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.

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.

The Drama Review: Watch this One Unspoiled.

Directed by Kristoffer Borgli, The Drama stars Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as an engaged couple, Charlie and Emma, preparing for their big day.
However, one night, the two discuss the worst things they have ever done with their friends.
Everyone jokingly plays along, until Emma reveals a secret so shocking that it throws everything Charlie thought into question, as he wonders just how much he really knows his wife to be.
What is Emma’s dark secret?
Well, I am not going to spoil it and neither does the marketing.
It was the trailer which got me interested in seeing The Drama in the first place.
Any other studio would have spoiled the reveal to get butts in seats.
A24, on the other hand, wisely kept the secret… well, a secret.
And so, after finishing the trailer, I knew I had to watch this movie in theaters just to see what reveal could be shocking.
Thankfully, the anticipation I had more than paid off, because the reveal of what the secret was made my jaw hit the floor.

I had a number of guesses about what the reveal would be and absolutely none of those were right.

It discusses pretty risky subject matter which, if handled poorly, would have have left a terrible taste in my mouth and honestly made the film unwatchable for me.
The Drama handles the subject with grace though, being tasteful with its deep dive into the character of Emma, both in her dark and light moments.
Zendaya gives a great performance, as we see the guilt of her past still weighs on her.
Pattinson is also fantastic as Charlie, with his entire life seeming to fall apart after Emma’s confession.
The film is not all misery, however, because there are a lot of darkly comedic moments.
Again, given the subject matter, this could have ended badly, but the movie knew when to be comedic and when to be serious, hitting both points perfectly.
There was one scene with a wedding photographer that had my theater dying of laughter, despite how dark the whole thing was.

Try not to at least chuckle at the wedding photographer scene. I dare you.

Along with the comedy, there are also quite a few moments that made me wince and want to sink into the back of my seat.
I mean that in a good way, though, since this was clearly the feeling the director was trying to instill in his audience.
The editing of the film really helps sell all this, with plenty of flashback and imaginary scenes providing context to what the characters are thinking.
So, Emma and Charlie’s journey to their wedding is full of dark and comedic moments, comedy, along with cringe inducing lines, but what about how it ends?
Well, the conclusion to the film is fairly ambiguous, but I honestly liked that.
The matters discussed leave lingering scars in real life and the titular drama these scars cause Emma and Charlie to experience leave a lot of questions open to interpretation by the end.
If the film had wrapped everything up with a neat little bow, it would not have felt so true to life as it does.

When you have a film about Batman marrying Mary-Jane, of course there is going to be some drama.

The Drama is a great film.
Zendaya and Pattinson are expectedly compelling leads, the movie manages to be both dark and humorous, the editing is great, and the ending is fittingly ambiguous.
Thank you, whoever directed the trailer for not spoiling the secret of Zendaya’s character because the film was all the better going in not knowing that.
If you have not been spoiled about The Drama, then I would recommend you go see it before its big reveal and the chaos it creates is ruined for you.

Dune: Part Two Review: A Spectacular Sequel.

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I absolutely adored Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One.
Adapted from Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, Part One did a fantastic job of setting up this world’s story, characters and themes.
I had been anticipating the sequel ever since I saw the first one in theaters, even waiting through a few delays.
Once I got the chance to see it, I figured there would be no way better than to watch a double feature, with both Parts One and Two played back-to-back.
This resulted in undoubtedly one of the greatest cinematic experiences I have ever had, and it is through watching this double feature that I can confidently say that Part One flows perfectly into its sequel.

Both movies feel at their best when watched together.

Dune: Part 2 sees Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) take shelter with the Fremen of Arrakis after the Atreides family is massacred by their old enemy, the Harkonnens, under the orders of the Emperor (Christopher Walken).
From there, the film follows Paul’s journey to get revenge upon the Harkonnens and help the Fremen, while also attempting to avoid the messiah role being crafted for him.
After watching the first movie, some fans of the book were concerned that Villeneuve was not leaning into the theme of not trusting charismatic leaders, which was Herbert’s key message when writing Dune.
This second film, however, should dispel any doubts about that.
Timothée Chalamet does an excellent job of showing Paul’s gradual transition into becoming the Lisan al Gaib, culminating in a confrontation scene which left the audience I saw the film with in stunned silence.

Chalamet nails his performance as Paul Atreides at his most tyrannical.

Everyone else in this film does a fantastic job as well.
Rebecca Ferguson is unexpectedly terrifying in her manipulation as Jessica.
Austin Butler is also terrifying but for very different reasons as Feyd-Rautha.
Then there is Javier Bardem who somehow works as both the comedic relief of the film and a chilling representation of radicalization.
Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård Florence Pugh, and Dave Bautista all do great, as well.
The most surprising character in the film, for me though, was Chani, played by Zendaya.
She has so much more agency than her book counterpart, and the way her ideas differ from Stilgar’s helps make the Fremen feel much more realistic as a culture.
This also makes her movie-only conflict with Paul interesting, and I look forward to seeing how this is followed up on in the inevitable adaptation of Dune: Messiah.

I much prefer movie Chani to book Chani.

So, the characters and the themes they portray are all excellent, but what about the visuals and soundtrack?
Well, if you saw the first movie then you definitely had no doubt that they were going to be just as amazing.
Watching this movie on Xtremescreen was a sight to behold, and I would not be surprised if Greg Fraser received at least an Oscar nomination for his cinematography.
The same goes for Hans Zimmer, whose score is just as epic as it was in the first film.
These visuals, supported by excellent CGI, along with the score, made for a jaw dropping experience.

*Part Two* is full of stunning shots like this.

As you have read, I have been heaping praise upon this movie from the moment the review started but do I have any criticisms?
Well, yes but those issues really only come down to things from the book that were not included.
For example, one of my favorite characters in the novel had their role greatly reduced and this was disappointing to see.
However, at the same time, I do acknowledge that this character would have been difficult to adapt completely.
Besides Part Two clearly sets up their importance in the future of the story.
Not only this, but I cannot deny that if I had never read the book then this would not have been an issue for me.

Although I was sad to see a certain character’s role reduced, I liked how their importance was foreshadowed.

Other than a few, biased, book reader issues, Dune: Part Two is just as much a masterpiece for me, as the first.
It and Part One are the greatest science fiction movies in years.
If you still can, I would highly recommend watching them as double feature, like I did.
Watching these movies on the big screen was a cinematic experience I will remember for years to come.
Whenever I decide to rewatch these films, it will definitely be back-to-back.
Let the sequels continue to flow.

Spider-Man: No Way Home Review: A Nostalgia Film Done Right.

I quite enjoyed the first two MCU Spider-Man films.
Homecoming was a great example of a more grounded MCU film, with a fantastic antagonist, and while I did not like Far From Home as much as the first, I still thought it did a great job continuing the story of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker.
Well, after seeing the third film, No Way Home, I can say that this one is easily the best movie of the three.

I thought it would be hard to top *Homecoming* but *No Way Home* did it in spectacular fashion.

Directed again by Jon Watts, No Way Home follows the events of Far From Home where Peter’s identity as Spider-Man was revealed to the world in a final act of vengeance by Mysterio.
With a conspiracy theory based witch hunt now invading every part of his life, spearheaded by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K Simmons), Peters goes to Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to request that he erase everyone’s memories of him being Spider-Man.
However, when Peter begins to add conditions to the spell, wanting M.J (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon), and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) to remember, it causes the spell to go haywire and draw in any villain who knows Spider-Man’s secret identity from other universes.
Peter quickly finds himself under attack from these villains, most notably Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Otto Octavius’ Dr Octopus (Alfred Molina).

There are many old Spider-Man villains in *No Way Home* but Dr Octopus and the Green Goblin are by far the standouts with great performances from the returning actors.

And so Peter and Dr Strange must capture these numerous villains and send them back to their own universes before they cause too much chaos in their own, only for conflict between the two heroes to quickly follow.
With so many villains from previous Spider-Man films being in this movie, it would have been extremely easy for this film to just devolve into mindless nostalgia with no intelligence.
However, I think that No Way Home is a perfect example of a nostalgia film done right.
There are numerous quotes from the earlier films, including memes created from them, and these somehow work entirely.
What works even better is Tom Holland’s fantastic performance as Peter.
I have liked him in the role in the previous MCU movies but his performance in No Way Home is definitley his best so far.

Peter goes through a lot and grows a lot in this movie.

This film is essentially the end of the Spider-Man origin we did not know this trilogy was.
I would even call it one of the best MCU films, with it definitely being in my top ten, if not my top five.
No Way Home is the perfect example of how to do a film with nostalgia as a major focus.
December was a great release date for it because the movie’s numerous great callbacks and easter eggs make it feel like a Christmas present for Spider-Man fans.
Speaking of which, be sure to have a Merry Christmas.

Dune Review: A Cinematic Epic. One Which Has to be Experienced in Theaters.

For quite a few years, friends were telling me that I should read Frank Herbert’s Dune, calling it one of the best science fiction stories of all time, and one that inspired generations of stories from that genre, like Star Wars, for instance.
However, for whatever reason, I did not take my friends’ advice and read Dune.
Then, I saw the trailers for Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 adaptation of the novel.
These trailers blew me away and Villeneuve is one of my favourite directors working today, so, knowing how dedicated he was to making Dune, I finally sat down and read the book.
I could not put it down.
The novel enthralled me from start to finish and, ever since finishing it I have been eagerly anticipating the film’s release to theaters, and was finally able to see it yesterday.
Did it disappoint?
Absolutely not.
Dune is not just an incredible adaptation but I already think it’s one of the best movies I have ever seen, even though I only first saw it yesterday.

*Dune* is a masterful, cinematic experience.

The film tells the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), a young noble born to Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) and his Bene Gesserit concubine Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson).
Duke Leto is the ruler of the planet Caladan, however, the Pardishah Emperor mysteriously decides to order the Atreides family to take stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis, the only planet in the universe where the substance known as Spice can be found.
Spice not only has various benefits to the user but is also the reason interstellar travel is possible, so it is the most valuable resource in the universe.
You would think this would put the Atreides in an excellent position but, in taking over Spice production on Arrakis, they are taking over the position of the previous rulers of Arrakis, their rival family of the Harkonnens, lead by the cruel Baron Vladamir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård).
With the threat of the Harkonnens and even the Emperor’s displeasure hanging over their heads, the Atreides seek an alliance with the native Fremen, among them Stilgar (Javier Bardem).
However, at the same time as this is happening, Paul is having strange dreams, many of which feature a woman named Chani (Zendaya), and these dreams may point to a brutal future for not just Paul’s future but also the future of the entire universe.

Paul’s dreams hold a lot of meaning to them.

Yes, this is the story’s basic opening hook and it is a lot to take in.
Thankfully, Villeneuve presents this information to the viewer perfectly, with only a few things being left out, like the explanation of Mentat powers.
Helping this presentation of information is the incredible acting, cinematography and score.
Speaking of the acting, every single member of the cast brings their A-game, whether their roles in the story are small or major.
I already spoke of most of the characters, but two who I especially enjoyed are Paul’s mentors Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa).
In fact, I would say that I actually liked the movie’s interpretation of Duncan more than the first novel.
The movie shows the friendship between him and Paul a lot better, making later scenes where the two share screen time much more impactful.

Rewatching the trailers after finishing the book got me excited for more Paul and Duncan interactions, and the movie did not disappoint.

As for the cinematography, it is absolutely beautiful and Greg Fraser did an amazing job.
I had a massive grin on my face almost the entire way through the film because of how gorgeous almost every single shot looked.
What made this grin even wider was Han Zimmer’s brilliant score, his best one to date, in my opinion.

The cinematography and score often combined to create stunning scenes, like this shot of the villanous Baron Harkonnen.

Pair this excellent acting, cinematography and score with Villeneuve’s direction, and you have a masterful adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel that needs to be seen in theaters.
Seriously, I am so glad I decided to watch this for the first time at the movies instead of on HBO Max.
It just provides an experience for this film that cannot possibly be matched on the smaller screen.
I just wish that the studios had realised what they had and agreed with Villeneuve’s wish to film the sequel at the same time, so both parts could be released closer together.
Well, at least we are getting a sequel, with hopefully more on the way, since I have also read the sequel novel Dune: Messiah and loved that as well.
I cannot wait to read the rest of Dune novels now that I have finally finished The Wheel of Time books, and it would be great to see those get future adaptations as well, given how excellent Villeneuve’s Dune was.
In regards to the future of Dune as a movie franchise, I only have one thing to say.
Let the sequels flow.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Review. Good Film With Incredible Mid-Credits Scene.

Every so often, I will hear that the latest Marvel film has the best post or mid-credits scene in the entire cinematic universe.
However, when I eventually see the film, and the scene, I am almost always left disappointed.
Coming into Spider-Man: Far From Home I had heard nothing about its mid-credits scene, which is why I was pleasantly surprised to find it is my favourite in the entirety of the MCU.
There are two great twists and an amazing cameo that make this moment more than worth the wait.

London spider.jpg — The mid-credits scene of *Spider-Man: Far From Home* is the best in the entire MCU because of the implications it has for future Spider-Man films.

The post-credits scene is good too and, happily, so is the rest of the film.
Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) on a school trip overseas, where he plan to confess his feelings for Mary Jane (Zendaya).
However, his plans change when Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) ropes him in on a mission to save the world by helping a hero from the multiverse named Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).
Now, although I said the film is good, it is a bit slow going at first and does have a few rushed moments.
For example, the growing friendship between Peter and Mysterio’s Quentin Beck felt like it happened too quickly, with an absurd level of trust built between them in such a small amount of time.

Even though Gyllenhaal and Holland do great jobs with their performances, the friendship between their characters feels very rushed.

Then there is this big exposition scene that could have been a lot better and is saved only by Gyllenhaal’s charisma.
However, after this exposition scene, the film goes full throttle with explosive action, culminating in a great third act.
Along with this, the comedy is also very good with Happy Hogan (Jon Faverau) and Peter’s friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) being particularly funny.
Then there is the relationship between Peter and M.J, who both have fantastic chemistry in their scenes, which are well performed by their actors.

peter and mj.jpg — Peter and M.J’s relationship is a focal point of the film and it is handled well.

Overall, I would say Spider-Man: Far From Home is another great addition to the MCU.
It is not quite as good as Home Coming but still very enjoyable.
Just be sure to sit through the credits to watch the amazing mid-credits scene.