Weekend Watch - Avatar: The Way of Water

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week, we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers, is James Cameron’s latest blockbuster hit, Avatar: The Way of Water, the thirteen-years-removed sequel to the highest grossing film of all time Avatar (2009). This film picks up a little bit more than thirteen years after the original, following main characters Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his mate (wife) Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) as they once again have to deal with people from Earth infringing upon the natural world of Pandora, this time with the help of their four children who have been born since the last film. Let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: B+; a lot of the issues (story) of the first film are greatly improved upon, but new flaws keep it from being an A-level feature.

Should you Watch This Film? Begrudgingly, yeah. If you have a friend with a great sound system and massive TV (or if you are that friend), you can wait for this one to hit Disney+ next year; otherwise, there’s enough here to make it worth seeing in theaters.

Why?

                Avatar: The Way of Water delivers on a lot of the hype surrounding the long-awaited sequel. The visuals and sound are gorgeously designed – accomplishing things that I’m sure James Cameron only dreamed of back in 2009. The story improves on the weaknesses of first by providing more personal character motivations and characters that feel a little bit more than just archetypes (sometimes). The action is amped up and feels more visceral, providing even more engaging set pieces than the first as well. Though not without flaws of its own, The Way of Water provides what you want from a blockbuster and leaves you thrilled with your theatrical experience. I’m not going to do a deep dive on the visuals and sound because other people can communicate the whys and whats way better than I can, but suffice it to say that this movie feels great in the theater.

                I think that I can (guardedly) say that people might actually remember a couple of more characters from this film than the first. The story inserts Jake’s and Neytiri’s children (Neteyam, Lo’ak, Kiri, Tuk, and sometimes Spider) to the unfolding saga of Pandora in a way that endears the film to audiences far beyond the first. Though Sam Worthington still can’t decide whether he’s American or Australian, giving Jake Sully children with individual personalities and character arcs helps make him a character worth caring about, though I can’t help but also notice that Neytiri does fall a bit to the background in this one and feels more like a tertiary character to her husband and children with even less of a character arc than the film’s villain.

                When I first heard that Avatar (2009) was getting a sequel, my first thoughts were “Why?” and then “How?”, since the first film feels so self-contained. For the most part, The Way of Water carries on in this fashion, containing a simple (if overly stretched) story of its own with a beginning, middle, and end. In this film’s case, however, we know that a sequel is coming in two years and, looking at some of the film’s less fleshed out details, that anticipation becomes immediately apparent. Part of what makes this sequel so overly long are character details and story points that feel completely irrelevant to this film’s story but that I am sure will come into play in the third, fourth, and fifth films. Kiri, in particular, felt like an annoyingly extra character (not just because de-aged, animated Sigourney Weaver strays a little too far into the uncanny valley for my taste), filling the role of weird, but make it quirky, daughter whose backstory is just that of Jesus or Anakin Skywalker. I’m sure Cameron has great plans for her (and also for Edie Falco’s character whose name I’ve already forgotten), but they do more to fill out the film’s overlong runtime than be legitimately engaging in their own right.

                Suffering from some all-too-familiar issues of overcrowding and a continued obsession with Papyrus font, Avatar: The Way of Water provides an imperfect, but superior, sequel to the original blockbuster with excellent effects and improved characters that have me mildly optimistic about the future of the PCU (Pandora Cinematic Universe), or whatever it is they’re calling this. If you have the time to see it in theaters, it’ll be worth your time. If you can’t, try to find somebody with a great television set-up to catch it on streaming in the spring (or sooner, who knows what these release schedules are).

Weekend Watch - The Fabelmans

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers is Steven Spielberg’s latest offering, the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans about a young Jewish boy who wants to become a filmmaker and his family. The film released on Wednesday and stars Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, Mateo Zoryan, and Julia Butters. Let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: A-; Spielberg pays homage to so much greatness in here, but it’s lacking a bit in emotional weight.

Should you Watch This Film? Probably so, this will easily go down as one of the best films of 2022, and there’s plenty in here for all kinds of movie fans. On the big screen it looks great, but I’m sure it’ll be solid at home as well if you really can’t make it.

Why?

                The more I think about The Fabelmans, the more I grow to love it. Spielberg works his semi-autobiography as more of a family study and homage to the power of the camera than as a biopic or an homage to watching films. In that way, it successfully subverted my expectations and left me still thoroughly enjoying myself at the end. Each of its parts on their own is great, and together, they coalesce into something uniquely great as well. From the performances to the references to filmmaking to the little bits of home filmmaking thrown in as well, it all coheres into something worth seeing.

                Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Gabriel LaBelle, and Michelle Williams are the acting highlights of The Fabelmans, each doing his or her own part to make the film what it is. Dano’s Burt Fabelman ends up as the sympathetic father figure, condemned to distance from his family by his own technical genius and practical mind. Dano does an admirable job bringing humanity to this character and keeping him redeemable throughout. Judd Hirsch’s ten minutes of screen time as Uncle Boris might be the best part of the entire film. He comes in as this otherworldly figure to mourn the loss of his sister, Sammy’s grandmother, and stays to give Sammy the advice that will shape his future endeavors, noting that his passion for film and his love for his family will tear him apart if he isn’t careful. Relative newcome Gabriel LaBelle plays the teenage version of Sammy in the film and carries the film’s third act, which is more of a high school rom-com than anything else, as we see the character and the actor come into their own by the film’s conclusion. If you’ve been paying any attention to Oscar buzz, you know that Michelle Williams’s performance as Mitzi Fabelman has been a seeming shoe-in for one of the Best Actress nominations, and she more than delivers here. Her portrayal of a mother and woman with passions and flaws and grace and everything else drives the film’s narrative for a good portion, and she bears that weight beautifully.

                In the midst of Spielberg’s family drama, he weaves details of filmmaking like editing machines and camera models and shot framing to remind the audience that this isn’t just a film about his life but also a film about his passion. Through cutaways to family films and self-produced westerns and war movies, Spielberg endears himself and the film to the audience as he so often does, asking them to relate and want more by imparting a bit of his own passion to the audience. If there is to be any gripe with The Fabelmans, it is that, by including these other films and belaboring certain points of discovery and passion, the emotional moments of the film end up feeling very telegraphed and, as such, not overly moving. The rest of the film hits the points it needs to, making the audience love and care for each of the characters and get on board with Spielberg’s love for filmmaking; it’s just the emotional catharsis that never quite finds purchase.

                The Fabelmans is a triumph of a film, showcasing some great acting performances and the director’s passion for filmmaking. Expect to hear its name a lot in the coming months of film awards, as it is deserving of plenty with its star-studded cast and great technical aspects. Its emotional shortcomings are more than overcome with an engrossing story and quality filmmaking across the board.

Weekend Watch - The Menu

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give it a rating, review, and recommendation. This week’s topic, as voted by the blog’s Instagram followers, is The Menu, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes, Nicolas Hoult, Hong Chau, and many others in an ensemble dark comedy. This social commentary set in the world of high-end restauranting hit theaters this weekend. The Mark Mylod directed film has been creating quite a buzz since it was first announced. Let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: A-; it’s the most fun I’ve had at the theater in a while, but there’s a few things to nitpick.

Should you Watch This Film? Absolutely! Unless you’re the third grader that came with his family to our screening who I don’t necessarily think was old enough to appreciate how good this film is.

Why?

                The Menu combines elements of a lot of different films to create a unique meal all of its own. From the eerily subtle horror elements of Midsommar to the intense kitchen shots of Chef or Burnt or Boiling Point and the on-the-nose social commentary of The Big Short or Succession, each piece of this film feels a bit drawn from elsewhere, but in the end, it is undoubtedly its own film, making something relatively new out of its old parts. Its thrilling elements play well with the darkly comedic releases of tension, keeping the audience in an ebb and flow of intensity and relief as we unravel what the evening has in store for the twelve dinner guests and their cooking hosts. At certain points, the film drifts a bit further toward the absurd than it might need to, creating discomfort with the film rather than with its characters, but it never goes so far afield as to be unable to reel its audience back in. By the time the meal’s story (and that of the film) has been told, the audience is left with a combined sense of disgust, satisfaction, and awe, just as Chef Slowik (or is it director Mark Mylod and writers Seth Reiss and Will Tracy) intended.

                Aiding in the film’s delivery of its assortment of film styles is its ensemble cast, mostly of faces you’ll recognize but can’t quite put names to and a few big hitters to supplement it all. Ralph Fiennes leads the kitchen as Chef Slowik, bringing all the menace of his Voldemort performance while maintaining a bit more humanity, keeping the audience sure that he’s not the one to root for but not convinced that he’s the one to root against. Anya Taylor-Joy brings mystery and intrigue to the evening as Margot, a last-minute fill-in as Nicolas Hoult’s Tyler’s date to the dinner. She shines as a burgeoning scream queen here (though not really screaming, more as the ideal “elevated horror” final girl), exploring the mysteries of the restaurant’s staff and consistently going against the grain of the rest of the guests in satisfying fashion. Hong Chau (who you might know from Downsizing or HBO’s Watchmen) brings a worthy combination of comedy and intensity to her role as the restaurant’s hostess, Elsa, a matter-of-fact second-in-command to Slowik whose character arc is just as mysterious and complicated as the leads. The rest of the guests, headlined by Nicolas Hoult as an annoying Instagram influencer and John Leguizamo as a washed-up actor looking to rebrand as a travel host, bring the rest of the flavor to this menu, each bringing his or her own brand of flawed wealth to the screen exactly as you’d want an ensemble to work, accentuating the film’s central themes with performances just memorable enough to be unique without overshadowing the film’s main characters.

                The Menu’s blend of thriller, dark comedy, and food, delivered by a satisfying ensemble cast, will leave audiences full and satisfied by the time the credits roll, even if not every bit of the meal lands perfectly. Watching it in a theater with plenty of other viewers certainly adds to the experience, and I recommend it if you are able to make it. If not, when this comes to streaming, it should definitely hit the top of your watchlist. Check it out when you can.

Weekend Watch - July 2022 Recap

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week, we take a look at a new piece of film or television media that has recently released and give you a review and recommendation for it. As we have now come to the end of the month of July, this week is devoted to recapping the films that released in the month of July and have a shot of making it onto the site’s list of Greatest Films of All Time. Just as with June, July was a pretty sparse month for “Great Films”, so there are no Sure Things this month again. We do have a few in the Possible Things and Long Shots categories though, so let’s take a look.

Long Shots:

Minions: The Rise of Gru: This animated viral sensation is already one of the highest grossing films of the year, but its mediocre critic reviews keep it only at a long shot. It will probably need some success at one or more of the awards shows to make it up to true “Great” status. This doesn’t mean that the film is bad. Check out the Weekend Watch that I did on it a few weeks ago if you want to know the blog’s opinion.

Thor: Love and Thunder: The MCU’s latest outing seems to have slipped back into the Marvel Phase 1 levels of critical and fan reception. It’s a really good time, but the film struggles as a follow-up to the wildly successful Thor: Ragnarok. Taika Waititi’s brand of mixing wacky comedy with emotional weight seems to have missed the mark somewhat with this one, but its visuals and box office numbers keep it as a long shot.

The Sea Beast: Netflix’s animated fantasy film starring Karl Urban’s voice seems to have hit a successful chord among audiences and critics, sitting at a 94% Tomatometer score and 87% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, its other numbers are only a little above average, and with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio also releasing from Netflix later this year, it’s difficult to imagine the streaming service getting two Best Animated Picture nominees.

Where the Crawdads Sing: 30- and 40-something women across the U.S. are keeping this film’s hopes alive, along with the fact that I’ve seen enough critics praising Daisy Edgar-Jones’s performance to make me think she has (very) long odds to get some nominations come awards season. Other than that, the film doesn’t have much great about it, but we’ll see.

Vengeance: B.J. Novak’s feature film directorial debut came out in wide release this weekend to relatively positive reviews, if somewhat mixed. For Texans, his film is near perfect, delivering a well-researched story that features some very solid depictions of the state and its people. For everyone else, the film’s story does at times get overshadowed by Novak’s messaging coming through in the dialogue. It’s good, but not great, and it’s hard to see this getting looks for much besides its writing come awards season.

DC League of Super-Pets: The Dwayne Johnson-Kevin Hart animated comedy about Krypto the Super-Dog and his pet companions is going to make a decent splash at the box office, as Johnson’s films inevitably do. So far, it has also seen quite a bit of success among audiences but not as much among critics. Its mixed numbers and the high number of animated films in the running for awards this year will probably keep it off the list.

A Love Song: This indie film about aging romance that released this weekend starring Dale Dickey and Wes Studi has all the makings of a really solid film. Unfortunately, we are in a year when so many other indie films (two or three so far, all from A24) have gained cult followings that it feels like this one is going to fly too far under the radar to get the awards love it will need to make it onto the list.

Possible Things:

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris: Audiences and critics alike have predominantly positive things to say about this Lesley Manville-led film about a widow who reopens the House of Dior in Paris in the 1950s. The film’s positive message, solid acting, and great costuming make it a possible hit for something when the Awards nominations start rolling out.

Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down: This documentary about Gabby Giffords, the Congresswoman who was shot in an attempted assassination back in 2011, and her perseverance getting through life since then is directed by the same people who did the Oscar-nominated RBG documentary, so there’s definitely a shot for this film. It's not a sure thing yet, mainly because it just doesn’t have the critical success that so many documentaries often enjoy.

Nope: Jordan Peele’s third film currently looks to have a better shot at the list than Us did. Audiences like this one more, and it has some beautiful cinematography and a simpler story to help it along. Its scores aren’t quite high enough to make it a sure thing, but don’t be surprised to see it jump up come awards season.

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song: This documentary about Leonard Cohen and his song “Hallelujah” has been a solid hit with critics and audiences. A nomination and/or win for feature documentary at some awards shows would help this one rise up onto the list.

Accepted: This documentary covers a school in Louisiana with some controversial teaching and disciplinary practices that also happened to have a ridiculously high acceptance rate among Ivy League schools. The film documents the discovery of potential abuses and engages with the question of how far people are willing to go to get into “good schools”. Its reviews are relatively positive, but not many people have seen it so far, so we’ll keep it as just a possibility for now.

Weekend Watch - Nope

                 Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week, we review and recommend a new piece of film or television media as voted on by the followers on the blog’s Instagram account. This week, the winner of the poll was Jordan Peele’s newest film, Nope, a sci-fi/horror film featuring Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Steven Yeun, and Keith David. The film is Peele’s third, following the widely successful films Us and Get Out. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look.

Letter Grade: B+; this film is by no means perfect, but most of it is high quality and really fun and original

Should you Watch This Film? I think so; it is a film worth checking out for its combination of original and homage filmmaking.

Why?

                Nope is a genre-blending film whose parts are probably better than the whole. It utilizes elements of sci-fi and alien horror films, psychological thrillers, classic westerns, and family comedies into its own unique package. Writer/director/producer Jordan Peele’s vision shines through most brilliantly in the moments when the film leans all the way into its genres and uses them to make commentary on the state of modern entertainment and “spectacle”. Whether it is exploring aliens and flying saucers, the phenomenon of society’s newfound UFO awareness, the issues with child stars, the dangers and potential of trained animals in film and television, or even a cinematographer looking for the perfect shot, Nope’s highs showcase some brilliant commentary, gorgeous visuals, and a refreshingly unique story. Of Peele’s films, this one is by far the most connected to the world of filmmaking, allowing the director to throw in bits and references to black cinema, and specifically westerns, rewarding some of his more faithful fans in the process. At the same time, Nope’s highlights are also what causes its message to break down by the end. A film critiquing the audiences desire for spectacle while presenting spectacle inevitably feels a bit too on-the-nose or not quite self-aware enough to accomplish its goal, and in watching the film, it feels as if Peele recognized that danger and, therefore, chose to conclude his film with a different note and story emphasis. Unfortunately, by the time the audience becomes aware of the turn, they have already become invested in the other story lines and themes, making where the film ultimately ends up into a bit of a disappointment. This is not to say that the rest of the film, especially its performers and sci-fi/horror aspects, is particularly bad. In fact, the rest of the film is arguably a top-three film to release this year. Its inability to stick the landing definitely leaves you looking for more, but that should not dissuade you from appreciating the rest of the film and its otherwise great parts.

Weekend Watch - Where the Crawdads Sing

                Welcome back to the new and improved Weekend Watch, where each week, you vote on the blog’s Instagram for what we should watch next weekend, and then I watch it and give a little review and recommendation about it. This week’s winner was the new theatrical release, Where the Crawdads Sing, based on the best-selling novel by Delia Owens. It features Daisy Edgar-Jones as the protagonist Kya Clark, Taylor John Smith and Harris Dickinson as her two love interests (Tate and Chase), and David Strathairn as her elderly lawyer, Tom Milton.

Letter Grade: C-, it definitely doesn’t wow, but it tells an interesting enough story

Should you Watch This Film? Fans of the book should enjoy this one well enough, but visually, it doesn’t bring enough to the table to necessitate a theatrical viewing.

Why?

                Where the Crawdads Sing suffers from similar issues to many adaptations of detailed books into films. It tells the story well, but the story was only part of what made the book so well-liked. The character development is cast to the wayside in favor of hitting story points, but because of runtime requirements, the story points often feel disjointed from one another, making it a difficult film to categorize. This film has notes of a romantic drama, a woman-empowerment film, and a courtroom drama, but not quite enough of any individually to get it into those categories. It has a love triangle (of sorts) between three attractive actors, in which one guy is clearly better for the girl than the other is, but she has to discover that for herself. The only problem is that for extended stretches of the film, the romance plot simply disappears, taking you out of that genre’s mindset. The film features a strong female protagonist doing great things all on her own like fending for herself after being abandoned by her family, writing a plethora of books about local wildlife that end up published by academic publishers, and fighting off an attempted rapist all on her own. At the same time, she only learns of the publishers from one of the men in her life and her court case rests on the skill of her male lawyer, as she refuses to take the stand in her own defense. These are two clear moments of potential female empowerment that lose some of their impact because of the men involved, which is true to the book, but the book has plenty of other aspects that enforce the female empowerment piece, and maybe the story’s ending redeems those points to a lesser extent as well. Finally, as a courtroom drama, we get very little, which was also the case in the book, as the trial featured only at the story’s conclusion. In the film adaptation, the court case is sprinkled in throughout the film between flashbacks to other parts of the story. For the most part, the courtroom and related scenes serve mainly as a vehicle for David Strathairn to do some acting and very little else. Not much is revealed through those scenes, and they feel more like an afterthought to everything else going on in the film because of Kya’s reluctance to speak. Despite these tonal disparities, the story is compelling, and the acting is relatively solid (minus some occasional accent inconsistencies). I’d say this is certainly a film worth watching at some point, especially if you’ve read the book or you are at all curious about the book but haven’t had time to sit down and read it yet. Where the Crawdads Sing is a faithful, if lacking, adaptation of Delia Owens’s novel, featuring all the story points of the beloved book without the strong character and relationship development that tied it all together. It feels like something that could have been even better, had it gone the route of miniseries like so many other stories have in recent years.

Weekend Watch - Minions: The Rise of Gru

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week we take a look at a new piece of film or television media and give a brief review and recommendation. This week, we are taking a look at the first film to be selected by followers on the blog’s Instagram account: Minions: The Rise of Gru, the sequel to 2015’s Minions and prequel to the Despicable Me trilogy that released to record-breaking success at last weekend’s box office and continues to wow audiences. Let’s get into it.

Letter Grade: B; solid, definitely watchable animated family flick

Should you Watch This Film? Yes, it’s a mostly enjoyable if a little bit imperfect animated film. Kids will absolutely love this, as will fans of the Despicable Me/Minions franchise.

Why?

                Minions: The Rise of Gru does not try to stray from its lane in the entertainment world and succeeds greatly for that. It gets back to the formula of the original Despicable Me, playing on a combination of rude and witty visual and verbal humor with original characters and worldbuilding all with a heartfelt message about family. What this sequel does well is comedy, setting, and message. As an adult with no kids, I went with my wife to see this film and sat down the row from a group of small children who were absolutely losing it at everything the Minions did, giving the film a more endearing film for sure, because it was succeeding with its target audience. However, I also found myself laughing at jokes and gags that definitely went over my younger peers’ heads and never felt that I had made a huge mistake in going to see what all the buzz was about (might’ve also helped that I went on a discount ticket day, idk). The setting of 1970s America comes through from the opening sequence and carries through in the different characters, vehicles, and situations for basically the entirety of the film; it is apparent that the animators and writers wanted this to stay true to the setting, and they achieved that. The message of the film is fairly simple, but effective: We need people to live life well and should treat other people well if we want to see that happen. It comes through in the young Gru’s relationship with the Minions that develops throughout the film from frustration to appreciation and care and is also reflected in the development of the relationships of the other villains in the film (all of which are very well-themed and fit the setting well). It’s a good message for both kids and adults to remember to treat the people around us well. With all of its high points, the film does struggle a bit on the story side. There are a lot of moments where things just happen in this film, especially in the film’s action-packed third act. I wish there was just a little bit more explanation of a certain object’s abilities before it got used, and I could also have used some more in between moments showing how the main Minions (Kevin, Stuart, and Bob) got to the final showdown. The final showdown itself is pretty entertaining; it’s just the moments immediately leading up to it that feel a little bit rushed. I feel like they could have added like five more minutes of content (barely breaking the 90-minute mark can’t be that cardinal of a sin) and made this an even more enjoyable film for the adults that will inevitably watch this. If you can suspend certain expectations about story and plot holes, Minions: The Rise of Gru is a delightful family film that delivers solid comedy, well-developed 70s characters and settings, and a simple but relevant message. Check it out in theaters, or wait for it to come to streaming, but this is definitely worth watching at some point.

Weekend Watch - Moon knight (episodes 1-3)

                Welcome back to the Weekend Watch where each week, we do a brief exploration of a new piece of media – film, television, and apparently sometimes video games. This week, we’ll be taking a look at the first half of Marvel’s latest small-screen outing, Moon Knight, whose first three episodes are now available to stream on Disney+.

Letter Grade: B+ with a potential to become an A or a C depending on how they close out the back half

Should you Watch This Show? It’s a must-watch for people looking to stay updated on the MCU and Oscar Isaac fans; right now there’s nothing making it unwatchable but also nothing to say anyone else has to watch it.

Why?

                Moon Knight is the latest of Marvel’s television shows that have released on Disney’s streaming platform. It follows WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye, focusing on a lesser-known Marvel property and, probably, testing their wider marketability. Moon Knight is also unique thus far, in the fact that it contains no pre-existing MCU characters through its first three episodes, at least not explicitly. Even referentially, the only overt reference made to outside events, locations, and characters has been the mention of the criminal island of Madripoor from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and this came only in passing during the third episode. In its newness, Moon Knight is a refreshing deviation from typical MCU properties of late, but it also begs the question of why this show exists. It is fine as a character study and even has moments of comedy and is flirting with some potential romance, but none of those are what the show bills itself as. Its trailers presented something trippy, mystical, violent, and at times even terrifying. Thus far, there hasn’t been much delivery on any of those fronts. There has been some scratching of the surface of each of those content pieces, but if you were hoping for a full-on deviation from the light-hearted flavor of the MCU, then you will most likely be at least a little bit disappointed with the first half of this season. Honestly, the biggest factor that keeps this show watchable is its central character’s actor Oscar Isaac. Isaac portrays (so far) the two characters inside the head of one body that operates as the titular Moon Knight – marine turned mercenary Marc Spector and mild-mannered museum worker Steven Grant. His turn as both characters is the heart and soul of the show that has kept me coming back week after week, even if his British accent for Steven leaves something to be desired. There is a lot of potential in the threads of character development and story lines that have been opened in the show that we have yet to see played out all the way. Knowing Marvel, it should finish in a fairly satisfying way that also connects the character more deeply to the wider MCU, so if those are things that you are looking forward to, check this show out.

Weekend Watch - Morbius

                Welcome to the Weekend Watch, where each week, the blog will take a quick look at a new piece of television or film media that many people will probably be watching over the weekend and help you figure out if you too need to watch it. It’ll receive a subjective letter grade, as it is still too early to grant new films objective composite scores, and a quick, mostly spoiler-free recommendation for viewing. This week’s subject is Jared Leto’s new contribution to SONY’s Spider-Man universe, Morbius.

Letter Grade: D+/C-

Should you Watch This Film? Only if you are not the one paying for the ticket!

Why?

                Morbius already has a bunch of terrible reviews, so I’m not going to belabor the point. This film is perfectly fine, but it fails to live up to the legitimate movie greatness of many other MCU films or even the fun, disjointed chaos of the Venom films. Leto’s performance is not overly noteworthy (he does look good though so that’s something), and honestly, the most realistic portrayal comes from Matt Smith as the villainous Milo/Lucian – his name gets a little confusing. Action sequences are almost exclusively CGI and not overly gripping. The story is pretty generic, but the character has potential. SONY has embraced the Spider-Verse anti-heroes but doesn’t quite seem to know how to make a fully high-quality film featuring one yet. There is a lot of discussion of what Morbius is going to do once the highly convenient artificial blood no longer slakes his thirst, but that question simply does not get answered. Even the proprietary post-credits scenes don’t fully understand what to do with an anti-hero, or even maybe with a villain. After watching Morbius, I am not sold on SONY’s Spider-Verse and certainly not convinced that it was worth the ticket price. The film’s biggest saving grace seems to be that the studio knew that it hadn’t produced a great product and kept the runtime under 2 hours, respecting the audience’s time. After we left the showing, my wife commented, and I agreed, that this was probably a film we could have waited to watch when it was on one of our streaming services, and that is honestly my recommendation to you. There is nothing that makes Morbius a must-watch big screen blockbuster, but it might be worth the watch if you want to see some hot Jared Leto and creepy Matt Smith action.