Wildwood Review: Laika’s Masterpiece.

Laika is the top stop-motion animation studio in the world.
I am sure most people would have heard of at least one of their films, among them ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and, of course, Coraline.
The latter is one of my favorite animated movies of all time, and definitely Laika’s best… or at least it was its best until recently.
I say this because I just got back from watching Laika’s latest film, Wildwood, and I would call it nothing less than an animated masterpiece.

If you are a fan of Laika or stop-motion in general, you need to see *Wildwood.*

Based off the novel by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis, I first became aware of Wildwood when the trailer was recommended to me.
I remember gawking at the quality of stop-motion, the likes of which I had not seen before.
This sent my hopes high and Wildwood not only surpassed but sometimes exceeded these expectations.
Directed by Travis Knight, the film follows the young and adventurous Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), along with her awkward classmate Curtis (Jacob Tremblay), who both travel into the magical Impassable Wilderness outside their town to rescue Prue’s baby brother Mac, after he is kidnapped by a murder of crows.

The premise of Prue saving her brother is very Labyrinth-esque, but the film quickly branches off into its own unique direction.

Quickly seperated, the two find themselves lost in a world of quarreling factions, bandits, talking animals, and one of animation’s greatest villains.
Whenever you think of the best animated villains, I am willing to bet the likes of Scar and Frollo cross your mind.
Well, I make the argument here that Alexandra (Carey Mulligan) more than deserves to stand alongside them in reception.
The Dowager Governess manages to be both threatening and tragic, along with the occasional touch of morbid humor.

It is not just her because every character of this expansive voice cast, whether they be human or animal, big or small, gets their moment to shine, with Mahershala Ali being another standout as the Bandit King, Brendan.
The humor accompanying these characters also gets a laugh.
As examples, there is the already mentioned morbid jokes of Alexandra, along with Prue attempting to bluff her way into identity fraud.
However, although there are plenty of lighthearted moments to be had with this movie, there is also a lot of maturity.
Make no mistake, this is not a children’s movie but a family movie.
This makes sense, since Laika also made Coraline, which I am sure inspired many a childhood nightmare.
But I remember my jaw dropping to the floor on multiple occasions at how far this animated movie went with the violence.

Moments like this have plenty of grim impact.

Granted, this is often through quick or faraway shots, but it leaves little to the imagination about what is happening when it comes to the brutality of certain moments.
Wildwood certainly earns its M rating, but I would not have it any other way.
It is rare to find animated family movies that have such a perfect balance between the light-hearted and the grim, and this all culminates in Wildwood’s glorious third act climax.
Back when I first watched the trailer, I was in awe at the promised stop-motion battle, and this final fight certainly eclipsed anything I have seen before.
While there may have been some CGI incorporated to make everything more seamless, it is almost indistinguishable and flows brilliantly.

The final battle needs to be seen to be believed.

The final encounter between our hero and antagonist left me on the edge of my seat, and I finished the movie with a big smile on my face that stayed there all the way through the credits, which I watched to the end.
That alone should state how much I loved Wildwood.
Its characters are both loveable and tragic, the stop-motion is the best in the buisness, and the third act is one of the greatest in any animated movie ever.
This is not only my favorite film of the year so far, but an obvious shoe in for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars.
Despite being such a renowned animation studio, however, Laika rarely seems to make its money back on the films they make.
So, I implore you, please go see Wildwood in theaters.
It is Laika’s magnum opus.

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, Halloween Special Review: Campfire Tales About Everyone’s Favorite Murderous Bear.

In between the first two volumes of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, writer and illustrator Patrick Horvath released a brief prologue revealing Sam’s first murder.
Now, in between volume two and the upcoming final volume, he has released the Halloween Special, where a group of Woodbrook teenagers gather around a campfire to tell scary stories about Samantha Strong.
Each of these stories are written and illustrated by other notable horror comic creators, creating a creepy anthology that shows how Sam has become mythologized since her explosive escape from Woodbrook.
Our four teenagers are Fiona, Riley, Sean and his older brother Nate, who take turns scaring each other throughout the story.
Although, this mostly light-hearted mockery means they quickly dismiss it when Riley hears a twig snap, something which will have grim consequences by the end.
The first to tell their story is Riley, and he spins a tale about his cousin’s friend Teeny, who learned that Sam was still in Woodbrook, skinning animals alive and wearing those skins to commit more grisly murders.
Yeah, this story is clearly fake since it is so far removed from Sam’s usual modus operandi.

It does make a disturbing image, though.

The next to tell their story is Sean, and I especially liked how his tale connected with the wild animal motif seen in the first two volumes.
Here, Sam is portrayed as a literal wild bear, rather than an anthropomorphic one, growling and roaring as she cuts through her victims with a chainsaw.
Once again, we know this story is not true because it violates one of Sam’s key rules; that being not to kill anyone in Woodbrook.
She only broke this rule when she was discovered.
Of the four stories, I would say this is my second favorite because of the way it ties into the themes of the original story.
That and the artwork is especially great, although that does make certain horrifying panels difficult to look at.

If Sam roared at me like this, I’d run a mile… not that it would do me any good.

Of the four scary stories, Nate’s is the most outlandish.
In his version of events, Sam did not kill for her own twisted reasons but because she was serving an evil cult.
Being overly complicated while reducing Sam’s role in the story, Nate’s tale is definitely my least favorite.
That being said, there are a few interesting cameos, like Chip appearing as an undead fox being controlled by the cult, so there is that.
Following his story, Nate storms off after being scared by Fiona, giving her the time to tell my favorite story of the Halloween Special… and the only true one.
Fiona’s father is revealed to be a mortician, who prepared the bodies of Nigel’s victims for their funerals.
In a stunning case of parental negligence, he left the door to his mortuary open, allowing Fiona to sneak in and see the horrific remains of Cherry Gherkins.

Riley and Sean’s horrified expressions after Fiona’s story mirrored my own at the disturbing imagery throughout the Halloween Special.

Sean declares Fiona the winner of the group and tells her she is lucky to not be a “freako killer” after seeing such a gruesome sight as a kid.
This leads to a flashback, where we see that Fiona actually talked once with Sam, probably shortly before she firebombed the town and escaped.
Fiona had been attempting to draw Cherry’s body in her journal but could not find the right kind of red until Sam helped her.
There are eerie similarities between the two, with Fiona seeing her disturbing drawings as a form of therapy, which is exactly how Sam views her own murders.
We can see Sam feels some kind of rare connection with Fiona, based on how she tells her, “I’m glad to help a fellow artist.”
All of this makes me wonder if Sam might have tried to groom Fiona into a protege?
If she had not fled Woodbrook that is.
Sure, she reacted badly to Nigel, but moulding someone into a killer is the kind of despicable act I would expect from Sam.
None of this means Fiona is doomed to become a murderer, though.
The drawings could legitimately just be a way for her to deal with the trauma.

And yet a part of me does wonder if Fiona could be one of the “fans” Sam mentioned at the end of Right of Spring.

Speaking of killers inspired by Sam, we potentially see one at the end of the Special.
Nate turns back up, but he is wearing his Halloween mask and is eerily silent.
As Sean and his “brother” walk home, it is revealed Nate has been murdered and had his costume stolen by whoever stepped on the twig earlier.
With this ominous twist spelling death for Sean and his family, we then get a teaser for the third and final volume before the Special concludes.
In this teaser, we see another decade has passed, with America now focused on the War on Terror.
Sam is still a fugitive and in her sixties.
She certainly looks her age, as her narration states that the past always sticks its head out of the dirt, ending both the teaser and the Halloween Special.

Sam seems to be doing well for herself, considering she is a serial killer in hiding.

Sam may not be in hiding for long, however, because I think her narration hints at a future confrontation between her and another character.
Sam states the past always sticks its head out of the dirt.
What animal also does this?
Moles.
Lewis is a mole.
Considering his unfinished business with Sam, concerning the gruesome fate of his father, I would not be surprised if he pursued a career in law enforcement and dedicated himself to hunting Sam down.
He could serve as the Monica of Volume Three, going head-to-head against Sam.
If that is the direction Patrick Horvath decides to take, though, I hope things end better for Lewis than they did Monica.
Someone needs to take Sam down for all she has done.
Either way, the Halloween Special and brief teaser for volume three are welcome additions to the Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees story.
They provide interesting tales, along with potentially hinting at Sam’s ending.
I am now even more excited for The Summer and the Fall.
Fingers crossed that Patrick Horvath can end his grim story on a satisfying note.

The Blood of Dawnwalker Review: A New Saga Begins.

I was drawn in by The Blood of Dawnwalker right from the cinematic reveal trailer.
An open world video game where you play as a vampire trying to save your family, created by the devs of The Witcher 3?
Sign me up.
Granted, I have tried to get into The Witcher 3 numerous times but have not been able to convince myself to play beyond the first few hours.
I suspect this is because I have not played through the first two games so I found it difficult to become invested.
However, since The Blood of Dawnwalker is a new story, I started the game hoping I could be invested enough to play to the end.
Well, my expectations were exceeded because, not only did I finish the game, but I loved it so much that I went back to try different endings.

“Things will be different now,” I said upon trying out a different *Dawnwalker* ending.

Developed by Rebel Wolves, the story is set in a region known as Vale Sangora, situated in the Carpathian Mountains.
Ravaged by plague and the tyranny of its ruler, Vale Sangora serves as easy pickings for a group of vampires (known as Vrakhiri in this game), led by the cruel and calculating Brencis (Andrew Spooner).
We play as Coen of Laslea (Will de Renzy-Martin), a young man whose family is taken by Brencis to serve as a sacrifice for his coronation, giving Coen only thirty days and thirty nights to rescue them.
Coen has a better chance of defeating Brencis than most, however, for the Kynaz tried and failed to turn him into a Vrakhiri, instead transforming Coen into a Dawnwalker.
By day Coen is human, fighting Brencis’ soldiers with swords and witchcraft.
By night, he takes on a vampiric form, giving him a greater edge, but one that comes with the risks of his constant hunger for blood.

Make sure you’re health isn’t low when talking to an NPC as a Vrakhir. Otherwise, they might end up as Coen’s midnight snack.

The key componant of The Blood of Dawnwalker, is its thirty day time limit.
You can roam the open world freely, but fighting certain groups, completing missions, or helping characters with quests results in time passing.
Even leveling up your skills takes time slots.
The latter was especialy worrying for me but, having beat the game on my first playthrough with nine days left, I can confidently say you have plenty of time to save Coen’s family.
That is, if you want to save them.
If you would rather screw around the open world, ensuring their death at Brencis’ hands, you are more than welcome to do so.

Fight Brencis to save your family or avenge them. The choice is yours.

But if, like me, you want to save them, there are many avenues that allow you to.
Hell, you can even have Coen storm Brencis’ castle immediately after the prologue.
Although, if that is the route you take, you will miss out on a lot of interesting characters’ stories.
The three central characters who help Coen on his journey are Anca (Helen Keely), a herbalist who teaches him witchcraft, the Vrakhiri with mysterious masters, Lacra (Megan Smart), and rebel leader Marat (Colin Ryan).
Of the three, I would say Marat is the weakest character, due to his rebels feeling pretty useless until Coen joins them.
Anca is an interesting character with a compelling quest but, unlike the other two, does not have an ending tied to her.
Lacra is definitely the most interesting, due to her moral ambiguity, and her questline leading to Coen meeting other fantastic characters such as Vicho (Stephen Spencer) and Ocha (Helen McAlpine).

I found Lacra by chance while exploring the capital city of Svartrau.

Enough about the side characters, though, let’s talk about Coen.
I thought he was a fantastic protagonist with a lot of complicated feelings about his past and family that added a lot of depth.
This shined in the Home Sweet Home quest which, although incredibly tedious to play through, had an incredible performance from Coen’s voice actor Will De Renzy-Martin.

I hope Coen’s voice actor is at least nominated for Best Performance at the Game Awards.

So, the story and characters are both compelling but what about the gameplay?
Well, it is based off a directional blocking system, and it takes quite a bit to get the handle of, especially with groups of enemies.
I remember dying so much during a certain early questline that I wanted to throw my controller through the television screen.
Once I got the hang of combat and unlocked certain witchcraft and vampiric abilities, the fighting almost became a breeze.
I say “almost” because even basic enemies could be quite spongey, making fights go on longer than I felt they should.
Another issue is the lock-on system, which feels quite sporadic and random.
It can also be extremely difficult to run away from fights, which trapped me into frighting wolves and boars way more than I would have liked.

Who would have thought the most frustrating enemies in *The Blood of Dawnwalker* would not be the vampires but the wild animals instead?

Another issue are the visual glitches, of which I encountered a few.
Some characters turned invisible when I talked with them, and another character showed up to talk to me in a quest where that should not have been possible.
There was nothing game breaking, though.
Along with the glitches, the enemy variety is kind of lacking.
The most creative fights in the game are that of Brencis and his Boyars, Ambrus (Lorne Macnaughton), Bakir (Dai Tabuchi), and Xanthe (Mandi Symonds), all of whom have extremely fun fights and missions tied to them.
The Xanthe mission in particular ended with a decision where I chose the morally evil option just to see what would happen.
The Blood of Dawnwalker offers a lot of choices, from the prologue, all the way to the ending.

Some optional missions even lead to cooler weapons and gear.

As I said at the beginning of this review, I was having such a good time that I loaded previous save files to try out different endings.
First I did the side with Lacra ending, then the side with Marat ending, and finally the side with Brencis ending.
Each of these endings creates different outcomes for the people of Van Sangora, which are excellently explored in the game’s final moments.
Although, there is one crucial detail about the ending which, no matter what you do, will never change.
This makes some sense, given the direction the story will probably go in the sequels, but sadly, I would argue that this detail does not make sense with certain endings, like the one where you beat Brencis in the prologue, and the one where you side with him.

Still, the unchangeable story beat does have interesting implications for future installments in the Dawnwalker Saga.

Looking at The Blood of Dawnwalker’s components, I can easily say it is not perfect.
The combat can be a bit repetitive and go on too long, you will be forced to fight way too many bores and wolves, and one unchangeable detail about the conclusion does not make sense with certain endings.
All of that being said, I still had a blast with The Blood of Dawnwalker.
The time system was well integrated, the story and characters were fantastic, the boss fights against Brencis and his boyars are engaging, and the choices and consequences were great for the most part.
I can definitely see myself replaying it when a new game plus is added.
And I will most certainly be there day one for the sequels, which promise to show Coen at different points in history leading up to the present day.
This may have been Rebel Wolves’ first game but The Dawnwalker Saga is off to a promising start.

Resident Evil Review: Survival Horror the Movie.

Zach Cregger has emerged as one of the great horror directors working today.
Barbarian was a lot of fun and Weapons is one of my favorite movies of 2025.
So, knowing that he would be the mind behind the latest Resident Evil movie, I was interested to see if he could deliver.
Given how bad some of the previous live-action Resident Evil films were, there was this little speck of doubt in my mind about whether this newest adaptation would be good.
Well, having seen the movie a few hours ago, I can thankfully say my doubt was unwarranted.
Zach Cregger has done it again, delivering a great story set in the Resident Evil universe.

The mutated monstrosities seen in many RE games translate well to Cregger’s film.

The film follows Austin Abrams’ Bryan, a medical courier taking a package to Raccoon City just as the zombie outbreak is beginning.
Upon Bryan’s first encounter with the undead, the film puts its foot on the pedal and does not let up until the credits role.
Bryan encounters one disgusting biohazard after another in scenes which felt like moments I could potentially play through in a survival horror game.
Zach Cregger has been met with some backlash that his adaptation does not center around any characters from the games but, honestly, I think it is better this way.
It gave him complete freedom to do what he wanted with Bryan’s character and those infected with the virus.
And, boy, does he make some bold choices by the film’s end.
Austin Abrams also does a solid job as the main character.
He gave my favorite performance in Weapons (excluding Amy Madigan), and he feels especially relatable here as just an average joe dropped into a gore-filled, traumatising hellscape.

Let’s just say if Bryan did not want to have kids by the film’s end I would totally understand his reasoning.

Speaking of the gore, there is a lot of it to wince in disgust at.
Most of it is CGI, but it is of good quality, as are the jump scares.
There were two in particular from the first act which had me leaping from my seat in fright.
Along with the effects and horror, the cinematography is also great, with some shots reminding me of the first-person perspective from the most recent RE video game entries.
So, the movie feels like it takes place in the game’s universe, the gore and jump scares are unnerving, and the performances are solid.
Is there anything I did not like about the film?
Well, unfortunately, I do think the comedy was a bit overplayed at times.
Comedy is nothing new with Zach Cregger.
He comes from a comedic background after all, and there was plenty of humor in Barbarian and Weapons.
Still, I do think the humor should have been toned down a bit in the third act, so the horror of the situation could have been allowed to shine better.

Less humor would have made the ending hit harder than it already does.

As for the conclusion, I can see some people being unhappy with it.
Personally, I liked what Zach Cregger was going for, but I can definitely understand if anyone ends the movie feeling a little bitter.
Overall, though, despite these minor gripes, the movie is still great.
I would say it is better than Barbarian but I do enjoy Weapons more.
And what about the other live-action Resident Evil movies?
Where does this latest adaptation rank among them?
Well, that would be spoiling things because I did a rewatch of these movies before going to the theater, and I plan to release a post ranking all eight live-action films sometime next week.
Until then, know that Resident Evil is a gory and tension-filled time.
If you are a fan of the games, I would definitely recommend it.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Six, Decoy Review: Best Episode of the Show?

Upon starting Episode Six of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Decoy, I was quite excited to see where it would go.
The trailers teased that we would get the face-off teased between Tanya and Mikel, along with Zettour fighting on the front lines.
Well, after watching Decoy, I can say that it more than lived up to my expectations and may very well be my favorite episode of the show.
The episode begins by revealing Weiss thankfully survived his injury from the Federation mage, but said mage is now being yelled at by Mary Sue, who wants to hunt the rest of Tanya’s men down.
This and Mary’s actions later on in the episode continue to prove she has learned absolutely no patience from her prior battle with Tanya.
As for Mikel, I am surprised he seems so loyal to the Party, considering they sent him and his men to gulags.
Tanya is rightfully concerned about the Federation resorting to bringing these mages back, though she does have a funny reaction to Weiss’ injury, “How could you let someone from that volunteer army shoot you down?”
Way to be empathetic Tanya, although I suppose that is not in your skill set.
With Tanya’s forces surrounded, Zettour enacts the next part of his plan, changing the decoy from Tanya to himself.
Taking Grantz for protection, Zettour goes to rescue Tanya’s forces, hoping to draw the enemy to him, thus giving Tanya the chance to escape the encirclement and then team up to take their foes down.
Given Tanya’s past track record for misunderstandings, I would not have been surprised if she misinterpreted Zettour’s plan, leading to a military disaster.
If there is one skill Tanya does have, though, it is her military mind, and she quickly deduces Zettour’s scheme, going to aid him.
She also has Visha act as bait for Mary Sue by pretending to be Tanya.
While Tanya has a strong military mind, Mary Sue appears to lack a brain entirely, and I expect Tanya will use her recklessness to her advantage even more in the future.
Unfortunately for Tanya, Mikel is not Mary Sue, being smart enough to track her down, and so the anticipated fight between the two begins.
What follows is a fight with a great blend of 2D animation and CGI, with the latter going by so fast and being intercut with multiple 2D shots that it all flows together nicely.
With Tanya being delayed by Mikel, Zettour and Grantz find themselves on the ropes, and Zettour proves why he is the second-best character in the show, next to Tanya, demanding the Empire’s flag be risen so the enemy knows he is there.
He even goes as far to allow Grantz to help Tanya, leaving him defenceless.
Zettour reasons that if he, a high-ranking general is killed, it might shake the leadership up enough to show them how dire the war has become.
“The corpse of a soldier must be put to the best use it can,” Zettour says, with two head wounds. “That’s what war is all about.”
In the end, Grantz’s help allows Tanya to break through Mikel’s defences, forcing him to withdraw.
As for Zettour, he and Tanya end up back-to-back on the battlefield, gunning down their enemies in one of the coolest moments of the show.
For a moment, I thought Zettour was really about to die.
His death certainly would have been a wakeup call for the Empire.
But I am glad he is sticking around, and I hope we see more instances of him on the battlefield in the future.
Overall, Decoy was a fantastic episode and definitely the best of the season.
Hell, I would even argue it’s the best of the series so far, with its great action and epic moments from Tanya and especially Zettour.
I am very curious to see if any episode in the rest of the season can top this one.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Five, Unlucky Draw Review: Misunderstandings Before the Battle.

I have been enjoying the Second Season for Saga of Tanya the Evil.
That being said, the last few episodes have been focusing more on the logistics of war, rather than the actual combat, so I have not found much to talk about (which was why I skipped talking about Episode Four).
Well, Episode Five, Unlucky Draw, brought back the promise of action, along with the funniest scene of the series up to this point.
Picking up in the aftermath of Rudersdorf caving to the high leadership’s demands to continue the war, Zettour has been transferred to the front lines, while Rudersdorf remains.
I am surprised the two still seem to be on good terms, given how angered Zettour was by Rudesdorf’s decision at the end of the previous episode, but Zettour could just be pretending and now playing the long game.
No matter his plans, he is not the only one dealt an unlucky draw this episode, because it is upon his arrival that Tanya first learns that the war will not be ending soon, and then unintentionally talks Zettour into using her as bait for their next operation.
This is the scene I said was the funniest of the show yet.
Tanya’s constant exaggerated expressions and absurd obliviousness to the obvious never failed to get a laugh out of me.
“I don’t know who he’s referring to, but I feel sorry for them.”
Seriously, Tanya, how do you not know after all that has happened that you are Zettour’s trump card?
It gets even worse for Tanya because what she and Zettour do not know is that there is a spy in the Empire, passing on information about the Andromeda mission.
My money is currently on the not-Italian officer who has been observing Tanya.
And it would not be a Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two episode if we did not get one scene reminding us of Loria’s disgusting lust for our protaganist, right?
He orders Tanya captured alive and we once again get a gross close-up of him licking his lips.
I have to wonder why they decided, of all shots, they chose that one to be animated so well?
I certainly would have rather seen that animation effort put into the charging soldiers, rather than the use of CGI, although its current state is far from bad.
Once the battle begins, Tanya sends Weiss to deal with the artillery, resulting in an explosion which hilariously sends Tanya flying.
It is not all laughs though because, right before the credits roll, Weiss is struck and severely injured (potentially even killed) by Mikel.
Looks like we will be getting the fight between him and Tanya teased in the trailer and OP next episode.
Speaking of, the promo for that episode promises a lot of action, with even Zettour getting involved, so I am quite hyped for that.
Back to Unlucky Draw itself, the episode ends after the credits with a brief gag of Uger telling Rerugen a dirty joke (which we do not hear) only to be coldly rebuffed.
It is a nice bit of humor which will probably be our last for a few episodes, given the action promised for the next one.
Unlucky Draw is another solid episode which delivers on laughs and a gripping cliffhanger.

Spider-Man Brand New Day Review: With Great Mutation Comes Great Responsibility.

Following Avengers: Endgame, I have grown pretty fatigued by Marvel films.
It has got to the point that I even find myself having little interest in watching the supposedly good ones, like Fantastic Four.
The exception to this is, of course, Spider-Man.
Excluding Batman, he is probably my favorite superhero, and I have enjoyed each of his films in the MCU.
So, I went into Spidey’s latest film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day with fingers crossed it would be just as good if not better than those films.
But, as someone who has not watched the MCU shows, could I connect with a film that has quite a few connections to those projects?
Thankfully, the answer is yes.

Brand New Day crafts a compelling Spider-Man story.

After Peter Parker (Tom Holland) had to erase everyone’s memories of him to save the world in No Way Home, he now has a lonely existence, protecting New York as the web-swinging hero.
However, when a powerful telepath begins terrorizing the city, Peter must put his feelings aside to protect his former best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), and especially his ex-girlfriend Mary-Jane (Zendaya).
Too bad a mysterious mutation is affecting Peter, forcing him to turn to other heroes like Yelena (Florence Pugh), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) for help.
Of the three, Frank has the most amount of screen time and serves as the comic relief of the film.
You would not expect the Punisher to work as a comedic foil but the script and Bernthal’s performance sell it.
His bond with Peter is also great, and we can see the two care about each other, despite getting on each other’s nerves every conversation (argument).

I would be up for seeing more Spider-Man and Punisher interactions in the future.

As for the spider himself, Tom Holland is once again excellent as Peter Parker.
Dealing with his loneliness, along with the unwilling evolution of his powers makes for a compelling arc that he sells well.
My favorite of the cast though is definitely Sadie Sink as… well, I won’t say.
What I will say is that her sympathetic, yet powerful performance got me interested in seeing a certain group of characters enter the MCU, which is more than I can say for any of the setup beforehand.

I am actually intrigued to see where the MCU goes post Doomsday now.

That being said, while I did love Sadie Sink in the role, I do think the writing around her was a little messy in terms of morality.
Nothing to ruin the film, of course, but I think it required a few tweaks.
What did not need to be fixed was the action, which is engaging and full of great shots.
Although I enjoyed the previous Spider-Man movies, they were lacking in the cinematography department, so it was a relief to see this was improved upon with Brand New Day.

There was clearly some inspiration for the Insomniac games with the way this was shot.

There was something that let me down though and that was the post credits scene.
You could pretty much just look up what happened after the movie and have the exact same experience as waiting to see it.
This and the slight messiness of Sadie Sink’s character are my only flaws with Brand New Day.
It is another fun Spider-Man film in a long line of them and it is justifiably making bank at the box office.
If you are a Spidey fan who has somehow not seen it yet, I would recommend getting your butt to a theater and expecting a good time.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Three, Well-Intentioned Mediator Review: Logic vs Emotion.

Episode Three of Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two begins with narration from our titular anti-hero.
Tanya begins the episode, titled “Well-Intentioned Mediator,” by describing a minor skirmish in the war.
The way this incident was just brushed over so quickly makes me wonder if it was a storyline from the Light Novel that was skipped over.
If it is, though, I am not too bothered by it, considering I still understood the story.
The “Well-Intentioned Mediator” of the episode is the kingdom of Ildoa (alternate universe Italy), which attempts to bring a peaceful end to the war, for their own benefit of course, since ending the war will net them a lot of praise.
We get some foreshadowing to how this plan will fail with the following meeting of the Empire’s General Staff.
Zetour is open to Ildoa, although cautious, while Rudesdorf is hostile, sending Rerugen to observe their supposed ally.
Ildoan Virginio Calandro extends his country’s offer as negotiator, to which Rerugen repays by sending him to observe Tanya.
Ah, yes, the perfect way to make a man regret his life decisions.
Rerugen has his own concerns, however, because he is now taking credit for Tanya’s military success.
He need not worry though because now Tanya has someone who can take the fall for her actions while still owing her.
As for Calandro, Tanya makes a good first impression on him, joking about her small size making her harder to hit.
This impression expectedly does not last, however, because it is soon Calandro’s turn to witness Tanya master the art of technically-not-a-war-crime strategy.
Tanya’s cutesy acting turns terrifying when she has a residential area, including a church, bombed with artillery.
The haunting music playing over the scene adds to this impression.
Typical Tanya misunderstandings follow, as she attempts to assure Calandro that she will accept the generals ending the war, only for Calandro to interpret this as her and the rest of the soldiers prioritizing national interests.
Hearing Tanya’s following inner monologue got a big chuckle out of me.
“I got the war observer to understand that we Imperial soldiers are normal people,” she says, right after we got a scene of said observer giving a terrified report to his commanding officer.
The constant misunderstanding field Tanya emits will never stop being funny.
As per usual, Tanya thinking the war is about to end practically jinxes her, as proven by the arrival of Ugar.
It is here that we see the return of the logic vs emotion theme.
Back in Season One, we saw emotion win over logic, with the Empire logically viewing their enemies beaten, never suspecting they would give in to the emotional motive of revenge.
Now, faced with the logic of ending the war before more are sacrificed, Ugar, Weiss and other soldiers are struck by the emotional drive to keep fighting in the face of a peace they view as no better than surrender.
Even Rudesdorf feels this way, going against Zettour and continuing the war, starting Operation Iron Hammer.
I expect we will learn what this operation is next episode.
Overall, “Well-Intentioned Mediator” was another solid episode.
The highlights for me were expectedly the Tanya scenes, which had plenty of humor, while also showing why she is to be feared.
Season Two’s quality is still good and hopefully that will continue with Episode Four.

Saga of Tanya the Evil Season Two, Episode Two, A Strange Friendship Review: Communists vs Nationalists.

The first episode of Saga of Tanya the Evil‘s Second Season set a solid foundation for the rest, with its action, sound design, and funny misunderstandings.
The second episode “A Strange Friendship” follows this up well with more setup for the future, and some especially humorous moments by the end.
Before discussing the events of the episode, I want to talk about the new opening and outro.
The OP is titled Why? RED Induction and is performed by Myth & Royd, the group who did the OP for Season One.
This may just be recency bias, but I think their new OP easily tops the old, starting loud, before going quiet and sinister, and then going full bombastic with the chorus.
The visuals of the OP also give us plenty to look forward to, especially with the teased two vs one of Tanya facing off against Mary Sue again, along with the mage Mikel.
As for the ED Weiter! Weiter! it is performed once again by Aoi Yuki, who continues to show off her vocal talents.
I also prefer this ED because it actually has visuals, rather than a showcase of light novel covers and illustrations.
Back to the episode, it starts off by once again showing us issues the Empire is having with the war effort.
We see this through talks between Tanya and Visha, and Zettour and Rudersdorf.
The combat units are only receiving weapons rather than basic necessities, and the Empire has to halt its progress due to winter.
Worse still are the partisans in occupied territory, along with the fact that, unknown to the Empire, the Russy Federation is now allowing mages back into its ranks.
We see this with the arrival of Political Commissar Liliya and mage Colonel Mikel at Mary Sue’s unit.
Liliya immediately sets about making friends with Mary, which is absolutely a ploy to manipulate her.
We know Liliya was chosen for being, “loyal to the party and idealistic.”
I expect we will see her push Mary to more extreme ends this season.
As for Mikel, he has been described as “charismatic,” and he will certainly lead by example, as seen by his fight with Tanya in the OP and trailer.
However, I do have to wonder how loyal he really is to the Federation, considering the mages were all put in internment camps.
Perhaps he has a similar mindset to the common soldiers, who believe fighting for the Federation will make them listen and improve the country.
Tanya is horrified to hear this viewpoint from a captive, realizing that she is not fighting communists but nationalists.
This makes the enemy a bigger threat, considering they view themselves as fighting for their country rather than an ideology, which she later explains to Zettour.
Zettour, being described as a “conman” by Tanya, is able to find a work around for this problem with Tanya’s advice.
In a speech to various nationalists from occupied territories, he drives a wedge between them and the communists by turning the territories over to civilian rule.
Given the haunting images of Zettour on a skeletal horse, I doubt this is entirely truthful, but his speech gets the job done, halting most partisan attacks and allowing Tanya’s combat unit to get the supplies they need.
In a humorous final scene before the credits, Visha delights in her new socks, and Tanya lights up in cartoonish exaggeration at the offer of coffee.
Tany’s joy ends when she notices a Being X nutcracker in the house, demanding Visha get rid of it.
The final, funny moment after the ED shows Visha offering Tanya a highchair so she can interrogate prisoners without being looked down on, much to her disdain.
After such a logistical episode, it was good to get a few chuckles at the end.
We will have to see how long the laughter lasts though, as the war continues to evolve over the season.
“A Strange Friendship” is a good follow-up episode to Season Two’s pilot, and I am excited to see what is next in store for Tanya the Evil.

The Odyssey Review: Adding New Depth to History’s Most Classical Story.

I have fond memories of studying Homer’s classics of The Iliad and The Odyssey in High School.
The two epic poems are perhaps the oldest surviving stories in human history but there have not been many big budget attempts to adapt them to the screen.
There was the Troy movie many years ago but that was more focused on being an action blockbuster than actually getting into the message of the story.
However, when I heard that Christopher Nolan would be adapting The Odyssey, I had no doubt that one of the greatest directors of our time would be up to the task.
The film follows the Greek Hero Odysseus, played wonderfully by Matt Damon, on his ten-year journey home following the Trojan War.

Odysseus’ quest to get home to his family is a timeless tale.

During his travels he must face monsters, potential mutiny from his men, and the wrath of the Gods themselves.
But even if the hero reaches his home of Ithaca, his trials will be far from over.
In Odysseus’ absence, suitors have taken over his home, planning to marry his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and usurp his son, Telemachus (Tom Holland).
These suitors are led by Antinous, who is portrayed through a delightfully scummy performance from Robert Pattinson.

Get ready to want to punch Pattinson in this movie. Although, that’s probably a bad idea since he is literally Batman.

Every actor in this movie, from those with large roles to minor, give it their all, which is quite funny given all of the casting “controversy.”
In the lead up to the film’s release, it was difficult to escape people complaining about Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy and Elliot Page as Achilles.
The latter complaint is especially egregious because, guess what?
Elliot Page does not play Achilles so all of that complaining was for nothing.

Elliot Page plays Sinon, a soldier from *The Aeneid* rather than *The Odyssey.*

Nyong’o and Page’s performances also only take up a few minutes of the film, at most, so it really goes to show just how disingenuous certain people were being.
Not to mention, the brief performances the actors gave were solid.
As I said, everyone in the cast does a great job, with my favorites being Matt Damon as Odysseus (of course), Himesh Patel as Eurylochus, and John Leguizamo as Eumaus in what might be the best performance of his career.

John Leguizamo is excellent as the faithful swineherd.

But enough about the performances, what about the rest of the film?
Well, the cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema and soundtrack by Ludwig Göransson are expectedly also fantastic.
Nolan shot the movie entirely on IMAX 70 mm (the first feature film to do so), and filmed on location across the globe, resulting in jaw dropping visuals.
There was also plenty of camera trickery, which added to the otherworldly nature of The Odyssey’s mythical monsters.
This was most apparent with the Cyclops Polyphemus (Bill Irwin), with the way he was filmed reminding me a lot of the original King Kong (1933).
Speaking of the Cyclops, his scene is nothing short of absolutely horrifying.
The same goes for Circe (Samantha Morton), where Nolan tries his hand at body horror, which resulted in me wincing into the back of my seat.
There’s the Laestrygonians, the trip to the Underworld, and many more unsettling moments.
Honestly, I would be very excited to hear it if Christopher Nolan’s next movie was a horror film.
I cannot imagine how scary such a movie would be.

The Cyclops and Circe scenes are probably going to haunt my nightmares for a while.

Nolan wrote the script for The Odyssey, adding new twists to the age-old tale.
I particularly liked how the events of the Trojan War drove Odysseus’ actions in this movie, along with how it led to his interactions with Athena (Zendaya).
There is also one particular scene with Odysseus’ dog and, as someone who lost their own dog last year, this moment made me tear up.

Although, the writing is not completely perfect because, as you may have noticed from the trailer, all of the characters speak in a modern dialect.
This does create a few moments where I was brought out of the film because of how modern everything sounded.
Also some of the creatures Odysseus faces go by pretty quickly, which makes sense given how packed the film is, but it felt like they should have either been given more room to breath or cut entirely.

Granted, this movie is already so long that extending it might have been a little much.

Otherwise, Christopher Nolan definitely lived up to expectations in adapting The Odyssey.
The performances are excellent, as are the techniques used to craft the film, and Nolan’s writing adds plenty of thematic weight to an already rich tale.
I expect The Odyssey to be nominated for a lot of awards by the year’s end and, should it win these, it will be very well deserved.
Do not listen to the biased detractors and go see this movie.
Just make sure not to drink too much water beforehand, otherwise you may be in need of a toilet break halfway through, because this a long one.