My review of the Super Mario Bros. Movie

My review of the Super Mario Bros. Movie

Intro: Disney better watch their backs.  

The Super Mario Bros Movie: This movie is centered on two brothers name Mario and Luigi who are struggling plumbers. One day they get separated when they are transported to a different world, Mario is sent to the Mushroom Kingdom and Luigi is sent to the dark land. In order to save his brother Mario has to aid the Princess to stop Bowser from taking over her kingdom.  

After 30 years we finally got a good video game movie based on a video game. Oh, the sweet smell of irony. Sorry Sonic you would have been fast enough if your movies were like the Prime series. What I appreciate about this movie is that it’s not about saving a princess. If you’re going to have the brothers save a princess let it be Roseline because she’s better looking than Peach, but I digress. This movie is surprisingly funny, both kids and adults will get laughs out of this film. It even has dark humor. You can’t have a movie like this without references and easter eggs. Those things are used to complement the Mushroom Kingdom. Heck, the movie even references how kids use to blow into game cartridges. (Don’t do that.) There are moments where the movie captures us playing Mario games for the first time. The voice acting is fine for the most part. I have nothing new to say about the animation that has already been said. I’m also fine with the characterizations in this movie because these characters don’t have much of that in the games.

Mario is courageous, noble and ambitious. The writers tried to give him an underdog ARC, but it feels bland. 

Luigi is timid. What bugs me about him is that he doesn’t get a lot of screen time. Why is this movie called Super Mario Brothers if it’s not focused on both of them?  

Toad is the comic relief in this movie.

Princess Peach is not a damsel in distress in this movie she’s hands-on and guides, Mario. I’m not crazy about her backstory in this movie. I can’t get into that without spoiling it.  

Donkey Kong is an egotistical jock. DK being in this movie bothers me because he has his own franchise that's separate from Mario’s. To be fair Nintendo hasn’t done anything with the DK I.P. in nine years. Plus, he fills in Luigi's role in the movie if he wasn't kidnapped. Mario and DK act like the type of brothers who are at odds with each other.  

Bowser (the main villain) is both menacing and funny. What ruins this for me is his motivation, I mean it makes him look pathetic. I know this is part of the Mario brother's lore, but it doesn't make me less sick. 

One of the problems I have with this movie is that it tried too hard to make the Mario brothers appeal to kids. The movie could have done a better job of incorporating Mario Kart into the film. Toadsworth should have been the one that ended up in the dark land instead of Luigi. By doing that you make both brothers a part of the story. This movie feels like it has scenes that are missing. I'm surprised that certain things are not mentioned or referenced. 

Overall, this is an excellent love letter to the fan despite that it could have been better in some areas.  

Rating = Worth Seeing 

Now Let's Party!       

My 65 review

My 65 review 

Intro: Even with a pandemic Hollywood still has money to burn. Seriously, why release a movie if you're not going to promote it? 

65: This movie is centered on a space explore name mills who crash land on an unknown planet with a little girl who's the only survivor. He later realizes that he landed on prehistoric earth, so he and the girl have to find a way to get off the planet and avoid the creatures. 

This is better than After Earth but that's not saying much. This movie does a decent job of building suspense. Plus, the dinosaurs are not the only thing they need to worry about. Speaking of dinosaurs, the movie introduces us to one that the general public is not familiar with. There are moments of levity in the movie, but I wish there was more of it. Watching the main characters use future tech to defend themselves against the dinosaurs was interesting. There isn't much to say about the characters in this movie. 

This movie could have been better if there were more survivors in this movie. Doing that would help the concept of surviving in prehistoric times with future tech. I wish the writers would have kept them crashing on prehistoric earth a secret or have the title of the movie mean something else. Heck being in that time period could have been a metaphor for you won't have a future if you don't know the past. We learn something about Mills that serves no purpose in the story. The film can be slow at times. 

Overall, this is an OK movie that I would recommend if you like movies like this. 

Rating = Rental 

My Iron Man rant

 My Iron Man rant

Before 2008, people had heard of Iron Man, but he didn't have a huge fan base like Spider-Man or the X-Men. Outside the comics, he had his own animated series, appeared in other Marvel cartoons, and was featured in a handful of video games. Sadly, those things didn't help give this character recognition. Thanks to the MCU and Robert Downey Jr, Iron Man has become a household name. Plus, rival Spider-Man as the face of Marvel. I can see why people find this character appealing; he's one of those characters that have a big personality. Also, Tony Stark/Iron Man doesn't put on a persona when his in or out of the suit. What you see with this character is what you get. He's like the Joker as far as being addicted to attention. The way the first Iron Man movie ended reinforces that. 

Despite being a self-centered butt face, he does want to do the right thing. In case you're wondering, yes. This is the same characterization as his comic book counterpart, except for Heroes Reborn. In these comics, he was a typical ruthless businessman. With that said, RDJ not only embodied this character but also enhanced these character traits. We can relate to him not because he's trying to be responsible for the type of business he's running, it's because he has daddy issues. He also has a weakness, and that is guilt. If you can make him feel guilty about anything, you can manipulate him. We saw that in the Civil War movie. His ability to upgrade his Armor makes him one of the strongest Marvel characters because it can combat almost anything. 

Despite this character being relevant in pop culture, there have been failed attempts to capitalize on it. Before I can elaborate on that, I want to talk about RDJ. I was worried about him playing this character because both Tony and RDJ had problems with alcohol. Thankfully, the writers avoid adapting the demon in the bottle story because that would have been insensitive to the actor. ( I know they tried to adapt the story in Iron Man 2, but it didn't work out.) If they were going to adapt that story, they should have cast Tom Cruise. I can see him playing this character; however, I don't think he can match RDJ's charisma. 

As much as I enjoy the first Iron Man movie, that doesn't change the fact that it's overrated. The movie would have failed if anyone else had played Tony Stark because he basically carried that movie. If you don't believe me let me, ask yourself this. What did you like about the movie beyond Tony Stark/ Iron Man? The supporting characters are forgettable, the climax was disappointing, and the movie wasted the villain. (That's a common thing with these movies, they keep squandering his rogues gallery.) Also, more could have been done with the plot. For example, Tony shutting down the weapons manufacturing seems too easy. I mean, isn't he under contract with the Military or anyone else? Why didn't they sue him for doing this? What about disgruntled employees? This played a role in why Tony became an alcoholic in the comics because he was stressed out about losing his fortune, thanks to all the lawsuits for S.H.I.E.L.D. and other companies. 

I thought the sequel would follow up on that, but I was wrong. Speaking of the sequel, it didn't give this character a good story. In Iron Man 2, Tony was dying, everyone wants his tech, and he has to deal with the possibility that his family's wealth is built on a lie. All of that was ruined by bad writing, dumb characters, the comedy, and reminding us that we're getting an Avengers movie. Iron Man 3 wasted the Extremis story and the Mandarin by not using him. This rubs fans the wrong way to the point where Marvel Studios has to course-correct it. Tony Stark suffered PTSD from the alien invasion, so he copes with it by building suits. I find it hard to believe that the invasion was traumatic for him, and not being held captive for months. Also, Iron Man 3 didn't continue the theme of legacy from the last two films. That's a shame because that movie wasted the concept of creating your own demons. That movie would have been better if a disgruntled employee were behind things.    

We got two Iron Man cartoons after the first movie; they are called Iron Man: Armored Adventures and Iron Man anime. I didn't bother to watch Iron Man: Armored Adventures because I didn't like that Tony was a teenager in that cartoon. I mean, was the point of doing that? As far as the other one, it wasn't good. I'm sorry, Iron Man is in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Why that cartoon got canceled is beyond me. We only got three Iron Man video games. Two of them are tie-in games, and one is a VR game. Do you see what I mean by not capitalizing on Iron Man's popularity? Iron Man could work as a AAA game if the developers did the same thing the Arkham games and the Insomniac Spider-Man game did. Heck, the first tie-in game for the Wii was underrated despite its flaws. (The Xbox 360 version is a nightmare.) 

We would have more Iron Man movies if Marvel Studios discontinued the MCU after Endgame and have filmmakers make solo films of Marvel characters without them being connected to each other. Is anyone really looking forward to Ironheart or Armor Wars? Speaking of Ironheart, why is this movie being made? We already have a Black Iron Man, do we really need another one? How can you have an Armor Wars movie or series without Tony Stark!?! News flash, that's his story! Also, didn't Spider-Man: Homecoming adapt this story? Marvel Studios, whatever you do, please don't bring Tony Stark back by making him an A.I. 

I don't have a lot of suggestions for future Iron Man films because of the comics. The problem I have with the Iron Man comics is that they tell the same story over and over again for the most part. They start off with Tony building a suit, then he gets a mental breakdown that causes him to ruin his life, burn bridges, and he builds a new armor and rebuilds his life. I would like to see Tony's origin story from the Ultimate Iron Man comics get adapted because that origin story is different from what we're familiar with. I also wouldn't mind if the recent Invincible Iron Man comic book series gets adapted too. Those comics look like they're going to expand on what was done before. As far as villains go, do the Mandarin and Ghost right! I would also like to see Madame Masque and Titanium Man. Madame Masque is Iron Man's Catwoman, and Titanium Man is Iron Man's Bane. 

That's all I have to say for now. What do you think could be done with this character?                

My review of Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

My review of Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania

 

Intro: To the people who complain about the quantum realm being mostly CGI, where was this complaint when it comes to the Avatar films? 

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania: This movie is centered on Scott Lane/Ant-Man living his life as a celebrity after the events of Endgame. One day, he learns that his daughter Cassie has found a way to communicate with the quantum realm, and it results in them being sucked into the quantum realm. Getting out of the quantum realm is difficult when someone else wants the macguffin that will help them get out of the quantum realm. So, Scott and the others have to reach it before he or she does. 

I enjoy this movie more than the other Ant-Man films. I don't understand why people would trash this movie. I'm not saying this is one of the best MCU movies, but I don't think it's as bad as people make it out to be. I like the quantum realm because of how creative it is. It gives Guardians of the Galaxy a run for its money. Plus, this movie reminds me of Star Wars. I like that both the original and legacy characters have something to do. The theme of this movie is family. It tried to deal with family struggles like trauma, shame, and keeping secrets. The action scenes in this movie are also well-shot and done. The humor in this movie is not overblown. 

Scott Lane/ Ant-Man is full of himself in this movie. I don't mind this because A he doesn't have a punchable face and B he didn't get enough credit for fixing the snap. I wish he would stand up for himself when everyone makes fun of him. Then again, would you get sick and tired of someone bringing up that they saved the world over and over again?

 

Hope Pym/Wasp has a lot to do in this movie despite feeling like she doesn't have a lot of screen time. 

Cassie Lane is a bright girl who is disappointed with her father. What bugs me about her is how did she get so smart? 

If you didn't like what Iron Man 3 did with the Mandarin, you're not going to like what this movie did with M.O.D.O.K. Personally, I wouldn't have minded what the movie has done with this character if the writers were consistent with him and kept his mask on. 

Jante (Hank Pym's wife) is just in the movie to explain the quantum realm. She could have been a tragic character if we saw how being stuck in the quantum realm affected her. That's what annoys me about her. I understand why she would keep that to herself; however, because she knows so much about the quantum realm, she overshadows the main characters.  

Kang the Conqueror (the main villain) reminds me of Darth Vader. As far as being calm and ruthless. Despite that, his dynamic with one of the characters almost humanizes him. I wish the creators would pick a different villain for the characters to face because Kang is too powerful for them. 

One of the many issues I have with this movie is that the lighthearted tone conflicts with the seriousness of the movie. This movie feels like it's setting up Kang to be the next big bad rather than being an Ant-Man movie at times. Why is Bill Murray in the movie if he serves no purpose in the story? The same thing goes for Hank Pym. The writers could have done a better job with the family stuff. We were told that the living beings in the quantum realm were oppressed, but that's not the case with all of them. The climax could have been better, plot holes, and the ending rub me the wrong way.  

Overall, this movie was an OK film that could have been better.

Rating = Rental  

My thoughts on the Power Rangers Franchise

My thoughts on the Power Rangers Franchise 

 

I don't know about you, but it's sad to see a franchise that you grew up watching, reading, or playing become a shell of its former self. Especially if it made an impact on you. 

It's also heartbreaking to learn that someone who was a part of that franchise is no longer with us. 

 

That's the case with me when it comes to Power Rangers and the passing of Jason David Frank. (The actor who played Tommy.) That's saying a lot considering that Tommy is not my favorite ranger for reasons I explained in my reviews of the MMPR seasons. 

Heck, this was my reaction when he lost his Green Ranger powers in the green candle episodes.

Despite my gripes with the character, I have nothing against the actor who played him. He was a decent man at the end of the day. I respect what he has done for this franchise, the fans, and pop culture in general. Whether you love this character or not, he was kind of sort of the face of this franchise. Now that he's gone, there is a void that's hard to fill. To be fair, JDF did express wanting to retire the character to work on his White Dragon movie. ( I hope it won't suffer the same fate as the Order.) So, this would have been an issue regardless of whether he was alive or not. Also, his death could affect the 30th anniversary if he was suppose to appear in the anniversary special. Then again, I heard Hasbro (The company that owns Power Rangers) didn't want to work with him. 

After RPM, the franchise has gone downhill; most of the seasons after RPM are the same as far as low quality. Super Sentia is also struggling to the point where that series could discontinue. It's like the writers don't even try to be innovative when they do, it's overshadowed by everything else that's wrong with this franchise; Like bland characters, milking nostalgia, PSA episodes, and bragging out the season by cutting it in half. Well, cutting a season in half could have worked if Lupinranger vs Patranger was adapted, but I digress. 

This wouldn't bug me if we didn't have seasons that stood out before. What made In Space, Time Force, and RPM the best seasons is that they were suppose to be the last seasons. Because of that, the creators didn't have to deal with studio restriction nonsense. Why didn't Neo-Saban and Hasbro learn from that? I'm glad Disney didn't have its way with this IP. For those of you who don't know, when Disney had the rights to Power Rangers, they just wanted to air reruns of Power Rangers. After working on two or three seasons, the company dreads continuing this series. That's a shame because Disney gave us good seasons. I'm surprised RPM turned out as good as it did, considering how Disney did Eddie Guzelian (The writer and producer of that series) dirty. Also, what's the point of owning this IP if the company is going to be lazy about it?  

Things have gotten worse over the years; Bandia doesn't handle the toyline anymore, the Ranger Nation website is gone, Hyperforce no longer exists, studios skip adapting certain sentia after Super Megaforce because they are hard to adapt (Allegedly), and fans have either disappeared or don't talk about this franchise anymore. The 25th anniversary wouldn't have been relevant if it weren't for Boom Comic's Shattered Grid storyline. Speaking of Boom comics, I lost track of what was going on with those comics after the Necessary Evil story because I wasn't happy with how it ended. I know that they did a crossover between them and Godzilla in the comics. I didn't bother to check that out because I know the writers will make the Megazord look bad. I got enough of that with Death Battle. Also, their crossover with TMNT is ridiculous. 

Despite the fanbase not being what it use to be, we still get fan films. I can't comment on how Hasbro is handling this franchise so far because the contract with Neo-Saban didn't expire until two years ago. As far as their toyline goes, I can't comment on that either because I don't collect them. Plus, toy sales haven't been the same since the 90s and Toys "R" Us is not what it use to be. There are three things Hasbro did that I like; they are having the ranger's faces come with the action figures, their version of the power sword, and Lord Zedd's helmet. (I hope the actors and actresses are getting royalty checks for having their faces on the toys.) The fans are sick of MMPR merchandise. I can understand why, but that's the season that sells the most merchandise. I'm curious, did the Legacy toyline replica of the Zeonizer and Gold Ranger staff outsell the MMPR ones? If the answer is no, then I prove my point. 

I use to think Power Rangers fans are one of the most civilized fanbases, boy was I wrong. 

They were freaking out over Jonathan Entwistle working on the Karate Kid series instead of the next Power Rangers movie for Netflix. The fans didn't like the concept art of the suits for the upcoming Power Rangers series to the point where they gave the designers a hard time. Fans, including me, were not happy with Dino Fury being the next series after Beast Morphers. That's understandable considering we had a dinosaur-themed season not too long ago. What really bothers them is that the green ranger is a female, why!?! This isn't the first time this franchise gender swap. Why is it an issue now? Don't get me started on how the fans act on Twitter toward Simon Bennett. (He's the executive producer of the current Power Rangers.) I'm embarrassed that they're acting like this. I don't know what caused this, but they need to clean up their act. To be fair, the triplets from Power Rangers Zeo are making things worse.  

Considering everything that this franchise has been through, it's a shame that it's in the state that it's in due to people not caring. Boom comics and fan films have more passion than Neo-Saban! Heck, do you think the Power Rangers porn video is better than what we're getting now? This is one of the four longest-running kids shows, and these studios can't or won't be creative. You can give us an LGBT ranger, but you won't push the boundaries of kids program like this franchise did in the past. More can be done with this IP when it comes to video games besides making side scrollers and fighting games. I can see this IP work as an RPG. 

The franchise has the potential to work as a film series despite its failed attempts. It still bugs me that we didn't get a sequel to the last Power Rangers movie we had. (I know we might get another movie, but it's not going to be a theatrical release.) I blame the general public for why Power Rangers hasn't worked on the big screen, because they can't or won't look past how cheesy it is. Just because this franchise is cheesy, that doesn't mean it should be defined by that. I'm starting to think people are biased toward Power Rangers, I mean, how can you like the MCU, the Lego movies, Scooby Doo, and not like this? 

Plus, I'm tired of people acting like Power Rangers is the most embarrassing thing you can grow up watching alongside Barney. I'm not saying you don't have the right to feel that way, but if you haven't watched what fans considered the best seasons, then you shouldn't comment on this IP. This franchise can get dark, scary, and deal with serious issues. Really, if you didn't grow up watching DBZ, Samurai Jack, or Avatar: The Last Airbender, then you're in no position to laugh at this fanbase. As far as a Power Rangers cartoon goes, Mini Force is the closest thing you're going to get to that.     

Now, let's get into what I think of Cosmic Fury. I'm worried about this series because this is the 30th Anniversary season. Most of the anniversary stuff is not good. This series is a follow-up to Dino Fury, which hasn't been done since MMPR. I saw clips of Dino Fury, but I didn't watch it because it was just like the other Neo-Saban seasons. I'm not happy that this series brought Lord Zedd back for obvious reasons. Now I wouldn't have minded this if he could be menacing without worrying about backlash from parents, but that wasn't the case. 

Cosmic Fury is a space-themed season. We haven't had a bad space-theme season. If this season is just like the previous one, then the streak is broken. I'm happy that Billy and Zack are in this season because I'm curious to see what they've been up to all these years. We also have Rocky, Adam, Kat, and Aisha. It's a shame that we can't get the rest of the OG Rangers because of union rules. The actor who played Jason is in trouble, last I checked. The actress who played Kimberly was overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting the last time she was involved with this franchise. To be fair, she said she didn't agree to the offers they gave her. (That's not a good sign.) Plus, the cast don't like each other; have you noticed that certain people don't do conventions with certain people? This series will feature two new characters. I have an idea of who one of them is, but for the sake of spoilers, I'm going to keep that to myself.  

If this series pays tribute to Tommy, I won't have a problem with it as long as it acknowledges everyone else who died. I don't have much to say about this season because we don't have a trailer for this season. Like I said, I didn't watch Dino Fury, so I don't know what direction the creators will go with this season. Another thing I wish this season aired on a different streaming service because Netflix is not doing so well. Also, what's the point of Power Rangers being on Netflix if you can't watch the rest of the seasons anymore? That's all I have to say about this topic for now. Do you think this franchise still has a future, or should it have ended with RPM?  

My thoughts on Arby 'N' the Chief

My thoughts on Arby 'N' the Chief 

 

For those of you who don't know what Arby 'N' the Chief is, it's a web series created by Jon Graham that aired on Machinima at the time. The show is a comedy about two walking, talking toys name Arbiter and Master Chief who live their lives in their owner's apartment, and online gaming is their only access to the outside world. This is one of the best comedy series I've seen in a long time! What makes this show different from others like it is that it combines video game footage with puppeteering. The show has self-aware humor and deals with the subjects it addresses seriously for the most part. It starts off by addressing gaming culture, pop culture, and gaming business practices. 

Season 5 shows us how much this series has grown from the writing and directing. Instead of telling one-shot stories, it tells an ongoing story for each season. Not only that it builds off what the previous seasons did, brings back old characters and offers shorts that don't involve the main story. Going in this direction turns into a dark comedy that's engaging. Season 7 deals with the ugly side of humanity, exploring the human condition, illnesses, death, isolation, and what is considered good and evil? Season 8 surprised me because I thought season 7 was the final season in the series. Season 8 deals with a time gap; we see how much things can change in four or five years. The fact that it took six years to finish this season helps. I also love the soundtrack.  

Master Chief is an overgrown child who is a sexist, narrow-minded, and moronic fanboy. Plus, he loves to make mom jokes. Despite that, he's happy with his life. 

Arbiter is the voice of reason. He's also smart, witty, and helps balance Chief from being vulgar. Because these two are different, they are the textbook definition of a love-hate relationship. 

We have other characters like Cortana, Greg, and Clarie, but we don't see them that often.              

One of the problems I have with this series is that the earlier seasons have jokes involving a man's you-know-what. There is a plot hole involving what happened to certain characters. I don't understand why Jon continues to use Halo Reach footage after Halo 4 came out. Because this show deals with serious topics, it might make people feel uncomfortable. The way season 8 ended might rub the religious community the wrong way. That season wasn't subtle that it took inspiration from 2001: A Space Odyssey. The first half of season 4 and the L.A. season are the weakest seasons in the series. What bothers me about the L.A. season is that it introduces Sonic and Mario, and Jon wasted them. 

Before I wrap this up, I want to talk about Jon Graham. I feel sorry for him because he's underrated; he should have been a star. This series started getting millions of views when it first aired on Machinima. Then it slowly lost viewers over time due to the change in direction Machinima took. I wish he would have aired this show on G4TV because A, doing that could have helped make the network more relevant. B, doing this could show Neil Tiles that he was wrong about people not wanting to watch video games on screen. If the network did hire him, it should revive portal and have him host that show because he's doing the same thing that show did. If you want to know this guy's story, watch the first episode of Mediabyss. 

Overall, this is an excellent comedy series! I would recommend this if you want to watch a mature version of Toy Story.         

My rant about The Flash movie

My rant about The Flash movie

A trailer for the upcoming Flash movie will be released at the Super Bowl. (allegedly) I won’t be talking about it because I’m not going to watch that movie. I don’t care if it made more money than Avatar or won best picture at the Oscars. In case you’re wondering, yes! Ezra Miller tainted this movie for me. Look, I’m not the type of guy who can’t separate art from the artist or someone’s professional life from their personal life. However, this is an exception to the rule. When you star in a movie or show that appeals to kids, you have a responsibility to them. You have to carry yourselves a certain way that’s appropriate for kids and parents won’t frown upon. It bugs me to see actors and actresses not doing that.

What’s the point of playing these characters if you can’t or won’t do that?

If John Cena had a facelift and a different body structure, I wouldn’t mind seeing him play Superman. (Yes! I said that with a straight face.) You can laugh at that all you want that doesn’t change the fact that he’s been playing him for most of his WWE career. Ezra Miller pushing or strangling a woman is bad enough, but everything else he allegedly did is a can of yikes! It doesn't matter if he's innocent or not; you can't have that kind of publicity. 

Another thing that bothers me about actors and actresses playing superheroes is that they don’t promote it by doing something humanitarian. I don’t just mean make commercials talking about how bad animal abuse is, I mean actually doing something. Where was the cast of the Avengers to help rebuild Kentucky after the tornado last year? I’m not saying they should become humanitarians; it can be something small. 

Look at the Rock, for example, he got away with stealing Snickers at a store. So, he made amends by buying a lot of them and paying for everyone else's stuff at the store. This would have been better if he did this before Black Adam was released, but I digress. That’s hard to do now because of cancel culture. Really, the casting department needs to do a better job. 

To the people who will give this trailer a million views and watch this movie, I want you to do me a favor. Go to WWE’s Twitter account if they have one and start a hashtag to induct Chris Benoit into the Hall of Fame. If you can look past everything Ezra Miller did to watch this movie, then you can do the same for Chris Benoit. It's bad enough that Mr. McMahon did him dirty when he was alive, but this is ridiculous. The same thing goes for Mr. Baldwin and the movie Rust. (If it ever gets made.) 

Despite not being crazy about how Ezra Miller portrays Barry Allen/ the Flash, I was willing to give this movie a chance. Thanks to all of this scandal around him, that's ruined. I can understand why people have a problem with WB firing or canceling certain movies, and not Ezra Miller and this movie. (I know we were told that he is fired, but I want to wait and see if that’s true.) Really, even if he was cleared of doing those things, he would still be overshadowed by Mr. Keaton. That’s all I have to say about this subject. Do you think this movie should have been scrapped?                

Stargirl season three review

 Stargirl season three review

Intro: If we do get another season the writers are going to have to do something different to keep us interested in the series like have an ending that's bittersweet. 

Stargirl season three: This season takes place after the summer and the JSA is trying to find common ground with their foes. That becomes difficult when one of the villains is murdered. So, the JSA have to figure out who did it before the tension between the two groups get out of hand.  

This season fell short of being better than the previous one. I like that this season is about solving a mystery the problem with it is that it has a payoff or stakes in solving it. Also, between the mystery in Arrow season three and the Flash season one, this is the weakest one. What hurt the mystery is that it drags and it cheats us out for figuring out who did it? I'm annoyed that this series brings back old characters, I mean what's the point of legacy characters if we don't focus on them? Plus, this is a sign of lazy writing. The theme of this season is forgiveness and second chances. I just wish the writers would do a good job of dealing with those themes. For example, forgiveness and second chances are not the same thing. There are plot points that pop out of 

This season hasn't done much with Courtney/Stargirl beyond her crushing on Cameron and being conflicted about being Stargirl now that Sylvester/Starman is back. 

Speaking of Sylvester/Starman we get an explanation as to why he's still alive, but I would prefer that he stay dead. He serves as a mentor for the JSA but we have Pat for that.  

Cameron is the tragic character in this season. Just as things were starting to look up for him it crashes and burn. 

Yolanda/ Wildcat is still dealing with her mom giving her grief over what she did. I'm glad that she stood up for herself. I just wish her mother would break the ice. 

I wouldn't have minded Rick/Hourman being addicted to the hourglass if he burn bridges because of his addiction. So, he tries to earn their forgiveness.  

I don't have much to say about the rest of the characters because this season hasn't done much with them. Despite how I feel about the mystery it was a nice change in pace for the series. There is a twist that will take you by surprise. This season has world-building and the ending is fine. Overall, whether or not this is the last season it didn't end on a high note. 

My thoughts on the Super Mario movie

My thoughts on the Super Mario movie 

 

The fact that we're getting a Super Mario movie reinforces my point about why most video game movies are bad? That is Hollywood don't know how to pick video games that can work as a movie. 

When they do, they find a way to screw that up. 

Don't believe me, then explain to me why they are working on a live-action Pac-Man movie? Do I really need to give you a history lesson on Mario? This mascot is as iconic as Mickey Mouse. Really, I'm surprised that we didn't get to see these two fight in Death Battle but I digress. Making a Super Mario movie is a mistake because of how hard it is to adapt this video games series into a movie. First of all, this is a franchise that focuses on gameplay then telling a story. That's why it got away with telling the same story for over forty years for the most part. Second, because Mario is an avatar for the player, he doesn't have much characterization. The only thing we know about Mario is that he's a simp. Seriously, Mario keeps saving Princess Peach from the same guy most of the time over and over and over again with nothing to show for it. I mean he's not rich or married to Princess Peach. Well, that could be an issue because Luigi did help out. Come on, how smart do you have to be to figure out that Princess Peach wants to be with Bowser? 

To be fair, there are men who can relate to this as far as working on improving their body, looks and income to get women's attention. Only to get blown off because you have no street credit, or she's not sexually attracted to you. The premise of Mario saving Princess Peach could be a deal-breaker for older viewers. Filmmakers can't hide behind the excuse of this movie is for kids because you can't make a film like this without the kids who grew up playing these games in mind. Men are going to be put off by the story because they think Princess Peach is taking Mario and Luigi for granted. So why should they care if they save Peach or not? In order to fix that the dynamic between the characters needs to change. 

Really, I'm surprised that Nintendo would approve of this movie considering it's almost thirty years since the last Super Mario movie and Hollywood hasn't gotten better at making video game movies since then. Heck, we don't have a decent Mario cartoon. What about the Winnie the pooh movie, that should make Nintendo go yikes. Going back to the last Super Mario movie I'm surprised that it's considered a cult classic because A the movie has nothing to do with the game it's based on and B it wasn't appropriate for kids. Not only that Dennis Hopper wasn't happy with the production of this movie. Christian Bale's rant on the set of Terminator Salvation has got nothing on this. If you want to know the details of his outrage, you can find the article on the Guardian website. Also, fans or consumers are not happy with some of Nintendo's business practices so what made them think that people will watch this movie? Just like most people I wasn't happy with the voice cast because we already know what most of these characters sound like so what's the point of this?

Nintendo should have made a Legend of Zelda movie because that's the only IP that can work as a movie. (Beside Super Metroid.) Yes! The Legend of Zelda games are about Link saving a Princess however there is more to those games than that. (Plus, the fans ship Link with other NPCs.) The reason why Link is protecting Princess Zelda from Ganondorf is because all three of them are connected through the Triforce. (That's the game's MacGuffin.) Also, Zelda is a better Princess than Peach because she isn't a damsel in distress, she helps Link fight Ganondorf and helps Link on his adventures. (I not saying Princess Peach isn't helpful she's just not consistent about it.) Game of Thrones shows that there is a market for a movie like this. Plus, this franchise is more mature than Mario and Ganondorf is a better villain. For those of you who will say how can you make a Legend of Zelda movie if Link can't talk? There are ways around that issue like in Wind Walker we know what Link is thinking and feeling because of his facial expression. 

Don't get me wrong I'm not against the idea of a Mario movie but I would prefer it to be like the Lego Batman movie. As far as it being a comedy that pokes fun at itself and celebrates its forty-year history. That's the only option I can think of to make this movie appeal to everyone.

What am I talking about? We can do that ourselves. 

 

 

 

As far as the teaser trailer goes there isn't much to say about it because it only has three scenes. I will say this we can expect some laughs judging by how the first scene played out. Speaking of the first scene it has Bowser invading a castle looking for the star. This scene put my mind at ease because we know he's not after peach. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself.) If that's the case, what role will she play in this movie? It's safe to assume that Bowser wants the star so he can rule the mushroom kingdom. The second scene is Mario landing in an area full of mushrooms. Judge by his reaction he's never been here before. I hope this isn't a case where he's from the real world and he turns into a cartoon. After that, he meets Toad and they race to the mushroom kingdom. It looks like Toad will be Mario's guide in this world. The final scene is Luigi being chased by Bowser's goons. I hope he doesn't get the short end of the stick in this movie because he's the smartest character in this franchise.  

Besides Peach Donkey Kong is the only character not in the teaser. I think he could be working with Bowser as his right-hand man, that makes sense considering DK and Mario were adversaries. I like the animations in this trailer because it gives details on the character designs from the game. It's like giving flesh to a cartoon. The only complaint I have with the tease I don't like the voice acting, we know what most of these characters sound like the voice acting doesn't match that. With that said, this teaser did a good job of making us wonder how things will play out in this movie? It would be ironic if this movie broke the video game movie curse considering this franchise started the movie adaptions of video games. 

That's all I have to say about this teaser what do you think of it?        

My rant about the school system

 

My rant about the school system

Intro: I didn’t want to do this post at first because I already talked about how I felt about this topic here and there in my other posts. With that said, that doesn’t change the fact that this is a relevant subject and will stay relevant until the problem is fixed or the plant explodes. Some of what I was going to say, I was going to save in my overview of the pandemic, but I managed to narrow it down to two issues with the school system. Forgive me if I use the same talking points as before, but I don’t have time to backtrack everything I’ve said before.

Schools are supposed to be institutions that educate children on how to become productive and contributing members of society. In reality, it’s a daycare/ prison. The only difference between schools and prison is that no one seems to mind that women sleep with underage boys. Like I said before, just because boys fantasize about that doesn't mean you should indulge them. Instead of educating them about what they need to know, we keep them busy with a bunch of school and homework without knowing if they can comprehend what they learned. I've been to both public and private schools, and I can't tell the difference between the two. 

I can understand why teachers are underpaid because anyone with half a brain can order kids to stay seated until school is over. I want to ask you something, do you think you can be good at being a cop, firefighter, kickboxer, and Doctor just by reading? If the answer is no, then what makes you think kids can make something of themselves just by sitting a listening? Whoever came up with this system must be arrogant to think this system will benefit everyone. Seriously, what’s the point of standardized testing and someone from the school board coming to check up on them if nothing is changing? (Sidenote: they should show up unannounced.)    

We can’t change how schools operate anytime soon because A, it’s doing its job at keeping kids occupied. B we don’t expect anything from kids besides obedience. They can’t drive, vote, work (depending on where you live) go anywhere without their parents knowing, and their brains are under development. Until we stop treating schools like a daycare and kids like they're not human, then we can get somewhere. I'm sorry, parents are complaining about schools, it's just not for the right reason, but I'm getting ahead of myself. With that said, two things need to be done to make schools better. 

The first thing is that schools need to be reformed, and to do that, we need money. We all know that the government is not going to prioritize education. I would reconsider that if I were them. Do you think you can run and maintain society if most people's IQs are below 85? Do you think anyone would want to work at school if you're not going to pay top dollar for them? How is teaching its own reward, but not protecting and serving the community? If it were up to me, I would have the school be on a year-round calendar. I was against this idea at first, out of ignorance, I mean, when I thought you get no breaks. That's not the case; how this works is you get 9 weeks of school and three weeks off until summer break. 

Doing this would give the kids some relief and possibly boost their morale. Schools should also make knowing the basic laws and conflict resolution part of their curricula. Considering that there are so many videos of people fighting everywhere, do I really have to explain why we need conflict resolution? As far as the basic laws goes I think it's messed up that you can get in trouble for not knowing the law. As for teachers, they need to think outside the box to get students to learn or get the most out of them. 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

This leads to the second thing that needs to be fixed, which is the boundaries between parents and teachers. Lately, parents have been throwing a fit over their kids learning critical race theory, replacement theory, homosexuality, and removing certain books from schools. Look, I'm not saying that parents shouldn't have a say in their kid's education, but ranting a raving is not the best way to go about things. Teachers should have the right to run their classrooms as they see fit. If you don't like it, then homeschool them. The same thing goes for when your kids are acting up in class; they should be allowed to deal with it as long as they're not cussing them out, giving them bruises, and doing inappropriate things with them. 

I'm surprised that teachers are not going on strike for not being able to defend themselves against students. I mean, it's bad enough that teachers get lousy pay, but they shouldn't have to deal with students putting their hands on them. If you don't like the idea of teachers getting into fights with your kids, then you better tell them to keep their hands to themselves and don't get in their face. To be fair, teachers are not innocent; they do things where students want to pound them to the ground. For example, whenever something tragic happens to them, they want sympathy from us, but won't show us the same courtesy when it comes to our homework. I mean they will fail us for not doing our homework despite being a victim of domestic abuse, rape, your house being robbed or set on fire. Most of the teachers I had, I can care less if they get jumped right in front of me. 

My point is, Parents created this problem. I mean, you can't show teachers that you don't take pride in being a parent and not expect them to overstep their boundaries. If that's not true, then why do you only show up at school when your child is misbehaving? Why do you let retail workers babysit your kids? If I were running Walmart, Target, BJ's, or GameStop, I would put up a sign that says If you drop your kids off for us to babysit them, we will call child protective services. That will put an end to that problem, but I digress. How do you expect your kids to learn Spanish if you're not willing to learn it? Some examples you're setting. If parents expect teachers to take care of you're kids when they get sick, get them into Harvard, tell you that your kids are cutting class, or risk their lives to protect your kids, then they deserve more respect from you.

As for the issue of kids acting up, of course, they will. What do you expect when you have them seat in class most of the time, not letting them go to the bathroom when they want, and not teaching them subjects that they're interested in? If you are teaching them different things so that they can be well-rounded, that will mean nothing if they don't know how to incorporate this knowledge into their life. Also, they feel like you're wasting their time. I mean, what's the point in becoming a doctor or a lawyer if no one will give you a chance? Let me ask you this do you want a seasoned doctor or lawyer to help you? If the answer is yes, then that's my point. Don't get me started on student debts, I find it insulting that you spend years giving colleges all this money, and it didn't turn me into a Billionaire. How many of you wish you would cut your losses and invest that money in the stock exchange? 

That's all I have to say about this subject for now.  

My Spider-Man rant

 My Spider-Man rant 

Intro: Forgive me if you find this post underwhelming because I will be focusing on one thing involving this character. I might go off-topic in this rant; I have to do that to make my point. I can't talk about this character without talking about the impact he made on people, or lack thereof. 

I don't have anything new to say about this character that's already been said. Really, it's a miracle that this character is well-known to the public. The reason I said that is because the late Stan Lee's editor at the time was against Spider-Man because no one likes spiders. Then again, no one likes Bats, and Batman is a hit, so was that a fair argument? I consider this character Marvel's Superman more than Captain America. The reason why is because he's not put in a position to kill people, unlike Capt. Both of them also struggle with balancing being a hero with their personal life. I like the moments this character deals with bullies in the Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man; he either fights back against them or speaks up for himself. I just wish he would do it more often.  

Spider-Man is one of the few comic book characters that became successful outside the comics with cartoons and video games. Sidenote; it's a shame that other Marvel characters couldn't succeed in cartoons and video games. Don't get me wrong, we had some success with the Hulk, X-Men, Iron Man, and Captain America, but no one capitalized on them. I'm surprised that Spider-Man PS4 was a hit because the Amazing Spider-Man tie-in game and Web of Shadows told the same story. As far as stopping an infection from spreading. Despite that, I enjoy the cartoons and video games. The live-action movies are a different story. Before I get into that, I want to address two things about the Spider-Man mythos that annoy me. 

But first, I want to address the fans; they should be ashamed of themselves over how they reacted to the PS5 remastering of Spider-Man PS4. If I were in charge of making the next Spider-Man game, I would tell my employees to stop working on the game until I see a compilation of the fans on their hands and knees apologizing to Insomniac. There is no reason for them to react that way over something so small. Do I really have to comment on the controversy around the Spider-Man Lotus fan film? We've all done things that we are not proud of; if you can't forgive someone, then you should be canceled. (To be fair, I can understand why people have a hard time with forgiveness because of suicidal empathy; however, that's not the case here.) That's my problem with cancel culture; it's disingenuous. If everyone's life were public, we wouldn't have cancel culture because we're all guilty of doing something like this or worse. 

I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of the "with great power comes great responsibility" quote. (This is another reason why I consider this character Marvel's Superman. Does this sound like something Superman would say?) Not because I disagree with it, it's because responsibility is a double-edged sword, and people don't talk about that enough. For example, Bruce Wayne watching his parents get murdered didn't turn him into Batman; he did that to himself. Let me put it like this, if someone shot you, are you going to wait for the shooter to treat your wound, or are you going to call 911? If the answer is to call 911, then that's my point. It's not Bruce's fault that his parents were murdered, but he's responsible for how he deals with it. You can't dedicate your life to fighting crime and then expect people to feel sorry for you that you don't have a life outside of that. The same goes for the Punisher; you can't commit mass murder and expect sympathy from anyone. There are better ways of coping. 

I don't understand how this character made such an impact on pop culture when people don't accept responsibility for anything. People in power don't take responsibility for creating resentment, segregation, and promoting or encouraging terrorism with a might makes right mentality. Parents and society are pointing the finger at each other instead of taking responsibility for why the youth is acting up. Law Enforcement doesn't take responsibility for why the public doesn't trust them. No one is taking responsibility for COVID-19, or why public schools are going down the toilet. (Well, that depends on where you live.) Casual gamers are not taking responsibility for why they suck at Elden Rings. Women don't take responsibility for why men don't want to put a ring on it. How are we holding the shooter's feet to the fire when we blame mental health for why they do it? The list goes on and on; that quote will lose its meaning if we keep this up. I would like to see a Spider-Man movie that deals with different aspects of responsibility. For example, is there such a thing as taking too much responsibility? 

If the answer is yes, then where does the line draw? 

This is what bothers me about the Hulk movies and TV shows. Why have a character that can turn green when he's angry if you're not going to explore different aspects of that emotion? Miles Morales is another thing that bugs me about the Spider-Man mythos. I don't like this character, not because he's a bad character, it's because he's a copy of Peter Parker. I know Spider-Man into the Spider-verse changed some aspects of the character, but that doesn't change the fact that he's the same character as Peter, but with a different look. Now I wouldn't have minded that if he were from a different universe where he got bitten by the spider instead of Peter. Speaking of Miles, what's going on with him? I mean, first the writers made him evil, then you turn him into Thor, and now the Hulk. I don't get it why create a new character if the writers are not going to separate him from Peter? This leads to another issue I have with Spider-Man, which is having different versions of the same character. When writers do that, you reduce Spider-Man to a mantel. Turing Spider-Man into a mantel takes away from what makes Peter Parker Spider-Man in the first place. Legacy characters are one of the many problems I have with comic books in general. 

I mean, where's the value in these characters if anyone can be them? 

How is this any different from giving people who participate in the Olympics a gold medal? The gold medal loses its value when you do that. Look, I don't mind someone else being Iron Man or Captain America if it's for a short time and if that person doesn't have the same backstory as the character that they're filling in for. The only exceptions to this are the Nova Corps and Black Panther. because they are space police, and the Black Panther is a mantle that's been passed down from generation to generation.  

In case you didn't read my reviews of the Spider-Man films, I didn't like most of them. We had three actors who played Peter Parker/Spider-Man, and none of them embraced this character, in my opinion. The reason why I feel this way is because none of them display how smart Peter Parker is or how funny Spider-Man can be. Tom Holland was more sarcastic in the Uncharted movie than he was as Spider-Man; that's saying a lot. I'm not saying he didn't make jokes as Spider-Man, but most of it is pop culture references. 

Sadly,  J Jonah Jameson is the only character Hollywood got right. I'm sorry, I do like Aunt May from the Raimi films, Uncle Ben, and Harry Osborn from the Amazing films. I would be surprised if we don't get a movie where JJ Jameson's son becomes Manwolf or JJ Jameson fall from grace trying to discredit Spider-Man by using Scorpion. Another thing that bugs me about these three is that most of the bad guys know Peter is Spider-Man. This wouldn't have happened if they had kept their mask on!!! To be fair, some of them figured it out, but that doesn't change the fact that Peter should be more careful with keeping his identity a secret. The Green Goblin is the only character who knows that Peter is Spider-Man in the comics, as far as I know. 

I didn't watch No Way Home because the writers wasted that movie to give us a sinister six movie. (I mean five.) That's a shame because that movie could have been good if the writers had focused on Peter dealing with the stress of everyone knowing he's Spider-Man and clearing his name. Doing that would make up for Marvel Studios not adapting that part of the Civil War comic book in their Civil War movie. In that comic, Peter not only has to deal with everyone knowing he's Spider-Man, he's conflicted about being on the right side of the registration act. This is what Spider-Man comics do; they tell stories about the internal conflict first and the external conflict second. I'm I the only one who finds it insulting that No Way Home tried to hide the fact that the other two Spider-Men are in this movie? I mean, this is the worst-kept secret since Star Trek into Darkness. I feel bad for Tom Holland because he never got a chance to carry a film. First, he was overshadowed by RDJ, and now he'll be overlooked by nostalgia bait. What's the point of casting him to play this character if Marvel Studios has no confidence that he can stand on his own? 

The villains are another thing that hurt these movies for me; most of them are not written well. Because of that, most of them feel like the villain of the week. It's a shame that The Amazing Spider-Man films didn't work out because both films were overshadowed by their competition. I don't know what Sony was thinking, trying to build a cinematic universe with Spider-Man alone. I can understand making a spin-off film or two, but a whole universe, really? After seeing the plans Sony had for this universe, I'm glad that it was discontinued. Well, something must have happened between then and now because Sony is making solo films of Spider-Man villains. I don't plan on watching them for reasons I explained in my villain's rant. Also, I don't see the point in these movies. I mean, what's the endgame? If this is what Sony's Spider-Verse looks like, then I'm not impressed. Wait! Why am I talking about universes? I thought that's what into the Spider-Verse was doing, so why do we need another one? Making a Spider-Verse is a mistake because, first of all, there are not enough interesting characters to justify this universe's existence. 

Second, the Spider-Men and women's abilities are not different enough to where they can stand out. 

How is this any different from giving each Power Ranger a solo movie? If anyone should get a solo movie is Agent Venom. That's saying a lot because I find Flash Thompson/Agent Venom annoying. I mean, you don't get to torment Peter and then be an anti-hero, screw you. He also gives him backhanded compliments outside the comics. Do you see why I find this character so aggravating? For this movie to work, Peter has to beat the crap out of Flash to the point where Flash is sent to the trauma room. After that, Peter visits him because he feels bad about how badly he beat him up, and they both reconcile. After that, it's all she wrote. 

As far as suggestions for future movies goes, hire people who care about this I.P., and the studio needs to stop undermining the director. With that said, I would like to see a story around an older Peter Parker because we got bits and pieces of what an older Spider-Man could look like in Spider-Man PS4 and into the Spider-Verse movie. Also, I'm getting tired of seeing him in a high school setting. That's saying a lot considering these movies haven't done much with this character in that setting. Seriously, who asked for a series of his freshman year? Now I wouldn't have minded that if the writers had added nuance to Peter being in high school. I would be interested in seeing unscheduled stop get adapted into a movie. We don't get a lot of superhero movies that are limited to two or three locations. 

Also, have Black Cat as a love interest for Spider-Man. It could be hard to bring her into the films because people will compare her to Catwoman. She would create an interesting love triangle. I say that because when Spider-Man reveals that he's Peter Parker, she wasn't happy about it. I know this has been done before; however, it wasn't done well. I like how this character was used in the Spider-Man 2 video game, because she boosts Peter's morale to be Spider-Man and causes Peter to have to choose between someone he loves vs someone Spider-Man loves. 

I would also like to see a Spider-Man movie with him, Black Cat, Anti-Venom, Agent Venom, and Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin. Having those characters would create an intreating dynamic considering that they all know each other. Another thing Hollywood should take notes on how Spider-Man PS4 took creative liberties with the source material. That game did it in a way that it still feels like Spider-Man for the most part. I mean, I'm not crazy about MJ being a Lois Lane clone, or Harry could be Venom.

That's all I have to say about this topic, for now. What do you think of the movies and what direction should they take?