My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Very Long Stairway"

 

Written by Steve Yockey

Directed by Richard Speight Jr

Edwin: "Charles, I'm in love with you. You don't have feel the same way. I just need you to know."

Charles: "I get it. This is like one of those Orpheus and Eurydice situations."

Penultimate episode and how about a delightful trip to Hell? Well, this was what we got here and by far, the best episode of the season. Not to mention the true friendship test here.

There was no way the rest of the team were going to let Edwin dwindle in Hell and though it took some persuading, Charles managed to get the Night Nurse to make a gateway for him to the not so fiery place below. 

For those who actually do ship Edwin and Charles, this episode well and truly delivered. We got flashbacks to their very first meeting as Edwin quietly stayed with a dying Charles while the latter went through various hoops to find his best mate.

Then there was the love confession itself. While Charles didn't exactly reciprocate Edwin's romantic feelings, he certainly didn't rule things out and nor was he repulsed by the declaration of love either. If this show miraculously gets a second season, maybe they might explore a potential romance between Edwin and Charles. 

Of course, Charles wasn't the only one willing to risk it all to save Edwin. Crystal willingly risked interacting with David the Demon to try and help Edwin and even Jenny risked her own life to help Crystal. David wasn't much help but Crystal did get her memories back and he got rightfully buried as an appropriate punishment. 

As for Niko, I thought she was going overboard with asking the Night Nurse so many questions but the clever way she outsmarted the Night Nurse definitely proved that she knows how to read a situation good. Despite being miffed at being outsmarted, I think the Night Nurse has a grudging respect for the gang.

Last but not least, Esther didn't stay buried for long. She got up, took one of the Cat King's lives and decided that she'd go and even worse path for revenge. Honestly, a one way trip to Hell should be on the cards for her. Especially after threatening Tragic Mick. 

- Both Simon and Maxine were seen in Hell by Edwin and Charles. Simon had feelings for Edwin even though he sacrificed him to Sa'al.

- I loved Edwin's brief interaction with Despair (Donna Preston). She had more lines here than in The Sandman.

- I thought Esther killed Monty during the last episode but it appears that she turned him back into a crow. Niko keeps pushing her luck with that Magic 8 Ball of death.

- Chronology: From where the previous episode left off and also 1989 for Edwin and Charles first meeting.

By far, it's safe to say The Case Of The Very Long Stairway was the best episode of the season. The depiction of Hell was handled well. We got a reference to Lucifer and I loved the appearance of Despair along with Charles's reaction to Edwin's confession. Superb stuff.

Rating: 9 out of 10 

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Creeping Forest"

 

Written by Beth Schwartz And Oscar Balderrama

Directed by Glen Winter

Night Nurse (to Edwin/Charles): "You two may stay together. In the Lost and Found department. Temporarily."

Okay, so when things looked like they were going smoothly, Edwin went straight to Hell. Oh, the timing indeed. Still, it did make for a good cliffhanger moment.

Prior to that ending, at least two of Edwin and Charles's biggest obstacles were resolved. The first being Esther Fich, whose ultimate revenge scheme involving a magical fungus named Teeth Face and Monty all came crashing down. Granted, Crystal factored into that part.

Notably at the start of the episode, a trip to Tragic Mick's shop saw Crystal using a glass heart to break David the Demon's influence. Instead Crystal temporarily lost her powers and both Edwin and Charles were more vulnerable to Monty's part in Esther's planned downfall for the boys. Yeah, that Gladys story so didn't hold up. 

At least the Cat King came into the creepy forest to out Monty's scheme, even if Edwin didn't thank him for it and Esther nearly succeeded in having the Dead Boy Detectives nearly destroyed. Crystal tapping into her own power bloodline really did save their butts as well as sending Esther to another dimension. No doubt she'll be back for the finale though.

Speaking of returns, the Night Nurse's subplot inside the sea creature was a lot of fun. Mostly for her interactions with the mysterious Kashi (Cheech Manohar), who gave her food for thought and a convenient means of escape. Oh and he's an old man unburdened by trauma, which made him the perfect foil for the Night Nurse.

Getting back to the Night Nurse, she interrupted the moment where Edwin was going to admit his feelings to Charles but at the same time, she was a lot more willing to listen to the boys compared to her last encounter with them. That in itself showed growth on her part. Just a shame that Edwin got dragged back into Hell but a good way to up the ante here.

- Niko spent a lot of the episode hardening to love while Jenny avoided her but the latter relented towards the end.

- Monty was killed by Esther after his failure while the Cat King threatened to be no longer nice to Edwin. Kashi's many rings were another mystery but he gave the Night Nurse one of them.

- Loved the way Tragic Mick filled in Crystal and Niko on his backstory and in a far more detailed manner than he did with Edwin and Charles.

- Chronology: Not long after where the previous episode left off. 

The Case Of The Creeping Forest definitely delivered the best ending we've had so far this season. A lot of great characters moments with none of the subplots feeling wasted. I'm looking forward to seeing hoe Charles will get Edwin out of Hell.

Rating: 8 out of 10

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Two Dead Dragons"

 

Written by Kelli Breslin And Jeremy Kaufman

Directed by Amanda Tapping

Edwin (re kiss): "That was unexpected."

Monty: "I have feelings for you too."

Edwin: "I wasn't talking about you."

Well, I don't think it takes much to guess who exactly that Edwin would have feelings for, huh? I mean, it's been rather signposted since the first episode. I actually felt a little bad for Monty here.

I know he's really a crow in human form doing Esther's bidding but he genuinely did feel for Edwin and while the latter has finally opened up to the possibility of being in love, it's not with Monty. Or the Cat King for those who ship that pairing.

Yes, Charles clearly the one whom Edwin likes. Edwin even seemed a bit disappointed when Charles told him about kissing Crystal, though handled it better than expected. Speaking of Charles and Crystal, the show quickly put them back into the friends zone and the better for it. 

As for the case of the week - two "dragons" from a rival school of Niko's.  The guys being douchey jocks Brad and Hunter who hired the Dead Boy Detectives to solve their murder. Turned out to be an accidental one from a vengeful girlfriend named Maren. She had every right to be mad but murder wasn't her intention. 

However the story with the Dragons did have Charles and Crystal at odds a bit. Charles wanted to see the good in both Brad and Hunter while Crystal knew they were scumbags. Charles and Crystal did make up as the latter vowed to also get her memories back to spite the ever annoying presence of David the demon. Yup, he's still around as an antagonist for Crystal.

As for the rest of the episode, Niko's attempts to play matchmaker with Jenny and Maxine (Lindsey Gort) was an absolute car crash that resulted in the latter being killed off. At first, Maxine seemed perfect for Jenny and then she turned out to be a dangerous stalker who nearly killed her. Perhaps Jenny had the right idea being closed off after all.

- The director of this episode was Amanda Tapping, best known as Samantha Carter in Stargate SG-1. Lindsey Gort also appeared in Titans.

- Esther explained that snake in her cupboard needed to feast on children to maintain her youth. Esther got tricked by Lilith when she struck that deal for immortality.

- Jenny inherited her butcher's shop from her father instead of his narcissism and alcoholism. Characters like Shelby and Twitchy Richie also highlighted how horrible Brad and Hunter were.

- Chronology: Not long where the last episode left off.

The Case Of The Two Dragons was a little bit weaker compared to the last two episodes but I did like the movement on Edwin's story a certain scene between him and Charles. Also the just desserts that both Brad and Hunter got certainly worked too.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Doctor Who - Season 1 (Series 14) Launches This Month

My final blog on the build up towards the first season/fourteenth series/fortieth season of Doctor Who overall. Oh, this is gonna be fun.

Last week saw the premiere of the upcoming series in London with an exclusive screening of the first two episodes - Space Babies and The Devil's Chord. Not too many spoilers have been revealed that we don't already know about but promotion has certainly kicked off.

The series stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson have been on the covers of magazines such SFX, Entertainment Weekly, Attitude and Radio Times. On top of that, the show has also taken it's promotion Stateside with both Ncuti and Millie appearing on Good Morning America while Disney have also been hard at work promoting the series.

Of course with promotion at full swing, the few tidbits that have come out have included Russell T. Davies talking about the finale containing scenes he's wanted to do for over 40 years, discpurse about the new sonic screwdriver, doubling down on Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday remaining in the series next year as well as new trailers revealing her character getting caught up in political party Albion during the first season. And what of beyond that, eh?

The second season finale has gone underway with filming and a lot has been revealed by set reporters. First of all, both Varada Sethu and Jonah Hauer-King's characters are called Belinda and Conrad respectively and it seems that the latter might be a bad guy after all.

The finale, directed by Alex Pillai will also see the returns of both Bonnie Langford and Ruth Madeley as Melanie Bush and Shirley Anne Bingham. UNIT will also return in the finale but will we be seeing the Daleks any time soon? Maybe not, according to Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson during their interview on The One Show last week.

Speaking of our leads, with the show set to wrap up filming in a matter of weeks, both have their next projects lined up. Ncuti Gatwa will star in a stage production of The Importance Of Being Earnest alongside Sharon D. Clarke and Hugh Skinner while Millie Gibson has joined the cast of upcoming PBS reboot of The Forsyth Saga. Any filming for a third season with the leads won't commence until 2025. 

Doctor Who launches on Disney+ from May 10th at 4pm/7pm and BBC iPlayer from 12am on May 11th with BBC1 airing from 6.20pm and 7.05pm respectively before Eurovision that evening.

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Lighthouse Leapers"

 

Written by Joshua Conkel And Kristin Layne Tucker

Directed by Andi Armaganian

Charles (to Night Nurse): "Those memories are not why I choose to stay here. I still have a purpose. I'm a Dead Boy Detective."

Ah, Charles, you poor lad. The last episode unravelled him a bit with the Devlin family and this episode's near nautical themed one really semt him over the edge. At least he got to work through some issues.

The presence of the Night Nurse came quicker than expected. She rocked up into Port Townsend and when she wasn't critiquing young girls on their dramatics, she took the snarky Jenny by surprise in order to get to Crystal. Yeah, Crystal was bait here.

Crystal learned that quickly when the Night Nurse quickly dismissed her in favour of getting Edwin and Charles to their places. Out of the two, Edwin was calm but determined not to go back to Hell. Charles on the other hand went ballistic when forced to relive his death and abuse at the hands of his father. Both unrelated of course.

Having the Night Nurse go and get eaten by the sea monster that was attracting suicides at a lighthouse was a way to solve that case but surely they only made her mad at them rather than stopped her altogether. Loving the matter of fact portrayal Ruth Connell's going for with this character.

Anyways, away from avoidance of the afterlife and the case itself, the matter of love reared it's head. By the end of this episode, both Charles and Crystal kissed and I get why they're drawn to each other. I mean, it's not a relationship that can last for obvious reasons but it doesn't feel contrived either.

As for Edwin, he might be stuffy and repressed but both the Cat King and Monty are keen on him. Sadly for Edwin, both are manipulating him, albeit for different reasons. On the other hand, his friendship with Niko is rather sweet, even if the show does point out that she's a big animal fan at times. You know what, I thought Niko would grate as a character but she's rather endearing as a character.

- Jenny has a secret admirer that only types her letters. It was nice having her scenes with Crystal and Niko this episode. Niko watching Scooby Doo with Edwin was sweet.

- Tragic Mick wanted the Washer Woman (who gave Crystal cryptic clues) to help turn him back into a Walrus. Niko collects coloured sea glass.

- Charles died when he was 16. In the comics both him and Edwin are 12.

- Chronology: Not long from where the last episode left off. Also, Edwin thought there was 142 cats in Port Townsend. Cat King morphed into Monty and Charles to try and tempt him.

The Case Of The Lighthouse Leapers focused far less on the ghosts themselves (though the lighthouse keeper was entertaining and I wish we'd seen more of him) and more on dealing with Charles and Crystal's own issues this week. We also got a breather from Esther, which worked too in the episode's favour.

Rating: 8 out of 10

DCU Blog - April 2024 Edition: Supergirl Finds Director, Kents Casting, Peacemaker Season 2 Films And More

Another busy month in regards to all things DC. A round up of various news items.

Joker: Folie A Deux finally premiered its first trailer, showcasing Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga as Joker and Harley Quinn respectively. 

Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell have been confirmed as Jonathan and Martha Kent for Superman. Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor will be the main villain of the movie.

Nathan Fillion has recently talked lovingly about how his Guy Gardner will be a flawed character for Superman. 

As of now, the scripts for both Waller and Lanterns are yet to be completed, despite scoopers implying otherwise.

Craig Gillespie has been tapped to direct Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow, starring Milly Alcock.

The documentary/movie Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story will hit theatres in September.

2025 will be the Summer Of Superman as James Gunn and Peter Safean revealed at Cinema on this month.

Creature Commandos is still in post production but will premiere on Max during the autumn.

Season 2 of Peacemaker officially went into production with James Gunn directing. Four other directors will also be helming the upcoming season.

AdultSwim recently showed a preview for the second season of My Adventures With Superman. It'll air from May 25th. 

Both Dead Boy Detectives (Netflix), which got 3.1 millìon views during it's first four days and Justice League: Crisis On Infinite Earths - Part Two (Physical/Digital) are currently available to watch.

Clive Russell, Jacqueline Boatswain, Segun Fawole and Michael Lyle have been cast in undisclosed roles for the second season of The Sandman.

The final season of Superman And Lois has wrapped filming and will air during the autumn on the CW. BBC1 are currently airing the penultimate season in double bills on Sunday afternoons.

The Flash TV series that starred John Wesley Shipp will get a Blu-Ray release from June 14th.

The third and final season of Sweet Tooth will be released on Netflix from June 6th.

DC Pride 2024 will be released from May 28th. 

That's it for this month. Let's see what next month will bring for DC.

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Devlin House"

 

Written by Ian Weinreich And Kristy Lowrey

Directed by Cheryl Dunye

Charles: "It's like, it's like they're stuck on repeat."

Edwin: "That's exactly what it is. If I'm right, it's a loop and they've been stuck in it since 1994."

After two very solid episodes, I felt this one was where things got a tiny bit more interesting, both with the main case itself and the development of one of the particular Dead Boy Detectives. Of course I'm talking about Charles.

So far, he's been a rather cheerful cheeky chappy and the voice of reason among Edwin and Crystal. He's also the very thing that would focus Edwin and Crystal to put their differences aside and actually get along. Getting caught in a traumatic loop would do such a thing.

The case of the week involved the Devlin family, murdered by their father, Brandon. Having the Team watch the killing over and over again when investigating the house especially did a number on Charles. Enough of one to get him caught in the loop when he recklessly tried to defend the family. However, it also shed light on his own trauma during a revealing conversation with Crystal.

This episode largely sign posted a future romance between Charles and Crystal and both Edwin and Niko's opposite reactions to the idea was amusing enough. However helping Charles break out of the loop and breaking the loop itself did make Edwin and Crystal work better together than before. That and both were lucky enough to take out a Misery Wraith as well.

I liked that the episode gave us more on Charles's backstory and while I'm mixed on him and Crystal as a couple, I do think it's amusing that Charles also seemed jealous of Edwin getting closer to Monty. I mean he did seem put out by Monty's appearance at the end while Edwin was warming to the latter wanting to do an astrological reading on him.

As for the ongoing threat, Esther popped up in Jenny's butcher for a beauty regime, antagonised Charles and Crystal as well as spied on Edwin and Monty. Of course the Cat King was also keeping tabs on Edwin and the Night Nurse got her own breakthrough in locating the Dead Boy Detectives. Threats from all sides basically.

- Niko admitted the Sprites caused her hair to go white. They're a fun nuisance for her. She also noted Edwin shape shifting into women.

- Esther struck a deal with Lilith for immortality. I'm curious about her rivalry with the Cat King.

- We got glimpses of some of the things David made Crystal do when he had possession of her. Or was it Crystal acting out on her own volition all along?

- Chronology: February 16th and 17th 2023. The Devlin family were living on Haywood Drive.

The Case Of The Devlin House did well with The Stone Tape Theory concept and while I kind of wish the show was more focused on Edwin and Charles together, I do get why the show has opted for an ensemble here.

Rating: 8 out of 10 

My Review of Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

 

Written by Rose Glass And Weronika Tofilska

Directed by Rose Glass 

Jackie (to Lou): "Anyone can feel strong hiding behind a piece of metal. I prefer to know my own strength."

Watching this film, I couldn't help but think of the movie Bound. I mean, I'm not saying this movie a rip off but it did feel like it was very similar to it, tonally at times.

In this movie, set in 1989, we had gym manager Louise "Lou" Langston (Kristen Stewart). When she wasn't gently rebuffing advances from local girl Daisy (Anna Baryshnikov), she was finding herself in the crosshairs of new girl Jackie (Katy O'Brian) and it was a romance that cause of chaos for everyone involved.

Yes, we learned quickly that Jackie was into bodybuilding and had not only gotten a job at Lou's (Ed Harris) shooting range but that her new employer was her girlfriend's father and that was the least of it. Jackie also had sex with Louise's brother in law J.J. (Dave Franco) to boot.

Those things alone should've been enough to have derailed Lou and Jackie as a potential pairing but there was more to come. Notably Jackie losing it as she got addicted to steroids and yeah, J.J. also getting murdered by her after Louise complained about him abusing her sister, Beth (Jena Malone).

The rest of the move just got crazier as it went along. We had Louise and Jackie trying to get rid of J.J's body, Daisy trying to blackmail Louise into a relationship and Lou trying to kill both Jackie and his daughter. Oh and that wasn't even the weirdest thing to happen in a very weird film.

The weirdest thing would be Jackie going all gigantic during a scene where Louise came close to taking out her own father. I have no idea how or why that moment even happened in the movie and it sort of took me out of the film. As for the ending, yeah, I saw that coming. 

- Ed Harris's dodgy looking hair was actually down to him. 

- Katy O'Brian used to be a competitive bodybuilder and heard about the role through a recommendation on social media 

- Standout music: Harald Großkopf 1847 - Earth and Nona Hendryx Transformation. 

- Chronology: The movie was set in 1989 and was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

For the most part, I liked Love Lies Bleeding but it's definitely for a niche crowd and only them. It's just too out there as a flick to generate a wide enough appeal or even be fodder for memes. Saying that, it's worth a watch.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine"

 

Written by Shoshana Sachi And Cheech Manohar

Directed by Glen Winter

Cat King: "I am fascinated by you."

Edwin: "What the bloody hell is this?"

Cat King: "Oh that? That's your punishment. It's a caging spell."

On to the second episode of this supernatural YA series and consequences are being felt. First of all, never use magic on a talking cat. Edwin learned this lesson the hard way.

Enter the Cat King (Lukas Gage). If you found Desire to be a charming menace with glowing eyes on The Sandman, then you'll love this guy. As someone who finds Lukas Gage a bit of a mixed bag as an actor, this role absolutely played to his strengths here.

The Cat King was affronted by magic being used on his followers and while he was openly dismissive of Charles and Crystal, his demeanor with Edwin was more flirtatious. He played on Edwin's sexual repression and use that moment of weakness to bind Edwin to Port Townsend.

Fortunately for the Dead Boy Detectives and Crystal, next door neighbour Niko gave them their case of the week. All that glowing pink light that screamed "manic pixie dream girl" had a purpose to it. Turned out that she had a sprite problem.

The sprites being of the Dandelion variety and that lot needed to be flourishing with attention in order to survive. Niko's story was a good way to offer context to her as a character while building a nice rapport between her and Crystal as they bonded over dead/missing parents. While I'm more interested in the Dead Boy Detectives themselves, the show is doing a decent job with it's female characters too.

As for the Sprites themselves - Kingham (Max Jenkins) and Litty (Caitlin Reilly). Well, they were foul mouthed but got tricked into being trapped into a jar/vessel after Crystal used herself to lure them out of Niko. Crystal's near sacrifice did however endear herself to Edwin, who took to Niko a lot quicker than expected.

Last but not least, two other problems for the boys were the Night Nurse not happy with Edwin and Charles wandering about as well as Esther. The latter chose a more direct means of revenge on the meddlesome detectives, which involved turning her crow familiar Monty (Joshua Colley) into a human. As a witch would do.

- This episode also introduced Tragic Mick (Michael Beach). He's a former Walrus turned human, running a magic shop. 

- Niko's near death experience makes her able to see Edwin and Charles. Both the Cat King and Crystal likened Edwin and Charles to a couple.

- Charles was confirmed to have died in 1989 due to hypothermia and internal bleeding. Edwin escaped Hell the same time.

- Chronology: From where the first episode left off. Every episode seems to break things down in chapter titles and has a "To Be Continued" title card.

The Case Of The Dandelion Shrine did have fun with it's main story and confirming that Port Townsend was going to be where the season would remain in. Saying that, I would've loved of the Cat King but undoubtedly we'll get that as things progress.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Bates Motel (1987)

 

Written And Directed by Richard Rothstein

Alex (to the audience): "If you ever need a room, come on by. I can't say for sure what you'll find, but that is what makes the world go around".

First of all, not to be confused with the fantastic prequel series we'd get in the 2010s and secondly, this was more of a spin-off and the first time this world got sent to TV. I have to admit, I didn't know this even existed until a week ago.

If you're expecting Anthony Perkins to emerge at any point in this television movie, you're in for a world of disappointment. This movie not only doesn't feature Perkins but for the limited screen time that Norman Bates did have, the character was played by Kurt Paul.

I also say limited because for once Norman isn't the main focus. In fact he's quickly killed off in this movie and the emphasis instead fell on to a fellow inmate named Alex West (Bud Cort) whom Norman had befriended and guided in the asylum prior to his death.

Anyways, Alex got released from the asylum and inherited the Bates Motel and needless to say, that came with plenty of complications in itself. Notably the fact that teenage runaway Willie (Lori Petty) was squatting in the abandoned motel and wasn't keen on the idea of potentially having to move elsewhere.

Saying that, there's a delightful friendship between Alex and Willie that anchored a lot of the movie and along with retiring handyman Henry Watson (Moses Gunn), the trio managed to get the Bates Motel up and running. Surely, that's where the horror was going to happen, right?

Actually things went a bit more Scooby Doo than Psycho to be fair. When the film didn't have bank manager Tom Fuller (Gregg Henry) playing ghost to scare Alex out of business, there were actual ghosts of teenagers and a woman who came to ending it all before changing her mind. Not the sort of thing you'd expect in the particular franchise.

- Anthony Perkins didn't boycott the movie but he did say it was terrible at a convention.

- This TV movie was actually a pilot for a TV series that didn't happen due to low ratings.

- Kurt Paul who played Norman Bates actually was Anthony Perkins stunt double for both Psycho II and Psycho II.

- Chronology: Over twenty years since the events of Psycho.

Bates Motel wasn't that bad to watch but it definitely felt like something that would've worked better as it's own thing than being attached to this franchise. Saying that, it's weirdly watchable.

Rating: 6 out of 10 

My Review of Morbius (2022)

 

Written by Matt Sazama And Burk Sharpless

Directed by Daniel Espinosa

Michael (to Martine): "I went from dying... to feeling more alive than ever. Increased strength and speed... the ability to use echolocation... and an overpowering urge to consume blood."

I finally got to the worst of the Spider-Man adjacent movies and yeah, it's reputation preceeded it. If there was an actor potentially incompatible with the comic book genre, it's Jared Leto.

From playing the worst live action iteration of the Joker in the now ended DC Extended Universe to going to playing a familiar Spider-Man antagonist. Well, anti-hero in this instance.  Enter Michael Morbius. 

We opened with a flashback to Michael's childhood in Greece being cared in a hospital by Nicholas (Jared Harris) while also bonding with a other kid named Lucien over their mutual blood illness. That bonding also included Lucien being called by Milo by Michael and Lucien embracing the new name foisted onto him by his "brother".

Cut to a quarter of a century later, a grown up Michael (Jared Leto) was working on a cure for their blood condition with Milo (Matt Smith) very much in his corner along with Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona). However, the use of general splicing vampire bats came with consequences that Michael could've easily avoided.

Yes, Michael literally became Morbius, people died, he went to prison and Milo (who also went the same vampiric route) embraced the bloodlust. If Leto slept walked his way through this movie, Smith on the other hand completely embraced the sheer nonsense of the script and went with it.

Like the Venom movies, there's an incredibly messy third act with both brothers battling it out and Martine getting caught in the crossfire. As a love interest character, it's a thankless role for Arjona and the outcome for Morbius was basically the same as Eddie Brock's. However there might be a narrative point to that.

- This movie managed to flop twice for Sony and the second time was down to the company falsely believing the memes it generated would help save any losses.

- Matt Smith was originally announced to be playing Loxias Crown/Hunger. Milo does seem to be loosely based on the character.

- The mid credit scenes introduced Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) into this universe. He wasted no time in suiting up as Vulture and recruiting Morbius to his cause.

- Chronology: Twenty five years for both Michael and Milo, taking in Greece, New York and Costa Rica.

Morbius turned out to be as bad as expected. I wish I could say there was a guilty pleasure aspect to give it some glimmer of redemption, but it's crap, through and through. Leto's terrible and while Smith tried at least, it ain't enough to make me want to revisit this one anytime soon.

Rating: 4 out of 10

My Review of Dead Boy Detectives: "The Case Of Crystal Palace"

 

Written by Steve Yockey

Directed by Lee Toland Krieger

Edwin: "We are the Dead Boy Detectives and we rescued you. You're welcome."

Crystal: "The Dead Boy Detectives?"

Charles: "It's aces, right? We're ghosts and we solve mysteries."

There was a time when this show was not only meant to be released on HBO Max but it was also meant to be a spin-off of Doom Patrol. Then things dramatically changed. 

Not only did our three leads get recast from the backdoor pilot they debut in, but now this show became a Netflix series and connected to The Sandman universe. It's funny how things turned out. Oh and this was basically a do-over as well.

Present day London had ghostly duo of Edwardian posh boy Edwin Paine (George Rexstrew) and punkish cheeky chappy Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) doing their job and trying to contain a World War era ghost named Wilfred. On top of that, they're also trying to avoid Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste), despite leading her to their office.

Of course Death was the least of their problems when Victorian ghost Emma put the Dead Boy Detectives in the crosshairs of American psychic Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and she's a girl that literally had a demon ex named David (David Iacono) that the boys managed to get out of her. However, Crystal lost some of her memory and also caused a bit of upset with Edwin and Charles dynamic.

Edwin wasn't particularly happy with Crystal hanging around and Charles was more than happy to keep Crystal around until her memories returned. The case of a missing girl named Becky Aspen however saw the trio trade London for Port Townsend in the US.

I'm a tiny bit disappointed this episode quickly changed locations but I guess it was essential for introducing three prominent characters. The characters being Jenny Green (Briana Cuoco), who owned a butcher shop where Crystal rented a room from as well as Niko Sasaki (Yuyu Kitamura), who seems to be a fan girl of sorts but got less screentime than Jenny did here.

The biggest character though was the youth obsessed witch Esther Finch (Jenn Lyon). She snatched Becky for her youth and was amused by Edwin, Charles and Crystal's attempts to rescue Becky. That was until they actually succeeded and she got rather mad about being bested by two ghosts and a psychic sad girl. Then again, a talking cat led to her defeat in this episode.

As for the rest of the episode, Crystal proved to be a needed addition to the boys club but Charles possessing Esther put both him and Edwin in the Night Nurse's (Ruth Connell) line of fire. Yeah, these boys might not be the brightest detectives out there.

- The title sequence was rather nice, playing around with the theme of death.

- Charles comes armed with a cricket bat, can access points to see his parents, has a bag of tricks that can contain everything and ghosts can travel through mirrors. Edwin's the brains of the duo and was in Hell for over 70 years.

- Ruth Connell was the only one not recast from the backdoor pilot. 

- Chronology: Present day London and Port Townsend. We saw a bound and gagged Edwin sacrificed to the demon Sa'al in 1916 thanks to his cruel classmates. They died too in the ritual.

The Case Of Crystal Palace kicked things off to a modest. It's not a pilot that will grab you the same way that The Sandman did but the three leads are likable, so it's off to a decent start. I'll watch the rest of the season.

Rating: 7 out of 10 

My Review of Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

 

Written by Tom Hardy And Kelly Marcel

Directed by Andy Serkis

Cletus: "Welcome back, Eddie Brock. It's been a long time. I miss you ... so much."

The biggest trick ever played on a studio was Sony gaining success with their Venom movies. It gave the false impression that audiences wanted movies adjacent to Spider-Man when in reality, I think they just like Tom Hardy in this role. Anyways, on to the review.

The end of the first movie had Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) meeting Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) in prison. This was at the behest of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) and it was a meeting that didn't exactly go all that well either.  Not dissimilar to Eddie's life in general as this movie pointed out.

Yes, Eddie and Venom had this odd couple dynamic going well, until they didn't. There was only so much chocolate and chickens that Venom could consume and Eddie was tired of having to try and reign the symbiote in at times. Worse than that, another encounter with Cletus Kasady only resulted in the latter getting his own symbiote and Eddie and Venom going their separate ways.

Watching Venom trying to get new hosts while going to Mrs Chen (Peggy Lu) for comfort was amusing while Eddie was coping without being bonded to Venom as well as his ex-girlfriend Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) being engaged to nice doctor Dan Lewis (Reid Scott). Dan was also dealing with Venom being back on the scene again.

As for the main villain plot, Carnage bonded to Cletus. Cletus wanted to free his girlfriend Frances Barrison/Shriek (Naomie Harris) and Shriek wanted to kill Mulligan. Oh and Carnage didn't especially care for Shriek, creating conflict between him and Cletus. Not to mention the links between Venom and Carnage to boot.

Like the first movie, you've got a rushed third act that's a bit messy on the CGI battle between Venom and Carnage. Annie's got the thankless damsel in distress role, Shriek's poorly utilised and even Cletus got swiftly dealt with after being separated from Carnage. Oh and the movie totally rifled off the end of The Dark Knight and not in a good way.

- Tom Hardy got a story by credit for the movie as well as a producer credit too.

- Mid credit scene had Eddie and Venom see Spider-Man (Tom Holland) on the TV along with J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons).

- Andy Serkis agreed to make the movie if he got to film it in the UK. He was also in the MCU.

- This was originally scheduled for October 2020 but got pushed to 2021 due to COVID.

Standout music: Carl Cox's Carnage, Johnny Cash's San Quentin and Little Simz's Venom.

- Chronology: A few months from where the first movie left off as well as 1996 for the Cletus and Frances backstory.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage isn't the worst sequel you'll see but it's definitely not without its problems. The pacing was rough in parts, Carnage and Shriek are poorly developed and its got a very messy third act. Still the buddy duo between Eddie and Venom did a lot of heavy lifting.

Rating: 6 out of 10