James Review -Tron Ares (2025)

 

After the first Tron released, it only took 18 years for the world to see a sequel. After Tron Legacy, Disney began working on a threequel, which ended up in a period of development hell until it finally came to us in 2025...

This is Tron Ares.

Starring Jared Leto and Ralph Peters, the final entry in the Tron trilogy, instead of focusing on the Flynn family or the iconic program hero Tron, follows the program known as Ares (played by Jared Leto) as he goes from a soldier of the Dillinger Systems grid to someone learning to be human and fighting for human life. And yes, the Dillinger family, through Ralph Peters' character, is one of the central antagonists of this movie. While the Flynns aren't front and center, Sam Flynn is mentioned as having stepped down from running ENCOM (but he isn't dead) and Kevin Flynn (with Jeff Bridges reprising the role) shows up for a time as Ares explores a version of the original Grid from the 1982 movie. 

Tron hasn't been the most successful sci-fi franchise in the world. The first film was a moderate box-office success and didn't compete with other films such as Blade Runner or E.T., and it got mixed reviews from critics at the time, despite becoming a cult-classic as time passed. Tron Legacy made tons of money, but wasn't highly successful and got mixed reviews from critics like the first film did. Tron Ares was a box office bomb and wasn't highly received, but time will tell if a fourth movie will come out.

Despite its reception, Tron Ares is a fun movie full of incredible special effects work and the recreation of the original version of the Grid is impressive, not to mention that Kevin Bridges popping in is a wonderful treat for longtime Tron fans and I do not believe Mr. Leto is a bad actor. The fact that a film that got mixed reception and wasn't highly financially successful in the 1980s got a trilogy is undeniably fantastic, compare that to Blade Runner, released the same year as Tron, which was a box office bomb, but got a sequel in 2017 that ended up being a box-office bomb as well and the world has yet to see a third Blade Runner. Its amazing that we got Tron 3 before Blade Runner 3.

In all honesty, Tron Ares is one of those films deserving a 4.5 stars for its efforts, likely worth a rewatch in the future. Anyone out there wanting to give it a chance? Its on Disney Plus right now and, guess what, Tron Ares became number one on that service for a time. See ya later.

-James M

James' Review -Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

 

Long ago, when his stories began, Batman was dark and serious with a tragic backstory. However, in the decades after first appearing, the Dark Knight became light-hearted and less serious due to real-world fears of comics being a bad influence on children. Eventually, in the 1970s and the 1980s, after the conclusion of the Adam West Batman show, DC began to steer their caped crusader back into his darker roots and comics became more than just for kids. In the late 80s, with Frank Miller, DC created Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

The story follows an older Batman as he emerges from retirement and takes on a gang of mutants before coming into conflict with The Joker one more time, then he battles Superman after The Joker dies. Oh, and there's a female Robin. I got this comic after signing up for a college class that involves graphic novels and manga, even though I planned to take a break from getting comics for a time early in 2026. And yet, this one is worth the read. Dramatic, intense, dark, The Dark Knight Returns is entertaining and pulls no punches with iconic moments such as Batman taking down the mutant gang leader as he says, "This isn't a mudhole. Its an operating table. And I'm the surgeon."

Frank Miller set out to make Batman serious and he succeeded, his writing is powerful and the imagery is so strong, you can't look away. I enjoyed reading it and I can't wait to read it again when I get the chance, Batman is one of DC's best characters to date, no matter what stories he has told in either the campy tone or the dark and serious edges of stories like this. I'd highly recommend this to Batman fans who have not touched it yet, but be warned, this isn't for the kiddies. This comic was an influence on future Batman stories for years to come, especially Zack Snyder's Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice in the DC Extended Universe, and it received a two-part animated movie adaptation along with a brief segment in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series season three aka The New Batman Adventures. 9/10. 

See you next time, crusaders of justice. And remember... He is vengeance, he is the night, HE IS BATMAN!!!

-James M

James' Review -Logan (2017)

 

For many decades, the team at Marvel Comics have created many iconic characters that have been viewed highly by fans in the pop culture community, from Spider-Man to Captain America to Iron Man. However, one character in the cast of the mutant team -The X-Men- has proven to be the most popular of all Marvel heroes; Wolverine aka Logan aka James Howlette aka Weapon X.

In the early 2000s, 20th Century Fox, with the rights to the X-Men characters, produced and released the first X-Men film, which starred Australian actor Hugh Jackman as Wolverine alongside Patrick Stewart as Professor X and James Marsden as Cyclops. Once again, out of all the heroes of the X-Men and other Marvel legends, Wolverine was popular and, in 2009, Fox released X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which focused on Logan. The film failed. A few years later in 2013, Fox released another Wolverine-focused movie directed by James Mangold and was somewhat more successful than its predecessor.

However, there was one issue when it came to Wolverine. The X-Men films were PG-13, geared towards a younger crowd, and the two Wolverine-focused movies received the same rating despite 2013's The Wolverine receiving an R-rated director's cut. In 2017, the game changed with today's topic, Logan. Set in the X-Men film universe (a version of it) and in the not-too-distant year of 2029, Logan follows Hugh Jackman's Wolverine on his final adventure as he fights to protect Dafnee Keen's Laura/X-23 from dark forces in a dystopian future where the X-Men are no more and mutants are near extinction. And unlike prior films, Logan was R-rated, allowing the Wolverine to be unleashed.

Loosely based on the comic "Old Man Logan" and influenced by old western movies, Logan is a deep, dark and somber action movie that doesn't hold back on the action and the moving plot. Patrick Stewart returns as a dying Professor X and Hugh Jackman plays both Logan and his clone X-24, who kills Charles midway through the movie and is the final enemy for Wolverine. Initially, this film was intended to be the end of Hugh Jackman's time as Wolverine in the X-Men films, but plans changed once Deadpool & Wolverine was in production and Hugh returned to play an alternate version of the character. The end of the movie is a gut punch as Wolverine dies after a grueling and brutal battle with his clone and he shares a touching moment with Laura, who is his daughter.

Prior to the release of Deadpool & Wolverine, I was planning on watching this film as perhaps one of the only R-rated comic book adaptations and, before seeing the aforementioned DP&W, I saw this with my dad a few months after we saw Deadpool 2 (which dropped a year after Logan) and it's available for viewing on Disney Plus. Despite the gritty tone and the extreme bloody violence depicted throughout, Logan was nothing short of fun to watch and the action scenes were pretty incredible. 

Next to Hugh, Dafne and Patrick, English actor Richard E. Grant shows up in the movie as the villain and it was thrilling to see him there, especially after I saw him in Loki season one, which dropped a few years after this film released. And watching this a few years before the year it takes place, it's pretty special. My score for Logan is 4.5 stars and I kinda want to see some of the wild west movies that influenced it, cowboys are always the best next to aliens. See ya around, folks.

-James M

James Review -Deadpool (2016) w. Deadpool

 

Oh, hello there. So, you may be wondering who the fella in red and black is, and why he's cussing and killing bad guys with blood going everywhere. The name's Deadpool, real name Wade Wilson. Most people call me "The Merc With A Mouth", and I'm a big deal. 

You know Marvel Comics, right? Let me give you the f***ing beats, buster! I was created in the 90s with my big damn debut comin' in 1991, even though it took a while for me to develop my fourth wall-breaking $#!@, and it took longer for me to get into the movies. 2009 may have been my lucky day, BUT THEY SEWED MY DAMN MOUTH SHUT!!!

However, 2016 was the game changer, when they knocked it outta the park with my movie. And get this, that Ryan Reynolds guy who played the other me, HE PLAYED THE REAL ME! That's right, baby! My actor is THE Ryan Reynolds, and you know him from $#!* like the GREEN LANTERN movie and a bunch of others. Sooooooo, what's the story of my movie, baby?

Well, it starts with me riding with Dolpinder, high-fiving him, goin' after that bastard Francis and killin' his goons. However, the story really starts a few years prior, before my face gets real messed up, when I bust a pizza-delivering stalker. Man, the look on the other guy's face when I threatened him with a gun, and the stalker knows that if he went near his ex-girlfriend again, he will know I got some hard spots. Ok, that came out wrong.

So, after that, I hit a bar and, there, I meet the babe of my dreams. Her name's Vanessa, and she's a real hooker. So, after I pay her, off we go to put some balls in holes. Big twist: I took her to the arcade for some fun. After that, we had a hell of a lot more fun on every holiday imaginable all the way to Christmas, where I pop the big question... before cancer pops up. $#*^! Looks like that love montage is over, and crap is getting real.

News flash. Not only do I have cancer, but it's gonna kill me. So, what to do, what to do. Luckily, this guy in a suit offers a solution, and, eventually, I take it. In fact, it seems they're gonna make me a superhero. Lets hope my superhero costume isn't green and animated like Green Lantern's outfit, and that's when we meet Ajax. Oops, that's not his real name, its friggin' Francis Freeman. And it turns out, The Workshop is real %$#@ed up and makes "super slaves", and they torture me in an effort to wake up my mutant genes.

A while passes and, BOOM, they wake up, and my face gets real messed up in the process. Francis is so toast, even though I lose to him after trying to fight him naked. Don't worry, I lived to tell the tale to my buddy Weasel. One look at my face, and he compares it to an avocado who had a hate fling with an older and more disgusting avocado, then as we discuss plans on what to do with my situation, I decide to get a mask and we agree on my new name: Deadpool, Captain Deadpool

*record scratch* No, just Deadpool. Sounds like a franchise, amirite?

Makin' my costume takes some trial and error, and the suit being red came from the fact the white suit I wore got stained with my own blood at one point. Okay, so, back to the start of the film. After I kill his goons, I find Francis, and reveal my face to him. However, the studio sends two X-Men to get me, Colossus and, uh, Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead? Weird name, anyway. They try to take me to the X-Mansion, but I slice off my arm and escape, with my severed hand givin' Colossus the finger. Oh, and Francis got away. GOD FRIGGIN' DANG IT!!!

I retreat to my friend Blind Al's place so I can heal, and once my hand grows back, Weasel and I go to a, er, pole-dancer club to find Vanessa, who gets nabbed by Francis and his goons. Looks like its rescue time, but I need help, and I get it from Colossus and the Nega Sonic Warhead girl. And where is Francis holed up, the ruins of a battleship which looks like a broken down SHIELD ship for some reason. Cue his goon Angel Dust doing a superhero landing and battling it out with Colossus.

Now, we've reached the final battle with Francis, and we try to kill each other with Vanessa on the line. I am so determined to get my face fixed at this point, and here's a catch, Francis doesn't feel pain. Heck, he can't feel anything. So, I kick his ass, and Vanessa is saved. Now to get my face fixed, but this is where we run into a problem, there is no cure. Okay, looks like its time to kill Francis, but cue Colossus comin' in with some speech about being a hero and sparing your enemies.

Well, I got one thing to say with my gun.

BLAM!

Just like that, I got Francis, even though my face may never be cured. At least Vanessa is safe, and she doesn't mind how my face looks. We part ways with Colossus and Nega-Sonic Teenage Warhead, and our story concludes for a time with me and Vanessa kissing like we miss each other. Good film, yeah?

Oh, trust me. DEADPOOL (2016) is fantastic, in so many imaginable ways, and it isn't every day when the world sees an R-rated "superhero" film, even though I am no superhero by a long shot. Solid 10/10, and you gotta admit there are so many funny moments throughout just as there is so much good action scenes with solid special effects, and I got a sequel a few years later... even though it took longer for my third movie to get off the ground. Ryan Reynolds was born for the role of me, amirite, folks? Oh, and Cable shows up in Deadpool 2, and we got Josh Brolin as him, but that is a story for another day. 

Catch you suckers next time!

James Reviews -Knuckles (2024)

 

In 2020, after years of development hell, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie finally released, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and was a massive hit. With the success of the film, the Sonic franchise was rejuvenated, and the way was paved for the Sonic Cinematic Universe with 2022 seeing the release of Sonic 2. Nearly two years later, as we prepared for Sonic 3, the world saw Idris Elba's Knuckles get his own show, which guest starred Adam Pally as Green Hills policeman Wade Whipple (who is also the main star of this darn show).

So, I watched this whole series, and saw some videos about it on YouTube, what are my thoughts on this?

Honestly, KNUCKLES is fine. Its nothing too special or groundbreaking, its all about our favorite red echidna and Wade Whipple on a pretty wacky adventure. As someone who grew up watching wacky, childish stuff along with some pretty dark stuff, I like my cartoony over-the-top nonsense. KNUCKLES is a comedy through and through, and Adam Pally hits the comedic beats well, while throwing in plenty of seriousness when needed.

The show is six episodes long, with Ben Schwartz's Sonic appearing for a time in the first episode, even though he has a couple of lines with Tika Sumpter's Maddie having a mostly minor role. One of the top highlights in this series is Back To The Future's Christopher Lloyd, who voices the deceased Echidna warlord Pachacamac. Remember him from Sonic Adventure? Then, we get to the show's villains gallery.

First, we have The Buyer, played by Scottish actor Rory McCann, a former ally of Doctor Robotnik and the show's main antagonist, who hires G.U.N. Agents Mason and Willoughby to get that red echidna. We also have bounty hunter Jack Sinclar, who is an old friend of Wade from a bowling team, and finally Pistol Pete Whipple, Wade's father and a bowling legend. English actor and The Princess Bride legend Carey Elwes takes up the role and the character is lovable and scummy at the same time.

Now, I won't spoil the whole story, but the writing is interesting at best, and KNUCKLES offers a pretty alright soundtrack. If you like Sonic, go ahead and watch it. My overall ranking for this is 6 out of 7 Chaos Emeralds. It isn't perfect, but the show has some fun to it, even though it was kinda poorly received by most fans. Catch you next time, ya'll.

-James M

James' Review of THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE (2023)

 

Mama mia, everyone! Its-a me, the Crazy Video Game Wizard, and we're here to talk about THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE from Illumination/Universal & Niiiiiiiiiiintendo!

As you all remember, back in the 1990s, during the near-height of Mario's fame, Nintendo gave Hollywood the license to make a Mario movie. In 1993, SUPER MARIO BROS starring the late Bob Hoskins as Mario and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa was released to the world... and it failed. It was so infamous, Nintendo never attempted movie adaptations again. But during the 2010s, as they worked on a theme park with Universal, the desire to make a Mario movie was rekindled.

Collaborating with Illumination Studios, with Universal as the distributor, Nintendo worked on the new animated Mario film with Chris Pratt as Mario and Jack Black as Bowser and Charlie Day as Luigi. In April 2023, after years of work, the movie was released and made billions of dollars despite being negatively received by critics. Oh, and it was well-received by fans. The movie was so successful, a sequel is in the works.

I saw this movie on DVD in June, and, yes, it is just as good as folks say it is. Years ago, I didn't think of the idea that Chris Pratt would do something Mario-related. However, hearing his Mario voice, Chris is real great. His Mario is my favorite Chris Pratt character next to Star Lord and Owen Grady of Marvel and Jurassic Park respectively. Oh, and Jack Black was real treasure when it came to taking on the role of Bowser. Yeah, I liked him in KING KONG and KUNG FU PANDA amongst other things, but you cannot top "Peaches". BTW, I saw Jack Black's music video, and it is cool.

While the 1993 film has a place in my heart, this film makes me want to play Mario games even more, and it is a love letter to the franchise, with so many easter eggs and moments that fans love. Mario turning into a cat with the Cat Suit from SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD is priceless, and I would be thrilled to watch a Donkey Kong movie. THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE is what makes me love Mario even more, and I am happy it succeeded.

Solid 9.9/10, and I'd be glad to rewatch this film down the road. By the way, the sequel will drop in 2026, and the movie's victory has opened the door to other video game films such as a LEGEND OF ZELDA movie. Oh man, you know I love Zelda. Anyways, I'll see ya'll next time.

-James M

James M's review of Fantastic Four (2005) and Rise of The Silver Surfer (2007)

 

Hi, it's me, here to review FANTASTIC FOUR from 2005.

Before we start, I have quite the interesting relationship with this movie as this was the first live-action superhero film I ever watched, the first Marvel movie I saw, and one of the first PG-13 rated movies I ever watched. Heck, the first time I watched it in 2009, I was sick and was reading the novelization for the film with my mom at the time.

Okay, so what is the story behind this film?

Starring Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman, Chris Evans (the future Captain America) as the Human Torch and Michael Chiklis as The Thing, Fantastic Four sees Reed Richards and Ben Grim preparing for a space mission with Victor Von Doom, Sue Storm, and her brother Johnny. During the mission, a solar storm hits ahead of when Reed and Victor initially predicted it and the whole crew is drastically affected by it.

After returning to Earth, everyone appears normal, until the effects of the storm kick in as Johnny bursts into flame harmlessly during a skiing trip, Sue turns invisible, Reed stretches his hand, Ben mutates into rock, and Victor starts to develop metal under his skin. The rock monster that was Ben tries to talk to his girlfriend, only to scare her off, and travels to a bridge, which becomes the site of a traffic accident.

Reed, Sue, and Johnny, who come to the bridge looking for Ben, wind up performing heroic acts along with the rocky Ben and earn the respect of the public with the group being called the Fantastic Four. Reed starts running tests on the group while trying to figure out a cure, and Victor, discovering how bad his infection is, begins a path that leads to villainy.

Usually, I go further and talk about the last act of the film, but its easier to stop in case some of you haven't seen this. Anyways. I have watched FANTASTIC FOUR multiple times and it's really incredible. Fun fact, this was the SECOND Fantastic Four movie adaptation if you count the unreleased 1994 film, which I will watch at some point. The casting for this movie was decent along with all the action, the music, and the writing. 10/10, and I will give this film more credit. Without FANTASTIC FOUR, I wouldn't be a Marvel fan.

How about we discuss RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER a little?

Okay. Firstly, at the time of this writing, this film is one of the only PG-rated live-action Marvel movies in existence. A PG-rated superhero film is rare these days, you only get either PG-13 or R-rated superhero content. And a little interesting fact, my dad asked me if I wanted to see this at one point when I was a kid and I initially objected. Usually, when I say 'no', I'm not interested, but this was also because I hadn't seen the first film yet.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is the last film in the original Fantastic Four series and the last time we saw this incarnation of the FF, until Chris Evans recently reprised his role as Johnny in a freaking Deadpool film. *spoilers* Okay, so let's talk the story of the movie here.

Taking place after the first FANTASTIC FOUR, Reed and Sue are preparing for their wedding when a cosmic entity known as the Silver Surfer appears and craters start to pop up across the world. As the wedding of Reed Richards and Susan Storm unfolds, everything goes south when the Silver Surfer pops by. Now, the Fantastic Four have to face the new threat, unaware that there is more to the Surfer than meets the eye, and reluctantly team up with Doctor Victor Von Doom.

Now for my honest thoughts.

Rise of the Silver Surfer is an interesting and kind of fun movie. The soundtrack is wonderful to listen to, and even with the PG-rating, the stakes are high even though you have to wonder why the heck they aimed for a PG instead of a PG-13. Either way, RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER delivers something engaging and worth a watch on many levels. We may not have gotten more projects set in this continuity, despite certain plans as evidenced by a mid-credits scene, but this film was a decent send-off for Reed, Sue, and their friends, even with many loose threads like Doctor Doom's fate.

9.6/10. Fox is a fine studio, and Chris Evans is my favorite superhero movie actor.

-James M

James M's review of The Dark Knight (2008)

 

Hello, superhero fans of justice, welcome back. Its time for more Batman as we delve further into the Christopher Nolan trilogy with the 2008's hit superhero movie sequel to 2005's Batman Begins known as THE DARK KNIGHT.

That's right, we finally saw it and, wow, I can see why so many people love the life out of this film. Hats off to Mr. Nolan and his team and to the late Heath Ledger for all their hard work. THE DARK KNIGHT sees Batman going up against The Joker (played by Ledger) as he concocts a plan to corrupt and terrorize Gotham, which sees initially noble District Attorney Harvey Dent eventually become the villain Two-Face thanks to Joker's machinations. 

And by the end of the film, while Joker and Two-Face are defeated, The Joker's plan to ruin and corrupt Gotham succeeded. And on top of that, while Batman continues to be a hero, he decides to let Harvey Dent take the credit for his heroics while the Dark Knight himself becomes a fugitive of justice with  Jim Gordon, who finally becomes Commissioner Gordon, destroying the Bat-signal.

If you're wondering what my honest thoughts on THE DARK KNIGHT are, I will tell you now. This movie is fantastic for its time and it deserves the honor of being a fan favorite. The musical score for this film is well scored, it is epic when it needs to be and gets scary when the suspenseful moments come in, especially with the Joker scenes. 

Even the action scenes and special effects are perfect, nicely crafted and executed and beyond mind-blowing for today's standards, the writing and screenplay are through the roof and the actors brought a fantastic performance for this film with one of the big show-stealers nearly being Heath Ledger himself. And in his final film role as Batman's nemesis The Joker, he does one heck of a good job, my mother was creeped out and I laughed nervously when he delivered his sinister Joker laugh.

The Joker here is just as anyone would expect any version of The Joker to be, the sinister and intelligent nemesis of Batman with a plan to create chaos and anarchy in Gotham. The opening scene just shows how dangerous and unpredictable this guy is, he disguises himself as one of his goons and kills one of the henchmen during a bank robbery. 

And if that wasn't enough, the scene where he meets with the Mob is perhaps one of the most intense and well-made scenes in any action or superhero film. Who can forget that laugh and The Joker walking in while saying "And I thought my jokes were bad", not to mention when he does a "magic trick" where Joker makes a pencil disappear by slamming a guy's head into it. Ouch! While Joker was a dark villain long before Heath Ledger played the role, this is undeniably one of the scariest villains ever.

Batman's conflict with The Joker is just as you'd expect it to be with the Dark Knight trying to stop him while the clown prince of crime does what he can to get under Batman's skin. During Batman's interrogation with the villain, we are reminded of the Batman/Joker dynamic made famous in the comics when Joker tells Batman he doesn't want to kill him as he completes him. We are later reminded of the dynamic during their final fight when Joker tells Batman they are destined to do this forever, but this is the only time in the trilogy that they will fight given Heath Ledger's unfortunate passing.

Minor disappointment regarding an actor's death aside, this film is beautiful. And so, with nothing else to say, I will give THE DARK KNIGHT a ten out of ten. This film has stood the tests of time since it released and you can see it with the quality of this iconic, unforgettable Batman film. It pushed the limits of the intensity and pushed the PG-13 rating to the max, THE DARK KNIGHT is so intense, its going to be some time before you hear that I watched THE DARK KNIGHT RISES.

May we meet again, everyone...

-James M

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018) -Movie Review by James M

 

Greetings to all of the true believers out there, we're diving further into the Spider-verse again with another Spider-Man movie. But this time, we're not in the live action realm, its the animation realm...WITH SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE!

Released by Sony and Marvel in late 2018 with the screenplay handled by Phil Lord, INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE focuses on the journey and struggle of Miles Morales (played by Shameik Moore) when he gets bit by a spider and has to navigate the ropes of becoming Spider-Man while teaming up with an alternate universe Peter Parker Spider-Man, Spider-Gwen and other Spider people to stop the corrupt Kingpin's plans before the multiverse collapses due to Kingpin's machinations.

You could say this is where the multiverse craze started, thanks to the success of Into The Spider-Verse, as we're getting a Flash movie about the multiverse and the MCU has been delving into the multiverse in certain projects set in the aftermath of Infinity War/Endgame. 

Even SEGA is distributing Sonic Prime, a Sonic cartoon about Sonic exploring the Shatterverse multiverse. Even though multiverse stories have been going on for years, Spider-Verse started the new multiverse craze.

We saw this film eleven months before the release of Spider-Man No Way Home (after we started hearing rumblings of the multiverse being involved with the movie) and, let me tell you, this movie is a blast. Into The Spider-Verse is perhaps one of the most beautifully made superhero movies and one of the best animated films ever, not to mention its a super cool animated superhero film.

In regards to it being PG rated instead of being PG-13, that's fine, even though PG rated superhero movies and action films are very rare these days. Regardless, the writing of this movie is simple and fun, just like the characters and the action pieces of the movie. Even the animation style is beyond gorgeous, the writers had a blast making this and even the voice actors seemed to be having a lot of fun playing their respective roles.

SPIDER-MAN INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE is a fun ride with a lot of beautiful nods and Easter Eggs related to Spider-Man's long history, it is also a wonderful tribute to the late Stan Lee, who makes one of his last cameos in the movie and briefly voices J. Jonah Jameson. Stan died shortly before the movie came out, but hearing him here one final time is heartwarming, knowing that his legacy will live on.

The movie was so well-received and successful, its getting a sequel that is finally coming out in late 2022. Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse (which will be divided into two parts) will continue where Into The Spider-Verse left off and explore the multiverse even further. The final post-credits scene is even humorous as it involves Spider-Man 2099 visiting the 1967 Spider-Man universe, leading to the pointing finger meme and popularizing it to full meme popularity once again. 

After seeing this baby twice and thinking about how fantastic it is, I will gladly give Spider-Man Into The Spider-Verse a sweet 9.8/10. May this movie be remembered as one of the best made superhero movies and I wish the crew behind this film good luck with the sequel and future superhero movies in the years to come. See you later, true believers.

-James M

James M's review of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

 

Salutations once again, we're diving back into the Marvel-verse and swinging our way into the Spider-verse with 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield and directed by Marc Webb. Enough delay, lets dive into this chapter of Spider-Man history, which came to be at a time when the fabled Marvel Cinematic Universe was getting off the ground.

In the year 2007, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 released, serving as the final chapter in the Spider-Man trilogy that had been five years in the making, and was a box office success despite mixed reviews. After the movie was out, pre-production began on a Spider-Man 4. However, being displeased with how Spider-Man 3 turned out and after being frustrated with Sony's meddling, Sam Raimi quit the project and Sony green-lit a reboot with Marc Webb involved with the project.

The result, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN. The film released in the summer of 2012, shortly after The Avengers came out and its success kicked the Marvel Cinematic Universe & its popularity into high-gear, and this film was very successful. The movie's performance paved the way for a sequel that came out two years later, only for that one to flop badly and TASM wasn't thought of fondly for many years until Andrew Garfield returned to reprise his role in 2021's Spider-Man No Way Home.

So, what's the story of this movie?

The film starts off with Peter as a kid living with his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, until they head off and entrust Peter in the care of his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. (We find out in the sequel that Richard was working on a genetic experimental breakthrough at Oscorp and had to flee to avoid being bumped off.) Jump forward several years later and Peter (now played by British actor Andrew Garfield) is in high-school and has a crush on Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone).

One day, Peter goes to Oscorp and, during a tour where he meets Doctor Curt Connors, takes a detour into a room with radioactive spiders and gets bit by one. Shortly after, Peter starts developing powers. At school, Peter gets into a little fight with Flash Thompson and humiliates him in the gym. He meets up with Doctor Connors again and helps come up with a formula to limb regeneration, afterwards, Peter heads home and is lectured by his uncle for not being responsible.

Peter heads off to a store where a robber threatens the shop owner, only for Peter to not help him. Uncle Ben is nearby and runs into the robber as he's getting away, the thief shoots Uncle Ben and kills him, much to Peter's sad dismay. He then begins going after criminals after some time, but after a disastrous encounter with a group of bad guys, Peter eventually begins working on an outfit and a mask for himself. After enough work, his suit is formulated and Peter becomes the web-slinging Spider-Man.

Sometime after, Peter visits Gwen and joins her family for dinner, during which her father, Captain George Stacy, calls Spider-Man a dangerous criminal vigilante. Peter and Gwen talk on the balcony afterwards and Peter reveals his identity as Spider-Man to her, surprising Gwen as they share their first kiss. Meanwhile, Doctor Connors creates the formula and tests it on himself. Right as expected, his arm regrows. However, the formula has a sinister side effect as Connors transforms into a creature known as The Lizard and goes on a rampage on a bridge.

Spider-Man sees the scene and briefly fights with The Lizard before the reptilian retreats into the sewers. While visiting Doctor Connors' lab, Peter figures out that Connors is The Lizard after seeing a rat they used to test the formula on prior become a vicious creature. He tries to tell Captain Stacy, only for the policeman to dismiss Peter's claims, making a Godzilla reference when he asks Peter if he looks like the mayor of Tokyo to him. If only you tried to clarify everything, Pete.

The Lizard starts planning to mutate everyone in New York into lizards just like himself and eventually figures out that Spider-Man is Peter Parker. One night, The Lizard hatches his plan and heads to Oscorp Tower to put his plan in motion. Captain Stacy captures Spider-Man, but ends up letting him go when he finds out who is underneath the mask. Gwen Stacy heads to Oscorp, willing to help Peter.

Peter battles The Lizard atop Oscorp Tower in a battle for the fate of the city and pretty much all of mankind. The Lizard unmasks Peter during the fight and taunts him, saying he's all alone with no parents and no uncle, until Captain Stacy comes in to aid Peter only for The Lizard to critically injure him. Peter stops The Lizard's plan and the reptilian creature turns back into Doctor Connors.

New York is safe, but at the price of Captain Stacy, who tells Peter to leave Gwen out of this with his dying breath. Gwen's father dies and Peter vows to keep his promise to him, even telling Gwen about it at one point. But a talk with Aunt May makes Peter reconsider. "If you are anything, its good." May tells him. The movie ends with Peter and Gwen attending school together. A post-credits scene shows Connors in prison while a mysterious man talks to him.

What do I think of this movie?

Well, overall, regardless of its flaws, its really good. My mother even said at one point that Andrew Garfield is her favorite Spider-Man and really likes The Amazing Spider-Man over the Sam Raimi films and the MCU Spider-Man. I actually do agree with many others that it is a good superhero film, its not too bad if you ignore the issues it may have. 

Andrew Garfield was a fine pick for Spider-Man and having him fight The Lizard in this installment was an alright idea. After all, Spider-Man 4 was going to see Peter fight The Lizard anyway and TASM is pretty much a fourth Spider-Man movie regardless of the continuity. And as for Gwen Stacy being Peter's love interest instead of Mary Jane Watson, that's fine, Gwen was Peter's girlfriend in the comics well before Mary Jane was Peter's love interest.

The Amazing Spider-Man has some fun action sequences and the tone of the film is quite interesting to take in, especially since it was apparently trying to emulate the tone of the well-received Nolan Batman trilogy. Marc Webb and crew set out to create an engaging Spider-Man reboot and they succeeded. Its an alright movie for its time with good acting, decent screenplay and engaging moments throughout. I give this film an 8.5 out of 10, go watch it if you want to see this. You'll not be put off by it at all.

Next time; The Amazing Spider Man 2 (2014). See you later...

-James M

James M's review of Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (2017)

Hello, old friends. Welcome back, we are about to once again delve into the crossover-verse and tackle another story of Batman and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

That's right, we're taking a look at the sequel miniseries to the first Batman/TMNT crossover released a year prior. IDW and DC are once again collaborating on this epic crossover event continuation, which takes place well after the events of the first crossover. 

I got my hands on this on the same day I got one of the latest IDW Sonic comic issues (as of this writing) during my usual weekly trip to the local comic book story and read it all, just like with the first crossover story. And believe me, it is awesome.

The story for this one is very entertaining, especially with Batman's big enemy Bane as the big bad of this story. That's right, instead of Shredder and Ra's Al Ghul being the big bad just like in the first story, its a Batman villain serving as the big bad of the crossover sequel.

Seeing well-received crossovers get follow-ups is very heartwarming and its nice seeing two companies collaborate on bringing them to life, especially when said companies are very open to the ideas of crossovers without it messing with their brands' image since they usually aren't canon anyway.

Batman/TMNT II is very entertaining and worth reading, just like the first story. I don't have a whole lot to say about it, but I'll say that it is amazing and so worth getting. The comic gets a decent score of a 10/10, superhero comics never lose popularity or their value, hence why we will keep reading them.

See you next time!

-James M

James M's Review of IDW Sonic Imposter Syndrome issue 3

 

Hello again, we now dive back into the IDW Sonic universe with the third issue of the Imposter Syndrome miniseries featuring Doctor Starline, Surge and Kit taking place in the lead up to the big milestone of IDW Sonic issue 50.

I just read it and, wow, it is way past awesome. Ian Flynn didn't just knock it out of the park, he writes in a way that blows the mind. The issue starts off with Surge and Kit watching one of Doctor Starline's vlogs where Starline rants about Eggman and it looks as if the doctor is about to snap as he even calls Eggman's robots, including Metal Sonic, inferior. Ian knows when to ham it up as he writes villains, he did a fine job with Eggman in Archie Sonic and does a fine job here as well.

Moving along, Surge and Kit then listen to everything Starline outlines about their "creation" and after they were "activated".

The two are not to happy about what they learned and, when Doctor Starline enters the room, they attack the man who lied to them and manipulated them. The battle scene is beyond fantastical and is just as good as every action scene in IDW Sonic.

After the beatdown, Surge and Kit trick Starline just as he tricked them and they start planning to incapacitate Eggman while also planning Sonic and Tails' destruction. With that, the finale for the miniseries is all set up.

So, what do I think?

The issue was great, Sonic comics never cease to amaze no matter who owns the license or is writing the comic. Ian Flynn's writing style never loses its charm that got him very famous, leading to him eventually penning the story for the (currently) upcoming Sonic Frontiers game in the first place, not to mention he was fantastic when he wrote two Sonic Boom TV show episodes.

I love Ian, he's my favorite next to Timothy Zahn or JK Rowling, not to mention he's just as great as one Ken Penders.

The colorful artwork and penciling is also phenomenal as well, they really showcase the emotions and the first page sells it with Starline looking crazy angry in his vlog. Kudos to the artists, some of them should work for SEGA with the artwork of Sonic one of these days.

Well, I have nothing else to say, my final score for the third issue of Imposter Syndrome is a ten. Ian Flynn, you keep at it and keep wowing the fans no matter what, who cares if there are people who think you suck. I will be one of your defenders, forever and ever. Now, I bid you all goodbye.

-James M

James M's review of Batman Returns (1992)

 

1989 saw the release of the first true Batman film starring the likes of Michael Keaton as the titular Dark Knight of Gotham and it was so successful, a sequel was green-lit a few years later with Tim Burton once again directing the movie and Michael playing the role of Batman again. But this time, this film was way darker and more intense, this... was BATMAN RETURNS!

Welcome back, DC fans. Today, we discuss and review the sequel to the 1989 classic, the movie that sees Batman go up against Oswald "The Penguin" Cobblepot, played by Danny DeVito, and Silena "Catwoman" Kyle, played by Michelle Pfeiffer (who'd go on to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe almost a few decades later as Janet Van Dyne, the wife of Hank Pym.)

Just like the first film, Batman Returns is rated PG-13. But this time, it pushes the PG-13 rating very hard as we see Catwoman claw a man's face, drawing blood, and Penguin dying a somewhat bloody death while we even see Batman kill some of his enemies by lighting a goon on fire before then attaching a bomb to another goon and making him fall into a sewer where he explodes.

Even the ending of the movie is somber, even though Batman defeats Penguin, thwarting his plan, he loses Silena as she gets her revenge against The Penguin's ally and her former boss Max, who wanted to expand his buisness and tried to kill her early on in the movie. The movie is set around Christmas and it is quite something, a dark film set during a festive season with death throughout.

While BATMAN RETURNS did well at the box office and was received well, the movie's darker tone and hard pushing of the PG-13 were criticized by parents for being too dark for kids, leading to McDonald's apparently shutting down their promotional campaign and leading to the studio changing directors and direction for the next film with BATMAN FOREVER being a bit more lighthearted.

Regardless, Batman Returns, just like its predecessor, is a fun action-packed movie with good moments throughout and has some fine acting as well as a decently choreographed musical score. Michael Keaton brings quite the energy to the table as Batman and Michelle plays Catwoman fairly easily, even Danny DeVito, just like with Jack Nicholson with The Joker, seems to have a ball playing Penguin. The Penguin's backstory is quite sympathetic in many ways and his characterization is very memorable.

The filmmakers gave it their all to make Gotham City at Christmastime look incredible, providing a near sense of happy times, while the Penguin's sewer lair is well-crafted to look ominous and foreboding in many creepy ways. Despite the movie's flaws, its strengths shine through and ensure that Batman Returns is an unforgettable superhero experience, ensuring the movie's legacy runs strong to this very day.

While Tim Burton and Michael Keaton did not return in the following movies, their work on Batman is not forgotten as a comic book titled 'Batman 89' set after the events of Batman Returns is being published by DC Comics and ignores the events of BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN & ROBIN while Michael Keaton is about to reprise his role in THE FLASH movie along with BATGIRL.

BATMAN RETURNS gets a 9.9/10, if anyone hasn't seen it yet and can handle dark, gritty movies, this one is for you. Go watch it, there's nothing to miss out on. Now, I close out this review as the Bat-Signal goes off in the sky and Batman appears to fight the bad guys in Gotham. Peace to you all...

-James. M

James M's review of Doctor Who Series 13/Flux & Eve Of The Daleks (2021-2022)

 

Welcome back to the Whoniverse, after dealing with the Revolution of The Daleks, we're now diving into Jodie Whittaker's final season and the start of her final year as The Doctor with the multi-part storyline Flux and the New Year's special Eve Of The Daleks (no, not Evil of The Daleks, that's a different tale from the other story). So, lets begin, starting with Flux.

Flux is, of course, a multi-part story that makes up the entirety of Series 13 of New Who, it sees The Doctor, Yaz and a multitude of allies struggling to save the universe from The Flux, which is being engineered by The Division, which served the Time Lords and The Doctor served under well before she became the Time Lord known as The Doctor.

Airing from October 31st to December 5, Flux was a massive storyline that was just as ambitious as it could get with Chris Chibnall and his team throwing everything they had at the sink to make sure this storyline was the biggest one yet. Not only did you have The Flux event, but you had the Sontarans, villainous newcomer Grand Serpent, the Weeping Angels and so many others for The Doctor to deal with. And of course, we had Swarm (an old enemy The Doctor faced in a mysterious old life).

Series 13 sees the introduction of The Doctor's latest companion, a Scouse named Dan Lewis played by British comedian John Bishop. Dan joins The Doctor after he's seemingly kidnapped by a dog-like Lupari known as Karvanista, who is revealed to be an ally of humanity and formerly an ally of the Division (which of course worked for The Time Lords).

Plus, the Timeless Child plot point from the past few seasons is somewhat expanded on throughout the storyline as we learn more about the Fugitive Doctor/Ruth Clayton, who apparently ended the Dark Times and was the incarnation of The Doctor who defeated Swarm a long time ago. And during the episode "Village of The Angels", we discover that there were Weeping Angels who worked for the Division, a big shocking twist considering the Angels attack other beings when not being observed.

And, in the very next episode "Survivors Of The Flux", The Doctor is "recalled" to Division and reunites with her former adoptive mother Techteun, who has long since regenerated into a woman, whom The Doctor briefly encountered during the events of the third episode in the Flux arc. 

For a storyline that sees our show's heroes facing the end of the universe, Flux is as dark as it can get. The Flux tears apart the universe and hits Earth at the tail end of the first episode and things really get intense in Village Of The Angels (of course) when the Angels capture The Doctor while her friends Yaz, Dan and their new ally World War II veteran Professor Jericho from 1967 get sent back to the past. 

Even the events of the next episode Survivors Of The Flux become grim during its final minutes when Swarm arrives at Division (located outside The Doctor's universe) and kills Techteun while Grand Serpent makes his move on Earth within UNIT after decades of planning as the Sontarans prepare to attack and the final universe-destroying Flux event looms closer and closer.

But thankfully, in the next episode "The Vanquishers", The Doctor and her friends manage to defeat Swarm and save the rest of the universe from being annihilated by The Flux. However, in the aftermath of the battle, The Doctor is told by the embodiment of Time that her end is coming, reminding us that Jodie Whittaker's Doctor will soon be regenerating just like with David Tennant's 10th Doctor.

Doctor Who Flux is mind-blowing, any Whovian who hasn't seen it yet should see it. I give the entire season a strong 9/10, this was very good from start to finish, Chibnall and his team knew what they were doing and the characters were engaging as usual.

Now, let us tackle EVE OF THE DALEKS. (Again, we're not talking of 1967's Evil Of The Daleks.)

Airing on January 1st of this year, just weeks after The Vanquishers, EVE sees The Doctor and her friends in a warehouse facing off against a squad of Execution Daleks, who are out for vengeance after The Doctor helped devastate their race with The Flux during the events of the previous episode, while a malfunctioning TARDIS creates a time loop which goes into effect whenever the characters die.

Just like past episodes and Dalek stories, Eve of The Daleks is quite a ride from start to finish, Nicholas Briggs once again brings his A game to the table as the menacing voice of The Doctor's greatest enemies and it seems Whittaker had a ball when it came to confronting these monstrous mutants from the planet Skaro. Plus, dealing with Daleks during a time loop has never ever been done before.

Chibnall seems to enjoy writing The Daleks just as he's enjoyed writing the previous episodes not based around them, he knows how to make them menacing and the Daleks continue to stay true to their roots as evil menacing monsters out to exterminate those who are inferior to them while The Doctor works out a plan to stop them as the companions do what they can to help.

Despite being an intense and chilling story, for a New Year's special, Eve Of The Daleks somewhat serves as somewhat of a breather episode after the grim events of Flux despite having high-stakes as the clock approaches midnight with each time loop. But thankfully, The Doctor and her crew manage to destroy the Daleks and escape the warehouse they were trapped in for the duration of the story.

My score for this wild Doctor Who story is a very, very strong ten point five. May the fine folks at the BBC continue to make Whovians happy for many more decades, even if the show goes off the air and the only Doctor Who media we have to take in are books, comics and audio adventures. With that, I say farewell to you all for now, may we meet again as The Doctor's regeneration looms closer...

Peace out!

-James. M

James M's review of Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie aka Sonic the OVA

 

Welcome back to the Sonic-verse, today, we're traveling back to the 1990s to look at another Sonic animation. We've covered the first two Sonic cartoons and Underground, but we've not yet covered another obscure part of Sonic's past, we're looking at the Sonic OVA aka Sonic The Hedgehog: The Movie (which is not to be confused with the Sonic movie that came out nearly 25 years later.

So, what's the story behind this anime?

Well, back in 1996, Sonic was very popular in America with several games, an ongoing comic book and two shows under his belt. But meanwhile in Japan, SEGA Enterprises wanted to do a Sonic show themselves, especially as Sonic had never done an anime at this point. 

So, they partnered with Studio Pierrot to work on the project with Sonic Team's Yuji Naka and Naoto Oshima supervising the project. However, since Sonic wasn't super popular in Japan, the OVA flopped and only two episodes were done. After that, it wouldn't come out in America until 1999 when the first Sonic Adventure was releasing alongside the Dreamcast.

In the years after this piece of Sonic media released, I saw it myself with my father on YouTube in 2015 and then saw it again with my mother a few years later. The OVA is quite good, too bad SEGA refuses to touch anything from it or even allow any material from the OVA to pop up in other Sonic media, especially since (unlike the DiC shows) it is almost faithful to the source material.

Now, what is the story and world of the OVA like?

Well, Sonic and Tails live on Planet Freedom, which is implied to be a post-apocalyptic Earth, and their enemy Doctor Robotnik kidnaps the president's daughter Sara while tricking Sonic to go down to Robotnikland so the villainous doctor can create Metal Sonic with the hedgehog's DNA. Robotnik intends to devastate Planet Freedom and marry Sara, which is near creepy too. The show features the likes of Knuckles the Echidna (who made his animation debut before appearing in Sonic Underground) and other colorful characters such as Old Man Owl, the President and, of course, Sara.

Its also a no brainer that Metal Sonic shows up and is Sonic's adversary in this two part movie, he and Sonic fight near the end, which leads to the now well-known meme-worthy line of "strange isn't it". Thanks to the likes of Tyson Hesse and the resurgence of Classic Sonic in the 2010s, the OVA became somewhat relevant again and is often referenced in many ways without causing much of an issue. 

Until Sonic X came along seven years later, the OVA was the only instance of a Sonic anime that ever came out and X was more successful than the 1996 movie ever was. Regardless, the Sonic OVA is a product of its time and deserves to be watched, this anime is nothing short of fun and has so many good moments sprinkled throughout. If you're a fan of Sonic, this is a must see.

My score for the Sonic OVA gets a 9.5/10, its likable and unforgettable. In regards to the possibility of any material from this piece of Sonic history seeing the light of day again, we may never know, but anything and everything is possible in the multiverse. Thank you and good day...

-CVGW James 

James M's review of Star Wars The Mandalorian season two (2020)

 

Welcome back to that galaxy far, far away, friends. After much delay, we're finally delving into season two of STAR WARS: THE MANDALORIAN, which aired all the way back in 2020 from October to December. Its high time we do that, so lets not delay any longer...

Just like the first season, Mandalorian season two consists of over eight episodes. Also, season two continues from where season one left off with Din D'Jarin's quest to protect The Child and help him find The Jedi after defeating Moff Gideon in the season one finale. 

This season marks the live-action debut of characters such as Ahsoka Tano from The Clone Wars and Rebels alongside Bo-Katan as well as Cob Vanth from the Star Wars Aftermath trilogy of books.

Boba Fett finally makes his return in this, having survived the Sarlacc pit when we last saw him during the events of 1983's Return of The Jedi. He even lost his armor, which ended up in the hands of Cob Vanth himself, which he wore as a sheriff on Tatooine until Din helps him and a band of Tusken Raiders defeat a Krayt Dragon in the very first episode, the same episode in which Boba Fett shows up.

When we run into Ahsoka a couple episodes later, we also learn more about The Child, discovering that his name is Grogu and he is a Jedi youngling who survived the chaotic events of Order 66 and was hidden away for years until Din found him. 

We also discover that Ahsoka is still looking for Ezra Bridger, which will become a plot point in her upcoming show, and she is seeking out Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was last seen in Star Wars Rebels being defeated in the series finale. 

The finale to the show's second season gets very interesting, especially when Moff Gideon kidnaps Grogu for his own uses. Din teams up with Boba Fett, a surviving Fennic Shand, Cara Dune and Bo-Katan to find and storm Moff Gideon's Star Destroyer to rescue the young Yoda-like child. Din fights Dark Troopers (which make their canon debut) and then battles Moff Gideon, who has the Darksaber which we saw him with near the end of the season one finale.

But even after Gideon's defeat, Din and his crew still have to contend with the Dark Troopers, but help arrives in form of none other than Luke Skywalker (with Mark Hamill reprising his role). Luke cuts his way through the Dark Troopers in a sequence that made a lot of fans smile and saves Din's group, but he's here to pick up Grogu and help him get back on the Jedi path.

Din has a heartfelt goodbye with Grogu and we watch as Luke goes off with him as season two draws to an end. However, its not done yet. A post-credits scene shows Boba Fett and Fennic Shand return to Tatooine where they enter Jabba The Hutt's place and kill the still-alive Bib Fortuna, leading to Boba taking the throne to himself, setting up the events of The Book Of Boba Fett (2021).

Season two of The Mandalorian was very entertaining with some very good episodes that will never be forgotten, even Luke Skywalker's appearance was great to see and satisfying enough to those who were upset by how he was handled in the Sequel Trilogy (specifically The Last Jedi). With Grogu no longer a plot point in the show, we have to see where The Mandalorian goes from there in season three, which will be airing down the road in 2022. Pedro Pascal fills the role of The Mandalorian title character flawlessly, it is also rumored that Luke may make another appearance in season three.

My definitive final score for season two is a 9.8 out of 10, The Mandalorian's an excellent addition to the legacy of Star Wars and is worth rewatching again and again. Now, I say farewell, may the Force be with you, always.

-James. M

James. M's review of Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II (1984 & 1989)

 

Greetings, supernatural nerds, we're diving into another movie review. But this one is a double feature, its the first Ghostbusters movie from 1984 and its 1989 sequel both starring Bill Murray, Rick Moranis, Dan Aykroyd and Alien's Sigourney Weaver. Both were well-received movies and went on to become pop-culture products of their era, spanning a franchise consisting of a couple video games and various comic books as well as a cartoon show.

So, what's the story of all two films here?

In the first film, after Peter Venkmen, Egon Spangler and Ray Stanz investigate a ghostly phenomenon in a library in New York, they go into a supernatural investigation and ghost catching buisness calling themselves the Ghostbusters. As more spooky situations start popping up, its soon discovered that an ancient god called Gozer is coming to destroy the world so its up to the Ghostbusters to stop him.

And in the second movie, after going out of buisness following the battle with Gozer in the first film, the Ghostbusters have to get back together when pink slime is discovered under New York and they catch wind that a dead evil dictator named Vigo the Carpathian is planning to return from the dead and take possession of Daina Barret's baby son Oscar on New Year's.

Now that the plots are out of the way, what do people like me think of Ghostbusters?

Overall, they're nothing short of decent, comedic and almost serious 1980s movie fun. The producers knew what stories they were aiming to tell and the actors helped tell the story perfectly. The Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man, Gozer's pre-chosen form by Ray, in the first film went on to become an icon in pop culture and is somewhat of a meme now and then.

The tone of both movies manages to find a perfect balance between light-hearted comedic storytelling and when to get serious, especially with the big villains of the first and second films respectively. In regards to the cast of the movies, Bill Murray is perhaps one of the greatest out of the entire Ghostbusters cast, even Sigourney is a treasure to see, especially for those who are fans of her work. 

I don't have anything else to say, not only is there great acting and good storytelling in these movies, but the musical score is well done and there are some great special effects as well. These movies deserve the love they got, if anybody out there hasn't seen it, go see it. You do not want to miss out on some fun 1980s classics, especially when it comes to supernatural comedy films like Ghostbusters.

Ghostbusters I gets an 9.5 out of 10 and Ghostbusters II gets a 9.9/10. These movies are so loved and the franchise is so popular, a third film was finally launched after languishing in development heck for years while an all-female reboot in 2016 was released, but we'll save that one for another day.

Now, I bid you farewell. See you in the next movie review...

-James. M

James M's review of The Sonic Encyclospeedia (2021)

2021, ten years after Sonic's 20th Anniversary and five years after his twenty-fifth, SEGA and the fandom celebrated Sonic's long-awaited 30th Anniversary. The anniversary technically began a year in advance with the release of the highly-anticipated Sonic The Hedgehog movie from Paramount which was a love letter to the franchise and rejuvenated Sonic after years of declining popularity, returning him to a status of high-popularity not seen since the 1990s.

And amidst all that was going on, SEGA collaborated with Dark Horse Comics and popular writer Ian Flynn, not to create a Sonic comic, but to create a book that served as a complete history guide to the decades-worth of Sonic games. This was the Sonic Encyclospeedia.

I got this for Christmas after weeks of seeing other people reading it and read the entire thing in one sitting while opening up gifts on Christmas Eve. So, what do I think about it? Well, Ian is a great writer and he put a lot of effort into that research and everything that we saw about the games and the franchise factoids that popped up in this Encyclospeedia.

Did it clean up any lore inconsistencies? 

Maybe.

Were there any acknowledgements of other Sonic media aside from the games?

Yes, both Archie, Fleetway, SatAM, AoSTH and Sonic Boom were directly and indirectly acknowledged in this very book along with Sonic Chronicles, which had a section of its own. And at the start of the book, there was a sweet message from Takashi Iizuka, the head of Sonic Team and semi-steward of the Sonic franchise.

Take a moment and look at it, read it all. No matter what the fans think of him, Iizuka cares very deeply about Sonic just like everyone else and will do what he can to ensure the blue blur succeeds globally, even if he, the rest of his team and the rest of the franchise were held down by corporate restrictions from the higher-ups at SEGA of Japan.

And after years of working on Sonic projects with SEGA and having been part of the fandom (as well as the franchise's history), writer Ian Flynn knew what he was doing and knows what he is doing, especially with what he's given and how he navigates certain restrains. Just like Iizuka, Ian cares about the franchise, its world and the characters. He worked so hard on the comics and became so popular with the fanbase, this man deserves his long-awaited promotion to writer for the games' stories.

Yup, the man behind the story for the (as of right now) upcoming Sonic Frontiers video game is the same man who worked on this, Archie Sonic during its last decade, some Sonic Boom episodes, and IDW Sonic. Heck, he's also involved with the multiverse-spanning adventure show Sonic Prime.

Overall, the Sonic Encyclospeedia is a good read alongside the Mario Encyclospeedia (which also came out during the Mario Bros franchise's 30th anniversary), the Hyrule Historia, Breath Of The Wild Creating a Champion and the Hyrule Encyclospeedia. If anybody out there wants to learn more about the games, get this book, its great. 

However, this is not the first time Ian Flynn wrote a Sonic encyclopedia. All the way back in 2012, well before the reboot, Archie Sonic received an encyclopedia that contained nearly two decades of lore compiled together. And by pure coincidence, the Encyclospeedia is coming out right as the Sonic games are about to go through a reboot of some kind. History can repeat in many impossible ways.

My overall score for the Encyclospeedia is a 9.5/10, its a must-have and a must-read for the Sonic fans, be it newcomers or long-time fans. As I said before, if you don't have it yet, go get it. Now, I take my leave. Have a good life out there, don't get sick and don't hurt yourself. And remember, gotta go fast.

-James. M

 

James M's review of Hulk (2003)

 

Greetings again, true believers, we're back to review somethin' green. Its... HULK!

Released in 2003 and starring Eric Bana as the scientist Bruce Banner and his alter ego known as The Hulk, this movie made a lot of money and was kinda mixed with both fans and critics. However, this movie's legacy lives on to this very day, but plans for a sequel were scrapped and the next Hulk movie titled The Incredible Hulk released five years later as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I saw this film back in 2018 when dad got it on DVD and I watched it again a few years later. And despite what the critics say about films like this, Hulk isn't too bad. Its actually fun, just like every film we've seen that never performed well. Eric Bana was the perfect fit for Bruce/Hulk at the time, even though Mark Ruffalo does play him well nowadays in the MCU.

So, what's the story?

Scientist David Banner, after running experiments for the millitary, getting canned by General Ross and experimenting on himself, has a son named Bruce who picks up some of his father's mutating DNA. David gets into a fight with his wife and kills her when he tries to kill Bruce, who is then put into foster care. Years later, Bruce attends a college and winds up getting dosed with gamma radiation during an experiment.

After a reunion with his father, who has aged since Bruce was a boy, and learning the truth that was hidden from him, Bruce becomes angry and turns into a green monster, he wrecks the area and terrifies David before going on the run. David is then visited by Bruce's partner Betty, who questions him about his work, and later experiments on his dogs, turning them into monsters and sending them after Betty.

Bruce turns into the Hulk and saves Betty from David's dogs, but then Betty calls her father General Ross a day later and the army takes the now-captive Bruce to their base in the desert. But not long after, Bruce transforms into the Hulk again and breaks out, going to San Francisco. Once there, after a fight with the army, Bruce sees Betty and calms down. Meanwhile, David runs another gamma experiment on himself and becomes an entity similar to the Marvel villain known as the Absorbing Man.

David visits the captive Bruce and has a chat with him, revealing that he's become insane and bites down into a power cord, which triggers his transformation into an energy creature when Ross powers it up. Bruce turns into the Hulk and battles his father until he gains the upper hand and the general deploys a Gamma Charge Bomb against both Hulk and David. However, Bruce survives and goes into hiding in the Amazon as a medical doctor.

Many months later, during Bruce's exile, a group of regime soldiers arrive to harass a group of locals and Bruce confronts one of them. "You're making me angry..." He says, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry." And the film ends with the roar of the Hulk.

That's pretty much the movie. And as I've said before, I think its a decent movie. It may have some issues and dated effects, but the experience isn't as bad as some people would try to make it out to be. The acting and the dialogue looks fine by today's standards and the plot is easy to understand once you know what's going on. HULK gets an 9.9 out of 10, this film is worth multiple viewings. 

As of this post, there is a rumor that the Eric Bana version of Bruce/Hulk will appear in Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange & The Multiverse of Madness. If that is true, then that would be fun to see, anything is possible with the multiverse and multiverse stories can be big (but not big as in the ambitious kind). Now, I sign off with an optimistic smile. See you later, comic book and movie nerds.

-James. M

 

James M's review of Scooby Doo (2002)

Hellooooooooooooooo, friends. Its me again and I'm back to review...

SCOOBY-DOO... The movie.

That's right, we're reviewing the first live-action Scooby Dooby Doo movie released in 2002 almost twenty years ago as of this one. What makes this film so special, you may ask?

Well, it got me back into Scooby-Doo after I spent so long away from it, even though, at the time, the only Scooby-related thing I'd done was the Spooky Swamp Mystery video game on the Wii. It may as well have fully reignited my Scooby Doo fandom as, since then, I've been watching Scooby-Doo stuff now and then and I'm soon going to watch the SCOOB movie!

So who plays the characters in this movie, the cast is very important after all. Well, right off the bat, Freddie Prinze Jr. plays the role of Fred, the leader of Mystery Inc. 

As for the roles of the other characters, well, its simple. Neil Fanning voices Scooby Doo, Mathew Lillard plays Shaggy, Sarah Michelle Gellar is Daphne Blake and Linda Cardellini plays Velma Dinkley. The famous British actor Rowin Atkinson is in it as Emile Mondavarious and the role of the main villain of the film, Scooby's nephew Scrappy, is handled by Scott Innes. 

Quite the cast, eh?

Now, lets stop wasting time and get to the story.

Plot:

The film opens up with the Scooby gang tackling the Lunar Ghost haunting a shoe factory and, after some hijinks with Scooby and Shaggy's cowardly antics, they capture the ghost and unmask him as Old Man Smithers (played by the great Jim Cummings), who wanted revenge for celebrity Pamela Anderson turning him down when he wanted to go on a date with her. Poor Smithers, but crime doesn't pay in the end.

Oh, wait, there's something missing.

"I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for your meddling kids and your dog." Smithers yells.

"Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" Scooby howls happily in response. 

However, after the case is taken care of, the gang gets into an argument outside and, when Shaggy tries to defuse the situation, Fred, Daphne and Velma go their separate ways. Feeling upset by this, Shaggy and Scooby go off on their own in the Mystery Machine. By the way, I love the acting with this scene, Mr. Lillard sold it very well when conveying Shaggy's emotions.

A couple years later, Shaggy and Scooby are still on their own and doing what they do best. One day, while they're about to have lunch in the Mystery Machine by the beach, the two are visited by a man who works for Mr. Emile Mondavarious of Spooky Island, asking them for their help while promising Shaggy and Scooby they have an "all you can eat buffet". 

The two head to the airport to go to Spooky Island and are reunited with Fred, Daphne and Velma, reluctantly bringing Mystery Inc back together. On the way to the island, Shaggy meets a girl named Mary Jane (no, not Mary Jane Watson, its just a name). The gang arrives at Spooky Island and quickly meet Mr. Mondavarious, who explains the island's tourists are being hypnotized.

Later, during a spooky party hosted by an actor named N'Goo Tuana and his luchador Zarkos, Velma discovers the island was once home to ancient demons, who now plot revenge on those who have taken over the place. The gang heads to a haunted castle attraction to look for clues and, after braving some dangerous areas, they find a hypnosis chamber while discovering and taking an artifact known as the Daemon Ritus before making their escape. 

Back at the hotel, trouble ensues when Daemons attack and kidnap almost everyone in the area along with Fred, Mr. Mondavarious and Velma except for Scooby, Shaggy, Mary Jane and Daphne, who narrowly escape the attack. The next day, they notice something wrong when they see everyone acting normally and the hotel's windows restored. 

However, when Shaggy and Scooby interact with Fred at a pool party, its clear that the Daemons have possessed the tourists including Fred. While on the run from the villains however, Mary Jane ends up getting possessed by a demon herself and Shaggy gets separated from Scooby before coming across a chamber with a vat of protoplasm that contains the souls of the possessed.

Shaggy frees Fred and Velma's souls along with Daphne's and they return to their bodies. However, a mix-up happens when Fred travels to Daphne's body while Daphne travels to Fred's body even though Velma is able to get her body back. While that is happening, its revealed that the Daemons are sensitive to sunlight when Velma opens a window when Fred takes Daphne's Demon-possessed body.

The gang meets up and try to fix everything and, after a lot of soul swapping, Fred is restored to his body and Daphne gets hers back. When investigating an explosion that came from the beach, they meet a voodoo man, whom Daphne met the night before.

The voodoo man explains that he's preparing for when the Darkopocalypse ritual happens as the Daemons are getting ready to take over the world for ten thousand years. After he leaves to figure out the right voodoo spell that can protect himself, the gang takes in what they learned and they realize the Daemons need Scooby for the ritual. Right at that moment, we learn that Scooby is meeting with Mr. Mondavarious who tells him that he would like him to be a sacrifice.

Mystery Inc formulates a plan to prevent the Daemons' plot from succeeding and head to the ceremonial chamber right to start their plan. But as they're getting into action, the ritual begins. Shaggy manages to free Scooby and make amends with him after a fight they had earlier while Fred and Velma tackle Mr. Mondavarious, who is revealed to be a man in a mask.

However, when they remove the mask, its revealed Mondavarious is a robot operated by *spoiler warning* former Mystery Inc member and Scooby's nephew Scrappy Doo himself. That's right, after Mystery Inc dumped him at some point in the past, Scrappy made his way to Spooky Island and took over before formulating his plan to conquer the world with the Darkopocolypse.

Shortly after his unmasking, Scrappy Doo, having absorbed enough souls, transforms into a giant monster and attacks Mystery Inc. At that very second, Daphne is battling the luchador Zarkos and knocks him into the chamber into the protoplasm vat, freeing the spirits and ensuring the Daemons defeat. Scrappy loses his power and gets knocked out by Scooby, his plan finally ruined.

The police arrived and arrest Scrappy along with his henchmen while everybody celebrates as the movie comes to an end. In a mid-credits sequence, with all said and done, Shaggy and Scooby finally hit that "all you can eat buffet" and eat some hot food to comical effects.

Final thoughts:

SCOOBY-DOO is a fun movie that's worth any Scooby-Doo fan's time, it is faithful to what inspired it and the story is an absolute blast to watch. Even the actors are very familiar with the characters they're playing, the effects seem to have aged very well, especially the CGI portraying Scooby. The film was so well-received and successful when it first came out, a sequel was released a few years later. This is a part of Scooby Doo history worth revisiting again and again.

Fun fact, James Gunn was involved with the project and it was originally gonna be R-rated. Thankfully, the studio made this film family-friendly. Who wants an R-rated Scooby Doo movie anyway? Scooby is family-friendly, not a raunchy comedy. 

I am so thankful this movie reignited my love for Scooby, I give this film a ten out of ten. I see no flaws with this, the effects and the acting and the score are all well-crafted. Scooby Doo the movie is a product of its time and deserves the respect it got years ago. Live-action adaptations of animated properties are very fun to watch, just as animation is fun to see.

Now, I must go. SCOOBY-DOOBY-DOO!!!

-James. M