Ink of Blood

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Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Posted by cat2002116 on March 19, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

I watched the original Shazam! movie and was very interested in watching the sequel when it came out. So when I had the chance to watch this at the cinema, I was immediately interested.

The very first scene of this movie introduces the threat of Hespera and Kalypso, the Daughters of Atlas who are attempting to gain their powers back and bring their own realm back to life. They are immediately shown to be ruthless and willing to do whatever it takes to further their goals, killing everyone in the museum that held what they wanted to retrieve without any kind of hesitation or remorse.

This movie was obviously set some time after the first one and it was really good to see that there were some tensions and conflicts forming between the family. And it was also really sad to see Billy trying desperately to keep everyone together and working as a family, even though he wasn’t at the point of being able to call Rosa and Victor Mom and Dad. It was especially good to see Mary trying to juggle being a superhero along with her need to work and go on to further education. And it was also really good to see Billy’s relationship with Freddy, who was really annoyed by his older brother’s (only by a month) overprotectiveness, but it was obvious they really cared about each other.

On the subject of family, I really loved how accepting Rosa and Victor were of all their children. From the start, it seemed like they made a huge effort to interact with all of the children…and I could feel Rosa’s sadness when Billy insisted on calling her and Victor by their names, rather than Mom and Dad.

There was a lot of humour in this movie that really helped to defuse the tension. Plus, the actors who played the adult versions of Billy and his siblings did a really good job of showing the mannerisms and personality of the younger forms. And the tension in this movie really came across well. I was on the edge of my seat a lot throughout this movie and I was so caught up in watching it, I didn’t take my phone out to check the time even once!

I also really liked the interactions and relationship that formed between Freddy and Anthea. I really felt that was one of the strongest parts of the movie and there was a lot of character development on both of their parts. I’m not a big fan of romance shoehorned into every movie, but this was a particularly sweet one that was given time to grow.

All in all, this was a movie I really enjoyed that had engaging characters I really cared about and moments that had me laughing out loud. It’s definitely a movie I’d enjoy watching again and if you enjoy superhero movies and liked the first Shazam!, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

Also, there are two extra scenes after the movie is finished, so if you do watch it, make sure you stay until the end!

Pearl

Posted by cat2002116 on March 14, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

After seeing X at the cinema last year, I was interested in seeing the movie that was the prequel to it…showing the path that Pearl took that ultimately ended with her becoming the serial killer as seen in X.

It was hard not to feel some empathy for Pearl, given how difficult her life was and the hard relationship she had with her mother. I didn’t really like Pearl as a character, but I did feel for the person stuck in a life that she really didn’t want, waiting for her husband to return home from the war and having to deal with an illness that a lot of people in the town were suffering from.

This movie did a really good job of feeling like a very old-style movie. Right from the start, I felt like I was pulled into the world of the movie…however, parts of it felt more like a stage production than a true movie. Almost like it was perhaps an idealised version of Pearl’s story?

It was interesting to see the progression of Pearl from a trapped, isolated wife to the serial killer that she becomes before the events of X. Right from the start, it is very clear that there’s something wrong with Pearl. After all, she goes from dancing in the barn, pretending that the animals are her audience, to killing a goose with a pitchfork and feeding it to an alligator…and that’s one of the very first scenes of the movie.

It was very difficult to see the condition that Pearl’s father was in during this movie. I wasn’t sure if he’d had a stroke, or if there’d been an accident of some kind…but Pearl had clearly had a very close relationship with her father, although some parts of it were a bit strange, such as Pearl bathing naked with her father in the room with her.

Parts of this movie were very gruesome, but I didn’t really feel much of a connection to many of the characters in this movie. A lot of them, I was seeing through Pearl’s eyes…and because she didn’t really seem to care about the people around her, that’s probably why I couldn’t really care about them either.

There was quite a creepy/intense scene towards the end of the movie, where Pearl picks up an axe and stalks after one of her victims in broad daylight…which was actually when a lot of the violence happened. That felt quite surreal, as a lot of the time in slasher/murder movies, the violence takes place at night time, or at least in a darkened house.

All in all, this movie was okay to watch. I wouldn’t choose to watch it again, but the atmosphere and feel of the movie were quite good. If you have seen X, this movie does show Pearl’s background, so I think it’s good to watch in that respect.

65

Posted by cat2002116 on March 13, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Review Opportunity. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

This was a movie I was really interested in watching, after seeing a poster advertising it on a bus stop and watching the trailer for it. And I really did enjoy the movie.

The opening scene was a really engaging one, with Mills (played by Adam Driver) interacting with his wife and daughter right at the beginning. Nevine, Mills’ daughter, was clearly suffering from some kind of illness, that made Mills’ need to take on a job that would take him away for two years, all to make sure Nevine could get the treatment she needed.

The flashbacks and the messages from Nevine added another layer to Mills’ character and were probably one of the most emotional aspects of this movie. There were only four characters who appeared in the movie, at least living and human, but I felt that made the film even more effective. Fewer characters meant it was easier to care about those who were there.

The other really strong part of this movie, of course, was the closeness that formed between Mills and Koa. Despite the language barrier between them, which I thought was a nice touch, there was clearly a lot of care there…and making sure Koa lived also gave Mills something to live for, which he clearly needed after the ship crashed into the planet and the passengers who were being transported were all killed.

As seen in the trailer and on the movie poster, Mills and Koa actually ended up on prehistoric Earth, which added in a whole lot of danger for Mills and Koa. They not only had to deal with the threat of the looming asteroid (that had been responsible for the ship crashing in the first place), but also the dinosaurs and the various predators that needed to eat.

It was really good to see how resourceful Mills and Koa were, especially for Koa only being about nine years old. And it was really good to see her learning some words in Mills’ language and repeating them back to him…and I loved the scene where she wants to put a flower in his hair and while Mills is resistant at first, he’s eventually shown wearing it…a bit grumpy in doing so, but still having made her happy.

There were some really good elements of foreshadowing in this movie and really tense moments that had me on the edge of my seat. The technology that Mills used in the movie was interesting and technology I could actually see being developed in the very near future. But Mills and Koa also had to use their brains and reflexes to survive, which they did really well in this movie.

All told, I really enjoyed this movie and it was really easy to care about the characters. I’d be really interested in seeing a sequel to this and perhaps more of the planet Mills and Koa originally came from.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves

Posted by cat2002116 on March 12, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

I was really happy to be able to watch this movie some weeks before it was due to come out at the cinema, thanks to Cineworld putting on a secret unlimited showing that turned out to be this movie.

Having watched two of the previous live action Dungeons and Dragons movies, I was really excited to see this movie as well and on the whole, I really did enjoy it. The movie didn’t take itself too seriously and there were a lot of really good moments of humour in this…and there were serious aspects, too, along with a lot of good character growth.

I have to say, the storyline wasn’t entirely what I’d expected when I saw the trailer originally. I’d expected the movie to be more focused around Sofina and the threat from the Red Wizards of Thay, especially after Edgin reveals his own personal experience with the Red Wizards. However, the real plot revolved around the betrayal of someone who’d once been a friend and Edgin trying to get his daughter back from her ‘Uncle Forge’.

Getting to see different parts of the world and history of Dungeons & Dragons in this movie was really good. Thanks to Xenk’s character, I had the chance to learn a bit more about the people of Thay, who just about everyone claimed were the bad guys. I was disappointed that Xenk didn’t have more of a role to play in this movie, as I felt he would have had some really interesting interactions with the main characters…especially with Edgin, whose personal history with the Thay caused a lot of conflicts between them.

I really liked the character development and the interactions between the main group, but something about the history between Simon and Doric didn’t really ring true. Of course, it could have just been that Doric had a lot more on her mind than remembering someone who’d tried to court her once…especially as she apparently said that Simon made her feel sad.

Holga was a great character, but Michelle Rodriguez definitely gets type cast to the tough woman character. I did like her close relationship to Kira, though. It added a nice touch to her character, making her come across as more than the stereotypical fighter. She did have a romance prior to the events of the movie, but although I did get to see her interact with him, I don’t think it added nearly as much to her character as her relationship with Kira did.

I especially liked the scene where Simon has to make use of his coin to bring the dead back to life and the first attempt at asking five questions fails miserably, due to accidental wording. I honestly feel like I would have done something similar, wasting my five questions by asking questions I didn’t intend to ask. Then again, the coin could be used multiple times, so the failure didn’t really set the group back at all.

On the whole, this movie was a lot of fun to watch. There were some really nice moments in it and the characters worked really well together. It would have been good to have more of the wider threat shown, that had been indicated in the trailer, but the characters might not have had such strong development if that route had been taken.

This is a movie I’d enjoy watching again, as it was really good to see more of the wider world and there were some great moments of humour. If you enjoy fantasy that doesn’t take itself too seriously, but still has great character relationships and development, I would recommend this movie as one to watch.

Scream 6

Posted by cat2002116 on March 12, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

I was really happy to be able to see this movie in a double bill showing along with Scream 5. While the character of Sidney wasn’t going to appear in this movie at all (which was very disappointing), the two characters I liked the most from Scream 5 (Sam and Tara) were in this movie, which was really good.

The opening of this movie seemed very predictable, with a woman waiting for her date in a bar, getting a phone call and then ending up walking down a dark alleyway…which, of course, ends with her getting murdered. And then the predictable scene ends with the murderer removing his Ghostface mask, revealing himself to be a student of the teacher he’d just murdered, ‘practicing’ in preparation for him and his accomplice to murder Sam and Tara.

And ultimately, a new and different Ghostface kills the student, which results in Sam’s driving licence being left at the scene, making her a person of interest in this new spree of murders.

Once again, the relationship between Sam and her sister is one of the best parts of this movie. Even though there is tension between them, due to Sam wanting to protect Tara, there’s also that need from Tara to protect Sam in return; from cutting off their mother when she did the same to Sam, to punching Gale in the face…which is a nice nod to the original movie, while still adding something new to the scene.

It was good to see Mindy and Chad make an appearance in this movie as well and one thing that was really good was seeing the way the four of them handled being the survivors from Scream 5; the Core Four, as Chad called it. And speaking of Chad, I thought he had a lot more depth in this movie than he did in the previous one. It was really good to see the gradual forming of a relationship between him and Tara. I appreciated the slow burn, rather than them immediately jumping into bed together, especially considering how few movies have anything building before the main character jumps into bed with their love interest.

The use of the previous Ghosface masks and costumes was quite good and a way of building tension, making it unclear exactly what connection the new Ghostface killers had with the previous murder sprees. And adding a whole new level of tension to this movie was the fact that the rumours about Sam claimed that she was the one responsible for killing Richie and Amber from the previous movie. In theory, the fact that there were three survivors of the previous massacre should have allowed those rumous to be quashed…but then again, it seems like Gale (who never learns her lesson) was at least partially responsible for those rumours. And it just made me dislike her character even more. I seriously don’t like her.

It was really good to see Kirby make an appearance in this movie, as she was a great character in Scream 4, and I liked seeing her interactions with Mindy, since they’re quite similar in their love for horror movies. And Mindy was just a great character all round, especially with her listing off all the potential suspects.

This movie was pretty gruesome in the death scenes, but I can’t really say it was much worse than the previous Scream movies. Some of the scenes had a lot of tension in them and I was definitely on the edge of my seat, waiting to see if the characters I cared about were going to survive or not. As Mindy pointed out, no one was safe in this movie.

This movie was really good and entertaining. Again, it was predictable, but the main characters definitely made this movie worth watching. If there is a Scream 7 coming out, I really hope that Tara, Sam and Mindy will have a lot of focus on them.

Scream 5

Posted by cat2002116 on March 12, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

I watched this movie last year, when it first came out at the cinema. And this week, I watched it a second time, in a double bill showing of Scream 5 and Scream 6.

Scream 5 begins in a really similar way to the original Scream, complete with the very first victim answering horror movie trivia in an attempt to save the life of a friend. And then there’s the inevitable initial attack from the killer, which leaves the very first victim dead.

And that’s where Scream 5’s opening scene differs from the original. Because despite being horribly wounded and the opening title coming from what seems to be the final, fatal slash, Tara isn’t actually dead. And the attack on her brings her older sister, Sam, back to Woodsboro, where everything started.

Scream 5 is very formulaic in how it follows on from the other movies in the franchise. It becomes clear after the third attack that Tara’s core group of friends all have connections to those involved in the original massacre. The exception is Wes, who’s the son of Judy Hicks, the Deputy Sheriff from Scream 4. In Mindy’s words, this should make him the safest of all, but as this is a requel, that means no one is truly safe.

Mindy is a much more interesting character than her twin, Chad, who comes across as a fairly stereotypical jock. Mindy fills the role that Randy, her uncle, had in the previous movies. She’s the horror movie buff, who tells everyone the rules of surviving the ‘fan fiction movie’ they’ve now found themselves in. Which, weirdly enough, everyone seems to accept, even when the killer is attacking in broad daylight.

Sam’s connection to Billy Loomis, one of the original murderers, is quite an intereesting aspect to not only the storyline as a whole, but also her character. It added more fraught tension to her interactions with the others and, in particular, her sister.

One of the strongest things about this movie was definitely the bond between Sam and Tara. And also, despite her injuries, Tara was one of the strongest characters in her own right…perhaps the strongest. I would have liked it if her romantic connection to Amber had been kept in from the original script. There aren’t many lesbian characters in mainstream movies and although the inclusion of Mindy was a nice touch, it would have been good to see a movie actually take the progressive step of having a gay main character.

It was, of course, good to see the legacy characters from the previous movies, such as Dewey, Grace and, of course, Sidney. I’m not so sure the hints of something paranormal or supernatural going on really worked when it came to Billy Loomis’ appearances, though. Those might not have been intentionally paranormal, but that was definitely the impression I was getting by the end of the movie.

All in all, I did really enjoy the movie. It was predictable, but still entertaining in its own way. And Sam and Tara were great, engaging characters who I really cared about. And as I’ve already indicated in having seen this movie a second time, it’s a movie I wouldn’t mind watching again.

Hooked

Posted by cat2002116 on March 5, 2023
Posted in: Books, Reviews. Tagged: books, reviews. Leave a comment

The story of Peter Pan is one I’m more than familiar with, having seen the mythos and the character appear in many different forms (Disney’s Peter Pan, Hook, Once Upon a Time….) The blurb of this book was extremely intriguing, especially since the focus was more on the so-called villain of the story of Peter Pan: Captain James Hook, the fearsome pirate captain and Pan’s nemesis. Or, in this case, a man who found himself washed up on the shores of Neverland and was forced into playing a deadly game with an immortal child…or whatever Pan actually is.

I haven’t read the prequel to this book, but I found this to be easy to follow even so. It was so interesting to see the different characters reacting to the time they’d spent in Neverland. I was very intrigued seeing Wendy and her relationship with her daughter. It was really strained and it was really good to see that there conflicts between them that needed to be dealt with. It was also great to see the outside conflicts with Jane training to be a doctor and how she’s had to deal with that, considering this book is set in a time where women were seen as less than men.

The glimpses I had of Neverland were intriguing, especially when it came to James’ interactions with Pan and the role he was forced to play for the amusement of something that is clearly not just an immortal child…though I would have liked some more detail about what exactly Peter Pan was. I also wasn’t enirely sure what had happened to Pan, other than his shadow being sewn back on. It didn’t seem like it had killed him, but whatever he was seemed to be completely removed from any type of reality.

I did find the concept of Neverland existing in so many different times all at once to be really interesting, although it did get confusing at times. And the idea of the characters existing at once in the real world and their ‘shadows’ in Neverland was a pretty intriguing one as well. I really liked seeing the flashbacks between James and Samuel, even though the beginning of the book made it clear that Samuel was no longer in the picture. It lent the flashbacks between James and Samuel a more bittersweet feeling, knowing how things would inevitably turn out.

I liked that this book was just as much, if not more, about the family relationships as it was about Neverland and that shared history. Pan’s beast manifesting itself in their world was a really good way of having more tension in the book itself.

I really liked that, despite his best efforts, James couldn’t get past the shadow of Captain Hook. Even despite his best attempts to remain civilised, it was obvious that Hook was lurking not even that far below the surface, even before it was made clear that James let his darker side out during his time living with the man he loved. That made me incredibly sad, as even if that violent part of him had been there before he was trapped in Neverland, Pan clearly did something to bring that side of him to the surface, making it impossible for James to live a normal life, or even be happy, with Samuel.

The flashback scenes with Timothy and seeing what happened with him were heartbreaking, but I couldn’t really blame Wendy for the actions she took. And just like everything else that happened in Neverland, the past clearly had a lot of negative effects on the characters in the present.

All in all, this book was really good to read and I enjoyed being able to see Captain Hook as, while not exactly a hero, definitely more than just a villain. I would really like to read Wendy Darling at some point in the future and see more of just what Peter Pan actually was.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba: Swordsmith

Posted by cat2002116 on March 4, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

So. Last year, I watched the prequel to this movie and I was immediately intrigued by the storyline and the characters. I remember looking for more information on the characters and storyline after having watched the movie, so when I saw the sequel was out this week, I made a last minute decision to go and see it at the cinema on Wednesday.

What was really good was that there was something of a recap before the movie actually began. That really helped to get me back into the mindset of the world of the movie…and also helped because, when the movie actually started, it picked up right in the middle of a fight scene; one where the main characters were in pretty serious trouble and it looked like at least one of them was dead.

One of the main things I liked about this movie was that, even though the main characters are strong and powerful, they can still get hurt. And they still need recovery time. So the battle with the two demons actually felt like there were truly high stakes.

I have to say, the character of Zenitsu is one that really intrigues me. I find the idea of a character being a formiddable fighter when he’s unconscious, but not while awake, to be a really intriguing one! Since Zenitsu has no memory of the actions he takes while unconscious, and he’s much more serious compared to how he is awake, it almost seems like he has a split personality. I’m particularly interested to see if those two sides of Zenitsu ever get reconciled in future episodes.

Inosuke was the strangest character to me in the previous movie, though he made a lot more sense to me when I realised he did in fact have a human head! I loved his confidence and his strength, although there were certainly times during the movie I found myself wondering why he wasn’t actually dead.

It was good to have the opportunity to see more of the history of the demons. It was really good to see Gyutatro’s history as a human. Everything he went through made his character seem much more sympathetic and I could fully understand his decision to become a demon. I couldn’t really empathise with Daki to the same extent, although I did find myself tearing up when they were arguing and Tanjiro intervened.

One really powerful moment in the movie did strike me towards the beginning, where Tanjiro seems to experience a memory with Nezuko during the initial fight. Nezuko tells Tanjiro she wishes he’d understand how she feels, which almost seemed to relate to the present Nezuko, transferred to a demon. I would have liked to see more explored with that possibility.

The movie did end on something of a cliffhanger, although part of the storyline did get resolved. There were some really good moments of humour in this movie, along with the action and the more intense, emotional scenes. There was a really nice balance in this movie and the main characters were really easy to care about. This was definitely a movie I’d enjoy seeing again in the future…and I hope that there will be more movies released in the cinema, hopefully much sooner than another year’s wait.

If you like Japanese anime, I definitely think this is one to check out. It probably helps to have some knowledge of the series beforehand, but I found both movies pretty easy to follow without having had any prior knowledge.

Lux 2 (Starfury)

Posted by cat2002116 on March 4, 2023
Posted in: Conventions. Tagged: Conventions. Leave a comment

So, most people who know me know that I enjoy going to conventions as much as I enjoy watching horror movies and drinking Pepsi Max. And Starfury Lux, a convention for the television series Lucifer, was my first convention of 2023. And it was a very mixed bag of good and bad experiences.

The first thing that happened was that I booked for the Travelodge that said it was at Birming Airport. I got my travel sorted and got to Birming Airport, then I took out my phone to check the location of the Travelodge, which…turned out to be at least a 40 minute walk. And my sense of direction is pretty awful at the best of times, so I quickly realised I wasn’t going to get to the Travelodge, as I’d only had a couple of hours’ sleep. And when I reached the hotel where the convention was being held, the Travelodge was an hour’s walk away. Fortunately, a friend was staying in the hotel where the convention was being held at and was able to add me onto her room, so it made things much less stressful for me.

I only had two photos booked over this weekend, but both were really great experiences. The photo above is with DB Woodside, who plays Amenadiel. I’d booked a photo with him back when Lux 2 was first going to occur, which was, I believe, pre-Covid…and then it got postponed again last year to this year. It actually ended up being right after my last day at my previous job and then I had a week before my new job started, which worked out really well time-wise.

This photo with Aimee Garcia, who plays Ella in the show, was the one I was most looking forward to. Upon her first appearance in the show, Ella very quickly became my favourite character. This was the first photo I booked back when Lux 2 was first confirmed and I was so happy that she was still able to come when it got postponed to this year!

The photos were good experiences, but I did unfortunately temporarily lose my phone in the photo op room. This would have been an anxiety-inducing event before my medical emergency last year, but having been diagnosed with diabetes and now having my Freestyle libre sensor in my arm, my phone is quite literally a lifeline that tells me if my blood sugar is too high or low. Fortunately, staff and fellow attendees (including my friend) were really helpful and one of the main staff members was setting up her laptop for Google to find my phone (except I had to input a security code that Google sent…to my phone). Fortunately, my phone was found underneath the table where the bags were left before the photos.

There were two different autograph sessions each day, Saturday and Sunday, with the idea being that attendees got half of their autographs on one day and half on the other. The only person whose autograph I didn’t get was Tom Ellis’. When I was in the autograph room, his was the biggest line. I was quite fortunate, as my badge number allowed me to enter the autograph room quite early on.

Scarlett Estevez, who plays Trixie in the series, was a really great person to meet! Because of her age, her autograph wasn’t included in either the gold or regular tickets, as she wouldn’t be able to sign as much as the older actors, with more experience at conventions. Thanks to one of my other friends, though, I had an early birthday gift in the form of money for her autograph.

I mentioned earlier that Aimee Garcia was the one I was most looking forward to meeting, as Ella is my favourite character from the series. I did tell Aimee this and that I was so happy to meet her! She told me she wouldn’t tell any of the others that Ella’s my favourite.

I did also get my convention booklet signed, the photos you can see below:

I did unfortunately have a bit of a traumatic experience on the Sunday of the event, as I managed to get stuck in one of the lifts at the hotel. It wasn’t for all that long, but it was an incredibly scary experience while it was going on.

However, despite the issues, I did have a really good time at the convention. I got to see some friends and Starfury has always been my favourite company for conventions. The organiser is open and transparent with attendees and cares just as much about them having a good time as taking care of the guests. Go for weekend conventions like Starfury, rather than the signing events where all you’re doing is running from one guest to another, with no time to rest and sit.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Posted by cat2002116 on March 4, 2023
Posted in: Movies, Reviews. Tagged: movies, reviews. Leave a comment

I’m going to preface this review by saying, in spite of what may follow, I did in fact enjoy this movie. It is pretty much a requirement to have watched the majority of the Marvel movies (at least the Avengers and the previous two Ant-Man movies). The storyline can stand on its own, but there’ll be a lot of confusion if you haven’t seen the other movies.

So, this movie wasn’t what I was expecting at all. It was incredibly interesting to see more of the quantum realm, but it didn’t feel like there was a true threat to the world that Scott and co. were from. And honestly, a lot of the bad things that happened could have been dealt with if there’d been proper communication and information shared.

I did feel there was a lot of ‘one-trick pony’ in this movie. Hank, Janet, Scott, Hope and Cassie all have the same abilities, to access Pym particles and grow and shrink themselves. While it was good to see more of the quantum realm, I felt it was really unnecessary to have all five of them enter it. A more interesting storyline would have been to have at least one of them left on the outside, frantically trying to make communication with the rest of the family.

It was really good to see more of Cassie in this movie. While there were issues with the change of the actress playing the character, I did think Kathryn Newton did a good job portraying the character. I did, however, feel that there was very little of the conflict expanded upon between Cassie and Scott. It felt like the movie started off with all of these great ideas for personal conflicts…but those were all dropped in favour of pushing the story along.

One of my brothers mentioned that Hank had been relegated to ‘crazy old man’ (might not have been the exact words he used, but you get the idea) and I have to say that I agree. This is the man who created the Pym particles and the technology behind Ant-Man! He was the original Ant-Man! He should have had more to do than just be the old guy who talks to and loves his ants.

I was initially really interested to see a different version of Kang to the one I saw in Loki and I thought the movie would be showing another villain who didn’t truly believe he was a villain. However, much like the conflicts that went nowhere, the intricacies in Kang’s character were sadly lacking.

I did really like the characters of Jentorra and Quaz. There was quite an amusing exchange between Quaz and Scott, where Scott’s faced with a mind reader who asks him not to think about certain things…and, of course, trying not to think about something just makes you think about it even more. And I had to agree with Cassie when she talked about how cool Jentorra was.

I felt this movie was far more light-hearted than it should have been and it made it hard to take everything seriously. The previous two Ant-Man movies found the right balance between humour and seriousness, helped along by having the character of Luis who was a pretty awesome way of telling other characters (and the audience) needed information in a fun and interactive way. His lack was felt keenly throughout this movie. After all, could you imagine how interesting things would have been if Luis had ended up in the quantum realm instead of one of the others?

On the whole, there were some fun moments in this movie, but the stakes really didn’t feel that high and I was disappointed not to see more in the way of personal conflicts. Again, in agreement with my aforementioned brother, I just don’t think Ant-Man is enough to carry a movie on his own.

If you go and see this movie, there are two end credits scenes that do set up for future storylines. At the moment, though, for me, this movie only acts as a bridge to what will happen next. I truly hope the next Marvel movie will take itself a bit more seriously…and that future!Kang does not just feel like the villain of the week each time he appears.

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