloat. These conditions make possible this otherwise unnatural coexistence as any normal town would have called the authorities about the monsters that live in the school. So, in a way, we are seeing the status quo being altered for the first time now with the arrival of Wednesday. Which I believe makes the show a bit "contrived" in that aspect alone. We are still to see where the mysteries lead to but, come on, all this starts to happen when Wednesday arrives? I know, the show uses a lot of familiar tropes, like "the chosen one" narrative and the "having visions of the future" who happen to be connected to the history of the town. But I really don't mind them as long as they are well-woven into the show and remain interesting until the end. But that's about the only small issue I see the show having, nothing to diminish its rating.

However, I must say the backstory to the town have a close resemblance to that of Paranorman. I couldn't help but feel I have seen it before and in spite of how I enjoy it personally, seeing it be retreaded didn't feel as refreshing. Nevertheless, the plot thickens as we start to piece more of the mystery that surrounds the town and the school where the Addams went. I think it is brilliant to make a show that finally begins to dig deep into their story as it provides context to many of their quirks and personalities. It's not easy to make sequels but an essential aspect to them is that they must not only provide a new and different story from the original, yet maintaining the same beats that made it unique; but also they have the core functionality of expanding their world. In Shrek 2, we got to see more of the world where Fiona came from, this gave us an insightful view of where we stand history-wise in the world. With the other Addams media, we always had a bit of an anthological narrative where each time it was "rebooted" our window to the world remained the same if not superficially addressed (again, I haven't watched ALL of The Addams Family, but I mean the ones I have seen, and again this is my opinion, I'm no expert). This time around we count with a backdrop that is not only relevant to the Addams family but also to the story that is unfolding. I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll leave it at that. This world is realized and grounded in a way that would provide a lot of rope to this show in the years to come. And I for one cannot wait for it to unravel before my eyes.

And that shot of Wednesday playing the cello while the world is on fire... This show is gold. I don't know how it works so well but its enigmatic sense of romantic dramatization that manages to work so well elevates the show to a point of traversing the thin line between reality and fiction. Its over-the-top attributes are grounded in a supernatural plausibility within the realm of shows like Twin Peaks. With references to Agatha Christie, the mystery builds and spreads like wildfire, starting so many plotpoints and providing so much progression in a single episode it is amazing how much we have learned of the world, characters and history in simply 3 episodes. I couldn't have asked for a better blend of Stranger Things meets Harry Potter and Tim Burton.

Wednesday: Woe Is the Loneliest Number (2022)

STILL BRILLIANT. There's no doubt Tim Burton was born to direct this show. His aesthetic and filmmaking elevates the already amazing writing and characterisation of everyone.

Edgar Allan Poe, Pilgrims, Witchcraft, 1950s Monster-craze, Black Metal, musical and visual references to The Addams' legacy,.. I don't know if it's just that I am in the correct mindset to be watching this show, still clinging to the Halloween mood I always get even one month it has passed and I'm trying to delay the overwhelming early Christmas they try to smother me with (in spite of how I love Christmas also); but this show knows exactly how to harness that 1990s' goth Tim Burtonesque aesthetic and vibe of morbid and grotesque German Expressionism melded with a common-yet-well-executed "teen arrives to a new quirky school" narrative backdropped in a normal American town.

Friendship, quirky characters with strong and varied traits that make them not only all be different but also fit in and work with one another quite well; the common folk who fear the school and yet it makes it plausible for both to coexist. The perfect blend of cartoony over-the-top tropes and good mystery drama with great dialogue and characterisation. And the performance and writing of Wednesday Addams, who is obviously the highlight of the show as she is tenacious, strong and feisty but also caring, empathetic and flawed that don't diminish her strength and determination but enhances her persona by having more layers than a cynical joke-machine with no heart. A perfect strong female character to praise and fear. All her fighting skills, wisdom and other skillset she may have don't make her a Mary Sue at all, they provide her with the tools she needs to take on the dangers of this world as she also remains flawed when it comes to expressing her feelings and working with others. Couldn't have asked for a better characterisation myself, one to be used as a great example of how to write them.

The No-rules race and picturesque dress up, prophecies and visions, school secrets, student secret societies, Hidden traps, suspicious murders all across town... The Harry Potter influence is palpable yet most welcomed as it doesn't come across tired or copycatted. It is delightful to see the many influences of the show in an aesthetic and narrative way from Tim Burton, like Batman 1989, Beetlejuice, Sleepy Hollow and more from him; Harry Potter's friendship and magical-world-building-vs-a-normal-world influences, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's teen-mystery-oriented plots featuring quirky characters that aid her or antagonize her amidst the social cliques that exist in the school... With tropes inspired by detective shows, high school dramas and even cartoons, the show has every ounce of entertainment as it has a production value believed to have been almost lost in Netflix. It's very easy for a franchise like the one this show may very well begin (I mean, other than the Addams Family one it's already backdropped in) given its popularity, subject and legacy; to fall into the mainstream, quantity-over-quality-level of production that some famous IPs have become nowadays.

So lets see where this show leads to and I really really hope they maintain the same care in the filmmaking, framing, editing, characterisation and narrative that this show has because I believe it is truly special and unique. And each story thread that opens up or reveals itself adds only more value to the world building of this wonderful world. I always enjoyed the Addams Family world but I've never seen a more grounded and layered yet still comedic version as this one. Keep it up!

Wednesday: Wednesday's Child Is Full of Woe (2022)

BRILLIANT. The Addams Family arrive to the 21st century. Prove that when cynicism and black comedy is done well it is gold.

I was always fascinated by the macabre version of the traditional 20th century family the Addams have always meant to be as invisioned by creator Charles Addams. Particularly Christina Ricci's excellent performance in the 1990s movies on the role of Wednesday. A personal favorite of mine. And the most interesting aspect of their shows and movies was of course their interaction with the rest of the world.

So it's no surprise that a show created by the duo that wrote Smallville and Spider-Man 2, directed by king of the macabre Tim Burton and featuring the most cynical, precocious and strong female teenager with a brilliant premise that is placing her in today's social-media-infested, internet-addictive society; in a school of outcasts like herself would be the best possible idea for today's era of entertainment.

With layers over layers of social critique, eloquent rhetoric, interesting new characters, brilliant characterisation by everyone in the Addams family (particularly Caherine Zeta-Jones as Morticia) and new characters; it is bound to be one of my favorites yet. I only wish this show had come out during Halloween month as Tim Burton's set and visual design and filmmaking permiates throughout this first episode. Delightfully grotesque yet sophisticatedly goth, the show has very visually interesting designs, set, clothing and framing choices that bring a unique flair to what essentially feels like a high-school-teen coming of age story. Which I adore and am glad and very engaged with the several character plotpoints presented ever so slightly but cleverly strong in this first episode.

Every scene in this first episode is gold. Especially the excellent fencing scene, which is the better executed version of the James Bond's Die Another Day one. But every scene fulfills at least one, and at times even more, of the essential narrative elements like character building, backstory and setting development or presentation of all the story threads we will be following in the show. I felt engaged and intrigued by the many subplots we are to explore and laughed at the dark comedy and excellent writing and characterisation the show has. I hope it can keep it up.

Black Adam (2022)

Another perfectly unrefreshingly okay entry to the average fatigued superhero movie genre that doesn't earn the emotional beats it has. What is DC doing? What is the plan?

A bloated yet perfectly average superhero movie which arrives late at the party and really feels incohesive as we wonder what is its place in the yet unknown state of the movie universe it belongs to. It feels it is handling too much and yet not sticking the landing in many good ideas that were explored here.

--- WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD, but nothing super spoilery ---

The biggest detriment for me was the lack of emotional connection to the characters in this movie with exception of perhaps the main character, Black Adam. For the main characters per se, that is, the civilians and Adam himself, they had character arcs that were perfectly okay for the plot and their motivations were, although a bit unsubdued at all, felt right and fit Adam's overall motivation and arc. The Justice Society however, what a missed opportunity. The best adjectives I can describe their entire existence in this movie is: unearned and lacking.

Like in Batman v Superman, too many solo-movie-deserving characters are introduced here in a voice over exposition scene, which is the worst way to do so; and because they have to share the screen with the main character, villains, and many other elements and themes; they are underdeveloped to a point of unearning the emotional moments they have during and especially at the climax of the movie. And unfortunately, due to the lateness of their arrival to the overall superhero sphere, their chosen visual representation of the powers and the characters themselves, it wouldn't surprise me to hear they remind of similar visual cues to the likes of Dr Strange, Antman, Xmen and even Black Panther. And so, everything is rushed so that DC can catch up to 15 years of Marvel's development without putting in the work and time to earn it.

Nowadays, it is hard to present the same elements you encounter in every comic book in a fresh and unique way without having to redefine them so they don't seem like copies of others. And it certainly didn't help some filmmaking choices the movie unfortunately does which have become a staple of modern superhero movies but, because this movie arrived so late and these are so frequent, they come across as just cliche and cheesy this time around: some choices of music will date the movie soon and felt on the nose, similar to the comedy; the slow motion scenes, while some cool looking, were used in excess and unnecessarily, making even more noticeably apparent the CGI (which in essence the whole point of CGI is to try to make it seem as realistic as possible, so if too noticeable it results in a subpar representation) and finally the pacing.

The pacing in this movie was all over the place, unable to present the story until halfway in, presenting plot twists after plot twists without any apparent reason but to doubt the motivation of characters and things. It felt like the entire movie was taking us for a ride, making us believe one thing and then changing it when it was needed. And it certainly didn't help the handling of the lore, with an introduction flashback scene that was unnecessarily long and drawn out, heavy dumps of exposition sprinkled throughout every conversation and encounter and finally the rewrite of Black Adam. When I saw the trailer I was willing to accept they would turn him into a sort of superhero, similar to what Disney was doing with their villains where they weren't entirely evil but something makes them more human and they have a motivation. The problem is that Black Adam already has a motivation in the comics, and it is a pretty good one. In fact, he has a very similar motivation in this movie with the only difference that in the comics he leans more towards Dr Doom or General Zod when it comes to the way he treats others that aren't his kind or his people. He is supposed to be evil or more dark in his view of morality so that he is the counterpart of Shazam, who is meant to be the hero. They would really need a good motivation behind their rivalry (better than Batman v Superman's one) to justify their eventual rivalry. I understand and support humanizing our villains, but there's a difference between layering their personality and making them antiheros with a willingness to kill yet good in nature.

Now don't get me wrong. The movie accomplishes a lot of good, most of the action scenes are great, the visual style is vibrant and engaging, the characters have motivations and there's a story to tell here. It's just that the story it is telling is not entirely new or refreshing, and neither are the themes. Most of them have been seen before, more than once and we are reaching a point in the "Superhero fever" era where it is really hard to stand out or do something different. I personally liked Shazam more because I felt it had a new story to tell with themes we haven't seen before in Marvel or DC, and that's why it was such a hit. However, the biggest good this movie does is that it is a great story for those whose turn was it to feel represented. I feel this movie would be most enjoyed by those middle-eastern kids who now are starting to get some heroes to protect their cities (for a change). I wait patiently for the moment my own country has a superhero representation in Marvel or DC. I think this movie is perfectly enjoyable for kids and families, it has good messages, an engaging plot and action scenes, and interesting characters. I just personally feel a bit of superhero fatigue. I had a hard time engaging with it because it wasn't telling me something I didn't know so all I was left with was the flaws that it had. I sincerely hope people had a better time with it than I did and at best I see it as yet another addition to the superhero movie genre but at worst I simply didn't see it break ground in any capacity. And the biggest problem I have is lack of context, where is the DC universe headed? Is there one? If this movie belongs to it, when does it take place?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed (2022)

An in-depth episode review. Summary: Nevermind, this show is dumb. Mysteries that never were, are revealed and we learn nothing new. All while conveniences are the solution

SPOILERS AHEAD AND HOW CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE EPISODE WITHOUT THEM -- Note I wrote this as I was watching the episode as a sort of "real time (live) reaction" review.

Welcome folks, welcome to the episode of "let's rush everything because we wasted the first half of the season building up things". In the span of 10 minutes, we get three major story threads solved in an instant: any speculation of who Sauron was (allegedly for now), who these white women are AND who this stranger who fell from the sky may be is solved in the first 2 minutes of the episode without build up nor climactic reveal; story thread 2: right after we see Elrond meet with Galadriel with a swift salute and not a slight of physical emotional reaction to seeing one of his closest friends not only be there but also "alive" after he thought she had gone to Valinor forever (which was built up and presented as a sort of Valhalla, a place for her to spend the rest of her days as compensation for her service), there's no time to waste because we got to keep the plot going. Thirdly, the entire subplot of Celebrimbor and the mithril is fixed by a guy who was seemingly dying, gets better in what could have been a longer span of time but because the show now has no time to waste has rushed through that period to have us see how he approaches a table and does the equivalent of Good Will Hunting's solving-the-equation-in-the-blackboard by literally saying the solution to the the mithril problem... After he says his humble wisdom can't be compared with that of the famous and acclaimed Celebrimbor, master of craft. Man, what a promising start!

Why is Galadriel ALWAYS so untrusting? It is tiresome to have a main character who befriends no one, who trusts no one but those who she already knew (Elrond). She distrusted the people of Numenor, their Queen at first, Elendil at first,.. Basically everyone she encounters until they prove her wrong. And now, after she had distrusted Halbrand when she met him, then he proved her wrong and actually became friends (if such a thing is possible for Galadriel), now she all of a sudden distrusts him and to us Halbrand is now presented as... Shady? The show sides with this character reaction, it seems like all we see with Galadriel's scenes is her subjective point of view when the show should remain impartial. All of a sudden Halbrand is sleazy and distrusting, why?

And in the same vein as the spirit of this episode, we also get the fastest tracking in existence by a group of halflings, who supposedly not only fell behind in going after the stranger from the sky, but also have shorter legs. Not only did they catch up to the mysterious white-cloaked beings too but managed to stay hidden and not be bothered by the hurricane the allegedly revealed Sauron creates around the vicinity... I give up. I mean, this is certainly more nitpicky than an actual mistake, but it only shows the subpar quality of the most expensive show ever made. Where did the money go? Where? Thank god at least these beings had noticed their presence and the scene went down how I expected it to. The day three smelly, short and clumsy halflings are able to sneak past who seem like superior beings without just but an owl whistle is the day I throw away my sanity and disbelief for the show.

I don't think the man from the sky is actually Sauron, I think it's a wizard and they have mistaken him. The lighting in Nori's speech to Gandalf is wrong... the contrast is too low, like super low for being in a night setting lit by a surrounding fire. It's fake and devoid of drama and tragedy, making the tone of the scene subpar. And how is Sadoc still alive? He was just stabbed in the stomach but is now fighting and standing and everything. Wow.... Not only does Gandalf can speak now to destroy these beings but... second twist! HE IS NOT SAURON, HE IS "THE OTHER" (someone called Istar) so it didn't take me long to be right. It never felt natural to me that this guy was Sauron, no matter how his arc could have gone downhill in the following seasons. But now it's obvious who Sauron is... Halbrand. His mysterious origin, his probably false made up past, what he has on that pouch, why he is so drawn to power, gems and crafting.

Meanwhile, in the ships back to Numenor, the Queen doesn't want to be patronized. Chill the f out, Elendil just wanted to help jeez. Also, it's not dramatic that she had to ask what Elendil saw 3 times; it's just plain annoying. And this is all I have to say about Numenor's scenes.

At the "How do they do it?" TV episode: Halbrand yet again comes up with the solution to why things aren't working. Rendering Celebrimbor's contribution to the show to be... useless? What does this character provide to the show other than emotional reactions to things he has no control over? All while Galadriel attempts to stop the creation of whatever it is they are doing and haven't yet explained to us why or what reasons she has to distrust Halbrand all of a sudden.

There are two ways of doing a prequel to a famously good story. One, you make a story that takes place WAY before anything related to the current timeline, therefore cutting any and all contrivances and sprinkling only references to it but telling a new story with new characters which never suffer the comparison test nor the accuracy one. For instance: House of the Dragon, which takes place so far in the past there is no risk of altering or upsetting the fanbase for altering historical events nor characters that can be found in Game of Thrones. Or, you do exactly the opposite. Like RIngs of Power, which happen so close to the events that unfold in their "main storyline" that is LOTR, that the resolution of everything turns out to be just too... convenient. That's the word: convenient. Rings of Power ends with a series of contrived and convenient decisions that make all the pieces fall into place no matter the narrative consistency, just for the sake of puting things in place for the events to come; which I will diligently list as they permeate through the episode but are noticeably rushed in the last third of it: 1. The new-found mystery of Halbrand's identity who is again put into question when it had been sort of resolved for the time being is rushed to its inevitable conclusion: he is Sauron. It's so rushed it comes across as it came out of nowhere, like a bad cartoon villain, he smirks and monologues his plan to Galadriel as he enchants her.

2. Galadriel goes to Celebrimbor and tells him to stop what he is doing because Halbrand was evil but he doesn't say why or what's his connection with anything. And not only is it really convenient that the closest city Galadriel could have brought Halbrand to be cured is precisely the one where Elrond and Celebrimbor are building the very weapon that was going to be used to destroy him; but his injuries are cured instantly, he solves any and all obstacles in the creation of what they never refer to as the rings of power. Galadriel COMMANDS him to stop, doesn't reveal her mission and doesn't answer Elrond's questions because she doesn't trust Celebrimbor, and she commands him to make 3 rings so they don't divide and whatever (like in the lore), and which shall only be crafted by elves (like in the lore), and no more shall be created (like in the lore). What authority has Galadriel that would allow her to order around people that are not under her command and why would anyone obey or believe her? If they are really crafting the weapon to save the elves and kill the enemy why is her word the dutifully followed command?

3. And the final convenience is that Celebrimbor now knows how to make the rings but it requires gold and silver from Valinor. How are we to fix this problem? No worries, Galadriel has in her hand her brother's dagger: which is conveniently made of gold and silver from Valinor, has an emotional meaning to her and she has conveniently never lost throughout the many perils she has endured and which she has wielded against Sauron just 2 minutes ago. Wow, how convenient! Also, Wow, the Elves' rings of power were made in 3 weeks, how impressive! And cathartic. Are you going to tell me they have to melt Galadriel's dagger? Is there NO MORE GOLD OR SILVER FROM VALINOR in this massive golden-detailed city of a culture that traditionally and trendily use gold and gems as decor and to accessorize everything? Is time running out that fast that you gotta make the rings like now, like right now because we can't take two minutes to acknowledge that Halbrand was Sauron all along and he just left (they could possibly catch him but, again, we have no time frame of what happened after Galadriel was enchanted nor do we know how long did the charm last; and therefore we don't know how far away he could have gotten) but rather we must built this right now without questioning if he has corrupted the furnace or without reevaluating any of what just happened and they have been doing...

Back with the Halflings: What? He can talk now? Why... Oh, bother! Also, he remembers, can recall and can comprehend things and people. And Istar means Wizard. Here we have it folks, the first wizard (I suppose) and yet another throwaway line to give away and confirm that this wizard is Gandalf: "Always follow your nose". A direct reference to Gandalf's line from the lore. And finally, "bye Nori, you are part of something bigger now", it was so predictable and yet it feels.. unearned. But just like most of this show. Cute backpack too, super useful when it rains and also intelligently crafted to not let things fall out of it.

IN CONCLUSION, two words define this show: subpar and contrived. It sets mysteries that were never secret, it never rose to the occasion nor met its budget with a worthy cinematic quality. It resulted in a bland, averagely enjoyable show that never attempts to redefine anything nor pay respect to the legacy of his writer. Some have called it an antithesis...