mcu

Summertime sci-fi: ‘Spider-Man,’ ‘Star Trek,’ & ‘Stuart’

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I have three reviews for you today; a gripe about captioning devices at the movies; and a fun phrase you’re going to want to add to your vocabulary.

First up: You may have heard of this obscure little film called “Spider-Man: Brand New Day”? Yeah, you probably have. It is the highest-grossing film of the year, the highest opening weekend gross for the United States and Canada, and the second highest worldwide (highest was “Avengers: Endgame”).

It was bumped from IMAX by “The Odyssey,” but on opening day, our theater was packed with Spidey fans, as evidenced by the sea of Spider-Man t-shirts in the lobby. I wore mine too. There is something exciting about going to a Marvel movie on opening day (or weekend), the shared energy which makes it more than just “going to the movies” and more of an experience, like going to see your favorite band live.

Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spidey has grown on me since he first appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 (in “Captain America: Civil War”), maybe because he’s grown from an earnest, innocent teen to an adult who has been somewhat beaten down by life. He is more relatable now.

We last saw him in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (2021), which ended with Peter asking Doctor Strange to cast a spell erasing him from everyone’s memory.

Everyone forgets who he is, including his girlfriend MJ and his best friend Ned. It’s a clever way to clean the slate for “Brand New Day,” which opens with Spider-Man anonymously protecting New York City.

Jacob Batalon and Zendaya reprise their roles as Ned and MJ, Mark Ruffalo is back as Bruce Banner/Hulk, Florence Pugh as Yelena, and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle/Punisher.

I will not give away the plot in case you’re one of the few MCU fans who have not had a chance to see it yet.

I loved the movie. I laughed, I cried. I love Ned and MJ. Yelena and Bruce are two of my favorite Marvel characters, and I also am a fan of “The Bear,” so it was also nice to see Mikey (Bernthal) and Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas, who plays Detective Jean DeWolff in this movie).

I think they did a good job with the plot reset, and even though the film is long (nearly two and a half hours), it is fast-paced and action-packed, so you probably won’t mind unless you got a large soda with your popcorn, or if, say, on your second viewing, your closed-captioning device isn’t working properly and after leaving the theater three times to ask an employee to fix it, it still doesn’t work.

Note to Cinemark: Please get the captioning devices sorted for your deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, I’m begging you.

If you don’t know what these things look like, I’m attaching a photo. It has a rectangular head and a flexible neck. The base fits into the seat’s cupholder. It is not a camera; I am not recording the movie. Yes, people ask me this.

It is inconveniencing to look back and forth between the screen and the captions, which are close enough to my face that I have to wear reading glasses, which make the screen blurry.

Having said that, I can barely understand the dialogue without it, so it really is cool. It would be even cooler if they worked every time. I also wish they had a few showings with captions on the screen, like we have on our TVs. That brings us to my TV reviews:

‘Stuart Fails to Save the Universe’

“The Big Bang Theory” has always been about nerds who like sci-fi, and the fourth series in the franchise goes all in on the genre.

Dorky but lovable comic shop owner Stuart Bloom (Kevin Sussman) finds himself responsible for preventing a multiversal Armageddon after accidentally damaging a device built by Sheldon, Leonard, and Howard.

He gets some help (and sometimes harm) from Kripke, Bert, and Denise (John Ross Bowie, Brian Posehn, and Lauren Lapkus).

It’s a fun but silly show that places the characters in a different universe in each episode, and there are cameos from other BBT alums, including Raj, Penny, Bernadette, and Wil Wheaton.

At this point, it feels a little like the creators are cashing in on the familiarity of these characters. They know we love them. That’s why this is the third spinoff. But to make this series as good as BBT, they need to step it up. I don’t think the novelty of the show’s premise is enough to sustain it. It’s still early though, so maybe it will get better with time.

“Stuart Fails to Save the Universe” is on HBO Max.

‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’

We are now on Season Four of this Star Trek series. The premiere aired on Paramount+ on July 23, and the rest of the episodes are being released weekly. We are only a few episodes into the season, so maybe it’s not fair of me to say I’m not loving it as much as I have loved previous seasons. My main beef is with the second episode, “The Griffin Incident.”

Let me preface this complaint by saying this iteration of Star Trek has fun episodes that diverge from the usual fare. There was an animated episode, an episode in which the actors were replaced by puppets, a musical episode, etc. “The Griffin Incident” was horror. If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know I am not a big fan of horror, and I was completely unprepared and not in the right mood for this creepy, gory, supernatural episode. If you’re sensitive to horror also, skip that episode!

In the third episode, the burned-out crew gets some much-needed downtime on a resort planet where the atmosphere intoxicates everyone in a different way. Ortegas and Scotty wake up with no memory of what has transpired and must put the pieces together with the help (or lack thereof) of their inebriated crewmates. It’s sort of silly, like most shore-leave episodes, but it’s fun to see another side of these characters.

I also assume the actors enjoy doing these types of episodes, as well as the parallel or mirror universe episodes, so they can flex their acting skills. And more importantly, get a break from memorizing scripts full of technobabble.

And speaking of technobabble. …

The first episodes of both the aforementioned series blame the characters’ predicament on “quantum entanglement.” It reminds me of “Ant-Man and the Wasp.”

In “Stuart Saves the Universe,” it is explained that the damage to Leonard and Sheldon’s gizmo has led to quantum entanglement, transporting them to different universes, and in “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” the crew of the Enterprise finds itself thrown back in time – to the age of the dinosaurs. This is explained, again, by quantum entanglement.

Yes, I know quantum entanglement is a real thing, a phenomenon having to do with particles, wormholes, Einstein-Rosen bridges … Something like that. I didn’t major in physics.

My friend and I have begun to blame quantum entanglement for any stroke of bad luck or disaster that befalls us. Your A/C broke while you were on vacation? It must have been quantum entanglement. Your captioning device didn’t work when you went to the movies? Quantum entanglement. If you get a flat tire and a jury duty summons on the same day, you are quantumly fucked, or a victim of quantum fuckery. I think it’s going to catch on. You heard it here first.

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Thunderbolts*, Academy museum, Ren Faire, & more

Posted on by earthtoshawna

Before I tell you about my latest sci-fi/fantasy themed outings, let’s talk about Marvel’s newest movie, “Thunderbolts*.”

We went on opening night (the IMAX “fan event”) and, fittingly, it was the same day as our rare Southern California thunderstorm. Unfortunately, the power went out halfway through the movie, and we had to come back the next night to finish it.

The setup is nothing we haven’t seen before – a ragtag team of misfits forced to work together to defeat a common enemy, blah blah blah. But it works. I laughed, I cried, I can’t wait to see these characters together again in another movie.

The MVP (unsurprisingly) is Florence Pugh. She always brings it, and as much as I love her as bratty Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” I love her even more as Black Widow’s little sister Yelena.

David Harbour reprises his role as the scruffy and comical Red Guardian. There are so many great actors in this: Sebastian Stan, Hannah John-Kamen … I will even reluctantly admit that the cast’s nepo babies were good. (Wyatt Russell is the son of Kurt Russell, who has also been in a Marvel movie, and Lewis Pullman is the son of Bill Pullman, who has not.)

My biggest issue with the MCU is that some of the villains (such as Gorr the God Butcher and Ronan the Accuser) are a little over the top. I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus but her character is also a bit one-sided, but that’s par for the Marvel course, I guess.

“Thunderbolts*” is a fun (and funny) action movie, but its greatest strength is its emotional impact. Early in the movie, Yelena is asked what you are supposed to do with your dark feelings, your emotional trauma? Well, you just stuff those feelings down. Way, way down. I laughed out loud at this dialogue (which I’m paraphrasing), but Marvel does not get enough credit for addressing things like PTSD and mental health. This movie in particular does a good job of exploring these topics, which are so important.

Even though I’ve seen it one and a half times already, I would go see this in the theater again, and I may do just that, as it’s playing at El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. There are even costumes from the film on display as well. For more information: https://elcapitantheatre.com/

If you’re a movie lover who lives in Southern California, check out the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wilshire Boulevard, which opened in 2021.

We went for the Bong Joon Ho exhibition and happened to be there on May the 4th – Star Wars Day! There were photo ops with droids and Jedis, a Star Wars mural painting opportunity, and lots of people dressed up as Star Wars characters.

The Bong exhibition was pretty cool. Even though I have not yet seen all of his films, there were a lot of props, film clips, and story boards from his movies. I especially loved the drawings and concept art from the movie “Okja.” The only bummer: nothing from “Mickey 17.” The only nod to the new film is a copy of the novel from which the film was adapted, for sale in the museum gift shop.

Another current exhibition at the museum is “Cyberpunk: Envisioning Possible Futures Through Cinema.” Featured films include “The Matrix,” “Tron,” and “Videodrome” (a Cronenberg film from the ’80s that scarred me for life). There were props from the movies “Blade Runner,” “Ex Machina,” and more. Be sure to check out both floors of this (somewhat sparse) exhibition.

Don’t miss the other galleries – even though we had seen a lot of the costumes and props the first time we visited (in 2022 for the Miyazaki exhibition), there are a lot of new additions, including Barbie and Ken’s costumes from the Barbie movie. For more information, go to https://www.academymuseum.org/en

There are two weekends left of this year’s Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Irwindale.

We went opening weekend; the weather was nice, and the entertainment and food were great. We enjoyed the various shows and vendors. I especially love the Seraphim Arabesque Ensemble. Maybe I was a belly dancer in a past life?

Throw a costume together and bring the family! Make sure to follow the directions on their website – and don’t miss the joust! For more info, visit renfair.com/socal.

Photos of the Academy Museum and the Renaissance faire by Earth to Shawna.

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Life’s not fair, but at least there’s chocolate … & kittens

Posted on by earthtoshawna

I know it came out a month ago, but I’m just getting around to complaining about all the hate “The Marvels” got. I think the main reason it didn’t do as well as other Marvel films at the box office is because men don’t want to see a film about three women superheroes. Maybe it’s more complicated than that, but … I don’t think so.

Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris reprise their roles as Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau, and Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury. The actors had great chemistry together, and it was funny and fun. Also: Flerkittens! How can anyone complain about a movie that has Flerkittens? I would honestly like to know.

The movie was a little silly, yes, but so was “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and so was “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” I enjoyed it despite its silly moments and will watch it again. Headlines declared it “bombed” at the box office, even though it grossed $47 million its domestic opening weekend. Well, I guess that’s a bomb when you compare it to other MCU openings, but “Wonka” made $39 million, and everyone described that movie as a hit. (Worth noting: “The Marvels” is the highest grossing film directed by a Black woman.)

The Candy Man can.

Speaking of “Wonka” – we went opening weekend and enjoyed it. It’s a prequel of the 1971 classic, and is directed by Paul King, who also directed the “Paddington” movies. It definitely had the same vibe as “Paddington,” and some of the same actors (including Sally Hawkins and Hugh Grant).

I liked the film, but I don’t think it would have worked as well if the title character was played by anyone other than the very charming Timothee Chalamet.

It wasn’t a perfect movie, but the visuals were magical, the songs were catchy, and I approve of its message, which I am pretty sure is: Life is unfair but at least there’s chocolate.

Or something like that.

I want them to actually look like Jeff Goldblum and Robert Downey Jr. Is that asking for too much?

So far, the second season of “What If … ?” (Disney+) is as disappointing as Season 1, I’m sorry to report. I’m not sure what it is about this series that I don’t like. Is it the way the cartoon versions of the Marvel characters look and sound almost like the actors, but not quite? Are we in Uncanny Valley territory? Happy Hogan looks like Shrek when he temporarily became human.

Or maybe it’s the nonsensical storylines that are bugging me the most. I keep watching, thinking it will get better, but I’m not super hopeful.

The “Echo” trailer isn’t too promising either. It looks like a lot of people getting the crap beaten out of them. And it’s rated TV-MA. This seems like an odd choice, considering it’s a spin-off of the (Disney+) series “Hawkeye,” which was on the more family-friendly end of the MCU spectrum. I’m not sure I’ll watch it. They had a chance to do something interesting here, with their first real deaf Marvel character, but it looks like they are just spinning out more Kingpin drama. And as much as I like Vincent D’Onofrio, he was miscast here, in my opinion. He pulls off the look, but his voice doesn’t sound right. Maybe it’s just me.

(Some of these movies and series have been mentioned in previous posts and were delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes.)

“I.S.S.,” in theaters Jan. 19, is based on the International Space Station, obviously, and explores what might happen there if a world war broke out on Earth.

“Dune: Part Two” is coming March 1. Timothee Chalamet reprises his role as Paul Atreides, in this film adaptation of the 1965 novel by Frank Herbert.

Also coming out March 1, on Netflix, is the film “Spaceman,” starring Adam Sandler as a Czech astronaut. Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, Isabella Rossellini, and Kunal Nayyar also star.

The Netflix series “3 Body Problem” will premiere March 21. The show is based on the popular novel of the same name by Liu Cixin, and was developed by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and Alexander Woo. If those names sound familiar, it’s because Benioff and Weiss were behind the HBO series “Game of Thrones.” Hopefully they won’t mess up the ending of this one the way they did GoT.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” has a March 29 release date. Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, and Paul Rudd reprise their roles from the 2021 film “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”

Bong Joon-ho’s new film, “Mickey 17,” is also scheduled to be released March 29. Robert Pattinson stars.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” comes out April 12. Kaiju movies are sort of hit and miss for me, so I’m not sure if I will check this one out. I may see what Rotten Tomatoes has to say about it first.

Also out April 12 is the Amazon series “Fallout,” based on the post-apocalyptic video game of the same name. I guess after the success of “The Last of Us,” everyone is scrambling to adapt another post-apocalyptic video game. The new series will star Walton Goggins and Ella Purnell.

Alex Garland’s films range from the trippy/cool (“Ex Machina”) to the creepy/disturbing (“Annihilation”). His new one, “Civil War,” looks like it will lean toward the disturbing, but we’ll see. In theaters April 26, the film stars Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, and Wagner Moura.

“Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes,” the fourth film in the rebooted franchise, will be in theaters May 24. It’s set 300 years after the events in the third movie.

Also arriving in theaters May 24 is the prequel “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” starring Anya Taylor-Joy as the title character (played in the 2015 film by Charlize Theron).

It appears the only Marvel movie on the slate for the new year is “Deadpool 3,” which is not great news for young fans, as it will likely have an R rating. (I’m not counting “Madame Web” which isn’t official MCU canon and also looks dumb.) I like Deadpool, but it would be cool if there were more Marvel movies coming out in 2024. (We got three in 2023!) The sequel is scheduled for a July 26 release.

“Borderlands,” another video game adaptation, will be in theaters Aug. 9. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have much interest in an animated movie based on a video game and geared toward adult audiences, but I liked “Arcane,” so you never know.

“Alien: Romulus,” the ninth film in the Alien franchise, is expected in theaters Aug. 16. Considered a standalone film, it is set between the events of “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986).

“Kraven the Hunter,” another Marvel movie that isn’t really a Marvel movie, is the fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who played Wanda’s brother Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, in the MCU) plays Kraven. In theaters Aug. 30.

Michael Keaton returns for Tim Burton’s “Beetlejuice 2,” out Sept. 6. Winona Ryder reprises her role as Lydia, and Jenna Ortega plays her daughter.

The third SSU film of 2024, “Venom 3,” hits theaters Nov. 8. Tom Hardy reprises the role of Eddie Brock/Venom.

“The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim,” an animated prequel to LOTR series, will be in theaters Dec. 13, 2024.

Release dates subject to change.

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