The Flash

So guys, now we've arrived at the last DC.E.U movie before James Gunn starts on his own version of it, The Flash. This is a film that I was kinda surprised was really coming out because this film has had so many behind the scenes issues and things like that that it honestly felt like there was a possibility that it would never come out. But it has now and I wasn't that excited for this originally, but as the trailers started coming out, they started looking like this could be a really fun film. So, I was able to see it on Friday last week and, I gotta admit, this film really surprised me. I really didn't think I'd see this film as really that good, but I gotta be honest, it was. I really liked this film and I think it's a really fun movie. That's not to say it perfect, or even great necessarily, but it was definitely more fun than I was expecting. And, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part and then I'll go into the spoilers after a warning. So, what's the story? Barry is still part of the Justice League and is helping in anyway he can, but after realising he has the ability to go back in time and fix things, he decides to try to go back and make it so that his mom never died. But, by doing that, he's created a new timeline where there's no superheroes aside from a new Batman, played again by Michael Keaton, and Supergirl, played by Sasha Calle. Not only that, but there's also another him from this new timeline. So I'm gonna stop there for now. So, right off the bat, what I liked the most about this film was just how fun it was. This is one of the most fun comic book movies I've seen in a while and there's so many scenes in this that made me really happy and enjoy the journey of what was going on. I like how the film sorta did right what a couple of M.C.U movies haven't done that well lately like Thor: Love And Thunder where they balance the comedy and serious things really well and, no, I don't think this is super emotional, but it's done really well and when it's funny, it's really funny and when it's dramatic, it's really dramatic. It does all of that so well. Moving onto the cast, they're really great here. I know what's been going on with Ezra Miller lately, but just going off this movie alone, he's really great here and really funny and really likeable. Something they do with him here that's really fun is that Barry is having to team up with the Barry Allen from this new timeline and they have it where the main one gets annoyed with this new one and so the two of them have a really fun dynamic and I like how they both mature in the film in different ways. Michael Keaton is also back as Batman and this is easily my favourite version of his character we've ever seen. I've never really liked or cared about his Batman before in the other movies, but they do a good job here of making him very fun and likeable here and I really like the team-up with him and Barry and they have some funny moments. The main new addition in this movie though is Sasha Calle as Supergirl, and she's really great in the film too. I've wanted to see a proper version of Supergirl on the big screen for a long time and they do some really cool and interesting things with her here. Everyone else is really great too in terms of acting. All the acting in the film is so good here. As for the action itself, I'd say it's good, I don't think anything here is absolutely incredible and some of the best action scenes in a comic book movie ever, but there is a whole lot of it and they do a lot of cool things here, especially one part in particular at the start of the film that was really fun to watch. I also liked the various ways the story gets told because they do some imaginative stuff with this too like when they explain who the main villain is and what they do with that is pretty surprising. I think the most surprising part of the story is probably how it's all solved in the end and they have a nice character arc for Barry with that. Not only that, but this is clearly a film that offers possibilities for a lot of cameos. We already have Michael Keaton coming back, but there's a ton of other great ones and some of which that were extremely mind-blowing to see. I'm obviously gonna talk about that stuff in the spoilers, but I was so surprised by the cameos we got to see here. And, in general, I just thought the film was well told and well presented for the most part and was just a lot of fun to watch overall. If there's anything I really have any problems with, it's not that many, but the main one I can think of are the effects because the C.G.I here is honestly horrible a lot of the time. Sometimes it looks amazing, but a lot of other times, it honestly looked really awful. I don't know if it was sometimes intentional, but, there were moments when it clearly wasn't supposed to be and it just looked horrible sometimes. And, I guess the other thing is that I don't think there's anything really that special about this. I mean, it has a lot of truly awesome stuff and I guess it's better than the average comic book film, but I also don't think it's up there as one of the best. That being said, I personally would place it as one of my favourite DC movies because, like I said, there's a lot of really fun moments here and some moments that make me excited for what they could do in the future. So, I realise this section of the review was probably kinda short, but, there's so much in this film to go over in the spoiler section that I'm really excited to talk about. But, as for this film overall, I really do think you should go see it. Apparently the film is really bombing at the box office, but I really do think you should support it. Regardless of some behind the scenes drama, I still think the film itself is extremely well done and is worth viewing. I personally can't wait to see it again. So guys, those are my thoughts on The Flash. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're going into the spoiler section, if you don't want anything spoiled, so watch the film then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

Okay, so, like I was saying, there's a fair amount of things to spoil in this film, so, let's just get right into that. First off, the opening scene at the beginning is what I was referring to when I said the film had a really creative and imaginative opening action scene, but the C.G.I kinda distracted me from it a bit because it looked really bad a lot of the time, especially any wide shots. But the whole thing of Barry catching all the babies was pretty fun to see, and creative with how he did it. It was also cool to see Ben Affleck again. I was pretty surprised to see he came back for this, but it looks like this is gonna be the last time we ever see him as Batman, and I liked seeing him again one last time. It was also a huge surprise to see Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman too. I assume this is the last time we'll see her as Diana too, but it was cool to see her here. Also, I liked how they show Barry trying to help his dad showing that he's still trying to clear his name and they have some nice moments with that. But then this leads to Barry learning about going back in time with his powers and it was interesting how he used it to save his mom from dying but then that led to a new future where all the superheroes are either gone or never happened. And having the two Barry's together was funny to see too. Like I said, this led to some fun scenes where the main Barry gets annoyed by the other one and sorta realises why so many people find him annoying. I also found it interesting how the main Barry loses his powers when the other one gets his powers, I think that was a fun way to do that and I think they do it in some creative ways because we then see Zod from Man Of Steel come to the planet and I liked how they show that Barry was actually already there in the Man Of Steel movie trying to help people and so it's cool that they added that. However, that then led to the scene where the two Barry's go to Bruce's house only to discover it's a different version of him who's the Michael Keaton version. It kinda makes me wonder if it's supposed to be the same version of him from his own movies or if it's still kinda supposed to be Ben Affleck's version but he just looks different. I then also liked when they start to get along and Bruce agrees to help them get Superman out of captivity to stop Zod only to realise that it's actually Kara and the first action scene with them and the soldiers was cool too. I then also liked the scene where Barry tries to get his powers back and how they do that is pretty cool, and I like how this film was a cool reference to the Flashpoint story with having it look like Bruce was gonna help Barry with it. When he does get his powers back, the action scene that follows goes back to what I was saying about how it was cool and it had some creative moments, but, again, the weird C.G.I really did distract me from it. But, as for the rest of it, I was surprised when we see Bruce and Kara die and this led to Barry eventually realising that this was something that couldn't be prevented and that they had to let it happen but then, this kinda led to the reveal of the main villain, maybe. Which is a third and old version of Barry who's been time travelling for so long that he's now old and this led to the second Barry getting killed and that old one getting killed too. Before that though, we get a scene that was really mind-blowing to see. We get to see different universes and old versions of characters like Christopher Reeves Superman, that original Supergirl from that terrible 80's movie and we even see that Nick Cage Superman that was never really made, but is one of the most infamous superhero ideas ever, but then we see some versions of Batman like Adam West and things like that that were really mind-blowing to see. But then we see Barry having to make things right again by making it so that his mom does die, which was pretty sad to see, especially during the scene where he says goodbye to her. But he did it in a way where his dad would be proven innocent so he's free now. And this led to maybe the most mind-blowing scene in the movie for me when Barry is about to see Bruce again, but this time, it's actually George Clooney's version, which absolutely made me lose my mind when I saw this. It almost makes me wonder if he'll actually keep going as this character now that it looks like this universe has been reset, so I'm very curious to know what's gonna happen now. As for the post-credit scene, it jsut shows Barry talking to Arthur and I'm wondering if Jason Momoa is gonna keep going as him. But, yeah guys, that's really everything. There were so many surprises in this film that made me really happy and really excited for what they could do in the future. I'm just really excited to see what James Gunn is going to do with this new universe now. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of The Flash. Thank you all for reading and please comment below to tell me what you think.

Tales From Earthsea

So guys, now we've reached another pretty interesting Studio Ghibli movie, this time though, it's because I haven't really heard that much about it. Some have said they loved it and some have said it's not that good and some have said it's a film they didn't really have any interest in watching it and so, despite having properly heard one person's thoughts on this film, I still went in curious to know what my thoughts would be and, in the end, I think my thoughts on this are pretty much the same as my thoughts on Howl's Moving Castle, as in the first time I saw it, I didn't think it was very good. I mostly found the story and characters kinda boring and the story never really interested me that much. But, again, recently, I watched it again to prepare for this review and it actually did get a bit better. Again, my basic thoughts are pretty much the same and there's some weird plot holes I noticed, but it was a bit better than the first time I saw it. The story is set in a fantasy world where there's wizards and dragons around and a lot of people are talking about how a lot of weird things are happening and that they feel like something's coming. Not only that, but the king of a kingdom is then killed by his son named Arren who then steals his sword and runs away. A man then finds him and reveals he's a wizard named Sparrowhawk who decides to take him along and they begin to travel until they go to one of Sparrowhawk's friend's house and they meet a girl there named Therru who's an outsider from people around her and she hates Arren until they start to bond. But another wizard named Cob wants to use them as a way to become immortal. So, yeah, that's a lot to throw into a movie like this, but, for the most part, I feel like they do a decent job at keeping the focus of this film in check and making it fairly interesting. But I mainly mean in regards to the ideas and events that happen because, in regards to the characters, I don't think there's much interest. I didn't hate them, but I didn't find them all that interesting either. The only one that had my interest was Sparrowhawk because he sounded interesting and felt like there was something you really wanted to know about him. The rest though, like Arren, didn't interest me at all. I dunno, maybe they were trying to make some deep, complex character with him, but I never really felt it. He just didn't hold my interest and didn't really seem that likeable to me. But, that's not to say nothing else held my interest because there were some things that I felt helped keep me invested enough. The main one I think of is Cob, who's obviously the main villain of the film and is this weird and creepy and crazy guy who acts as calm and quiet as he can but there's something about him that's kinda charismatic too. And, again, like the other Ghibli films I've mentioned, this film has a real slow pace to it and I think the first half of the film didn't have my interest. I think all the wandering and all that got kinda boring, but once they reached Tenar's house and met her and Therru, things felt like they picked up more. I found what they spoke about more interesting because this is a film that has a lot of talking in it and not a lot of action and it's mostly just watching the characters discussing about how there's a lot of things going on and something could be happening soon. There's also a lot of other things going on like how Arren is getting visions of some other version of himself that's haunting him. But, that's kind of another thing that's weird about this film. The fact that there's this other version of Arren and we're never really told what it is. Maybe it's something Cob is doing or maybe it's supposed to be like Berserk where his emotions have sorta manifested as some other entity in his head. I dunno and it's a little confusing, especially when it talks to Therru at the end. So, there's a lot of things in this I'm trying to be supportive of here because I do think the film got better the second time and I do think it had a good amount of potential to be amazing, but there's just some moments here and there that kinda held it back a bit. I think the biggest example of that is the ending because there's some stuff in it that's cool, but a part of me feels like it was pretty disappointing as well. We have Cob kidnapping Arren and Tenar and Arren has apparently told Cob his real name, which is also something that's a bit confusing, and he has Sparrowhawk taken too and so Therru comes to help and eventually Arren is able to break free of some spell Cob put him under and they fight with Cob getting older and crazier and so Arren has to save Therru who Cob has taken now too. So, yeah, there's a lot here that's cool and they do have some nice moments for characters like how Arren and Therru start to bond more, but some of this didn't seem that interesting to me. It was kinda cool, I just didn't think a lot of this was that interesting. Also, there's a really weird part where it's revealed that Therru is actually a dragon and she manages to kill Cob and, I dunno, it felt like it kinda came outta nowhere and wasn't properly explained. I mean, I guess I like the idea itself, I just wish it was explained more and, I guess they do kinda tease it earlier on, I just don't think they explained it properly. That being said, I did still like how the film ended with Arren and Therru having a nice moment and so I liked it on that level. So, this is kind of a weird movie for me because it has all the positives and negatives I just mentioned and, as I said at the start, the positives did kinda show themselves a bit more on my second viewing and I did find it more interesting than I did the first time. So, like what I said about Howl's Moving Castle and a couple of other Ghibli movies, I don't think this is one of my favourite Ghibli movies, but I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around. Plus, as always, the animation is really great here and there's some kinda disturbing imagery here like when we see a dragon die at the start and when Cob begins transforming at the end. I also feel like the voice acting really helped this film a lot too, especially Timothy Dalton as Sparrowhawk and Willem Dafoe as Cob. I feel Timothy Dalton made Sparrowhawk feel really respectable and confident and Willem Dafoe helped make Cob feel super weird and creepy, especially with how quiet his voice was a lot of the time. But the rest like Matt Levin, Blaire Restaneo and Mariska Hargitay do an amazing job too. So, I guess this was kind of a weird review for me, but it's hard for me to really get a proper grip on my thoughts on this film because of everything I've mentioned, but I'm glad I saw this the second time to improve my thoughts on it and I do think this is a film that's worth at least one viewing if you're interested. So, yeah, guys, those are my thoughts on Tales From Earthsea. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

So guys, we've now reached the super highly anticipated sequel to the 2018 animated masterpiece from Sony, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Across The Spider-Verse. This is a film that so many people like me have been waiting for for a long time ever since the first movie five years ago. I did a review for it back in 2020 and I said the same praise about it that everyone else has. Given how it was a film that was not only incredible, but also surprised everyone with how good it was, it was gonna be really hard to live up to it. But, I think they did an amazing job. I honestly loved this movie. It was just as good as the first and had way more drama than I thought it would. That being said, I personally think Into The Spider-Verse is still better, but this was still really amazing. And, like always, this will have no spoilers for the first part, and then I'll go into all the spoilers after a warning. So, let's get into it. What's the story? Miles is still doing everything he can as Spider-Man in his universe, but after an incident occurs where he's fighting a new villain goes crazy, he's forced to team up with a whole bunch of different Spider-Men from every other universes to find out what to do. So, that's really the best I can do without spoiling anything because there's a lot of spoilers here. But, just like the first movie, this films knows exactly what it and gives us what we loved about the first movie and more. Just like the first movie, it has so many great jokes and so many hilarious scenes that poke fun at Spider-Man but also respects the character greatly and knows how to do it right and there's tons of references. I'll get into the cameos later, but the comedy is still something that's very apparent and something Phil Lord and Chris Miller always do really well. But, just like the first as well, they also remember to give the film a huge amount of drama and heart. Into The Spider-Verse is one of the most heart-wrenching and heart-warming comic book movies ever and this is the same. Personally, I think they do it a tiny bit too much here and I feel like maybe the film goes on a bit too long as a result, but they still know how to balance it out enough so you feel the emotions and they do a great job of making Miles and the others extremely loveable as a result. Also, I feel like they improved the animation here. The first movie created this very unique and creative animation style and this one carries that and makes it even better. Something I think I mentioned before in another review is that I love when a movie or show is able to capture motion and gravity perfect so you feel like you're with the characters as they move and this one does that so well. The way the characters move here made it feel like I was moving along with them and I loved it for that. If I'm being honest, sometimes it felt like they threw a bit too much at the screen and sometimes it felt kinda hard to follow some of the action, but it was still done so well and this style is amazing to look at. But, really, the best thing about these Spider-Verse movies is that they add the perfect amount of heart to it and make some of the best drama in any comic book movie and the way they do it here really shows they know exactly how to do it right. The film also has so many amazing cameos and one that I didn't expect at all that I'm really excited to talk about in the spoiler section, especially one in particular. The ending is also something I didn't expect at all and it perfectly sets up the next film, which is gonna be Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse next year and I am so excited to see that after seeing this. So yeah, guys, this film really did live up to the anticipation. If I really had to nit-pick anything at all, it's kinda like I said already, I feel like it was a bit too long, maybe 15 or 20 minutes could have been cut out and I still don't think it's as good as Into The Spider-Verse, but, aside from that, this film is just as amazing as the first and I couldn't be excited for Beyond The Spider-Verse next year. So guys, those are my thoughts on Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think. Okay, now we're going into the spoilers. If you don't want this spoiled, go watch it then come back and read the rest of this.

Spoilers:

Okay, so, like I said, there's a lot to spoil about this movie, so let's just get right into it. So, first off, I was really surprised by the opening because we spend quite a lot of time with Gwen in her own universe before we even see Miles at all and it was pretty tragic seeing what happens to her because, even though I already knew what happened, it was still pretty gut-wrenching, especially seeing what happens to her and her dad. I also liked the whole thing with Miles trying to stop the Spot at the start and then that leads to him not being able to attend his dad's party on time and that's what I meant by there being plenty of real drama with Miles that's done really well. Though, that whole opening with that is what I meant by it going on a bit too long, I feel like some of it could have been trimmed down a bit, but it's still compelling. Also, I noticed at the start when we see Ganke, he was actually playing the PS4 Spider-Man game, so that was a cool detail to pick up on. Anyway, that then led to Gwen and Miles meeting up and I really like the connection the two of them have, it's nice and I like them both together. But then it was shown that Spot himself is actually the main villain of the film and I didn't see that coming. I thought he was just gonna be a small villain that appears for a few minutes based on the trailers, but I didn't expect him to play such a huge part. It was also nice that it was explained how he was originally one of Kingpin's workers from the first movie and got the powers from the collider. And that led to some cool stuff too like when he goes to the live action Venom universe. I didn't expect to see that at all and it was really cool. Sure, I don't like those films, but it was still cool. And then, when we start seeing the whole going to different universes, I like when we go to the Indian Spider-Man's universe and we see what that's like and we see a cool action scene where they all try to stop Spot and we even see Spider-Punk as well, which was cool too. And I loved the action scene there. When the characters move around, that's what I meant by the animation helping to convey the movement of the characters and it was just awesome. But then we learn that Miles wasn't supposed to save one of the men there who was supposed to die and then we're brought to where all the other Spider-Men are and there's so much to unpack from this scene. For starters, I loved seeing the live action Prowler with Donald Glover, that was absolutely mind-blowing and it's so cool to think that that could lead to Prowler and Miles in the M.C.U and I'm so excited for that. But then we also see the PS4 Spider-Man there and the Spectacular Spider-Man. Having the best game and animated Spider-Man in this was also incredible to see and I was just smiling from ear to ear when that happened. But then we meet Miguel and he explains everything about what Spot is doing and how Miles wasn't supposed to be Spider-Man and I didn't expect to see that at all either. But then we get an amazing scene where we see clips from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield alongside the Spectacular Spider-Man and that was another thing that was incredible to see. But then we also see Peter from the first movie and I was really surprised he wasn't in the movie that much. It makes sense and how they do it is clever, but I was surprised since he was such a major part of the first movie. Anyway, then we get to the scene where Miles learns that his dad is gonna die and Miguel says it has to happen so Miles tries to get back with all the other Spider-Men trying to stop him and this chase scene was amazing, we even see they got Josh Keaton to come back as the Spectacular Spider-Man and he got some things to say, that was really phenomenal to see. But then it ends with Miles being able to send himself back, but he accidently sends himself to a different universe, and I'm not gonna lie, I honestly was able to predict the fact that he went to the wrong universe before it was revealed. And then we get a crazy scene where the Aaron in that universe is alive and the Miles in this universe is not only evil, but is the Prowler and they want to keep him there. As for why, I'm curious to know that and I'm really curious to know what the next film could be about. And it really does end with Gwen, Peter and some others like other others from the last film and some more trying to help Miles while Miguel and some others are trying to stop him. So, I have a few theories. They could either do it where Miles has to let his dad die in the next film or maybe he's able to save him or he might have to make a choice between saving his dad or Gwen and it might end with him choosing Gwen realising he has to let his dad die, so I really want to know what's gonna happen now. And so, yeah, everyone, that's my review of Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.