All posts by Eric Thompson

Film Editorials, Movies

Dual has Two Viewpoints on Life

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SPOILERS BELOW!

I find it kind of ironic that the conflict of this film revolves around a battle involving the actress who plays Nebula. There’s probably something meta you could say that applies to her Marvel character in that franchise. Anyway, this story takes place in a world where clones are a thing. But they are usually only for people who are about to die and want to ease the pain of their loved ones. Our main character – Sara – gets one after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Ten months later and it turns out she is in full remission. That means according to the law, a duel must take place in a year to determine which one gets to live. Having two of them walking around would just be insane!

Before we get into the meat of things, I gotta say that I do enjoy the humor of this movie. You can call it deadpan. But I think there is a fair mix of ironic humor thrown in as well. And then you get something like a female doctor somehow mansplaining what a funeral is to Sara when she is first diagnosed with her terminal illness. I think the humor of this film is supposed to help us process the vaguely bizarre ideas and concepts that this movie touches on. Helps us find a way to relate to what is going on and make it easier for us to understand.

Something that I found unique about this movie is that it has a theme but it ends up having two different perspectives on it. When we meet Sara, she does seem like a person who might not be fully content or happy with herself. More or less going through the motions or just partially being in touch with her feelings. So when she finds out that she has to fight to death and essentially prove she has a right to exist, her journey can be applied to how we might feel about our own lives. We have no shortage of documentaries or books or whatever it is you consume for entertainment that shed a light on how machine-like the average person goes about their day. Maybe it’s because they have grown comfortable and feel no need to do something new. Maybe they are depressed. But the only way to break out of that is to be confronted with something that can fundamentally change how you view yourself and the world around you. And that’s what happens with Sara. We see her pushed to the point where she is exposed to experiences and people that reshape her mind. Her journey is ultimately about how even though our lives might not seem like it, we have to realize they are worth fighting for.

But then we have the journey of Sara’s double, which is how she is referred to throughout most of the film. We don’t get to see a lot of her own story in this film once the preparations for the upcoming duel get underway. Once she does come back in, however, we do see a different side of things. She confesses to the original Sara about how the problems she might have experienced with her boyfriend and mom are starting to take a toll on her. She even takes them to a support group for people – originals and doubles – that have survived their duels and how that has affected them. Some of this could at first be interpreted as manipulation to try and mentally attack her original. But that doesn’t dismiss the fact that the others from this support group do find themselves not living their lives the way they thought they would. Haunted by the actions they made and even dealing with the consequences of how their originals lived their lives.

It’s not until we get to the final stretch of the film that the idea is fully realized. Sara’s double is ultimately the one left alive. But when we see her some time after the original’s death, it turns out that she wasn’t exactly lying. She does seem to be negatively affected by things that might have pushed the original Sara to be potentially depressed and introverted. The culmination of various factors begins to stress her mind and take their toll. Even to the point where she just stops in the middle of traffic and have a breakdown. It’s Sara’s double story that we explore the idea of what is the point of living if your life seems to be nothing about stress and negativity. If all you are getting our of it is sadness with no fulfillment or joy, then why bother? We have two versions of the same character that both approach the topic of how precious life can be, but they end up coming to two different conclusions. And that is the meta duality of this film. It’s up to you to decide which one is the message you want to take away with.

Comics

The Third Standalone Sequel to Watchmen

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Who at DC Comics signed off on creating 3 separate sequels to Watchmen? I’m all for different people adding to this world, but they all came it in a pretty short span of each other. Doomsday Clock took a few years to complete, the HBO show started running before Doomsday Clock got its last issue out, and I think this comic started publishing only a year after the show ended. There is a thing called oversaturation you know. Some people might assume that two or all three are connected and might end up disappointed to learn otherwise. But none of this is actually speaking to the quality of this comic, so let’s dive into that.

Rorschach is a 12 issue mini-series that is a standalone sequel to Watchmen published under the DC Black Label, an imprint of DC Comics for more mature stories. It starts off with two people who are about to assassinate a presidential candidate being killed by security. An investigator is hired by the candidate – Governor Turley, the conservative opponent to sitting President Redford – to find out who these people were and why they tried to kill him. Things are made stranger since one of the people is an elderly man wearing a Rorschach mask but the other is a twenty year old woman. And the journey through their lives complicates the investigation every step of the way.

We should talk a little bit of the writer of this comic, Tom King. He has made several well known stories in career. A few have been highly praised. But a few are highly despised among critics and and comic fans, so there was concern and backlash when it was announced he was the one writing the story. We don’t have time to go over his writing style, but I will identify one trait that shows up across his work. Tom King likes to write dialogue in a sort of poetic style. Even if sometimes that results in his characters not talking like real people or just has them keep going on and on about something completely unrelated to the situation at hand. Some of his books do it better than others. Luckily, that does seem pretty restrained in this book. Since most of the people in the story are government workers and even investigators, they talk like they should. It does feel like these people are more grounded and realistic.

Throughout the story there is focus on a couple of different conspiracy theories. One is that Doctor Manhattan, knowing that the squids – like the one that “attacked” New York – and devised a plan where the bodies of the heroes are destroyed but their souls will reappear in other bodies. That connects to the dead attackers, the young woman who was raised by her extremist father has convinced several people they were Rorschach reincarnated so to speak. And for a while, I thought this story would end up speaking on the topic of isolation and connection. Which would have been a relevant thing to discuss especially in the midst of a real world pandemic. How ideas can be powerful and bring people together, no matter how dangerous their influence might be. But that you should always identify the people behind the idea and see their true motivations. I thought that was where this story was going.

However, that went away when a different conspiracy turned out to be true. That the attack on Governor Turley’s life was orchestrated. But unlike it being manipulated by President Redford like he is trying to prove, it was of his own doing. Setting events up in a way where the only connections would go back to Redford and help him win the election. However, the investigator we have been following through the story has constantly been at odds about what he thinks & feels, trying to figure out what he should do once he discovers this information. This ultimately leads him to kill Turley himself, essentially identifying himself as a new Rorschach, but not in the way the the dead criminals would define him as. But rather a new vigilante that follows Rorschach’s ideals.

So this story ends up being one that talks about the cyclical nature of violence and politics in society. And the investigator’s story is sort of a living Rorschach test where his viewpoint is constantly changing until he sees what he wants to see. Depicting his rise – or fall, depending on how you look at it – into vigilantism. And this story is completely serviceable for the Watchmen mythos. But I’ll admit that I think it lacks a special quality, something that prevents it from having as full an impact as it should. You can say what you want about Doomsday Clock and the HBO show. But both of those stories had reveals or surprises that really touched on the overall message of their respective stories. Those revelations helped leave as large an impact as possible. I don’t think I’m going to remember this comic the same way I look back on the show or Doomsday Clock. But that doesn’t mean I think this is bad. If you are looking for something that is more of a detective story, this is that story. And you’ll like it for sure. This just didn’t engage me in the way that I hoped.

TV

The One Failure of the HBO Show Watchmen

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I need a mini rant about something before we actually get to the topic at hand. Why is this show simply titled “Watchmen”? That’s the name of the original story. How come every sequel rebooting a franchise has to have the same name as the original? Blumhouse did it for their first Halloween film, the 5th installment of the “Scream” franchise did it, the Netflix Texas Chainsaw Massacre film did it. If your story is following up on events from previous films or installments, then you have to do better to identify it as a separate entity! Why is Hollywood’s lack of creativity progressing to project titles?! All right…I’m sorry, just needed to get that out there. let’s actually get to the problem regarding this specific show.

Before you get mad, I should say I think HBO overall did a great job with this show. I definitely would recommend it for fans of the graphic novel. Especially if you are someone who is looking for a sequel that’s more like Alan Moore’s writing style and the grounded take he approached. The world has progressed in an organic way from the graphic novel’s ending, we explore fascinating aspects of this world’s past and are introduced to a whole set of engaging new characters. The show deals with the nature of power, Racism, and explores many similar themes and ideas that Alan Moore once did. But having said that, there is one part of this show that I feel it ultimately failed to do justice. And it comes back to our favorite superhero advocating for nudity – Doctor Manhattan.

They do a few things with this character in the show. Manhattan seems to possess the ability to transfer his powers to someone else. And that’s hinted at in the final episode where Angela eats an egg that might have been imbued by Manhattan with his powers. But we don’t actually see if she inherited them, leaving it open to interpretation. This I’m actually good with. It is completely logical that this would be in his power and he did do something like this in Doomsday Clock. The second thing the show does with him is apparently show he has a weakness. The bad guys apparently use this special kind of battery to power a machine that has the ability to permanently kill Doctor Manhattan. I…look, Adrian was able to hide his real plan from Manhattan during the events of the graphic novel. It had to with a certain type of particle that could shield themselves from how Manhattan viewed time. But Adrian thought he could also kill him, only to see him reappear as a giant right in front of him. Resurrection is literally the first ability that Manhattan learned how to master. You MIGHT be able to find a way, but you have to come up with something really convincing. And I don’t think the show did that to explain how they were able to kill the blue man.

But the real issue is his motivation. The reason why Manhattan is in this show, the reason why he is interacting with these characters. We are shown that he did leave Earth for a while and did experiment in creating intelligent life. But then one day he turned his attention back to Earth and saw Angela. He came back and met her because he had fallen in love with her. Let me repeat that. Doctor Manhattan – the man whose whole story in the original was related to how he felt himself disconnecting with his emotions and fell out of love with two women – had fallen in love and that’s why he returns to Earth. I…no. Just a simple no. I can’t accept that as a believable motivation for this character.

Let me better clarify Manhattan’s story. To say he had fallen out of love might be interpreted as he no longer has feelings. But that would be inaccurate. He does return with Laurie to confront Adrian about his manipulative plan about creating world peace. Even though he felt like life had no meaning throughout most of the story, the talk he and Laurie has on Mars did remind him about how spectacular it is. And the graphic novel does show he still cares for Laurie and Dan. But the intensity of emotions he feels isn’t the same as it was before his transformation. It’s more like he cares about them the same way some people might care for a family pet. He’s fond of them, recognizes that he does have an emotional connection to them. But he still sees himself as superior and doesn’t believe he actually needs them like they might need him. And keep in mind, he ultimately decided that Adrian’s plan was the way to go. Whether or not he agrees with it is irrelevant. Manhattan is fundamentally a scientist and has a different set of principals than his former teammates.

Look, Doomsday Clock is not a perfect story. I actually made a post going into further details about that Watchmen sequel, including going over some flaws. But Manhattan’s role and purpose in that story was more faithful. The way we are introduced to him in that comic matches up where we left him in the original and we actually see in that comic how he changes by the end. But we don’t really get that in the HBO show. We don’t really get why Manhattan suddenly finds himself in love again. But he is important to the themes the show wants to explore so they needed to find a way to bring him in. And don’t get me wrong, having Manhattan in this show is the right decision. The show is still overall great. But their handling of the character prevents me from fully realizing this as a faithful follow up to the original story.

Comics

Why Doomsday Clock is Important

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NOTE: My thoughts on this comic were originally posted on the Community site within the DC Universe service. Some minor edits have been made, most notably a new introduction paragraph. Otherwise, my original thoughts on the comic remain unchanged.

DC Comics has made several mistakes over the years. One of their most infamous is the New 52. It was their attempt to restart their universe and continuity from scratch, as if it was brand new. I’m not the first to tell you it was a massive failure. The vast majority of issue can be connected to a lack of commitment to actually start over, seemingly referencing events and characters that shouldn’t have happened or exist yet, as well as the dark and sour tone of a lot of the title being published at the time. This started in 2011 but came to an end in 2016 with the soft reboot one shot, DC Rebirth. This would help change the tone of all title and characters and actually help improve the creative direction the company was leading towards. One thing to note in the one shot that the in universe reason for why the New 52 happened, while at the time still unknown, was caused by someone. And the ending pages made it clear that the being responsible is Doctor Manhattan. Thus setting the stage for the characters of the Watchmen universe to finally meet the heroes of the main DC Universe.

First things first – if you are an Alan Moore purist or if you have an unbreakable love for the original Watchmen story, chances are you are not going to be interested in this story. You might even be someone who just really prefers grounded and realistic stories like Watchmen, preferring to read stories that deconstruct the genre much like how Alan Moore did. If any of this sounds like you, chances are you aren’t going to be interested in this. But maybe there is a small chance what I have to say might make you curious enough to check it out. With that said, let’s dive in.

When it comes to Watchmen, I will be one of many people to say it as an epic story. It is a graphic novel I still very much love today,. However, I will admit, especially looking back on it recently, there are a few flaws. Because it does explore complex philosophies and mature themes, Watchmen is a cold story, one that presents a dark deconstruction of the superhero genre. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It could come off as a touch pretentious at times, but it is still an important and relevant story even to this day. But this has inspired the Dark Age of comics, a lot of new anti-heroes and dark stories that have really turned the genre itself into a depressing landscape. Characters and titles that are dark, violent, and “edgy” just because they can be or the people behind them thought they would be cool and popular. But those stories and characters that came afterword, despite how popular they became or how laughably bad they ended up becoming, did serve as a reminder about Watchmen’s legacy. One that is dark, cold, and pessimistic to its core.

In hindsight, it should come as no surprise that one of the characters that story created ended up being the one responsible for the New 52. That era of DC did seem like something that would come out of the 1990s.

But let’s get back to the present. When we return to the world of Watchmen in the first issue of Doomsday Clock, it is living in a state of anger and conflict that feels eerily similar to our real world. New characters Mime and Marionette bring a dark glee to the world, similar to Joker and Harley Quinn, but the new Rorschach (Reggie Long) is a reminder of how grim their world is. Whether it is how Ozymandias talks to Saturn Girl or how Doctor Manhattan explains what he has been up to all these years, the pessimistic tone and cold logic from the original story is still alive.

I wanted to start this off by talking about the grim tone of Watchmen because it plays a hugely significant role in Doomsday Clock. Look, I am never going to say that we should never have realistic and grounded stories like Watchmen. They are needed, important even in this day when it feels like everything related to the superhero genre has over-flooded pop culture. Not only do these stories bring variety, but they do help some people get a better understanding of why people like superheroes to begin with.

But we also need the fantastical. The bright and optimistic stories. The stories that embrace everything that comes with the genre. Because those stories show even more why people continue to love and look up to superheroes well past childhood.

Doomsday Clock is both a tribute to Watchmen but also a critique. It respects Alan Moore’s story, reminds us that it is something that should still be talked about. But this sequel also shows the danger of what a dark philosophy and viewpoint of the world can bring, how it affects people. Doctor Manhattan is passive because for years he has been under the belief that he can’t change what is to come. He believes that there is no difference between a dead body and a live one. He has drifted away from what makes him human. Ozymandias sees himself as a hero, but is more like the madman Lex Luthor that he seeks help from in the beginning. The new Rorschach gives up for a period of time in the story because he believes that we should let the world burn in hopes of bringing all the pain and suffering to an end. But the heroes of the main DC Universe, and the writers of Doomsday Clock, have the perfect counter-argument:

You need hope. People can’t live, can’t truly live, without having hope that they can make the world better. That they can change things.

Doomsday Clock takes a look at both Watchmen and the Dark Age it had inspired and reminds us that heroes like Alan Scott and Clark Kent are what truly make the superhero genre timeless. They are the light that brings people to them like moths. A dark deconstruction every once in a while is fine, even eagerly welcomed. But to have that dark thinking become the dominant force will simply bring more despair to the world. When Alan Moore wrote his story, his world wasn’t a bright place. Just do a little research about his political beliefs and the things he’s said about former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This is not a critique, I still love many of his stories and characters today. His beliefs helped create great stories like V for Vendetta. Now, you can make an argument that political/social climate of 2016 isn’t too different from how it was back when Alan Moore released Watchmen and you would most likely be right. But we don’t need another Watchmen. We need stories like Doomsday Clock to inspire and bring meaning to the genre we love, so that way we can be inspired to bring the same hope to the real world.

Watchmen is cold, dark, and ultimately pessimistic. Doomsday Clock pays tribute to everything that made its predecessor great. But this is a story of warmth, light, and optimism. And that is why this story is more than worthy to be known as a sequel to Watchmen. It respects it by keeping true to what that world was about, but it also brings something new by helping the characters naturally progress towards something brighter so that they can help shape their world for the better.

Due to how iconic Watchmen has become, I don’t think even the strongest supporters of Doomsday Clock will say it is as good as Alan Moore’s story. Partly because it suffered multiple delays, causing some interest to wane and for it to temporarily be disconnected from the main universe it is supposed to impact. But maybe in time, popularity for Doomsday Clock will grow and people can make the argument.

There are a few small flaws that I just want to briefly mention. I would have liked it explicitly stated that Mime actually had invisible weapons. That’s what I ended up assuming, but it would be nice to have it stated in story. Manhattan’s predictions for what he sees in the future of the DC Universe, predictions meant to set up potential stories, can very likely end up not passing, which is mildly distracting in the back of my mind. Perhaps if those stories end up not passing, we can say that they ended up playing out in a different universe that is separate, but created by, the metaverse. Like mentioned earlier, the multiple delays have complicated just how connected Doomsday Clock was to the rest of the regular DCU as it was being published. That has seemingly been rectified and the company can now be more organized moving forward.

In conclusion, Doomsday Clock is still a very important story. It is a welcomed sequel to Watchmen that pays tribute to its predecessor yet very much has its own story and opinions to share that make it different. I am very happy that I got to read it and I can only see my opinion for this story strengthen over time.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Everything Everywhere All at Once

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Comic book readers are already familiar with the multiverse. It has opened up a variety of story-telling potential and has inspired the imagination of who knows how many people. But now it appears the TV and movies are starting to play around with the concept. Whether it’s to bring 2 different Spider-Men together or explaining why “The Batman” doesn’t connect to Ben Affleck, movies are now seeing the potential as well. But now it’s time to take a look at how an indie studio like A24 handles such a concept. And it is an insane – and touching – as you might expect.

We begin with Evelyn Wang getting ready for an audit by the IRS. There’s her husband Waymond, daughter Joy, and her estranged father referred to as Gong Gong. Which naturally means this is the right time for her husband to be taken over by a version of himself from the Alpha Verse! Jobu Tupaki is a threat that threatens the safety of the multiverse and it happens to be Evelyn’s daughter from the multiverse. She must now utilize verse-jumping to find the skills necessary to fight back.

I suppose we should start off with how the movie deals with the multiverse concept. It’s existence is explained by how different choices in the timeline creates a new universe, leading to really an infinite multiverse. It’s a common way of explaining a concept like this, something comics themselves have used a couple of times. But it’s important to remember that it isn’t limited to different choices Evelyn or her family make. We get glimpses of different universes that were not shaped by Evelyn or anyone in her family. As for verse-jumping, people from the Alpha Verse have tech and are trained to mentally access another version of themselves. Their memories, skills, and bodies. But this also runs the risk of them being distracted or pulled back by that other universe as their minds are kind of split in multiple universes. They are trained to deal with that fallout, but it affects Evelyn for better and for worse. Overall, this multiverse isn’t that different from ones people might have experienced in other mediums. But trust me when I say it is still a very unique film.

One of the main things that establishes this multiverse story as unique is how they are able to verse-jump. They have to perform random actions that allow them to access certain versions of themselves. The weirder the action the better chance of finding skills that are useful in your scenario. Examples include getting 4 paper cuts in between all your fingers, downing a 2 liter bottle of orange soda in seconds, or furiously humping a lamp. And those are the examples that don’t spoil anything in the movie! This obviously leads to a lot of funny moments and bits that really land. The way this movie is shot and presented is similar to a number of South Korean films. What I mean is that it blends a lot of different styles and emotions together into a single movie that shouldn’t work as well as it does. But you are going to have a blast all the way through!

As for an underlying messages, this is sort of a 2-in-1 situation. Let’s first look at the larger theme. Jobu Tupaki is a version of Joy from the Alpha Verse that gets pushed during Verse-Jumping training so hard that she is seemingly lost. But when she comes back, she is described as this entity of darkness and nothingness. She talks about how due to the overwhelming size and scope of the multiverse, looking at the morality of specific actions and choices in one single world seems pointless and insignificant. And chances are, we might make a new discovery that’s even larger and will make us even more insignificant. So she views existence from a “nothing matters” perspective and tries to get Evelyn to see things like she does before ultimately ending their existence.

But the movie ends up deciding to not take Jobu’s side. It is easy to see things that way, easy to fight back against an idea or concept that scares you. But in a multiverse as massive an insane as this one, the most important thing that remains constant is love. Caring for one another and showing compassion. There may be things that are massive and terrifying, but that means family and loved ones are even more important.

Time for the second underlying themes that goes hand in hand with the first. The importance of making Evelyn and her husband Chinese immigrants is to show the cultural divide that within their own family that can honestly be applied to any family. You have older members sticking to traditional ways of living and their own beliefs that don’t seem to account for how the modern world has evolved. The younger ons who have grown up with this world and end up being at odds with their own family about their beliefs and the way they live their lives. And some family members trying their best to bridge that gap but might be making things more difficult without realizing it. This movie is trying to show that institutions and old concepts and ideas can be limiting. They can damage our relationships with other people. But if you can realize that and try to move past it, you can work on fixing damaged relationships and find some deeper meaning.

And these ideas are told in the most entertaining of ways. This movie takes advantage of the multiverse concepts and shows off some wild action scenes and peeks into bizarre worlds. The actions required to verse-jump are incredible and the good kind of stupid. All the actors get a chance to show off their wide range, especially Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn. But in all of this madness, there is an emotional anchor that makes this an extremely relatable story. Please check this out in theaters while you have the chance. Or at least make a plan to seek it out and just watch the insanity unfold a touching human story. I promise you won’t regret it.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Castle in the Sky

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No, that’s not Superman. That is indeed a flying castle. Part of me wonders if this had any influence on those flying rocks in James Cameron’s “Avatar”. He admitted that “Princess Mononoke” influenced his movie, so it’s not that far of a stretch. But let’s not waste any time on that movie and actually get to the one at hand. With more action than most of Studio Ghibli’s work, this still holds most of the traits and hallmarks of what they are praised for.

A young boy named Pazu comes across an unconscious girl as she floats down from the sky with a glowing necklace. She is revealed to be Sheeta, a descendant of the royal family of Laputa – a flying castle capable of a lot of power due to the amount of Aetherium it possess. They are chased by both pirates and the army lead by a government agent also a descendant who seeks the power of Laputa for himself. This adventure movie has plenty of action, humor, and charming characters to keep the viewer entertained & engaged.

I did find several small things about this movie to be funny. When Pazu & Sheeta try and get help from the town when being chased, the people don’t really react and just get right to fighting. Several people Pazu & Sheeta ask for help from don’t really act with surprise or shock at the news. Their attitude is mainly just proclaiming that’s neat, as if they were waiting for something exciting like this to happen. But I think more humor comes into play when Pazu & Sheeta end up joining the pirates in finding Laputa and going against the army. The characters that make up most of the pirates really aren’t mean or evil. They have that kind of awkward quality that makes them relatable. Plus it’s really humorously weird to hear them call their captain Mom.

Speaking of the captain, Dola is an interesting character. We first see her in the opening scene where she is inly concerned about losing the crystal as she falls Sheeta fall from the airship assumingely to her death. Yet later on when the two kids join the pirates, she eventually becomes something like an actual mom to them in a vague sense. Honestly, the interactions between the kids and pirates from that point on is fairly funny. They even end up cheering when they see the two kids survive the climax. It’s also weirdly refreshing to watch a movie where orphan kids just live by themselves and people around them don’t give them special treatment. Pazu & Sheeta are put right to work and don’t even try to make them comfy or anything like that. I mean, it’s logical considering their living arrangements. But feels nice to not have a movie where the supporting characters treat the main characters like chosen ones or legendary heroes.

For most of the movie, I didn’t think there was some deeper message to this movie and I was okay with that. But there is a line of dialogue at the beginning that does get called back to during the final twenty minutes. While Laputa is a floating city, the people left the place long ago and it has been reclaimed by plant and animal life. This connects to an early piece of dialogue about how the Aetherium is a reminder that all things return back to the Earth, even people. So you can say there is a message about how despite the accomplishments mankind may achieve, the planet will outlive them and and reclaim what was unrightfully taken.

But even if you don’t see a hidden message, this is still an enjoyable film. Exciting action, plenty of relatable humor, charming characters, beautiful animation and thrilling music. Get on your airship and go above the clouds for a great time.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – My Neighbor Totoro

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In addition to being one of the earliest films from Studio Ghibli, it is also one of the most iconic and well known. Totoro himself ended up being the image for representing the film studio. Many people have fallen in love with this film. And it’s easy to see why. With great music, charming characters, and great animation, this is a treat. A film that is fun, if not exactly the most engaging, to check out on a lazy day.

A father moves to the countryside and brings his two young girls with him, Satsuki & Mei, ten and four years old respectively. This is to be closer to the hospital where their mom is at, but the two daughters seem to fit in and get to know the people. Including the forest spirits of the area, which includes Totoro. And…that’s really it. This is one of those films that doesn’t have anything driving the plot forward. It’s sort of similar to films like “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”, where you are just supposed to follow the characters as they live their lives. And to this movie’s credit, the characters are charming and very like-able. While also remaining realistic and relatable.

One thing I’ve noticed is that multiple Studio Ghibli films will have supernatural elements and characters and/or creatures. And the response to them within their world is just for everyone else to go on as usual. They acknowledge their existence, and will ask questions every once in a while. But they aren’t left in awe or fear of them. They just treat them as part of their normal life. The same is kind of applicable to this movie. While the adults can’t see the spirits like Totoro, they don’t disbelieve the children when they talk about meeting them. One of the characters – and elderly woman – talks about how she could see such creatures when she was their age. It can be a little weird at first if you haven’t seen multiple films from this studio. But it does make more room for us to focus on the characters and their journey. That is, if the characters have one. Yet I don’t really think this film has one.

The problem with films like this is they run the risk of feeling like they don’t have anything to tell. In the last 20 minutes of this film, they throw in some tension when apparently their mom gets sick and can’t visit them this weekend. This causes Satsuki to yell at Mei for acting like a baby, which gets her to run off and go missing. Not surprised something like this in here, but it does feel a bit forced. It ends up getting resolved and they secretly visit their mom at the hospital. They head back home and the movie just ends. Yea, the movie technically isn’t even 90 minutes long. And it feels like a short movie. But maybe this could be on purpose.

I think the movie is trying to say something about adulthood. Adults in this movie don’t doubt the existence of spirits, but they can no longer see them. There is a line of dialogue of how the father mentions how Satsuki feels like she has to act more grown up since their mom is in the hospital. By the way, they never do mention what illness the mom has. Maybe Cancer or some sort of auto-immune disease? Anyway, even though that’s mentioned, Satsuki doesn’t particularly act like a grown up. She runs and plays around with her little sister as expected. But I think the movie is trying to let us know it’s all right to indulge in some fun and have a little bit of wonder. If that is what’s going on, then I do think that adds a little bit to the movie. Not a whole lot, but still. Regardless, this is still an enjoyable movie to watch. Even though a smiling Totoro is unintentionally horrifying to me. But I feel like I’m in the minority. I’ll still side with everyone else in saying you should check this out.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Princess Mononoke

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It feels like an understatement to say that Studio Ghibli has made some special films. Chances are you grew up watching a few of their films. But there’s something unique about this film. It definitely feels the most intense and deals with the most mature films that any film from this studio has tackled. Many have praised how much of a landmark it was at the time it was released. All these years later, it still earns all that praise.

The main story focuses on a brewing war between Lady Eboshi – the leader of Iron Town – and the Forest Spirits which are lead by the Wolf Clan and their human member Princess Mononoke. We explore this world and conflict with Ashitaka, a young prince and fighter who has been cursed by a demon that was once a Boar God. It’s transformation was brought on after a bullet from one of the guns from Iron Town lodged itself in it’s body. While it gives him super strength, it feeds on hate that Ashitaka must fight. But he knows it won’t be long until it destroys his soul and body. However, that won’t stop him from doing what he can to end the conflict as peacefully as he can.

An easy thing to praise about this movie is the visuals and world. The way it is shot feels more grand in scale compared to most of the other movies from Ghibli’s filmography. The visuals leave us in awe of some of the fights, sights, and spirits themselves. And the world has some eerie parallels to our own in terms, especially in terms to the cost our progress has had on the world around us. Yet the story is one that gives us a message of hope that both human civilization and the natural environment can find a way to coexist. I’m glad this isn’t a movie that takes the easy route and has the message simply be that saving the environment is good. Because the characters of this story help show that this isn’t simple. Lady Eboshi is willing to fight and kill spirits. But we also see how she has taken in people considered outcasts in regular society and helped make them feel welcome and fulfilled. Princess Mononoke feels the only solution is to kill all of the people of Iron Town which is definitely going too far. Yet you can understand why both sides feel so strongly about their cause.

But let’s talk about the character the movie is named after. Abandoned by her birth parents, the Wolf God took her into her clan and made the human child her daughter. On the one hand, I’m somewhat let down by how she is used. She isn’t the main character in this story. We follow Ashitaka throughout the movie. Yes, Mononoke is an important and essential player. But it feels odd that the character the movie is named after isn’t the main focus. And she is shown to strongly on the side of the spirits. There doesn’t seem to be any inner conflict within her about fighting others from the species she was born as. There is one very brief moment where one of the Apes insults her by calling her that, and you see that does hurt her and maybe makes her have a deep thought. But nothing like that pops up again.

However, that lack of an inner exploration might be the point. Because there does some to be a lot to dissect about her. Someone can view her as an example of a terrorist. Someone who goes too far in their beliefs and doesn’t care who they kill – guilty or innocent – in order to see them fulfilled. But someone else can also view her as the embodiment of every indigenous person or tribe that has been on the destructive end of society’s progress. Fighting to hold onto her home and push back against those that she sees an invaders. So even though nothing in the movie might show her as the most conflicted character, there is still a fair amount to study about her. And I think that is on purpose. Probably the real reason her face is so iconic.

Going back to the movie’s main theme, I appreciate how it goes deeper than most Hollywood made films would go regarding the environment at that time. I think the best example of that is by looking at how Ashitaka does eventually lift the curse. It is only after he and Mononoke return the head of the Great Forest Spirit together that the curse is lifted from. The thing that fed on hate and even tried to spread hate within Ashitaka disappears once he reaches a hand out towards the other side of the conflict in an effort to find mutual peace. This doesn’t mean everything goes back the way it was. Iron Town will find a way to rebuild, but Eboshi does seem willing to try and make changes for the better. Mononoke will still be with the Wolf Clan but she will regularly meet Ashitaka who will help make sure Iron Town isn’t as destructive as it was. It might only be the start to finding a balance, but sometimes finding that start is the hardest thing to do. One of the most complex and mature films from Studio Ghibli is one that deserves to be watched multiple times to soak in everything it has to offer.

Comics

Justice League vs Suicide Squad

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Thank you DC Rebirth! For half a decade, DC Comics tried their New 52 initiative where they restart their entire universe over in an effort to get new readers. It ultimately failed and was recently reversed in full. I don’t want to get into the details of why New 52 sucked because that would take too much time. While there were good stories and titles, it’s for the best they ditched it and published the DC Rebirth One-Shot comic as a soft reboot. But one thing the New 52 did do that some people are probably grateful for is to shine a light on the Suicide Squad. And with that newfound attention, they charged into a challenge that surprisingly hasn’t been written about before. The group fight the Justice League!

One of the first major stories to come out of the Rebirth era. It begins with Batman informing the rest of the League about the existence of Amanda Waller’s task force, thanks to some snooping in his own book at the time. They raise up some valid points about the flaws of such a team, especially in regards to actually rehabilitating criminals. But they then detect the team currently active on mission and go confront them. That’s where their first battle occurs. But later on, it appears this has been orchestrated and that a secret villain is making moves behind the scenes. Forced to team-up, heroes and villains alike take down a power that threatens the entire world.

Obviously some characters in a story like this aren’t going to get as much attention as others. But the ones that do get the most solo attention work well for the story. There are the obvious choices – Waller, Batman, Maxwell Lord. But one focus that surprisingly works well is Killer Frost. She is the newest member of the Squad and her ice powers are fueled by draining the life force of other people. Not sure if they always worked liked that or if that’s something the New 52 introduced. In the first issue she seems to have the same willingness to just kill and do the kind of things she probably did before being recruited. But when given the chance to kill Superman an issue later, she hesitates. And that starts an arc where at the final issue where Eclipso fails to gain control of her and she fights back – yet refusing to kill Maxwell Lord for Amanda Waller. Batman himself is willing to start a new JL team and Frost is his first choice.

But her arc does tie into the major theme of the story. What kind of role or purpose does a program like Task Force X serve? The heroes point out this isn’t the right way to rehabilitate criminals. And since they are rewarded with shorter sentences after each successful mission, they could just end up being freed again thanks to the government the heroes are trusting to contain them. But perhaps the repetition can do some good for these villains. Frost was willing to let herself die instead of taking Maxwell Lord’s life force, despite him being the reason the world almost ended. And if we look at this from a longterm perspective, Harley’s time with the Squad definitely had some influence of pushing her to be more heroic. And taking on missions that the League might not even know about is another strong reason for their existence.

Now let’s look at the larger story. We get to see a look at Waller’s first Suicide Squad as they are being manipulated by Maxwell Lord. And there are some cool picks, but a couple of ones that I can’t help but question. How did she manage to control Johnny Sorrow and Lobo – the alien who has a healing factor that pretty much makes him invincible? Once that bomb goes off in his head, just give him a few minutes and then he’s alive and free. But it does lead to some neat action and fights. The League & Squad do fight a couple of times. Once at the beginning and later on when most of the League is controlled by Eclipso. Oh and by the way, while Maxwell Lord is the villain for most of the story, this was a cool way of reintroducing Eclipso to the DCU. Or maybe he already was? The New 52 is confusing. But thanks to him we get an extra JL vs SS fight. ANd if we had just that one in the beginning, I would probably argue the story didn’t live up to the title.

The entire story is well paced. And everyone seems to be portrayed accurately. I do like how Superman and Frost do have this talk that gets her to talk about how seeing him just fly once inspired her to try and do good. Before being turned into an ice-based villain, but that’s not important. There actually is this sort of arc between Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn. Harley saves Wonder Woman from one of the bad guys and that seems to get her on Diana’s good side and Harley seems really happy and giddy about it. I thought that was cute and nice. Now give me a Brave & Bold series starring the two! And I like how even thought Eclipso was the main threat and Maxwell Lord worked to set him free and try to control him, the story does show that Waller still somehow comes out as the worst one. This story is a good reminder at how manipulative she can be and why she is well known among the super community. She is that big of a threat if she decides to go after you and this story is a solid reminder of that fact.

Let’s see what else I can talk about…The art is good. Some of the fights had specific Squad & League members go up against each other and I thought the pairings were mostly clever. A few that didn’t have much connection, but that just happens in big fights. Not all of them have to have some clever connection to each other. There are a couple of teases at the end of the story where they would end up developing or being resolved in later stories or books. Lobo & Frost joining a version of the Justice League of America with Batman gets a series for a while. There are a couple of teases of the back then still missing OG JSA, which didn’t get resolved until very recently. But that kind of stuff just comes with reading comics.

Overall, this was a fun read that still had some thought and a touch of dramatic weight.

Movie Reviews, Movies

Review – Doctor Strange

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is both impressive and frustrating. When you look back on what it’s accomplished – in terms of story-telling, making unknown characters/actors household names, and box office – there’s no denying it’s a huge achievement and should be praised. But when you have a franchise that lists this long with so many films )and now TV shows), a formula is created. One to help ensure their future installments become successful. And while the MCU should stray further from the formula and expand, it can still be executed well and enhanced by direction and acting. “Doctor Strange”, one of their installments from 2016, is a great example of that.

Dr. Stephen Strange is a neurosurgeon who loses the use of his hands to perform surgery in an accident. He ends up coming across Kamar-Taj in Nepal and meets the Sorcerer Supreme known as The Ancient One. There he learns the mystic arts and becomes involved in a conflict where one of the Ancient One’s former students attacks their Sanctums so that a being known as Dormammu can conquer Earth. Dr. Strange manages to defeat the being from the Dark Dimension, but with the iplication that the way he did it will have repercussions down the road.

This movie shares several traits that can be seen in other MCU origin stories. Several people have pointed out how Strange’s personality is similar to Tony Stark. There is truth in that. But I would argue that it takes Strange longer to move away from his more narcissistic thinking in the movie and that in future appearances he still struggles with his more arrogant nature. But he is still very like-able in this film, thanks to the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch. He also has an ally/kind of love interest, Dr. Christine Palmer. But they don’t go all the way with their romance. The closest we get is that they were once lovers before the events in the film and she gives him a kiss on the cheek before the climax. They could have changed that to just a hug, but I appreciate that the movie doesn’t have them end up together like most other MCU movies.

And that actually connects to one thing that makes this movie a little more unique. There is a supporting character named Mordo, one of Strange’s teachers in the film and allies. But by the end, he becomes disillusioned by the world of Sorcery. He is a strong believer in maintaining the natural order. But when he learns that the Ancient One uses power from the Dark Dimension to extend her life and watching Strange tamper with Time to save the planet, he ends up leaving Strange and the other sorcerers. Him leaving with the implication that he and Strange will go up against each other down the road is a little dark but in a good way. It does show some of the complexities or different philosophies when it comes to how people like Mordo or Strange should use their power. Most of the MCU films have the villains more clear-cut evil and easy to hate. It’s only in more recent films that we are getting more complex antagonists. And while Mordo wasn’t a villain or antagonist in this film, I completely get why he thinks the way he does and I understand his fears. And when he and Strange do go up against each other later on, I can’t really hate his reasoning or motivation.

But going back to Strange manipulating Time, that’s another thing that makes this film unique. When it comes to the final battle of Strange vs Dormammu, you would expect a big battle with great visuals. And while CGI is used to depict the Dark Dimension and there is action, it doesn’t play out like you think it would. The trick Strange uses is that he puts Dormammu in a time loop. So even though he is killing Strange, Dormammu is in actuality Strange’s prisoner. Eventually, he agrees to make a bargain with Strange to leave Earth and escape the loop. It’s actually a clever way to handle the final climax of a Marvel movie and I have to give credit for that.

But honestly, I just really like this film in general. I’ve always found myself more drawn to the supernatural characters of comic books. And some of the dialogue in this film reminds me why I like reading the comics I do, as well as just the types of stories I gravitate to the most. Exploring ideas and themes not usually talked about, or familiar ones from a unique perspective. And this film has some of the best visuals of any MCU film. There are several scenes that do look similar to “Inception”. But there are so many other visuals that are truly awe-inspiring. At the end of the day, this is one of my personal favorite films from this long running franchise.