'Doctor Strange' (2016 Movie) Review

You can read my review here.

Pro

- Strong cast

- Great balance of action, drama, and humor

- Does a great job of expanding the scope of the marvel cinematic universe

-Great visual effects



Cons


- While well done, it does fall into a lot of the "origin story" traps

- Does further cut the wind from Thanos' sails by establishing even bigger threats


Overall


After so many superhero movies, it's not surprising that they start to feel somewhat similar.  This is especially true when it comes to origin stories.  Still, this movie provides a solid foundation by giving us well developed characters who all have their own individual motivations and story arcs.  There are similarities to "Iron Man" but it does enough to stand on its own.







                                  

















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'Dragon Ball Super' episode 94: 'The Emperor of Evil Returns! A Reception of Mysterious Assassins?!'

With the clock ticking down to the final moments before the tournament begins, the first half of the episode stops to dawdle a bit.  It's spent mostly getting everybody up to speed and getting everyone where they need to be.  It isn't the most eventful or engaging, but it is necessary ground to cover.

It does lead to some nice "reunion" moments.  The cyborg siblings finally get to see each other face to face again after all these years and 17 gets to meet his niece.  It was a rather sweet moment on its own, but it is further bolstered by Krillin's awkward attempts to make small talk with two laconic no-nonsense androids.  It doesn't tug on the heart strings, exactly, but it does add a bit of levity to the episode.

The Piccolo/17 meetup was also something of a small highlight.  It seems like the two are going to spar as a way to see how much the other has improved, but Piccolo just offers a handshake and thanks 17 for the assist.  Even 17 himself seems taken aback by the gesture.

The most interesting aspect of the episode is a plot by Quitela, universe 4's god of destruction to sabotage universe 7.  He concocts a story that Goku and the others are going to try and target universe 9.  This manages to convince both Sidra and Roh to send assassins to take out the tyrant before the tournament starts.  This will disqualify universe 7 right off the bat and ensure their destruction.

It's a tactic that likely wouldn't be condoned by Zen-O, but as long as Zen-O doesn't know and there's no kind of trail, they can't be blamed if something bad were to happen to Frieza.  As they themselves note, Frieza does have a lot of enemies.

Sadly, with all of the other more mundane matters, this plot point doesn't really take center stage until the episode's final moments.  As Goku and Frieza are approached not by one assassin, but a whole army of them (a league of assassins if you will.)

In some ways, the pay off is worth it and it does allow the episode to end on a rather high note, but one does wish that the episode had delivered more of that.

When Goku and Frieza do get together, their dynamic continues to be a highlight.  The reunion isn't nearly as amiable as Piccolo and 17.  Rather than shake hands, they punch each other in the gut.  There's clearly some malice, but the two also seem to enjoy it.

Strangely enough, Frieza isn't even too put off by the army of assassins.  Given his background, it does make sense.  People coming to kill him was likely a common occurrence.  He doesn't even really care who they are or why they're after him.  Goku is the one who presses for information, not that it gets them anywhere.  On the contrary, Frieza's pretty eager to fight and kill them.  Not only does he kill one assassin right off the bat, but he transforms into his golden form in order to combat the others.

It was a pretty impressive sequence.  It was well animated and the accompanying music had the appropriate "godly" atmosphere.

I can't help but wonder how well this is going to work.  Frieza's golden form had a pretty obvious flaw and it wasn't like Frieza is in a position to train to remedy it.  On the plus side, his dead body should be able to harness that form better than his body did back when he was alive. I base that entirely on the fact that that's what happened with Goku and the super saiyan 3 form back in the Buu saga, but godly energy might work differently.

Surprisingly, Goku isn't interested in fighting.  I know.  He's not wrong in citing that they don't have time for this, but Frieza doesn't care; he sees it as a warm up and a chance to kill a bunch of people.  It makes for a nice cliffhanger as the two now have to fend off a horde of assassins.

On the one hand, I doubt they'll pose much of a threat, but just seeing Frieza and Goku fighting along side one another seems like it's going to make for a fun watch.  I'm looking forward to it.

Sadly, this episode's pacing issues hurt it significantly.  There was quite a bit to like.  There were great moments peppered throughout, but unfortunately, the episode decided to shift its focus on other things that weren't nearly as compelling.

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'Attack on Titan' episode 22: 'Defeated: The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission part 6'

With Eren in the female titan's grasp, Mikasa vows to get him back.  She is joined by Levi, who eventually agrees to help in the effort.

What's really striking about this scene is the way that physics seem to go out the window.  The two are able to glide along for extended periods of time without having to worry about gravity or running out of line.  Normally, they latch on to something, propel themselves forward, and repeat the process.  Here they make no such effort.  The fact that they don't appear to be going very fast makes it even more notable, as that's not how they should be moving.

I guess it was just foreshadowing for the fight, as Levi is able to do some kind of rapid spin move that's akin to Sonic the Hedgehog.  It looks cool, I won't argue that, but it did seem out of place.

The attack sequence does give both Levi and Mikasa moments to shine.  True, they don't end up killing the female titan, but it does appear severely maimed as a result of their efforts.  Even better, Mikasa was able to retrieve Eren as the female titan didn't swallow, but simply stashed Eren between her cheek and gum like a piece of chewing tobacco.  While nothing is made of it as of yet, the titan does appear sad that Eren is gone.

From there, the episode shifts its focus to another group as they try to tackle the question of what to do with the bodies of the dead.  A majority of them are brought back, but a handful were left behind due to titan presence.

While Commander Erwin is presented as cold and callous for leaving a handful of bodies behind, I can't fault his logic.  It was dangerous to go get them and the bodies were in such a condition that it would disturb the families to see them like that.  The scouts wanting to bring their friends home is noble, but I kind of have to side with Erwin on this one.

I don't understand his insistence that they be categorized as "missing in action", though.  Just tell them that the people died.  It's sad, sure, but they'll be able to grieve and will eventually come to terms with the loss.  This is just giving them hope for something that will never happen.  It's actually crueler if you think about it.  It's possible that people are able to read between the lines and know what "missing in action" really means, but if that's the case, then the facade is even more pointless.

Nevertheless, a few of the scouts go rogue and try to bring the bodies back.  Not surprisingly, this results in them being chased by titans.  The troops even race back to the main group so that the titans have more people to feast on.  It was a very well thought out operation.

As the titans are gaining, it is eventually decided to chuck the bodies in hopes of distracting the titans long enough for them to get away.  From what we see, the titans are unfazed.  In fact, the way the music swells up, you'd think that this was supposed to be a big dramatic moment, as the titans are smart enough to avoid the obvious decoys and keep pursuing them.

Despite the fact that we see none of the titans stopping, one of the characters declares that the plan is working and they are able to get away.  It's very much like how all those scouts died "slowing down" the female titan during her pursuit, even though she wasn't hindered in the slightest by their efforts.  It would be nice if the script matched up with what we saw on screen.  It's very strange that this is a repeated problem as of late.

You'd think that the characters would be chided for their rash decision costing even more lives, but you'd be wrong.  One character points out that hundreds have been left behind over the years, but that's about as close as it gets.

When the scouts do return home, the welcome is less than glowing.  People's morale is low and it seems like they are frustrated that so much effort and resources are being wasted on these missions.

Even the positive talk ends up being something of a bitter pill to swallow.  At one point, Levi is approached by Petra's dad, who talks about how proud he is of her and how he can't wait to see her again.  Levi remains silent all the while, but it's still not an easy thing to endure.  It's a small scene, but it's quite heart-wrenching and oddly becomes one of the episode's highlights just due to sheer emotional poignancy.

This episode had great moments peppered throughout, but it wasn't able to come together as well as one would hope.  It didn't seem like the plot had enough momentum to carry a full episode, yet a full episode was used anyway.

You'd think that with only a couple of episodes left this season that the pace would pick up a bit, but that didn't seem to happen.  It did, at the very least, wrap up this mini-arc.  Maybe the final three parter will make for faster pacing and a more impressive resolution.

















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'The Dark Tower' Movie Triple Trailer Reaction

*I'm not sure why the screen capture keeps showing up for "Earth". The embed code should work, but if for some reason, it plays the first video again you can follow the link and watch the "Knight" video here

In addition to a new trailer for 'The Mist', we were treated to not one, not two, but three new trailers for the 'Dark Tower' movie.

Now, it should be noted that these are not full trailers.  "Teaser" is the more accurate term.   Still, dropping three in one go is still a pretty big deal.  Each one only lasts about 30 seconds, so it amounts to a full trailer, sort of.

Sadly, there's not a whole lot of new material here.  In fact, some of the teasers use the same sequences as the others.  This wouldn't be a problem if the teasers were spread out over several weeks, but having them all come out on the same day makes it more noticeable.

I'm still digging McConaughey's take on Flagg/Walter/The Man in Black.  He should make for a great villain.

Similarly, Idris Elba's voice over for the other two trailers is definitely an asset.  It's put to better use in the first teaser, in my opinion, but hearing him recite the gunslinger oath is certainly a treat.

The first trailer is also probably the strongest in terms of laying out what the general plot hook is.  If you're unfamiliar with the series or didn't catch the original trailer, this lays out what the deal is in pretty succinct fashion.

I do kind of wish that we had just gotten one entire trailer.  I can see what they were trying to do, but it didn't work as well.  It is a bit strange to say that these 30 second tidbits didn't bring a whole lot when that's the average length for a commercial.  I guess when it comes to movie ads, we've been spoiled by two minute teasers.  The fact that it redoes what the first trailer did also works against it.

On the plus side, I don't think there's anything here that will push potential viewers away.  On the flip side, I don't know if this really did anything to up the hype.




























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'The Mist' TV Series Third Trailer Reaction

Yesterday, a new trailer for Spike's upcoming TV adaptation of 'The Mist' hit.  It makes sense, as the release date draws ever closer to give us some new material to entice viewers.

Of the three, I think that this is the most well put together trailer.  It does a better job of establishing what the viewers are in for without walking them through the plot point by point.  While it does show various locales, it doesn't just jump around randomly.  It allows us to become more engaged and it also makes certain scenes more tense.

This trailer also does the best job of establishing characters.  Even though only a handful are named, we can see how they relate to and interact with one another.  It's a big step up on that front.

Considering the fact that one of the biggest criticisms of the other trailers was the lack of monsters, I was hoping to see more on that front.  There is talk of things in the mist, and we get a couple of shots that could suggest such creatures.  A lot of time is dedicated to showing people wanting to arm themselves in order to prepare for what's coming, so it does seem like the producers were listening to some extent.

However, they still seem to put more emphasis on the idea that the mist is just driving people crazy.  The trailer does make a point to say that this is a "re-imagining" so, really, it is looking like that's how they're going to play it.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Viewers can still get hallucination "monsters" while providing a more grounded context for what's happening.  Whether that ends up being more or less frightening depends on individual viewer sensibilities as well as how the show ends up executing the concept.

At face value, it seems like a step backward, but the original story does also put emphasis on the whole "humans are the real monsters" trope, so it could choose to put its weight behind that.

Where the first trailer suggested that "Arrowhead" was going to play a larger role in the narrative, this suggests more of a "Gaia's revenge" style plot, where nature turns against us.  You could see it as a nod to "Pet Sematary" but with what we see here, it's too vague to determine whether that was intentional or pure coincidence.

It's quite possible that, much like the source material, the cause is left vague and this is merely another means of explaining what's happening.  Really, we'll have to watch to see how it unfolds.

Of the three, I think this does the best job of piquing interest.  It does try to address the criticisms of the other trailers as best as it can and feels the most connected to the source material.  There's still room for the show to fall flat, but it is good to see the promos are getting stronger with each release.  I remain cautiously optimistic about this.







Read my reaction to the first trailer here.


Read my reaction to the second trailer here.

















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'Dragon Ball Super' episode 93: 'You're the Tenth Warrior! Goku Goes to see Frieza!'

With Buu in hibernation, Goku suggests bringing Frieza in as a replacement.  Suffice it to say, the others are skeptical.  To Goku's credit, he has put some thought into his plan: bring Frieza back for a day the way that he and Vegeta had been before.  It minimizes the risk of Frieza doing too much damage and both Goku and Vegeta will be there to keep him in check.

Even with this, the others are sure that this is a bad idea, but Whis brings up the fact that one universe has a fighter that was capable of defeating their god of destruction, said god of destruction happens to be stronger than Beerus, so Frieza really is their best bet.

Strangely enough, Frieza is oddly agreeable to this.  Sure, he's disappointed that he won't be able to kill anyone, but really, he doesn't put up too much of a fuss.  His only caveat is that he wants to be resurrected when it's all said and done.  Goku offers to let him use the wish on the super dragon balls if he's the last one standing, but Frieza says that won't cut it.  After all, all they need is the Earth dragon balls to get the job done, so it works for him either way.

The logical approach would be to lie, tell Frieza that you'll do it and then renege after the fact.  Knowing Goku, though, he's going to stay true to his word.  Lying doesn't really fall in his wheelhouse.  Although, he did lie about the money, sort of, he did say he'd pay out of his own pocket.  It's hard to say how that'll play out.

In any event, Goku is convinced to these terms, not so much because they need a tenth fighter to ensure the continued existence of the universe, but because Frieza notes that he is (and can get) stronger and Goku wants to know how much.  Even Goku acknowledges that Frieza is playing to his psychological weakness.  It's very much an "I know you're playin' me, but you're right" moment for him.

It's possible that this bites Goku, and Frieza once again ascends to big bad, but I'm not sure.  Fans don't look too fondly on the "Resurrection F" arc and I'm not sure what else you could really do with him at this point.  I suppose that's a bridge we'll have to cross when we get there.

To Frieza's credit, he still has the gravitas to carry the scene.  When he starts talking and that ominous chanting starts, you're pulled in and engaged.  The exchange between him and Goku is definitely a highlight, even if you are of the opinion that Frieza needs to stay down.

On other fronts, there's progression in universe 6.  Hot on the heels of Caulifla's transformation into super saiyan, we get to see Kale finally bring about the legendary super saiyan form.  It was a more impressive transformation than Caulifla's, but they seemed to build up to this one a bit more, which I think helped significantly.  Sadly, no, a Pantera song did not accompany the scene (yet?)

Never the less, the similarities to Broly are certainly there.  Her beam attacks very much resemble his and the way she transforms mirrors his as well.  In fact, she may have surpassed him as we clearly see lightning in her aura.  Is legendary super saiyan 2 a thing now?

What really strikes me is how Caulifla comes off during these scenes.  When she and Cabba are trying to teach Kale to transform, her motivational technique is very positive and encouraging.  You'd think she'd be more abrasive and have an attitude, but she very much believes that Kale has what it takes to become a great warrior, even if Kale is generally more demure.

Even when the two try a different tact and use insults to get Kale to channel her anger in order to power up, Caulifla gets angry when Cabba pushes it too far and actually attacks him verbally and physically.  It made Caulifla a much more layered and developed character. She's not even mad that her protege hit such a powerful level.  On the contrary, she's quite proud of her student for achieving what she did.

The fight was brief, but still well done.  The fact that Kale is out of control gave it more tension than the Goku/Gohan fight and it was fast paced and kinetic enough, but time limitations forced the fight to end rather anticlimactically.

Before the fight ends, Caulifla does apparently hit super saiyan 2.  Again, we do clearly see lightning.  It may have taken a long time to get female super saiyans, but they are catching up quick.  Who knows? Caulifla could hit super saiyan 3...or 4 by the time the tournament comes around.  There's only ninety minutes left, but at the rate she's going, anything is possible.

All in all, this was a strong episode, both halves carried their screen time well.  While it was nice to see multiple universes, narrowing the focus down to two did have its benefits as it gave the episode more focus.  If anything dragged this episode down, it was the animation.  It had some obvious weak points, especially during Kale's transformation.  It's a shame as that should have been a stand out scene where extra effort was placed.

Still, the stuff that worked, worked really well.  I was never bored and it'll be interesting to see how things play out from here.  We are getting closer to the big event, so hopefully the payoff will be worth it.

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'Iron Fist' episode 13: 'Dragon Plays With Fire'

Thus, the first season comes to its conclusion.  It's been an uneven ride, with highs and lows, so really it's fitting that the episode falls very much into that category.

There's quite a bit to like here.  Gao's scene was, not surprisingly, a major highlight.  Her absence was felt, and Bakuto couldn't quite fill those shoes, though it made her return that much more satisfying.  The fact that she manages to drop some bomb shells on Danny that alter his perspective on matters regarding his own life make the scene that much more powerful.

It turns out that Harold had arranged to have the Rands killed.  While it was nice to see David Wenham finally get to go full heel, it does still seem like a drastic turn.  Even Danny is perplexed as to why Harold stabbed him in the back when he helped Harold deal with the Hand and allow him to go back to living a normal life.

Granted, Danny doesn't have a whole lot of time to ponder this, as he has to clear his name after Harold had him set up with the DEA.  This doesn't turn out to be the inconvenience that you'd think it would be.  Much like Cap, all Danny has to do is wear a hoodie and he's pretty much able to move around freely.

Even more convenient, Harold Meachum, the man Danny now wants to kill, has the "true" documents that prove his innocence.  Why would Harold even keep those?  Isn't it standard protocol when doctoring documents to burn the originals in your trash can?  Shred them up, do something besides keep them in a hidden safe.  You could chalk it up to Harold's resurrections affecting his mental state, but he says that he had 13 years to plan this, so you'd think that hole would occur to him at some point.

I'm torn on the moral dilemma.  On the one hand, the Iron Fist is a weapon, thus you'd think that he'd fall into the category of super hero who can and will kill if necessary.  Sure, Danny's the sunniest of the defenders, but those two things aren't mutually exclusive.  Wonder Woman is a kind and compassionate hero, but being an amazon, she's a warrior who will still kill when the situation calls for it.  Oddly, the fact that Harold is already dead doesn't come up on either side of the discussion.

The fact that he's driven by vengeance more than justice is a fair point.  I'm not sure if killing him would have affected his chi.  You could make arguments for both sides.  Gao insists the closure will be good where Claire says that it'll taint his chi.  Considering what his anger and guilt did before, it makes sense though.

Even if the moral quandary is rushed and ultimately side stepped, it does at least show effort to bring some weight to the final showdown.

It was disappointing to see said showdown end up being in the dark again.  You can somewhat justify it, as Danny is trying to level the playing field seeing as his enemies have guns, but it still makes it hard to watch.  Him getting one of his hands shot is meant to level the playing field, though I wonder why Danny couldn't just channel his chi into his other hand.  He might not be able to charge up both hands at the same time yet, but using just one should still be doable.  You could say it's like being right handed or left handed, but if it's just directing energy, you'd think it would still be an asset.  Either way, you can see why Danny puts such emphasis on Luke being bullet proof when they get together in "The Defenders".

Speaking of, Claire does make mention that she knows other powered people, but the idea of coming together doesn't come up in any capacity.

Instead, the show's final scene shows Danny returning to K'un L'un, only to find that the Hand had attacked and that it is now gone.

I had read about this ahead of time, and figured that it would be yet another instance of the show doing something awesome and not letting us see it.  I mean, seeing a swarm of ninjas battle a stronghold of warrior monks would have been really cool.  As it is meant to be a surprise, I can let it slide this time.

It does make you wonder what the Hand's endgame is.  We've seen them deal heroine, raise an army of undead ninas, do something with "Black Skies", dig a hole in the ground, and make a city in another dimension vanish.

You could argue that they're mysterious and that the true motives won't be revealed until the big team up, but considering how prominent they've been, it seems like we should know more than we do at this point.

Still, though, I am very much looking forward to "Defenders".  It looks like it's going to be big and satisfying.

As to this series as a whole, it had problems, though I don't think it warrants the hate that its getting.  There were pacing issues, but that's a kink that can be worked out later.  I'd still like to see "Iron Fist" get a second season.  I've seen a lot of people talk about combining Luke Cage and Iron Fist into one series.  Considering how close they are, it makes sense, though I think that should come later.  Let Luke and Danny each get a second individual season, then to cut costs make their third season the combo and have the two partner up on a more long term basis.

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