Iron Fist Season 2 Review

I don't know what it took to turn this ship around, but in my eyes, the show has completely transformed. Maybe it was getting rid of former showrunner Scott Buck. Maybe it was the benefit of the character's evolution thanks to his arc in The Defenders. Maybe it's the return to more authentic comic roots, rather than trying to one-up the CW and their stereotypical "I'm so privileged but I have nothing, woe is me" attitude. In my eyes, it's a combination of all these factors. Stakes are raised, characters are expanded, and the overall quality has improved so significantly that I'm honestly so thrilled to have watched it. More than anything, Season 2 of Iron Fist has left me clamoring for more.

One of the things the show gets right is it re-works Danny Rand. No longer is he the mopey, loner warrior that he was. He still struggles with the history he has at K'un-Lun, the mythical world where Rand trained to become the Iron Fist, but he's not isolating himself. He's engaging with New York in a more personable manner. He's moved in with his girlfriend and the highlight of last season, Colleen Wing. He's working as a mover for a local company in the city. He's left the suits for the sweatpants. In the wake of The Defenders, Danny has really taken to getting to know the city, particularly his neighborhood of Chinatown, and it delivers a more satisfying approach to the hero. While Danny is still active as the Iron Fist, Colleen is trying to retire from training in that life. She wants to be more involved in her community, but not as a vigilante. She's working in a community center, she's trying to shepherd troubled kids away from gang life, but she's finding that the vigilante spirit within her is calling her back to the streets. The dichotomy of Danny and Colleen's relationship and how they mirror one another is an interesting arc to follow throughout the series.

Ward has some depth this season

Ward Meachum, Danny's adoptive brother, returns to deal with his own trauma of addiction and abandonment in the wake of last season. I've always admired the performance of Ward, even if it is somewhat samey every time. There's something enigmatic to the character's attitude that holds your attention when he's on-screen. It's unfortunate that his sister didn't get the same treatment. Joy Meachum is on a warpath for Danny and Ward, but it's stereotypical and not at all interesting; it's nothing you haven't seen before. The only different thing in her revenge arc is the recruitment of Davos, Danny's brother from K'un-Lun and the penultimate villain of the season, the Steel Serpent. While his interplay with Danny can be interesting, I found the performance of the character overall bland and disconnected. It's hard to make villains who have 'revenge' as their motivation interesting, and this season wasn't able to do much with that. The newcomer that held my interest the most was Mary Walker, a P.I. not unlike Jessica Jones, but most definitely far more volatile. She's got a secret that I won't spill here, but I thought her presence in the show added a ferocity the show was always lacking.

Mary's just a small-town girl...
or is she?

If I were actually to describe this show's tone, it would be ferocious. Season 1 always felt low-bar, bare bones, especially compared to its contemporaries. The action is significantly improved in this season, the choreography has taken a step up, and the camerawork has advanced greatly. The show has a better look overall, with more dynamic lighting and more interesting framing decisions. It's all a visual upgrade and can completely be attributed to the absence of bad leadership that the first season had. Not only that, but season 2 runs shorter with only 10 episodes. It makes the pace of the show move so much better, I sincerely hope the other Marvel Netflix shows consider adopting this format.

Technically, artistically, narratively, Iron Fist Season 2 seems to have learned from the mistakes its inaugural run made. It's not perfect, but it's far more entertaining than its predecessor and well worth your time and investment this fall.

Davos and Danny's fights are
electrifying

Rating: 8/10

Luke Cage Season 2 Review

In a tale of two's, I'm coming back to review Luke Cage. A year after the events of The Defenders, which crossed over Netflix's Marvel heroes in an eight-episode miniseries, Luke Cage returns to Harlem to keep the peace. In a markedly strong return and a refreshed focus on stronger villains and a more consistent arc, season two is a welcome return for the character, his world, and a vast improvement over the inconsistent inaugural season.

We're welcomed back to Harlem and Luke's world as he's riding a mix of highs and lows. He's at an all-time popularity with the community, but short on money and means to continue to live somewhat comfortably. He doesn't want to be a police officer, but he also doesn't want to use his powers to sell out. It's this personal conflict, between needs and wants, that provides the strongest through-line for Luke throughout the season. This theme intersects with discussions about race and manhood, particularly black manhood, but more than anything it's a very personal journey for Luke. His struggle is mirrored with his descent towards more vigilantism rather than protector.

Mariah's return adds interesting
layers to the overall conflic

Misty has more action
thank before, thanks to
her advanced prosthetic
arm

But season two has plenty of other characters to fill your time with. Misty Knight gets a significant amount of screen time, and it's gladly appreciated. To this day, I still believe she's the unsung hero of the series. She's tough, she's true, she's deep. But she's got her own battles. She didn't walk away from The Defenders unscathed, and the repercussions for those events ring in her life everyday; how she works, how she lives, how she fights. And she does fight, against the new arrival and the primary antagonist for the season: Bushmaster, a Jamaican gangster who can take a hit just as well as Luke can, but he's motivated with much more anger than his adversary. It's Bushmaster's presence in Harlem that provides Cage great retrospective on how he uses his own anger to achieve justice; justice, specifically, that needs to be dealt with returning villain Mariah Dillard, cousin to last season's villain Cottonmouth and now spiraling out of control with fear of what Bushmaster and Cage are coming to her for. While there's more interesting depth given to Mariah and her world, the star villain is most definitely Bushmaster. Calmer than Cottonmouth, more charismatic than Mariah, and more interesting than Diamondback, Bushmaster is the exact adversary that Luke Cage was needing.

Bushmaster has a lot of surprises

Something that definitely needs to be remarked is the music in the show. It's its own character, and it helps to shape the identity of the show. Whether it be during an action sequence, a dramatic monologue, or simply a montage of Luke Cage doing his thing, the music has a rhythm and soul to it that I don't know I've ever seen from any other television show. Even during a low point, you can't help but bob your head to the beat.

The season keeps you continually engaged, but it still feels like 13 episodes may be too long a slog, especially in the late game, where momentum is halted to give flashback context to some of the conflict in the season. Nevertheless, Luke Cage Season 2 is an overall better experience than its predecessor, and its surprising cliffhanger leaves you clamoring for more.


 

Rating: 9/10

American Vandal: Season 2 Review

I didn't review the first season of American Vandal, but suffice to say, I adored it. The expert cinematography that made me feel like I was watching a true documentary, the hilarious, albeit at times childish, themes and dialogue, and the wonderful characterization and acting was all spectacular; it hooked me so well that I binged all eight episodes the night the season dropped. The most fascinating thing about it, however, was the insight it had into the lives of teenagers in high school, the politics of running an educational institution, and the tragedy that can befall people who are taken over by the perception of others. As far as season two goes, you can expect more of the same, but being that it's the second time around, it's not as refreshing or original as you may remember it.

Peter and Sam, above, are all about
defending Kevin, below

Like I said, the cinematography, as well as the editing, are absolutely stellar. The production value in it of itself is part of the comedy when the context is presented that it's produced by a Californian high school AV Club. But we're not set in California this time around. Our main producers and investigators Peter Maldonado (Tyler Alvarez) and Sam Ecklund (Griffin Gluck) take their winter break time and travel up to Bellevue, Washington to complete their senior projects by investigating an out-of-state true crime mystery. It turns out that the Season One of American Vandal that we knew wasn't the same one Peter and Sam originally uploaded to Vimeo. After being reached out by Netflix, Peter and Sam are in the big leagues: bigger production, bigger team, and bigger mystery. Because up in St. Bernadine Catholic School, a vandal was able to poison the cafeteria lemonade, forcing all of the students to make a bowel movement immediately. Video was captured, shame was brought upon people, and the school board and local authorities were being heavily pressured to take action. And after seemingly forcing to take the fall, we have another supposed victim for a crime he didn't commit: Kevin McClain (Trevor Tope). Less immediately sympathetic than our previous victim Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro) and played with less humor, McClain is still becoming of a wrongly accused individual who is dripping with reasonable doubt.

Tillerman (left) is a prime suspect
this season.

Contrasting Kevin is the other star of this season, Demarcus Tillman (Melvin Gregg). In terms of character, Tillman is able to provide a number of interesting character perspectives; for starters, being able to follow someone who is so immediately likable is a character that wasn't accessible in the toolbox for season one. Characters and actors can be likable, but Tillman is most obviously the most popular person in school. He's got influence, he's got charisma, and he's got real social capital. It opens up avenues for discussion around the need for schools to use students to make money, something older high school students and college kids can speak to very clearly. But Tillman's charisma also provides some brevity in a somewhat darker season. Things get real this time around.

Not that things weren't ever real. The stakes simply feel higher. Peter and Sam are in a completely new environment, but the stakes are different. They aren't connect to these students in the same way they are to their classmates back home. They're free to get more into the down and dirty. They've got the liberty of the school to be more investigative. The problem becomes, thematically, that they don't go quite as deep as they do with their previous investigation. That can come down to the fact that they found answers elsewhere, but I was personally disappointed to see that seeds planted about investigating school corruption weren't really followed up on; and if they were they were in the most minute of ways. It leaves for opportunity to focus more on students, but even then it feels lesser. Teachers aren't as involved (despite the fact that they probably should be) and the number of the students that feature importance seems lesser. Being in a private religious school should be a perfect avenue for this kind of social commentary, and offer more voices to be heard, but they simply aren't. It's one of those shortcomings that doesn't detract from the actual finished product, but it makes a viewer and audience member wish there was more done to explore on that particular front.

But overall, it's still a strong season for this show. It proves that American Vandal has the strength, wit, and talented storytelling to continue on for years to come. Peter and Sam should be finished by high school by the time a season three (fingers crossed!) should be coming around, so what's to explore? They're clearly both intelligent and set to go to successful colleges, which offer more beyond a high school AV club. But they're working with Netflix, the most successful streaming entertainment service around. Why should they slow down? I'm personally invested for the long-term future of this show. It's now a tradition that I binge it all at once the Friday that it's released in September. I can't wait until next year!

Rating: 8.75/10

Why I'm Excited for Godzilla: King of the Monsters

There's no doubt that the plot for the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters will appear to be an over-explained yet contrived way to have four different Toho Kaiju show up in one film all at once. I have faith that, while the main characters, who are to be played by the likes of Vera Farminga and Millie Bobby Brown, will be more interesting and better developed than those in the previous Godzilla film, they will also be far less interesting than the actual monsters we see. And I know that the trailers that will follow for this film will probably be better than the final product. But I can't help it. I'm all in for seeing giant monsters beat the crap out of each other.

Discounting the history of Godzilla, originally named Gojira, and the kind of bastardization of his original creation and message (which I can't effectively communicate to the extent that he's been pacified, so I recommend watching this video essay by kaptainkristian for more context - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGCTSSWT4lg), Godzilla has become a world icon alongside the likes of Superman, Bugs Bunny, and even Sherlock Holmes. While his iterations change from different studios and different eras, his sheer size, power, and presence have made him a mainstay Godzilla film where the titular character arrives at a Hawaiian airport to challenge another recently-reawakened Kaiju, and when he takes his first heavy step into the frame, the screaming and terror that preceded from the screen went silent. A
gradual pan up from his enormous feet, along the tough hide that covered his stomach, chest, and arms, followed all the way to the reveal of his face: not as round as in previous iterations, much more lizard-like, but not as drastically as the 1998 film's interpretation. With a quiet but noticeable build in a background chorus, Godzilla erupts with a roar at his opponent, not blinking once as he combats his new rival.
in popular culture. The most recent iteration done by Legendary Studios partnering with Warner Bros. has certainly grabbed my attention. His evolved, gutteral roar that both acts as an homage to his traditional Toho Studios sound while adding in the strength a monster of his size would have hooked me. There's a particular scene in the 2014

It's a phenomenal way to introduce the character. Too bad it cuts immediately after.

While we aren't privy to the fight that follows, and we won't get to truly see Godzilla in action until the third act of the film again, most people enjoyed themselves when Godzilla was on-screen. I can't help but think this has influenced the addition of three more Kaiju to the sequel; so that even if Godzilla isn't able to be in the movie more, either for narrative, financial, or VFX reasons, other monsters can fill that downtime. And personally, I'm fine with that deal. I've never seen the original Toho Godzilla films, so I haven't seen these King of the Monsters trailer has me looking forward to what they were showing. This sequel looks to be going bigger and better than ever, with it's monsters, with it's characters, with it's destruction.
monsters outside of a few YouTube clips. I don't know how wide Mothra's wings are compared to her contemporaries. I don't know how powerful Rodan is - I mean, c'mon, he's just a giant Pteranodon,  how cool can he be when you've got Mothra and Godzilla in the same movie? - and I don't know how dynamic Ghidorah can look while in a fight. But those teaser shots shown in the

I also have to give credit to Kong: Skull Island for my excitement for this film. That movie was a fun, enjoyable, summer romp that took place in the Spring, and I thought it was worthy reintroduction for the character. With the prospect that King Kong will be fighting Godzilla soon in 2020, I can't help but check out the next creature feature before that to whet my appetite.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters will probably be about as good a such a movie title suggests, thought it will certainly be better than what has come before it. But in an age where monster movies are hard to come by for Americans, especially with icons such as these, and coming in a year that seems somewhat sparse on summer blockbusters, you can bet your bottom I'm going to see it day one. And I guarantee you, when this following line is uttered, I'm gonna get the chills:

"Long Live the King."

Stranger Things 2 Series Review

I watched this series within all of my Friday night and early Saturday morning. I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to spare any time to not finishing the series. I was hooked from start to finish. If that doesn't sell you on the show enough, I don't know what will.

Stranger Things 2 picks up a year and change after the conclusion of its predecessor. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas are enjoying 8th grade and moving on up in the world. Joyce Byers is happy as can be, with an excellent new boyfriend in Bob Newby, and Will Byers has returned from the upside down and is enjoying his time back home, but his abduction and experience haunts him to no end. The central plot revolves around the fact that Will is still seeing terrifying things from the upside down. And while the government working with the Byers family, and everyone around him, suspect that Will is simply suffering from PTSD, we, the audience, know that it's just the beginning of another evil entity trying to enter our world.

The show's start-up into the sequel is an absolute joy, with introducing just enough when it comes to new characters, plot points, and dynamics at play that one doesn't feel like the show is going overboard trying to out-do itself. Rather, every aspect of the show feels like a deliberate evolution of the previous season, as well within itself. The most fun aspect of Stranger Things is how it took known tropes from 1980's filmmaking and subverted it ever-so-slightly to give it a different feeling: the 80's coming-of-age story a la Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the alien encounter story of Eleven and the boys paying homage to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, and Joyce's seemingly insane visions and encounters that reflect Close Encounters of the Third Kind are just a few that make the series that much more special.

The acting definitely helps the engagement of the show, though. It almost seems like Winona Ryder was waiting her whole life for the role of Joyce Byers, because she throws everything she's got into the role and emerges one of the strongest players of the show. David Harbor's delivery of Jim Hopper is always welcome, being the archetypal macho-man that the show needs, but the character himself isn't too inspired. The biggest, most pleasant surprise comes from Noah Schnapp playing Will Byers, who was relatively unseen in the previous series (because, y'know, the plot revolved around him missing). Out of all the kid actors, including strong newcomer Sadie Sink playing the all-around badass Max, Noah Schanpp has outshined nearly every single cast member, including fan-favorite Millie Bobby Brown playing Eleven. As the focal point of the series, I was absolutely thrilled to learn more about him, considering his absence in the first season. Noah is able to be just as intense as any adult actor, but gives off an authentic innocence that doesn't seem fake. Will Byers is absolutely the star here, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The special effects were somewhat lacking, I found. Where Stranger Things succeeded in acting as though they had the same special effect techniques and limitations of the '80s, Stranger Things 2 goes for more ambitious visuals that don't always pay off. The Mind Flayer's effects don't always work, particularly when he's in the Upisde Down with other actors involved. It's nothing especially bad, but it is considerably more noticeable compared to when the kids were just interacting with the Demogorgon.


 There's one more issue I have with Stranger Things 2, but because it's plot-related, I'm gonna save it for another post. Just throwing it out there that there's a plot issue in there from my perspective.

Despite the minor gripes I have with Stranger Things 2, I think the series has been elevated to a new level of complexity, action, and intrigue. Like I said, I stayed up late at night and well into the following morning because I was so invested in what I was watching, which is something I don't usually do when it comes to Netflix shows. This series is one of the best-produced in modern day. It seriously rivals the enjoyment I get from shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. If you have the means, don't delay - go watch!

Rating: 9/10

Stranger Things Review

A full year late for a review isn't half as bad as two full years late, when you think about it.

As a kid of the 2000's era, I cannot tell you how infuriating it is to constantly hear kids of the 80's whine and moan about how "nothing is as good as it was back then." I constantly HATE having my era and all its joys crapped on by the people in entertainment media who act so high-and-mighty that their nostalgia for a technologically-dry, socially-uneven, and disconnected time overshadows the amazing benefits and enjoyments that we find today. But I can safely say this: Stranger Things makes me understand their yearning for the 80's just a little bit better.

Stranger Things is one of those shows that you would think would be a hidden gem tucked away on some network like SyFy. The benefit of this series is that it has the budget and the support of Netflix, which allows the series to thrive. The best description I can give of this show is that it's a hodgepodge of the best of 80's cinema and culture: imagine if E.T., The Goonies, and Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind combined the most prominent elements of each of their films: the ominously hyper-aware government organizations, the group of kids on a whirlwind adventure, and the themes surrounding friendship, family, and love that permeate the story with weight and stakes. Stranger Things is an 8-episode journey that perfectly balances the horror, humor, and reality that kids and adults can face when presented with situations beyond their imagination; whether it's losing your child, your brother, your friend, or dealing with finding maturity in the midst of the action.

The acting is supremely superb from this group of young actors. What can sometimes be difficult when having child actors is getting them to emote the right way, or display the necessary facial cues that can help make dialogue or action believable. I won't say that each scene with the kids is nailed with perfection, but Stranger Things definitely displays the best child acting in a storytelling medium since the original The Conjuring film. And while certainly a lot of credit goes to those kids for their acting, the casting of these kids mixed with their effortless chemistry has to be taken into the account as to how their dynamics work. They act like real kids. They're somewhat flighty, they're self-interested when they think they can be, they're bold, they're dynamic, and their personalities clash. The acting from the adult actors like Winona Ryder and David Harbour is definitely stellar, but the series hangs on the abilities of the kids, and they deliver in spades.

Stranger Things is hard, in a sense, to unpack beyond an acting and thematically points of view thanks to the fact that it's seeping in mystery and mythology, as well as taking on at least three or four different character arcs all at once. It's a smartly told story, filled to the brim with character and narrative that's easy to follow without being overbearing or incomprehensible. This review, admittedly, will be short, thanks to the fact that I have no intention of spoiling the fun. If you are a Netflix subscriber, this is the first must-see on the service. And luckily enough, you'll have the opportunity to watch the second season immediately after the first. So stop reading this! Go watch Stranger Things!

Rating: 10/10*

*A 10/10 does not indicate a perfect score, but the score attributed to a masterpiece of modern work.

DC's Change into more Palpable Material: Reaction to the Justice League Trailer

Most people have consistently criticized DC Films for their dependency on darker, more serious themes compared to their rivals at Marvel Studios. While there can certainly be some hindrance to the identity of a franchise by gearing the films encompassing it in a dark overtone, I had never found that to personally be the issue with DC Films. Man of Steel was certainly not the happy-go-lucky Superman story many people are familiar with, but it succeeded in analyzing what a Superman in the real world might look like: how he might impact the lives of others, what his fears and doubts about his affect on the world might be. For all of the criticisms of Man of Steel and director Zack Snyder (and it's got it's fair share of criticism to have), it most certainly isn't the fault of the tone that the film fails in areas.


The same can be said for Zack Snyder's follow-up, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Folks might have been burned out with the dark and edgy DC Films tone (again, another fair critique since that's what we were exposed to in all DC films after The Dark Knight), but it's my opinion that the tone is not the primary problem of the versus film. The ultimate issue of BvS was its muddled plot, mixed with tons of exposition in the effort to set up the several films that would follow it. Not only that, but the disconnect in messaging from the film to the audience, in terms of expectations for the film's overall goal, was completely mishandled. Batman V Superman can certainly be described as a mess, but the tone definitely isn't the primary issue.


Enter Suicide Squad, a DC Film that arrived just 6 months after Batman V Superman, and give it to a studio so desperate to seem appealing to its audience that the retroactively edit what most likely would've been a dark, devious film featuring B-level DC Comics villains teaming up to go on a live-or-death mission mandated by a shady government organization, and change the tone of the film to be somewhat of a dark action-comedy featuring great musical hits every 7 minutes. The issues with Suicide Squad are actually more easily identifiable, in the splintered story, weak antagonist, and mismatched direction. And while I personally love Suicide Squad, I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend not to see it's problems.  But the tone is not one of them.


Wonder Woman thus gave audiences what they were clamoring for: a hero to support, to get behind, because Wonder Woman herself saw the best humanity could offer, and fought for it. Not dissimilar to a classical Superman or the modern Captain America, Wonder Woman restored the idea that the world is worth saving not because it happens to be the place where we live, but because the beings that live on it are capable of great things. And unlike the modern Superman, Wonder Woman was able to see that from the beginning, despite her own tribulations with them. Nevertheless, Wonder Woman was the DC Film audiences responded to the best, and DC executives most likely attributed that to the tone of hope.


So, we now see a Justice League film advertising both stakes and lighthearted fun: a Batman that is more charismatic, a Flash that cracks wise, a rock-star Aquaman. The color palette is of a brighter, more vibrant choice. The camera seems to be shooting sharper, clearer imagery. The CGI seems to be the best DC has had thus far. Justice League offers a culmination of a story started since 2013's Man of Steel, with both a change in identity of the franchise and attitude to filmmaking.

Now, this could also be because previous director Zack Snyder had to step down due to a family tragedy, and director Joss Whedom (The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron) has since made his mark on the film. Both are comic book fans, both grew up reading comics like The Justice League of America, but it's clear that Joss likes to stick more in the realm of comic books when creating his superhero projects, while Zack takes after Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and tries to ground his films as much as he can, while remaining true to the comic book aesthetic. Clearly, DC Films, tired of losing to their competitor in the critics' favor, have taken it upon themselves to borrow more elements that make Marvel films fan favorites than they originally planned.

I'll say this much: Justice League looks fun. It looks like high-octance, action-packed, superhero fun. The cast looks great, I'm interested in seeing how the humor turns out, and I'm engaged in seeing where this franchise goes as a result of the new direction, both in the overall tone and the narrative results of the film. I only hope that DC doesn't become "Marvel 2" as a result of them reading the wrong signals from the audience. Dark is okay. Dark can even be good! Look at the Marvel-Netflix TV series like Daredevil and Jessica Jones, it can be done well. DC Films doesn't have to sacrifice it's entire identity as a film series just because people are misconstruing the problems with their films. Again, Justice League looks like it's gonna be a good time at the movies, but I just wish it wasn't so obviously a change in trying to steal some of the Marvel glory.

Then again, the entire idea of a DC Film franchise was stolen from Marvel, so maybe this was the natural turn of events.