Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I'm going to say this right off the bat, Disney needs to slow their roll with all these Star Wars films. We go over thirty years without a new Star Wars film (that's right, in my version of history, those prequels never happened) and now we are getting one every year. I think they are doing a disservice to these mainline stories that are supposed to continue the franchise. It is starting to not feel as special as it should.

With that off my chest, I can say that I enjoyed the Last Jedi. I don't fall into the trappings of a lot of the nerd rage out there for this film, but I had my own set of problems. Beware, there may be spoilers. I'm not perfect!

Following Rey on her journey in this new trilogy has been a breath of fresh air. I know many of us want to have the same old thing. We were especially starved thanks to those horrible prequels. That they chose to have that history as a backdrop, but to go in new directions has been great. I also like that Rey has been a beacon of hope for many young girls. I really like what she represents. To take it further, I'm glad that they have not sexualized her in any way. She is continuing to find out her place in the universe and that brings her back into direct conflict with Kylo Ren and to some extent, Luke Skywalker.

One of the main complaints about this movie is the reveal of Rey's parentage. I for one liked the reveal. It's a bold choice and I like that we don't get what we had theorized or really wanted. I have already said too much, so I will move on.

The other complaint has been about how Luke is portrayed in this movie. He is now the grumpy old man, who doesn't want a student. It's a trope we've seen in movies many times before. Kind of like what we saw with Han in the last movie, we see that here. Without going into too much detail, you learn the reason WHY he's secluded himself and that has turned into a, "That's not MY Luke Skywalker" movement.  This didn't really bother me here. The problem I do have is that we don't see him interact with really anyone other than Rey. He is totally separate from everything else going on in the movie. In that sense, not seeing some of your old favorites together is a missed opportunity. However, I understand that they are trying to build something new here, so I can put that nerd rage in a corner.

Let me talk about the other characters in this movie before I move on. We also get to see more of Finn and the arc that he is also going through. In this movie he is given something to do, which I'm glad to see. They pair him up with a new character named Rose on this side of the plot. I did not realize Rose was going to play such a big part because I avoided all trailers (except for the first two). I think she's a good addition to the universe. I know this will play into the rising nerd rage because guess what, she's Vietnamese. So more diversity! Get angry!

If there is one thing I don't like about Finn, it's how quippy he is. I would think a former stormtrooper wouldn't be delivering one liners with such an "Aw shucks" sheepishness. I personally would like it if he played it straight, not realizing that he is being funny.

Anyways, we get to see those two and then we get to see our favorite new flyboy, Poe Dameron. I think we could all use more Oscar Issacs in our lives and he gets stuff to do here too. He also gets an arc. I was going to complain that I thought he didn't get enough time, but as I think about it, he got as much time as everyone else. They had to juggle a lot in this movie, almost to it's detriment.

If there is one big loser in this movie, it's poor Gwendoline Christie, who plays Captain Phasma. This is a huge missed opportunity. I really wanted to really see her do something, anything. Instead, she gets what I can at best describe as a cameo.

I could go on and on about the cast, but let's move on to the story. Part of it felt like an extended Battlestar Galactica episode. Now before you get up in arms, I am referring to the earlier episodes where they have to constantly search for water for their ships while trying to avoid the cylons. Here, we have the rebel ships trying to get away with low reserves on their fuel. The situation is much more dire because the Empire, I'm sorry, First Order, is just going to wait them out. So there is definitely some tension in the main thrust of the story.

With that, we watch what is going on with Rey/Luke and then Finn/Rose. Before I said that I liked that Finn had more to do. What I didn't say and I'll say it now, is their stuff felt so superfluous. I don't need to see a gambling planet. It feels like trying to capture the magic of the cantina scenes from the first trilogy. We also have to introduce a bunch of cutesy animals (re: Rey/Luke scenes), cause merchandising. I know I am coming off like an old man that hates joy, but I'm too cynical to not think this is for the benefit of having more toys. I just didn't like this whole side plot of the movie.

All of this is forgiven when we get to the final act of this movie. You play some John Williams inspired music, show me the Millennium Falcon flying around and I'm done. I'm powerless. I sit in slack jawed wonderment and just enjoy the ride. So that last third is very action heavy and satisfying. All the threads come together. I don't want to say anymore than that and give anything away to those that have not seen it.

I didn't talk about the First Order side that much, but I do like seeing Hux and Kylo interact. We could easily have a sitcom about these too. These are two apple polishers that are looking to win over their teacher. After this movie though, I still have no idea who or what Snoke is supposed to really be. Maybe I'm just not paying attention enough.

I may have to see it again, but I don't know if I like this better than Force Awakens or not. I like seeing these new characters and I think they have been successful in establishing them. I didn't mention it before, but it is very sad to watch this movie knowing that Carrie Fisher passed away. I don't know what they will do with the next movie, so enjoy your time with her here.

I think this movie is definitely worth seeing and recommend that you go if you already haven't. May the force be with you. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself...

Justice League

Oh, DC. I swear I am not actively rooting against you just because I'm a Marvel fanboy. Competition makes both of the companies better. However, as far as the movies go, DC is like a Triple AAA baseball team and Marvel is the big leagues.

Wonder Woman gained so much good will from me, but in the back of my mind, I figured Justice League wouldn't be able to build on that momentum.

Let's be frank here. Justice League is a bad movie. It occasionally has some cool moments, but that is not enough to save it.

The argument I always make for those inevitable Avengers vs. Justice League movie comparisons is this simple fact. The Marvel universe took a slow, methodical approach to get to their movies. They took a calculated risk by getting tentpole movies out for their main players of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor. Once those were successes, they had the foundation to build the Avengers movie. You had a natural anticipation that built and built and culminated in the first Avengers movie. You wanted to see all those characters together and see how they play off each other.

DC tried to take the fast track and after putting out Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman and Wonder Woman, they jumped straight to a Justice League movie. In that time, there was a Suicide Squad movie that had no impact on this movie. So this movie has to spend time introducing us very quickly to three new team members in Cyborg, Aquaman and the Flash. Unfortunately for us, they do not do a good job. You get quick side explanations or scenes that show how they came to be, but you're not invested in their stories or given a reason to care.

What still bothers me about Batman v. Superman is that they act like Batman and Superman were great friends. They circled each other for the bulk of their movie and then fought at the end, before coming together for like ten minutes. From that we are supposed to buy that they have this deep friendship? In the comics, that is true. In the movies, that is completely false. So every time Batman/Bruce talks about how he wants to do things in Superman's memory or how they want to bring him back to life, it rings so hollow.

Also, who is Steppenwolf to be such a big bad guy in this movie. Again, comic fans will know who he is but I am taking the role of Joe Average here. All you know is that he is a bad guy who wants to take over this world for some reason. The way the movie is constructed, para-demons have been showing up for while in anticipation for a big attack. That would be fine if this was sprinkled throughout all the movies leading up to this. Instead, you have to believe it's a big deal without understanding what the stakes are.

Another big beef I have with this movie is it just feels so boring. Even though there are world ending stakes here, it never really feels like there is anything of consequence. We don't see how these events affect anyone. It's as if the course correction caused by the mass destruction in Man of Steel has affected this movie too. Also, I think this movie is too special effects heavy. It would be okay if it actually looked good. For me, if I don't see guys doing physical stunts in the fight scenes, you lose me. Say what you will about Man of Steel, the special effects in that movie were great.

The fight choreography isn't all that spectacular outside of what they do with Wonder Woman. Like every movie she's appeared in, she's the bright spot here. I hope her (and Gal Gadot who plays her) star continues to rise.

Outside of Wonder Woman, everyone else just feels so blah. This movie did not get the best out of the talent they were presented with.

I feel like I could go on and on about what I didn't like about this movie and why I didn't enjoy it, but I think I've said enough. I went in with low expectations and this film met that. I just hope they get their act together in future movies.

The Punisher

I took my time with the Punisher, something I haven't done with the other Marvel shows. I'll be honest, I wasn't as excited for it as I was for the other shows. That is nothing against this show, I just think I am experiencing comic book show fatigue right now.

However, I will say this. The first season of Punisher was good. I will also say that is easily the most violent of the Marvel shows, which should surprise no one that has a working knowledge of the character. His scenes in season two of Daredevil were clear evidence of what we might expect.

What I didn't expect was a deep dive into PTSD that this show traverses down. Surprisingly, it didn't feel completely ham fisted. It is definitely in your face and they do not hide from it, but I think it accurately demonstrates how each soldier is changed by their experiences and how they deal with it. The central characters in this show were soldiers in one way or another and the effects on them are shown through the show.

Frank Castle himself is a tragic character. Not to say it justifies his actions, but you can say, "Yeah, I see why he went nuts". This show does it's best to color him in shades of grey. It makes it hard to root for him at times, if only to say, "Well, he's LESS bad than those other a-holes".

He does have a code of honor and they toe that line in when he reacts and when he doesn't. This is constantly explored throughout the show. Jon Berenthal is perfectly cast as Frank Castle. He starts off quieter in the first few episodes, so you will have to be patient. I promise he will start talking more.

I really liked the supporting characters in this show. The character, Micro definitely helps to humanize Frank and works as a good foil to him. Seeing their relationship grow is fun to watch. I liked agent Madani, who spends the series chasing after Castle. She is easily the most clean of all the characters. She is fueled by her search for justice, sometimes to the detriment of those within her orbit. There's the character of Curtis who is also one of the likable people in the show, who also helps out Frank.

I was really glad to see Karen Page return for this show, seeing as they already established her special relationship with Frank during the Daredevil season. They also explore the importance of that relationship here.

Overall, this show was also very gritty and probably also shot on location mostly in New York. It keeps up with the aesthetic that we've grown used to with these shows.

With a Punisher show, you expect it to be about him going after mob bosses, so I liked that they went in another direction and had him chasing down a government conspiracy. As unrealistic as this show can get with it's violence, I think it is a plot that can resonate even to today. There's always going to be shadowy government people that are out with their own agenda.

To complain about the violence in this show would be like to complain that water is wet. Like I said before, you know what you get with a show like this. To it's credit, most episodes didn't resort to gratuitous violence, so you do get breaks from time to time. We will also have to accept that Frank is not like normal humans in that he can be a bullet sponge and still come out alive. At least it does have SOME effect on him.

My final thoughts on the show are this. I really did like. Unlike the other shows, I didn't feel like it really dragged in the middle. I think things played out at a good clip. There is definitely a slow burn and I'm starting to wonder if serialized series like this are the best way to go with the characters. Maybe episodes or two sprinkled within to deal with one off issues while still building a larger narrative is a way to go? Then again, with 13 episodes, you don't have that luxury.

I'm still deciding where I'd place this in my list of Marvel shows. It's definitely better than Iron Fist and I would put it above season 2 of Daredevil. After that, it's a toss up. This is definitely not the weakest show, that's for sure. Nothing is taking that throne from Iron Fist.

Bendis Leaving Marvel to go to DC

The news of Brian Michael Bendis leaving Marvel to go to DC is way too big for me NOT to mention. This is big because for the last seventeen years, Bendis has been the pre-eminent writer at Marvel. Whether you know this or not, I would argue that he was responsible for the resurgence of the Avengers.

Before Bendis, I NEVER touched the avengers. I didn't read their books at all. I deemed them too corny. Lest we forget, around this time, Iron Man was a C level character at best in my opinion. It wasn't until Robert Downey Jr. came along that he became A-list. Bendis broke down the Avengers and built up a new team that felt like more of a collection of his favorite characters than traditional Avengers. You had Captain America and Iron Man, but then you got Spider-Man, Wolverine, Spider-Woman and Luke Cage. Then a mystery character like Ronin and Sentry. Suddenly, these Avengers were cool and I began reading them.

On the other side of this, Bendis had been working on Ultimate Spider-Man and turned that into a hit. Then he also had a great run on Daredevil (which I still need to read).

He created characters like Jessica Jones (yes, that Jessica Jones!), Miles Morales and Riri Williams. His influence in the past few years of Marvel has been vast.

He even brought over his book, "Powers" from Image to Marvel's Icon imprint. That was another series that turned me on to him. In that book, he was free to use all the profanity he would ever want. Besides that, it started off as a really good crime book. Shame it ended up as a terrible tv show.

I promise, I won't go through the wikipedia list of all his works. What I wanted to show is that I was a fan of his work at Marvel. I didn't enjoy everything, but I knew to expect at least great dialogue from Bendis. It's a trademark of his that I always loved. I personally like issues of comics where it's just people talking. To see him leave for greener pastures will invigorate him. I'm glad he gets the opportunity to work at DC on something new. Maybe that will make me become more interested in their books depending on his project.

The two questions that leave me with are: Why now? And what is going on over at Marvel?