Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse… Wait, Sony Made This!?

Who would have thought that my favourite film of 2018 would not only be an animated movie but one made by Sony?
Initially, I was not very interested in seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse because I was not familiar with the Miles Morales character and, again, the film is made by Sony.
However, the trailers got more and more interesting and the word of mouth was so good that I just had to see it.
Given this positive word of mouth I was expecting the film to be good going in, but it still blew my socks off.
Right from the opening film studio logos I knew we were in for something special because they were shown in such creative ways.
From here, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse gets better and better as it goes on.
As I said, coming into Spider-Verse, I did not know much about Miles as a character and this made the surprise of how fantastic he is all the better.
Voiced by Shameik Moore, Miles is an incredibly relatable character with his own strengths and insecurities that make him a completely different kind of Spider-Man.
All of the other spider-people brought to Miles’ reality are also just as unique, with the best of them being a disillusioned and tired Peter B. Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) and a Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfield) who took on the mantle after being bitten by the radioactive spider.
Watching these two spider-people grow alongside Miles was great and led to many emotional moments.

the spider people.jpg — Miles, Peter and Gwen are the best spider-people and I hope we get to see them all in a sequel.

In comparison, the other Spider-people do not get as much development or screen-time as these three, but they still get their own share of emotional moments and laughs.
Even the main villain, Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), gets plenty of development that actually makes us sympathize with him somewhat, even if he is at fault for all he has lost that drove him to this point.
Along with all of this, Spider-Verse is very funny, delivering on a multitude of jokes, many of them great examples of meta-humor concerning the numerous version of Spider-Man in film and media.
As for the animation, it is very unique to other animated films and often captivating.
That said, for the first few minutes you may find this style of animation to be a little jarring and, at worst, off putting but this quickly fades after these first few minutes and, from then on, the animation is stellar.
This is all accompanied with a fantastic soundtrack that works amazingly well with every scene.
All of this fantastic character development, animation and music combine in what is probably my favourite scene of any film in 2018 when Miles embraces his role as Spider-Man and leaps across the city.
This is a very inspirational scene that I will find myself replaying over and over when the film comes out of theaters.

Miles Morales.jpg — Watching Miles embrace his new role as Spider-Man was the most inspirational scene all year.

If I had one issue with Spider-Verse it would be the fate of one of the characters.
It felt like they could have had a massive impact on the story in a sequel but after seeing the film in full, this does not feel like that will happen.
I do understand why this choice was made though, as those making the film probably did not know if they would get a sequel.
Still, this will not affect my rating for Spider-Verse because I did not find it to be overly detrimental to the film.
Speaking of the film makers though, it is even more surprising when you learn that there were three directors for the movie, Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rotham.
Usually, having more than one director can be problematic for a film because it can result in a conflict of ideas but it is clear these three directors came together to complete a vision, based on how fantastic Spider-Verse is.
I still cannot get over that this is a Sony film, considering their track record.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is without a doubt my favourite film of 2018 and I highly recommend it.
It definitely deserves an award for best animated film.

The Walking Dead Issue 187: What Happened to the Conflict?

The Walking Dead Issue 186, “The Powder Keg” ended with an amazing cliffhanger that set up not only a conflict between Rick’s communities and the Commonwealth but, more importantly, between Rick and Michonne.
I was excited to read the latest issue 187 “The Road Back” to see where Robert Kirkman would take this newly developed conflict… only for him to downplay it with the two characters oddly making up.
It was incredibly jarring to see Rick go from saying he would never forgive Michonne last issue to him immediately apologizing to her this issue.
What is especially weird is that the cover of Issue 187 seems to point towards the two’s conflict growing when in reality the exact opposite happens.
There might be more tension between them in the future but, for now, this scene makes it seem that Kirkman has thrown any potential storyline of the two being at odds in the trash, which is a huge disappointment.
Even Rick’s character seems to have done a complete 180, with him seeming to have come to Dwight’s opinion that Pamela needs to be taken down also strangely being forgotten with him now pushing for peace at the beginning of the issue.
This is an unusual case of bad writing from Kirkman.
It really is a shame because the rest of the issue does a great job of building on the growing conflict in the aftermath of Dwight’s death.
The best parts of “The Road Back” came from Mercer and surprisingly Princess who both go through a great amount of character development.
First there is Mercer, whose frustration with the Commonwealth finally boils over with him giving a speech to his fellow soldiers about rising up against Pamela and the rest of the Commonwealth leadership.
This is unfortunately overheard by Lance who looks ready to arrest Mercer by the end of the issue.
Mercer really sucks at making sure people do not overhear his secret plans, first there was Siddiq and now Lance.
As for the Princess, I was surprised by how much I liked the development she got this issue.
She leaves Mercer and the Commonwealth, explaining that the abuse she suffered from her family as a child has led to her to like being alone.
This left me feeling sorry for her, which is a nice change considering I found her to be a mostly annoying character up until this point.
However, even though Princess left, by the looks of the cover of the next issue, it appears she will be drawn back into the conflict.
We can see Carl, Jesus, Aaron and Siddiq rushing towards her in the cover of Issue 188 and all of these characters are sent to see what was happening in the Commonwealth by Magna and Maggie this issue.
With things clearly about to explode in the Commonwealth because of Dwight’s death and Mercer’s soon to be arrest, it is clear they will play a vital role in the story.
Another thing I was surprised to find how much I liked was the portrayal of the love triangle between Carl, Lydia and Sophia.
I usually hate love triangles but here it is portrayed rather nicely.
Sophia finds she actually gets along well with the new kid Carl tried to set her up with and Lydia gets jealous of her and Carl.
This leads Carl to tell Lydia she and him work together because they are both monsters, (which is obviously a really bad thing to call your girlfriend) causing Lydia to storm off.
Then, when Carl departs, he explains what he meant, stating they are both the only ones who can truly see who they really are after all they have done.
This is a very touching scene that had me routing for their relationship in ways I have not before.
All of this is fantastic stuff but again it is weighed down by throwing out Rick and Michonne’s conflict, which could have been very interesting.
The rest of “The Road Back” is good but I just wish Kirkman had kept this conflict going.

Ralph Breaks the Internet Review: Enjoyable but too many Advertisements.

I love the first Wreck it Ralph but coming into the second film, Ralph Breaks the Internet, I had major concerns.
This came from the trailers, which revealed a focus on the internet and various sites and products available there especially those Disney related.
I was concerned that this film would just be an excuse to put in blatant product placement and we all know how a film which priorities that turns out (cough, cough The Emoji Movie).
Thankfully, Ralph Breaks the Internet never stoops that low even though its product placement does get annoying.
Directed by Rich Moore and Phil Johnson, the film sees the titular Wreck it Ralph (John C. Reilly) and Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) travel to the internet to order a part for Vanellope’s game before it shuts down for good.
Shenanigans ensue as the two travel across the internet, with some great examples of humor.
Ralph Breaks the Internet has some truly fantastic inside jokes about the complications of the internet and even some great meta-humor with the Disney Princesses.
I thought they would feel forced into the story but they work great, delivering quite a few laughs.

Venellope and the princesses.jpg — The Disney Princess jokes are very funny, often highlighting the messed up side to these characters’ stories.

The film also has a few great emotional scenes too, like a surprisingly good song Vanellope sings about her new favourite game Slaughter Race.
Another part that delivers a lot of heart is how Ralph grows from his over reliance on Vanellope.
What does not deliver, however, is a sequence of jokes, where Ralph gets involved with the meme world of the internet, which fall flat on their face.
There is also a pretty big plot hole by the end concerning what happens to a virus.
Ultimately my main issue is that it feels like a big reason for making Ralph Breaks the Internet was to capitalize on advertisements and product placement.
This is not to say the movie is not good, as I said there are numerous funny and emotional scenes, but the feeling that these scenes are just used to distract from the constant advertisements of internet sites and Disney properties carries on across the film.
Still, the heart and good laughs the film provides does give it enough of an edge to save it for me.
Overall, I would say Ralph Breaks the Internet is an enjoyable film… although it probably should have been called Ralph Wrecks the Internet.

Attack on Titan Volume 27 Review: Bad Beginning but Fantastic Ending.

Chapter 107: Visitor.

I have a bone to pick with this chapter.
Ever since I started reviewing the Attack on Titan volumes from Chapter 73 I have never given a chapter a bad review.
Sure, there were things I had problems with but even at their weakest I still found these chapters decent.
This all changes with Chapter 107, “Visitor” and the reason for this mostly comes down to how Hajime Isayama handles Historia’s character.
In “Visitor” Kyomi Azumbito is confirmed to be working with Paradis and proposes a plan to help them defeat Marley.
Threaten them into submission by demonstrating the power of the rumbling and then wait 50 years for their technology to catch up before attacking.
However, in order to maintain the threat of the rumbling for these 50 years, they will need a Beast Titan with royal blood and since Zeke only has one year left the role falls to Historia and her descendants.
Unfortunately, to achieve this, Historia would have to sacrifice her life and that of her children by carrying on the Beast Titan through the generations.
The chapter concludes by showing that Historia is following through with this plan as she is now pregnant.
I have massive issues with this storyline.
First, let me say I understand what Isayama is going for.
He is trying to create a tragic arc for Historia where she is forced to continue the cycle of abuse her family committed to save humanity.
However, the problem with this is that it undermines all of the fantastic character development Historia had in the Uprising Arc.
The main centerpiece of this arc was Historia learning to live for herself and not fall into self-martyrdom but now Historia is going against what she learned.
All of the inspirational growth she went through has been completely undone and now feels pointless.
Even worse is how this goes completely against her character as well.
After Historia became queen she dedicated herself to helping orphans throughout Paradis.
She cared for these children and gave them happy lives so the idea that she would sacrifice her own children is quite frankly ridiculous.
It is clear that Historia’s pregnancy is incredibly important to the story but Isayama should have found a way to do it that does not contradict her entire character arc.
Sadly, this is not the only issue I had with this chapter.
It is also revealed in “Visitor” that Mikasa is actually the descendant of a lost lord from Hizuru and is thus very important.
While I did like how well this had been set up, with the big hint for the twist coming during Mikasa’s backstory in the first arc, it is starting to make the story of Attack on Titan seem far too coincidental.
I mean five of the nine Titan Shifters, the heir to the throne and an Ackerman who is also the descendant of a lost lord somehow all ended up in the same training regiment.
Historia herself seems to joke about this by comparing how she and Mikasa both have important birthrights.
This leads to Historia saying she is happy, which only serves to drive the knife in deeper when we see how depressed she is at the end of the chapter.
However, even though I did have massive problems with “Volunteer” the chapter did not completely fail.
We got some pretty good character development from Hange this chapter, the reveal of Zeke’s motives as a “true Eldia Restorationist” and a nice scene with Nicolo and Sasha’s family that continued to show the impact of her death.
Then there is Gabi and Falco who escape from their prison to grow some more character wise.
There are good moments in “Visitor” but they are heavily weighed down by how coincidental the story appears and, most of all, with Historia’s character breaking new storyline.
This is one my least favorite chapters of Attack on Titan.

Chapter 108: A Sound Argument

I thought the reveal of who the father of Historia’s baby is would make me feel better about the whole situation but I was wrong.
In Chapter 108, “A Sound Argument,” it is revealed by Nile that the father is someone who bullied and threw rocks at Historia when they were children because he liked her.
A character bullying someone because they like them is one of the worst romance cliche’s out there but it is made worse when you consider how terrible Historia’s childhood was.
With the exception of Freida, everyone treated Historia terribly when she was child, which led to he wanting to die at the beginning of the series.
She was actively trying to kill herself, while looking like a hero to add meaning to her life, before Ymir knocked some sense into her.
So the father being someone who contributed to Historia wanting to kill herself feels like an insult to her character.
I know I have been hating on the Historia pregnancy storyline a lot but I will say I do think there is a chance for it to get better.
We oddly have yet to hear Historia’s thoughts on her pregnancy and there seems to be a few things in this chapter that hints at something more going on.
This leads me to believe there may be a twist coming surrounding Historia’s pregnancy.
Honestly, I am just hoping for anything that makes this storyline seem better to me.
Until this twist happens though, Historia’s pregnancy will remain one of my least favourite storylines of the series.
Back to the chapter review, the reveal of the baby’s father is only a small part of “A Sound Argument” and the rest of it more than makes up for the problem I have with the reveal.
My favourite scene in the entire chapter is the one where Eren’s friends talk about the implications of his recent actions and how much he has changed, leading to a fantastic flashback.
In this flashback we get to see the close connection between Eren and his friends from the 104th cadet corps.
One by one Mikasa, Jean, Connie and Sasha all offer to inherit the Founding Titan from Eren when his thirteen years are up but Eren refuses saying they are important to him and he wants them to all live long lives.
This is one of the most heartwarming scenes we have had in Attack on Titan in a long time and makes for a sad contrast to the present scene where Eren’s friends are questioning his motives.
While Mikasa and Armin are desperate to believe Eren is still on their side, Connie seems to slowly be coming around to the idea that Eren has betrayed them.
As evidence he states how Eren laughed when Sasha died, not knowing this is how Eren grieves.
However, I can understand how Connie is unable to trust Eren given that a lot of people think he is working with Zeke who turned Connie’s entire family into Titans.
I hope we get a pay off to this with Connie facing Zeke because that has been set up for a while.
Another thing I hope to see is a flashback showing Eren and Zeke meeting in Marley because Jean confirms they did talk.
Speaking of setting up scenes, this chapter appears to be setting up a new arc for Gabi, with her and Falco encountering the girl who Sasha saved in the Clash of the Titans arc, named Kaya.
Before they encounter her, the two get into a fight about Gabi refusing to remove her Eldian arm band.
Watching Gabi hysterically cry that she is “a good Eldian” as she desperately tries to snatch back the arm band from Falco serves as another scene that shows just how brainwashed Gabi is.
Their fight is interrupted by Kaya though, who brings them to her place after they lie, stating they have run away from home.
In their actual home, however, Reiner wakes up and plans are being made to invade Paradis as retaliation for Eren and the Scouts’ attack.
The Marleyan forces have also figured out that Zeke has betrayed them, which leads to the chapter ending with Reiner advocating for an immediate attack on Paradis to stay ahead of him.
I think Reiner did this so they can rescue Falco and Gabi, who are his sole reason for living, quicker rather than an actual desire for vengeance.
Still, the implications of this cliffhanger are felt at the end of the volume and seem to set the stage for the Warrior’s counterattack in the future.
“A Sound Argument” was a decent chapter.
I did not like the reveal of the father of Historia’s baby but everything else was solid and potentially set up a lot of events to come.

Chapter 109: Guides

“Guides” is the callback chapter to end all callback chapters.
So many old characters return to the story from Flegel, to the journalists, to even the little girl who Mikasa saved all the way back in the battle of Trost.
These returning characters all serve a point in the chapter and help to show the consequences of our main characters’ actions.
The character who does this the most is undoubtedly Louise, the girl Mikasa saved.
Louise is revealed to have been so inspired by Mikasa that she helped Floch and other renegade Scouts leak information about Eren’s imprisonment to the press.
This leads to the return of the journalists and Flegel who, along with a mob, all demand an explanation out of Hange about why Eren is locked, up creating new tensions between the people and the government.
These returning characters all show the impact our main characters’ choices have had, which may be leading them to a point of no return again.
It has got so bad that Hange is even starting to doubt her position, with her remembering Sannes telling her to “break a leg” before declaring she is tired.
Hange has been going through a lot of development through her insecurities as Commander, which I believe may pay off in a big way soon.
Hopefully not with her dying though.
In comparison to Hange’s uncertainty, Floch, on the other hand, is much more certain in his goals of freeing Eren believing he is the only one who can save Eldia, which matches up with what Floch said when he and the Scouts attacked Marley.
However, while Floch is dedicated, it is almost certain that he is being manipulated by Yelena, as Pyxis points out in his discussion with her.
Pyxis points out on numerous occasions during their conversation that she has been in close proximity to both Eren and Floch, giving her the opportunity to manipulate them.
Watching Pyxis and Yelena’s discussions in this volume establishes her as one the most interesting characters right now as her true motivations, much like Zeke, remain a mystery.
However, the main focus of this chapter is not Yelena, Hange, or the returning characters but Gabi and Falco who are taken by Kaya to the home of Sasha’s family.
This can only end badly when they all learn who one another are, considering Gabi killed Sasha.
For a moment I thought it had ended badly when I saw a shot of what appeared to be Gabi stabbing Sasha’s father to death.
However, my shock about this was brief when it was thankfully revealed it was just Mikasa remembering Eren stabbing her kidnapper to death.
Still, this does not mean the situation will not end with someone getting stabbed.
As for Gabi, I know she is brainwashed but Isayama is making it a bit hard to like her at times, which is especially apparent in this chapter.
First Gabi tries to blame Kaya and the other orphans for not accepting their sins, then she tries to murder Kaya when she reveals she knows they are from Marley, and finally she says Falco should not have apologized to Kaya about her mother’s death.
This all makes Gabi fairly unlikable in this chapter, which I think should have been downplayed.
The moment when Gabi asks why Falco would apologize made her seem very callous and probably should have been removed.
That said, Gabi’s interactions with Kaya and Falco in this chapter will hopefully go on to change her world view that all Eldians on Paradis are evil.
Kaya’s kind actions may be the starting point for this because the chapter ends with her promising to help them get back to Marley since she wants to help people just like Sasha.
This ending is another fantastic way that Isayama shows the importance of characters after their deaths and may change Gabi’s point of view when she learns Sasha was the person she killed.
Overall, “Guides” is a good chapter that brings back many familiar faces and sets up a lot of development for Gabi.

Chapter 110: Counterfeit.

Volume 27 may have started badly but it ends amazingly with its final chapter “Counterfeit.”
The chapter kicks off with Zeke finally explaining what happened in Connie’s village back in the Clash of the Titans Arc.
Zeke’s spinal fluid was transformed into gas and used as chemical warfare, blown into Ragako Village, which knocked all of its inhabitants unconscious who were then turned into Titans with Zeke’s scream.
It was good to finally get the information about what really happened in Ragako and it led to an interesting conversation between Levi and Zeke.
Watching these two mortal enemies stand off in a conversation was very intriguing.
Levi does not keep his contempt for Zeke hidden, accusing him of feeling no remorse for his actions, while Zeke seems to come across as more reasonable, although is almost certainly hiding his anger towards Levi.
While it is cool to see these two interact somewhat peacefully, it is practically guaranteed to not last long, especially with what happens at the end of the chapter.
Eren manages to escape captivity with his Warhammer Titan powers and meets up with Floch and the rest of his followers to track down Zeke.
The events leading up to this moment are nothing short of shocking and left me genuinely wondering who I should route for because it is clear now that Eren and the Scouts are on opposing sides.
This can be seen with the death of Darius Zachary who was killed by some of Eren’s followers because he was planning to have him sacrificed and his Founding Titan power given to someone else.
I did not particularly like Zachary as a character but it was still shocking to see him die in such a gruesome way.
That said, it was oddly fitting and funny that he was most likely killed because of a bomb attached to his excrement torture device first seen in the Uprising Arc.
Speaking of the Uprising Arc, it looks like the past is repeating itself because the masses are once again turning against the government, only this time the government is a side we are routing for, which makes the whole situation complicated.
I do not know whose side to take here, Eren or the Scouts.
We do not even fully know Eren’s motivations for turning against the Scouts and even Mikasa and Armin seem to be questioning him by the end of the chapter.
Attack on Titan started with these three as the closet of friends but as it has gone on Eren has moved further and further away from the two.
I love how Isayama continues to shape these three characters friendship, especially with Armin and Mikasa now wondering how much they can trust Eren.
The fact that Pieck is shown to be in Paradis at the end of the chapter makes the situation even worse.
Along with all this, there are numerous other interesting scenes.
We got another conversation between Pyxis and Yelena where she admits she did meet with Eren but only to help him shape his ideology.
She really came across as a crazed fan girl here but Pyxis points out how he knows she is lying because she did not incorporate any truth into what she said.
So what is Yelena, a crazy fan girl or an attempted manipulator with her own motives?
Either way it will be interesting what her role to play in this story is.
Another intriguing scene in “Counterfeit” saw Armin visiting Annie again, only this time he appears a lot more intimate with because he reaches out to touch the crystal.
He is then caught by Hitch who he desperately tries to explain himself to but I am unsure whether she bought it or not.
I, for one, certainly do not buy it because it seems apparent that Armin has gained some feelings for Annie over the years.
I think this has to do with him inheriting Bertholdt’s memories after he became the Colossal Titan.
If this is true it will be interesting to see in what other ways Bertholdt’s memories have affected him.
“Counterfeit” was a fantastic way to end Volume 27 because it redeemed a lot of the bad stuff that came before in the first few chapters.
The consequences of this chapter will most likely be felt across the series because Eren now seems to have fully embraced his dark side, moving towards an unforeseen goal that may have even more dire consequences.

Aquaman: Good Old Cheesy Fun.

It is kind of funny how much of a reversal the character of Aquaman in the DC Universe is compared to his comic book counterpart.
The comic version of Aquaman is often made the butt of a joke by most people, while the film version of Aquaman makes the jokes.
Directed by James Wan, Aquaman is the second film in the DCU to achieve the status of good and, much like the even better Wonder Woman, is a step in the right direction.
The film follows Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry, the Aquaman, who is called to Atlantis to stop his brother King Orm (Patrick Wilson) from attacking the surface world.
Momoa steals the show as Aquaman, breathing new life into the character.
He both manages to make Arthur funny and feel real to the viewer.

Arthur — Jason Momoa is great as Aquaman delivering both heart and laughs in his performance.

One particular scene where he contemplates whether he is worthy to be king is a standout.
However, one thing to note about Aquaman is that it is a very cheesy film… but this works to its advantage.
Aquaman knows it is cheesy and fully embraces it, creating a much better experience.
That said, there are a few cringe inducing moments but these are few and far between.
James Wan has created a spectacle here with amazing action sequences and special effects to draw you into the world of Atlantis.
Although, the hair effects do look a bit weird but that is a minor detail.
Helping build on this undersea kingdom is the characters that inhabit its world.
For example, the love story between Arthur’s parents (Nicole Kidman and Temuera Morrison) helps build the world and is genuinely sweet.
Not all the characters are great though because Orm is a pretty one dimensional villain that held little interest.
This is made up for by Black Manta (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who stood out as a compelling enemy for Aquaman during the brief screen time he had.

Black Manta.jpg — It felt like Black Manta should have been the main villain since he was more interesting than King Orm.

The thing Aquaman is above all else though is a fun movie.
It does not deal with any complex themes and sometimes the movie can get a little cringe worthy but it is still a good time with fun performances, great CGI and epic action sequences.
It will be interesting to see where this goes in the future.

Attack on Titan Volume 26: Most Heartbreaking Death Yet?

Chapter 103: Assault.

Continuing the action started in Chapter 100 of the Scouts’ attack on Marley, Chapter 103 opens with the spectacular full page image of the battle, seen above.
It is artwork like this that shows just how far Hajime Isayama has come from when he first started the series.
In those early days his artwork often looked a little stiff and, at worst, unnatural.
Now, however, I find problems like this in Isayama’s artwork to be very few.
The shot of Falco watching the battle as Zeke, Galliard and Pieck engage the scouts is a testament to this.
Speaking of Falco, the conformation of him and Reiner’s survival at the beginning of the chapter was a relief to me.
While I was almost certain Falco would survive, I was concerned about Reiner so to see him alive, although injured, was reassuring.
That said, the chapter continues to show how broken Reiner has become, with his wish to die keeping him from healing properly.
It will be interesting to see if Reiner can overcome these feelings and redeem himself in the future of the story.
The rest of “Assault” is pure action with the scouts taking on the Titans and pretty much wiping the floor with them.
Both Zeke and Pieck fall in this chapter and, upon reading, I took issue with both of these events.
At first I was angered that Zeke was defeated so easily but, after reading the rest of the volume and seeing what happens, my opinion changed.
For Pieck, however, my opinion did not change.
I felt the way the chapter ended with Jean about to kill her, only for Falco to get in the way, ending the chapter on a cliffhanger almost killed the tension completely.
It reminded me a lot of the ending to season two episode seven, “Close Combat”, where the episode’s tension was killed when it abruptly ended before Bertholdt could fall on Eren and Reiner.
All of this said, I did enjoy the action sequences that came before this with Sasha once again showing how great of a sharpshooter she is both with a bow and a gun.
Then there is Jean and the other scouts destroying Pieck’s Cart Titan with their thunder spears so badly that it is a miracle she survived.
Even Galliard surprisingly got a moment to shine when he swats a Scout out of the sky to protect Pieck.
This was just a small hint of how cool a character Galliard would become in the next chapters.
The best moment of “Assault” though came with the long-awaited return of Armin who, in one of his coolest moments, destroyed the entire fleet of battleships sent in to help with his nuclear Colossal Titan transformation.
It was great to see Armin again after his long absence and the way he appeared left me eager to see what would happen with him next.
Overall, “Assault” was a good start to Volume 26 with great action, even if the ending was abrupt.

Chapter 104: Victors.

“Victors” is not just a fantastic chapter of Attack on Titan but one that gives the Scouts probably their most successful victory to date… before it is rudely snatched away by the events of the next chapter.
However, even knowing this event was coming did not make the Scouts’ victory any less sweeter when Eren succeeded in consuming the Warhammer Titan.
While I will admit I was once again disappointed by the user of the Warhammer Titan (with her only appearing for a short time before dying without us knowing her name) it will be interesting to see what Eren does with this new Titan power he has gained.
The way Eren achieves gaining this power is also one of the most ingenious character moments of Attack on Titan.
After seeing how powerful the Jaw Titan’s claws and jaws are, Eren grabs Galliard with the help of Mikasa and forces him to crush the Warhammer Titan so Eren can eat the remains.
This was a very shocking moment that shows how much smarter Eren has become over the years.
The standout of this chapter for me, however, was surprisingly Galliard with how amazingly strong his Titan turned out to be.
Without Mikasa taking him by surprise, it seemed to me that Galliard would have been a very difficult foe for Eren to defeat.
As Mikasa easily points out in the chapter, Galliard’s Jaw Titan is very different from Ymir’s.
However, while I liked Galliard’s skills as a Titan Shifter this chapter I still have yet to warm up to his character.
That said, “Victors” does look to be building up some actual character development for him that may make me like him more.
In a powerful scene for Reiner, he temporarily overcomes his wish to die and, after transforming into a weakened version of his Armoured Titan, rushes in to save Galliard from Eren.
Galliard has been shown to extremely dislike Reiner because of how he caused his brother’s death so this could remove the wedge between them and create some actual development for Galliard.
Another point to mention is Galliard’s Jaw Titan’s possibly being used to help Marley in the future, rather than how it was used unwillingly against Marley in this chapter.
If Galliard could crush the Warhammer Titan’s crystal then it is also possible for him to do the same for Annie, hopefully without killing her this time.
All of this is great set up if it does end up being what happens.
If not though, the rest of this chapter is still fantastic with numerous standout scenes.
We get out first look at Armin’s Colossal Titan, which is much skinnier than Bertholdt’s because of Armin’s physique.
Armin also seems to realise for the first time what it was like for Bertholdt destroying Wall Maria’s gate at the beginning of the series.
We also get the continuation of the abrupt ending to the previous chapter, which added a nice layer of character development for Jean.
Before he can shoot his thunder spear at Falco and Pieck, the smoke from her Titan as she emerges from it blocks his view causing him to miss.
However, Jean does wonder if he missed intentionally not wanting to harm a child, which shows how honorable Jean is, despite being on the attacking side this time around.
The scouts are also revealed to have a zeppelin of their own this chapter, with Hange and new character Onyankopon flying it.
After picking up Armin, Hange and him have a touching moment when Hange wonders if he was possessed by Erwin’s ghost, showing the burden both share as Erwin’s successors.
Hange as his literal one, being the new Commander of the Survey Corps, and Armin the figurative one, having been chose to inherit the Colossal Titan over Erwin.
“Victors” is a fantastic chapter.
It has plenty of amazing action and character moments that will be very exciting to witness when season four is animated in a couple of years.

Chapter 105: Assassins Bullet.

This chapter hurt.
I was spoiled about Sasha’s death days after this chapter came out but my prior knowledge did not make the chapter any less painful to read.
As the series got closer and closer to chapter 105 I wondered just how Isayama would kill her off.
Given how this chapter is called “Assassins Bullet” and how Gabi was last seen in the previous chapter racing after the Scouts’ zeppelin with a gun hoping to avenge the death of her friends, I was pretty confident she was the one who would do the deed.
Sadly, my suspicions were correct because, after sneaking on board the zeppelin with Falco, Gabi shot Sasha in the stomach fatally wounding her.
This was a very sad scene to read especially with the other characters’ reaction to it.
In a rare moment we actually got to see Mikasa crying, which is surprising as well as touching because she only seemed to care about Eren and Armin before now.
Eren’s reaction is also was very gripping, with him laughing and crying, just like he did when Hannes was killed all the way back in Chapter 50.
Then there is Sasha herself, whose death is incredibly sad to see, with her last words of “meat” speaking both to her characteristics as a primarily comic-relief character and the manga’s theme of freedom.
Sasha has come a long way since she first appeared in the manga and I am glad that Isayama decided to let her live longer than he originally planned because it gave her a lot of great moments to shine before her death.
As for Gabi, this chapter made me understand why so many fans hate her because of how she murdered Sasha.
That said, I do not blame her for Sasha’s death because this chapter makes it very clear that she has been brainwashed and, from her perspective, Sasha and the others are the bad guys.
Both of these factors are shown in the conversation between Gabi and Falco before she kills Sasha.
While Falco points out how those on Paradis were attacked first, Gabi states she can never forgive the Eldians for killing her friends and all her life has wanted to prove to Marley that there are good Eldians but their attackers may have stopped this.
She makes a good point here because if Attack on Titan had started from Chapter 90 instead of Chapter One then a lot of readers would be on Gab’s side.
Still, this makes for a brilliant contrast between Falco and Gabi.
Falco does not blindly accept Marley’s brainwashing and is able to understand Eren’s point of view, which is contrasted by Gabi’s blind loyalty to Marley because of the brainwashing.
However, Sasha’s tragic death and Gabi’s side of the story are not the only highlights of “Assassins Bullet.”
One particularly explosive reveal confirmed the theory myself and many others had about Zeke, that he was secretly working with Eren the entire time.
It is revealed in this chapter that Zeke deliberately avoided killing the Scouts when fighting and was purposefully captured by Levi so he could help those on Paradis.
While this is an interesting reveal, it is clear to me that Zeke cannot be trusted.
This is the man who cheered upon killing almost every scout that ran at him in Erwin’s suicide charge.
Whatever his true ambitions are, he is merely siding with the Scouts to achieve them.
The moment they become useless to Zeke he will turn on them in an instant.
This seems to be made very clear by Isayama with the final panel of Zeke having his eyes obscured by the light reflecting off his glasses, hiding both his gaze and true motivations.
Another interesting point is the official introduction of Yelena, a follower of Zeke who was the one who temporarily captured Pieck and Galliard.
However, as Jean points out, it was her fault they escaped, which is another point against Zeke and her truly wishing to help Paradis.
Maybe Yelena purposefully allowed Pieck and Galliard to escape as a part of Zeke’s grand plan but if this is true it has yet to be revealed.
Anyway, I am very excited about Zeke temporarily coming over to Eren’s side because we may finally get the conversation between the two brothers that I have been waiting to see since their family connection was first revealed.
Speaking of Eren, another surprising moment came for his character this chapter when it was revealed he actually went rogue to attack Marley, forcing the Scouts to come and rescue him.
The impact of this will surely be felt in the future as Hange perfectly states, “you put your trust is us… and we’ve lost our trust in you”
The divisions caused by Eren going rogue can even be seen between him, Armin and Mikasa as the chapter opens with them reuniting.
However, rather than this being a happy moment, it is clearly somber with the side by side panels of each individual characters’ face showing just how distant the three have become.
They have certainly come a long way from their first time reaching the ocean but not for the better.
The standout moment of the chapter though is still the tragic death of our beloved potato girl Sasha.
Her death is one of the saddest the series has ever had and, with the manga supposedly about to enter its final arc, we are certain to get a lot more

Chapter 106: Volunteers.

After the tragic death of Sasha in “Assassin’s Bullet,” Chapter 106, “Volunteers,” serves to make her death all the more painful with a big flashback to in between the four year time jump in which she is present.
Every time I saw her in this chapter it just dug the knife in deeper, especially when the scene transitioned from Eren, Mikasa and Armin at a shooting range to Sasha getting shot in the stomach.
Still, I did enjoy how even though Sasha is dead she is not forgotten.
A lot of other series would have mentioned her only briefly after her death but when characters in Attack on Titan die they are still relevant to the story, either through flashbacks or through their actions having an impact long after they are gone.
Along with all this, the big flashback in this chapter also went on to explain how Yelena, Onyankopon and the rest of Zeke’s followers came to join the Scouts in their efforts.
Upon arriving in Paradis, Yelena shot her superior officer and her soldiers took those who were untrustworthy captive to show their loyalty to Eren and the others.
However, once Zeke was mentioned it caused a whole lot of difficulty for them in gaining those on Paradis’ trust.
In a surprising moment though, Eren spoke up for them, wanting to go through with Zeke’s plan to use his royal blood and Eren’s Founding Titan to initiate the rumbling with the many Colossal Titans inside the wall.
This also seems to be where the first layer of trust between Eren and the scouts was broken, when he reveals he hid the fact that someone with royal blood could be used to initiate the rumbling to protect Historia.
From here though, we see relations between the Marleyan volunteers and the Eldians on Paradis growing.
We see Sasha get attached to a Marleyan named Nicolo because of his cooking and we even get to briefly see the progression of a Marleyan as he went from hating to trusting the Eldians over time.
Another interesting scene came when Sasha asked Onyankopon why his skin is black.
This came across as natural since everyone on Paradis is Eldian, with the exception of Mikasa, so the other characters would never have seen a black person before.
The scene also added another layer to the story of Ymir Fritz, when Onyankopon states that God made various people different races and also was probably the one to give Ymir her Titan powers.
This adds another version of the tale to her myth and how she is perceived and I wonder if we will ever get a solid explanation for how Ymir became the first Titan.
The standout moment of the chapter though, would have to be the return of Annie, who Armin is revealed to be talking to and who is still stuck in that goddamn crystal!
Seriously, she has been in there for 73 chapters, when is she going to come out?
Hopefully, with the reveal that Galliard can crush these crystals Annie can return soon.
Still, it was great to see her again, and not in flashback form, after all this time.
“Volunteers” even gifted us with some great callback moments like with Armin’s seashell, Eren picking up the Marleyan warship just like Kruger did in his first appearance, and Mikasa and Eren once again repeating the common “fight” line seen in the series.
This final moment was the ending scene of the chapter and saw Mikasa supposedly at Sasha’s funeral, Gabi and Falco imprisoned, and Eren also imprisoned in a different area.
Eren’s imprisonment goes to show how he is no longer trusted by the Scouts.
All of this said, the chapter did have a few iffy moments like when Yelena and Onyankopon talk about why Marley has not launched an all out invasion yet.
The biggest reasons are that many countries were inspired by their efforts and went to war with Marley and because Marley was afraid of the Titans still on Paradis, unaware that the Scouts had killed them all.
During this conversation we got a panel of these Titans, which looked pretty goofy because they looked to be dancing.
Overall though, “Volunteers” was still a good chapter to end Volume 26 on.
We got a good explanation of what had happened during the four year time skip and finally got to see Annie again… if only she would wake up already!

Bumblebee Review: No Michael Bay? Sign me up!

Who knew you could have a Transformers movie without overly sexualised women, borderline racist stereotypes and an overusage of explosions?
Well, Michael Bay clearly did not know this because the latest film in the Transformers franchise Bumblebee has none of these things and is all the better for it.
Directed by Travis Knight, Bumblebee is the best film in the Transformers series by a wide margin.
It is still not great but compared to what came before it is a massive step forward.
The film takes place in 1987 and tells the story of how the titular Bumblebee came to earth and lost his voice.
What follows is a mash up of Transformers with E.T as a teenage girl named Charlie Watson (Hailee Steinfeld) finds Bumblebee and tries to hide him from government agents, led by none other than John Cena, who plays Agent Jack Burns.
As a result, the story of Bumblebee is generic but still a welcome change to what came before.

Bumblebee head rub.jpg — Watching Charlie try to hide Bumblebee from her family and the government felt very reminiscent of older films in both a good and bad way.

The characters are actually likeable and relatable, there are a couple of funny moments and the action is not overplayed, unlike with Bay’s series.
Speaking of the Bay Transformers movies, Bumblebee recons a lot of events that happen in those movies but, given how said movies are also guilty of this, that is nothing new.
If anything, I would argue the recons serve to separate Bumblebee from those terrible film, which I definitely appreciate.
The opening scene is by far the best of the film and, even though I am not a huge fan of the Transformers, I know it will please many people who are.
Bumblebee is not without its issues because, as I said, the plot is generic and even though the characters are likeable they are a little stereotypical.
Along with this, the story drags a bit at times and it is pretty easy to figure out where the film will go.
All of that said, Bumblebee is still a good film that actually delivers some genuinely heartfelt moments.
It is definitely the best of the franchise and I hope to see more Transformers sequels like it… so long as Michael Bay no longer directs them that is.

Mortal Engines: A Spectacle… but one with Little Substance.

Despite what the trailers would have you believe, Mortal Engines is not directed by Peter Jackson but rather produced by him.
It is clear his name was used for recognition to try and get people into theaters because, given how badly this film has bombed, there was not much else that would draw an audience in.
Mortal Engines is actually directed by Christian Rivers and, I will admit, when I first saw the trailers I was intrigued.
The whole concept of the film was a bit ridiculous and, like most, I was fooled into believing Peter Jackson was the director but I still thought it looked like a spectacle.
And it was a spectacle… but one with little substance.
The film takes place in a dystopian future where large cities like London have been made mobile and capture other cities for their supplies to keep going.
This concept does require a large suspension of disbelief going in but the film could have still succeeded by going for a Mad Max type of movie.
This is evident by the exciting opening scene, which features London chasing down and capturing a smaller city in a thrilling action sequence with great CGI.

London chase — The opening scene of London chasing down a smaller city was genuinely exciting. If only the rest of the movie was like this.

However, after this Mortal Engines unfortunately delves into the realm of a young adult story that we have all seen a thousand times.
Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar) is the typical female protagonist out for revenge against a dictatorial government leader and Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan) is her bland love interest.
Their love for one another grows throughout the film, only for it to completely fall apart when you realise they have almost nothing in common and have known each other for a few days at the most.
As for Hugo Weaving’s Thaddeus Valentine, he is the typically evil government figure out for power that we have seen in all of these types of films.
Almost every character in Mortal Engines is incredibly bland or a character we have already seen in every single young adult more ever.
The one exception to this is Shrike (Stephen Lang) a character who, despite only having a small amount of screen time, is surprisingly sympathetic and a multi-dimensional character.

Shrike is a surprisingly relatable character in a large cast of bland and cliche ones.

With the exception of him though, every other character is bland or cliche, and this is not helped by the story these characters inhabit.
Full of plot holes and eye rolling moments, the writing makes it very difficult to care about what is happening most of the time.
The worst moment of Mortal Engines has to be right at the beginning when a historian declares that the Minions from Despicable Me are valuable ancient relics.
This alone shows how cringe inducing this film can get at times.
Like I said though, there are a few moments in the film when it is a spectacle to behold.
The opening action sequence is great and the other ones across the film are also fairly enjoyable, even if you do not really care about what is happening.
I just wish the excitement of this first action scene was carried along across the film because then it would have been a much better experience.

BoJack Horseman Season Five Review: A Depressing Cycle of Abuse.

In my review for BoJack Horseman season four, I sang praises for its uplifting ending, which left me tearing up.
However, I did state that I thought this happiness would not last in season five.
After watching this season, I can say that I was right but I never expected the show to get this dark.
Season five of BoJack Horseman explores some of the darkest aspects of Hollywood as not only BoJack but every single character goes through a cycle of self abuse.
The main sufferer of this abuse is, of course, BoJack himself who goes through a slow downward spiral due to a drug addiction, guilt over what he has done, and the stress of his new show.
These three things all combine to cause BoJack’s mental state to deteriorate until he explodes in episode 11, “The Show Stopper” with what has to be the darkest scene in all of BoJack Horseman.

BoJack’s downward spiral all culminates in a scene with his co-star and new girlfriend Gina (Stephanie Beatriz), which has to be the darkest and most shocking moment in the show’s history.

As I stated, sadly BoJack is not the only character to go down a trail of self abuse.
Both Princess Carolyn and Mr Peanutbutter go through this and the way it ties into their endings is quite striking.
Both of these characters get endings to their season’s arc that, in any other show, would be considered a happy ending.
However, based off what I know about these characters, all I see them is continuing in their cycles of self abuse.
Thankfully, there are some rays of light this season, with Todd and Diane.
Todd is funnier than he has ever been, with his storylines often leaving me in fits of laughter.
As for Diane, she does not really do anything all that funny, however, she is a great source for pointing out everything that is wrong with the other characters’ self abuse.
In a piece of meta-commentary, she even criticizes the show itself for making viewers look up to BoJack and normalize his destructive behavior.
She was the only character to point out all to his hypocrisy in brilliant writing, however, after seeing some theories about season six, I am very concerned about what will happen to her next season.
Along with all of this, season five has some of the best episodes of the entire series.
The final two episodes are, again, some of the most hard hitting episodes of BoJack Horseman but my personal favourite would have to be “Free Churro” an episode which consists solely of BoJack giving a eulogy for his dead mother.
I know it sounds boring but it is surprisingly emotional and managed to add another scene in a long list of them that have made me tear up.

My mother is dead and everything is worse now.png — “My mother is dead and everything is worse now.” A powerful line that drives home the impact of this episode.

This was another amazing season of BoJack Horseman.
My one critique is that we do not get enough of Hollyhock this season but, ultimately, this does not damage the season at all because of how powerful it is.
Season five went to some very dark places that I hope the characters can come back from… however, I do not know if they can.

Creed 2: Hard Hitting Sequel.

The Rocky series is known to have had its ups and downs over the years.
I cannot really attest to this since I had only watched the first film before watching Creed in preparation for watching and reviewing the sequel.
However, even though I cannot claim to be a huge fan of this franchise, I can state that when these films get it right they are often amazing.

I have only seen two films in the *Rocky* franchise but both are classic examples of great film making.

The first Rocky is a very inspiring film and the recent sequel Creed also gives off this vibe, even if I did find it a bit too similar to the original.
Coming into Creed 2, I was not sure what to expect from this film.
I wondered if it would manage to capture the magic of the other two Rocky films I had seen, or if it would be one of those terrible sequels I have heard so much about.
Thankfully, the film was not the latter because, under the guidance of director Steven Caple Jr., Creed 2 is a very hard hitting film both figuratively and literally.
Personally, I think the story of this film is better than the first Creed with the titular Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) planning to fight Viktor Drago (Florian Muteanu), the son of the man who killed his father in the ring.
Watching Adonis’ journey and the emotional and physical struggles he had to go through in this film made me relate to him a lot more than I did previously.
One thing that really surprised me about Creed 2 was how relatable the antagonists Viktor and Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) were.
I actually found myself relating a lot to their struggles just as much as Adonis’ and their arcs were just as satisfying as his.

CREED II — I was very surprised by how good a job the film did at making me sympathize with both Ivan and Viktor. Ordinarily they would have just been stereotypical bad guys so this is a welcome change.

On the whole, I would say almost every character has grown exceptionally from the first Creed.
The one exception to this is the man himself Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) but he is still very relatable and Stallone gives another great performance as his most memorable character.
While, Creed 2 does have a great story it does not quite live up to the first Creed‘s technical mastery.
There were no shots that really wowed me like in the first film but this did not take away from the enjoyment.
Many other people in the theater I was in seemed to enjoy this film too because they were literally cheering during the final match between Adonis and Viktor.
Overall, Creed 2 is another crowd pleaser in the Rocky franchise with a great story, characters and acting.
This is also surprising for me because (and this is a secret) I do not even like boxing!