Building on last month's LIST, I have decided to make it an ongoing thing to review most of the media I consume. This month we are adding 'completed' comic books to the list as well. The Rants & Raves system goes like this, rating from worst to best: RANT, Okay, OKAY, Rave, RAVE. This was a busy month so without more to say, lets talk about it.
13. Old : 7/10 - OKAY
Thanks to Amazon Prime, I was finally able to watch Old, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Even tho this is least favorite piece of media for this month, it is actually not that bad. The films pacing was decent, it had some good actors including Aaron Pierce before his 'breakout 'film Rebel Ridge and the storyline was good enough.
However, I do not know why the film casted foreign actors and make them speak English because it was noticeable when they struggled with the language. I do not mind actors speaking in their native tongue, I watch a lot of foreign content and I prefer subtitles over dubs 90% of the time but I guess for an English language film, they needed them to speak English and it just felt odd choice to make. Also the twist was completely un-necessary and I feel M. Night has built his brand over his twists now and sometimes I feel the movie can just shine on it own without a 'uh huh' moment. I originally had another M. Night film in my catalog of films to watch, The Village, but because of Old and me needing a break from his style of film, I have pushed further back in my catalog. Maybe in September we will get to it.
12. Star Trek Discovery Season 4: 7.5/10 - OKAY
Normally a 7.5 on my rating would be classified as a Rave but I am thinking of changing my rating system slightly going forward. I think a 7.5 should be classified as an OKAY and I have no problems giving Season 4 of Discovery an OKAY rating because that is what it was.
Thanks to my local library, I have been able to watch Star Trek Discovery, season by season and while I do not hate it as much as some Trekkers do (and for the most un-reasonable reasons too), I do feel it will eventually rate as a decent series. I do enjoyable it has ongoing arcs, I do enjoy most of the cast. However this season showed a lot of problems with it and I can't ignore them anymore. The storyline while decent but filler episodes galore (All In I am looking at you in particular) spoiled what could have been a really good story. It also did not help they sidelined arguably my favorite character Tilly early on as well. Compared to other seasons of Discovery; it felt lacking to me. It also did not help I saw a much better version of this season but I'll save that for my Season 2 review.
11. The Iron Trial: Book 1 of the Magisterium by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black: 8/10 - Rave
Okay, big confession. For awhile my wife and I was consuming YA novels like a madmen. I read The Hunger Games and a couple other YA books but the ones I enjoyed reading the most was the Shadowhunters series of books written by Cassandra Clare and I really enjoyed her trilogy set in the past called The Infernal Devices. During my Cassandra Clare reading days I learned of pentalogy of books she planned to write with a good friend, Holly Black. Me and my wife actually bought the first book when it came out but also around this time me and my wife both had a falling out with the YA/ Cassandra Clare craze and we subsequently ignore every book of this pentalogy and even anything Shadowhunter related she wrote as well.
Well early in August, I remember we bought this book and decided to add it to my reading list and I actually enjoyed it. Sure, it borrows a lot from Harry Potter and similar books but it has its own uniqueness which made it stand out to me. The characters are a like-able bunch, there was a nice twist and I also forgot how easy it was to read YA books like this and it was a nice juxtaposition to the other big book I was reading this month, which I will discuss later in this list. The main thing is, this first book did its job and I will eventually read the second book in this series and maybe even pick up some Shadowhunter books I have missed a long the way to. It may be third last thing in this list but I actually recommend this book to anyone who likes this genre.
10. Wicked: 8/10 - Rave
Second big confession. I think I do not mind musicals anymore. I used to actually avoid any movie that was a musical, however over time I realized I can watch them and even enjoy some of them. The most recent The Color Purple for example? I enjoy the heck out of it. I have even seen some musicals live recently and I am not bored out of mind anymore. I guess I just had to have the right mindset for them and now I have it, I can enjoy them. How can I relate this long confession to Wicked? Well, I think it might be my favorite musical of recent memory.
I was actively avoiding this film for the longest time. I must admit over time I have grown to not like Ariana Grande as a person. Do not ask me why but she just rubs me the wrong way. Add that to Cynthia Erivo's meltdown over a edited picture (you all know the one) and well I did not know if I wanted to watch something with both of them in it. However when the chance arrived to watch it for free, I decided to give it a try and I am happy I did. Both leads killed it, singing wise with Cynthia as 'different' as she is being a particular stand-out. Gal can SANG. I love how they remixed the story of the Wizard of Oz and I enjoyed the sheer spectacle of it. I enjoyed this movie so much that when its sequel comes out later this year, I think me and my wife will be seeing in the theater. It was that good. Also as a big fan of Jon M. Chu, I am happy he is finally getting recognized as well for his directing. I have followed him since his web series The Legion of Xtraorindary Dancers and it is nice to see him have another massive hit under his belt to go with his Crazy Rich Asians success.
9. Butterfly: 8/10 - Rave
Along side Jon M. Chu getting more recognition I am also happy to see another industry stalwart Daniel Dae-Kim his flowers too. DDK has been in the business for a long time (I remember seeing him in the Angel tv series lifetimes ago) and it is nice he finally has his moment in the sun with a product he really believes in. Butterfly based on the graphic novel by Arash Amel was brought to people's attention thanks to DDK and after reading the source material I am happy the creator of the series and DDK changed it enough to make it even better, at least to me. The graphic novel was good but as a TV series it just worked better.
The cast was great, with them being able to merge the worlds of the west with DDK, Piper Perabo and Reina Hardesty (who a newcomer to me, did an amazing job bringing Rebecca to life) with the east by bringing in well known Korean talent like Kim Tae-hee, Park Hae-soo (of Squid Games fame), Kim Ji-hoon (who plays bad a bit too well) and ol' reliable veteran actor Sung Dong-il, which if you watch any Korean media you should know who he is. The story was compelling and the action was shot well. I also enjoyed how much of Korea was shown off and I know this was something DDK wanted to do explicitly.
However it is at the bottom end of this month's list because despite it being a marriage of East and West, the West sensibilities took over. Instead of a true marriage, it seem the West influences won because Butterfly has more western DNA then eastern sadly. The action was more violent, the sexuality was turned up and the curse of every western show, the need to write for a second season showed its head with a very 'on-the-nose' cliffhanger. I honestly had higher hopes for it and I do hope it gets renewed because of it does not, I feel my rating will go down considerably because of how it ended. Referencing my Old Guard 2 review, I do not enjoy when media is written with sequels in mind when it is not guaranteed. Purposely cutting your work off at the knees in aims for more profit/ more product is never a good look to me.
8. Star Trek Discovery Season 2: 8/10 - Rave
Earlier in this very blog, I discussed how much season 4 of Discovery was good but there was better examples of what they did. Well, season 2 is that example. The storyline was much more compelling, the filler episodes felt less tacked on (they were definitely some filler episodes tho, looking at you New Eden) and despite the cast getting bloated with new additions like Captain Christopher Pike and Spock, they were welcomed additions. I think it helped that Michelle Yeoh's Captain Georgiou was a bigger part of this season and well, she is just amazing in every scene she is placed in.
When the climax happened and everything clicked, it was some of the best Discovery I have watched and I think following up on this season was not easy. Season 3, which I never reviewed here but I did watched did a decent job and I feel season 4 is when the cracks really begin to show. Both 3 and 4 tried to replicate what season 2 did and it just did hit the same for me at least. Season 2 showed what potential Discovery had and I even put it above seasons of my classic Trek like Voyager and DS9. It was that good.
7. Imajica by Clive Barker: 8/10 - Rave
Imajicia by my favorite author of all time Clive Barker is a massive book. At 800 + pages, it took me awhile to get through it and at the end I can say, I enjoyed it. However compared to most of Mr. Barker's amazing work, I rate it pretty low on my favorites of his. Sad because Imajica was a book, I have owned for years and I purposely sat on it because of its scope and its almost mythical status in Barker's fan circles. The beginning of the book? Yes, I relate and I agree but Imajica lost me a lot during the middle of the book and almost near the end as well. Thankfully the last couple of chapters really redeemed it in my eyes and I started really enjoying it again but for awhile Imajica could have got a 7.5 or even a 7 from me.
It is wild saying this but I feel sometimes Clive himself got caught up in the scope of it and he lost his way, at least to me. I also feel, what he attempted in Imajica, he has fully realized in his Abarat series, his series of novels designed for Younger readers because Abarat explores the scope of multiple worlds linked together so much better. However without a doubt, Imajica does have Clive at his best when it comes to sensuality tho, in that, Imajica is probably one of his best novels exploring that. Overall, a good book that lost its way but finished strong.
6. Heart Eyes: 8.5/10 - RAVE
Even though this film has been panned by some people I really enjoyed it and it almost cracked my top 5 favorite media for last month. I enjoyed everything about this movie, I love the storyline and the twists which even tho they seemed obvious to me, was still a nice surprise. I enjoyed the sometimes ironic but also well placed popular music used through-out it. I particular enjoyed the main cast, starting with Mason Gooding (Cuba Gooding Jr's son all grown up) as a likeable male lead and Olivia Holt who I really enjoyed as Dagger in Marvel TV's Cloak and Dagger, as the female lead.
Heart Eyes feels closely related to Scream movies where it almost feels like a parody of horror movies while still being a well filmed and a well scripted horror film. All I can really say is if you enjoyed a bit of comedy with your terror and don't mind a bit of blood (because it gets bloody, trust me) and even some romance with chemistry, you might enjoy this as much as I did. Also can we get Olivia Holt and her Cloak and Dagger co-star Aubrey Joseph in more media please? They are two bright stars who should get more shine.
5. Fantastic Four: First Steps: 8.5/10 - RAVE
After so many failed attempts by Fox to make a Fantastic Four movie, Marvel finally came along and showed them how to do it. The anti-thesis of the super dark Fantastic Four (2015) where Fox tried to turn Marvel's first family into a grim dark body horror film filled with dark corridors, Marvel's FF: First Steps brings back what made the Fantastic Four such great heroes in the first place, their sense of family and hope.
Using a retro future aesthetic fused with the soul of Jack Kirby (the often overlooked co-creator of a lot of Marvel's greatest heroes) Matt Shakman (showrunner of another retro futuristic Marvel property WandaVision) understood the assignment and he showcased the FF in ways we have no seen before. Never has someone understood the bond between the Storm siblings like he did, the brotherhood Reed and Ben shared, the love between Reed and Sue and the friendly rivalry between the Human Torch and The Thing. His Galactus? Perfect. Shakman and his team, made Galactus the threat he deserved to be. I think First Steps is in my top 5 because this is the Fantastic Four I grew up reading. The only people who did not enjoy this movie do not understand the source material and that sucks... for you. This and Superman showed that not all superhero films need to be dark and gritty to be good and for that I am thankful because after so many failed attempts, we finally got a movie deserving to be called 'Fantastic'.
4. Thunderbolts *: 8.5/10 - RAVE
It is funny that I started my month with Fantastic Four: First Steps and I ended the month with another Marvel film, however Thunderbolts * understood the assignment as well and I enjoyed it as much, if not even more then the Fantastic Four in some parts, hence the higher placement.
The anti-Avengers nature of Thunderbolts * is not lost on me. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine played to perfection by Julia Louis-Dreyfus was the Nick Fury of this phase of Marvel movies, slowly building a group of imperfect heroes but unlike Fury, de Fontaine did not have the best interest of the world in mind and she recruited a team of screw ups, hot heads and loners and aimed them at each other. Classic Marvel magic happens and they end up teaming up and saving the world from what maybe the most OP hero ever, The Sentry.
It is a shame Thunderbolts * did not do well because it captures so much of what made Marvel movies good for the last decade. The spectacle super powered fight scenes, the light hearted comedy and snappy dialogue (which people are now all of a sudden not a fan of anymore) and the perfect casting of the right people for the right roles. I am standing on business when I say Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova is up there with RDJ as Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Steve Rogers and Chris Hemsworth as Thor as a person who is perfectly casted and embodies their roles. Even the film tackling such a sensitive subjects like trauma, loss of family and mental health was done really well that did not come off as heavy handed or preachy.
I only have a one big misgiving with it. Like a lot of people *SPOILERS I do not understand the need to include Taskmaster and then to kill her off so quickly * Other than that, Thunderbolts * was a great time and I am happy to place it in my top 5 media I have watched this month.3. On Writing by Stephen King: 9/10 - RAVE
As anyone who regularly follows this blog knows I am writing a trilogy of novels centered around my fictional town of Cloudale. The recent lack of updates on this blog is actually because of said novels. To help me with this novel, I have started consuming a lot of media, be it, movies, books, tv series and graphic novels. This consumption actually gave birth to the LIST you are reading right now.
To help me with this task, I am not only reading novels but I also reading novels about writing novels, so who better to help then Stephen King himself. One of my favorite authors, I always heard his book about writing, On Writing was one of the best to help you learn how to write so I bought it off Amazon and consumed it in record time.
The book is a mixture of autobiography and style manual and I can say it helped me a lot. Mr. King is a great encourager and his section which shows you how to write is packed with gems that still resonate in my brain as I explore the streets of Cloudale. I have rated it so high and it is listed so high on this LIST because of the impact it has on me. I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if you want to write a book, On Writing is essential reading.
2. Absolute Batman Vol. 1: The Zoo: 9/10 - RAVE
With this month, I have expanded my LIST to include novels as well as graphic novels. It is funny because after expanding it I realized I did it because I wanted to draw attention to my top 3 favorite pieces of media for the month of August. At # 2, we have arguably a surprise but in a way, not a surprise. Absolute Batman.
Like everyone else who follows comics, I heard about Absolute Batman, a Batman re-imagined for a much darker universe with a different but familiar origin story, a much more brutal Bruce who is drawn with massive muscles and a weird bat logo on his chest which turns into a Battle-ax (yes, you heard that correctly). A Batman without sidekicks with Alfred playing a completely different role and new, reimagined villains to go with the reimagined dark knight. This book turns Martha Wayne from a woman in a refrigerator into an agent of change and volition. I was thrown by the concept but it intrigued me so when I got the chance to read the first volume, which collects issues 1 to 6, I was hooked. Despite all I said above or perhaps because of it, this is the most excited I have been to read a Batman comic in forever. It low-key does not surprise me tho. I have frequently enjoyed Scott Snyder's work, calling him (for me at least) DC's Jonathan Hickman in the way he has such unique ideas and his follow through. Snyder's dialogue is always on-point too and he just understand these characters. Combine that with the always striking art of Nick Dragotta of East of West fame (aka one of my favorite comic book series of ALL TIME) and I knew I would enjoy it but enjoy it this much? Even I could not predict how much and it is # 2 on this very large list of a reason. I am actually looking forward to a ongoing DC series, my brother Larry (Rest in Peace) would be so happy because I normally don't enjoy DC books but Absolute Batman has me hooked.
1. Wolverine Revenge: 9.5/10 - RAVE
