Venom

Sony's first attempt at creating their own cinematic universe inspired by the MCU but with only characters related to Spider-Man, Venom deals with the usual things that occur when Eddie Brock bonds with the alien symbiote and becomes the dark anti hero. Unlike previous versions wherein the suit first bonded with Peter Parker, Spider-Man doesn't make any appearances and so Brock and Venom don't have the exact same backstory that usually is adapted from the comics. This actually works since I feel the symbiote can work with any other Marvel hero and Eddie Brock can have trouble with his life even without Spider-Man. Tom Hardy portrays Eddie Brock and voices the Venom symbiote in a way that ensures both characters are very different, which is the strongest aspect in the film. With Ruben Fleischer on board as director, his over the top take can make the film fun to watch but also can be too much at certain points that makes it hard to take serious. Alongside Hardy is Michelle Williams as his girlfriend, Riz Ahmed as the head of a company and the main villain, and Jenny Slate as a scientist working on symbiotes who gets Hardy involved in the plot, and while they all play their roles well a lot of the time it doesn't fit the over the top nature of both the movie and Hardy's performance. The action scenes are fun and fast paced, while the effects are really good especially whenever Brock turns into Venom. Some of the explanations as to why some of the symbiotes don't work with certain people is not explained that well, the same with Venom's motivation to fight his own kind. Venom doesn't offer anything that new to the superhero genre and the script is all over the place, while the fight scene between Venom and Riot is hard to make out due to similar appearances. For a film that's meant to start a new cinematic universe it hits some of the right notes, such as the post credit scene introducing the future Carnage, but fails at other aspects such as showing more of this universe and what it can offer. Over all: 90%

2018 top list so far:
1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?/BlacKkKlansman (tie)

2. Incredibles 2

3. Avengers: Infinity War

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

6. A Quiet Place
7. Deadpool 2

8. Black Panther
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Ready Player One

11. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

12. Ocean's 8

13. Isle of Dogs

14. Game Night

15. Venom

16. Thoroughbreds

17. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

18. The Predator

19. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The Predator

Directed and cowritten by Shane Black, The Predator is the fourth film in the series, though sixth with the two Alien crossover films. This installment deals with a group of soldiers and scientists who have to deal with two different Predators who both have their own agendas. Expanding on the lore of the franchise, it turns out that the Predators don't just hunt those they consider worthy, but use the genes they extract to upgrade themselves to become better hunters. The film stars Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, Sterling K. Brown, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and many others. While all of their performances are very good, one huge problem is that they're sometimes over the top and try to be too funny many times. The comedy can work but can sometimes come off as overly sexist and rude, which I think is trying to capture the very 1980s manly feel that the original film and many others at the time had but just comes off as trying to hard. A lot of the editing, particularly when going from one scene to another, is very jarring and sudden. The way people learn about something new, like Holbrook finding the Predator's weapons and Brown's science team learning about the true reason why the Predators are on Earth, feels way to easy without time and very rushed. Some of the things many of the characters do throughout the film tend to either not fit with the character we've seen before or the motivations they have, like the smaller Predator being part human and wanting to help Earth even though he ends up killing a lot of people. The action scenes are fun to watch, especially the last one, if not a little over edited and hard to see in the night scenes. While it has great acting, a cool ending that hints at the future, and awesome effects, it suffers from over the top characters that we know little about, a story that's not very new and tries too hard and also not enough, and numerous moments that sometimes try to be way too macho. Over all: 87%

2018 top list so far:
1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?/BlacKkKlansman (tie)

2. Incredibles 2

3. Avengers: Infinity War

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

6. A Quiet Place
7. Deadpool 2

8. Black Panther
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Ready Player One

11. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

12. Ocean's 8

13. Isle of Dogs

14. Game Night
15. Thoroughbreds

16. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

17. The Predator

18. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1

Set after the events of Infinite Crisis and during DC's One Year Later storyline, Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1 sees Donna Troy taking on the mantle of Wonder Woman after Diana disappeared due to her past actions and fighting her old villains to protect Steve Trevor. When she gets captured, a team is tasked to help find her with Diana part of the team disguised as an agent named Diana Prince. This is the first of three Wonder Woman digital comics that I got for free after seeing 2017s Wonder Woman, the first to focus on Donna Troy, the first to deal with the events of Infinite Crisis which I have not read but know enough about it to understand what's going on, and the first to download from ComiXology. While at first a bit confused why Wonder Woman was going by a different name, looking up what happened before helped me understand and appreciate the issue more. Though there was a bit too much exposition given in nearly every page that felt distracting, the story is well told and the artwork by Terry Dodson is very fresh and smooth. The fight scenes between Donna and Wonder Woman's old foes is the best part and the ending has some good surprises. Over all: 81%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
2. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
3. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
7. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
8. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
9. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
10. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
11. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
12. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
13. Wonder Woman (2006-2011) #1
14. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
15. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

Pop Culture Guy episode 50: Reviews On The March

BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman is the true, inspirational, and very poignant story of Ron Stallworth, the first black cop in Colorado Springs, Colorado who teamed up with another officer to infiltrate the local chapter of the KKK and stop their next terrorist attack in 1972. The film is unapologetic when it comes to the true life bigotry of anyone who has ever joined the organization and their feelings toward anyone of color or different beliefs. As the director and one of the cowriters, Spike Lee crafts a superb detective drama that adds a bit of comedy here and there, while also making one uncomfortable in such a way that you keep getting invested. The decision to end the film with footage of modern day alt-right protests over white pride, the Charlottesville car attack in 2017, and Trump's response shows how much little has changed but how much like the events of the movie can bring people together against such threats. John David Washington and Adam Driver pull of not only great performances but have such an amazing chemistry. All of the actors portraying the KKK, especially Topher Grace as leader David Duke, all do too good of a job at making us hate them. Both the music and cinematography do a fantastic job at evoking and capturing the era in which the film is set. This is a film that, no doubt, will leave an impact on so many people, will inspire so many, and will be impossible to just forget about, especially in today's current climate. Over all: 100%

2018 top list so far:
1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?/BlacKkKlansman (tie)

2. Incredibles 2

3. Avengers: Infinity War

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

6. A Quiet Place
7. Deadpool 2

8. Black Panther
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Ready Player One

11. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

12. Ocean's 8

13. Isle of Dogs

14. Game Night
15. Thoroughbreds

16. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

17. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1

The third and last of the free digital comics after seeing Thor: Ragnarok, The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1 takes place after Thor has lost the unworthiness of being able to lift Mjolnir and is now on a quest to find another version of Mjolnir that belonged to the Ultimate version of Thor. Although I haven't read the comics that have to do with the new Secret Wars event or Thor losing his hammer, the comic itself gives information about those events as well as learning about them from comic book video reviewers. You get to see a Thor who is more vulnerable than he's ever been as he fights large enemies without the use of his magic hammer. The issue has a perfect balance of Thor's expositional narration and the fight scenes that he takes part in. It had an artwork very similar to the previous Thor comic I read, and just like the former this is really good. One of my favorite moments was when Thor ran into Beta Ray Bill and agreed to help in, and this is the first time I read a comic with Bill. As the other Thor comic and the first issue of the Planet Hulk storyline, this has elements that Ragnarok would use, mainly Thor losing his hammer and much like how Infinity War played out he goes after a battle axe version of it. Over all: 100%
Top list so far for 2nd set of comics:
1. Free Comic Book Day 2018 Invader Zim: Floopsy Bloops Shmoopsy
2. The Adventures of Superman Vol. 1 #500
3. The Unworthy Thor (2016-2017) #1
4. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5
5. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #6
6. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #4
7. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #1
8. Wonder Woman Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (2017-) issue #1
9. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2
10. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1
11. Incredible Hulk (1999-2007) #92: Planet Hulk Part One
12. Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #3
13. Star Wars: Rogue One Adaptation #1
14. Tate's Not At Comic Con Local Indy Anthology #8

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

The sixth entry in the Mission: Impossible film series, Fallout has Ethan Hunt and his team set out to recover stolen plutonium from the same terrorist organization as the last entry while being monitored by the CIA. While I liked Rogue Nation, I didn't love it as much as Ghost Protocol, this one was a huge improvement over the last one though I find it to be second best to Protocol. And to be clear I still haven't seen the first three films nor the television series that they're all based on. Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, and Sean Harris all return alongside newcomers Henry Cavill and Angela Bassett and they all provide great performances. The action scenes, in my opinion, are all better done compared to the last one though some of the fight scenes, like one that takes place in a bathroom, as well done as they are feel laking since you expect someone to draw blood and they don't. Fallout's best quality is the various twist and turns, reveals, and plot twists that keep on coming every minute. Returning to direct and write, a first for the series, Christopher McQuarrie does a phenomenal job at creating brisk and amazing sequences while telling a great story with heart pounding moments. You learn the reason why, despite being abandoned and disavowed numerous times by the IMF, why Hunt is willing to do what he does time and time again and it makes you root for him constantly. Over all: 100%

2018 top list so far:
1. Won't You Be My Neighbor?

2. Incredibles 2

3. Avengers: Infinity War

4. Mission: Impossible - Fallout

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story

6. A Quiet Place
7. Deadpool 2

8. Black Panther
9. Ant-Man and the Wasp

10. Ready Player One

11. Sicario: Day of the Soldado

12. Ocean's 8

13. Isle of Dogs

14. Game Night
15. Thoroughbreds

16. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again

17. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom