Adam's Blog

We now officially have a full release date for Sonic Frontiers! Revealed during last week’s comic con, the newest entry with the blue blur is expected to come out on November 8th, just one day before God of War: Ragnarok releases. More so than any other game that has come before it, Frontiers is looking to be a massive departure for Sonic the Hedgehog. By taking obvious inspirations from games like Shadow of the Colossus and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, this looks to be the first Sonic game with a larger emphasis on an open world than ever before, or as Sonic Team is putting it, “open-zone”. This looks to be a game where Sonic himself will have areas with the most freedom to run around and explore in than he has ever had before, a game that will seemly have the most content for any Sonic game to date that will definitely give the player their full $50 to $70 money’s worth, and the game that seemly will have the most work and effort put into it than any other game in the franchise thus far. Regardless of how the actual game turns out, this certainly won’t be a game where one will just simply shrug their shoulders after playing it like say, Sonic Forces.

Opinions on this game has been very split down the middle since the very first gameplay footage showed off from IGN back in June. Many have criticized Frontiers for looking too much like a tech demo and not having much of an identity of it’s own other than Breath of the Wild but Sonic. Fans have understandably been concerned about this latest project, especially since this is the first main Sonic game since Sonic Forces, which came out in 2017. It’s has caused so much concern that there was even a hashtag going around on Twitter at one point, #DelaySonicFrontiers, which had some fans pleading for SEGA to delay the game and give it more development time. SEGA, however, is not giving in and have full intention to release Sonic Frontiers this upcoming holiday season. Despite the mixed reaction to it thus far, SEGA and Sonic Team are 100% committed with their new game.

Sonic Frontiers is a game that has been reported to be in development for at least four to five years, longer than any development of any Sonic game to date. While this has surely been caused due to recent events (*cough* Covid-19 *cough*), this is also because there hasn’t been a Sonic game quite like this before.

After Sonic Forces, Sonic Team wanted to go bigger and grander than they ever have with Sonic the Hedgehog. They wanted to define what a modern Sonic game should be and created a new formula that would be a template for the future in the same way that the original Sonic Adventure did. With Forces receiving criticism for it’s short length and brief levels, Sonic Team felt as if the boost formula on it’s own had run it’s course and intended to put more emphasis on giving fans and players more bank for their buck. That led to the idea of a more open world Sonic game which would provide players with more freedom and diverse gameplay than ever before. Elements like these are things that have been talked about for the game for the past few years, going all the way back to when leaks of the game first came out back in 2019 or 2020. And as it turns out, it was true! All of it! Sonic Frontiers is real!

Me, personally, I have no idea how to feel about this game. On one hand, it is refreshing that this looks to be the first Sonic game since Unleashed that seems to be putting more effort in the story, presentation, and other content than simply the basic gameplay. I like the fact this is looking to provide a full package that can’t be complete with just one brief Gamefly rental sitting unlike other recent entries. It’s also nice to have the well-known/beloved Sonic writer Ian Flynn, writer of Archic Comics, taking a stab at the game’s script since he tends to add more depth and intrigue to his comic stories than Sonic Team usually does with the plots of their games. Those are all promising elements that does get me very curious of the game. On the other hand, I still can’t help but feel that Frontiers is likely going to fall into the same trapping that previous Sonic games from the past decade have fell into.

When watching the gameplay and trailers for it, I still can’t help but get the feeling that Frontiers looks like a fan-made mode of Breath of the Wild, Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, or basically any other recent game with large open worlds and RPG elements. It just doesn’t look like a game that belongs in the Sonic universe and feels as if you just inserted Sonic into someone else’s game. Adding elements such as puzzles, hearts, stamina, food items, etc.. doesn’t align on what I view (and I imagine many others) view as Sonic. And even the open worlds that have been shown don’t look all that impressive and the combat on display is nothing more than mindless, brainless button mashing. To tell you the truth, if it wasn’t for the fact that Sonic himself has been in all the gameplay footage shown, I would be hard-pressed to guess that this was suppose to be a Sonic the Hedgehog game.

While there are definitely things that look promising of the game such as the cyberspace levels, (the kind of levels that reportedly plays like Sonic Generations), and more focus on story and characterization, it looks as if Frontiers could be to Breath of the Wild what Sonic Lost World was to Super Mario Galaxy. In that, it will be yet another Sonic game borrowing from another successful IP without an understanding as to why it worked for that property but just doesn’t work for Sonic.

This has been a common case with Sonic Team’s overall approach to the Sonic franchise. They constantly makes games that at times come across as experiments than actual games. They are always throwing things at the walls to see whatever can stick, then cherry pick the things that they believe stick, make a handful of games with that sort of style and gameplay, and then the whole process starts right over again after it loses it’s appeal. Sonic the Hedgehog has become so many different things over the years and as a result, has lead to many games that are very inconsistent in their overall quality. It’s always difficult to get a grasp of what SEGA and Sonic Team views as Sonic since the identity of the character is constantly changing year in and year out.

And, here we are again with Sonic Frontiers, a game that yet again sees Sonic Team experimenting on a new formula that is hopefully good enough to have follow-ups that will expand on this open zone-style formula until there is another left to expand upon. The overall difference between Frontiers and other recent games however is that this is the one that SEGA and the team seems to be fully putting their chips in.

With ideas for Frontiers starting near the tail end of 2017 and development beginning sometime in 2018 or 2019, I can’t recall a Sonic game that has had this much time spent on it. There’s been no rushed development cycle, no tight scheduling, and no concern of budget or fan interest of the product fading. Sonic Frontiers is SEGA fully going for it and hoping this is able to redefine Sonic in the current window they currently have after the big success of both Sonic movies. If this works out, then there is a big chance that this will lead to Sonic to be in the kind of spotlight he hasn’t been in since the days of the Genesis and the Dreamcast. If not, then who knows where this will lead to for Sonic.

It seems as though whenever a new Sonic game comes out, there always seems to be some sort of pressure added from fans and gamers that this must be the one Sonic game that changes the landscape or else the franchise is finished. This has been the case since Sonic The Hedgehog 2006, a game that is consider that very low point of not just Sonic but video games in general. Even after successful games like Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations, there is always that sort of unrealistic expectations set that if the game isn’t completely great, then Sonic could be as good as dead. Despite that, even after games with middled to negative reception released after 2011 such as Lost World, Rise of Lyric, and Forces, the Sonic franchise is still here, alive and well.

The reason Sonic the Hedgehog is still a thing that exists is because Sonic has such a dedicated fandom that is constantly expanding generation after generation that simply refuses to let the series die. Just like a professional sports team that is usually mid or bad year in and year out with a few bright seasons in between, Sonic fans are loyal and will always stick around to see if this year will be the one that they can share with others why they love what they root for so much. There will always be support from Sonic fans everywhere and will let their beloved hedgehog live on for many more years to come.

The way Frontiers can make or break Sonic isn’t necessarily whether it would revive or kill the franchise but put less focus on the gaming side of Sonic and focus on the other successful mediums such as the movies or even streaming series if that Sonic Prime show, expected to be released sometime this year on Netflix, is successful. The success of the Sonic movie franchise shows that Sonic doesn’t have to be known as a strictly slumping gaming franchise but can be something much more. Fans and moviegoers enjoyed the first two Sonic movies and have a third movie and even a Knuckles spin-off series to look forward too. This is SEGA’s chance to get Sonic more in the public eye than ever before. Even if Frontiers bombs critically and financially, it may not matter much for the character to fade away but it could matter for Sonic games for the foreseeable future. There will always be a Sonic game coming out here or there but that won’t be necessary to keep the character relevant in 2022 and beyond.

Regardless, I guess we all just have to wait and find out ourselves as to how good or bad Frontiers will be. Maybe it will be something revolutionary. Maybe it will come across as a complete train wreck. Even so, SEGA and Sonic Team aren’t looking to play it safe with Frontiers and want to give everything they got to bring the world the very best Sonic game they possible can!

Sonic Frontiers is expected to be released on November 8th, 2022. It will be available on the Playstation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 5, Xbox One Series X and S, and PC!

Last month, it was reported that DC and HBO Max Parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, decided to not released Batgirl in any form of capacity. Despite the fact the film was about 95% complete and be in it’s released form, it will not be available to watch on HBO Max or in theaters. Just like that, the work that directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, screenwriter Christina Hudson, and cast members Leslie Grace, J.K. Simmons, Michael Keaton, etc.., had all been for nothing.

That in of itself is awful but you would at least assume that directors Bilall Fallah and Adil El Arbi or the studio would still have the footage to preserve in case of a potential revival of the project. Well, you would be wrong about that! According to co-director Bilall Fallah, that footage is long gone. Just yesterday, it was confirmed that Fallah was trying to preserve whatever footage they could onto their phone but they could never find any existing files from the film. It had all been deleted. Unless there’s some Toy Story 2-like miracle here where someone on production conveniently had some sort of back-up drive that include the majority of the existing footage that was shot, Batgirl is basically 100% dead. Just completely vanished into thin air! Almost has if it never existed at all!

Talk about wasting a ton of time and money on basically nothing! All that work in pre-production, production, and post-production might as well never happened! Aside from getting some solid paychecks from the higher-ups, this Batgirl movie is basically a good three to four years that everyone involved with it will never get back. Going through all that trouble to get 70-year old Michael Keaton back as Batman (Although, he may still make an appearance in The Flash) and the first on-screen Batgirl in forever turned out to be a waste. As terrible as that is, that exposes the biggest and scariest thing about Hollywood. No movie is every 100% safe to be released in any existing form!

Granted, Batgirl was not the only project recently that had been cancelled from Warner Bros. It’s been reported by the unfortunate CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, David Zaslav, that a number of planned content for HBO Max had either been cancelled or put on hold due to being used as tax write-offs and putting more focus on theatrical productions that they believe will benefit them more in the future. These other projects include Scoob!, Holiday Hunt, Little Ellen, Batman: The Caped Crusader, The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie, Merry Little Batman, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, and Bye Bye Bunny (Looney Tunes Musical). While some of these are expected to be shopped by other networks/SVOD’s, others have been confirmed to be officially cancelled. What makes it even worse is that some of these projects were either finished or about to be such as the first three I mentioned but those have been scrapped with no intended release dates for any of them. While Batgirl is far from the only victim of this controversial business decision by WB Discovery, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that has suffered the most.

There had been folks that claimed that the reason this decision was made was due to the negative test screening that the film received, scoring in the low 60s (a similar score that the original It and Shazam received) and because of that, WB felt like it wouldn’t be releasable. That sounds like a very ill-conceived reason for wanting to shut down production on that as there has been numerous movies over the years that still made it’s way to theaters despite bad test screenings (Remember when the initial test screenings of Wonder Woman that rendered the movie “unwatchable”?) I don’t buy that theory as to why that was the reason it got canned or any business related theory.

Even if Batgirl was legit bad, so what? There has been plenty of movies over the years that had been released despite being bad. Hell, Warner Bros has released plenty of content recently that got a mid-to-negative reception. Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Justice League (Theatrical Cut), Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, The Legend of Tarzan, Geostorm! All movies that were badly received and/or didn’t make the money that was expected of them yet they were all able to find their ways in theaters or on streaming. I can’t imagine Batgirl doing as much damage as any one of those from either a business or critical standpoint.

No matter what way you look at it, this is a dumb and poor move by Zaslav and company. Not only is it a costly one by throwing away millions of dollars with no guarantee of getting any of it back but it’s also that will now question the leadership of that company. Why in the world would anyone want to work with them now? Why bother working for a company that can decide to just cancel the project you’ve worked so hard and long on whenever they want to? It just gives a back look with WB and anyone else associated with it. What makes this an even more scary scenario is that this is not the only time this has happened in recent memory?

There was Sony who have cancelled a handful of projects (a CGI Popeye movie that would have had Tom Kenny doing the voice of the character) in favor of other ones (The Emoji Movie). There was Disney who shut down Blue Sky Studios and cancelled Nimona along with other planned future projects from that studio. It’s a very scary thought with how nothing is guaranteed to finish with filmmaking in Hollywood.

When you sign on to a project with a studio, that gives that as much control as they want on the thing you are working on. While you might get to write your own story and apply your own individual voice to it, it is the studio that decide the kind of budget and time constraints that the movie you are making will include. Similar to how whenever someone makes a pitch to a tv studio and it gets greenlights, once you agreed to a project with a company, then it’s (mostly) out of your hands. You’ll be able to get a chance to work on it but it will be up to the higher ups to decide if they want to continue funding the project or not. Some are lucky enough to see it until the very end, others are not so fortunate.

As much as many folks are outraged over Zaslav and Warner Bros for these puzzling, head-scratching moves, this is something that has been going on in Hollywood for awhile and it won’t stop anytime soon. Whether that’s because the people in charge have too much power that no can stop them or some other matter, this should be a lesson on the expectations of Hollywood and in life. Just because you work really hard at something does not mean you will get to complete it. Many people have gone through this process and many of them were met with heartbreaking results. It’s only a matter of being able to try until you are able to overcome that failure that it will matter in the long run.

Regardless of what you think of this whole situation with Batgirl, this should be a huge wake-up call to inspiring filmmakers that you may not be able to see your project until the very end. No matter how hard you’ve worked on it, it could be as good as gone in the snap of Thano’s finger if it’s deemed not good enough from the studio that you are working for. It’s disturbing but it’s also reality. Nothing is ever safe in Hollywood!

Link On Other Cancelled Shows/Projects:

https://tvline.com/lists/hbo-max-cancelled-shows-2022-list-warner-bros-discovery-merger/

Link On Batgirl’s Test Screenings:

https://www.gamesradar.com/batgirl-test-screening-audience-score-it/

Marvel’s newest series for Disney Plus, She-Hulk, has just premiered it’s very first episode. This latest entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe sees the introduction of Tatiana Maslany’s Jennifer Walters turning into a green six foot and seven inch long superpowered hulk. It’s then that she must find a way to juggle her life as a lawyer and her life now as a suppose superhero. Whether or not this is a show you feel like you will be into it, it’s available to now watch on Disney Plus if you want to see for yourself.

However, even before the series even aired it’s first episode, it was reviewed bombed to dead on IMDb and I’m sure plenty other websites like it such as Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. It’s been reported that the vast majority of reviewers was either rating it a perfect 10 stars or a low 1 star, with most of the 1 star reviews coming from male in their 30s, while reviews from females and younger males were much more positive.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happen with an MCU project in recent memory. There was a review bomb campaign for Captain Marvel months prior to that film’s release because of comments that star Brie Larson made about wanting to have more exclusive interviews for her press tour. There was also similar review bombing for Ms. Marvel and Eternals for reasons I’m sure relates to women, diversity, or LGBTQ+ like things. Granted, the ratings for those movies got better after they all came out but the fact they were even review bombed before it even released showed the distinct mindset from a certain group that is always spending too much time on the internet.

And there are definitely more and more examples of that when it comes to IMDb not even related to Marvel or featuring a cast and subject matter not surrounded with white men. Anyone remember when Interstellar was the highest rated movie of all time on that website weeks before the movie even came out in theaters (which is still ranked #27 of all time btw) ? Or how just about every new movie with well-acclaimed directors like Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarnatino ends up with near perfect scores around the time they first come out all because it’s a movie made by them? This has been a constant occurrence over and over again for several years now. So much so that it’s time that major studios and even folks on the internet stop taking it seriously because it’s clearly not legit.

I remember back in early 2017 where I wrote a column during my Journalism course in college about IMDb deciding to shut down all message and discussion boards on their website. It was previously reported this was done due to the constant spam and trolling on the website that got to the point where the people in charge of the site just found it unbearable. Instead of taking the time of their day to be able to take down as much of these kind of accounts as they could, they decided to shut down the boards entirely. Because of that, fans and movie nerds around the globe would have to discuss and argue their fan theories on the next Star Wars and Avengers movie somewhere else. This was honestly the point where it seemed like even IMDb was well aware of their own reputation and how unreliable they are when it comes to rating movies.

There are definitely other uses when it comes to IMDb not involving rating movies. It’s useful for movie-related things such as keeping up with the box office, being up to date on release dates, looking up facts on what goes one behind the scenes with movies, making movie-related lists of your own, and clicking on interviews involving the cast and crew to discover new info about each newest feature film. However, it’s always the ratings and reviews from that website that gets the most attention. And with this constant spam, trolling, and review bombing, it’s time to take a stand against websites like this and stop treating the scores they get as anything particularly meaningful.

It’s always very clear the kind of demographic that does this constant review bombing day in and out with each certain film. So why do we still pay attention to those people and take them seriously in anyway? I’m never one to bluntly accuse someone of being racist, sexist, misogynist, misandrist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.., but it’s clear as daylight the folks that are any of this things and it makes me wonder how long do we have to keep this up? Eventually, the day will occur where these folks will get bored of doing this and finally move on with their lives, so why do we continue to focus on them now and give them all the attention they are clearly craving? It’s all annoying, repetitive, predictable, and just plain tiresome!

I’m sure there are people out there that have good reasons for not liking She-Hulk or any other thing I just mentioned but when the review bombing is so thuddingly obvious where it’s just constant spamming either positive or negatively, how can you really take it seriously? I get not everyone is filthy rich and want to spend the limited budget they have on something they would enjoy but if that’s the case, wouldn’t you be better off just following folks with legit opinions on the things you are interested in. Wouldn’t that be a better case of finding someone you share similar opinions with it and then deciding if you should watch something or not instead of just going on a website that is clearly full of spammers and taking that site’s word for it? I’m very certain you will get a better opinion or description on the thing you want to watch from those that have actually proof they have watched the thing.

Say what you will about Rotten Tomatoes or movie critics in general but at least the reviews from that site come from individuals that ACTUALLY watched the piece of media that they are praising or critiquing. You can at least say that they are not spammers or trolls, just normal everyday reviewers giving their two cents on the product they are being paid to cover. I will certainly take that over some dude bro on Metacritic giving The Last of Us: Part II a 0 because it’s “too woke” or whatever.

When it comes to websites involving reviewing or rating movie, I still say Letterboxd is the best one. It is able to contain sources from both professional reviewers and casual reviewers with less spam and trolling out of any popular site like that. It provides a good mix of critics and audiences with ratings that feel legit and represent the popular opinion on both sides with each new feature that comes out. And you are most likely to get the most in-depth reviews on the content they are reviewing and not just the completely one-note “it sucks” or “it is awesome” takes like you do with other sites just like it. Not to say Letterboxd is perfect by any means but I find them to be the most reliable with reviewing and rating movies.

Whenever I hear someone ask me why I trust critics more than mainstream audience, it’s because of things like this. It’s because of these group of individuals who have a very clear agenda that plague the internet with their hot takes, overlong reviews, and constantly putting words into people’s mouth who can’t come up with an opinion of their own. It’s why being a reviewer as become less and less enjoyable as times goes on. Because no matter how many credible reviewers your can find, there will be several more bias one that will take their place and be more successful just because negativity sells on the internet. People just want to see non-stop rants and complaining because that is what people find entertaining nowadays. It’s this sick and one-note mindset that is leading to movies being review bombed constantly that shows why websites like IMDb are worthless. They represent the one-note bias mindset that is currently plaguing the internet to this very day. Well, I’m not one of those and I’m sure there are many others that would agree with me!

Last week saw the re-remastered of the 2018 smash hit of Marvel’s Spider-Man, developed by Insomniac Games, being released on the PC! This is a game that started off exclusively on the PlayStation 4 but later came available in better quality (and a more Tom Holland-like redesign) to the PlayStation 5 and has now been ported to the PC.

Marvel’s Spider-Man has been one of the more successful video games in recent memory, selling millions of copies and is loved by critics and gamers alike! Most would agree that this is one of the best, if not THE best, Spider-Man game to date and one of the best superhero games ever made! It’s basically the equivalent of the Batman: Arkham series in the sense that it not only plays like a superhero game should but it just makes you FEEL like a superhero, more so than any other prior game with the web swinger! However, as times goes by with this game, not only has it aged wonderfully but it makes me think how better The Amazing Spider-Man movie series could have turned out if they choose to take the same approach and direction to the character before Insomniac did years later.

The Amazing Spider-Man had just turn ten years old last month with the original release being back in July 2012. It was approached by Sony as a darker, lower-scaled reboot compared to the Sam Raimi trilogy, containing a larger focus on the teen drama/high-school dynamic aspects of the character. While it did get mostly solid reviews at the time it came out, with most critics praising Andrew Garfield’s performance, it received plenty of criticism for putting too much focus on the origin story and being way too similar to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. These complaints are valid as there was plenty of plot beats that the movie follows with the 2002 film along with not offering much new or interesting things of it’s own. Despite having a talented cast and crew, the whole thing came across as rather forgettable and tiresome.

The big takeaway for me when it comes to The Amazing Spider-Man franchise has a whole is how it’s cynicism became so apparent on the big screen. It only exists to fill out a balance sheet! Sure, every big movie is made to make money but the best of these kind of movies are one that don’t FEEL like that when you watch them. When you watch a movie, you want to get the sense that it felt like a passion project for everyone involved and the love and effort it took to make it. Unfortunately, I can’t really say that for The Amazing Spider-Man and it’s sequel.

They don’t feel like movies that Sony or anyone involved WANTED to make but were FORCED to make because they had to keep the rights to Spider-Man somehow. Despite arguably containing more comic book-like elements of the character than before, hardly any of it is put to good use, meant anything in terms of story and character development, and came across as things needed to be check off of a list that obsessed fanboys would want to see in a Spidey flick than actual earned fan service.

However, it didn’t have to be this way. It didn’t have to be derivative and come across as an obligation. They could have actually explored a interesting and new dynamic of Spider-Man How exactly? By focusing on a new side of the Spider-Man character that wasn’t presented in the Sam Raimi films, Peter Parker coming into his own as a fully form adult. Whereas Raimi put more emphasis on Peter being on the tail end of high school to college, Sony and Marc Webb could have made the Amazing franchise more successful by putting more emphasis on Peter Parker on the tail end of college to complete adulthood. This would have helped uncharted new territory for the famous character on screen and showed audiences a different and unique side of the character.

When I really think of all the amazing things that Insomniac provided with their Spider-Man games thus far is showing Peter Parker away from his traditional origins and roots. It doesn’t show Peter Parker in high school or seeing him meeting all his friends, girlfriends or enemies for the first time. What it does show that this version of Peter Parker has a history of his life as Spider-Man.

Plenty of things had already happened throughout his tender as a masked, web swinging-hero. Instead of focusing on things that most mainstream audiences already know about Spider-Man, it focuses on NEW things that mainstream audiences haven’t seen much off, Peter Parker as a fully-formed adult. He’s still young but he’s grown more powerful and responsible. We’re not always shown that but we KNOW it because of the right amount of context shown and told to the audience.

In this version of Spider-Man, we see Peter Parker taking on many different roles now that he is out of college and on his own as a grown man. He plays the reliable cocky vigilante that New York and the police force led by Yuri has grown accustom to. He plays the ex-boyfriend who somewhat wants to get back with his ex-girlfriend in Mary Jane Watson. He plays the supportive nephew with Aunt May and her work with F.E.A.S.T. He plays the apprentice with his assistance towards Otto Octavius on his big experiment. And arguably the most important role of all, acting as a mentor towards a younger, more diverse Spider-Man for a new generation in Miles Morales. These were all major roles that Peter has to play throughout the course of the game to discover a new meaning of great power coming with great responsibility! These were also major roles that Amazing films themselves could have tackled.

We could have seen a natural progression of Andrew Garfield’s version of the character without having to resort back to the standard origin formula or hitting the same beats as before. We could have seen Peter play the same energy-filled web swinger as Insomniac’s did without having him come across as Deadpool. We could have seen his status on New York and the police force led by Captain Stacy or whoever without having to see the hows, whens, and whys. We could have seen him deal with his relationships with the female figures in his life such as Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, and even Liz Allen without resorting to typical teen drama and soap opera tropes. We could have seen him be a supportive nephew to Aunt May without him coming across as a jerk and a tacked on nurse subplot (You forgot that Aunt May became a nurse in the second film! Didn’t you?!). We could have seen him play the apprentice role to Dr. Connors with an actual mentor ship and connection with one another. We could have gotten more invested in Peter and Harry’s relationship by letting the history between the two play out more. Lastly, we could have seen Peter act in his first step as a teacher and mentor to Miles Morales, introducing the character on the big screen even before Into the Spider-Verse did. Things like this could have made the Amazing Spider-Man series much better and more interesting than it was.

I’m always baffled whenever I hear people defend the first Amazing movie for being an origin story because it just had to be since it was a reboot. I find that absolute bollocks. Most mainstream audiences are already aware of Spidey’s standard origins and didn’t find another origin movie released just a decade later to be necessary. They just needed to do an opening credit scene similar to all three of Raimi’s films or even The Incredible Hulk ( a very underrated MCU film) to use visual storytelling to show the origin of this version of Spider-Man and then move on to new things. It would have helped the series stand out more on it’s own and putting a focus away from how Peter Parker became Spider-Man could have let room for plenty other interesting stories to tell.

What would make the Amazing series stand out even more with the other two live-action Spider-Man movie series is how we would have gotten a perfect showcase of three different versions of Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s version focused on the high school nature of Peter Parker along with seeing him grow into his own iteration of Spider-Man after taking inspirations from other superheroes he grew up watching and fighting alongside with. Tobey Maguire’s version would have focused on Peter Parker finishing high school and working his way to college as he takes his first steps into true adulthood. Lastly, Andrew Garfield’s version could have focused on Peter Parker fresh out of college, fully into adulthood, and on the verge of fully fleshing into a middle aged superhero. That way, we would have gotten three different Peter Parkers from three different perspectives: as a high schooler, college student, and as a grown adult. It would have had Andrew Garfield stand alongside with Tobey and Tom as being Spider-Men that stand well on their own and don’t need a crossover movie to be as great as they are.

While I’m still glad that Andrew Garfield go to come back as Spider-Man once again for No Way Home and seen him interact with Tobey and Tom along with fighting alongside them, I still can’t help but see missed potential with his version of the character. I believe him to be the best overall actor to play Spider-Man and his version had the best costume and web swinging of the live-action movies so far. Just to bad he was also settle with the worst story and character development of the three by far. To this day, if the series of films could have just focused on a different time period of Peter Parker that felt more natural and be more age appropriate for Andrew, the Amazing series could have truly been amazing! Oh well!

On the bright side, there is at least another version of Spider-Man to look forward to in the future! Not just with Marvel’s Spider-Man being remastered yet again for PC owners but also for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 that is confirmed to be released sometime next year in 2023! It might be five years since the first game and three years since Spider-Man: Miles Morales but I’m pretty confident it will be well worth the wait!

I can’t recall a movie production in recent memory that seems to be as cursed as The Flash. With countless director changes, countless rewrites, and countless delays, there is not telling what to make out of this upcoming DC superhero flick because I don’t think the people behind it even know what to make of it either. However, there is not one thing that been cursed more with the movie than with the lead themselves in Ezra Miller.

You might be asking what exactly has Ezra Miller done? I think a better question is what HASN’T Ezra Miller done? For what has at least been a better part of a year or two now, Ezra Miller has been causing absolute chaos around the world! There has been numerous allegations and charges against them for what they have done outside of production of The Flash and it doesn’t seem to be coming to an end.

It all started back in April 2020, just right around the time that the pandemic hit, where a video surface of Miller out in public choking a girl and throwing her into the ground. The video itself was confirmed by Variety to have taken place at Prikio Kaffihus, a bar in Reykjavik, and a bar employee confirmed that the person who strangled the woman was no other than Ezra Miller. No one knows why they did it or the intent behind it, but that unfortunately was only the beginning of the absolute trouble that Miller has caused in recent memory.

Here’s a video of the incident if anyone is interested. Be warned, this might be disturbing to some readers! Viewer discretion is heavily advised!

While Miller was mostly silent in 2021, 2022 was a whole another story! Since March 2022, there doesn’t seem to be a day that passes by where Miller is NOT all over the news!

They were arrested twice in Hawaii, one where he was accused of disorderly conduct and harassment at a karaoke bar and the other was for second-degree assault where he threw a chair at a 26-year old woman after being told to leave a private get-together! They were filled a restraining order by the parents of 18-year-old activist Tokata Iron Eyes after claims of emotional, mental, and physical abuse of the child. There’s been harassment allegations against them after a mother and her 12-year-old after they threatened their family and acted innapproiate in front the child. There were claims that they were giving very young children that were only one to five years old, access to guns and ammunition while they housed a woman and their children in Hawaii. And just a few days ago, they were charged with burglary in Vermont where they stole bottles of alcohol.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if there is one thing I missed or something else gets reported by the time I post this but yeah, Ezra Miller has been an absolute disaster as of late! I may not know what’s going on with them mentally or emotionally but this needs to stop now! Whether it’s putting them behind bars or in a mental hospital, this reign of terror has to come to an end!

Of course, the bigger question with Warner Bros is how exactly can they deal with this massive problem with one of their casted leads? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the heads of the studio are looking to try three different methods on how to handle this utter fiasco.

• First, Miller, with the aid of their mother, will seek professional help and will give an interview that will explain their erratic behavior recently. They will then be able to do limited press or the movie and it will be able to get released on time.

• Second, If Miller doesn’t get help, WB will still release the film but Miller will play no role in the marketing or press tour and will no longer work with Warner Bros as the Flash.

• Lastly, WB will just cancel their incredibly expensive movie all together since they couldn’t reshot it with a different actor and will just write this whole disaster as a loss and move on!

No matter what choice is made from WB, it will be resulted in a painfully awkward and long process. Whether it’s being forced to ask Miller themselves questions as to why they’ve been acting like a complete psycho for the past two years, release a film with no attention presented to it’s lead actor, or pulling the plug on a 200 million dollar production right after pulling the plug on another certain female-lead production less than half it’s budget (That post is for another day!) , nothing will come easy!

The Flash was suppose to be one of the biggest films in the DC Extended Universe as it was believed to be the one that will help change course and push boundaries towards the new direction they will go for in the future. With the inclusions of returning veterans such as Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton as the Batmen themselves to new additions such as Sasha Calle as Supergirl, this was the movie that was thought to clear a straight forward path with starting up a new timeline with the characters they would focus more on in the future. However, all of that seems to be in complete jeopardy now with the cancellations of movies such as Batgirl and Supergirl along with Erza Miller disastrous behavior out in public.

I don’t know exactly what Warner Bros will do with this current ordeal with Ezra Miller but I know damn well that something MUST be down with them here and now! I don’t care what it takes but you have got to stop the bleeding in some way, shape, or form! The longer this drags on, the more problems this will cause and harm the brand of DC Comics and Warner Bros!

Regardless, put an end to it all now!

Here’s some links to other articles that dives deeper into Ezra Miller and the troubles they’ve cause for the past few years:

• https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/the-flash-fate-ezra-miller-problem-worsens-warners-1235196919/

• https://consequence.net/2022/08/ezra-miller-legal-troubles-timeline/

• https://www.npr.org/2022/08/11/1116932907/ezra-miller-scandals

Prey just released over the weekend on Hulu in the USA and (strangely enough) Disney Plus in international territories. Despite some outburst from sexist trolls who were ready to hate on the movie the second that they learned that it would have a female main lead in it, it seems to be doing pretty well with critics and fans of the Predator franchise. Dan Trachtenberg was able to breath new life into a series that looked as good as finished and Amber Midthunder (Again, what a cool name!) is just destined to be the next big action lead heroine to watch out for. With a movie this well made and received, you would think it would deserve to be seen on the big screen. Unfortunately, it is not. It is strictly only a streaming service movie that was only seen at a theater during the San Diego Comic Con back in late July.

Many have wondered why exactly this was the case. The Predator IP is still a rather iconic brand. Say what you will about the quality of the sequels but the series has still run high on the greatness that was the original Predator with Arnold Schwarzenegger. You would imagine just the success of the first one alone and expanding to it’s own franchise that people would be supportive to see the newest one in theaters, right? Well, let’s take a look at how The Terminator franchise, the other franchise carried by Arnold, fared when they had a similar situation occurring with each installment.

Back in 2019, the sixth Terminator movie came out with Terminator: Dark Fate. Despite it’s mostly solid reviews from critics and having the return of James Cameron and Linda Hamilton themselves, it was a an absolute box office failure. Grossing only $261.1 million with a $185-196 million budget and a reported loss of $122.6 million for Paramount. Because of that, future plans for potential sequels were cancelled and who knows if the Terminator franchise will every see the light of day again anytime soon.

Plenty people have their theories on why the movie bombed the way it did. It could be due to the more polarizing reaction from fans along with the controversy of the fate of John Connor that might have turned audiences away. And of course, someone out there will throw out the fact it was a movie starting strictly women and apparently no one wants to watch action movies staring women (Something which has proven time and time again to be false). But, I believe the most logical explanation was that everyone was just done and over with the franchise at this point. The following three movies that came after the first two iconic masterpieces were met with mixed to negative reception and/or underwhelming box offices results.

Rise of the Machines despite it’s box office success was seen as a major stepdown from the first two. With many people not being fond of the film’s overly comedic tone, PG-13 rating, and severely missing Linda Hamilton’s presence.

Strike one!

Salvation wasn’t received much better and made even less money than the last one. Despite trying to differentiate itself from the other movies taking place in a post-Judgement day timeline and with John Connor at the leader, audiences still couldn’t get into it and just found the film too boring and forgettable for it to be a worthwhile Terminator sequel.

Strike two!

Then there came Genisys which was the most poorly reviewed and received entry in the franchise and the one that was the biggest bomb at the box office. From it’s convoluted plot to it’s lazy rehashing of other, better Terminator movies to it’s contradiction of the established lore to it’s countless plot holes the movie doesn’t even attempt to fill to it’s hilariously bad casting decisions (Jai Courtney as Kyle Reese?! Really?!), everyone finally had enough. It was the final nail on the coffin that people had just given up on the franchise.

Strike three and you are out!

Because it was following three poorly received movies that made less of a profit with each new entry, Dark Fate was practically DOA regardless of how good it was. People could care less that Linda Hamilton was back or that the GOAT James Cameron, the man behind the first two game changers would be involved in some way, shape, or form. Audience had already been fooled three times and they weren’t gonna bother being fooled again.

Which is a damn shame because I personally thought Dark Fate was a damn good movie and easily the best one since the first two Terminators but it was never gonna to be good enough to make the other bad installments worthwhile. Had the movie had truly been the third Terminator movie released, then it would have certainly made a profit. But being the sixth one, no chance? Looking back on it, the fact that Dark Fate was able to release at all in theaters is quite astonishing.

Before Prey, the Predator franchise was in a similar situation as the Terminator series. The sequels were iffy in quality and at the box office and the last one to release in theaters, 2018’s The Predator also underperformed vastly at the box office. It got a poor response from both fans and critics alike and it gave the impression that the series had finally ran it’s course. If there was another installment to release in theaters, it would most likely be guaranteed to be another bomb. Why in the world would anyone want to invest anymore time and money to watch it in theaters after being let down repeatedly over the years? Well, now they didn’t have to and could just watch the next one in the comfort of their own homes with only a subscription fee to pay.

To be sure, I know that Dark Fate tanking in theaters wasn’t the prime reason for Prey being only a streaming service exclusive but I like to imagine that it was the same mindset that 20th Century Studios had when deciding to release it. After several failed attempts to win the audience over again with Predator, there’s no telling that Prey would have fared much better at the box office even if it’s far away the best one since the original. Just like with Dark Fate and even Bumblebee, it was following up a bunch of poor, ill-fated features that everyone was exhausted with it and would rather just wait until it hit cable or streaming to even bother investing their time in. In that case, it seemed smarter to just release it on streaming anyway and there’s a big chance that would gain more viewership than it would had the folks who didn’t bother seeing it on the big screen just waited three months to get around to it.

While reports haven’t come out yet how Prey did in terms of ratings, hopefully the numbers are good enough that 20th Century might consider releasing the next Predator movie in theaters because of the support from fans and audiences alike. However, in the case of Prey, I think it was the right call to make it a streaming exclusive from the business side of things. There was just no guarantee it was going to make anything in theaters because of the shaky track record that other movies in the series had critically and financially. It was at least able to avoid the outcome that Dark Fate did and there may in fact be new leash on life for the Predator franchise in the near future.

For awhile, the Predator franchise seemed to be the equivalent of the Jurassic Park franchise, in which it has one film that is a major classic that just can’t be replicated no matter how hard you try with the sequels and trying to top it is just asking for trouble. Sure, you can argue the sequels where entertaining in both intentional (Predators) and unintentional ways (Predators 2, The Predator) but none of them works as well as the original did. What made the original Predator so good was strictly because it was able to deliver it’s creative but straight-forward premise and able to deliver intense thrills and exciting action with what it gave itself to work with. There was nothing more complex or complicated about it. Just Arnold facing off against an alien monster!

If there is one thing that is the most refreshing about Prey is how it seems to operate in that exact distinct mindset. There’s no attempt at going grander, bigger, and more epic or trying as hard to make you “understand” the Predator itself. All it does is have Amber Midthunder (which is one badass name btw)as a young female warrior facing off against a mysterious creature while proving herself to here tribe that she is just as capable with fighting as her male counterparts. Being able to execute on the exact premise heights is not only what makes Prey far and away the best since the original Predator but there may even be an argument that it’s on par with that if not better.

Premise: In 1719, Naru (Amber Midthunder) is a young girl living in the Northern Plains with her tribe. She has ambition to be as good of a leader and warrior has her brother Tabee (Dakota Beavers) and other members of his group. She constantly works hard everyday to train herself to be the best fighter she can possibly be. Eventually, a presence of a haunting alien force emerges in the Northern Plains. This finds Naru being forced into a position that she has been working towards her whole life. To finally become that elite warrior she has always seen herself has. She goes undercover to discover what exactly this creature is and how she can stop it. It’s then that Naru believes this supposed alien makes her set to embark on her very first hunt known as a “kuhtaamia”.

The first thing you can immediately take from Prey is it has it’s own back-to-basics feel to it. It doesn’t put as much focus on the overall mythology of Predators or try as hard to expand on certain backstories and motivations that it doesn’t need to. It’s able to convey it’s own ambitions as the original did by having a very nature vs extraterrestrial subtext to it along with subverting the narrative with it’s female main character.

I’m sure many people will compare the character of Naru to that of Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor has having a strong action heroine that can hold her own but I think a better comparison can be that of Mulan. Not just because it also that our main heroine going through an arc of showing that a woman can be as strong and capable in battle as a man but that we also see a very vulnerable nature to the character as she learns to inhabit the wilderness and being able to survive on her own. Heck, when you really think about it, this is basically a better live-action Mulan movie than Mulan (2020).

Admittedly, having a strong female protagonist would not worked if the lead actress isn’t compelling but Amber Midthunder (Again, such an awesome name!) is an absolute force of nature as the main heroine. She is able to display the perfect mix of vulnerability and just plain badassery to the character of Naru. We see her constantly grow and change constantly throughout the film as she learns to trust herself even when others don’t. It’s the key traits she has in her actions in her own determination and resourcefulness that helps define her character. Throughout the film, we see Naru start to learn the skills and mindset that she has and must stick to exactly that in order to survive and kills this vicious beast. Only knowing her true strengths and her own capability will she be able to live free when it’s all good.

This is majorly important as the movie never loses the fact that Naru is still a person. She has her own flaws, weaknesses, and there are certain things that she just can’t do. Instead of trying to be somebody she is not, Naru discovers the exact somebody that she has to be. This is not just a story about a woman vs a predator, this is about a human being vs a predator.

The overall simplistic premise does give director Dan Trachtenberg plenty of opportunities to focus on the tense and suspenseful atmosphere the movie is set in and for the most part, he exceeds. It’s always important in a movie like this to showcases a level of intensity and suspense in a movie about a hunt in the woods. Trachtenberg is able to use those exact techniques he displayed brilliantly in 10 Cloverfield Lane to an even better advantage here has he is giving more scope and location to work with here.

What works even greater here are the glorious action sequences. While the CGI is quite noticeable at times and it’s not entirely action-heavy until later on in the second half, the fights scenes really excel here. Not only are they bloody and gory, but they feel real and dirty. These aren’t just superhero with superpowers that has vulnerability taking away from, these are real living lifeforms that take hits, bruises, scars, and cuts throughout battles and must find a way to fight despite those. The real standouts here are the early ones with the Predator first arrives as that does a perfect job of displaying the tone and tension in every scene the alien arrives in.

Production wise, this movie is on top form as well. The cinematography by Jeff Cutter is top notch with plenty of nice location shooting that perfectly displays the time period which this movie is set in. The editing by Angela M. Catanzaro and Claudia Castello is rather well done despite a handful of choppy moments, particularly in the action scenes. The score by Sarah Schachner is inspiring and fits the movie immensely well. The make-up and costumes are great which look exactly that I would expect from certain tribes. The only real downside is some admittedly noticeable CGI that might take you out of the movie at the very beginning. Whether it has to do with it being strictly Hulu Plus exclusive or not, it’s just something you are force to get used to until it fades away.

If there is a downside to the movie, it mostly revolves around the pacing of the first half hour or so. It’s definitely worth noting that this is a fairly patient movie. While the 99 minute long runtime isn’t that noticeable, there are parts in the first half that does feel rather slow. This mostly consists of some of the same scenes repeatedly of Naru working on her own with her daily process of hunting and surviving. I get that the filmmakers were trying to show the ins and outs of Naru’s everyday routine but it does feels like it goes on a beat or two longer than it should. There’s also a cute animal sidekick with a dog that the movie hints at being a potential supporting character but comes across as an awkward cameo that feels like is only there or else Naru would have no one to interact with for at least 15 minutes long. There’s also the third act while fulfilling and satisfying, does end on a rather abrupt note with the reaction to the characters involved with it feeling like a complete blink and you miss it moment.

When looking at the big picture of Prey, it’s quite baffling how it has taking this long for the franchise to finally remember and understand the true appeal that the original Predator had. With all these attempts that the sequels try to do by making the lore overly complicated and giving the Predator some kind of motivation and depth, it always seem to be like those movies were thinking ahead of themselves and trying to accomplish something that was nearly impossible because of the standards that they themselves created for themselves. Prey, more so than any other movie in the franchise, gets the appeal of the franchise. It’s the action, it’s the tension, it’s the suspense, it’s the subversive genre, it’s the haunting atmosphere, and it’s just the plain badassery from the main characters that are likable, fun to watch, and easy to care about.

What director Dan Trachtenberg is able to display better than nearly every Predator movie that has come before it is it’s own unique craftmanship. Not only is it a true work of art, but it’s a labor of love. Or in the case of this movie with it’s main lead actress, it’s a labor of love and midthunder.

Other comments:

• This movie stands out so well on it’s own that you don’t even need to have seen the original Predator to enjoy or get this own.

• Yeah, I totally get why people are upset with this not being in theaters but I can think of a big reason or two for it. Something I plan to go into in a future post.

• This movie now kinda makes me wish that Trachtenberg directed Mulan (2020).

• Can’t wait to see Amber Midthunder being casted in a future Marvel or DC movie. Maybe as Black Cat or something.

• Did I mention that Midthunder is an awesome name?

The trade deadline is approaching in baseball. As playoff contending teams are prepared to make big, meaningful movies to give them a push towards a World Series title and non-contending teams look to sell off their best players in the hopes of rebuilding for the future, the stove is about to get hotter than ever. However, there is not one trade that is being discussed more right now than that of the young, energy-filled superstar for the Washington Nationals, Juan Soto.

Recently, it has been reported that Soto turned down a 15-year long contract extension for 440 million dollars by the Nationals. After trying to do everything in their power to extend their talent slugger in the hopes of building a contending team around him for the foreseeable future, the Nationals no longer feel that they will be able to extend Juan Soto long term and have made him opened to trade. Whether Soto turned this massive contract down because he felt he wasn’t being paid enough or just thinks the Nats won’t be a competitive team for the next decade plus is beyond me but no doubt this is a stunning development.

Juan Soto is no doubt one of the best players in baseball. He’s great with the bat with plenty of pop and contact, has one of the best eyes in baseball being able to take a ton of walks and always able to find a way to get on base, and has the cocky, show-off attitude that makes him the right player for this flashy age of baseball we are currently living in. Also, he’s only 23 years old!

He’s no doubt a future hall of famer at the moment but he has got a LONG way to go before we even consider having some sort of conversation about that. Even so, he’s already accomplished many things in baseball! He won a World Series in 2019, took home a batting champion crown in 2020, the Silver Slugger and All-Star game twice, and just came off on top at this year Home Run Derby! A team trading for him would be HUGE but no doubt it will come with a MASSIVE price.

According to head baseball writer/reporter, Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals are requesting at least four to five top young players in return, a combination of top prospects and major league players with brief experience on the major league levels to potentially land this all-star caliber player. This is a huge cost but you will be guarantee Juan Soto for at least three consecutive pennant races.

What's the Nationals asking price for Juan Soto? @Ken_Rosenthal reports that it will take 4 to 5 top young players (combo of prospects and major leaguers with low service time) to potentially land the superstar pic.twitter.com/fefj20gO7P

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 23, 2022

There is however one other feature that makes this trade more complicated. On top of trading away Juan Soto, the Nationals have also requested that teams also acquired starting pitcher Patrick Corbin as a side dish so they could get rid of all of his remaining salary on his contract. The problem here is that Corbin has been one of the absolute worst pitchers in baseball for the past three seasons. This year in particular, he has a dreadful record of 4-13 with a 6.02 ERA and has lead the National League in hits and earned runs given up. Like Soto, Corbin will become a free agent after the 2024 season with plenty of money being due. So not only will you be able to require one of the best hitters in recent memory but you will also have to require one of the worst pitchers in recent memory. This is where things get quite frustrating.

This really comes off as a cheap and manipulative move on the part of Nationals general manager, Mike Rizzo. Basically asking a team to cover up a big financial mistake he’s made along with asking for multiple top prospects and players for two and a half years with a superstar slugger with no guarantee that he will stick around after 2024. Sure, Corbin might be better on a different team with a different catcher, pitching coach, different defense, and a completely different ballpark but asking for the other team to pay for every single cent of an overpaid contract is criminal. It’s a crime without a doubt, but I still believe it’s a crime worth committing.

As much as teams are passionate about their top prospects in their farm system, there is never a guarantee they will turned out to be the next big star. There’s never a guarantee they will turn out to be the next Barry Bonds or Albert Pujols. Some do but most other folks don’t. Just go back and take a look at any of the MLB drafts of the past decade and tell me how many players selected in the first round ended up having impactful careers to this day. Not just talking about Mike Trout and Bryce Harper but every single one chosen from every team out there. You are likely to find more misses than hits there. Prospects are unproven but veteran players are absolutely proven. Especially the ones that come around like Juan Soto. The kind that is able to impact the game of baseball harder than ever before. The ones that is absolutely is worth trading for at ANY price imaginable!

Anyone familiar with James Ramsey or Brian Johnson?

There are many teams that have been discussed that are interested in a potential trade for Soto.. The key teams that have been most considered to be traded include the likes of the Mets, Yankees, Mariners, Rangers, Dodgers, Padres, and the Cardinals. Those are teams that have the talent to trade away as a means of acquiring Juan Soto for a potential postseason run. As much as there are plenty of advantages for each team to want to acquire him, there is at least one thing that could potentially hold them back of pulling the trigger.

The Mets are a divisional rival of the Nationals which might set them back from Washington’s sights. The Yankees don’t exactly have a top-tier farm at the moment and will probably be more focused on extending Aaron Judge. The Mariners and Rangers might not want to deplete their farm system this soon in the hopes that they can make future playoff spots in the upcoming years after being out of it for years now. The Dodgers already sacrificed a lot last year with the additions of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner and would probably rather just wait until Soto hits free agency to make the move on him. The Padres already have plenty of salary on the books with long-term contracts of Tatis, Machado, and Hosmer and may not want to go over the luxury tax. Lastly, the Cardinals are an organization that highly values their prospects and probably prefer to put greater focus on acquiring starting pitching to fill out that injury-plagued rotation.

As much as there is a strong chance that Nationals will trade Juan Soto in the next coming days, there is also likely as strong of a chance that he might not be dealt with until the offseason if no teams are willing to meet Mike Rizzo’s demands. In hindsight, that would be a big mistake on part of the Nationals as by then, the price will probably be less demanding and they won’t be able to get the players and prospects they want because they waited too long to trade him. However, when it comes to benefits from both sides of this equation, it is for the best that Soto is able to put on a new uniform by August 2nd.

(And that’s not even bringing up how the Nats were so grumpy over Soto’s rejection that they didn’t even offer him a ride to the Home Run Derby!)

A trade is always a big risk. Neither side knows how it will affect them in the future and whether or not it will benefit them in the long run. However, when you have an already proven winning player like Juan Soto involved with such a trade, then it is certainly worth it. There are very few players like Juan Soto right now that can be described as good and fun to watch as he is. He’s the type of player that not only can help a team out now but also in the long-term future. He is the type of player that any fan of any team will want to pay money to come watch play. He is the type of player that MLB needs to put a greater emphasis on around marketing for players as he fits right in. He is the type of player that is 100% worth trading for! Whoever ends up with Juan Soto, you will be in for quite a treat!

Thor: Love and Thunder is now released in theaters and everyone has an opinion on it. Whether it’s a positive one or negative one, this is definitely another MCU installment that seems to be getting a pretty split reaction from fans. Similar to that of more recent movies in Phase 4 such as Black Widow, Eternals, and Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness, there doesn’t seem to much of overwhelming positive reactions compare to other, more high-rated Marvel entries such as Spider-Man: No Way Home for example. Whether people debate about the film’s tone, direction, handling of the story and subject matter, and being slightly more progressive or whatever, there has now been some serious discussions as to whether or not the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally ran it’s course. While most will argue that fatigue is settling in with the franchise approaching 30 movies and multiple Disney Plus series being released on a monthly matter, others have argued it’s because Marvel doesn’t seem to have an overall “plan” for Phase 4, or at least one that hasn’t been made clear enough.

I find this discourse quite amusing since it was Marvel themselves that created this mindset that every big studio must have a near decade long plan in advance before going forward with their own shared universe. It was the road map that Marvel created for themselves when developing the Infinity Saga that made people believe that you must plan out everything ahead of time or else it will fall apart. And now here we are, three years after the Infinity Saga has been complete and Marvel being accused for not being prepared enough in advance of what’s in store for the future of this franchise.

*in Palpatine’s voice* Ironic!

For the past several years, there has been discussions by movie buffs everywhere about whether or not a movie franchise needs to have a big grand plan in order for it to be worthwhile and feel cohesive. Many folks would claim the reason the Star Wars sequel trilogy turned out quite uneven was because there was no overarching plan four to five years in advance or how the Dark Universe and Sony Spider-Man universe collapsed because they had no idea what kind of foundation they were trying to built which lead to poor reviews and underwhelming box office results. While those talking points do have valid points, I think it’s more complicated than just not being planned in advance. As a matter of fact, planning in advance doesn’t have to be a necessity and I will gladly explain why.

First off, most movie franchises are built on original movies. Franchises tend to be as successful as they are because of how much people liked the very first entry of it. It’s because of that is what leads to a series being made. For example, Toy Story was given three sequels not because it was always planned to be a series but because of how much people adore the first one. You don’t get Toy Story 2, 3, and 4 if the original was no good. How can you expected for a franchise to plan ahead before it is even given a chance to be a franchise? Sure, you can argue that movies like The Godfather, Jurassic Park, and any Marvel or DC property is based off of existing source material that have had multiple additions, but there is still no guarantee that any of those can get more movies if the first one is not successful. You don’t get sequels to any of those without the first movie being a success.

Granted, there are definitely examples that are harder to defend with the no plan/road map mindset. Going back to the sequel trilogy, that was a series of films that the people behind it knew for a fact that they were going to make it a trilogy no matter what. They knew that each film was going to make a billion dollars based on the Star Wars name alone. Having a plan in advance certainly would have helped but I still would argue that was not a requirement. They didn’t need a plan for the trilogy, what they needed to do was make sequels that build upon the previous one and not try to erase it entirely.

Regardless of what one might think, The Last Jedi actually flows just fine with The Force Awakens as a direct sequel. You may not like the choices that were made in that movie but you can’t claim that it “retconned” the previous one just because it contained things you didn’t like. Rise of Skywalker on the other hand, did not flow well at all as sequel to both Last Jedi and even Force Awakens (which is baffling since Abrams himself directed that film). Instead of following through on the previous two movies and wrapping up it’s remaining story elements, Rise of Skywalker felt the need to add new story elements, characters and completely rewrite backstories at the very last minute because of online discourse surrounding the previous two installments. The movie was a complete mess because it felt sloppily put together at the last minute and felt like it was made with the people involved with it having a gun pointed to their heads by a member of The “Fandom” Menace. It didn’t need to be planned years in advance, what it needed to do was be an actual sequel. Something which most franchises out there tend to do without a big plan.

What’s even more interesting about these claims is that those people don’t even bother to think about the franchises that did in fact have a plan in advance and it completely backfired. Just look at what happened with DC after they gave Zack Snyder full creative control to his own shared universe. It was definitely planned in advance but it completely fell apart because they didn’t bother to keep their foundations in check or second guess what the actual public reaction would have been to those films or it’s box office results. Because of the mixed to negative reception to Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, it forced Warner Bros to reconsider Snyder’s direction of DC films just right in the middle of the road map he had for it. Trying to plan ahead is what set DC films back for quite awhile and attempting to course correct by adding in reshoots to include jokes and tacked-on pop songs in movies like Suicide Squad and Justice League certainly didn’t help. Yes, Snyder did eventually get to release the movie that fitted more with his vision but at what cost. DC had a plan with their extended universe with Zack Snyder and it failed spectacularly.

Of course, this is not the only example of this. There are even instances involving television when this has occurred. Do I need to remind you how bad the ending to How I Met Your Mother and Game of Thrones despite it clearly being the intention from the get-go or how Marvel Netflix got muddled because the producers assumed that people would fall high over heels for Iron Fist and the godawful Hand cult? There can in fact be such things as planning too far in advance. It’s not always about preparing for the future when you’re certain where that exact future will leave you.

When talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I would argue that it was not as pre-planned as many are willing to believe. Did they have a road map? Absolutely! Did they have everything figured out all the way back in 2008? Absolute not!

All you have to do is what the quadtrilogy of Thor movies. You can’t sit there and tell me that all four of those movies were planned the whole way through. There was clearly course correcting between each one of them. With things like how the Lady Sif and the Warriors kept getting build up but with zero payoff, not much time being spent completely on Asgard, Loki being shoehorned in whenever he can, and character arcs and moments that come out of left field such as Jane Foster becoming Thor all of a sudden , this was clearly a series of films being made up on a flight. Were there certain beats that was intended from the beginning? Sure but that doesn’t mean it was planned out as a whole. And do I even knew to mention that moment with Hela and the Infinity Gauntlet.

Don’t take this article as me thinking I’m completely against a franchise having a plan, road map, or a straight forward goal. What I’m trying to say that this should not be the ONLY source of thinking when it comes to making films within established franchises. You just need to have people involved with it that know exactly what they are doing and what stories they are trying to tell with each movie they make.

A perfect example of this is with the new Planet of the Apes reboot. They weren’t planned out from the very beginning (something which Matt Reeves admitted when he claimed he wanted to make a “filler” installment before the finale) but each entry felt cohesive and flowed beautifully with each other. This was because directors Rupert Wyatt and Matt Reeves were able to build upon the previous installment to help create a trilogy-long arc that felt like it’s own complete story with a beginning, middle and end. We saw the main character of Caesar evolve as a character throughout the course of three films as we see him in his role as ape, father, and leader of his own kind.

It’s totally fine to not have a full plan in advance. Part of the fun in the creative process of the filmmaking is being able to see how far you can go with the main concepts and ideas that you have for you own standalone project without worrying about what the next one would be like. While there is still room to do that with franchises with strict planned scheduling, an overreliance of that can take away some of the energy and excitement with making certain movies that it can make come across as an obligation rather than a passionate project.

The main point I’m trying to get across here is that there are multiple ways to approach franchise filmmaking. All it comes down to is execution and how well each movie of said franchise presents itself. When it works, it works. When it doesn’t work, then it just doesn’t work. Plan or no plan, it will only come down to whether or not the filmmakers are able to translate that spectacular vision they have of their film properly on the big screen. If they can’t, then planned ahead or not won’t matter. What matters is the way the film present itself.

Who would’ve guessed that out of all the original Avengers that it would be Thor that would get a fourth movie? Sure, one could argue something like how Captain America: Civil War was just as much Iron Man 4 as it was Captain America 3 but as far as titled movies go, Thor is the first one to get a quadrilogy. It’s hard to deny that the sole reason for Thor getting another movie mostly has to do with the success of it’s predecessor Thor: Ragnarok. After his first two solo movies were met with a so-so reaction from fans and critics alike (along with an incredibly phony revival response from folks on the internet) , a change of course was needed to prove that Thor can hold his own movie and that he is a character worthy of the Marvel canon. Taika Waititi was able to provided that shot in the arm that the character and the franchise needed. While not everyone is a fan of the more comedic Thor, if it wasn’t for the success of that third Thor, there’s a big chance that Marvel would have been done with making standalone Thor movies and at best, he would be a supporting character in other movies until Hemsworth had lost interest in the role. Because of that, we now have Love and Thunder.

A big complaint that people have had about Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is how aimlessness it all feels. How many things are just being thrown at the walls to see what sticks, and that there’s really not a overall “plan” to it. While I understand those claims, I think it’s a bit more complicated than that.

I’m going to save most of this for a later post sometime next weekend but the fact is most franchises are run without any sort of big grand plan. It’s the success of Marvel that has given the misguided sense that you must have every single little thing planned out many years in advance before you start shooting the pictures or else it will be a failure. If you ask me, that’s not a very healthy way to think when constructing a series.

To those people who have made those claims, I suggest you watch all four of these Thor movies back-to-back-to-back-to-back. When you watch them I dare you all to tell me that all four of these movies were planned all out in advance. I dare you! I double dare you motherf*cker! I seriously dare anyone to tell me that each of these movies were planned the moment that filming began for the very first Thor! You can’t because it’s not suppose to be that way!

Yes, Love and Thunder was of course not planned from the get-go and the sole reason it existed is because how big of a hit Ragnarok was! However, WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD! THAT’S HOW MOVIE FRANCHISE ARE USUALLY MADE!

Anyways, so how actually does Waititi do on round two with Thor movies? Mostly, more of the same as last time out except not quite as much tonally control as he did with the prior movie and tackling subject matters that isn’t executed as well has it could have because of the oddball tone it’s going for. This will definitely not win anyone over who didn’t care for the previous one but if you are a fan of it, then you will most likely find just as much enjoyment of this one even if it’s shorter and feels more like trying to recapture lightning in a bottle.

Warning: The following premise might contain some mild spoilers for the movie. The reason I say this is because there are certain subplots and elements that the trailers have not touched upon. Fans of the source material that this movie is based on should not be surprised but for everyone else, proceed the rest of the review with caution.

Premise: Taking place sometime after Avengers: Endgame, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been with the Guardians of the Galaxy for awhile and is struggling to find his next purpose in life. Despite all he’s lost and achieve, he is looking for that next big thing to help him find inner peace. Things take a turn for the worse when Thor receives a distress call from his old friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander), and discovers a new villain that has emerged in the form of Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a galactic killer who kidnaps the children of New Asgard as he seeks the extinction of all gods after losing his daughter. We also see Jane Foster (Natalie Porman) thrown back to the mix as she is battling cancer but believes that wielding the Mjolnir and becoming the Mighty Thor just might help her out with her life-threatening condition. It’s then that Thor must work together with Jane and reunite with his teammates from Ragnarok with Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), who is now king of New Asgard, and Korg (Taika Watti) to defeat Gorr before he gets his revenge.

Now, with that much of a setup, you would think that the movie would ranged around two and a half hours long. However, that is not the case here with Love and Thunder as it is just under two hours with a runtime of just 119 minutes including credits. The movie moves at a breezy clip by throwing enough action, laughs, and beats to keep your attention until it ends. While there are definitely elements that I feel could have benefitted with an extra 15 to 20 minutes of screen time, it’s not something you notice when watching the movie and only think about an hour or two after you’ve seen it.

The most surprising element of Love and Thunder is how this is the first time in these movies that I actually cared about the relationship between Thor and Jane. With the first Thor movies, it was hard to buy their chemistry and you couldn’t help but feel it was more of a physical attraction between the two as oppose to an emotional one. It only felt like Thor and Jane were together because both Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman are two insanely attractive people. However, here, it does just enough to get you engage with their relationships and have it all reflect the arcs the two characters go through. Mostly involving being about cherishing every moment with the ones you love because you never know when they are going to be gone forever. While there are parts in the first act that feels like it’s doing the heavy lifting that the first two Thor movies should have done, it’s certainly the most engaging part of the movie and what keeps the picture from falling completely flat on it’s face.

Another nice element is the return of Natalie Portman. This is the first time in these movies where Portman feels like she is really enjoying herself. While that is mostly because she now gets the chance to play a superhero, she is able to blend with the other cast members very well and is a big highlight of the movie. And for those concerned that her coming back as Thor would come across as fake feminism or having her be completely flawless, there is plenty of vulnerability on display for her character and has enough depth to make her feel like a fully formed person here. I won’t go too much into what her character does through as that would contain spoilers but it’s good to see Natalie get something more worthwhile to do here.

Christian Bale makes a great impression as the main villain as Gorr. While he doesn’t have as much screen time as much as I would have liked, he does make for perhaps the most engaging MCU villain since Kilmonger. He’s fighting for the same cause that the heroes are in the movie but for completely different reasons. He’s sympathetic, intimating, and even kinda funny at times. Bale’s performance does feel closer to Patrick Bate than Batman but he’s good enough here to make you feel his presence in every scene that he is in.

As for the rest of the cast, Tessa Thompson gets less to do her as King Valkyrie than in Ragnarok but gets enough cool action bits to herself and Thompson herself is so charming that she just completely steals every moment she is in. Taika Waititi gets himself more time to shine as Korg and the narrator but it feels like he might have been better suited as an extended cameo rather than as a major supporting character. Speaking of extended cameos, the Guardians of the Galaxy don’t have any big roles to play after the setup and feels like they’re only here because continuity and to let the audience know what they’ve been up to three years later. There’s also another stage play here that reacts events from the last movie that has the other two celebrities from before making a cameo here along with a delightful one from the one that plays Hela. Despite it making less sense of having a stage play this time out, that one surprise cameo basically saved that moment for me.

The real thing that keeps Love and Thunder from being a top-tier MCU flick and somewhere in-between mid-tier and low-tier is it’s overall jarring change of tone and how it handle the elements in it’s story. While Ragnarok played a similar dark storyline in a funny way, it doesn’t work as well here. At least in Ragnarok, it made sense to be all wacky and fun with Thor as he visits these strange worlds and these strange individuals he meets along the way. In Love and Thunder, aside from a section where he visits a world to find Zeus (played gloriously by Russell Crowe), he doesn’t visit those kind of places or interact with those kind of individuals. It’s really hard to play the same comedic angle from last time but also try to make a personal story involving a man who kidnaps children to avenge his lost daughter along with a woman dying from cancer. It’s not that it’s impossible for Whatti to find the right balance between light and darkness as his other non-Marvel movies (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and JoJo Rabbit) has proven otherwise. Here, it feels like he got a bit of ahead of himself.

There’s also certain characters that don’t get as much screen time as they should. There’s not much done with the status quo for Valkyrie in her newly King form or even attempt to explore the gay side of her (Relax, conservative parents who lost their shit over Lightyear! There’s no gay kiss scene here!), Gorr is practically absent throughout the entire middle act, and what was even the point of bringing back Jaimie Alexander as Sif if you were just gonna have her show up at the very beginning and very end. I know many will argue that because of the film’s runtime that it couldn’t have put as much focus on it but there was also the original Guardians of the Galaxy which had a similar runtime but was able to find the time to flesh out it’s characters to make you get behind them. It’s all about balance, execution, and choosing the right things to focus on. Love and Thunder struggles at that more so than other MCU installments.

Production wise, it’s quite a mixed bag as well. While there are definitely not as many awful green screen shot that Film Twitter has made a big hassle over (the CGI helmet on Thor is admittedly very obvious), some of the movie does look distractingly flat while at others times, it looks glorious. The action setpieces are mostly fun, with the standout being the very first one with Thor and the event with all main four players in Zeus’s arena. The editing and lighting can be quite distraction at times with some awkward screen transaction and certain scenes looking quite dark. The music choices aren’t as fresh as before but the ones that are choosing are still awesome and the overall original score does it’s job.

Love and Thunder does help bring home many major points of the MCU that both it’s supporters and haters have hammered for the past several years. That the universe is not as planned out as many have been led to believe, it doesn’t have that same “fresh” feeling as it once did, and how even with an lesser entry like these still rise above the lesser entries in many other movie franchises (You can’t say with a straight face that Iron Man 2 and Thor: The Dark World is of the same quality as Catwoman and Fant4stic). There’s going to be multiple discussions about the future of Marvel throughout the coming weekend and this movie will likely provide plenty of amusing talking points for it.

Still, there are worse ways to spent a hot summer day than in a cool theaters and watching hot, badass folks kicking butt and saving the day like the superheroes they are. If still being entertain by these Marvel movies is now so wrong, then I don’t think I want to be right. It’s like having a big old Big Mac from McDonalds. Yes, it’s messy and all over the place but man, does it still taste good. If that sounds like a negative to you, then it will be a negative. If that’s a positive to you, then positivity trumps all! Or in the case of this movie, love (kinda) trumps all!

(And yes, there are two credit scenes.)

Other comments:

• It’s funny how this movie references a sci-fi epic that came out in 2014, a year after the last time that Natalie Portman was in these movies.

• I would definitely watch a Disney Plus show of Thor and his adventure with the Guardians themselves.

• There was WAY too much foreshadowing in this movie. Even if you don’t know the comics, you are bound to see certain beats coming from a mile away.

• There’s basically one moment that this movie’s version of “I have nothing to prove to you!” from Captain Marvel. Certain folks are gonna go nuts for that moment!

• When it comes to a movie that moves at a brisk pace and crams two popular storylines into one without as much build up and emotional payoff that one might want, this is basically like a better version of X-Men: The Last Stand. Don’t @ me!

• I forgot to mention but that Chris Hemsworth guy is still pretty good as Thor Odinson.