Best Things August 2018

It's been a busy month for me personally. Moved houses, got a new job, had a birthday. Not a whole lot of time to sit around and just enjoy things. Nevertheless, here's what stuck out to me.

James Acaster's Repetoire
I mostly indulged myself in stand-up specials on Netflix this month. It's always been a format that has appealed to me, unlike comedy films, there's no need for plot or themes, just jokes. However, just cause that's what they don't need doesn't mean it they can't give us a little more. James Acaster's Repetoire is one of those specials that goes further than it needs to. Split up into 4 different segments: Recognise, Represent, Rest & Recap. In each one he plays an exaggerated version of himself-like many comedians do-but his commitment to each bit and each story, carrying over from one segment to the other, almost as if he's creating an entire backstory and rich detailed life for a person who will only exist for a couple of hours. Most comedians will tell stories of things that didn't actually happen, and it's always a grievance of mine when you can easily spot a fraud. Acaster however commits and creates such detailed and unrealistic stories that it's an easy hurdle to get over. Nothing is real, nothing is sacred, nothing to be trusted, all of his stories are intentionally filled with twists, contradictions, all for the sake of building on the joke, making it as unrealsitic as possible and still 100% being commited to the tale. Oh, it's also really fucking funny, I should probably have pointed that out at somepoint.

Springfield Confidential
I am a big fan of The Simpsons. You know this because I am a living, breathing human being. It was the first series that I actively listened to the dvd commentary back when I was a child, I pretty much spent all of year 7 quoting the series non-stop. It's the most influencial piece of media to me personally, and arguably one of the most influencial to the world. So when a book written by series Showrunner Mike Reiss - a man who has been with the show since it's beginnings and remains with the show to this day - is published, naturally I would want to read it. Everything you could want to know about the series gets discussed in here, from it's origins, to a detailed description of how each episode is produced, tales of fans from around the world, his views on Family Guy, the backlash against modern episodes, his personal favourite stories and tales of fan meetings from around the globe. Not only is it a fascinating insight into the world of The Simpsons, as well as a fairly easy & engaging read (I finished the whole thing in a day), but of course as you'd expect from a Simpsons writer, it offers clever laughs along the way. A must-read for any Simpsons fan.

Best Things July 2018

Afternoons With Josh & Ken
Podcasts are a difficult thing to get into, there's about 100 billion out there and most of them are the same thing, I can't even argue that this one is any different, just two guys having a conversation and decided to record it, with no real direction or purpose. That being said, the reason why I really enjoy this podcast is because I already enjoy Ken Napzok & Josh Macuga as people already. I've followed their work on multiple platforms for years now and I find their conversations to be legitimately entertaining, whether it be Ken's self-deprecating humour, Josh's wild party stories or just any random nonsense that happens to be on their mind. Would I recommend it? No, not unless you're already a fan of their work. Then again this isn't a blog talking about what others will like, just what I like.


Hard Boiled
Before rewatching Mission: Impossible II, I wanted to expand my knowledge of John Woo's filmography, one of his most popular films that I had never seen was Hard Boiled and by god do I see why it gained such noteriety. This film is basically Woo in a nutshell, it's loud, exaggerated action where you feel every ounce of effort and genuine passion that went into it. Woo said that he had been criticized for glorifying criminals in prior films so he wanted to make a film glorifying the police and boy does he succeed. Chow-Yun Fat at first comes across as your typical renegade cop you'd see in any other action film, but it's how commited and stubborn he is towards doing the right thing that make him memorable as a protagonist, alongside Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as a morally grey undercover cop, the two play off each other greatly. However what makes the film stick out is of course the over the top action, most notably and insanely well done one shot inside a hospital near the end of the film, which sees the characters face off against multiple enemies, travel several floors and I can't even begin to imagine the preperation that must have gone into making that happen.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout
I've already talked about the Mission: Impossible films before and my love for them, so let me say with full clarity that this is my new favourite Mission: Impossible film, certainly one of the best action films of all time. Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise take practical stuntwork to a whole new level, the car chase through Paris, the cliffside brawl, The HALO Jump, the bathroom fight, the helicopter chase; any one of these could completely make an action film and the fact they performed all of this makes every other film look lazy in comparison. It's also definitely the best MI film in terms of story, not only could I actually tell what was going on most of the time, but I found myself invested in the characters beyond their basic entertainment value. Giving Ethan Hunt much more vulnerability at least emotionally particularly with how it ties in to his wife Julia makes me actually pity him, something that six films into the series has only now just been achieved. At the time of writing this I've already seen the film twice and I certainly plan on seeing it more while it's in theatres.

Mission: Impossible Franchise - Cheap Thoughts

In the build up to Mission: Impossible - Fallout, I decided to go back and rewatch all of the Mission: Impossible films, because frankly, this is the best action franchise of all time. When you really think about it, what other franchise is this consistently good? A series of movies that are constantly pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with, becoming a breeding ground for talented directors to experiment and make every other movie look lazy by comparison, so let's talk about them.

Mission: Impossible (1996)
In a lot of ways, the first Mission: Impossible film feels like the black sheep of the Mission: Impossible franchise, for one thing, this is not an action film, it's just a straight up spy film. There's a severe lack of actual action in the film, and even the big set piece is a CGI train sequence, can you imagine something less Mission: Impossible than CGI? Which is not to insult the film in any way, it established the main quality of this franchise that it takes a director and let's them make whatever they want. In this case you have Brian DePalma, a man who likes to experiment with unconventional camera work to create this distinct yet awkward atmosphere throughout the whole film that truly makes it something memorable and helps dig in the paranoia and frantic nature of Ethan Hunt. This is a movie where the most iconic scene is the characters trying to be as quiet as possible. This movie isn't exciting but it is memorable both within it's own franchise and in the spy genre as a whole.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)
Considering this is the only Mission: Impossible film that is viewed as "bad" it's pretty good to know this franchise's rock bottom isn't that deep. A big part of me believes the backlash for this film comes from the initial jarring tone from the first film to this one. The second film was directed by John Woo, an action filmmaker best known for his in your face, flashy and over the top movies with classic films such as Hard Boiled, A Better Tomorrow & Face-Off. Now this is where I can see how he can be an odd choice, while the first one was quiet, this one is loud; the first one travelled all around the world, this one stays mostly in Australia for some reason; while the first one was subtle, this film is everything but. The inconsistencies are prevalent, but considering this is a series of films that is beloved because of it's inconsistencies between films, that initial juxtaposition doesn't sting as much anymore, and looking at it in retrospective, it's not that bad. Yes, the crew is the weakest in the series, the villains aren't that great and Ethan Hunt is kind of an unlikeable dick in the movie, overall, I'd compare this movie to a fireworks display, it's bright and entertaining but offers nothing of value, but you wouldn't expect it to. I can watch this movie and be decently entertained, and when the worst movie in your franchise can still be described as watchable, i'd still call that a success.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)
In someways I can't help but feel this might be my least favourite of the franchise, not because it's worse than the second one, but because it feels less distinct. Directed by J.J. Abrams who while has made many films I love, he's a director that lacks style. When you're watching a Brian DePalma film, you know you're watching a Brian DePalma film. When you're watching a John Woo film, you know you're watching a John Woo film. Honestly this film feels like it could just be marketed as any spy film, it almost seems embarrassed to be a Mission: Impossible film, even the theme song is missing through the majority of the film. I can certainly see while a less in-your-face director would be appealing, the film is very easy to digest for major audiences and I still very much enjoy the film for what it is. Heck, it has the best villain in the entire franchise with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and his opening torture scene is without a doubt one of the best scenes in the whole series. Furthermore is that the film puts so little effort into explaining the MacGuffin it kind of becomes brilliant again, they know we don't care, it's just an object to be fought for, so why bother trying to explain it when we can just cut straight to people fighting over it? While this movie is still good, it's still exciting, entertaining and enjoyable, and I understand why they had to go in this direction after the "failure" of the second one. I can't help but feel it's missing the flare this franchise lives on.

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
In a lot of ways, this is the film that completely reinvigorated the Mission: Impossible franchise, not only being the most successful instalment in the franchise at the time, but with it's characters and structure. Brad Bird rather than ignoring everything else in the series like all the other films did, decided to take those elements and build upon them, turning Benji into an actual field agent, taking Julia and turning her into both an introduction for Brandt as well as give Ethan a bit more emotional baggage. However his biggest contribution is the insane dedication to practical stuntwork. Even within the film's text there's a return to analogue filmmaking with the technology and tools the team often relies on constantly breaks down, so the return to the "doing it by hand" style is both present thematically and with the way it's made. The Burj Khalifa scene is as iconic as it can be, and doesn't need me to explain how fantastic it is but seriously, nearly a decade later and the scene still blows my mind that they actually did that and how committed Tom Cruise is making these movies as good as possible.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)
Well apparently Chris McQuarrie took the Burj Khalifa scene as a challenge because he was determined to top it with this film. Yet again the stuntwork is magnificent in this instalment, but not just for huge set pieces such as the airplane opening or the underwater scene, but with action scenes such as the car chase turned bike chase in Dubai which is filled with so many small but insane moments that could not have been easy to pull off. It's also the first of the films to analyse Ethan Hunt as a character, that being the insane lengths he'll go to when trying to catch a criminal, endangering himself, his team and even the Prime Minister of Great Britain are all worth the risk. On top of that, the introduction of Ilsa Faust who is not only drowning in style but might be one of the most interesting characters the series has ever produced, acting as an equal or even greater agent than Hunt who you're never entirely sure whose side she's on. I have a hard time deciding between GP and RN over which is my favourite, the one who built this franchise up from nothing or the one who took what was built and only improved it? Either way they're both fantastic films that I love dearly.

Best Things June 2018

My Hero Academia - UA Sports Festival Arc
Yes, I'm very late to the party here but I finally binge watched My Hero Academia and fell in love with it. Well, that's not true, I watched the first season roughly a year ago and thought it was just okay. However, on a whim I decided to check out the second season and I blew through the whole show within a matter of days. Rather than talk about the show as a whole and why it's so good (Because you already know why) I'd rather talk about the specific storyline that made me a fan, the Tournament Arc. One of the bigger issues that prevented me from loving the show was simply the quantity of characters introduced in the first season, most of which were severely underdeveloped. Now you might say "Well yeah, it's impossible to develop 20+ characters in just 13 episodes" then...don't introduce 20+ characters. The Tournament Arc format allows for individual focus on just one or two characters, giving them a chance to develop them specifically, as well as allow for creative and well animated fight scenes given the variety of powers on display. As well as earlier rounds which saw characters teaming up, playing on their dynamics. Characters such as Todoroki and Uraraka in particular saw their backstories and motives be explored, making me far more invested in them than the first season came close to achieving. Of course the highlight of the arc was the fight between Todoroki and Midoriya, it's thriving with emotion, character development, brutal fighting and some of the best animation the series has ever seen. It's an iconic moment for the series and stands out as for me, the best moment of the show so far.

Machete Kills
And now, for something completely different. I never saw the original Machete, heck, I had no intention of watching this film, it just happened cause a friend recommended it. Little did I know I was about to watch a balls to the wall, exploitation slaughterfest B-Movie that was some of the most fun I've had watching a film in a long time. Everything in this film is over the top, with a nonsensical plot, obviously bad effects, but so much damn passion, violence and cheese behind it that every other second I was laughing at the absolute tongue-in-cheek nature of the whole thing. Judging from it's critical reception the general consensus seems to be the film doesn't have the initial surprise the first one had and is mostly doing the same thing, just longer and bigger. Which is probably a fair argument, I have never seen the first one so the shock value was obviously not lost on me, though I will agree somewhere around the end of the 2nd act the film starts to lose momentum, but thankfully picks it back up for the climax. If you're a fan of films like Black Dynamite then I could definitely see this being your type of thing, it was just a ton of fun.

Set It Up
I'll be honest, so far this year has not been the best of years for movies, we're halfway through and I can think of maybe 2 films that I'd put on my top 10 of the year list. However, one that I saw that my thoughts of have only improved with time is Set It Up. A romantic comedy about two over-worked assistants trying to set-up their bosses so they can have time off and in the end of course fall for each other. In my mind, the first half of this film was excellent, the actors has superb chemistry, the dialogue was whitty and sincere, it had all the makings of being a great rom-com. Unfortunately it loses some of that charm in the second half where it tries to have its cake and eat it too, by making fun of rom-com cliches while also indulging in them at the same time. For example, it mocks the whole "Running to the airport" trope which after watching this film made me realise I have never legitimately seen that trope in film, just times when people have made fun of it. Then also it ends with a cliche speech of love, with violin music swelling as the crescendo hits with a kiss (Because that's not cliched at all). It's not too painful to watch as the jokes are still funny even when the romance is no longer endearing. But now, having several weeks to sit on it, I find myself remembering the parts I enjoyed more and more, and the parts that bothered me less and less. Most likely due to the charming performance given Zoey Deutch who is a star in the making, as well as the great dialogue written by Katie Silberman, the film overall wins me over, especially after watching another Netflix Original Rom-Com shortly after this that was not nearly as well written or engrossing that just made me respect this film in hindsight just a little more.

Best Things of May 2018

Well, got all my coursework finally done, guess that means I have all the free time in the world to enjoy as many movies and videogames as I want...right?

God of War
A God of War game inspired by The Last of Us? Sure, I'm up for that. In a lot of ways God of War does things perfectly, in other ways it feels like it doesn't give enough. For the sake of trying to remain positive, let's discuss the good. This game is a technical marvel, the graphics are outstandingly beautiful, the sound design is excellent, the smallest of details given extra care, and of course the fact the whole game is one unbroken shot with no cutscenes or loading times makes it stand out like no other. The facial animations on Kratos show a wide range of emotions that games of the past couldn't get across, making the character more expressive, nuanced and interesting that ever before. The gameplay is a helluva lot of fun, a simple game mechanic like throwing an axe has somehow become an addiction to me, it was a great balance between challenging and fun throughout. Where I feel it doesn't give enough however is within the story. Now conceptually I think this is perfect, there's no revenge plot or desire to murder the gods, Kratos and his son Artreus want to take his dead mother's ashes to the highest peak and spread them in the wind. A goal that's small yet personal to the main characters that they'll go to endless lengths to achieve it. Where it goes wrong is that there are about a thousand detours stopping us from doing it "We made it! No wait, turns out we need to go here to achieve our goal!" "We made it again! No wait, turns out we need to go get this thing in order to achieve our goal!" There are multiple fake-outs and twists to drag this along, then it dares to end it on a cliffhanger telling us there is more to come. I understand you don't want to show your whole hand in the first play, but intentionally dragging out a story as long as possible then telling us there's more but "oops! we ran out of time!" feels like an unnecessary tease. If your main inspiration was The Last of Us, they didn't end the game at Autumn and say "Come back next time for the rest!". So yeah, plenty to love, plenty to be annoyed with, but overall I'd highly recommend it.

IT - Audiobook
I gotta be honest a big part of me is putting this on here just cause I finished the damn thing. At 44 hours, this is the longest audiobook I've ever listened to, and it took me 3 months to get through it all. I haven't had a book challenge like this since I read A Song of Ice & Fire in 6th form. In someways the length is a great aid to the book, Stephen King is able to write in such detail, create such a well defined world and characters, describing every emotion, every physical action, every aspect of every location, it's one of the best portraits ever painted in a book. It also allows for some of the more...obscure elements-let's say-to seem more plausible, because from a distance, while a fair portion of this book seems like utter nonsense, when you talk about it for long enough, eventually you get drawn in. However, the length is also a detriment to the book, because so many things get detail that frankly just don't need it (Take a shot every time an erection is mentioned), as well the fact that a fair portion of the book takes tangents or has bizarre and illogical decisions being made. I once heard it described as if the whole thing was written over a weekend on a giant coke binge and I have to agree, it doesn't even feel like an editor looked at the book, because a fair portion of it can definitely be cut out. There are so many things to discuss with this book that this is not the proper place to. On a final note I'll say Steven Weber, the narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job, probably the best performance I've heard on an audiobook, a story with this many characters, plotlines, emotions, he does a bang up job with all of them, the only let down with his performance I'd say is sadly Pennywise himself, who had somewhat of a rather generic monster voice in my opinion, but every other character he played with so much charisma and gave them all distinct voices and personalities, brilliant job. Would I recommend this? Probably, it's definitely a great book, but if you're like me and you own about 90 books that you still haven't read, perhaps go through some of those first.

Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Talk about a 180 on books, not only in tone but also pacing, I read through this damn thing in just 3 days, I don't think that's ever happened before! After Love, Simon made my April favourites, of course I wanted to check out the book and yes, both of which are very good. Which ones better? I'd argue they're equal. The film is certainly funnier, and I think the dramatic moments sting a little harder; but the book also better develops Simon & Blue's relationship over e-mails, as well as not forcing some 2nd act drama. The main reason why both book and film are so good however is prominent in both stories, the way it captures the feelings of being a male who is sexually attracted to other males. Moments like Simon going to a restaurant and hanging out with gay people for the first time, or when he finally gets to kiss Blue, they're all feelings that I (And I imagine most queer folk) can absolutely identify with, and they're moments the film doesn't have, absolutely making the book a worthwhile read if you saw and loved the film, just like I did.

Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days
The 4th book in the series and the upwards streak continues. The first of the series to continue directly from the prior book, this instalment acts more like an ovation of the characters we've met so far. Everyone's on call for this one, and each gets a moment to stand out and show why the characters are easily the strongest part of the series. The book's theme of consequences for past actions are prevalent for most of the ensemble, some of them try to face them head on at a chance for redemption, and others bury them as far as they can, only to make it worse in the long run. The main villain this time round is the centre piece of this theme, he seeks revenge on those who wronged him, and forms his own team of support villains from prior books, most of whom weren't exactly complex, but had entertaining personalities and powers to make them engaging, so having them all team up makes for the most compelling villain line-up so far in the series. On the other hand is still Valkyrie who everyone is trying to prevent from making the same mistakes they did in their youth, as signs of her going down darker and destructive paths is becoming all the more likely. My main issues with this book is that the set-ups for future instalments are not as well tied in as the prior book. China Sorrows for example, is missing from a huge chunk of the novel, and only has relevance during the first major story beat, and then for a "big secret" to be revealed, even though it has no effect on the current story. Likewise another character is introduced in the book who holds no weight to the story, only to commit an action at the very end when everything's wrapped up, just to then lead into the next book of the series. Frankly I think there was enough here that set-up future stories, mostly involving Valkyrie's powers and heritage that you really don't need to force in specific plot points that hold no merit to the story being told. But like I said, these books just keep getting better and better. The wit in the dialogue and intrigue in the magical world is consistently great between books, and the characters keep getting more developed and compelling with each instalment, combine that with being the first book in the series to have legitimately compelling villains, and I'd say you have a damn good book on your hands.

Best Things of April 2018

The further into Spring we go the less time I find myself having to enjoy escapist entertainment, either because of my Masters Degree, Quidditch Commitments or just general laziness, but hey, let's talk about what we can.

Love, Simon
Love, Simon became the film that pretty much every LGBT+ person fell in love with and I am one of those people. Not even necessarily because my own personal story is similar to Simon's in that many ways, but the way this film is able to perfectly tell it's story to make everyone empathise and understand, regardless of their sexual orientation. Considering the amount of LGBT people who worked on the film, you can tell it comes from a place of honesty and a large number of scenes stand out as being emotionally poignant. Combine that with legitimately funny writing along with talented actors who have great chemistry with each other, and you have the most heartwarming and enjoyable film of the month, and so far one of my favourites of the year.

Monster - Frozen Broadway Musical
I've always been a lover of Frozen ever since I first saw it in cinemas back in 2013 before it had any hype, and I'll still stand by it to this day as one of Disney's best films (And people need to learn the difference between overrated and over exposed). With that being said I never had that much interest in the Broadway show because just in general Broadway adaptations aren't really my thing, they're products I love translated into a different medium that I am almost never exposed. That being said Disney has released several of the new songs written for the show on YouTube and easily my favourite and obviously the new showstopper of Monster. A power ballad that analyses Elsa's inner turmoil and gives new context that the film never did. I can definitely see people comparing this to Let It Go, it's a big emotional number for Elsa that will get stuck in your ear the minute you hear it, and by god I have not stopped listening to it since.

The Box - Brooklyn Nine-Nine
After going on an insanely long hiatus (Of three months) Brooklyn Nine-Nine came back as strong as ever, that being said, the standout episode thus far is episode 14 'The Box', an episode that sees Jake & Holt spend the entire night interrogating one suspect, trying to get a confession out of him. Bottle episodes themselves are always difficult to pull off, they're the writers intentional limiting themselves by forcing character to stay in one location, yet B99 takes it a step farther and limits it to also only two of the main cast members, and somehow, they still turn out a funny, well-written, fast paced masterstroke of a bottle episode. Highlighting the amazing chemistry and dynamic between these two characters, while also giving guest star Sterling K Brown a chance to stretch his legs and show why he's such a talent, that he's able to create such a well defined character in just 20 minutes. Unfortunately, while the development between Jake & Holt's relationship is always lovely, I can't help but feel it comes with a lingering feeling that this might be our last Jake & Holt episode. Most of this season has felt like a somewhat pre-emptive goodbye, with each character progressing much more rapidly than in prior seasons. Rosa coming out, Jake & Amy getting engaged, Boyle now with a wife and kid, Amy & Holt both getting promotions. It's very much familiar of Community, another brilliant sitcom that somehow faltered in the ratings, putting it at risk of cancellation every season, and not wanting to leave things unsaid. Which sadly makes me nervous that they know something we don't, but on the brightside it means they're trying even harder to make sure the time we have left is as good as it can be.

Avengers: Infinity War
Of course this makes the list. It's the friggin Avengers. A film that's been built up for a decade (Well, 6 years, but a decade sounds neater). Though I think some of the praise for the film has been somewhat hyperbolic in terms of how ballsy it is, it's still nice to have a Marvel film that has some genuine stakes towards it, where I was legitimately fearing for people's lives. But that's not to take for granted the usual qualities you can praise for these films. Marvel films are so good at presenting action, comedy, special effects & performances to such a peak that it's easy to forget certain studios struggle to get even these right when Marvel makes it look so basic. This was never going to be an easy film to make and I can only imagine the planning that had to go into it, but boy did they do a bang up job at piecing this together. I'd recommend you go see it, but judging by the box office, you already have.

-Danny

Action Comics #1000 - Cheap Thoughts

I've thought a lot about how I want to open this piece. Talking about Superman and what he means to me, what he means to audiences, what he means to the comic industry, and what he means to society as a whole. A character that has been around for 80 years. A character that everyone knows simply from a look. A character that gets adapted a thousand times over, yet somehow was perfected from issue 1. Superman isn't a character that had to grow into his ideals, he's been them from his first ever story. Yet here we are, a thousand issues later, and what we get is half a dozen of DC's best writers telling the most basic of stories you could tell with the man..and somehow making each one a perfect representation of why Superman will always be important and iconic.

This comic isn't so much about what Superman is, but what he means to people, and what they mean to him. Several of the stories are just following ordinary citizens, with them discussing how their interactions with him, whether he saved their lives, helped redeem villains, or even inspired them to save someone else. Likewise whenever the story focuses on the Man of Steel, it's discussing how grateful he is to have had parents like Jonathan & Martha Kent, or how meeting just one good person can put him in a good mood for the whole day. My favourite story of the bunch was 'The Car' written by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner, Oliver Coipel with art by Alejandro Sanchez. Telling the story of the car owner that Superman smashed all the way back on the cover of Action Comics #1, which is not only a brilliant idea for a story, with some beautiful artwork and visual storytelling (The literal bird & plane panels were especially great). But the main reason is that it shows Superman has been perfect from issue 1, everything about how he's represented works in context of both then and now, he seems a lowly thug, stops him from committing crime, and then actually puts in the effort to learn about him, see what made him the way he is, and tries to help him. He doesn't turn him into the police or violently attack him, he talks to him, gives him advice and sometimes, that's all you need, someone to believe in you, and when that person is Superman, that can do wonders.

I don't even know what else to say about this, almost every story is perfect in someway, it's just telling all the reasons why Superman is as important as he is, every line of dialogue, every story just had me going "Yeah, I agree". The only story that I can say didn't do anything for me was of course the last one, because it's not a celebration of Superman, it's a prologue for Brian Michael Bendis' new run, which don't get me wrong, I'm excited for (Though it means losing Peter J Tomasi so that saddens me), and of course they were going to advertise it in the biggest Superman book of the year, but I just wish this book can have been just celebrating Superman. The story itself wasn't bad, just not what fitted this type of book.

In summary: Action Comics #1000 is just excellent, really really really excellent. If you love Superman, you'll love this book. It's as simple as that.

-Danny

Legends of Tomorrow 'The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly' - Finale Review

Because what other way could Legends of Tomorrow end their season? By having a giant stuffed teddy bear created by combining 6 ancient totems together in order to fight an immortal time demon...

This show is the absolute best and I will hear no words against it. I've made my feelings on why pretty clear over the course of this season, Legends is not afraid to go absolutely bonkers and just have as much fun as possible, it's everything you could want in a comic book adventure series about a bunch of superheroes travelling through time. It's definitely the most fun out of all the superhero shows out there, but on top of that, it matches the scale needed to make it work, this finale felt like the most epic episode they could have had, with returning characters from the whole season, a big brawl between sides, and ending it in a giant CGI fight. Even though the humour and silliness of the whole show is certainly it's main appeal, it never skimps out on the dramatic moments as well, however, I would argue that they were the weaker parts of this particular finale. Firstly with the killing of Rip Hunter, a main character, the one who brought the Legends together in the first place, killing him off at the very beginning of the episode with no build up, a weak execution (Why didn't Mallus just fly away?) and after struggling to give him a purpose this whole season, it felt like a cheap way to get rid of a character they didn't know what to do with. Then in the end with Amaya finally leaving, again, something we all knew was going to happen eventually and was referenced in several episodes this season, somehow feels rushed from how little it tied in with this specific story.

I remember when the first season came out my main issue with it was the show's lack of identity, then came along the second season where they fixed that by deciding "hey, we should be the wacky fun show!" and this season hasn't really done much to change that, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's hard to say this was my favourite DC show of the year seeing as the rest of the shows haven't finished yet, but frankly I can't think of another show that can match it. Without a doubt this has been the most fun with the most consistent quality out of all the shows. An ensemble series where the cast have the best chemistry out of all the shows, with solid character development, creative plots, decent effects, but like I've already said, it's fun, it's so much fun, it's so silly, it is so absolutely it's own thing and I love and respect that. Oh, also the great LGBT+ representation that most of television already struggles with, let alone superhero shows and this series makes it look easy, always a bonus.

Now as for best & worst episodes of the season...

The worst episode would have to be Amazing Grace for simply lacking any kind of stakes or drama, and when your plot involves "Elvis accidentally summoning ghosts" and it's somehow boring then you know you've messed up somewhere.

The best episode however I would say Welcome to the Jungle for being the episode that in my opinion perfectly balanced good drama & character development with the goofy sci-fi nature we expect from the series. Mick's relationship with his father got explored and it's something that has never really been addressed, and we also got an appearance from Gorilla Grodd...which is always awesome.

I give the season 3 finale of Legends of Tomorrow an 8/10.

I give the season as a whole...also an 8/10.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #42

Legends of Tomorrow 'Guest Starring John Noble' Review
Well that episode was all over the place...but kinda in a good way. I'm starting to understand why they gave it such a meta title because really there's no one plot to focus on, if anything this feels like three episodes all shoved together, but all of them are equally good. We've got Grodd, an evil psychic gorilla travel back in time to kill a young Barack Obama, and honestly that one sentence is the most Legends of Tomorrow thing that can be said, it's insane, it's goofy and it's fun as all hell. Then we have Amaya going back to save her village, leading to some good character development for her and Nata, also makes me think this might be Amaya's last season. Then finally we have Damien Darhk working with the Legends to prevent Mallus from escaping, giving us a lot of plot development. Three good plots achieving three different things, unfortunately each one is far too short to leave the impact it should do. The Obama stuff is fun but far too short, Damien's sudden but inevitable betrayal happens too fast, and Amaya's stuff...actually turned out pretty well, but to be fair they've been building it up all season. Some other things worth pointing out: I don't know why but I find it hilarious that Mick is a fan of Lord of the Rings, the cgi and fight during the Esi/Grodd throwdown was awful, yet again Wally is still getting underutilised because really the dude could solve all these problems in a literal millisecond. 7/10.

Black Lightning 'Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion' Review
Guys, seriously, you're really pushing it with the whole no one knows Jefferson is Black Lightning thing. His disguise is a terrible disguise that we only accept because superhero logic, when you draw attention to it, it makes it worse. At least this episode created someone of a loophole for them, people seeing Black Lightning when Jefferson is clearly in a different location so they can somewhat get away with it. But when your show specifically points out all the very obvious evidence to suggest Jefferson is Black Lightning, it means you're just not trying hard enough to hide it. Some positives on the other hand, it's nice seeing Henderson get some more development outside of just being the cop friend of Black Lightning. Well, technically it is still around him being a cop, but actually developing him into doing some actual police work and coming into his own obstacles. Also the Gambi/Jefferson relationship seems to have finally been repaired. And apparently Jefferson's Vice-Principal is an important character, even though she's been completely irrelevant for the entirety of the season until now. Meanwhile Tobias is nowhere to be seen and Lala is still completely separate from everyone else without his resurrection being close to explained. There are only two episodes left of the season and I am starting to doubt if everything will actually get resolved by the end of it, especially when very little of this episode seemed to have consequence, except that Henderson is now Deputy Chief (Why do we care?) and the Gambi relationship is restored, even if it had very little to do with this episode. 5/10.

Arrow 'Brothers In Arms' Review
How could an episode with so much emotional weight feel so boring? Yes, Arrow has had emotionally gripping storytelling wrapped in formulaic plots before, so why didn't it work this time? The debate between Oliver and Diggle has been building up for a while now, hell, you could argue all season, and it finally reached breaking point here, and the scene itself was really damn good. Both sides had solid arguments, the actors were giving 100%, even the way it was shot gave it peak tension and drama, but my god, I just didn't care at all. Perhaps it's because the rest of the episode building up to it was generic, maybe it's because I'm sick of all the arguments over "Oliver doesn't trust people" which has been done dozens of times, maybe it's because this season's main plot isn't even that interesting, or maybe it's a mixture of all three and more. Even if the one scene was really good, it's hard to care all too much when everything around it is just simply dull, even Diggle leaving the team I seriously doubt will last long. 5/10.

Best Things March 2018

Can I just include Persona 5 again? Cause that took up the better half of the month yet again. No? Okay.

The Good Place
The Good Place is an American sitcom following Eleanor Shellstrop, a woman who dies and goes to 'The Good Place' even though she's actually a terrible person and was meant to go to The Bad Place. I binged watched the first 2 seasons on Netflix and I very much enjoyed it. The series was created by Michael Shur, the creator of Parks & Recreations and it definitely has that same style of humour. It's a very non-offensive series with a diverse cast that could appeal to everyone, but they still get a lot of great jokes out of the creative setting, as well as giving the actors plenty of room to improvise-in particular D'Arcy Carden who plays Janet, someone with godlike powers, the personality of a robot servant and is the funniest character in the show (In my opinion). While the series isn't necessarily laugh out loud, and I find some of the character development to be forced, it is very much the type of enjoyable show that you can have on after a long day and just want to unwind.


The Unbelievable Gwenpool
Alright, this isn't really something new I experienced in March, and the series technically ended on 28th February, but I saw someone on Twitter insult Gwenpool just because of the concept, so I just wanted an excuse to talk about why Gwenpool is amazing. The Unbelievable Gwenpool is a 25 issue comic series following a character named Gwen Poole, a teenage girl from our universe who somehow gets transported to the Marvel Universe, being a huge fan of Marvel comics means she knows the basics of how everything works, knows everyone's identities and is capable of breaking the fourth wall. At first she tries to become a hero (Because if you wanna survive in the Marvel world, ya gotta be in a costume) but through a series of wacky hi-jinx she ends up a villain. Throughout the 25 issues we see her bounce back and forth between multiple heroes and villains, and unlike a lot of Marvel comic series, we actually get to see proper character development for both her and her supporting cast, as she becomes more accustomed to the ways of living in a world of superheroes, eventually reaching a lot of inner conflict between her place both in the real world vs the Marvel world, and her place as a hero or a villain. The book is hilarious and isn't over the top with its 4th wall breaking like something like Deadpool, which even the book describes as being a little too "lol memes". The artwork by Gurihiru gives it a manga style, making it cute while not taking away from the action. Unlike most Marvel books this one actually got a satisfactory conclusion and made me hope the character actually stays gone, because in the hands of any writer apart from Christopher Hastings, I worry if it'll even be the same character. So to that one rando on Twitter and anyone who judged Gwenpool based on her name (Even though she has nothing to do with Gwen Stacy or Deadpool), just know you're missing out on a really excellent book here.

Paddington 2
Again, I'm cheating with this one, as I saw Paddington 2 in cinemas back in November, but I didn't get a chance to talk about it, now that it's out on blu-ray here in the UK, I think it's a good enough reason to put it in here. Paddington 2 is a perfect family film; it's absurdly precious, has plenty of humour and is visually creative. It's able to subtly establish elements in its first act, passing them off as charming character quirks that then pay off in the third act without feeling forced or obvious, the humour is mature yet simple, never downgrading itself to pander to its audience, but most of all what makes this film as good as it is, is it's heart. Paddington 2 is as sweet and honest as a film can be, it wears its emotions on its sleeves, never compromising or feeling embarrassed to be genuine, the film's main thought "If we're kind and polite the world will be right" is told with such affection that even the biggest sour puss won't be able to help but be charmed by the film's message and characters. There's far too many things about the film to compliment, I didn't even get a chance to discuss the cast, the action, the music, etc. Just know that this is a film that I feel comfortable recommending to everyone of any age, and should be viewed by everyone if they wish to see what pure joy is like when placed on screen (Also see the first one if you haven't, it's really good).

My Favourite Films - The Graduate

The 1960s is often viewed as a revolutionary time for cinema. The Golden Age had died out and most of its stars were losing their appeal. The rise of television created the first real competition for films and was considered "The Death of Cinema" (Good call on that!). It was a time where the old talent was being brushed out to make way for the new, the young, the experimental. While The Golden Age introduced many of the storytelling elements we still use today, a lot of the films themselves seemed rather conservative, safe, and eventually audiences were getting tired of it. The 60s saw the birth of Bonnie & Clyde, Easy Rider, 2001: A Space Odyssey, films that were rebellious, liberal and pioneering in ways they weren't before. It also saw one of the earliest (And to this day best) examples of the Coming of Age film, The Graduate (1967).

I say "one of" because one could argue Rebel Without A Cause would count as a coming of age film, I'm not inclined to disagree, but when I think of the standards and conventions expected of the genre, I usually think of The Graduate being the one that formed them. Also while Rebel is without a doubt a fantastic film-and may one day be talked about in this series-it's not so much a story I think people love because they identify with, it's a character piece about an individual who is forced into a stereotype and a critique on the failings of the prior generation (Okay, maybe we do relate to it a little), and it certainly opened the gates for The Graduate to exist.

*Spoilers Ahead*

The Graduate follows the story of Ben Braddock, a recent college graduate who is now left with one simple question "What next?" it's a question everyone asks him, everyone expects him to have a plan and go on to do something big, the problem is: He has no idea. He spends the majority of his summer seemingly ignoring the problem, focusing on other unimportant and even deplorable things, such as starting an affair with a much older woman, and after breaking it off, dating her daughter.

I've said in the past that for a coming of age film to work, you have to identify with the character's specific problems, which is incredibly difficult to do because every teenager goes through different problems depending on things such as personal identity, social status, popularity; meaning to have a character you identify with means alienating a large audience that didn't go through the same struggles you/the character did. Note: This is why The Breakfast Club works so well, it doesn't have one specific character, it has five, so chances are you will relate to one of them. The Graduate is the exception to the rule, there's nothing unique about Ben, nothing about him to make him standout from the rest, but chances are you either are, are going to, or will have gone through exactly what he is going through-hell, I'm going through it right now. Finishing University and having absolutely no idea where you go from here. It's a confusing time of our lives, we're technically adults, about to enter "The Real World" yet we still feel like children, these people who are supposed to be our peers are still light years ahead of us in maturity, along with the added pressure of everyone expecting you to have the next 60 years of your life figured out, it's easy to see why Ben regresses into such immature and poorly thought out scenarios.

There are very few people Ben's age in the film, his relationship with Mrs Robinson is very clearly not one of equal ground, it's uncomfortable and feels like a grown woman grooming a boy. Yet his relationship with Elaine Robinson-a woman his own age-isn't any better, it doesn't feel like two young adults, but rather two teenagers who's entire relationship is basically an act of defiance, a chance to rebel and embrace young love even if it's against their parents' wishes. The final shot of the movie basically confirms this, the two proclaiming they're in love, having a dramatic 'crash the wedding' scene, and then ends with them realising their actions have not been well thought out and and probably going to make them suffer in the long run.

Granted, I'm not saying everyone will end up like Ben, making horrible decisions and risk ruining their life, but the idea of returning to your teenage ways certainly is a lot more comforting, especially with the little consequences young love can lead to.

Also I'd be remiss to not mention the soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkle, it's fantastic, iconic and features songs that are still beloved to this day, even if the internet slightly ruins 'Sound of Silence' by playing it all the time.

In Summary, The Graduate is fantastic because it's timeless. It's somehow a film that helped define a generation of filmmaking, while still remaining relevant for modern audiences. People can connect to it, laugh with it, sing to it, and in the end remind you of that pit in your stomach as you still don't have the answers to the question "What next?". Just as long as you don't crash any weddings, you should be fine.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #42

Legends of Tomorrow 'I, Ava' Review
The advantages of a show like this with a big ensemble means that they can do these kind of stories, where the team splits off into several groups and goes on their own adventures, some dramatic, some funny, all character based. The A-Plot sees Sara learn about Ava's mysterious backstory - oh, and Ray is there because he needed something to do - Nate & Amaya try to redeem her granddaughter and fight of Damien Darhk & Nora - oh, and Wally's there because he needed something to do - and finally Zari has to teach Mick how to use his totem. This final one is probably my favourite of the three, mostly because every character has is used, each scene has a purpose, and the relationship between the two is finally developed. Mick & Zari definitely make a great combo, they're both stubborn, relaxed and independent individuals and both are now Totem Bearers. This episode just got to see their personalities bounce off of each other and by the end of it they have a better understanding of one another, it's a simple yet effective story. Nate & Amaya's story is also engaging because it further addresses the issue that the two simply can't stay together as Amaya has a pre-written destiny, and now she seems dedicated to fixing it. Strangly the main plot of the episode was the one I was least invested in, I'm not sure if it's because I'm not too invested in Sara & Ava's relationship or I can't tell if Gary is funny or annoying, or even just small nitpicks like Ray hacking a government computer even though he's a physicist not a computer science wiz. Most likely a mixture of all three, which thankfully means no major complaint to be had about the episode, just a bunch of small ones. I'll give it a 7/10.

Black Lightning 'Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption' Review
Is it me or has the show someone completely switched plots? Or at the very least lost focus on one seemed like the main story. A month ago I was complimenting Tobias Whale for being the best thing about the show, and now it feels like he's barely in it. The only plotline that was established from the beginning that has maintained momentum is Gambi's secret, which I will give it credit for being a very well told story. The initial mystery was engaging, Jefferson's reaction was understandable, and now the rebuilding of their relationship from Gambi's sacrifice was dramatic and well done. However when it comes to the villains, it seems as though Tobias has been dropped for this plot of Lala coming back to life, and I'm sure they'll tie together in the end eventually, but considering the last time we saw Tobias was his sister - the one person he loved - dying in front of him, that should have been the peak of his fury, and now he's just dropped off the face of the Earth. Furthermore there's this government conspiracy of kids with superpowers being kept in stasis for 30 years, and this does not feel like it goes along with this season at all. The show started off being about Black Lightning trying to keep his city safe from crime and gangs, this has taken a huge jump and doesn't seem connected to the main plot at all, I'd argue it should have been saved for season two. Overall this is the first time I've felt the show has been inconsistent with it's pacing and story, which are the main things I've been praising it for. Each story is still good on their own, but they don't go together at all. 7/10.

Arrow 'The Thanatos Guild' Review
"Conflicting" is the word of the day kids. Not one thing in this episode did I like or dislike without a "but" being attached to it. The main plot of this episode very much felt like a return to form for season three but no one likes season three, it was the worst season and the League of Assassins is boring but it was character driven and the main plot of this season isn't exactly engaging but I am still glad they developed it in the B-Plot with Curtis & Dinah but I still think Dinah & Curtis aren't that interesting on their own. Honestly the most interesting thing about the B-Plot of the episode was Curtis asking out that police officer, because that was entirely a character growth moment and that's always the best thing to focus on. It also made me realise that they really have kept Malcolm Merlyn dead for nearly the entire season. I still don't think he'll ever be really dead because superhero show ya'know, but still, props for upholding his death for near an entire season. Finally the main motivation behind this episode is to give Thea & Roy a proper send off. A big part of me wishes that they could have just given them the happy ending, driving off into the sunset. But (Last one) at least this means that they can come back at some point after having their own adventure which we can only hope that'll lead to something good. Oh, and Roy was wearing a trucker hat, nice touch. 7/10.

Tomb Raider Vs Tomb Raider

Neither Tomb Raider films are very good. I think both of them are fine, which in the grand scheme of videogame movies practically make them masterpieces. Yet I can't stop thinking about the two and comparing them, as both are wildly different interpretations of the iconic character of Lara Croft, yet they also share a decent number of similarities. So which one is truly better, and is there any merit to either of them? Let's discuss.

*Spoilers Ahead*

The first thing to consider is simply the timing of these films, and how that changed the production of them. The 2001 film was released back when the videogames were still an over the top, fantastical, overtly sexual adventure series. Meanwhile in the world of blockbusters it was filled with simplistic Indiana Jones inspired family adventure films with little logic but a lot of charm (Think The Mummy/National Treasure type scenario). Because of this, the film really doesn't put all too much focus in developing things such as plot or characters, but is just trying to be an extreme and stylish action flick, filled with impractical stunts, techno music and a heavy use of cgi & slo-mo. It's certainly got a lot of charm to it, if you can accept the tone of the film then it's easy to let go of most of the flaws, because there are tonnes of them, cliched characters, nonsensical story, dated cgi. Yet because that's not the focus and instead the focus is just on having cool stunts and badass one-liners, making everyone look as awesome as possible, even some of the more dated elements have somewhat of an endearing factor to them, ironically a movie all about uncovering relics of the past is a relic in itself of action movies of the early 2000s.

Meanwhile the reboot film is coming from a different background, taking more so from the 2013 reboot of the franchise (Even repeating several major plot points), this is a story more grounded and brutal, showing the birth of what would become Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, rather than highlighting her in her prime. Toning down the goofiness & sexiness, and replacing it with more brutality and emotion, the film is basically the polar opposite of it's predecessor, meaning both its pros and cons are also switched.

Let's compare two scenes in both films that are very similar, Lara Croft coming face to face with her father for the first time in years. Both scenes are supposed to be emotionally heavy, yet because the original film didn't spend any time showing the vulnerability of Lara, or even that great a range of emotions, the moment feels completely hollow. However in the remake, the relationship between Lara and her father is the core of the film, and the majority of the movie up to this point is about exploring their relationship and how Lara never gave up on finding him, making it quite an effective scene.

On the other hand, because the first film is just a simple adventure film, it can get away with having stock characters or scenes seeing as they're just there to help progress things along, meaning everyone is easy to understand and their relationships are more clear. The new film, trying to be more realistic, whenever it fails to develop something in greater detail, it suddenly stands out more than it would in the other film. Take the supporting cast for example, the original film doesn't explain to us how these people became friends with Lara, but they give them such energetic personalities and play off of each other really well, that you just accept it. However the new one, trying to be more realistic, needs to give us a stronger reason to believe the relationships these people (Okay, one person) would be so dedicated to Lara, and you just don't get it.

Then there is Lara herself, yet again, two very different characters, but I'd argue both equally compelling. The Angelina Jolie one somehow has one of the thinnest, yet also most engaging motivations behind what she does - She's just an adrenaline junkie. She doesn't do it for the knowledge, the glory or the money, she does it all just because she's good at it, and gets a kick out of it. After all, this is a woman who regularly trains against giant killer robots just because she can. Honestly...I can't think of any other film like this that does that, it's so simple and could so easily be seen as lazy, but the fact that it's so rarely done, it's surprisingly refreshing. The downside of this is that because she's like this, she's too good at what she does, at no point does the danger ever seem too much, or that she isn't constantly on top of things, she always seems to be the smartest, toughest and most in control person in the room. This type of character certainly can lead to a lot of cool action and one-liners, but not necessarily an engaging protagonist.

Then there is Alicia Vikander, who has a much better defined motivation (Finding her father), has a clear arc throughout the film, and still gets a lot of well done action scenes, without ever ruining the tension. For example, her first scene in the film is her losing an MMA match, and later on in the film we see her get in a fight similar to this, where she learns from her mistake the first time round and winning the fight. This is a Lara that's allowed to be vulnerable, we see her get beaten down and be emotionally honest, meaning we connect to her more and get excited to see her overcome obstacles and grow as a character.

It's hard to say which one is better, it really depends on what you prefer, the perfect badass who you want to be, or the stubborn survivalist you relate to. Personally I would say I have a preference for the Vikander version, seeing how broken a character can get just makes them more engaging to watch and root for, someone who never screws up loses my interesting rather quickly. But which film is better? Honestly it could go either way. Again, neither of these are great films, I'd say they're decent at best, but even decent films can still strike up an interesting debate, and this is one that I'd say I've had fun thinking about, even if I didn't come to any sort of conclusion, but comparing movies doesn't have to be about definitely deciding one film is better than the other, just seeing how two films can interpret the same source material differently.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #41

Wow, only two DC Shows to talk about this week. CW has always had weird scheduling, but this is quite in consistent and confusing, certainly makes these reviews harder to keep track of.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Necromancing The Stone' Review
Well hey, guess John Constantine had more to offer than just a one episode stint. Unfortunately I'd say this is a waste of a Constantine usage. Don't get me wrong, Matt Ryan is amazing as always, it's just that now that it's been announced he'll be joining the show as a series regular next season, I'd say there are other things that could have been done with him. What we got felt far too similar to his prior appearance, I'd have liked to see him interact with other members of the crew and create a rapport with them, establish more of his dynamic amongst the crew. We've seen him with Sara and Mallus before, and I feel the main plot of the episode didn't need him, Ava & Mick could have taken down Demon Sara without him. Speaking of, let's actually discuss Demon Sara, a story that allowed for more development for one of the main characters who so far this season has seemed emotionally in control of everything, also allowing the show to play around with tone and attempt a more horror-themed episode. Whether it worked or not being a horror episode is dubious, but no one expected the show to be capable of going full horror, it still gets points for effort. 7/10.

Black Lightning 'The Book of Little Black Lies' Review
Now this is more of what I would have expected behind the whole 'finding out your loved one had powers' storyline. Jennifer learning the truth about her family and of course is very upset, but they actually make it more interesting here. The focus isn't just on the family lying to her, but it's also on her new found responsibilities. Jennifer doesn't want to become a superhero, she wants to be normal, and now with powers, whether she uses them or not, it has severely stricken her chances of just being normal. I also appreciate the fact that every member of the family has a different conversation with her, showing different perspectives. Something I haven't praised this show for is how natural a lot of the dialogue is, characters talk like real people, meanwhile in other DC Shows whenever people sit down to have a dramatic conversation, the whole thing always feels staged. I think the best way to enjoy this show is to focus on the familiar elements reflecting reality, because they really are the stand out moments. Jefferson as a principal and as a father are far more interesting than Black Lightning as a superhero, so an episode that mostly focuses on those aspects often means a better episode overall. Unfortunately those superhero fight scenes are still here, and they're not getting any better. Thankfully they weren't the focus of this episode so they didn't drag it down too much. 7/10.

DC TV Weekly #40

The Flash 'Run, Iris, Run' Review
These past two episodes have been perfect examples of how to do filler episodes well and how to do them poorly. Last week's filler was creative and against formula, this week's filler is just that, filler. A random meta with generic fire powers tries to rob a bank...without a mask...in the city with the Flash...dumbass. However there's another bus meta who can take people's powers, and at first he seems to want to help people, but then he holds Iris hostage and runs away...for no reason. Then another guy gets the powers and instantly goes into crime because apparently everyone is evil. For nothing else at least they addressed an issue I've had since season one, that being Iris' uselessness. I'm not convinced they've fixed that issue in the long run, but having at least one episode of her being physically active is nice, plus the purple lightning made for a nice change of effect to look at. Then there's the subplot of Harry trying to recreate DeVoe's experiment and everyone except Cisco is totally up for it, even though Cisco has a very reasonable argument that it was this same experiment that turned DeVoe from a smart pacifist to an evil genius, and they give no reason to why the same won't happen to Harry...speaking of this subplot, it also contained the line "Have you not seen Spider-Man 2?" which means Marvel movies exist in this universe, except in the first Sam Raimi movie they reference Superman, who is canon in DC Television and this creates one heck of a paradox that I'm obviously thinking way too deep into but this episode as a whole was kinda meh and that's one stuck out to me the most and now I'm just babbling. 5/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'Amazing Grace' Review
Perhaps Legends has just gone so far down the path of weird & wonderful that an episode all about Elvis having the power to summon ghosts with the power of music seems rather underwhelming by their standards. Not that there's anything wrong with the concept, more so the execution. At no point in this episode did there actually feel like there were any stakes, no villains, no tough obstacles, if the characters used their powers even once then any "problem" would disappear in an instant. Elvis didn't push back against the Legends, the ghosts didn't turn out to cause any problem, there was nothing, because of that, this whole episode just felt hollow. The closest I got to caring about anything was Axel the rat, and when I find myself caring more about the rat than any of the actual characters on the show, I think we can sum it up as a dud. Nothing bad about it per se, but nothing good either. 5/10.

Black Lightning 'The Book of Revelations' Review
And we're back to everything the way it always was, where everything is simply decent, mostly the plot progression. Jennifer's powers are starting to activate, but we all knew that was going to happen eventually, it's another case where there are certain story beats it has to hit before it can get interesting, but I'm glad they got through most of them in this one episode. That's another positive I can say about Black Lightning, it knows when it has to deal with specific story tropes that most superhero shows go through, so it tries to rush through them as quickly as possible to get to the good stuff. For example, Anissa is already going out on missions as Thunder, because wasting time with Jefferson saying no when we all know it's gonna happen eventually is boring, they dealt with it last episode and now they're just acting like a superhero duo. Then there is Gambi admitting his history to Jefferson and of course he's pissed and I'm excited for where that's gonna go. So yeah, good balance between advancing already established storylines and establishing entirely new ones with Jennifer and Lala. 7/10.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - Trailer Review

It's been a long time since I've reviewed a trailer, mostly because it's been a long time since I've seen a trailer that gave me a longer thought than "That looks good" or "That looks shit". However, a trailer for a new film in the Harry Potter Franchise is never going to be "just a trailer", seeing as my love for Harry Potter is practically unrivalled, that being said, this trailer gives me some pause. Fantastic Beats & Where To Find Them was a film I very much enjoyed, there were even parts of it that I loved, and those parts were whenever the film was doing something new. The location, the creatures, Jacob Kowalski, Queenie Goldstein, all things that we had never seen before in Harry Potter, and thus were the most enjoyable parts for me because they expanded on the world and differentiated themselves from the other films. My least favourite parts of the film is whenever it felt the need to reference or repeat elements from the Harry Potter films, those were the moments where the film felt rather doubtful of itself and needed to fall back on already established elements as a safety net. This trailer suggests that this film is going even further back, returning to Hogwarts, making Dumbledore a main character, and telling a story that was already told in Deathly Hallows. Not told in great detail mind you, but it wasn't really a tale that needed detail, it was fine as it is.

I realised after watching it that every bit of news to come out about this film has been slightly disheartening for me, Dumbeldore's sexuality not going to be addressed, the casting of Johnny Depp, David Yates remaining on as a director, none of it being things to raise my confidence in the film. That being said, I am still very much looking forward to this film, and while I may complain about now, I know that as soon as I see Hogwarts back on the big screen, I'm going to turn into a pile of mush, because it's like Rowling said: “Whether you come back by page or by the big screen, Hogwarts will always be there to welcome you home.”.

Also, here are some smaller observations I noticed about the trailer:

-I really don't like how they're downplaying the costumes and general aesthetics of the wizarding world, Dumbledore is for some reason wearing suits instead of robes.

-Rebranding it under the 'Wizarding World' Franchise is probably a good move, calling it the Harry Potter franchise is a bit odd when he hasn't been in one of these films for 7 years.

-That one shot of Newt and Dumbledore throwing their wands to the ground looked really cool.

-The music at the title screen sounded like the theme to The Avengers.

-Danny

DC TV Weekly #39

The Flash 'Enter Flashtime' Review
Well I'll be, last week I complain about Flash being so blandly average, and the very next episode they bring in the most inventive and original episodes the show has ever done. Barry stuck in Flash-Time and one by one dragging in everyone else to try and stop a nuclear bomb as it's exploding. Right from the start you could tell this episode was different, beginning in-media-res to establish the tension by showing Barry at his most desperate, and from there the rest of the episode is formula breaking in more than one regard, even down to the cinematography had a very distinct style to it, the go-pro pen shots, the focus on the glass shaking during the climactic moments, the beautiful cgi on the Speed Force, also having three speedsters all working together and trying to solve a problem through science rather than fighting it. It also gave Grant Gustin a chance to act his butt off, the man has shown time and time again how talented an actor he is, and he really got to show off here. Also just a small moment but I really want to mention it is when Jesse first shows up and Barry says "Wally's not here" was a perfect comedic moment, the way it was shot to have Barry obscured from view, to Gustin's delivery, really was as well executed the small joke could have been. This is why this episode sticks out to me, everything feels like it just had a little more effort put into it than would have been expected. From the writing, to the acting, to the directing, everyone seemed to dedicate just more energy to this one episode than everything else they've done this season. I've been looking back on my reviews of the season so far and it upsets me how many "meh" reviews that I've had to give this year, even the stand out episodes upon further reflection only stand out in comparison to the rest of the season. This is the first episode that I can say is truly outstanding, one of the best the show has ever done. 9/10 (Very tempted to give it a 10/10, but I'm gonna hold back for now, see how I feel later.).

Legends of Tomorrow 'No Country For Old Dads' Review
Hm, apparently it's the trend of the week for DC shows to be trying something new. A whole episode dedicated to Ray, the kindest and most gullible of the Legends being held prisoner forced to work alongside Damian and Nora, and by the end he actually sees a possibility of redemption within her. Not gonna lie, I really enjoyed their interactions, seeing Ray empathise with Nora's situation, and getting some actual solid development between Damian & Nora's relationship, though the show seems to forget Damian did have another family in Arrow that he doesn't seem to care about, but we'd all like to pretend that season existed. While I may complain that Damian as a villain has been overplayed at this point, but my god Neal McDonough is just having so much fun in the role I can't help but be entertained by him, even something as dumb as a "Hi Annoyed, I'm Dad" joke. The rest of the Legends didn't really get that much to do in this episode, but a part of me actually likes that, it gave them plenty of more time to focus on Ray and the villains, and like I already said, the three of them play off of each other so well that they were able to hold attention for the majority of the episode. Also Wally's officially joined the team and looks like Grodd's returning next episode, yippee! 7/10.

Black Lightning 'Equinox: The Book of Fate' Review
Boy howdy was I ready to give this episode a negative review, heck, I was even excited for just so that I had something new to talk about with this show, but then gosh darn it did they do a 180 on me in the final act of the episode. Let's start from the top. For the majority of this episode all I could think was "boring" and it's not even the show's fault for some of it. The conversations between Anissa and Jefferson about him being a superhero and she wants to team up but of course he doesn't want it to happen, it's dull, it's predictable, but it has to happen because of course those are the conversations you have in a story like this, it's just the fact that we all know they're going to get to that place eventually, I just wish there was a way to skip all the meandering. Then there was the ending, with so much plot progression occuring in such a short span of time, Tobias' sister is killed, Lady Eve is killed and Black Lightning framed for it, and then Lala coming back to life, boy howdy was I more invested in those final few minutes than the rest of the episode combined. I'm glad the episode at least ended on a high because it meant my feeling as a whole came out positive, but it certainly dragged it's feet getting there. 6/10.

Arrow 'Doppelganger' Review
So Roy's back, that's pretty neat. Apparently he's back for several episodes, that's super neat. It also seems this is the show's way of writing Thea out for good, that's less neat, but also makes sense, Thea was missing for a chunk of the season near the beginning, it makes sense that they might send her off soon, and if she goes away with Roy then at least they both get a happy ending. Speaking of the early parts of the season, it's amazing how many storylines I completely forgot about (and seemingly the show did as well) that are now being addressed. Ollie's trial, Rene's daughter, the fact that Ollie being the Green Arrow was supposed to be a temporary thing. This season as a whole has felt rather unfocused, like the writers couldn't decide on what the main plot could be, so just threw everything to the wall to see what stuck, unfortunately multiple things stuck so they just decided to incorporate them all. And now there's a Ra's Al Ghul related sub-plot that's being set up...more than halfway through the season. Ah well, it's not like the "main" plot of the season takes up all that much time, might as well see if we get anything good from this one. This episode as a whole didn't offer much in terms of quality, but nothing that bad either, at least we got to see Roy again, which is nice, so I'll settle on a 6/10.

DC TV Weekly #38

The Flash 'Subject 9' Review
Well, at least they acknowledged the weirdness of DeVoe coming back, and even entertain the idea that DeVoe wasn't really there and it was just a metahuman trick...which it was. Yeah, Barry's still innocent, but I mean, they're not wrong. And this would conclude the section of the episode worth discussing. Sorry to say it, but the rest of the episode's main plot was just so incredibly paint by numbers I might actually believe a robot wrote this one. New meta shows up, Team Flash try to protect her, they fail; no new developments to the main plot, just that there needed to be 12 Metas and this one was just a placeholder. There were certainly attempts to make this more interesting, having Ralph develop feelings for the new meta is a good way to go at it, unfortunately the plot rushes through it so quickly that I do not even slightly believe they'd be this invested in each other, and so neither is the audience. I suppose the subplot between Harry and Cecile was somewhat entertaining and gave the two a unique storyline for them, but that's the B-Plot for a reason, they know it can't hold that much weight. I can't even argue that this is a bad episode, it's just so blandly average. 5/10.

Legends of Tomorrow 'The Curse of the Earth Totem' Review
I acknowledge this show isn't exactly accurate to real life history, hell, I should never expect it to be, that's not what it's there for. That being said, as a big fan of Blackbeard, I can't help but feel a bit miffed by their representation. Mostly because I'd say the real guy is far more interesting (Seriously, look him up), but hey, like I said that's not fair, I just wanted to get that off my chest. The episode for what it is, it's fine. We get more of Amaya and Mick's charming friendship as he tries to hype her up as the biggest and baddest pirate, we don't really talk much about how well these two work off each other, them as a pairing always makes for some of the best moments in the show. We also have Rip and Wally West off on their own adventure which includes drunk karaoke in 90s Japan, because why not. I really do think the move from Flash to Legends was the best move for Wally as a character, he was seriously being underused in the former show. But no matter what horrible events transpire with Blackbeard's pirate crew or Damien Darhk & daughter's mischief, the most crucial thing to the crew is that they don't ruin Sara & Ava's date, because of course that's the highest stakes in the show, it's just their style. 6/10.

Black Lightning 'Three Sevens: The Book of Thunder' Review
Either I haven't been paying enough attention or the show didn't establish it very well, but I had no idea Jefferson's kids didn't know he was Black Lightning, at no point did I realise that was a secret. Even though it is a secret, it continues one of the dumbest parts about the show, and that being HOW DOES NO ONE RECOGNISE EACH OTHER?! Those masks do absolutely nothing to hide their identity, I was willing to let it go for Black Lightning, but they really push their luck, especially with a father & daughter fighting and somehow not recognising each other, it's super dumb guys. I'm also mentioning this because I am seriously running out of things to say about this show, it's incredibly consistent in the good things staying good and the bad things staying bad, the story is moving at a decent pace, the mystery is there, the action still isn't that great, same thing week in-week out. 6/10.

Arrow 'Collision Course' Review
For an episode that actually had quite a bit happening, I'm struggling to think of things to discuss. The episode-as well as a large portion of this season as a whole-is the distrust between Team Arrow and team...not Arrow, and this episode was the boiling point for it, the two sides finally bashing heads in a fight where they don't hold back pulling out all the dirty tricks they need to in a very poorly shot action scene. Seriously, what is with this show's split between action and storytelling? It's like they know when an episode has a crap story so they put extra effort into the action, but when a story is actually good they decide to half arse the fight scenes? It was so dark I could barely make anything out. But let's focus on the positive there that this story was really well told, like I said they've built this up for a fair number of episodes now, with the distrust between the two growing bigger and bigger, tying it into the main plot of the series, creating genuine reasoning behind both sides, and not solving everything by the end.Their actions have consequences and no one came out of this episode a winner, no one got justice, the money wasn't returned, Rene is severely hurt and the two sides seem to hate each other. I'm sure everything will turn out alright in the end but for now I'm enjoying the restraint and damage the writers are showing with this story. 7/10.

Best Things of February 2018

Well, might not have as much to talk about as last time-not just because it's a shorter month-but because one thing in particular took up most of my time, nevertheless, let's talk about things.

Black Panther
Let's get the obvious one out of their way, because everyone & their mothers has already fallen in love with this film. While Black Panther is certainly a quality film, with brilliant characters, music & visuals (Minus some cgi backgrounds) the film has instantly become iconic as a cultural milestone. It's representation of African culture and Black heritage makes it possibly the most important film Marvel has ever made, and seeing the impact it has on people, inspiring children, making grown men & women burst out into tears, frankly, no one can take that away from them, getting that kind of genuine reaction out of people is the best thing a film can strive for, and Black Panther achieved it in strides.


The Shape of Water
Despite coming out late last year for America, it took until February for those of us in the UK to finally see Guillermo Del Toro's latest film, and I have been dying to see it since it was first announced seeing as Del Toro is one of my all-time favourite directors, and it was absolutely beautiful. Like every Del Toro film the first compliment to talk about is the absolute visual treat that is the film, everything from the cinematography to the costume design of the Amphibious Man is absolutely stunning. One could argue this film has the simplest characters out of all Del Toro's filmography, the heroes are easy to root for as a group of outcast misfits with heavy prejudices against them, while the villains are easy to hate & fear because...they're Michael Shannon and he's just really fucking good at playing those type of characters. But I'd argue the film can get away with it as it already has one giant hurdle to overcome, making the audience believe a romance between a woman and a fish monster. Del Toro once said that he sees the beauty in horror, and this is probably the most literal example of that statement, taking the monster from an iconic horror film and turning him into a sympathetic romantic lead. The film takes this story with complete sincerity and in the hands of a lesser director it could have easily crashed and burned, but in the hands of a master like Del Toro, he of course makes it one of the most beautiful films both in story and in visuals that I have seen. An instant classic that I can gush over for years to come.

Persona 5
And now for the thing that took up the majority of my month. I was never really that interested in purchasing Persona 5, I had heard great things about the franchise-this game in particular-but it never really appealed to me. Then when I found out it was on sale for half off on the Playstation Network, I shrugged and thought "what the hell". Since then I have become addicted to this game in a way that I have not being addicted in years. A game that is near 100 hours long in gameplay and yet it so well paced, hours fly by without me even noticing, and I've not even finished by the way, at the time of writing I'm only about 45 hours in! The game has endearing and likeable characters, catchy music, and really fun gameplay. Though you will catch on to the formula rather quickly, and the further into the game you go I find there's just so much to do and so little time, that just means I wish I had more time both in real life and in game to do everything possible. There have been nights where I can't sleep cause I'm thinking of playing the game, so I play the game and come morning when I have actual shit to do, I hate myself and the game for making me so addicted to it...then I go ahead and play some more. Frankly, I love this game so much I hate it, and I can't wait to finally finish it so my life can actually go back to normal and I start functioning like a real human being...but the only way to do that is to keep on playing it so, I'm gonna go back to playing it, bye!

-Danny