Danger, Danger, Miles Morales! There’s Trouble All Across the Spider-Verse!

Not everyone will have watched Marvel’s What If series which explains how many worlds exist in Across the Spider-Verse, and one nexus point concerns Miles Morales and canon events which define the foundation of how this omniverse continues.

Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse Movie PosterTo answer the joke of what happens when one Spider-Man disappears from the multiverse, another version will simply take his place! Across the Spider-Verse, just how many of this hero we meet requires putting the film on pause and counting every iteration presented to audiences! That’s what I wanted to do when this action got really baffling, and this movie is not just about Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore).

Well, technically, it is about this version and Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld). Both are having daddy issues. Regarding what these two have to measure up to is what parents want for their kids. This angle is at the heart of the film, and it’s wonderfully defined when they finally have the talk.

And there’s also all that glitz which makes watching this film a pop culture explosion of Andy Warhol, Leonardo da Vinci and many other post-modern artists put into a blender. But the range of styles don’t end there. There’s flourishes of Norman W. Marsh’s Detective Dan and much more. To name all the artistic influences would be tough, and I’m certain that amongst all the names who have drawn the wall-crawler, I’m still searching for a moment Todd McFarlane’s signature style is splashed all over.

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I’m All Abuzz with Bumblebee the Movie

Whether this Bumblebee the Movie acts as a soft reboot to this franchise or not, I enjoyed this film more than the past works.

Transformers Bumblebee the Movie Poster Spoiler Alert

Anyone who played the Transformers War or Fall of Cybertron games will be in for a treat in the opening act of Bumblebee the Movie. I heard about the buzz and still had a bit of trepidation with the designs. I’m glad I was wrong and when I found time to see this film, not only did it take on familiar tones from How to Train Your Dragon in the relationship of a troubled young girl and her “pet” car but also, the nostalgia play was bang on. Anyone who saw Transformers: The Movie (1984) will know what I am talking about.

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Just What is Ender’s Game?, A Movie Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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* Spoiler Alert

Not everyone will be familiar with or have read Orson Scott Card‘s book, Ender’s Game, that the movie of the same name is adapted from. Writer/Director Gavin Hood did an interesting job with the first episode of this universe spanning saga but he was too heavy-handed in his translation of some of the book’s elements. To see the hero Andrew “Ender” Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) get bullied throughout and see him deliver ‘justice’ to his aggressors was too much. When adults and the media are saying the best response is to not provide these bullies an audience, Wiggin does quite the opposite. Some people may well ask just what does that make him?

Apparently, he’s a prodigy. He is likened to Napoleon and Caesar, and the dialogue is interesting enough to keep audiences glued to wondering what will become of Ender. There’s this pathological aggression in this character that the bigwigs, a military force simply known as the International Fleet, took notice of. If they knew that he was ‘The One,’ then some people will have to wonder when he will turn Darth Vader upon the forces he’s being trained to fight against.

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