My Cultural Life - A Marvellous Week?

What's Up?

How mad is this world? Despite having a huge amount of people hating him, Elon Musk still commands a massive following amongst idiots and arseholes in the world, who think this vile monstrosity of a billionaire is somehow above the law. Yet Welsh actor Michael Sheen - a man with considerably less wealth than the arsehole from South Africa (where Musk was born, into an apartheid supporting family) - is being castigated on social media for helping poor people and paying off the debts of neighbours and strangers. He's apparently doing it for the fame and to emphasise his 'woke' agenda...

How awful is a branch of humanity becoming? My guess is he's getting this backlash because he didn't personally help the people attacking him; but their blind admiration of Musk, who is responsible for thousands of people being kicked out of their jobs in the USA is the next Jesus... Fuck me, the 6th extinction can't come soon enough...

Marvel's Endgame

Having watched Infinity War it seemed apt to follow it up with the film that basically destroyed the MCU. The jumping off point. The movie that I struggle not to blub over at THREE different parts of this three hour epic and all because of Robert Downey Jr. - his homecoming from space; his moment with the resurrected Peter Parker and not his death but his last message that ends with 'I love you 3000' - they get me every time and this was the third time I've watched a film that I love and despise in equal measure. I love it because it is the ultimate comic book movie; the star spangled team-up to end all team ups. The deaths of major characters (although amazingly only one dies in the grand finale). Yet, it's the time travel that ruins it for me; not the actual travelling back in time, but the way it essentially plays footloose with the idea; how it basically invents its own rules to suit the story/conclusion. 

Like Infinity War if you haven't seen this (largest grossing movie of all time) then you're never likely to. It's the sequel to that aforementioned Infinity film and essentially follows the remaining heroes as they discover that time travel is a possibility and then turn it into a reality to try and bring back the half of the universe that Thanos finger clicked out of existence. There are obviously all manner of flaws in the idea; parts of it that shouldn't have happened - such as the comedy Ant-Man initial time travel experiments and his strange encounter with the Hulk in the café. Plus there are the bits of plot that seemed rushed rather than thought out; you have the best brains in the world planning who is going to do what, yet Nebula knows what happens on Vormir (to Gamora) but they still send Clint and Natasha there? She also must have known that there was a chance that sending her anywhere that her past self inhabited might have been a bad move. Or the fact that because they can time travel they didn't think to arrive at their intended destinations at an earlier time when there wasn't an intergalactic war just finishing or when something is about to kick off, but I'm just nit-picking now... 

I have written at least two blogs pointing out the incongruities of the plot; how Bruce Banner must have told Steve Rogers that any variation from the plan might result in the creation of alternate timelines - that he promised the Ancient One wouldn't happen - but Cap failed to listen to him, which is just so out of character for the First Avenger. The problem I have is it needs to be treated like a giant popcorn movie, one where you disengage your brain and cheer on things like Captain Marvel's deus ex machina moment or Captain America wielding Mjolnir like a pro, but being an aficionado of time travel movies (for untold time loops now) I simply can't get past the problems I have with it to fully declare it the greatest movie ever made. In fact, my problems with it and the repercussions for the entire franchise means that I can only give it an 8/10. If I could lose these problems and put aside the things that bother the shit out of me I'd almost consider it a 10/10 movie, but I simply can't. Therefore after three more long paragraphs about a film that I love and hate, let's move on to other things...

Leader of the Red World

Once upon a time a new MCU film would warrant it's own standalone blog entry. It would be a big splashy affair with me waxing lyrically about either how good the film was or how good they once were. Now, it gets relegated to following Endgame's third watch. However, despite hearing much about Captain America: Brave New World since its release and knowing all kinds of worrying shit about how it was finished in late 2022, underwent several rewrites and re-shoots, got delayed time and again, it actually wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I suppose its biggest problem is that it's essentially part sequel to the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series and if you didn't see that at least one of the major players in this will mean nothing to you at all. It also serves as a sort of micro-sequel to The Incredible Hulk and a kind of sequel to The Eternals because it spends time tying up, or reinvigorating, old loose ends...

The chief antagonist is Samuel Sterns - aka The Leader - who, when we last saw him, was contaminated by Bruce Banner's blood near the end of the aforementioned Incredible Hulk (made in 2008 by Universal but co-opted into the MCU by virtue of tagging a couple of extra scenes and an epilogue onto it). Sterns, it seems, was actually captured by Thaddeus Ross (now POTUS and played by Harrison Ford) and held captive for 16 years, despite there never really being much of a hint that Ross knew of the guy's existence. I mean, I'm sure he did, but he also didn't... Also in this is Celestial Island, situated in the Indian Ocean, the remains of the Celestial who was killed by the Eternals at the conclusion of that generally awful MCU movie that is likely never to be revisited. It also works as a sequel to Sam Wilson (and Bucky Barnes) TV show where a 1950s black Captain America replacement was introduced with a slightly implausible reason for his creation.

Also in this movie is Sidewinder, an ex-military rogue agent who, despite having no powers, manages to constantly run rings round the US armed forces. Played by Giancarlo Esposito, this is a character that amazingly is both underused and quite irrelevant at the same time. There's a cameo from Sebastian Stan as Bucky - who is apparently running for congress (despite being an enemy of the USA for a long time and the cause of a huge explosion and the deaths of many in Captain America: Civil War) and Shira Haas as Ruth Bat-Serif, aka Silver Sable, although there was nothing silver about her and you got the impression that a lot of her ended up on the cutting room floor. The thing is after all that scene-setting, I'll bet you're wondering if it was any good? Well, the answer to that is yes, as recent MCU films go this wasn't bad at all. It felt like it should have been longer with a bit more back story and info for newcomers, but Anthony Mackie isn't bad as the new Cap and Danny Ramirez is exactly what you'd expect for the new Falcon. The thing rattled along at a cracking pace and despite the unusual end of Thunderbolt Ross's career and the strangely muted conclusions to both the entangled stories it wasn't bad at all - even if it did feel like an extended TV show at times. It did, however, feel like it was tying up loose ends while sowing some seeds about the future. There was a slightly contrived feel to it, but given the post-production nightmares the movie has been through that's to be expected. In the end I'm giving it a generous 7/10.

Back Home Again

You might be starting to notice a theme about this week's televisual entertainment. Three days into my weekly round-up and the third Marvel film on the trot. This time round it's the first MCU/Sony Spidey film, Spider-Man: Homecoming with Tom Holland as the webslinger (in actually his second outing) and what is, in my never humble opinion, the best of the Spider trilogy, because it's the most honest and feels like it's exactly what it wanted to be, a movie about a teenager with superpowers. I've never been a huge fan of Spider-Man; not quite in the league of my general disdain for Batman (we're talking comics here), but I've never really enjoyed any of the earlier films, although I did have a soft spot for Amazing Spider-Man 2, but that might have just been because of the closing scene. This however, with it's added Tony Stark and Happy Hogan, just felt like a proper fun feature with a genuinely interesting cast of villains - utilising existing MCU mythology. Plus, look out for a couple of brilliant cameos from Chris Evans as Captain America, especially the end credit scene, which is probably the best end credit scene ever done.

The idea was clear, they weren't going to do the whole origin thing again; there was no mention of an uncle Ben, May (Marissa Tomei) is a hot-bordering-middle-aged woman - possibly even a 'spinster' and his supporting crew would reflect New York rather than the rather white feel the comics had for a long time. It starts brilliantly with Peter being recruited by Tony Stark (RDjr) to help with the 'battle of the Avengers' at JFK from Civil War and Pete's recording everything on his phone. His origin is explained in an almost throwaway scene with Ned Leeds and he's still the nerd at school but maybe not held in the same kind of contempt he was in the 60s comic books. There's a clever nod to Betty Brant (his first comics girlfriend), while old Spidey villain the Vulture (Michael Keaton) is updated into the 21st century using technology stolen from the Chitauri wreckage, after the battle of New York in the first Avengers film. It's quite simply just a great movie with a lot going for it, lots of good humour, action sequences that are original and a pay off that is a little like the first Iron Man film, in that it doesn't need to be world threatening, just hard hitting enough to make it important. It is absolutely worth an 8/10.

Reputable Gangster

There's an all-star cast in Sam Mendes's Road to Perdition, everybody from Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Daniel Craig, Jude Law to name but a few. It also features Tyler Hoechlin - the kid who would grow up to play Superman, in the most recent TV series featuring the Man of Steel. This is also based on a comicbook, but you would be hard pressed to imagine that. Hanks - the almost adopted son of Newman - is an enforcer along with Craig - Newman's actual son - doing a job to deal with a problem for the mob, but Craig goes rogue and Hanks son - Hoechlin - witnesses it. This creates a political problem for mob boss Newman, so he puts a hit out on Hanks' Michael and his son. However it goes wrong and the wrong people die, forcing Newman into backtracking on his word and offering Hanks and son a way out. The problem is Hanks's Michael Sullivan only wants revenge. It's a really well made film and looks fantastic, but it wasn't really gripping and ultimately it's a grim film with little happening in it to make you feel anything but depressed. It's entertaining, but I imagine a lot of people struggled to like it. 6/10.

Statues?

The Netflix film Don't Move came out last year and was panned by many reviewers; even Netflix viewers stayed away from it. It seems there was something about this psychological horror movie that people didn't like. Perhaps it was Finn Wittrock, the antagonist of the story? Almost from his first scene he just gets on your nerves, but that's a deliberate thing; the guy is, after all, a psychopath with a penchant for drugging women - with a paralysing agent - and then, presumably, having his wicked way with them before killing them and dumping their bodies. The thing is he chooses Kelsey Asbille as his next victim, a woman who was on the verge of killing herself anyhow, so it was bound to go wrong. Asbille plays Iris, a woman whose son died in the park she's about to end it all in, that is until Wittrock turns up, spins his own sad story and basically persuades Iris to live another day. That was the moment when the suicidal woman becomes a potential murder victim...

Iris has 20 minutes before the drug injected into her will completely paralyse her, she does everything she can to evade the man she's already caused a lot of damage to and even gets the feeling of hope when things seemingly start to sway in her favour; but a lot of the plot devices left dangling around are false paths of hope. This is a short film, it weighs in at about 88 minutes, most of it was filmed in Bulgaria and there is an element of micro budget about it, but despite some slightly implausible plots devices and events, it wasn't that bad and filled a hole in what would otherwise have been a quiet night. No, it wasn't brilliant, but it wasn't any worse than a 6/10.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

The law firm procedural aspect of Daredevil: Born Again is the main thing going on in the third episode as Matt tries to get Hector Ayala off of his cop killing frame up. This episode is light on action but heavy on misdirection as we're left on a knife edge as the court decides whether Ayala is a cold blooded killer or if he really was helping a bystander from being beaten - by two undercover police officers. Another misdirection is whether Wilson Fisk really is trying to go straight. There really does seem to be a desire for him to be regarded as a clean politician rather than be linked to his criminal past; however, his wife Vanessa seems to have rather taken to the criminal life and Wilson might be involved in a power struggle he didn't see coming. There's also suggestions that for all of his wish to be a reformed man, his past is more than capable of catching up with him.

One thing I have noticed about this series, that's how little Marvel or Disney for that matter has given away about who is in it and how often they appear. It's clear this is a Matt Murdoch and Wilson Fisk series and the two will undoubtedly face off again before it's all concluded, but who are going to be the real supporting characters here? Margarita Levieva's Heather Glenn is still nothing more than a councillor (of a different kind) who is having a relationship with Matt but also Wilson's marriage guidance expert. We know there's going to be some appearances from Foggy later in the series, but the presumption is these will be in flashback and have we seen the last of Karen Page - Deborah Woll was in the opening two episodes, but there doesn't appear to be much scope for her reappearance? Oh and what role does Frank Castle have in all of this, because we know he's waiting in the wings?

What A State

About a decade ago I either found or was directed to Simon Stalenhag and had my mind blown somewhat. His truly unusual dystopian images about a future that has obviously gone wrong is actually about an alternate past that has also gone very wrong. About a world where gaudy robots exist side by side with humans and ultimately die by their sides as well. One of his first books was The Electric State and when I saw that the Russo Brothers were bringing it to the 'small' screen on Netflix I was intrigued (this is also the third Russo film we've watched this week and they haven't made that many). Less intrigued by Millie Bobby Brown and a little concerned about Chris Pratt in a dodgy wig, but I was prepared to see where this was going to go. Quite remarkably, despite being a film that looked and felt like it should have been a huge pile steaming excrement, The Electric State has proved to be quite a solid movie. I mean, it wasn't bad and that surprises me because I kept expecting it to turn into a heap of shite, but it didn't.

Brown plays a teenage girl who - on the eve of war against the robots - loses her parents and her brother in a car crash. She eventually recovers but lurches from one foster family to another until one day an illegal robot contacts her and claims to be her brother inside the body of a Cosmo Robot. One thing leads to another and once she's got proof she goes in search of the man who can give her the answers she needs; that's Ke Huy Quan - the man who told Brown her family had perished. With help from Pratt and his robot sidekick Herm (Anthony Mackie), they travel across the robot zone and try to get the answers they need, while being tracked by Giovanni Esposito's robot hunter. The man responsible for all this unnecessary robotic tension is Stanley Tucci who has reasons for all the secrecy. Everything about this feature screamed 'load of dung' but in the end it was surprisingly strange enough to actually work. The special effects were excellent and the supporting cast more than made up for Brown's inability to act her way out of a slug's slime trail... I'm going for a 7/10 (but I might give it a 3/10 next time I watch it, who knows?).

Subterfuge

Right, I'm now of the opinion that Severance might actually finish next week and we'll get enough explanations to keep us satisfied but lots of loose ends to keep us thinking about it...

This contains some spoilers.

Everything appears to be falling apart just as Lumon has reached the 96% completion of whatever 'Cold Harbor' is going to be. The management want Mark S back in the office, but he's gone AWOL with his sister and the always sinister Harmony Kobel. They appear to be planning something to get Mark into the building and find his 'dead' wife. Will we find out what makes Mark Scout so essential? Meanwhile Dylan's Innie and his Outie wife are having an affair that leads Dylan to resign his Innie from Lumon - which they allow quickly and without fuss (suggesting Dylan was only important as part of Mark S's team). Irving is given a one-way train ticket to get as far away from Lumon and Christopher Walken as possible and Melchick gets really arsey with Drummond. Meanwhile Miss Huang is transferred; Keir Egan is on the move and Helly R (or is that E?) has decided that she's going to do something serious. It certainly seems to be heading for an actual finish; characters moved away; others no longer pertinent and a series that has been so... detached at times without ever being very much like the first series at all. It's been remarkable really and if we were to be analytical about this, Severance makes little or no sense and has a strange and difficult narrative that is designed to leave you puzzled. It will remain this way, even if we get a resolution to Mark and Gemma's story.

What's Up Next?

More endings and beginnings. Some middle bits and films. You (don't) pay your money, so you never know - really - what's coming...