The Yellow Canary Review

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It’s time for a pretty old thriller. This is a film I had never heard of before so it’s always fun to discover something new. The Yellow Canary is a film about a kidnapping and the main character deciding to go rogue. It’s a pretty classic plot and one that can be really fun as long as the execution is good. I would say that the film handles it all pretty well so you should be on the edge of your seat.

The film starts off by introducing us to Andy who is a world famous singer. He’s won all kinds of awards and is ridiculously wealthy. Unfortunately he traded in his morals a long time ago and nowadays he greatly enjoys just indulging in every pleasure. He cheats on his wife, never visits his son, etc. Well one day his son is kidnapped and now Andy has to find the culprit before anything terrible happens. The randomer is stringing Andy along a lot and the cops say this is probably personal but aren’t offering a whole lot of help. The cops mean well but are just out of their depth. Andy will have to take some big swings here.

Now it is a bold approach to have Andy be so unlikable right from the start. Some characters might be a bit arrogant or something but the film goes out of its way to say that this guy has been completely corrupted by the money. I’d even say that a reoccurring theme of the movie is about how all of your friends are fake when you’re rich. In one way or another each of his friends tend to stab him in the back. I’d say at least Andy’s business partners seemed solid and if anything it was Andy who was abusing them the whole time.

Throughout the film Andy does do his best to find his kid, but that doesn’t automatically make him a good character. It just means that this was something super personal and he was going to solve the problem. Perhaps now that he has lost a lot of money by the end of the film he will readdress the priorities in his life. Andy may end up being a good character but I can’t really assume that just from the ending here. You’ll obviously still root for him over the kidnapper though.

Andy’s wife Lissa is upset at Andy the whole film but that’s really justified. I just wish she was able to keep it together a bit more when they were working on saving the kid. For example at one point she is able to grab her son but then panics about how she can’t leave Andy along when the villains are approaching. If Lissa had her way then they all would have been swarmed and defeated. She just seemed to lack a general sense of awareness for danger and I never like it when characters fall to pieces like that. It is unfortunately realistic but doesn’t make the whole thing any better.

As for the police detective Bonner, he is one of those characters who sounds good until you really think about it. He gives all of the textbook advice on not letting the kidnapper get what he wants and all that but has no plan beyond this. Bonner essentially tells Andy to sacrifice his kid to prevent copycat kidnappings. Yes, that is good advice for society but it’s not something that just about any father is going to listen to. It would just sound rather absurd on its face. Bonner is quick to deflect when Andy asks how often the strategy actually saves the kid. It’s clear that Andy will have to do this on his own.

Bake is constantly playing the victim card as he tells Andy to stop being a terrible person. The advice falls on deaf ears though and it really doesn’t hit because Bake continues to work for the guy. If Bake decided to quit that would be one thing but the longer he stays at the job then it makes the moral convictions fall flat. Lissa even calls him out on this and Bake just talks about how he is trapped. We see that he even steals money from Andy as the film goes on so that makes him look even worse. I really didn’t have anything all that positive to say about the guy. He’s easily one of the weakest characters.

Then you have Hub who is always ready to help but tends to take a violent twist on it. The guy is rather unhinged and seems to even enjoy the violence. You always want to be careful with someone like that around. While watching the film you have to try and figure out who the kidnapper is. Naturally he might not even be one of these immediate characters and could be a complete stranger. You’ll really have to go through the film to find out.

I’d say another solid thing about the film is that there aren’t many big leaps of logic for you to follow. The main characters didn’t even really make a mistake when it came to the kid being kidnapped. There was effectively nothing they could have done and then from there it made sense to follow the kidnapper’s instructions until they could find an avenue of attack. The most realistic part here may have even been that the heroes completely had no leads until the villain slipped up. His own arrogance was his downfall here.

The climax was also really solid. I was glad that one character wasn’t bluffing because that would have been a supremely terrible look. When your kid is taken, it’s naturally going to be time for extreme actions and I would expect you to be locked and loaded. There was no hesitation when it counted and it made the villain’s final speech that much more enjoyable. I definitely like it when the villain thinks he is completely invincible and about to claim victory when he’s actually delusional by that point.

Overall, I had a good time here. Andy is definitely not someone who is likable but you still want the kid to be okay so you’re forced to root for him via proxy. The movie keeps up a tense atmosphere throughout and the pacing is on point. The body count is even a bit higher than I was expecting. I don’t know why, but I just assumed there wouldn’t be much death or anything here. Maybe it’s just the way the film was playing out? It felt tense but in a more slow burn kind of way where the heroes would eventually stop the kidnapper before anyone would really have to die for it. By the second death, you quickly realize that this is not that kind of film. This one of those films that just feels like a really well rounded watch all the way through. As long as you enjoy these kind of retro thrillers then you should have a good time here.

Overall 7/10

Ace Attorney Review

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It’s time to dive into the first season of the Ace Attorney series. It was pretty cool finally getting to play the original trilogy a while back. I spent a good 100 hours on that title which is more than 99% of other titles. Visual novels are really built differently and so the anime was going to have a very tough time cramming all this content in. This one adapts the first 2 games in one shot which is extremely ambitious. I’d say that it is all handled well though. This is not exactly a top budget production but this show doesn’t really need to be. How good it is will come down to the story/writing.

The series starts by introducing us to Phoenix Wright, an up and coming attorney. He will be trying his first ever case and it’s a doozy. He has to defend his friend Larry Butts in a murder trial. That’s a really tough way to start because usually you’d want to start with something fairly minor. Fortunately Phoenix’s mentor Mia will be helping him out on the case. Basically Larry is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend and a very incriminating piece of evidence turned up. A statue that Larry had gifted her a while back.

The general format of the show is that we’ll get the allegation and then Phoenix will do some investigative duties on his side. He’ll talk to each of the witnesses and gather evidence that can be used to counter what had already been submitted. The rules of the court system are a bit different in this tile. It’s technically part dystopia as there are so many crimes that they have to be solved within 3 days. This is why you can just introduce evidence at any point and really get creative with it.

Naturally there is still a lot of corruption though. The prosecutors going up against Phoenix will often do whatever they can to win. Additionally the judge is very oblivious and doesn’t tend to be very helpful at all. He falls for each and every trap so in a way Phoenix is also going up against him in each of the cases. The jury doesn’t decide who is innocent or not, the judge carries all of those duties. Convincing him of the truth is paramount.

Like I mentioned before, the animation isn’t always the best. This one’s not all that flashy or anything like that and the movement can be a little stiff. Still, the artwork is good and the backgrounds are always really bright. I definitely didn’t have any issues with the series on a technical level. The soundtrack is also pretty good even if it does get completely outshined by the video games. The games had a much larger variety of fun tracks throughout and they all became pretty iconic for me. I think the show should have just brought them all back instead of only using some.

As far as the characters go, Ace Attorney has always had a really solid case. Phoenix is a main character who is easy to root for even if his inexperience does end up appearing a lot more often than you would have expected. I always pictured him as the absolute master type who was good at everything. Instead he does tend to panic a whole lot. He gradually gets more experienced as the cases go on but you could make the case that he is still at a disadvantage in each round and has to rely on a bit of luck in order to get ahead.

He likes to really believe in his clients which does help Phoenix have the moral high ground. I always thought it would be difficult to be an attorney because who wants to defend someone who is obviously guilty?? That dilemma is even addressed within the final case of the show. Phoenix also has to deal with a lot of abuse like getting whipped in the court room since the judge lets people do whatever they want. It’s definitely not an easy job.

His sidekick Maya is also a fun character. She’s fairly young and doesn’t have a law background but means well and always does her best to help. She has the ability to summon the spirits of the dead which is helpful on quite a few cases for when she switches with Mia. Maya also helps keep Phoenix current on what’s going on in the world. Without her always watching TV or wanting to go places, he wouldn’t have been around to take on a few of these cases.

While Mia doesn’t appear all that much, she is definitely a high quality character. She’s easily the best defense attorney in the series and it’s why she had to get written out early. With her on the scene a lot of the cases would be over in the blink of an eye. At least thanks to the supernatural elements of the series, she is still able to show up and contribute quite often.

As for Larry, well he’s always getting into trouble. The guy just can’t seem to help it and often times he is the direct cause of the issues going on. You won’t end up feeling all that bad for him as a result. If not for the personal connections he has with Phoenix and Edgeworth from back in the day, Larry really wouldn’t have much reason to have a big role in the show. Sometimes he is able to help out accidentally but it tends to be rare. He’s usually just here to complicate things.

Then we have 3 main antagonists in the season. First up is Edgeworth who used to want to be a defense attorney like Phoenix but for some reason he ended up being a prosecutor instead. This mystery gets a lot of screentime throughout the show. Edgeworth also used to be a man of principles but for some reason he is willing to win no matter what now. Something clearly changed him but finding out what that is will be very tricky.

What I really like about this guy is his confidence. Usually Phoenix is able to make big objections and even fire off anime styled wind blasts to knock over his opponents but Edgeworth is able to respond in kind. Edgeworth always seems to have an answer for everything that Phoenix throws his way. It shows just how versatile and dangerous Edgeworth is as an opponent. The backstory also helps to just make him a very well-rounded character.

Then we have Franciska who wants to rehabilitate the Von Karma name. She basically never loses a case and literally whips anyone who gets in her way. These violent tactics wouldn’t work in a standard courtroom but they definitely get the job done here. She’s easy to root for even if I would argue that her skills aren’t quite on Edgeworth’s level. Franciska is forced to go on a similar character arc to try and find the true meaning behind being a prosecutor but at least for now it hasn’t had time to move forward.

There is also the original Von Karma who makes of a really imposing villain. He has ties to Edgeworth’s backstory and also served as the guy’s mentor. Von Karma is big on absolute power and might makes right. He just barrels through his opponents and even pressures the judge to end things quickly. He makes for a great villain and is really fun to have around. It takes a lot of charisma to just dominate a courtroom the way that he does and the guy is also unapologetically evil.

Now lets go through the cases. The first one is about Larry being framed for the murder of his ex-girlfriend as we touched on before. It’s a fun way to start the season as the case is more on the basic side. You have to carefully consider all of the evidence and testimony to try and find a hole in t. In this series you generally know that the suspect is innocent, sometimes you even get to see that. The difficult part is figuring out a way to prove what you know. There are no real weak points to the case and it is a perfect one to introduce the series to someone who is just getting started.

The second case is about the murder of Phoenix’s mentor Mia. The suspect is her sister Maya for being in the room when it happened. You can also tell that this is really the first big case since it is 3 episodes while the original was just 1. As the series goes on, the cases would gradually get longer and longer. This one brought in our first big villain as well. There were quite a few colorful characters here and the fact that the crime happened in Phoenix’s office makes the whole thing more personal. It’s another solid case that also serves as a way to introduce some pretty big characters in Maya and Edgeworth.

Our third case introduces the Silver Samurai show which would end up being a big thing for the rest of the series. One of the stars is accused of murdering his co-star. There has been a lot of beef over the years so it’s easy to find a motive. Things don’t look good for this guy and Phoenix only gets involved because of Maya. Otherwise he was perfectly content to stay out of it. We also meet another supporting character named Oldbag. She’s a rather eccentric old lady who gets very obsessed. As far as the quirky characters go she tends to be a little less interesting. I’d also say that this case loses to the first two. I found the murder method to be really hard to buy. Now there is a certain level of disbelief for all of the cases since every character ends up looking like a complete genius but this one was pushing it a bit.

After that we get to the most important case in the series. Edgeworth is accused of murdering someone who was closely connected to the murder of his father. It looks like a classic case of revenge but Phoenix knows that it isn’t so simple. Edgeworth doesn’t even want him to get involved because of how personal it is, but Phoenix isn’t so easily dissuaded. This is a pretty long case since it has to go into the backstory as well as the main case. Phoenix also has to deal with Von Karma who is good at hiding evidence and fabricating other parts of it.

It’s a real interesting case and goes a long way to developing Edgeworth’s character. The general murder method and twists all line up pretty well too. You get the feeling that the villain was a bit sloppy here but as the characters get smarter and smarter, they’re bound to make a mistake somewhere. Phoenix is always ready to pounce on those mistakes.

After that we have a bit of a quieter case. Maya is suspected of murder again, this time of a doctor who went to her village to talk to the nurse that died a while back. It’s a bit of a long story but she was overworked and the doctor was blamed for the conditions that led to her death. He went here to talk to her spirit and clear his name but instead he just got himself into a lethal situation. Phoenix knows that Maya wouldn’t murder anyone, but Maya being possessed by another person? Well that’s another story. He also meets Pearl who really looks up to Maya.

Pearl has the same ability as Maya to bring back a dead spirit which Phoenix uses to talk to Mia once more. They have a pretty good setup right there. She may not be as fun as Maya but Pearl’s a good kid so I give her a thumbs up here. You can’t expect her to really be solving the cases or anything but she always keeps up a positive attitude. The case itself may not be as difficult as some of the others but they are all murder cases so the stakes are guaranteed to be high.

After that we have the circus case which is another big one. The magician is accused of murdering the ringmaster after someone saw him flying away. His act is about flying but of course it’s not like he has the actual ability of flight. Phoenix reluctantly helps the guy but it won’t be easy since everyone disliked him. The magician just came across as way too much of a jerk the whole time so it makes sense that everyone would turn against him. The end resolution for this one will also be a bit hard to swallow. It’s definitely creative though.

I always have to give the series credit for the quality writing throughout. The seeds of each mystery are always planted early on. You may not always be able to crack the case but usually the show makes it possible at least. In this case I enjoyed how smug the main villain is. He may not have been a overtly evil as most of the other ones but in that way it also does make him look more petty. This guy just blew his fuse whereas at leas the other villains all had grand goals.

Finally the season ends with a professional killer. Phoenix finds out that De Killer has been hired to murder someone and then he is now blackmailing Phoenix into getting an acquittal for his client. If Phoenix doesn’t win the case then he will murder Maya. Phoenix has never lost a case in his career so on the surface this sounds easy but as we’ve established, Phoenix is a man of principle. He doesn’t want to win if his client is actually evil and that’s where the problem is. Still, letting Maya die is not part of the plan so Phoenix will actually have to work with Edgeworth here.

This works perfectly well as the final big case because we’ve been waiting for a team up like this. You may wonder how a defense attorney can actually team up with a prosecutor but the show handles this very well. They are really able to work off of each other while not shirking their own duties. The tension was high throughout and De Killer works really well as one of the big villains.

Overall, Ace Attorney was a pretty fun show. It may not be ready for the likes of Liar Game or Death Note in terms of pure mind games but I always love a good trial. The writing is solid throughout and the cases are each given a lot of time to breath. Higher production values may have helped to get the show even higher but it’s still good enough to pass the time by. I would recommend this to anyone who likes watching court titles. The anime really does the whole process justice and I expect equally good stuff from the next season.

Overall 7/10

Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review

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It’s time for the new Spiderman film that’s been getting a lot of hype around the world. I can definitely see why as it delivers on a lot of great character moments and fight scenes. The film is also fairly long so it got to have a number of climaxes before actually ending. The Spider-Man films are fairly stacked by this point but this one has to make it into the top half.

The film starts off with Spider-Man beating up a bunch of enemies as he recovers his reputation from the last film. The city loves Spider-Man now and while he should feel like this is the height of his career, his days as Peter Parker have never been worse. After Dr. Strange did the spell to wipe everyone’s memory of him, Parker is basically by himself. He still keeps up with MJ and Ned but doesn’t allow himself to talk to them. Now there is a mysterious body hopper who is going on a rampage and Spider-Man’s powers are on the fritz. He’ll have to take control of the situation quickly or it’s all over.

One thing the film gets right about Spider-Man immediately is how nobody is ever there to help him. Spider-Man’s out there busting his back to save everybody and the instant he’s down, nobody wants to help him. With his powers out of control he ends up injuring someone and the police contact he had been working with immediately starts throwing threats around. When Spider-Man goes to the Avengers for help, he’s dismissed out of hand in an almost mocking kind of way. These guys would be the first ones to run to him for help but don’t want to stick their necks out.

It’s pretty tragic just how alone Spider-Man is. He’s strong enough to be able to take it, but that doesn’t mean that he wants to. I’ll also say that the Avengers look really bad as a result since there is a whole lot of destruction going on in the city. You’d think that they would be taking some kind of an interest in the situation but I guess that wasn’t in the cards this time.

On the Peter side, it’s a bit harder to feel bad for him. He made his choice of not reconnecting with MJ and Ned so I think he just has to live with that. That means completely breaking contact instead of being half hearted about the whole thing. He shouldn’t be keeping up with their social media accounts or anything like that because it’s just going to make him feel worse. It’s like getting over an ex or an old friend, the best thing you can do is achieve a fresh start completely. If you do that correctly then you’ll really be all set.

A big theme in the film is about how you can’t do everything on your own and it makes sense. As smart as Peter is, he does make a mistake with one of his gadgets and needed a fresh pair of eyes to see it. He also can’t be everywhere at once and isn’t even in the best mental state because of the constant headaches. The film would have been a lot easier for him without the power issues. For example his spider sense appears to be off for just about the whole movie as a result. While it may not be confirmed that it was happening at the very start, it’s the only way he would get hit by the Punisher or the other random folks in the movie so it tracks for me.

Peter may make his share of mistakes but still looks good throughout the movie. The Punisher also makes for a fun ally here. He’s completely out of his depth the whole time but has a good amount of banter with Peter and is fun to have around. He probably just needed a bit more conviction though. If you’re willing to take one shot then you should be willing to take two. I think the ending would work better with Peter completely stopping Punisher and that causes a bit of a rift between them. It’s a bit harder to see them getting along with such drastically different senses of justice.

As for the main antagonist, it was interesting to see the film set her up as such an evil character. This could become another Scarlet Witch situation if the writers aren’t careful. She really crossed a lot of lines here and while it was ultimately to help someone out, it doesn’t take away from the actions themselves. As far as I’m concerned she is functionally a villain here and this could be a really creative way to set up the in-universe discourse on characters relating to her. I could see a few freedom fighter type groups being inspired by the devastation to put a stop to this. So we’ll see how it all plays out but it puts a whole lot of pressure on some characters going forward. Humanity isn’t going to just sit back after all this went down.

Scorpion is more of a B villain here but it was fun how the film gave him so much hype. The music changes whenever he shows up and he’s treated like an actual threat. It’s all so sincere that I nearly thought it was parody. I suppose he is strong but usually the guy is absolute fodder. We also get the Hand to show up and while I feel like they should all get leveled immediately against someone like Spider-Man, we can’t have the film end too soon.

Hulk looks good in his brief appearance but honestly Banner should have put on the limiter immediately. He already knows that things will not be going well otherwise. I get that the limiter as a concept feels rather shady but these were desperate times. On the supporting cast, I’ve never been the biggest fan of Ned and MJ but they’re okay. They just don’t really need to be around by this point. The fact that they’re both geniuses like Peter at least gives them a little relevance but it still makes the world feel a bit too small. They’re not in high school anymore and in a city like New York, you never really need to bump into anyone more than once.

The guy who loses out the most here is MJ’s new boyfriend because the guy barely gets to appear and then is portrayed as not being a great guy. The film did a good job of avoiding any rebound romance though because it’s not like this MJ even knows Peter. It would have been extremely rushed. For that reason Peter should have suspected something during the roof scene. The whole scene just feels crazy because you usually remember someone by seeing them, not by doing anything weird. Peter was a bit off with all the crazy stuff going on though so I guess he gets a small pass for not noticing that something was amiss.

Now it’s been a while so lets rank the Spider-Man films. I’m not counting the animated ones since we’re really looking at live action here. Number 1 will always be Spider-Man 3 as the definitive Spider-Man title out there. I’d say that second is No Way Home with the cool crossover action. Third would be The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which still has the coolest visuals out of all of them. Then I’d put this one in 4th, 5th would be Far From Home, 6th would be The Amazing Spiderman, 7th would be Spider-Man, 8th would be Spider-Man Homecoming, and finally 9th would be Spider-Man 2. The films tend to be pretty close though and with rewatches I could see the list shuffling a bit. Perhaps this one is so high with recency bias. You never know until time passes I suppose.

Overall, I definitely recommend checking this one out. There is a whole lot going on here and I appreciated that the film made the most out of being in an expanded universe. We had a number of guest star characters which was good to see and I always prefer when a film acknowledges what the others are doing instead of just ignoring it. While those answers may not be satisfactory, at least they’re there. We also got to really see Peter being able to act as the friendly neighborhood Spiderman even when his life was coming to pieces. I really appreciated how he would still force himself to joke and be light as the hero. It showed just how hard he was continuing to try being the best hero he can be. Now we begin the wait for Doomsday!

Overall 8/10

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Review

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It’s time for another journey with the Fantastic Four. This team has always had a rough transition into the live action environment so would this one be able to change that? I’ve enjoyed the films more than most and for that reason while I don’t think it beats the first two, it is still a fun film. This one is just going for a less action packed adventure than some of the older ones and I always tend to be less impressed with Galactus as a threat. That guy needs to learn some hand to hand or something.

The movie starts by introducing us to an alternate reality where the defenders of humanity are the Fantastic Four. Reed and his three friends had gone up to space and came back with super powers. They have used them well as the planet has achieved peace. There is not a whole lot of crime anymore but unfortunately the planet has been selected for destruction by Galactus. He aims to eat the planet and Reed must try to figure out how to stop this from happening. The problem is that a genius intellect can only take you so far. Perhaps….there is no way to stop this threat.

I was glad that the film starts with the heroes already being experienced fighters. We’ve seen the origins enough times after all and it’s also a good way to make the world feel lived in. The Fantastic Four have a whole lot of social credit from protecting the world for so many years and everybody trusts them. They may not be ultra powerful but it’s not like the villains have been all that tough. This is probably a pretty decent way to frame a Superman movie that adapts Doomsday at some point.

The positives of the movie shine through right away like the quality writing and quick pacing. The movie goes by pretty quickly and there are no parts that really drag on. By the same token you may not care a whole lot about the human plots like Thing’s budding romance with a school teacher or the Moleman and his antics. They’re just sort of part of the background and you’re waiting to see how the Galactus stuff works out.

If I had a main issue with the film, it would be Galactus though. He is said to be this ultimate disaster that cannot be stopped and so Reed gives up on trying to stop him almost immediately. The reason this doesn’t work is because he’s shown to be extremely vulnerable and filled with weak spots in every encounter. Johnny and Sue are able to focus a heat blast on his eyes that clearly deals a lot of pain. Johnny also severed a few of his energy tubes which made him yell in pain and then Reed did the same with a wrench later on.

If you want me to believe that Galactus can’t be defeated then these attacks should not be causing him so much damage. He feels like a character who is relying on the feats from the comics but in the movie there isn’t enough to suggest that this guy is so unbeatable. I was glad that he had some real character even if he nearly fell for the most obvious trap of all time. It’s like he has intellect but at a fairly low level and the Fantastic Four are the ones who messed up by taking the bait too quickly.

So it was cool to see Galactus finally walking around and everything but he just didn’t seem to be strong enough to me. The guy should really not have any major weaknesses and it should take someone of a much higher power level to actually hurt him. Even the final blow felt a bit cheesy but I can at least buy it more than his other action scenes. Another tricky thing about this is that it means there were no real opponents for the Fantastic Four to fight in this film. Outside of Galactus you had the Silver Surfer but she would just oneshot the heroes whenever she felt like it.

The only hero who could really fight at a high level was Sue and so that’s why the film kept her pregnant for a while so she couldn’t end the film sooner. Sue looked really good throughout the film and I was glad that she was always very quick to go on the attack. There was no hesitation when she told Johnny to murder the Silver Surfer and she rightfully called out Reed for not immediately dismissing the idea of sacrificing her kid.

As for Reed, well this might be his weakest portrayal. He’s just lacking in confidence throughout the film and throws a pity party for a lot of it. The rest of the team try to get him to move past the initial accident but he just hasn’t been able to. Then he absolutely bombed the press conference and put more trouble onto the team instead of quickly talking about how they will figure out a way to win. His stretching could also stand to look more impressive but Reed was always the weakest member of the team so I suppose that works out well enough.

Ben gets the shaft out of the main 4 characters because he doesn’t really have anything to do here. His thing is usually being the strong member of the team but in this case the opponent is stronger than him. So Ben is really stuck in the background the whole time. He’s a fun enough character but there just isn’t much room for him in the script this time. Better luck next time I suppose.

Johnny looks great though. He really gets to show off his intelligence here and is also very quick to go on the attack like Sue. His powerset may not be as strong as Sue’s but I really like how versatile it is. Being able to fly at super speeds is just incredibly handy and it means he can always be at the danger scene when needed. He was also ready to make the heroic sacrifice at the end if needed.

As for Silver Surfer, they have her be a little more emotional than the Silver Surfer folks are used to from the old movie. That said, if you read the comics then you know that the Silver Surfers are always extremely emotional. I would just say that she looks a little too wishy washy here because it’s not like any of the arguments made were very compelling. She knows exactly what she is doing by picking planets for Galactus to eat and has accepted this if it means protecting her planet. I don’t think hearing a few yells or anything would help that. If anything, hearing her fellow people would have just steeled her resolve instead of the opposite happening.

The film does show just how quickly humanity is always ready to stab you in the back though. The Fantastic Four saved them countless times and they all fall to pieces immediately when they are faced with the latest threat. It would have been interesting if the Fantastic Four just ditched humanity on their rocket. Obviously being a hero means saving people no matter how miserable they are but it’s the kind of thing you certainly don’t forget.

The after credits scene is way too short but still makes for a decent setup to Doomsday. At this point there are just so many great plots set up for that film so I’m really looking forward to seeing how that one stacks up. Honestly they’ll have to try hard to mess this one up. It feels like the floor will be an 8 and I’m expecting the title to be a 9. Never count your chickens before they hatch though.

Overall, This was a pretty good Fantastic Four film. As long as you’re not looking for the next big action packed thriller then you should have a good time with this film. It feels a little bit calmer and quieter than the average Marvel title but it fits with the vibe of this alternate Earth. For that reason it’s going to have a bit less replay value compared to the other titles but on an initial watch it absolutely holds up.

Overall 7/10

Persona 3 The Movie: #4 Winter of Rebirth Review

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It’s time for the end of the Persona journey. It’s definitely been fun to get to experience the story all the way from the beginning. The Persona games are super long so it makes sense that you would need 4 movies to tell the story. There isn’t as much action as you would expect for a while there but they make up for it with the climax which may be the longest action piece out of the 4 films. Hard to say if that’s the case for sure but it felt like it. This one ends the series off on a good note.

The film starts right where the last one ended off with Aegis being defeated by Ryoji. He informs Makoto that humanity is doomed. Ryoji is essentially death incarnate and the herald of Nyx. Makoto can choose to destroy Ryoji which will wipe the memories of everyone on Earth so they don’t have to dread their final 2 months and can live normally. Makoto doesn’t want to do this though and the rest of his team are also hesitant. Although Makoto is explicitly the only one who has the power to do this so he gets the final say. He just spends his final days zoning out until a visitor from another realm shows up. Can she snap him out of it?

I would say the main annoying thing about this plot is how everybody just gives up. They’ve all been through a lot of difficult challenges before so why is this any different? It feels like they all take Ryoji at face value about how invincible Nyx is and just don’t want to fight. I would even say they shouldn’t believe that destroying him would be pointless. I would have liked to see the heroes continue to fight and stay in denial if that’s what it took to keep their spirits up. At the very least they cannot just give up because that is the absolute worst thing that you can do. You have to keep on fighting for every inch for as long as it takes.

The only one who I won’t give any shade to is Aegis. She fought as hard as she could immediately and is written out for part of the film due to being broken. Otherwise she was not just giving up without a fight and if anything was dismayed to find out that the others didn’t share her energy. Aegis was ready to fight to the bitter end and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s just too bad that her sheer firepower isn’t enough to take on these big threats.

Elizabeth is the secret MVP to the film. She shows up and decides to help Makoto out even though it’s not like this was something that she needed to do. She simply decided that it’s something that she wanted to do and that is what really makes her role even more heroic. She helps Makoto see how much fun it is to simply be alive and spurs on the heroes’ final defense. Without her they would have continued to just go through the motions and lose without a fight.

Makoto may be the main character but he was pretty passive up to this point. His character is probably one that works a bit better in the game where you have hours upon hours of him doing the right things and hanging in there. I’d say what hurts him in the films is it feels like he gets depressed in every installment. I thought that film 3 would be the last time it happened until this one came in. Again, there just wasn’t a good enough reason for me on why the heroes would just accept that they couldn’t win this fight. Never trust a monologuing villain.

The animation is pretty solid as always. You could make the case for this being the best looking out of the 4 films. They really went all out with the shading and various camera angles. The final fights all look great and it is definitely a very chaotic fight. The colors are good and it’s also nice to still see the humans fighting alongside their Personas. It just makes the battles feel more personal and it is always satisfying when the humans actually land good hits in.

It was too bad that we didn’t get to see much of a fight against the enemy persona users in the last film so this time they get more of a full fight. They don’t last long against the heroes by this point in the series but I was glad that they weren’t just offscreen or anything like that. Now that would have definitely been a little disappointing. As for the final boss, Nyx is pretty impressive but doesn’t have enough time to have too much of a character. More of a final boss obstacle than a character one. Ryoji has to suffice as far as the character part goes and he looks good.

I would say he just works better as a villain than a hero with how he’s always smirking and looking like he is in control of things. That is exactly how you want your villains to act. For the heroes I have to give most of them a failing grade this time though. The kid and the dog are ironically the only ones really holding it together. Yukari and Junpei probably look the worst out of the group. Yukari goes into complete depression mode where she hides in her room while Junpei starts picking fights. Not very productive things to do when the world is ending.

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Fuuka are mainly just staying quiet the whole time as they try and process the situation. Even though they also feel rather defeated, at least they aren’t just putting that out there. If you feel like throwing in the towel that’s one thing, but at least you can make sure not to bring anyone down with you. I’d say that’s one of the key differences between this group and the first one.

As always the soundtrack is also really good. I was still waiting for my favorite theme to show up but I suppose it might have clashed with the tone. Either way you have a good amount of action tunes in here and Persona music has a whole lot of range. This film is taking a more somber approach and the music is able to match that. It’s definitely a creative approach to ending a movie series as the final film will usually be a whole lot more lively and action packed. I guess that just didn’t work out here based on how the game was structured as well.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out. You’ll be pretty lost if you skipped the first 3 films and of course if you watched those, why would you skip this one right? It’s a solid action title with a lot of introspection. The main characters may not look all that good here but sometimes it is hard to keep up with how high the stakes get. These guys just weren’t ready for all of that this time. As for the ending itself, I tend to interpret it as more of a happy one similar to Saint Seiya. The mission was accomplished, everyone is doing well and now the crew can all have a lot of other adventures going forward. I picture them all moving past this experience but I can see there being a lot of different theories on this. It would absolutely change the tone if the ending was more on the negative side but even on that end then you can pick a sub theory that makes it positive again. I do like when you can really speculate on an ending so that’s another point in the film’s favor.

Overall 7/10

Hero Tales Review

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It’s time for a mini series that I didn’t really know much about. Hero Tales plays out as a very classic 7 Samurai kind of adventure as the chosen warriors must destroy an evil ruler. There is a bunch of action and world building but the series is a bit too short to really make the most of it. The series does start to feel a bit rushed by the end. Ultimately I did think this was a pretty good title but it’s not very memorable for good reason. It just doesn’t stand out all that much.

The series starts by introducing us to Taitou who isn’t too happy with the current emperor of his kingdom. He feels like the guy is just a child who doesn’t have the first clue on how to rule. Taitou may have a good point as the kingdom has been going downhill but there just doesn’t seem to be much to do about it. Well, Taitou finally completes his coming of age ceremony but is then attacked by a mysterious man named Shimei who says that he is one of the legendary warriors reincarnated from heroes of old.

Taitou is your classic hyper main character. He believes in swinging his fists first and asking questions later. Since he has a problem with the empire, he decides to just head on over there while most characters would think that is an absolutely crazy plan. He’s not a bad lead character but there just isn’t a whole lot to Taitou. He ends up being a bit more on the forgettable side compared to others. He has a big rage mode but it tends to lose more often than not. One thing that would have really helped him in a major way would have been to win more fights. I dare say that he should have just been more impressive in general.

He does take a lot of the plot twists in stride like being one of the legendary warriors. I suppose it’s because in a way he just doesn’t care. It doesn’t change any of his goals and motivations. The only twist that gives him any impact is one about his sister Laila since that does change the dynamic quite a bit. You can always count on Taitou to have your back though. So he’s a good hero even if the character is a bit simple.

I give Laila a lot of props for continuing to be a fighter even up to the end of the series. Often times the heroine tends to fall by the wayside as the series goes on. I suppose that is a benefit of a series being fairly short. She even gets her own fight near the very end of the series. I’d say Laila can just be a bit too nice at some points though like in how she just absorbs Housei’s nonstop flirting instead of shutting the guy down.

I put that mostly on Housei though. To her credit, Laila does make it clear that she’s not interested and just isn’t trying to make things awkward. Housei’s such a desperate character that he never ends up being all that likable. The guy is super durable with how many attacks he takes by the end but his personality could use some work. What I can say in his defense is that he’s good with a bow and arrow but that’s about it. Housei does have a serious self that pops out once in a while but usually doesn’t last for very long. I didn’t think that the group really needed him around. He just doesn’t add much to the dynamic.

I suppose there is something to be said for starting near the bottom instead of starting there though. The main rival in the series is Ryuukou and he starts out well but drops hard as the series goes on. This guy was initially cool, calm and collected. He really practiced all of his skills thoroughly until he could dispatch just about every opponent. Unfortunately he isn’t able to handle the stress of the moment as well as Taitou and goes completely insane in the middle. He joins up with the wrong folks and does things he can’t take back like murdering someone in cold blood.

Yes, Taitou and friends are quick to forgive him later on but it all just felt so senseless. The series did not do a good job of making me feel bad for Ryuukou so I just couldn’t identify with the character. He was directly responsible for all of the issues that came up and that hurt the MC/Rival duo that the series was going for. Ryuukou was still a capable fighter but yeah I did not like him at all by the end.

Then for the villains I would say we had two main ones. The first is Shimei who shows up constantly to rage bait all of the characters. I feel like the chaos was really his big incentive more so than any actual goal. He would constantly stir the pot and pit everyone against each other. To his credit, the guy is super good at this. He’s also very powerful as he’s shown to be able to put up a fight against anyone. He’s slippery and barely human.

Shimei’s not a good character but any means but he is definitely an intimidating presence. Whenever he showed up, the characters really had to respect his abilities. I always like having a third party show up and Seimei worked for that role since he wasn’t exactly 1-1 with Keirou. He would also not be able to stand up to Keirou in a fight and was wise to keep his distance.

Keirou is the main villain here and definitely makes for a great end boss. Now this is a fun character who has really tangible goals. He is incredibly powerful and managed to get the highest rank in the land even after starting out with nothing. His end goal may feel a little nonsensical but in a way it is the ultimate strike against the system. Keirou spends years moving up the system until he is the ruler, only to turn around and try to destroy everyone. It’s absolute madness and only something you can do if you are truly the strongest in the land.

There is no doubt that Keirou is the strongest character in the series by the end. Nobody is even close and I’d say that we can declare this without any strings attached. It takes multiple characters fighting as one and surpassing their limits to really put up a fight and even then it could have gone either way. That always makes for a very satisfying final boss.

You’re almost tempted to root for him over the actual emperor because at least Keirou would be effective. Taitou meets up with the emperor and works to make him someone who is more worthy of his title. It’s a difficult challenge though because that guy is just too oblivious and too young. I always found it rough to see an emperor who has no idea what is going on. It’s a surprisingly popular plot point but it’s not like that ever makes it much better.

The artwork is pretty good here. It has a very simple style which works really well for the fight scenes. This is a title that is clear and easy to read at all times. The character designs are distinct so you won’t be mixing them up and so I definitely have no issues on that end. When a title is easy to read, it ends up making the whole product better so that’s a big win for this one. It may not have been enough to make this a great title but it’s part of why I could recommend this to anyone. This is a good popcorn fun manga. You can pick it up and read at anytime. With only 5 volumes, it is easy to marathon.

There may not be time to look at the after effects of how the kingdom will fare but I suppose you have to assume that everything will work out now. Without Keirou around and with the emperor being a bit smarter, perhaps the world will be at peace. At least Taitou has finally mastered his true self because the guy gave into the rage way too often. That’s not always a bad thing but in this case it was annoying since he would always go after his allies. In particular someone prophesized that he would murder Laila which is the worst look because she’s the one that he should be protecting above all else. Her yell is able to snap him out of it sometimes but it’s still not a good look for him.

Overall, Hero Tales may not be able to top the author’s other titles but it is still a good manga. You could see how it may have needed another 2-3 volumes to really go into everything but the story that we got is still complete. The setup is perfect for one of those long running anime back in the day that could have thrown in a bunch of filler episodes. The longer we see the team together, the more impact the final story beats would have had. There is a whole lot of action and the character cast is big enough so ultimately you’re still having fun here. The series may be a little underdeveloped, but what we have is still good and that is absolutely the most important thing in the end.

Overall 7/10

Thunderbolts Review

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A lot of people called this film the return of Marvel and I can absolutely understand that after watching this film. Thunderbolts is a lot of fun with a solid blend of humor and action. It also knew better than to have the heroes even be close to a match against a villain that they could never defeat. Ther was a lot of care that went into this one and it ends up being a strong film across the board.

The movie starts with Yelena completing another mission but feeling like her life is rather hollow right now. She asks her boss De Fontaine for something a little more heroic than all of these secret missions. De Fontaine agrees but first Yelena needs to complete one last mission. This will be her most dangerous mission yet as she runs into a former Captain America, the dangerous Taskmaster, the frightening Ghost, and Bob. Can Yelena survive this mission and find the purpose that she has been searching for?

One of the big themes of the film is that everyone here is dealing with some issues. Well, you could say that Taskmaster may be the big exception to this. She seems content enough with her mission and goes in guns blazing. Taskmaster looks a lot more impressive than you may have expected and the fact that she was able to keep up with Ghost 1 on 1 is impressive. Taskmaster grows more dangerous as the fight goes on since she can copy your moves. It was nice to see her here and in general the opening confrontation with all of the characters was a blast. I always like seeing these initial skirmishes as the characters size each other up before banding together.

Still, I’d say the theme is consistent outside of Taskmaster. Ultimately it’s going to be hard to really find a purpose for yourself if you’re a hitman. It’s not like being a hero will necessarily solve that issue but as Alexei points out, it does feel really good to have everyone cheering you on. Each of the characters have it rough and while Yelena is confident that she would win a battle of trauma dumping, I may have to give the edge to Ghost there. It depends how you interpret her backstory but it sounded to me like she cannot even keep herself stable anymore without the body suit. That seems like it would be constantly stressful and I’d always be worried about getting into any fights.

Now, it is fair to say that this film is a bit light on action compared to some other titles. There is a climax but it’s more of a subdued one with some action in the background. It’s more about banding together and finding out how to defeat the darkness without violence. So the film’s taking a subversive approach there. It ends up working and we still get a good fill of action from the first half but this would not have worked if the writing was not up to snuff. This is a perfect example of how good writing will elevate every part of the film.

The special effects are also solid as you’d expect. The film looks good so you should be absorbed pretty well. We are also back to the classic 2 post credit scenes setup. You’ve got the comedic one and then the serious one. They’re both pretty solid but the second one will probably land a lot harder if you’re a big fan of the characters represented by the stinger. I’ve never been the most impressed with these guys, but hey it’ll still be fun to see them.

Yelena is the main character of this film and gets a lot of development throughout. One of the main reasons why she is so likable is how she is actively trying to do the right thing from the start. When Bob first shows up, Yelena is the only one who really tries to defend him and make the guy feel secure. She points out that he is a civilian and stops Walker from attacking the guy on several occasions. She feels like Bob is out of his element here and as the film goes on, Yelena can understand that the guy has been through a lot.

It’s not to say that the rest of the characters were completely unfeeling, but Yelena is the only one who was really looking out for others beyond herself. Yelena has also been holding in a ton of darkness and isn’t letting it loose on the others. She does her best to push it all down and keep moving on. She has the right attributes to be a hero and is just really fun to follow. I’d also say that her sense of humor just tends to work and she has all of the funniest moments in the film.

Then we have Bucky who has a smaller role than the others but is trying to adjust to his new life as being part of the government. It’s all a bit much for him but the guy is trying. Bucky certainly feels more at home once he’s actually helping the others in combat. Ultimately it’s not like he is much stronger than the others though so he doesn’t make a big difference in the final battle. He’s a solid enough character though. The guy has a hard time connecting to his emotions which makes for a funny plot in itself.

Then we have Alexei who has absolutely no problem being emotional. He is always incredibly proud of Yelena with whatever she is doing. I always like to see that kind of support. He has her back no matter what and is good at removing the tension in a room. As a super soldier it would be nice to see him showing off that strength more but I suppose there weren’t many opportunities for that here. He adds onto the dynamic pretty well so I was glad that he’s around.

After that is Ghost who is around a lot but we don’t delve into her psyche as much. I suppose you can understand enough about her from the bits and pieces spread throughout the film. In general I would say Thunderbolts did a great job of not just spoon feeding you mountains of exposition the whole time. You’re able to just figure things out for yourself as it goes on. Ghost’s abilities are easily the most impressive which is why ever villain in the film has a homemade sound cannon. It’s her one weakness but it just shows up everywhere. In context it makes sense though since everyone knows about that weakness.

Walker is the biggest jerk of the group but that’s part of what makes him endearing. It’s easy to see why the guy is really upset at everyone. He had to deal with Falcon and Bucky gaslighting him throughout his first days as Captain America until he was fired. Then he murdered a terrorist and everyone started talking about innocents. Walker is just sick and tired of everyone being incredibly dense and it unfortunately spilled over into his home life.

It’s hard to believe that he was ever Captain America since he is really quick to go for the kill here and is provoked incredibly easy. By the end of the film he has finally started to calm down. I would consider him to be the biggest loose cannon on the team though and that’s saying something. Walker has skills and may be the best all around fighter on the group. He could probably beat all of the other members as long as he stays cool but the others all know how to get under his skin.

I’d say he’s a great example of how everyone adds something to the table. Yes, on the surface they are all the same kind of fighter who can shoot and throw punches but they can all do this at different levels. Then we have Bob who spends a lot of the time being really nervous and everything. That’s really what Bob is known for even in the comics until he finally matured. So it makes sense but I can see why he gets on all of the characters’ nerves.

Bob means well though and is always trying to help out. It would be nice if he was more in control of himself instead of being manipulated so easily though. The guy has a lot of inner demons to wrestle with and had a sad backstory. So it’s easier said than done but I look forward to seeing when this guy is more confident. He needs to be able to just master his abilities and be able to go toe to toe with anybody. The film uses his name as a fun joke and I’d say it works really well. Bob is just a fun name to say. I was also glad that he wasn’t oblivious and could tell that Walker was using his name as an insult for a while there.

Then we have De Fontaine who is a better villain than I was expecting. For a political type villain like her, the most important thing is making her actually be a clever person. If she was panicking and messing up all of her plans then that would be lame. Instead she is actually able to outmaneuver the characters throughout. She had a great scene in the old Avengers tower where she is the one pouring the drinks and making wisecracks instead of Ironman. She was in control throughout and her last scene ends up being her best one. You always want to see a character with incredible confidence like this.

Finally there is Mel and I have to say that I initially though she was Kate, the new Hawkeye. Until they mentioned her name, she just looked similar and I assumed it was just the time passing that made her seem older. She works well as the secretary though. I like how studious she is and Mel is constantly learning more and more how to use the right terms to describe all of Fontaine’s illegal activities. Mel has some doubts on what she is doing but ultimately gets on board and learns how to be a good foot soldier.

To address the elephant in the room though, this Thunderbolts team is probably going to need to add at least one big hitter to their team so they don’t get destroyed by every possible opponent. Right now assuming Bob can’t be in control of himself, they wouldn’t be able to get past almost any of the Phase 1 villains. Abomination, Destroyer, and Loki would crush them. I think they could end up beating the Iron Monger at least but yeah we need some power ups. The army was giving them a pretty good run for their money in the opening act. It’s not like power is something a team needs to have of course but if the Thunderbolts want to go by a new name at the end of the film…they’re going to need some additions.

Overall, Thunderbolts is a great title. This is one that could hold its own with the older Marvel films. I’d definitely recommend checking it out. It can be a little darker than some of the other Marvel titles but a lot of the darkness is off screen and implied rather than shown. So it doesn’t come across as being too extreme but if you are looking for a more light hearted adventure then that’s the one time I’d say to go for another one. Otherwise I really recommend this to all action fans. It will also be my new go to example on how you do a film about a bunch of villains. I feel like most titles (Suicide Squad) mess this up completely while this is a great example of how you can make them likable without softening them up. Yes, I consider these characters to all be villains who are now going to be in the light going forward. We’ll see if the praise of the masses will be enough to keep them on the right side.

Overall 8/10

The Great Outdoors Review

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It’s time for a retro comedy adventure. Sometimes it can be fun to check out a comedy title that doesn’t really any hook going for it. This one’s just about the characters hanging out and the plot is fairly barebones so that way the film can go in any direction. Unfortunately it’s just not as funny as the film would have needed to be for this to have been a successful approach. Ultimately you’ll just be shaking your head here.

The movie starts with Chet and his family arriving at their log cabin. They are ready to have a peaceful vacation here and Chet aims to connect more with his older son. They haven’t had a lot of bonding time lately but his plans go awry when is brother in law Roman shows up with his family. Roman was explicitly not invited but he’s never one to let that stop him. He spends all of his time making fun of Chet and showing off how much more money his family has. Can Chet still have a good time or are his chances cooked?

Well this is a comedy so the film wouldn’t work if Chet had any backbone but it would have been nice if he told Roman off a lot sooner. It takes him the entire movie to finally be able to confront Roman about this and even then he is quick to fall for the next traps. Chet’s just not very smart and on the whole his family is far too passive. His wife knew that giving any money at the end was going to be a problem but didn’t speak up either. In a situation like this you need the whole family to stick together and take a stand. When that doesn’t happen then they’re all just going to be ending up miserable.

Chet’s the main character of the film and gets the most focus as he is constantly put on the spot by the other characters. Things just never seem to work out for him and he constantly gets embarrassed. I didn’t blame him for wanting to leave early on because it defeats the purpose of a vacation when you’re not having fun. He had also been hoping to bond with his son and that wasn’t going very well because his son was busy on a romance subplot.

That romance plot doesn’t go very well either because it’s just way too rushed. He basically ends up liking a girl who has had a ton of boyfriends before and they never worked out. She even brings up the fact that he’ll be gone in a few days anyway but he’s still determined to have some fun. Despite that….he ends up not arriving to their date in time while watching his father win a big eating contest. Somehow she still forgives him for that which also makes no sense. So this is a romance plot that gets a massive thumbs down all the way.

Meanwhile Roman could have made for a decent antagonist but he ends up feeling more whiny than anything. When he’s not taking shots at Chet, he’s usually complaining about the lodge and everything around it. He’s used to bigger adventures and his wife makes sure to rub this in as well. Chet’s wife sometimes counters with her own sarcastic remarks but tends to do them under her breath and so they don’t land with the same kind of power that they should.

They also have two daughters which the film uses as a running gag to show how scary they are. I didn’t think that was a particularly effective gag but like I said, the film just isn’t that funny. At one point the characters are all panicking because a bat entered the house. You figure that they will just need to capture the bat and release it outside but instead they all completely panic and end up murdering it. That was just a very odd way to end that gag because you’re expecting a much happier ending. They also end up shooting the bear that shows up. These moments feel more sad than funny because you’re rooting for the animals to win. There’s even a subplot with Racoons as they terrorize the heroes but it doesn’t really go anywhere and just feels like wasted potential.

This is one of those films where it is just easy to jump on every point and really nag it to death. There are a lot of things that you can overlook when a film is super funny because then the character flaws are written into the jokes. Since this film isn’t so funny, you end up really focusing on the characters and they just get worse and worse. Roman’s debut appearance is filming Chet and his wife trying to have an intimate moment and refusing to stop recording once they notice him. Like that’s just a really rough start.

In theory the main plot here is about connecting with the son and yet that doesn’t get almost any attention. So in the end their bonding feels really rushed because all it takes is for Chet to talk about a story from his past. It’s not as meaningful as it could have been. It’s great that they are closer now but it feels like the whole plot didn’t really need to exist. A stronger climax to the film could have also helped but by having Chet fall for the trap, it was just a bad look.

Overall, This is one of those films that I would call relatively harmless. It’s not like it’s very violent or had a lot of language in it. There’s nothing that would really make me tell someone to avoid the film. That said, there are also no real good reasons to watch the movie. As a comedy your top priority is to be funny and this film is just not up to that challenge. Furthermore, there are plenty of alternative options when it comes to comedy titles. There should be more of a hook to really draw you in. I wouldn’t mind staying in a log cabin but it’s not like it really appeals to me. This film certainly wouldn’t sway me on that and I’d sooner just stay at home.

Overall 3/10