Despite the DCEU going under new management with James Gunn, and Ezra Miller’s recent controversies, it looks like ‘The Flash’ film will still be getting a worldwide release and the weekend’s Superbowl was a perfect opportunity to show off the first trailer for it.
‘The Flash’ stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen, aka The Flash, as he accidently opens up the multiverse in an attempt to travel to one where he can be happy. But actions have consequences as he now has to fix the mess he has caused from this.
While Marvel had already released films and shows based around the multiverse concept, ‘The Flash’ looks to go in the direction of the consequences that can happen when you mess with a universe you are not part of. This includes Barry meeting a younger version of himself, and interacting with characters that are not part of his universe. And, as is shown in the trailer, that can cause worlds and universes to collapse.
But this concept can also bring back characters and actors that are no longer part of the DCEU. Ben Affleck appears as his variant of Bruce Wayne (Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice) as well as General Zod returning (Michael Shannon – Man of Steel). However, the biggest talking point has to be Michael Keaton returning as the iconic ’89 Batman.
With his entrance being accompanied by Danny Elfman’s famous theme, this was a joy to see as someone who grew up with Keaton’s Batman. And the film’s crew have taken great care to completely replicate the original Batsuit from his films. Despite everything else that will happen in this film, the return of Keaton’s Batman is what I am looking forward to the most.
‘The Flash’ definitely looks interesting and it seems to utilize the multiverse concept fairly well, with returning characters and new versions of familiar characters being introduced. But it’s hard to deny the reason the film is still being talking about is because of the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. It was such an iconic role and it will be great to see him as an older Batman. Maybe this could lead into a ‘Batman Beyond’ film?
The end of January marked the 3rd episode of ‘The Last of Us’, and what is the most emotional episode so far.
Episode 3, titled ‘Long, Long Time’ follows Bill (Nick Offerman – Parks & Recreation) and Frank (Murray Bartlett – The White Lotus) as it shines a light on their first meeting, life and relationship during the time of the apocalypse.
This is the best episode of the show, and tragically beautiful.
The episode starts with Ellie and Joel walking towards Bill’s location, with Ellie wanting to know how the outbreak happened and why. This is a departure from the previous episodes that began with a flashback. Instead, Joel explains to Ellie that the infection spread through flour and sugar, resulting in contaminated food. While Ellie wasn’t born when the Infection started (which is evident at the end when she’s amazed at getting into a car for the first time), Joel remembers the start vividly. It’s very clear that that day and what happened still affects him, which is demonstrated through his monologue explaining how the outbreak started; he even remembered the date it reached his town.
But the episode’s main focus is Bill and Frank, and the story of how they met. In the game, Bill is a character the player is required to meet in order to gain a vehicle. But the show gives him a second chance by expanding on his backstory with his boyfriend Frank. Known mostly for his comedic work, Nick Offerman gives a beautiful and sincere performance as his relationship with Frank grows. But this episode also proves that other people did survive and could’ve done for years on their own.
Bill, himself, is a survivalist so was prepared for situations just like this, and it was interesting to see how he lived and tried to revive the strange community that he is in. Furthermore, Offerman’s chemistry with Murray Bartlett was perfect. They were believable as a natural couple forming in the time of an apocalypse and, with it being so, this made it so much more tragic as an Infected could arrive at any moment, despite the traps that had been laid out. This episode is the calmest in terms of its tone, but it still felt tense purely because these characters were sweet and could fall to the dangers of the rest of the world so suddenly.
This episode was also important as an example of great LGBT representation. Like previously mentioned, Bill and Frank’s relationship progressed naturally, and it never felt forced at any point throughout its runtime. Furthermore, the outbreak occurred in September 2003, meaning that the world was effectively stuck in that year. At the time, the only countries that had legalized same-sex marriage were Belgium and Uruguay; America wouldn’t make it legal across all fifty states until 2015.
So, Bill and Frank’s relationship and the way in which it progressed, sadly, wouldn’t have been legal at the time that the outbreak occurred. And Bill’s awkwardness towards Frank when he hints that a love song he sings isn’t directed towards a woman is clear. This was a plot that was beautifully written.
While episode 3 may not seem important at face value, it truly is. It tells viewers that other people survived and lived outside of the Quarantine Zones, and it was a nice tonal change from the action-packed scenes of the first two episodes. Furthermore, it showcased a wonderful same-sex couple, with Offerman and Bartlett’s chemistry executed perfectly.
This was a welcome tonal change with a good explanation into the cause of the outbreak, and fantastic LGBT representation to top it all off.
After grossing over $344million worldwide already, ‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish’ is finally in UK cinemas. While a lot of clips have already been shared on social media, this was an unexpected film to be excited for.
‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish’ is the sequel to the 2011 Puss In Boots film, with Antonio Banderas (Zorro, Spy Kids) reprising the role of the fearless feline, as he goes on a quest to find a wishing star in the hopes of gaining back the lives that he lost.
As well as its financial success, it’s also become an Oscar nominee in the ‘Best Animated Feature’ category and it’s easy to see why. It may only be February, but this is my favourite film of 2023 so far.
While the previous Shrek films have used CGI animation, ‘The Last Wish’ utilizes a similar art style to recent Sony Animation films like ‘The Mitchells vs The Machines’ and ‘Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse’. And it looks gorgeous; right from the opening scene, the visuals look beautiful with a lot of the backgrounds featuring a watercolour painting style. And, when the film uses close ups, brush strokes can be seen on a character; it creates a beautiful and unique look for the feline’s adventure. But it also adopts the look of ‘Into The Spiderverse’ by changing the frame rate during the fight sequences that occur throughout the film, giving it a stop-motion-style feel. This ultimately creates a visually amazing film that truly looks like a work of art.
The fight sequences themselves are also visually gorgeous; as well as the art influences from Sony Animation, these sequences were probably influenced by anime too, specifically ‘Demon Slayer’, when it comes to the final battle, and ‘Attack on Titan’ with others. The film even starts with an ‘Attack on Titan’ style fight which does a fantastic job at showcasing the animation style. The anime influences also mean the fights themselves are very well animated and are creative. Each battle feels different, whether it’s the fighting style, the setting or the opponent; no fight sequence is the same.
But this is ultimately a road trip film (with a subplot), with the overall plot revolving around travelling to a star. This means that it’s not just Puss In Boots travelling there; he’s also joined by Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek – Puss In Boots, House of Gucci), a character from the previous film, as well as new characters Perrito the dog (Harvey Guillén – What We Do In The Shadows, Harley Quinn), Jack Horner (John Mulaney – Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse) and Goldi (Florence Pugh – Don’t Worry Darling, Hawkeye) and the Three Bears (Olivia Colman – The Mitchells vs The Machines/ Ray Winstone – Marvel’s Black Widow/ Samson Kayo – Our Flag Means Death). It’s an all-star cast and they are perfect for their roles. John Mulaney is brilliant as Jack Horner, an irredeemable villain, as well as Florence Pugh and Olivia Coleman as Goldi and Mama Bear, who help showcase the value of family. Each character carries a different personality, but also wants a different wish which helps carry their own story arc, as well as highlighting their issues. Goldi’s story arc is tragic while Jack Horner’s story arc is horrific but owes to some hilarious scenes mainly due to the way he deals with various situations. Each character has been very well written and care has been taken to fully explore each character.
But the film’s biggest message lies with Puss in Boots, Perrito and the Wolf, who is introduced in the first act. The reason why Puss wants the wishing star is because he’s wasted his previous eight lives and wants them back. And, for the first half of the duration, he’s scared of death and tries to run away from it. But, during the journey, he learns to accept the one life he has and to appreciate what he has, thanks mostly to Perrito, who is a constant optimistic figure in his and Kitty’s life. The film has a lot to say about not wasting one’s life, but it also perfectly looks at mental health and the fear of death. For a film perceived as a children’s film, it carries mature and adult themes, making this more of a family film.
And, if ‘Puss In Boots: The Last Wish’ wanted to put the fear of death into the feline, then they brilliantly did that through the Wolf. Voiced by Wagner Moura (Narcos, The Gray Man), the Wolf suddenly appears in the film and immediately becomes a feared opponent for Puss. Dreamworks don’t hold back on the horror that he brings too; he is terrifying! Aside from the superb voice acting, the Wolf is scary because none of his scenes are comical. Compared to previous Dreamworks films, where the villains have had comedic scenes in the third act, the Wolf doesn’t have any. The tone is suddenly serious no matter what the previous tone was before he arrived and it’s an aspect I greatly admire. Just like with Jack Horner never becoming a redeemable character, I’m glad that the Wolf’s scenes aren’t reduced to comedy by the end of the film.
The new year has just started but ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ is my favourite film of 2023 and fully deserves to be an Oscar nominee. The different art style makes the film looks gorgeous, and the voice cast is fantastic and are perfect for their roles. But the film also has an important message about appreciating one’s life and not to take it for granted. Plus, the way it tackles mental health is perfect, even perfectly portraying a panic attack when Puss gets one. The attention to detail, not just in visuals, but character development, storytelling and its messages is perfect, which was unexpected for a Puss In Boots sequel.
Ever since ‘IT: Chapter One’ became the highest grossing horror film in 2017, remakes and adaptations of Stephen King’s novels have continued to be released to mixed reception. And the next story to be adapted is the short story ‘The Boogeyman’.
‘The Boogeyman’ was a short story that was released in the 1978 collection Night Shift and follows high school student Sadie Harper, her younger sister Sawyer and their father. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.
This is a story I am unfamiliar with but, just from the trailer, it looks like a mix between 2016 ‘Lights Out’ and 2010 ‘Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark’. It has the potential to be scary and has an intriguing premise. And it’s being directed by Rob Savage, who’s feature film directorial debut was ‘Host’, a fantastic horror set and filmed during the time of the COVID pandemic.
So, it has the markings of a great film. However, the trailer also showcases a lot of slow burn tensions, e.g.: a door slowly creaking open, someone looking under the bed and nothing appearing for far too long. So, it could also fall into the trap of being boring with prolonged jumpscare build ups.
‘The Boogeyman’, despite being an adaptation, could either be fantastically scary, with the addition of a great director, or it could be a slowburn with jumpscare build ups that are far too long. But, since this is an adaptation of a Stephen King story, and recent adaptations have been well received, I hope this film will follow in the same footsteps.
After being revived by Hulu in 2020, ‘Animaniacs’ has been welcomed by original fans and seen by new ones. But, as much as I wished they’d stay around forever, the trailer for the final season has been released.
‘Animaniacs’ is an animated show created by Steven Spielberg. Originally airing in the UK in 1993, it featured the Warner Brothers (Wakko, Yakko and Dot) and their adventures round the Warner Bros. Studios.
The show sees the return of the Warner Brothers (and Warner sister) as well as Pinky and the Brain. Furthermore, the humour and 4th wall breaks are back too, including a sequence that potentially hints the three siblings’ knowledge of the show ending. This, particularly, would make for a heart-warming conclusion to the revival as they say goodbye to their fanbase.
Another sequence sees Pinky and the Brain involved in a car chase reminiscent to ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, and Pinky thinks back on their story arc and the fact they’ve done the same thing every day. With this being the final season, there’s potential for each character to look back on not only the revival but the 90’s show too. It would make for a nice close to a classic.
Having grown up with the original show, the revival was something I looked forward to when it was first announced, and it’s been a hilariously crazy but memorable experience. The revival has not only stayed true to the tone and humour of its source material but, with social media and the internet now being a prominent part of people’s lives, it’s been able to add humorous commentary to that and it’s been wonderful.
It’ll be sad to see the show end, but I will definitely be watching the final season of ‘Animaniacs’.
