Carnival Row, Season 1 (2019)

 

The land of the fae - a variety of humanoid and semi-humanoid races - becomes the site of a war between two powerful human realms. The losing side is the Republic of the Burgue, which abandons the war and their fae allies to the less-than-tender mercies of their enemies.

The Burgue does, however, accept fae refugees if they can make it to Burgue territory. Not especially willingly, mind you: the fauns and pixies and kobolds are expected to live in tenements and to take menial jobs. Having fae blood disqualifies you from pretty much any occupation of responsibility.

Vignette Stonemoss is one such fae refugee, a winged woman who stayed in the fae homeland for several years after the war, helping others of her kind to flee, but who ultimately has to make the trip herself. She does so reluctantly, knowing that being in the Burgue will endlessly remind her of her dead former lover, Philo, a Burgundian soldier who was secretly half-fae.

But Philo is not as dead as Vignette believes. He let her believe that because he convinced himself it was "what was best for her". Men in fiction are dumb like that. (Many men in real life, alas, are more apt to make decisions purely based on what seems best for themselves). He is now working as a police inspector, a job he is not supposed to hold, given his "tainted" blood.

When Vignette arrives in the Burgue, it is only a matter of time before she and Philo meet, with all the emotional fallout you might expect.  But soon they will have even bigger concerns.  They find evidence of a conspiracy deep within the upper echelons of Burgundian society, one which threatens not just their own lives, but the lives of all fae in the Republic.

Carnival Row is a glossy drama in a pseudo-19th century society where real world concepts of class and race have largely been mapped onto the human vs fae divide.  This is not a subtle element of the show.  

To be honest, subtlety is not something the show does on any front.  The writing is pretty heavy-handed in developing its plot, its themes, and its characters.  It's also a bit meandering and disconnected, at times.  The opening scenes of the first episode, for instance, firmly establish Vignette as our bad-ass protagonist.  And then the rest of the season spends all its time walking that backwards, making her more of a damsel in distress and pushing Philo to the fore.

Similarly, there is some clumsy handling of storylines.  There's a sub-plot involving a faun named Agreus who has become very wealthy and is attempting to force his way into 'polite' (i.e. human) society.  It's a decently executed sub-plot, but its only link to the experiences of Vignette and Philo is thematic.  Neither of them ever meets him, or plays any direct role in his arc.  Then there's another storyline where Vignette joins a fae crime syndicate known as the Black Ravens.  A big deal is made of this for about an episode and a half, and then it is more or less shuffled into the background and ignored.  Likely it will come back in season two, which has now been filmed (it was delayed by COVID), but it should not have vanished in the first place.

The show does have its positives, however.  Visually it looks great.  It also has a solid cast who work hard to make the material engaging.  To the extent that the show works - and overall, I would say it works okay - is because of their efforts.  They did enough that I will probably check out season two, despite my issues with the show's writing, so far.

If urban fantasy is your kind of thing, Carnival Row is at least worth a visit.

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

 

(Apologies that this one is late - I messed up the scheduling! We'll be back to normal with the next review.)

Twenty years ago, a woman leaves her baby at a convent; she then flees to a tunnel where she is accosted by a threatening man, and killed in a rockfall.

In the 'modern day' of 1993, Mario and Luigi Mario are Italian-American brothers.  They live in Brooklyn, New York, and run a plumbing business that is close to going broke due to the strongarm tactics of the Scapelli Construction, which has strong mob connections through its owner Anthony Scapelli.

The pair meet NYU student Daisy, who is digging under the Brooklyn Bridge for dinosaur bones. Daisy also has issues with Anthony Scapelli, as he wants the dinosaur dig closed up so be can develop the land.  

All three are about to have much bigger problems than a local mob boss, though.  You see, Daisy is the grown up version of the baby we saw at the beginning, and the man who was after her mother is still after her.

Well, I say "man".  It's actually a but more complicated.  You see, when a meteor hit Earth millions of years ago, it created a pocket dimension where the dinosaurs survived and went on to evolve into a humanoid race that is largely indistinguishable from humans.  The "man" is President Koopa, overlord of the pocket dimension, and would-be conqueror of Earth.  But the bridge between realities is not stable enough to do that.  He needs Daisy to fix that.

And so Mario and Luigi must navigate the strange world of "Dinohattan", which is slowly being covered in a layer of fungus, staying one step ahead of President Koopa and his genetically devolved "Koopa Troopers" as they attempt to save not just Daisy, but the world as we know it.

Adapting one of the most successful and beloved video games of all time, and featuring a host of talented people; Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, Fisher Stevens, Fiona Shaw; this is a film that pleased no-one: not the critics, not the audiences, not the financiers (who took a big loss on it) and not the cast.  So what went wrong?

Well first off: that plot summary sounds bonkers, right?  And it basically is.  But ... I'm not sure how any adaptation of the video game Super Mario Bros. could be anything else.  I mean, the game has you play Mario Mario, a plumber who for some reason has been charged with saving the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom from the evil, turtle-like Koopa.  Which you do by jumping on their heads and collecting coins.  Attempting to mangle together any kind of coherent movie plotline from that craziness is definitely going to be a mammoth task!  Overall, I have to acknowledge that the film works hard to capture a lot of these elements in some way ... perhaps to its overall detriment, really.  Perhaps trying to include fewer elements, but doing more with each, would have made it more accessible.

Of course, part of the reason for the poor reception is likely the fact that the movie was impacted by last minute script changes.  Only weeks before filming was to begin, Disney bought the distribution rights and demanded significant re-writes.  The result was apparently a very different movie than the cast had signed on to do, and a very different movie than the one for which the sets - which were already built - had been designed.  The grimy, almost post-apocalyptic visual design of Dinohattan is definitely rather at odds with the film's often slapstick and goofy humour.

Finally, we have the backstage situation.  And they all do their best with the material.  But by all accounts the production was a horror show behind the scenes: both Hoskins and Hopper have used the word "nightmare" to describe the experience, and Hoskins in particular has called the film the worst job he's ever had, and the one thing in his career he would change if he could.  This can hardly have been a good environment in which to create a film with any sense of joy.  Which is definitely an emotion that's missing from the movie, as the script frequently stops to self-consciously try and justify the next bit of madness.

Good Omens, Season 1 (2019)

 

The angel Aziraphale and the demon Crowley meet for the first time in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden after Crowley tempts them with an apple, and Aziraphale is the angel who prohibits their return ... though he does sneakily give them his flaming sword so they will have some protection in the journeys.

Despite being on opposite sides of the 'great conflict', the angel and the demon strike up a secret friendship.  Both feel some affection for humanity and its achievements - Aziraphale, for instance, is a major foodie, while Crowley loves fast cars and loud music.

Fast forward a few thousand years, and Crowley is tasked with delivering the Antichrist to a Satanic Convent.  The child will then be raised by an American diplomat and his family, and usher in Armageddon itself.  This is the culmination of centuries of careful planning.  

But you know what they say about plans.  A second new mother is at the convent on the same night, and it is this small town, middle class English family that ends up with the Antichrist in their care.

How will this impact the Armageddon, and when push comes to shove, do either Aziraphale or Crowley actually want the world to end?  It has all their favourite things in it, after all!

Based on the novel of the same name, written by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens is a tongue-in-cheek account of the Apocalypse (or rather - of course - the narrow avoidance of the Apocalypse).  It has been 30 years since I read the book but based on my recollections, this seems like a pretty faithful adaptation.  Certainly I feel it shares some of the same issues I saw with the novel: there are definitely times it feels a little bit smug about its own cleverness, and it tries to wedge an awful lot of stuff into its run time, sometimes to the detriment of the overall pace and structure of the tale.  Much of the Witchfinder stuff for instance.  While I understand that it has a thematic purpose - capturing both the banality of evil, as well as the way that grand plans can come unstuck due to overlooking very prosaic details - I think it takes up rather more screen time than it really needs to.

Good Omens does, however, profit from strong casting on the central roles of Crowley and Aziraphale.  While I grew tired of David Tennant's run on Doctor Who, that was much more a product of the writing than anything else.  He's certainly good in this, and his Crowley is well matched by Michael Sheen's Aziraphale.

If you enjoy witty - if occasionally slightly self-satisfied - and irreverent comedies, or have enjoyed Pratchett or Gaiman's books in the past, then this is worth checking out.

I'm really not convinced about the reports of a season two: it seems a bit redundant and unnecessary to continue the story.  Fortunately, this series was originally conceived as a standalone, and wraps up neatly, so you can safely watch it as a "one and done" experience.

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

 

Centuries ago, the peaceful and prosperous sub-continent of Kumandra was ravaged by the Druun, evil, dark-colored spirits that turn every living thing in their path to stone.

Kumandra was saved by the magic of the Last Dragon, Sisu, who created a powerful magic gem to drive away the Druun.  She then disappeared, and the human tribes who were left behind began a power struggle over the gem, splitting into five kingdoms: Fang, Heart, Spine, Talon and Tail.

The Land of Heart manages to retain control of the gem, and five hundred years after the Druun war, its leader hopes to re-forge an alliance of all the human peoples.  He invites the other leaders to his kingdom.  His daughter Raya shares her father's idealism, and she takes this as an opportunity to befriend Namaari, Princess of the Fang.

Namaari's motives for the friendship, however, are not as sincere as Raya's.  The Fang attempt to steal the gem, and in the ensuing battle, the gem is shattered into several pieces.  The protection over Kumandra fails, and the Druun return, devastating the Land of Heart and sending the other tribes scurrying back to their homes, each with a fragment of the gem as a limited form of protection from the Druun.

And that's just the first twenty minutes of the film!  The bulk of the movie is actually set six years later, as Raya - who survived the Druun thanks to her father's self-sacrifice - seeks to reunite the various parts of the gem and restore the land's protection: a quest which will, as you might expect from the title and the image above, lead her to finally locate the Last Dragon, Sisu.

Raya and the Last Dragon does a good job of packing a lot of exposition into its opening quarter hour or so.  Some of that is done through voice over narration, but more is done with exposition and expressive animation.  You'll definitely feel Raya's sense of betrayal when she realises that Namaari's friendship is not sincere.

In terms of its main storyline, the film perhaps feels a little formulaic.  You'll probably not be surprised to learn that the success or failure of the struggle with the Druun will ultimately come down to whether or not the five tribes can (symbolically, at least) overcome their mistrust of each other and work together.  That motif is pretty obvious from the outset.  I don't necessarily think that that's a problem in and of itself, but I did find the execution of it a smidgen overdone and heavy-handed.

On the plus side, the film has plenty of amusing sequences, nice animation, and a talented voice cast.  Solid stuff, though some scenes might be a bit intense for very young viewers.

The Mandalorian, Season 2 (2020)

 

NB: this review assumes you know what Star Wars is.  I'm not about to try and establish all the in-universe concepts you'd need for context if you don't.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, the bounty hunter 'Mando' is still searching for the people of the odd little alien child he has adopted.  Said child is Strong With the Force, making it (a) vital to find someone who can train it, and (b) a target of interest for Moff Gideon, a former Imperial officer who has seized control of the remnant Empire forces in this part of space.

Gideon's plans for the kid are certain to be anything but benign, and the kid's youth and powers make it vulnerable to the temptations of the Dark Side.  So Mando's now got added urgency to his quest.  Teaming up with allies old and new, as well as stumbling into new-but-old faces whose agendas may or may in line with his own, Mando struggles to stay ahead of Moff Gideon's forces and help the child.

Season 2 of The Mandalorian is basically more of the same stuff we saw in the first, but with lots of pandering to hard core fans via the inclusion of lots of Star Wars universe cruft such as the Mandalorian darksabre, and fan favourite characters like Ahsoka Tano, from the long-running Clone Wars animated series, and the bounty hunter Boba Fett.  I've never really understood Fett's popularity, but he's practically the poster boy for the Ascended Extra trope.  And then there's the finale of the season, which is pandering taken to a whole new level, even by the standards of a show that has by that time pretty much become a "hey, remember this cool stuff from earlier Star Wars?" nostalgia trip.

Overall, I liked this less than season one.  The plot is stretched more than a little thin.  Several episodes feel overstuffed with largely meaningless action, while at other times there are action sequences that simply run overly long.  The many references and call backs to other Star Wars media also smack to me of distraction tactics.  There is really only four episodes of plot here, bloated out to double that length.

On the plus side, the arc that's (somewhat weakly, in this season) propelled the show seems to be largely resolved now, and a new plot hook has been dangled for season three.  So maybe the show's storyline will tighten up again.

If you're big into Star Wars, this will probably scratch your Jedi itch.  For more casual fans of the franchise, though, it may drag a little.

The New Mutants (2020)

 

Dani Moonstar, a young Cheyenne Native American, is the sole survivor when her entire reservation is devastated by a tornado. Left unconscious after the experience, Dani awakens in an oddly empty hospital run by Dr. Cecilia Reyes.  Reyes comforts Dani, explaining that she is not an ordinary human being, but rather has unique mutant DNA, and advises her to remain in this hospital until she learns the effects and how to control them.

Dani then meets the other four patients at the hospital.  Like her, are all teenage mutants who have each either experienced, or accidentally caused, a horrible tragedy.  It's fair to say that they are not all especially welcoming, but Dani does strike up a friendship with a shy and awkward young woman named Rahne (pronounced "Rain").

The teenagers are under constant supervision at the hospital, and prevented from leaving the grounds by a forcefield.  About the only thing that makes this palatable to them is that they believe they're being trained to join the X-Men.

Of course, if that were the case there would not be much of a film.  So naturally someone far more Sinister (capital S fully intended; I have read comics) is actually behind the facility, and the five teens will have to literally face their own darkest fears if they want to survive ...

The New Mutants is a curious misfire of a film.  It has a fine cast, including Maisie Williams and Anya Taylor Joy, and some evocative scenes, but it doesn't all quite come together.  I suspect that a long and somewhat incoherent production cycle were a major contributing factor to this.  The film was originally completed in 2017 as a YA movie - a solid choice given director Josh Boone's previous success in that arena, and it's fine young cast - and had positive test audience reactions.

Then the success of the film It prompted the studio to cut a trailer for The New Mutants that emphasised the scary elements, selling it as a straight up horror film.  The film was slated for reshoots to bring it more into line with this vision, but these apparently did not happen.  Instead, editing changes were made in order to shift the tone.  And then even further such changes were made after Disney acquired Fox Studios (and thus, this film).  The result of all this tinkering is a bit of mess, frankly.  You can see all the things the film is trying to do, but there are now simply too many of them to do so satisfactorily.  It can't be both an exploration of five different characters' trauma and a story of teenage angst and a sweetly low-key queer romance and a horror film and a superhero action flick.

This is a film that is considerably less than the sum of its parts, at least in part because it has too many parts.  It's a real shame, and I rather wish we'd got the chance to see the original "YA movie" cut from 2017.

Loki, Season 1 (2021)

 

After the events of Avengers: Endgame have the unintended consequence of allowing him to escape capture in New York, Loki plans to resume his anarchic career as the god of mischief.  These plans are quickly short-circuited, however, by operatives of an organisation known as the Time Variance Authority (TVA).

The TVA are responsible for maintaining the one, true "Sacred Timeline", and Loki-that-escaped, is a "time variant"; an aberration from thje Sacred Timeline who should never have existed.  Loki-that-did-not-escape is the real Loki, fated to become an ally of his brother Thor and to die at the hands of Thanos.

Time variants are usually just immediately erased from existence, but the TVA has a problem that they think this Loki can help with: a dangerous time variant that has no far managed to stay one step ahead of them and who is actively attacking the Sacred Timeline.

So the TVA offer Loki a choice, such as it is: oblivion, or joining the team.  Loki, of course, both (a) takes the latter option and (b) intends to betray them and go on his own merry way at the first opportunity.

That's not going to be as easy as he thinks, though.  The TVA have dealt with a large number of Lokis in the past, so they are wise to pretty much all of his tricks ... and then there's the fact that the 'dangerous time variant' he's been tasked to find might be even more familiar with his tricks than are the TVA ...

Anchored by strong performances from Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino and Owen Wilson (who in recent years has shown a versatility and skill of craft that I definitely did not expect from his early work), Loki is a fun romp.  At six episodes, it keeps its narrative lean and fast moving.  It also manages the not always easy task of packing in plenty of banter and action along the way, as well as some heavier emotional beats, without feeling overstuffed.  Overall, really well done work.

My only caveat for potential viewers is that the season does end on a BIG "to be continued" beat, so if you get itchy about waiting for cliffhangers to be resolved, you may want to delay starting this show until season two arrives.  Always assuming that that doesn't also end on a cliffhanger, of course!

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

 

It is 2563, 300 years after Earth was devastated by a catastrophic war known as "The Fall". While scavenging for parts in the massive scrapyard of Iron City, scientist Dr. Dyson Ido discovers a disembodied female cyborg with an intact human brain. Ido attaches a new cyborg body to the brain and re-activates her.

The cyborg wakes with no memory of her past. Dr Ido and names her "Alita", after his deceased daughter, and she quickly settles into his life as a surrogate for the original.

Alita does not initially worry too much about her lost memories, as she is too busy exploring all the new experiences the world has to offer, like making friends and playing the rough and tumble sport of Motorball.

That changes, however, when she secretly follows Dr Ido on a mysterious late night excursion. Ido is ambushed by several thuggish cyborgs, who are on the verge of killing him when Alita jumps into the fray. She instinctively fights using "Panzer-Kunst", a lost combat art for machine bodies.

Obviously, there's something more to Alita's past than she originally thought, and despite Dr Ido's resistance to the idea, she is determined to find out what that is. Of course, her distinctive fighting style quickly draws attention ... some of if very powerful and hostile.

Based on the Japanese manga series Battle Angel Alita, but with a title that was presumably re-structured so that they could make sequels using the same "Alita: Word Word" format, this is a solid science fiction action film. It profits immensely in its casting of Rosa Salazar in the lead role. She brings a great combination of fierceness and innocence to Alita, succeeding in engaging me in her journey of self-discovery despite a couple of counter-productive creative decisions that made her job all the harder.

I've already alluded to the first of those counter-productive decision in my discussion of the title: this film is clearly desperate to be the launch pad of an Alita franchise.  This is apparent both in the structure of the story - Alita completes her immediate goals, but her primary enemy is still well out of her reach - and in the casting.  Said enemy is played by Edward Norton, who is too high profile for such a small part unless you plan to make much more use of him in the future.  Michelle Rodriguez and Jai Courtney also have tiny cameo roles, doubtless for similar reasons.

Now to be fair, Alita does a better job of being a satisfying 'one-and-done' movie that many such want-to-be franchise starters.  However, the very much 'to be continued' ending is a bit on the nose.  I get that Marvel's success in building a massive cinematic franchise is something everyone wants to copy, but don't undermine your opening film to do it, guys.  

The second counter-productive decision is the one to give Alita huge CGI "anime eyes", which I found very 'uncanny valley' and off-putting when I first saw them in the trailer.  I got used them over the course of the film, but still don't think they were a good idea.  For one thing, CGI-ing these into practically every shot of Alita must have added time and cost to the production.  For another, it takes away from Ms Salazar's ability to use her own eyes to convey emotion.  She does a good job of overcoming that, but she shouldn't have needed to.  I really don't see any upside to this decision.

Despite those couple of missteps though, this is a solid SF action film with a good cast.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Season 1 (2021)

 

Following the disappearance of Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, Sam Wilson hands over the hero's famous shield to the government, expecting it to become a permanent display in the Smithsonian.  Wilson has decided not to take up the shield himself, as Rogers intended, but to remain as the Falcon, using his wingsuit

Sam's decision about the shield is not supported by Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier.  And it's a decision that Sam himself will soon come to regret, when the government promptly invents a new (white) Captain America and hands him the shield.

The two existing heroes and the new Captain America will need to table their mutual issues to some extent, however, as they must deal with the challenge of an organisation known as the Flag Smashers.  Sokovian refugees who have been empowered by the same super-soldier serum that created the original Captain America, the Flag Smashers are angered by the international community's failure to properly care for their people, and are willing to take extreme measures to make their point.

America's racial issues and the refugee crisis are unusually complex and contentious topics for a Marvel show.  I think this is good to see.  Entertainment can - and in some cases, should - be simple escapism, but it can - and in some cases, should - also deal with real issues.

Of course, this is still a superhero story, so most of the resolutions it presents are a little simplistic and idealised, and involve a good deal more punching than is practical in a real world situation.  Nonetheless, it is good to see Marvel/Disney using the greater flexibility of the TV format to explore a wider range of content and topics.

It's also conspicuous that Marvel/Disney are willing to invest feature film money into these flagship streaming shows.  The budget for the show was apparently about 25 million USD per episode, which buys you the cast and effects that you need to make the streaming shows look like they belong alongside the big screen franchise.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier presents by far the most 'straightforward' superhero narrative of the first three 'phase four' TV series, though it definitely shares some themes with  the other two shows (Wandavision and Loki): all three have a notable focus on their protagonists' struggles with what they've done, who they are, and who they are working to become.  They all explore this in different ways, but it's a notable thematic link that they all share.

Overall, this is another entertaining Marvel offering, with a solid plotline, a very good cast, and a willingness to use its extra run-time - compared to a film - to explore its themes and concepts a little more deeply than the average big screen blockbuster.