Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is nothing, anything and everything a movie of this magnitude (or budget) can be –
it has all sorts of things that don’t essentially resonate that we’ve seen and expected from this franchise (big opening battle scene! new planets! new one-episode characters! MORE COMEDY! MORE ROMANCE! the cyclic Skywalker karma! too much noise!) – disposable information that come with each episode and offshoot of this Billion-dollar franchise;
all sorts of anything that Disney can churn (Kylo and Ray face-off! Ray and Luke face off! Luke and Kylo face off! New creatures! FOUR new creatures! New ships! All things that could become LEGO!) 100 false endings at two and a half hours!
but The Last Jedi also has everything that a good movie, a good chapter in a franchise, and a good fan service could give. While I did expect a few surprises (that didn’t go as I imagined them to go), I was pleased that the storytellers were able to add new things to the narrative – not for the sake of surpises, but twists that add further depth to the saga. Heft. Gravitas. Oh, Luke and Leia. Greek tagedy in the works, sort of thing.
A better narrative than The Force Awakens. See it now in good theaters.
Due to recent unforseen family matters, I had to take a break from writing reviews. But I’ll get back to you soon, beginning with the review of Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi, which I will be seeing tonight.
I still owe you guys my reviews of Coco and Battle of the Sexes, at least.
I’m going to attempt a spoiler-free review. Which means this might be shorter than my usual reviews, but definitely longer than the reaction I posted the other day.
I didn’t know what to expect, really coming from Batman v Superman. I liked BvS. I dug BvS. Especially the extended edition. So I was a bit hesitant, anxious, excited and hopeful coming into the premiere. And I’m happy to say that I’m happy and satisfied with what I have seen.
Batman/ Bruce Wayne (Ben Affleck) and Wonder Woman / DIana (Gal Gadot) have been busy doubling down on the rise of criminality since the death of Superman (Henry Cavill.) We know this from last year’s Wonder Woman, and Suicide Squad the year before that. At the same time, the duo has been busy spying on their potential recruits – the speedster Barry Allen aka The Flash (Ezra Miller,) Arthur Curry aka the protector of oceans, Aquaman (Jason Momoa) and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Ray Fisher) – for an alliance against an anticipated alien threat.
And the threat comes. Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds) Ender of Worlds, lands from the heavens to take ancient instruments of power – motherboxes – from their earthly keepers in order to form the Unity of powers that will enable him to conquer worlds once again. In a flashback, Diana tells Bruce how this was halted on earth long ago when Amazons, Atlanteans, human and gods joined forces to defeat Steppenwolf’s invasion. Since then, each faction kept a motherbox in safekeeping for thousands of years. With the death of Superman, Earth’s defenses have become sharply diminished against Steppenwolf. Hence the need for a team.
Steppenwolf uses an old nuclear power plant to combine the motherboxes. But it is only after the heroes come together and overcome internal bickering that the group learns to work as a true team of superheroes. In a nutshell. Avoiding spoilers.
All things considered, this is a safe, satisfying film. By now you have heard that the best part of Justice League is its characters, because it gets them right. SPOT ON. There is enough (or more than enough) on screen that pays tribute to these icons and the actors portray them to perfection. Okay, maybe the least popular is Cyborg, but let’s give Fisher the leeway of being able to do what he wants because he has the least pop history to work on (and be encumbered with.) But homage after homage of scenes from the comic books, TV and DC animations, and even previous films all point to a nearly universal amalgam of most things that fans love about these characters. Spiced with a little humor.
I can’t say it’s hard to pick a favorite because I’ve been a Superman fan since I was a kid, but excluding the Man of Steel, it would also be hard to pick a favorite among these charmingly fleshed-out characters. Maybe Ezra Miller’s take on Barry Allen – flat-footed, navigationally-challenged and allergic to many things including human interaction. Cracks me up all the time. Momoa’s swaggering surfer dude is next.
The film is quite concise in its dialgue given the (comparatively) short runtime, so each long-ish exchange between characters is quite precious. Lois’s (Amy Adams) and Martha’s (Diane Lane) connection. Barry and Henry Allen (played by Watchmen Dr. Manhattan Billy Crudup) whom we will both see more of in the coming Flashpoint standalone film. Henry’s final line to Barry was particularly touching for me.
The studio-mandated 2-hour runtime obviously had an effect on the jumpy plot. But even so, don’t we all ask for better characters each time a film becomes plot-driven? Great characters sounds better to me than a great plot and in this regard, JL is refreshed storytelling in the Snyder filmography. Incidentally, you can almost tell which are the Joss Whedon-helmed reshoots, but they fit quite seamlessly with the rest of the film.
That said, the movie pays a lot of homage to Justice League in its many incarnations over the years, including cues in Danny Elfman’s music. I really like what Elfman has done for JL, but I’d have to admit that I somehow miss the edgy scoring done by Hans Zimmer and Junkie Xl for Man of Steel and BvS. This is probably my least favorite aspect of the film, which for me added to the noise and mayhem more than adding atmosphere. But that’s just me. There are tons of “that scene is from this comic” or “that one is from JL War animation!” The movie nails fan service at the very least.
Yes, Steppenwolf is a weak villain – and this is where a lot of explanation outside the theatrical version of JL comes in. Steppenwolf isn’t exactly a famous villain (nor was his closest Marvel comparison Malekith.) And so by virtue of the main premise (the formation of the League) Steppenwolf is automatically dispensable. No thrill generated. There’s action, yes, and a fight sequence that makes the group a credible “team.” But somehow, supposedly, we know at the end of BvS that Steppenwolf is merely the harbinger of darker things to come.
Who knows? Justice League seems to say that this story may or may not necessarily tie in with what BvS was supposedly building up towards. End of rant and possible spoiler. For now, we see these iconic superheroes forming a formiddable team. It can even end here, and just let each individual superhero have their own storylines that may or may not have a thing or two connecting to the grand scheme of things that Zack Snyder started.
The answer may or may not be in the two credits scenes.
I’ll write a longer and spoiler-y review maybe after the commercial run.
The bottom line is that if you’re a true comic book (or superhero animation/ tv series) fan, you’re going to enjoy this a lot. I did.
I am happy to report that I am a happy fan. A satisfied fan. A relieved fan. With all that is (left) in the 2hr film, there is enough to say that it pays a lot of tribute to these icons, despite the weak villain. #JusticeLeague is justified.
IT’s true that there’s a lot of fun in the film, that it makes tons of nods to various DC sources and that the strength of the film is its characters – which is totally a good thing. Dunno what (US) critics are saying. I dug it – a lot.
It’s not Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri – but it’s not Ultraviolet either. Key word: SUPERFRIENDS. #TeamEffort
As a Superman fan… ok no spoilers.
Justice League opens across the Philippines today, November 16th.
Just came from the opening night gala of the 2017 CinemaOne Originals festival featuring the whopping dark comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri from Martin McDonagh (In Bruges.)
And this is how I’ll describe it for now:
Happiness (1998): My characters are not easy to like.
The Big Lebowski: My dark comedy is accessible.
A Clockwork Orange: My narrative isn’t conventional.
American Beauty: I’m Oscar bait.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I can make you cry.
Lost in Translation: I have a fantastic ending
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: HOLD MY BEER.
Just came from an early screening of the latest DisneyPixar animation Coco – a touching, chromatic family adventure of telenovela proportions.
The screening was attended by Filipino-American Gini Santos, the first woman in Pixar history to become Supervising Animator. She was presented plaques of recognition by the city of Pasay where her family hails from, and the OPPO foundation for continuing to be an inspiration for the youth.
The screening was held at Newport Cinemas at Resorts World Manila, and was followed by a sumptuous buffet at Passion at Mariott Hotel.
The other night I attended a special fan-screening of the Stranger Things Season 2 first episode at the Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City, an I must say it was a lucky night for me.
I won me some cool goodies during a short trivia contest, some of which I’ve decided to raffle off soon in my facebook page.
The full Stranger Things Season Two is now available on Netflix.
I grew up with Superfriends on Saturday morning television. That started the DC guy in me, rather than the typical comic book path. I never had a comic book collection, to this day. Read some back in college, from my friend’s collections (DC’s Crisis and Marvel’s X-Men and the Infinity Gauntlet/Wars were the series that I happened to have read quite extensively as they introduced en masse their roster of heroes and villains, luckily for me.) Also, this would explain if I miss pointing out a comic book reference in a movie adaptation.
I had previosuly ignored the first two Asia Pop Comic Conventions mainly because I have never identified myself as a comic book reader. I’m not. Ignored the first year when Paul Bettany (Vision who?) Nathalie “Missandei” Emmanuel and Colton Haynes (Jackson AND Arsenal!!) attended (thoroughly regretted that.) Second year, got interested but not enough to bring my butt over, I skipped seeing Nicholas Hoult (!) and Millie Bobby “Eleven” Brown (bummer.)
And then around early August, organizers announced the year’s main guests to include Cyborg himself Ray Fisher and the Alpha/TV Superman Tyler Hoechlin. As a JL fan, I knew I had t see Fisher, and as a Teen Wolf and CW-DC-Berlantiverse fan, I had to meet Hoechlin, too. That was it. I knew I had to attend this one.
Announcement poster on APCC FB page
So, last August, while the country was scandalized by the killing of teen Kian delos Santos and Twitter was afire with Adam Ellis’s creepy Dear David thread, I renewed my superhero fandom by attending my first-ever comic con at the (third) Asia Pop Comic Con in Manila at the SMX Convention Center at Mall of Asia, Pasay.
I went with my fellow DC fan and buddy from my ex-newspaper on the last two days of the three-day event, because the last two were the “guests days.” Aside from Fisher and Hoechlin, the year’s other celebrity guests included Macross creator Shoji Kawamori, Marvel Comics’ Carl Potts, and the voice of Genji in Overwatch, Gaku Space.
Netflix brought in Stranger Things cast members Noah Schnapp (Will Byers) and Joe Keery (Steve Harrington) as well as Season 2 members Dacre Montgomery and Sadie Sink. The channel owned the exhibition floor, showcasing their famous shows in interactive rooms. But clearly my mission was to meet both Fisher and Hoechlin.
I arrived mid-afternoon on the first day and the place was packed, party in high gear, with exhibition fights from the Philippine Wrestling Revolution upping the atmosphere. For the uninitiated, the place was noisy, loud, confusing and overwhelming. But if you know what you’re there for, just compartmentalize.
First, I accompanied my buddy to have his photo op with Tyler. The line looked long but moved along comfortably. Took a peek inside the booth when the staff momentarily opened the divider to see a heavily bearded Hoechlin. Then I roamed around while my buddy waited for his photo. And then it was my turn for to see Ray.
Ray didn’t have that big superstar air about him yet, maybe because he’s relatively new, maybe because he truly is just a down to earth guy. Quite tall. And just jolly and hyper all the time like he was really having a blast. I think he was. I got to see him again the next day, with more interactions plus the fan meet at the events stage. More on that later.
The next day, I came early and headed straight to the giant Netflix booth, which actually was a Netflix neighborhood inside, featuring one show per room transected by a “street.” Of course there was Stranger Things, connected to the Orange is the New Black booth by passing through a hole in the wall and ignoring the demogorgon . Opposite the ST room was a Riverdale diner (wasn’t into it, so I didn’t bother squeezing in together with the quite young fans), and then Death Note (again, too many kids.) In between the rooms was The Defenders street. Was feeling feverish that morning, so I just had my photo taken with the Defenders standees.
This should have been video
Demogorgon psst
The Defenders plus a victim
After that was meeting Tyler. Yup, bearded. Big smiles. Eyes blue and glowing. Didn’t bother to ask about Teen Wolf and joining Supergirl, decided to let the girls in the room to have their time. Standing in line for his autograph and photo, I realized that he was taller than he looked. Gave a big hug when I had his photo taken. Well he gave everyone a big hug with their photos taken. Cool guy.
Superfan meets Superman
Coffee Bean & Chill
Signed
Signed
He’s quite articulate
Borg Life
They may not have the same height, but kindred spirits still
Lookit!
Hyper
And then I met Ray again for the second time. I asked Tyler and Ray to sign each arm of my Metropolis varsity jacket, whch I intend to wear on the premiere of Justice League this November. That’s the jacket I’m wearing in the Ray photo. Ray remembered me from the day before when he saw the jacket, and I told him I just needed his photo taken with me. At the end of the session, members of Justice League Philippines, dedicated cosplayers, had their time with Ray and Ray was game to share a lot of moments with them, particularly the Pinoy Cyborg. That was so cool.
Justice For All (Superman was late for this photo)
Bumped into my friend, actress Meryll Soriano (or she bumped into me) who had her pumpkin Elijah with her. Eli was going to celebrate his birthday the next day but he really wanted to meet the Stranger Things cast so they went that day. Elijah was wearing a black Stanger Things tee, an Optimus Prime face mask, arm bands that made his red overalls look like the Flash (his favorite), except the bands ended in Wolverine hooks in his fingers. And he was also carrying a plastic sword, maybe GoT inspired. He’ll be fine. Saw a lot of kids in costume, too but mostly kids at heart.
Eli as the Flash/Spidey/Optimus/Logan who loves Stranger Things.
WHO KNEW! There’s a guy in Freddie Fazbear.
I played Magic back in college. Dunno how to now.
Little Groot!
Start ’em young
scooter!
No Face
Super T-Rex!
Jedi Academy
Bane rocked it.
There was also a booth featuring the most iconic creations of legendary Filipino comic book creator Mars Ravelo. Presented by network ABSCBN, the booth featured the first-ever licensed statues of Darna (the Philippine Wonder Woman,) Captain Barbell (a fusion of Superman, Captain Marvel and Shazam,) Lastikman (which of course is a version of Mr Fantastic) and Darna’s arch-rival, the Medusa-ic Valentina.
Darna has been around for a while, first appearing in Pilipino Komiks #77 in 1950, less than 10 years after her more famous inspiration from Themyscira was introduced. Local film studio Star Cinema is currently producing a new Darna movie, due next year, starring Liza Soberano. My sources tell me that the plan is for the other Ravelo superheroes to have their own film revivals, eventually forming the Pinoy Justice League. Fingers crossed.
The Mars Raveo Booth
Halimaw Sculptures present the first officially licensed Ravelo superhero statues.
Darna
Captain Barbell, with alter ego Tengteng
Lastikman
Pinoy Komiks
Some takeaways from my attendance:
1. Wow, Netflix. 👏👏👏
2. Didn’t bother sitting on the cheapy GoT “iron” throne
3. Tiredness (hardly sat down the entire day.)
4. Know what to do, why you’re there. While three days may be enough to pore over most things in the kiosks and the booths, you really just need two days if you know where you’re going or why you’re attending. A few events might have conflicting scheds, so prioritizing what to attend is best.
5. Get in line real quick. So. Many. People. And time wasted standing in line is time lost for checking out other booths.
6. Better if you come with a buddy so you can take photos of each other.
7. The costumes were the bomb. Freddie Fazbear of FNAF was there, but the most serious cosplayers came in Overwatch costumes. Justice League PH as a group looked great too.
8. Pop fans are so nice and polite! World Peace is possible!
9. Ray Fisher is intelligent, articulate, connects with the audience, regular guy, gwapo (handsome), and very tall.
10. Tyler Hoechlin looks smaller than he actually is. So when you get closer to him and you realize he’s actually tall you’d almost “Oh my god” which would be appropriate also since he currently looks like Jesus. Bearded.
11. He’s the Alpha AAANND Superman.
12. Everyone who knows me know that I’m a Coffee Bean guy more than an SB guy, so when Tyler asked the fans about Coffee Bean, kung maka- YES yung audience akala niyo hindi ko alam puro kayo Starbaks sa IG niyo mga plastic nyeta (this shall remain untranslated.)
13. While waiting to go in the panel Hall together with the DC movie/multi verse cosplayers, Marvel cosplayers of all sizes (like, 20 spidermen/spiderpiggy/venom guys, punisher, dr strange, captains america, black widow, Asgardians, etcetera) paraded in front of us acknowledging each other LIKE THERE WAS NO RIVALRY BECAUSE THERE ISN’T ANY IN LIFE. There’s a video evidence of this on FB. I didn’t have time to flip out the phone in time to capture everyone, so I just let the thing sink in.
14. Big thanks to those who dragged me along into the events!
15. NEXT YEAR AGAIN.
Overall it was such a fun experience that I immediately wanted to sign up for next year’s comic con. I have a feeling that there might be something AQUA next year.
PS. Heard that a certain Bible-quoting, non-productive Boxing Senator (Senator Boxer?) will be next year’s main endorser (I suspect in preparation for campaign season.) Might dampen the mood. Let’s see.
Thor: Ragnarok
Directed by Taika Waititi
Based on the Marvel comics
Third in the Thor franchise
Rated PG
Opens October 25 in the Philippines
POSSIBLE SPOILERS BEWARE
Thor cracks a joke. The Hulk cracks a joke. Loki cracks a joke. Everyone cracks a joke. Who knew that Thor: Ragnarok would be one hell of a Marvel-ous comedy of Hela-rious proportions. (See what I did there? Never mind.)
Years after stopping Malekith’s invasion and the defeat of Ultron in Sokovia by the Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is on a soul-searching adventure to defeat enemies of Asgard when he and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are accidentally thrown into the far reaches of the universe after Hela (Cate Blanchett) the god of death, reappears to take over Asgard and unleash Ragnarok. Only Thor can stop her, but first he needs to defeat the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) in gladiator combat and escape his imprisonment in planet Sakaar, ruled by the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum.) I must write down that the escape route is through the “Devil’s Anus.”
First off, it’s a comedy. These Marvel films tend to skew towards the less serious with the Guardian of Galaxy subseries as the most fun-oriented of the lot. Not anymore. The third Thor film is the funniest and campiest (and most colorful?) MCU movie to date.
New ‘do. (Images from Marvel Studios)
Don’t mess with Hela’s antlers. (Images from Marvel Studios)
He’s not blue, he’s Goldblum! (Images from Marvel Studios)
The escape is through the Devil’s Anus.
I hereby dub thee Biceps of the Universe. (Images from Marvel Studios)
Go, gurl. (Images from Marvel Studios)
Strongest Avenger. (Images from Marvel Studios)
Is this from LOTR? ;p (Images from Marvel Studios)
Hero shot. (Images from Marvel Studios)
No Mjolnir? No problem. (Images from Marvel Studios)
The film is replete with verbal jokes, sight gags and slapstick that’s goofier than those in Guardians and funnier than the ones in the first Thor movie.
Thor is given a healthy dose of humor – quite different from the first two iterations, which was mainly an airy and arrogant brat. The change is obvious because, c’mon, he loses the Fabio golden locks, and his red cape now hangs from one side. Such sass. I’m digging the new look. Loki too, gets funny – although Loki IS the god of mischief, so cracking a joke here and there would still keep him in character.
But everybody gets to drop a punchline – from the childish Hulk to a paranoid gray-haired Bruce Banner donning a Duran Duran T-Shirt, to Goldblum’s trademark dorky camp, to the venerable Blanchett who sneers with her lips the same way veteran Filipina villainess Celia Rodriguez does (a colleague tells me that Blanchett does a Cherie Gil too in other scenes.) Banter is snappy – it helps that the director is comfortable with funny material. We get a Hemsworth and a Ruffalo who are visibly relaxed playing superheroic buddies.
Blanchett and Valkyrie Tessa Thompson have thin character definition despite the exposure, but Blanchett and Goldblum do make their characters their own. Blanchett’s fellow LOTR alum Karl Urban joins the cast as Hela’s subordinate Skurge, who gets his own moment (more on this later.)
The film is awash in color, with an 80s vibe in color blocking and a 70s vibe in neon lights. I’m on the fence with the synth music by Mark Mothersbaugh (following “In The Face of Evil” by Magic Sword used in the trailer) which sometimes adds to the irreverence, but also distracts at times. Theme music Immigrant Song from Led Zeppelin plays three times in key moments in the film, so it gets tiring and predictable.
Ragnarok of course refers to the Norse myth about the end of the world and the death of major deities. That in a key scene Odin (Anthony Hopkins) describes Norway as “home” is a nod to the story’s Scandinavian roots is a nice touch by the writers.
The jokes come at a price, though. At no point in the film do the stakes feel threatening, even after the massive body count and destruction, especially in the final act. Any dramatic moment is ruined by an expected punchline, with the only exception of the scene with Odin. It’s as if Marvel hates getting serious.
Blood and gore may have been kept to a minimum to keep the PG rating, but I must register my disappointment with the use of machine guns (“Des” and “Troy”) as the means to achieve Skurge’s ultimate sacrifice.
However, I’m not sure how consequential the events in Ragnarok are in terms of the MCU/ Infinity Wars storyline (move over to spoilers below as to why.)
We can clearly feel that this series is winding down when there are characters getting killed left and right or saying their wistful goodbyes. Or maybe the budgets is just way too big if each of them is given longer screen times. Same same. I mean, there’s Infinity Wars, and the final Guardians film on 2020. But if Ragnarok is indeed the final Thor film where Asgardians are left drifting in space, the final act seems to be weak and anticlimactic compared to the series’ beginning. Any bittersweet irony of a once-mighty race becoming refugees is almost a forced notion, no thanks to the jokes.
This is entertainment for entertainment’s sake – whether or not the story suggests anything deeper or substantial. This is exactly the type of movie experience referred to when people say, “sit back, relax and enjoy.”
Needless to say, this Marvel movie has a couple of cameos (one “strange,” one outright ridiculous.)
SPOILERS HERE ONWARDS
I WARNED YOU
DON’T READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED
HERE GOES
(HIGHLIGHT TEXT TO READ)
So. A few questions about the Infinity gems and what happens in Infinity Wars.
Vision has the Mind Stone. Dr. Strange has the Time Stone. The Orb/Power Stone was left under the protection of Nova Prime.
The Aether/Reality Stone was given to The Collector at the end of Dark World, but the archive exploded after the assistant grabs the Orb in Guardians 1. So, where is the Aether?
The Tesseract/Space Stone was in Odin’s treasure chamber (Hela even acknowledges it) but since Asgard is now a goner, where’s the Tesseract?
Speaking of which, if Hela knows that the Gauntlet in the chamber is a “fake” – does that mean she’s aware of Thanos? Or at least of the stones? If so, why doesn’t she seek for them? I can’t make sense of that scene.
Safe to assume that Thanos, who probably already has the Soul Stone, will go to Asgard and Xandar early in Infinity Wars 1.
Finally, are the Asgardians relocating to Earth? the dying Odin seems to suggest that Thor should bring them “home” in Norway.
acid reflects 