Category Archives: Superhero

Spooky Movie #6: Werewolf by Night

Marvel comics has a history stretching back the 60s. In those decades of world building and market chasing as part of their unified universe of heroes and villains the have explored every genre of storytelling including horror. With the Disney + release of Werewolf by Night they bring horror into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Werewolf by Night is helmed by first time director Michael Giacchino, though he is best known as a film score composer whose works include the fanfare that plays with the Marvel Studios logo. Written by Heather Quinn and Peter Cameron the Disney + special follows a group of ‘monster hunters’ gathered to compete to claim a powerful artifact, the Bloodstone. A monster ‘unlike any that they have face before’ has been released onto the grounds of a grand estate with the bloodstone imbedded into it. To win a hunter must not only best the beast and claim the stone but also survive the other hunters.

Presented in black-and-white to invoke the sensation of classic Universal horror, and to mitigate the blood splattered violence, the just under an hour special does a fine job of capturing a mood and atmosphere that plays well for fans of cinematic horror. The filmmakers carried their ‘old school’ presentation to entertaining ends with the inclusion of ‘cue marks.’ These are dark or white ovals that flash in the upper righthand corner of the frame to alert projectionist that a reel change was nearing and to prep the second projector. Even in the mid 1980s when I worked in a local movie theater the cue marks had passed out of relevance as the film projectors massive platters that contained the entire film on a single reel.

Aside from a title card with silhouettes of the Avengers there is no direct reference to other characters of the MCU though the production is officially a part of the franchise and introduces comic characters to this aspect of the Marvel universe.

Werewolf by Night is a fun, slightly scary, entry into the MCU and well worth the less than an hour it takes to view. An excellent episode to watch during this season.

The Unlearned Lesson of Black Panther

2018’s Black Panther, written by Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, and directed by Coogler, was Marvel’s expansion in Afrofuturism exploring a mythical African kingdom, Wakanda, with incredibly advanced comic-book technology and wholly untouched by historical colonialism. An incredible box office success Black Panther gave a new myth to millions around the world while exploring the theme that isolationism, both for individuals and nations, solves no problems but merely leaves them to fester and grow. Its lesson that through interconnectedness can we heal the harms of the past is a valuable one.

However, there is another lesson in the plot of the film that none of the characters learned or even took note of its existence.

(Some spoilers follow)

After Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) defeats T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) in ritual combat and claims the throne of Wakanda as his own he launches a campaign to wage war on the rest of the world seeking to ‘liberate’ the African diaspora around the globe. (I place ‘liberate’ in quote because his statement that ‘the sun will never set on the Wakandan Empire’ makes clear not only the historical analogy that he has become the colonizers he so despises but that liberty’ is far from his goal.)

Despite the Wakandan royal court knowledge that this will lead to millions upon millions of deaths around the world King Killmonger’s plan is put into immediate action. The King of Wakanda is an absolute monarch, ruling by decree and without any limitation.

T’Challa and the other heroes of the tale foil Killmonger’s plan for a global war and return the film’s protagonist to the throne.

But there is no hint in this film or the ones that followed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that the Wakandans even took notice that an absolute monarch is a plan for disaster.

Never create a political power you aren’t willing to see in the hands of your enemy.

There are other kingdoms in the marvel Universe, the films have already introduced us to Asgard, and it certainly looks like the sequel to Black Panther will introduce thew kingdom of Atlantis and it is doubtful that either will see limitations of the king’s authority, but Wakanda and Black Panther is different than those other stories and settings. Black Panther is a commentary on the real world, real history, and real evil that was visited upon the African continent. While superheroes with their magical and physics defying powers are modern fairytales and myth if you make such a direct and applicable statement on modern political systems and power then ignoring the dangers of absolute monarchy, of too much power concentrated into one person hands, is a disservice.

The unlearned lesson of Black Panther is power must be distributed and checked or will eventually be abused.

Series Review: Ms. Marvel

Disney plus this week completed its latest MCU limited series Ms. Marvel. The shows centers on Kamala Khan, a 1st generation Pakistani-American high school student, her friends, family, and obsession with the MCU’s real-life superheroes, particularly Carol Danvers AKA Captain Marvel. When a mysterious artifact from her grandmother unlocks hidden powers within Kamala, she is thrust into a conflict that will set her against agents of the government, extra-dimensional beings, and that will propel her back the traumatic partition of India.

Iman Vellani does a good job portraying Kamala Khan which just the right balance of immaturity appropriate for a teenager but with potential that should bloom as she matures. The multi-ethic cast overall is well portrayed with the diversity within the Islamic faith is displayed without being shoved into a spotlight like a lecture.

Ms. Marvel’s tone is light with an emphasis on comedy but not fully goofy, but rather a character-based humor with just enough stakes to give the series some dramatic heft.

What appears to be the central threat and conflict is actually dealt with in the penultimate episode leaving the finale for a different and not entirely satisfactory complication. That said over all I enjoyed the series, while it was not a bold as Loki nor as experimental as WandaVision the show was entertaining, well written and acted and presented a likeable main character that was easy to empathize with.

Mild Spoiler Follows

IN the final episode Marvel Studios used the series as an opportunity to introduce a long-awaited fan addition to the MCU — mutants, complete with a musical cue from the 90s animated X-Men series.

I’m Back

So, I have been busy these last two weeks looking after my sweetie-wife following her surgery. Everything went very well and today I am returning to my day job. I am also returning to, hopefully, regular updates to this blog and back to my writing.

Here are a few thoughts on recent shows but not full deep dives.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Following the adventures of Captain Christopher Pike, commanding officer of the Enterprisebefore Kirk, this series seems to have found the right balance between honoring the past and original series while striking out for new territory with new characters and fresh takes on old ones. I am particularly enamored with Jess Bush and her take on the underutilized character Nurse Christine Chapel. There are breaks with canon but so far these have created new and compelling storylines that justify the rupture.

Ms. Marvel

The latest MCU series to debut on Disney+ Ms., Marvel follows the life of Kamala Khan a Pakistani-American highschooler and devoted Captain Marvel fan as she navigates life in the MCU, her Muslim family and neighborhood, with varying levels of devoutness, and her sudden and inexplicable acquisition of superpowers. The show’s style is vibrant, energetic, and exploding with energy, much like the life of a teenage while neatly balancing the fantastic with the reality of modern life for a character caught between tradition and the wider American culture.

I have very little actual knowledge of Muslim-American culture, and less that would apply to the specifics of being Pakistani-American teenage girl, but the show feels honest and respectful giving me an insight I have not before possessed. Well worth the watch.

Movie Review (Spoiler Free): Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness

Six years, and after several appearances in other franchise properties, Doctor Strange has its the sequel in Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (MOM).

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), master of the mystic arts, grappling with lost years dues to snapture (Hat tip to NPR’s Glenn Weldon for that) and lost loves as Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) marries another is drawn into a multi-universal threat rescuing a teenage, America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), witchcraft summoned demons intent of capturing the young

Disney Pictures

woman for their master’s plan. Recognizing that this is witchcraft and not sorcery Strange seeks out Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for assistance kicking off a chase across parallel universes, cameos from Marvel characters yet established in the MCU’s cannon and director’s Raimi’s long-time collaborator Bruce Campbell, with homages to their cult classic The Evil Dead, climaxing in CGI saturated battles but with a resolution that ultimately turns on seeing oneself as you truly are rather than how you think you are.

MOM is not the worst MVU films to play the silver screen, but neither is it the best. While heavy handed with some exposition it doesn’t fully its narrative momentum in the second act as did Eternals nor is it as light in character drama as The Incredible Hulk, but Strange’s emotional arc is flat, nearly absent, and with minor script changes that could have been corrected without signification plot deviations. Newcomer Xochitl Gomez does an impressive job holding her own in the presence of such acting talents as Cumberbatch, Olsen, and the film’s other Benedict, Wong, selling her character’s emotional truth without big expansive expressive displays

That said the film’s MVP actor is Elizabeth Olsen. In addition to playing variants of her character she excelled as the displaying depths for these individuals, giving a natural realism that penetrated the plots incredible nature and the CGI’s attempts to steal attention with spectacle. While Strange’s name is in the title the film is really her and I do wonder what viewers who have not seen WanaVision, whose theme composer Danny Elfman slipped into the score, made of Wanda’s principal motivation?

I did find the visual effects not quite on target, but I do not think it was primarily a failure of good rendering or models but rather the final composting left a disquieting disconnect to the varies elements harming the verisimilitude.

Overall, I would rank this MCU entry in the 3rd quarter with about half of the franchise better than and about a quarter not as good.

Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness is currently playing theatrically.

My Upcoming Geeky Artistic Weekend

Which artistically is starting tonight, Thursday.

Tonight, I plan to go out and see the foreign language Finnish horror film Hatching before it vanishes from theaters in my area. (I must admit I adore my AMC A-List subscription that makes rolling the dice on movie so much easier.)

Also tonight is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. My sweetie-wife and I will be giving the series a try. Now, I’ll confess that lately the trek shows have not been working for me but hope springs eternal.

Saturday evening I plan to venture to San Diego’s Balboa Park for more experiments in night photography. Last weekend when I left the secret morgue I spied the California Tower lit by colored lights and thought it would be a good subject for my meager photographic skills.

Sunday morning my sweetie-wife and I will go out and catch the new Doctor Stranger movie.

All in all I am looking forward to this weekend.

Movie Review: The Batman

There have been quite a few feature films of DC’s ‘The World’s Greatest Detective’ Batman, 1 quickly rushed production derived from the campy television series, 4 in the franchise launch in 1989, Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, 1 where he shared titular billing with Superman, and another 1 or 2, depending on how you count Justice League, where is a driving force and a major character and now Director and Co-writer Matt Reeves brings us The Batman, another relaunch of the character and continuity, and perhaps my favorite Batman film yet.

The Batman brings us into the story two years into Bruce Wayne’s ‘Batman experiment,’ as Bruce is suffering doubts about the effectiveness of his vigilantism. Despite his nightly patrols crimes seems not only unabated but growing. When the mayor is brutally murdered days before the election by a mysterious madman obsessed with riddles Batman’s investigates pull

Credit: WB Studios

him in a dark web of conspiracy, corruption, and crime entangling Gotham’s political and economic elites. The trail of clues in his hunt for The Riddler leads Batman through the city’s organized crime, its police force, and crossing paths with a dangerous cat burglar on her own path of vengeance. The answers to the Riddler’s horrific murders and his motivation erodes Batman’s sense of self and history leading him to finally understand himself and what his experiment’s actual results.

The Batman delivers on the promise Matt Reeves made when he took over the project to redirect the character back to its detective roots. Tim Burton’s films luxuriated in a brooding Gothic aesthetic, Schumacher’s run were neon and gaudy, Nolan’s trilogy attempted a realism never before seen with Batman, and Snyder’s tone can be best described as brutalism with The Batman Reeves has reached back into Hollywood’s classic era for a film noir interpretation of a superhero movie. Very little of the film takes place in daylight and nearly none of that involves the Batman. As the character narrates himself into the experiment’s logbook, he is not in the shadows, he is the shadows. And unseen by himself, there is a shadow over his heart that is the story’s psychological center. The three characters close the Batman provide the emotional and psychic tension to pulls at him, Alfred with the debt of family and history, Gordon with the drive for justice, and Selina Kyle with a thrust for vengeance. resolving these competing tensions is the real story of The Batman.

Beautifully photographed by cinematographer Greig Fraser and with deliciously detailed production design by James Chinlund The Batman creates a Gotham that feels real, feels lived in, while preserving the epic scope required for our modern mythology that is the superhero movie.

The Batman is still currently playing in a few theaters and is now streaming on HBO Max.

My 2021 In Cinema Experience

Below are the twenty films I watched in theaters during 2021. ( Missed counted in yesterday’s post) From January thru April I stayed home due to the pandemic but once I had both shots of my vaccinations and felt more comfortable about brief outing in public I returned to my beloved theaters.

The order if this list is a combination of my subjective opinion on quality, how much I enjoyed watching the features, and how often I thought about them long after leaving the theater. I can honestly say I do not regret seeing any of the film, no matter their placement, in an actual theater.

1 Dune

2 Nightmare Alley

3 Last Night in Soho

4 Spider-Man: No Way Home

5 The Night House

6 No Time to Die

7 Lamb

8 Black Widow

9 The Last Duel

10 The Green Knight

11 Free Guy

12 Cruella

13 Nobody

14 The King’s Man

15 Eternals

16 The Tragedy of Macbeth

17 Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

18 The Suicide Squad

19 Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

20 Venom: Let There be Carnage

Spoiler Free Movie Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home

The theatrical Box Office this past weekend returned to pre-pandemic levels when Spider-Man: No Way Home, scored an amazing 250 million dollar opening weekend.

The third in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man franchise the film follows directly on the heels of the previous installment, Spider-Man: Far From Home, with Mysterio’s post-death revenge of revealing to the world at large that high-schooler Peter Parker is Spider-Man and framing him for the attacks, death, and destruction from that installment. Wisely the filmmakers do not spend a lot of time on the legal consequences of this aspect of the revenge. After all we are not there to see legal filing and debates, though what they do give the audience is satisfying for dedicated MCU fans.

What they do give us is Peter attempting to manage and fumbling the crisis of his revealed and, to many, reviled identity. The trailers reveal Peter’s partnership with Doctor Strange and the appearance of multi-verse villains providing fan services by tipping the MCU’s hat towards the previous incarnations of this beloved hero, but the real focus of the film is Peter, MJ, and Ned, their deep friendship, and their difficult transition from adolescents to adults as they leave high school and prepare for college while navigating their new and terrible celebrity.

The MCU has spent three films and a bit letting us see Peter Parker as a teenager, a high school student, as the original comic book did instead of quickly dispensing with that aspect of the character. Now that era has ended and this story does so respectfully giving that transition the gravitas it requires.

Spider-man: No Way Home, not only presents in the third film the MCU’s utterance of the famous ‘power and responsibility’ but also the thematic foundation that doing the right things nearly always comes with a cost and what separates good from great is the willingness to bear that cost personally.

There are cameos and nods opening up the MCU and the mid-credit and end credit buttons delineate the division between the MCU and the Sony-verse of Spider-man adjacent characters, but also set up the next MCU film Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness directed by the man who kicked off our love of the cinematic Spider-man with the original film back in 2002.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently in theatrical release only.

Eternals

The Marvel Cinematic Universe returned to solely theatrical distribution this weekend with the release of the Kirby inspired, grand cosmically themed movie Eternals. Sadly, Eternals is the MCU’s first unqualified miss of an entry into their massively successful and expanding set of shared stories.

Boasting a roster of ten powered cosmic beings the Eternals were dispatched to Earth at the dawn of human civilization to protect humanity from extraterrestrial monstrosities Deviants that feed on intelligent lifeforms. Having extinguished the deviant threat in the 16th century the Eternals now mission-less scattered around the globe only to be surprised by the return of their ancient foe a heralding a greater threat and a darker truth about their mission.

The reasons why Eternals did not work for me falls into three major elements.

1) Too many major characters. With the limited scope of a feature film, even one with a running time of just over two and half hours, it is very difficult to have that many characters with their own arcs and issues. I found the plotlines that were emotionally resonate for me sidelined and given only cursory attention. There was only a surface treatment of interesting characters and as such only surface emotional engagement.

2) Too much mythology for a single story. Eternals opens with a block of text giving the audience backstory on the situation, then several times stops for more extended blocks of exposition revising the history and lore of the story. Again, and again narrative moment is killed in the name of exposition.

3) Spectacle over story. Eternals has several large set-piece special effects battles, each more massive in scale than the previous but flash/bang doesn’t create emotional meaning. Whose yet there are times when the filmmakers simply cheat the audience. Presenting one thing as reality directly contradicting a few moments later for the sake of a ‘reveal.’ In the theaters I sat in none of the moments evoked much of an audience response.

Despite an engaging and talented cast Eternals fails to deliver on a story that can make audiences care about the events on the screen. It is a tale full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

Robert Mitchell Evans

Literary Saboteur