It's Thursday, we reached May, this week's post is huge, let's get some comics-y superhero-y goodness!
Films
Warning: this section briefly discusses both general and domestic violence.
I got around to watching Venom 2 (aka Venom: Let There Be Carnage) this week.
I'm a big fan of Venom - and I really enjoyed this one.
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Tom Hardy is excellent as Eddie Brock. End of.
And the randomness was still there, which is always good - gotta have that randomness in there 😉😎
But... I would've preferred it if we could've sacrificed at least one action scene in favour of exploring some more of the emotional stuff, the intriguing stuff, the character-based stuff.
I know, I know - it's difficult for any superhero and/or anti-hero film to balance all of the things that every section of the audience wants to see.
...But there are so many fight and/or action scenes, that nothing would've be lost if we trimmed them down a bit.
I know the first film got criticised for being such a mash-up, but honestly... that's Venom.
Venom as a character is both humour and tragedy; obssession and apathy.
And the first film gave us that. It gave us the essence of Venom.
This one was very much comic-book-plot-based.
Which there's nothing wrong with!
But... when you've been serving me ice-cream, I'm not gonna be 100% on board when you hand me a cereal bar the next time. There's nothing wrong with cereal bars, it's just that I wanted ice-cream!
(...and I have no idea where that analogy came from 😅 )
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Also, the relationship between Eddie and Venom was... messy, here.
I don't mean the relationship itself is messy - although, it obviously is - I mean that the way it was handled is messy.
...Why should we desperately want Eddie and Venom to be together when they're both acting so abusively towards each other?
I mean that in a physical sense, as well as an emotional one.
They literally physically fight in this film, and then we're back to equating them with being a couple that the audience should want together. That's not healthy, right?
You know who I would love to take on Venom? Taika Waititi.
...and not just because I love pretty much all of his work, but because this is the kind of multi-faceted dark-and-light stuff he would excel at.
So, Marvel executives and Hollywood bigwigs who clearly all read this blog - get on that, OK? 😅
TV Shows
*Takes a deep breath* OK... let's talk episode 5 of Marvel's Moon Knight.
As always, there's a non-spoiler section followed by a clearly marked SPOILER section.
Most of the stuff about this episode is in the SPOILER section, just cos it's one of those episodes you can't really talk about without getting into the details.
OMG, this episode was intense!
This was like... angst fanfiction levels of intense!
(Literally, in my notes for this episode, I have written the words 'AH! THE ANGST!')
Phew!
...You know I love the angst though 😅
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We got to see Marc and Steven both grapple with some very tough sh** this episode...
I loved the way their reactions were often similar, but never exactly the same.
And Oscar Isaac did an awesome job, fair play!
Amongst everything, we also got some Jewish representation in this episode
- that being a canonic (i.e. 'official') aspect of Marc Spector's character in the comics.
To my gentile (non-Jewish) eyes, it seemed to be done very well - the kind of casual rep. that most marginalised and diverse identities would aim for.
...But obviously, Jewish viewers - especially Orthodox Ashkenazic viewers, which I think is what Marc is - may have a different view, since I wouldn't know if culturally-specific things are off in any way.
SPOILERS!
Warning: this section discusses grief, death, and child abuse
Where to start on the SPOILER-y stuff...?
So much happened in this episode!
OK, so hippo-lady is not Hathor - she is in fact Taweret
(And yes, I Googled the name/spelling! 😅)
...and I LOVE HER!!!! She's both sweet and a bad-a**! I mean, how awesome is that?
And I just love her *waves hands in an all-encompassing motion* hippo-ness!
Plus I was both unnerved by her human-like hands, and completely in awe of her blue nail polish 😅
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I love that when Steven figures out she's Taweret, the fact that they're dead takes a definitive backseat to his fanboying!
Like - who cares if I'm dead, hippo-lady is Taweret! Lol.
I loved how she and Steven randomly got along so well, and when Marc suggested they 'kill the hippo,' Steven's face is basically: No! Bad Marc! Down boy! 😅
Likewise, love the interactions with Steven and 'Doctor' Harrow.
...The Ned Flanders comment re: the moustache was actually amazing 😅
Harrow def. came across as the most smarmy and irritating of doctors - like, even if/when he makes sense, I would really wanna slap him if I was Marc or Steven!
And - I get that Steven/Marc's mother sucks. NOTHING excuses her abuse. NOTHING.
But there was a moment she had at Ro's funeral which tore at my heart.
...The bit where she's crying 'I want him back!'
That right there? That hit hard.
I've... I've actually done that.
Not at a funeral, luckily (although please, do not feel embarrassed if you have,) but after losing people, I actually have done that exact desparate cry to the universe while someone physically holds you up.
...The acting was excellent. That's grief. Raw and true.
WHAT WAS THAT ENDING THOUGH?!
No, nope. Nuh-uh.
You bring my cinnamon roll Steven Grant outta the weird lost-souls zombie-desert Marvel! I mean it!
*cries in fangirl*
END SPOILERS!
Other Stuff
Sticking with Moon Knight for a moment, I have videos showing a few views on the series from people with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) for ya:
Warning for all videos: discussions of sensitive topics, including but not limited to: mental health problems, violence, murder, trauma, and child abuse.
The first one is Charlie from DID system and YouTube channel braiDIDbunch, with the follow-up to the video I shared last week.
In this one, she looks at episodes 3 and 4:
Run-time: 19.17
Here's Xyla Star from DID system and YouTube channel The Star System talking about episode 1:
Warning: flashing images
Run-time: 8.00
...And Xyla Star's video on episode 2, as well:
Warning: flashing images
Run-time: 9.33
...I'll be back with more discussions from people with DID on this series next week, but I didn't want to overwhelm everyone by dumping too many videos at once! Lol. 😅
The CW's DC shows were trimmed down this week, with the announcement that both Batwoman and Legends of Tomorrow have been cancelled.
...the post-Arrow Arrowverse seems to be losing shows rapidly, and the prevailing theory is that CW is streamlining its properties ahead of a possible sale.
Batwoman comes to an end after 3 series - one with Ruby Rose as Kate Kane, and two with Javicia Leslie as Ryan Wilder.
In honesty, it's not that big of a surprise - Batwoman has forever been hampered by Internet dude-bros who are threatened by female superheroes... and Queer people... and Black people... and basically anyone who isn't their narrow definition of 'normal.'
By itself that's something that the show could've withheld, but there's been a distinct lack of direction to the plots since Ruby Rose left (even though Javicia Leslie is also amazing, ofc.)
...And then with the PR nightmare of Ruby Rose's revelations, and the fact that Batwoman is still relatively new within the expanded universe... it was always gonna be up for the chop.
Legends of Tomorrow... feels like more of a significant loss.
(No shade to Batwoman! I love Batwoman.)
Legends of Tomorrow has had seven series since 2016, and this quirky, quite frankly batpoop, little show, somehow became a cornerstone of the CW DC shows.
It's one of my forever faves - and not only because Sara Lance (played by Caity Lotz,) has been a significant part of all seven series.
The absolute 'f**k yeah, let's go with it,' attitude, and the ability to entirely change the vibe and keep things fresh every season, made this show something that stood on its own two feet amongst a plethora of capes and masks.
In last week's Friday Fics Fix, I recommended schmoopy fanfiction with Tony Stark and Loki (don't judge me!)
And to end with some traditional shameless self-promo:
- ...both of which I originally wrote about in last week's Comics Wrap-Up here
Have you seen Venom: Let There Be Carnage?
What do you think of the CW cancellations?
Talk to me! 😊💬
Previous Comics Wrap-Up Posts:
Sharing and commenting is as awesome as a hippo lady! 😅
I really enjoyed episode five. Like you said, Oscar Isaac did a fantastic job and I loved Taweret. That ending though was so emotional. Very sad, I can't wait to see the finale.
ReplyDelete*incoherent fangirling noises!* ;) <3
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