Loki: Season 2

Although I finished this weeks ago, I'm just now getting around to writing about it. What you can take about that is my "meh" feeling with Marvel shows that leaves me ready to move past them, rather than talk about them. But then I'm not doing my duty for YOU dear reader, so let me give you my thoughts.

Like the first season of Loki, I thought this was okay. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. What I respect about it, unlike the other shows, is it has this water cooler effect to it that I can't explain. To be more specific, it feels like appointment viewing and then you want to talk about it with your friends or co-workers and then guess about what happens next. Out of ALLLLLLLLLLLL the shows that Marvel has done, this show and Wandavision are the only ones I felt this with. It probably has something to do with the fact that these shows usually have the potential to change the overarching narrative of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

So does this show do that? Well, yes and no. The series has done a great job of creating a redemption arc for this version of Loki and we've watched him struggle with trying to be better from the first episode of the series. In this season, he makes the ultimate sacrifice and although I won't say what that was, this MIGHT have implications for the larger MCU. I say might because I have zero faith in Marvel and what they are doing right now. They have been stumbling into good content. Phase 5 has been a nightmare, with no real direction.

So let me start with what I didn't like. This show is six episodes, but there are long stretches that it feels middling. This show wants to go go go because there is a big crisis coming, but it takes it's time getting there and makes us sit in their character moments for too long. I like character development as much as the next guy, but this show didn't add a whole lot of new stuff to them. I know we had questions about what Mobius and the rest of the TVA were up to before they "joined" the TVA, but I don't think we needed to see it. When Mobius kept talking about water skis, I didn't WANT to see why. It's an interesting quirk, but I don't need it explained like we got. It is okay to leave stuff to our imagination.

Also, some of the situations just felt contrived. The major issue of the season is solving how to fix the time stream going through a time loom. Something that took up about three episodes. I think the problem with a show like this, with the stakes being as high as they are, you know it's going to get fixed, so the sense of drama isn't really there like they think. The only thing you're wondering is what lengths Loki is going to go to in order to fix it. After all this, it's not like he's NOT going to fix it. The search for Sylvie, really didn't affect too much in the end. At least that's what I remember. Gimme a break, it's been a few weeks. For me, that might as well be years. I watch a lot of shit. What also irks me is that at times, Loki acts as a regular dude, then remembers he has powers. The show found a way to nerf him in weird ways. 

One of the things I've liked about this show, although it makes no sense, is this weird, 50's aesthetic everything has. You don't normally see that with any sci-fi show when time travel is involved, but they have their own unique style and they stick to it, never wavering. I can respect that.

The strongest part of the show that I liked, were the actors. This is a great cast and they all play well off each other. Tom Hiddleston has been putting on a clinic in this series and with his time playing Loki coming to an end, it's been a fun journey and he has easily been Marvel's best villain (turned hero). Jonathan Majors is back in dual roles, playing Victor Timely and then Kang. The stark difference between their portrayal really shows his range and I hope he gets to stick around. Yes, I know he's in legal trouble, so we'll wait for that to play out. I will also keep my thoughts to myself.

I've never liked Owen Wilson more than I do here. He is as understated as can be and that's a good thing. And no, please don't point me to other stuff he's done, I don't care THAT much. Let me just have this show. 

The other thing I liked, even though I complained about how contrived some of the situations are, I'm a sucker for time travel story and that is here as well. It's really used to good effect in the last episode. Even though it's been weeks, I'm not going to reveal any of the twists. I'm not a monster.

Like the first season, I kept waiting for something big that effects the entire MCU. Although something big does happen, it's not what I was expecting. Let me say this though, folks. The multi-verse is here to say, whether we want it or not. 

Would I recommend this? Eh, it's definitely not the worst thing in the Marvel. This has been one of the more bright spots in the million TV shows that Marvel has put out because this one actually means something in the larger universe right now, doesn't go outside of it's budget and has wonderful acting. 

The Marvels

I just saw "The Marvels" on Monday night and I wanted to write about it as soon as I could. To not bury the lede, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It is easily the best Marvel movie this year. I have more in-depth thoughts about the state of the MCU that I'll share at the end, because they are emblematic of something far worse and it's nothing to do with this movie itself.

There is an undeniable fun chemistry amongst the three leads of this movie. If you hate strong female leads, you better go elsewhere. The lynch pin is definitely Iman Vellani's Kamala Khan. She was so damn likeable in the Ms. Marvel TV show and she's equally, if not MORE likeable here. Instead of being a useless third wheel, she holds her own in all the action scenes. Her family also makes the transition to the big screen and they bring some lightheartedness and grounding to the movie.

Brie Larson actually gets to show a personality in this movie, something that had been missing in all her appearances as Captain Marvel to date, which is refreshing because she has it in her and Marvel was not bottling that correctly. Finally, Teyonah Parris rounding out as Monica Rambeau adds an additional dynamic that also helps to ground Carol Danvers more. Everyone gets something to do here. Like 75% of these Marvel movies, this movie suffers from a one-dimensional villain, but I forgive that because these ladies just needed someone to punch anyway. It's about the friendship between these the trio and how they play off each other.

The most enjoyable part for me, is that there was a lot of creative and careful thought put into the fight choreography that plays on the central conceit of the movie. The three characters switch places whenever they use their powers at the same time, something that is explained in a hand-wavy way that you shouldn't think about too much.  It makes for a lot of fun moments throughout the film.

The jokes hit the right notes and I was not groaning or wanting things to move on like I did in Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man earlier this year. Yeah, both those movies came out this year. I forgot too. This movie was also a short 105 minutes, a luxury we do not usually get with Marvel movies. Things didn't keep escalating to like five different endings, so that was also surprisingly refreshing. Side note, if you liked Goose in Captain Marvel, you will get more of them here too. Cats!

The special effects, beside the one-dimensional villain, were the only weak spots in this movie and I can forgive those, because everything else is so much fun.

The only things you need to watch to prep for this movie are: Captain Marvel, Wandavision and Ms. Marvel. Each one gives you insight into the trio of ladies in the film. This movie basically picks up where the Ms. Marvel series ended.

So with all that being said, there is a much larger problem here. This is the part of my review where I will pivot away from this film and talk about what really pisses me off with Marvel's direction with this phase of movies/shows. Sorry everyone, Secret Invasion is about to catch some strays.

So WHEN exactly in Marvel's now convoluted timeline does this movie take place? All we know is that it is after Endgame, because Monica talks about things that occurred to her after the blip and after Ms. Marvel's show. We just had Secret Invasion a few months ago that dealt with Skrulls and Nick Fury. This movie ALSO deals with Skrulls and have Nick Fury. Both things seem to be independent of each other. Did Secret Invasion come before this movie? Afterwards? We see happy Nick Fury in this movie in his space station, giving the kind of energy we usually expect from Sam Jackson. He clearly had more fun making this than the other show and it is evident. 

What happened to the Skrulls in this movie and in Secret Invasion are big deals, but they both just kind of happen in their own bubbles. They wasted Telos in that show instead of having him appear in this movie, so now our most recognizable Skrull is just gone and there is zero mention of him. This movie and that show felt like they were in two different universes, they were so different. Maybe Marvel can explain it away with all this multi-verse nonsense they've been going on about lately.

Marvel clearly has been making shit up as they go after Endgame and it couldn't be more evident. Everything they got right with this movie, they got wrong with everything else this year. It was concise. It was fun. It let it's stars bounce off each other. It didn't bathe in it's own sadness. I hate that this movie comes at the end of the year, when super hero fatigue has set in. There are a few things at the end of the Marvels that makes us feel that good stuff is on the way. A thing the other movies this year didn't do either. There was little connective tissue to tie stuff together.

Finally, I feel the need to get on my soap box. The movie hasn't done great at the box office and some have celebrated that. This movie suffered from not being marketed well. Like, at all. Who knew it was even happening? The strike meant that the actors could not talk about it, but that shouldn't have stopped Marvel from doing a full court press with their marketing. 

I guess a female driven movie by a black director is not worth the extra press it could have used. I'm sure the straight, white male, comic nerd contingent is happy about the news that this movie had the lowest opening for a Marvel movie. This film was left out to die on the vine and it deserved better than that. I hate that we're seeing all these lazy think pieces about why this movie has bombed and whether or not we are suffering from hero fatigue. We've been in that for years prior to this movie. Let's not get it twisted.

So I say go see this movie. It is is an accomplishment and something to be praised. It is the most fun you will have with a Marvel property this year. For you true nerds, there's a mid credits scene that is there to make people like me salivate.

My Adventures with Superman

My poor, beleaguered blog. I swear one day I'll consistently post to you. And post on timely topics. Today is not that day for ONE of these items. 

It is no secret that DC has been destroying Marvel when it comes to animated features. I mean, does Marvel even make them anymore? Other than this year's Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (which I will talk about soon) I can't even think of anything. While there is adult fare, like Harley Quinn, we skew in the other direction with this new show on HBO Max. Well, it's not new anymore by the time I got around to reviewing this, but whatever. You get my drift.

We've been subjected to many different versions of Lois and Clark over the years. This show has to be the most wholesome thing I have ever seen. It has an anime look and some of the anime sensibilities, but when you get past all that, you have a wholesome versions of the early days of Superman that you will ever get.

Some may be upset at how they play fast and loose with the character designs by making Jimmy Olsen and Perry White black. If that stuff still bothers you, I don't know what to tell you. It's a small thing, but I like the design of giving Lois more of a pixie cut than the long hair we're used to. Also, Superman isn't some barrel chested brute who acts nice. Here, he is legitimately trying to find his place in the world and how to use his powers.

This show makes it fun to watch him try and figure it all out, while trying to lead dual lives. We also get to see him act like a news reporter, which you would be surprised how little you see that these days. The voice acting is very good and I love the redesign of lower tier Superman villains like Livewire and Parasite. If you want to argue that Parasite is top tier....come on. Superman has one of the weaker rogues galleries, so they picked the best of them without reverting to using Lex Luthor right away.

I thought this season was paced very well and I like the conceit we're getting with American animated series like this were you get ten episodes in a season and that is it. Story threads like, will Lois find out Superman's secret identity are resolved quickly. Real quick, on that note. It was both a fun and heartwarming reveal when Lois discovers who Superman is.

The trio of Lois, Clark and Jimmy are a lot of fun and I can't wait to see them on more adventures. Each of them brought a little something to the table, so Jimmy and Lois don't seem completely useless. It helps that all the voice acting is completely endearing. If you're a Superman fan or just want a light hearted, not anime to watch, I highly recommend this. 

Blue Beetle

I could come up with a million excuses why I'm late on my review for this movie. You've heard them already, so it doesn't MATTER. Let's get into it.

Blue Beetle. Let's be honest, this is not the movie any of us asked for. But it is the movie we deserve. What do I mean by that? We deserve a fun, super hero movie that isn't about saving the world, but a personal story with our main character. You can be reductive and say it's like Iron Man's origin movie or Ant-Man's, but that is going to make you miss out. Also, other than the fact that all the heroes where a suit of armor, that's the only similarity. Don't get forget that Tony Stark and Scott Lang were assholes before they put on a hero suit. Jamie Reyes is none of that and is instantly more likeable. 

Okay, let me also say this. The trailers for this movie do it a huge disservice. They make it seem like Jamie (Xolo Maridueña) is this poor down on his luck kid. In actuality, he just graduated from college (in pre-law?) and just can't find a job. We've been there. He's also trying to do right by his family because they are not doing well. Miles above what those others were. So again, I hate the misleading trailer. 

I found him absolutely charming and I shockingly liked George Lopez in this movie as the wacky uncle. The thread the needle on conspiracy theory believing and bumbling with a true heart and sounding board for Jamie. I didn't expect this and it was welcomed. In fact, I enjoyed his entire family and how they pull together. Also, my hot take. This movie was more about family that Fast X was. Just cause you say the word family about 100 times, doesn't make fetch happen.

One other note. This is the best we could have hoped Blue Beetle as a character would appear on screen. Ted Kord would NOT work. I like that he is referenced here and some of his gadgets, costumes and vehicles show up. This way the toxic fan boys might complain less about seeing their white super hero replaced by a Latino. Who am I kidding? They'll still complain. Ted Kord is trash, y'all. There, I said it.

If you saw the Flash movie, I'm sorry. I did too. I bring that up because the special effects here are GOOD, unlike that other movie. The only issue I have is the super hero movie trope of the good guy fighting a bad guy version of himself (i.e. two dudes in armor like in Iron Man, Black Panther, Ant-Man). It's the only complaint I have about this movie.

Oh, real quick. Susan Sarandon is straight up the villain in this movie, y'all. I feel like she had a lot of fun with it. She got to ham it up and it is something to behold. She's also so good at it you want her to get what's coming to her.

Finally, the musical score is really good. The marketing and the logo has this 80's vibe and all I could think is, "Here we go again with this 80's nostalgia bullshit". It works here, so my cynicism is not always on point. 

I absolutely recommend this movie. Of course, right before the power shifts at DC, they start making some enjoyable movies. I have no idea what to expect from James Gunn and the upcoming Aquaman, but at least for a shining moment, DC has made a few movies I've liked these past few years.