I've started to rewatch Loki in anticipation of Season 2.
The opening episode is great at giving Tom Hiddleston time to act extremely narcissistic and vainglorious again, with a whole bunch of TVA agents as the straight-men. Completely unimpressed with his antics and pompous attitude. I love it.
I noticed that Miss Minutes (who appears in the finale as a 3D hologram (and is also in S2 trailers as such) -- is also 3D when in the PSA animated videos.
Just, in the way she moves, it's clearly from a completely different style than the cartoon -- just 3D with a cel shaded look. Would have been cool if they could fit her in the proper style...
Also, gosh, the soundtrack. Natalie Holt is a really good hand with a theremin and a violin. This soundtrack is so ethereal and spacey.
Marvel Studios will be releasing, Werewolf By Night in Color, a coloured version of Werewolf By Night on October 20th.
It being in colour kind of ruins the charm of the original black and white, but I'm pretty interested to see what all the violent scenes look like in colour since they were originally shooting for an R rating.
Huh. I guess they had a blank spot on the calendar, and with all the strikes going on, figured "ehhh I guess we can release this"
I also don't really see the point, but it'll be interesting to see how red and bloody it actually is (unless they CGI some stuff out in the colour version. ATSV has me worried recently with post-release changes to key content)
Marvel Studios will be releasing, Werewolf By Night in Color, a coloured version of Werewolf By Night on October 20th.
It being in colour… more kind of ruins the charm of the original black and white, but I'm pretty interested to see what all the violent scenes look like in colour since they were originally shooting for an R rating.
Loki Season 2 will now premiere on October 5th, instead of the 6th!
It will also release in the Prime Time slot of 6pm Pacific Time! So that's 9pm for me, neat!
Rewatching Season 1 recently has been great. It's very nice to see how well executed and tight this first season was! Every episode moves the plot along to a new place and its great.
I did notice the way it seems to treat Sylvie as a variance anomaly -- kind of based on the fact that she's just a girl?
The first 2 episodes heavily feature her in a long dark cloak so you can assume it's anyone (and the characters regularly use 'He'), until it's revealed Ooh wow Girl Loki!
Later on, when they're stuck in The Void, Loki makes a point to ask if the other variants have seen any other Female versions of themselves, as if that would be such a rare occurrence in an infinite multiverse...! ?? And there aren't any female versions of the God of Mischief to come across in the Void at all, surely many others would have been pruned too?
It's also never quite revealed why Sylvie was targeted so young or what she did to break the timeline. I think it was kind of inferred based on how little info we have that it was due to her being a female variant which is unfortunate...
However, I'm hoping that it's revealed that she wasn't simply targeted due to a gender anomaly in the multiverse (if that were true, they'd have taken her as a baby) -- I think it's moreso because she was developing the innate desire to be a Good Loki. The scene in question sets her up as a child playing with toys, and she acts out a heroic mission that Valkyrie undertakes. You'd expect a Loki to want to play out malicious scenes of evil, but no!
So, the TVA stole her away, and in turn caused her to shift to the other side of the dial, selfish chaotic desires.
At least Prime Loki is showing the power to change, and I hope is explored further in the new season.
Side note: I've heard that the latest series of I Am Groot shorts on Disney Plus sort of ties into What If?... I'm intrigued, I'll binge 'em tomorrow and let you know how it goes...
Finished Loki Season 1, ready once more for Season 2 now.
That finale really is something neat. Just one big long conversation and monologues about the fate of the multiverse and the TVA.
My dad was eavesdropping in the room at the time, he doesn't watch the show, he said he didn't like what he'd overheard. Too much talking, not enough action.
Lmao no way buddy, that's what's great about this finale. No predictable CGI Final Fight. Just... dialogue.
Now, I think it does play up the mystery and tension a little too much in the episode, as things could flow a little faster overall, but it's fine.
I'm a little disappointed in how the episode starts to wind down before the final twist.
You see agents in the field being shown the original variant of Ravonna Renslayer - the school teacher - then Hunter B-51 and Mobius watching the timelines go crazy, both knowing the truth about the TVA, interested in letting the chaos bring it down.
Then, the show cuts to Loki running back to find them, and it turns out the universe 'reset' or something, Kang is the TVA ruler and no one remembers who Loki is or what he did. So... it's a shame so many B-plots got overwritten at the very end like that I guess?
Very excited for Season 2 and what it's new Theme Song might be according to trailers so far..
I love the MCU but at this point it’s getting a bit too drawn out. Yes it’s nice to have a bit of everything to connect to the series but it becomes to hectic when you try to watch a new film and you have not been able to watch a show or something because life just gets busy sometimes. Loki was a fun a character and I am glad he got a tv show but I hope the show doesn’t have a lot to do with Galactus or whoever the new big bad is supposed to be 😇😅
I mostly only watch Doctor Strange and the Spider-Man movies haha and all the avengers movies.
It's truly really sad that Marvel wants to break into TV for its MCU properties, but has zero knowledge on how to properly make and maintain a successful TV property.
Tons of shows just made so they can get those characters in a movie without doing a 2-hour origin story song-and-dance. (haha now it's actually 6 -- if you're lucky -- hours of an origin story with the same template)
So far, we've only got Loki who had a Season 2 planned from the start it seems, all because it's probably going to set something up for the films in its second season.
But there's plenty other shows that just... are in TV limbo because of how they produce stuff. Hawkeye, who knows when he'll come back. Moon Knight, a show mostly unconnected to any other MCU stuff -- and had an a great season-ending hook -- also no confirmation of a second season.
At the very least we get some actually well-made and interesting shows like WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight, She-Hulk (IMO) that actually have some unique style or genre going for them. But I agree that they seem to be putting out too much, following the same formula, and the same restrictive episode count of 6.
IDK how Secret Invasion turned out since I haven't seen it yet but I've heard it's just... really really bad in terms of production and even maintaining its own spy-thriller theme. And that's really put me off, yikes.
I love the MCU but at this point it’s getting a bit too drawn out. Yes it’s nice to have a bit of everything to connect to the series but it… more becomes to hectic when you try to watch a new film and you have not been able to watch a show or something because life just gets busy sometimes. Loki was a fun a character and I am glad he got a tv show but I hope the show doesn’t have a lot to do with Galactus or whoever the new big bad is supposed to be 😇😅
I mostly only watch Doctor Strange and the Spider-Man movies haha and all the avengers movies.
Of course, I agree they have issues with lots of the their TV series however, I am excited to see that new X-Men Animation series they are working on. However, the problem with Disney and Marvel is that they want to shove all these heroes into everyone's face without developing them properly. Captain America and Iron Man were among the two best developed characters in the MCU because you saw the movies and you can sort of tell what kind of character they would be from the start. Thor however, in my opinion has changed drastically and not for the better. He is an Asgardian God and yet he behaves like a total idiot since Thor Raganork (He did have some really good scenes in Raganork) but Love and Thunder was a huge disappointment for me, mostly because he seemed like your basic surfer guy with superpowers. The only other character I am excited for is Doctor Strange but other then that not a lot of Marvel series have seemed interesting to me, that's not me bashing on Marvel of Disney but it's just something I feel like they will have to acknowledge, that a lot of the newer characters are uninteresting. One movie I did enjoy a lot was Across the Spider-Verse that movie was amazing, but that also has to do with the fact that it took the time and developed everything properly. The characters, conflict, solution was done rather well. I still have plenty of Marvel content I want to watch but it's just got to be something that captures my attention and I feel is done right. Just my opinions
It's truly really sad that Marvel wants to break into TV for its MCU properties, but has zero knowledge on how to properly make and maintain… more a successful TV property.
Tons of shows just made so they can get those characters in a movie without doing a 2-hour origin story song-and-dance. (haha now it's actually 6 -- if you're lucky -- hours of an origin story with the same template)
So far, we've only got Loki who had a Season 2 planned from the start it seems, all because it's probably going to set something up for the films in its second season.
But there's plenty other shows that just... are in TV limbo because of how they produce stuff. Hawkeye, who knows when he'll come back. Moon Knight, a show mostly unconnected to any other MCU stuff -- and had an a great season-ending hook -- also no confirmation of a second season.
At the very least we get some actually well-made and interesting shows like WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight, Sh… [view original content]
Okay the I Am Groot shorts are very cute, and an extremely easy afternoon binge. 2 seasons so far, 10 episodes total, each is only about 5 minutes and the credits take a minute or more at that so it's even shorter.
The animation is of high-quality, though not as realistic as the films. There's a more stylized expressiveness to Baby Groot than the films.
I like some of the nonsensical elements they bring up for him, just for the sake of comedy. Like, he'd pull roots out of his hips to signify having nothing in his pockets, or gets a toy nose stuck to his face, meaning he can smell? Silly stuff, but fun stuff.
I also like how some episodes are framed as "The Guardians go on a mission, while Baby Groot is left behind". Because sometimes the ship is super weirdly empty, or if it's on a planet, you can see the Benatar in the background, docked. Clearly Groot didn't fly that thing, so...
There are in fact a few tiny cameos as well. Just 2 really. Rocket appears at the end of the first season, and The Watcher narrates the last episode of Season 2.
Check it out if you like cute stuff and need something to pass a small bit of time.
Loki Season 2 has now started, and will continue for the next 5 Thursdays, releasing at 6pmPT/9pmET!
The season premiere was a massively tense episode, with a super creative time-twist!
(Stay tuned until after the stylized credits, btw!)
Thankfully, we pick up right back off of the last season's cliffhanger.
New puzzle pieces start moving in, they use their well-built sets to great use to show different time versions of them, and the cinematography and match-cuts in this were really great!
God, how I've missed Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston's banter together. They are such great buddies, I loved the elevator scene of them together.
The ending was extremely tense, but so far this season builds off of the last one really well (probably because that was planned)
Okay, spoiler time, so, it seems the cliffhanger of the last episode is "The TVA Past", and for some reason it has all the markings of He Who Remains... but at some point that all got replaced and everyone's memories erased of it. Interesting mystery to find out later...
I like how the TVA's time laws work in a fixed linear state, time always moves forward there no matter where or when you might come from to end up there... yet Loki's timeslipping bypasses that, and can jump back and forth on the so-called timeline of its state.
I also like how since they use the same sets, you have to clue into what's missing/new to each environment to know whether Loki's jumped forward or back.
I also like the scene with OB and how it showed both him in the past having a conversation, and him in the present remembering that conversation, in real-time, because the past is still being changed. Whoof!
The brownouts and Loki's slipping at the start of this episode were great ways to make things creepy and tense.
With the Time Keepers gone, there's a bit of a power vacuum. Interesting how these higher-ups in the organization are now taking matters into their own hands, choosing to uphold their long-held beliefs or accept the truth of their atrocities.
Ke Huy Quan never disappoints! Love that guy! 🥰
Near the end, I wonder what's also got the Future in shambles too!
And whoever pruned Loki just in time to get him extracted from the Loom is a savior! (I've bet that it's himself)
There's still a few time-slipping moments from the trailers that haven't happened yet... I wonder if it didn't work, and it's something he will need to control over the season...
Also gosh dang, we really are getting a whole McDonalds subplot with Sylvie. Hmmm. I hope Marvel's paycheck was worth it.
(It's harmless, but it's just... weird. McD has a whole marketing campaign right now of all the shows/films they've squeezed themselves into, including the new Loki Season. Congrats, you paid production companies to say your name.)
First episode of Loki season 2 is out and I really enjoyed it! It feels like the show never left. The chemistry between Loki and Mobius continues to be excellent, with the wonderful addition of Ke Huy Quan as OB. I really hope he remains as a significant character throughout the season. Visuals are as good as the previous seasons, as well as the music and sound. It just looks and feels like a high budget production. The episode was surprisingly tense, with some pretty interesting surprises. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out!
Spoilers
The audio thing Casey listens to while cleaning up is the same thing that Stephen listens to in Moon Knight while trying to sleep!
The time slipping seems pretty similar to what happens in Spider-Verse, though in this case it's forcing Loki to switch between the past, present, and future whereas in Spider-Verse it's just slowly killing them.
Also why'd they have it look so gross lmao.
Pretty interesting that Loki is actually flung between timelines instead of being an entirely different universe like previously thought.
Lol at the poor woman awkwardly standing next to Loki and Mobius as all that crazy shit goes down.
I'm almost certain that the person who prunes Loki in the future is himself. I feel like part of the story this season is Loki having to Rube Goldberg his way into pruning himself in order to save the TVA/the multiverse.
Also it seems like the TVA has had their mind wiped at some point in the past, possibly more than once. Maybe at some point they found out what was going on by themselves, causing Kang to have to mindwipe everyone.
Daredevil: Born Again's production has been put on hold due to a troubling production along with Marvel Studios revamping their TV division as they move away from limited series and going for ongoing shows.
It didn’t take long to see the problem after Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again paused production in mid-June during the writers strike. Fewer than half of the series’ 18 episodes had been shot, but it was enough for Marvel executives, including chief Kevin Feige, to review the footage and come away with a clear-eyed assessment: The show wasn’t working.
Marvel is now on the search for new writers and directors for the series, however they still plan to use some of the material that has already been written and filmed. Originally, Born Again was more of a legal procedural and was planned to have Matt Murdock only suit up by the fourth episode of the series.
As for the rest of their shows, Marvel is now going for a much more traditional method of production. Originally they would immediately head into production once a proper script was submitted and then relied on post-production and reshoots to fix what wasn't working. They are finally now requiring each show to have proper showrunners, which was partly inspired by Jessica Gao's work on She-Hulk, who developed and wrote the series before being sidelined in favour of the directors, but was later brought back to oversee post-production. Alongside showrunners, pilots will be required as well as show bibles.
It's pretty wild that they did any of that before, which explains certain things, but I guess better late than never.
The fact that showrunners, proper pilots, or show bibles weren't even a requirement or mandate earlier explains a lot about some projects...
And it's a miracle that a few of the shows still turned out half-decent-to-good by the end!
WandaVision was a great puzzle box that screwed its ending.
Loki had a great unexpected ending that was maybe a little too expository.
Moon Knight stuck to its psychological horror/DID introspective action really well, but also had a bit of a weird finale.
Ms. Marvel had a great playful identity at the start that kinda got lost in the shuffle by the end.
She Hulk thankfully was episodic so things didn't need to tie together all that much. And the episodes fit the tone pretty well! (Though again the finale may have gone too meta too soon for some people)
Here's hoping this improves the quality overall, and Disney is willing to spend their cash wisely on all this.
This both sucks for production, but great (hopefully) for making the Marvel shows feel like proper shows.
Really enjoyed Loki S2E02. Everything continues to be solid, with continuous praise towards Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, and Ke Huy Quan, and it's still visually very impressive. It's nice to see Loki acting a bit more threatening and antagonistic. I don't think he's acted like that since the first Avengers lol. I think my only criticism is the little bit of action we got towards the end is about the same quality as the previous season, which wasn't super great. Also McDonald's must have paid a fortune for this cause there's like a solid 5 second bit where it's pretty much just an ad lmao. Reminded me a lot of Subway in Community and Chuck.
Overall still super solid and am looking forward to next weeks episode.
Alright if they're gonna make it in colour I actually like that they made it look like a horror movie from the 80's. The chromatic aberration gives it that VHS look to it.
I am a huge fan of Daredevil and would love to see a new series or a continuation of the Netflix show whatever way Marvel decides to go forward with this show. I hope it stars Charlie Cox again! He did show up once in the Marvel Movies too so he does technically exist in the MCU and it would be an awesome way to get Wilson Fisk introduced to the MCU as well. I just hope they make his show a little bit darker than their other shows. Shame that it’s delayed or stopped production… I think Marvel needs to make games based on their lesser known heroes too! 😎
Big news that is both good and bad for Marvel Studios TV division!
Daredevil: Born Again's production has been put on hold due to a troub… moreling production along with Marvel Studios revamping their TV division as they move away from limited series and going for ongoing shows.
It didn’t take long to see the problem after Marvel Studios’ Daredevil: Born Again paused production in mid-June during the writers strike. Fewer than half of the series’ 18 episodes had been shot, but it was enough for Marvel executives, including chief Kevin Feige, to review the footage and come away with a clear-eyed assessment: The show wasn’t working.
Marvel is now on the search for new writers and directors for the series, however they still plan to use some of the material that has already been written and filmed. Originally, Born Again was more of a legal procedural and was planned to have Matt Murdock only suit up by the fourth episode of the serie… [view original content]
I hope it stars Charlie Cox again! He did show up once in the Marvel Movies too so he does technically exist in the MCU and it would be an awesome way to get Wilson Fisk introduced to the MCU as well.
Well do I have news for you. Since his appearance in No Way Home, Charlie Cox has appeared in She-Hulk, will be in the upcoming Echo series, and is starring in the new Daredevil: Born Again series. Vincent D'Onofrio appeared as Kingpin in the Hawkeye series and will also be in the Born Again as the same character. And if you liked Jon Bernthal as The Punisher from Daredevil Season 2, he'll also be returning as the same character in the Born Again series.
I am a huge fan of Daredevil and would love to see a new series or a continuation of the Netflix show whatever way Marvel decides to go forw… moreard with this show. I hope it stars Charlie Cox again! He did show up once in the Marvel Movies too so he does technically exist in the MCU and it would be an awesome way to get Wilson Fisk introduced to the MCU as well. I just hope they make his show a little bit darker than their other shows. Shame that it’s delayed or stopped production… I think Marvel needs to make games based on their lesser known heroes too! 😎
The newest episode of Loki is by far the silliest episode of the series so far lol. The first half is very cartoony especially with its characters and borders on being slapstick, though it does mellow out into the usual tone the series has by the second half. We also see the return of a couple characters that haven't appeared since the last season. The set and costume design this episode is excellent! The series continues to be worthy of the budget it's given. I really enjoyed the episode, and it goes into a pretty wild place at the end in my opinion, and really has me curious about what's gonna happen next.
Spoilers
The chase with Victor and that rich dude was the goofiest shit lmao.
Miss Minutes turning out to be in love with Kang was very creepy and unexpected.
Renslayer and Victor had really good chemistry this episode. Though it seems like Victor has issues trusting other people, or sharing the limelight.
That shot of Renslayer in the boat being dropped looked great! They must have done that for real.
I'm almost certain that part of Sylvie's story will be overcoming her hypocrisy with wanting to kill the Kangs. She has no proof that Victor will actually become a Kang, but attempts to kill him anyway, reflecting what the TVA did to her because of what she was going to be.
I fear that this episode may not age super well considering everything going on with Johnathan Majors and the current controversy with Tara Strong.
Episode 4 of Loki was fantastic! Really tense and very dark, with an incredible ending that feels like it belongs in a season finale. The acting, especially by Tom Hiddleston and Jonathan Majors is absolutely wonderful, the VFX continues to be some of the best in the MCU, the sound design and music continues to be great as well, and does a good job of keeping the audience on their toes with what happens next. Also big praise for the wild turn around on Miss Minutes, considering she started off as the series quirky mascot. In other words, Loki continues to be my favourite MCU series.
Spoilers
Ouroboros and Victor fanboying at each other was so cute lol.
Those people getting cubed is one of the darkest things to happen in the MCU. You don't see it, but the implied violence and the reactions of the people witnessing it and the audio really help sell how horrible it is.
Miss Minutes gleefully watching those people die was wicked.
Nice to see that flashforward Loki come back. Though it was pretty funny that the fan call was just Ouroboros the whole time. He even called him out on being so slow.
I can't believe Victor got fuckin' spaghetti'd.
That was by far one of the best endings to any MCU property. Incredibly bleak, but has me very excited for what happens next.
Episode 5 of Loki S2 is absolutely fucking brilliant from top to bottom and is possibly my favourite episode of the series so far and even further cements the series as not only the best MCU tv show, but one of the best MCU projects in general. Fantastic acting from everyone all around with massive praise to Tom Hiddleston for an incredibly emotional performance. The visuals this episode were beyond excellent. Very disturbing, trippy and horrifying. My literal only complaint is that there's like one shot with Loki in a room that's clearly entirely CG, and that's it. Every other shot in the episode is near perfection. I absolutely cannot wait to see how it all ends, especially since the next episode will be the series finale.
Spoilers
Mobius finally got to ride a jetski! It wasn't in water but it still counts!
I love Ke Huy Quan lol.
Holy shit the spaghetti-fication of the McDonald's universe was fucking horrifying! Big Infinity War flashbacks, especially when it started affecting the rest of the gang.
Goddamn, Loki grabbing at the strands of his friends was depressing as hell. Great performance by Tom Hiddleston, his body language was really great this episode!
Looks like Loki now has the ability to travel through time and space out of his own volition! Another step closer into becoming the MCU's Doctor Who!
The trailer for Echo is out and for a first, all episodes will be available for streaming on January 10th! It's also Marvel Studios first TV-MA production!
Surprisingly violent! It has a really similar tone to the Netflix Marvel stuff. Even the title font looks like the ones used for Jessica Jones/The Defenders. Hopefully it ends up sticking to it in the actual series. I wasn't super jazzed about the series announcement, but the more mature rating and tone is piquing my interest quite a bit.
A small bit worrying that they might not have much faith in this project if they're dumping it all at once -- but that could be good and mean it does something very unique compared to the usual MCU TV formula!
Very interested to see how they incorporate the show having a deaf protagonist/lead.
Really wish they'd committed to some more MA for Moon Knight, but better late than never! Hopefully this is successful and could open up more doors for mature, darker MCU stories.
The trailer for Echo is out and for a first, all episodes will be available for streaming on January 10th! It's also Marvel Studios first TV… more-MA production!
Surprisingly violent! It has a really similar tone to the Netflix Marvel stuff. Even the title font looks like the ones used for Jessica Jones/The Defenders. Hopefully it ends up sticking to it in the actual series. I wasn't super jazzed about the series announcement, but the more mature rating and tone is piquing my interest quite a bit.
(Spoiler)
The Echo series will also be part of a new banner under the MCU called Marvel Spotlight, which aims to "bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity. Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.”
This sounds pretty similar to what Marvel Films (before they became Marvel Studios) tried to do with Punisher: Warzone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which were under the Marvel Knights banner. Except hopefully these end up being good. I could see Daredevil: Born Again and potentially Marvel Zombies ending up under the Spotlight banner as well.
Oh yeah I've been slacking on posting my thoughts on Loki episodes (sorry my lonely lupin! ) and I've also been slacking on keeping up with them, but I have seen Ep2 and 3, so I'll just post some quick thoughts before bed:
Ep2. Was pretty great. The sudden and weird opening made me think we missed a scene (we kinda did?) but overall it explained itself over time and understood, mostly what was going down.
One big note was that I was very confused on how "Brad" managed to live out a life on the timeline, the Sacred Timeline that is, especially if he's a big prominent actor... Was expecting some kind of twist that he'd killed his Sacred self to put himself back in the timeline -- but then wouldn't that label the timeline as "Branched"?
IDK what's with the "sacred/branched" labels so far this season, since the timelines are all going crazy anyhow, doesn't really seem like any one is worse than the other.
Anyway, Brad somehow hid away and became a famous actor, and they found him.
Really enjoyed the interrogation scene Loki had with him. God, Tom Hiddleston slides back into his slick, villainous persona all too well. The dude nearly had me believe that he was enjoying the torture and would go so far as to make it personal, but thankfully it was all a ploy, a wonderful acting job by Loki and Mobius, and Tom and Owen Wilson respectively. Bravo 10/10 scene.
I wonder how they filmed that torture Box around Brad since that was clearly all special effects. Did he mime??
The ending felt kind of rushed, as they just... find the defectors, warp in, defeat them all, but not before they unleash bombs. Very quick, would have preferred some better build-up.
I liked that this paralleled Season 1's moment when Sylvie weaponized those same bombs to create branches instead of pruning them.
Ep3. The big Johnathan Majors episode. He did good. I still haven't seen Ant Man 3 so I don't have much other Kang to reference off of, but he was a good troubled, introverted scientist. Still potentially a problematic actor which would suck, but what he did here, I enjoyed.
I also enjoyed Tara Strong's performance as Miss Minutes again, though for really ugly reasons. Ugh. Yikes. Did not expect that lustful twist with her, keep it in your pants, clock!! WTF..
Still don't really know... what in the hell MMins is. She's some sort of AI, but why does she have a physical form? But not entirely physical because she can inhabit electronic objects, and increase her size or appearance at will? How can she escape the TVA? Maybe it's all comics stuff they're glossing over, but man, I do wish they'd be giving us some more info on how the heck she works.
The ending was neat as Sylvie's back and showed some mercy for once. Clearly she's gotta get over her whole vendetta, since it's known that not all Kangs are bad guys. Though I fear that this might come back to bite them in the butt, unless we come across another different Kang who ends up being evil...
I like the cyclical nature this plot is setting up though, having HWR get back on top of the TVA, and Loki/Sylvie's quest from Season 1 to be all for nought. Though that'd be a little sad. Hopefully there's some little twist in there...
Oh yeah and Ravonna gets some poetic justice being sent to the end of time... but damnit, they really should have checked for a tempad on her before that. Or, either way, I'm sure Miss Minutes will uncover some way for her to get out of there -- or HWR has some failsafe tempad in case he ever lost his special one...
anyway, enjoying the season so far, will get to more soon..
The series finale of Loki is out, and if I were to describe the episode in one word, it would be glorious. Easily the strongest finale out of any of the MCU shows, and cements the series as one of the best things to come out of the entirety of the MCU. Absolutely fantastic from top to bottom in every way shape and form, and the perfect ending to such an amazing series. Everything comes full circle and even brings up some things that could have you re-evaluate certain moments and character motivations from the previous season.
One can only hope that the franchise looks to Loki on how their tv shows and even movies should be handled and Eric Martin, who wrote every episode this season, sticks around for a bit to help guide the franchise towards its own glorious purpose.
Also please keep Natalie Holt around because she was fuckin' cooking with the music, like goddamn.
Note: I'm pretty sure this is the first time Marvel Studios have speeded through their logo. We got like 2 seconds of the start, and immediately got the studio card. Wow.
Some really great acting by Johnathan Majors, really digging this concept now of him playing different versions of a similar person. It was fun to see him obsess over a trivial thing in the TVA like a Hot Cocoa machine (though that's a bit of a time-hazard? Letting a 19th century man explore your 1950s-themed office?)
Sophia Di Martino had a great scene with Loki about the morality of letting the TVA grow and change, possibly, instead of razing it and potentially many timelines to the ground.
And wow, so many brutal deaths in this episode. Jeez.
The cell where Ravonna and Minutes use the torture machine, with like 20 people in the room, and go all the way with it?? That cutoff of their screams and the lingering dripping noise will haunt me... Off-screen but WOW brutal.
And then Victor? I was so impressed and excited that he'd undertake such a dangerous and critical task in a place he barely understands, and he gets spaghetti-fied in an instant? God that looked painful! Looked like his insides turned outside for a second!
The black-hole effect near the end was pretty darn cool.
And that cliffhanger... damn you and your 5-second cut to black, really wished there was some reveal it built up to!
At least there's still more for me!
Adore how stuff from the season premiere finally looped back on itself.
There's also a bunch of nonsensical time-loopy stuff, with OB's and Timely's work being based off each other lol.
I do wish the episode went into a little more on how Ravonna got back from the End of Time, but I'm assuming that's just something MM can do, since she hid away in Chicago for a secret meeting somehow...
I love it whenever fiction uses something weird, unexplainable and unstable as -- is it theoretical Quantum physics I'm thinking of? -- to throw the viewer into very strange realities and twists on characters as a plot device. And this episode had that in spades.
The Loom was destroyed, consuming everyone in a black hole, scattering them back to previous events in their lives, but everything is still at stake. Time is literally unraveling.
Loki, a man of magic, quickly thinks he needs to find the people he knows and snap them out of whatever fantasy they're inhabiting, and thanks to OB's scientist pre-persona, a man of science, he finds a theoretical way he could unlock the key to getting to the TVA.
Gosh, there's so much that's cool and spooky in this episode.
The strange, quiet opening in the barren TVA, finding out the origin of all the key players of the show, the extremely touching and depressing scene between Loki and Sylvie (and how Loki appreciates way more people than himself now -- but also would have to do some morally horrible stuff to make things right, taking people from their own lives, giving them a choice by showing them the unexplainable, to get them to a place where they had no choice in the first place to get to where they were... ), oh yeah, and how everything becomes spaghetti in the end. It's such a cool and scary effect.
Gosh it's so wibbley-wobbly-timey-wimey I love it.
And the only thing I love even more is the reveal of Loki controlling his time-slipping. But it's not like he becomes a portable time machine that can go anywhere and everywhere, he can only shift back and forth on his own timeline.
And the effect they did for that is so darn cool.
That episode was amazing. Gonna wait a bit before I finish it off, just to savour it just a little bit more.
This is a damn good MCU/sci-fi show, if it can wrap up in a self-contained way, I really hope I can convince my sister again to give it another chance. (She's been really burnt out from Marvel post-endgame which is fair)
The trailer for What If...? Season 2 is out and it looks pretty darn cool! I really liked the first season, outside of its overreliance on humour so I'm looking forward to it. Also like Echo it has a different episode schedule. One episode a day starting from December 22nd!
In my opinion, there is no better film than the first part of Iron Man. It’s somewhat similar if you compare additions to WoW from the first wrath boost to the latest, so to speak, for an amateur.
It does seem like that lol. It's certainly an interesting premise, though considering the writers of this also wrote Morbius I have doubts that it'll actually be good.
Finale of Loki! My god they truly went wild with this show, and I love it!
Leaves Loki in a pretty interesting place, and I wonder what the TVA might do in the future. Really great sci-fi time series that added a lot to the dread of the Kang Saga!
I really liked how Loki put himself through his own Groundhog Day scenario, complete with finishing people's sentences and acting really crazy for the sake of being as brief as possible.
"Centuries Later..." Bahaha! Never would I have expected Loki to learn nearly everything there is to know about science and theoretical physics. Thank you, infinite rewind button!
Man, the flashback to the finale of Season 1. What a twist. And even twistier that HWR still accounted for and even knew what was up, how he was the be all, end all, of keeping order in the multiverse.
But ooooh boy, what another great twist that Loki himself does indeed get the throne he seeked out at the start, but using it to wrangle and preserve whatever timelines he can.
I wish we got a bit more explanation as to what the heck Loki's role is now, as the "origin of Yggdrassil" if you will, but it seems way more hopeful than a dude who looks exactly like the previous dude, or, a reversion to the previous status quo.
Great series overall! Had some very nice writing, cool sci-fi, great effects, very timely wimey, and pretty self-contained so far?
There was this one specific song used in various Season 2 trailers that I didn't notice appear in the season. Sounded like a new Natalie Holt track, but I guess I was mistaken? I'll check the soundtrack whenever that's out and see if there's any bonus unused tracks, then.
My dad and I just watched The Marvels in a special "ScreenX" format in theatres.
We've never heard of this before, but apparently it's been around for a good 7 years at least.
It's a special gimmick version of the film, yeah, where they project a whole 270° view of the film on the front and side walls of the theater.
It's done through either a 3-camera setup during production or CGI in post.
It's kinda cool? But yeah, mostly a novelty.
The illusion of the surrounding screen doesn't totally work if you look to the side, as it's meant to convey peripheral vision.
Plus, not all of the scenes use the ScreenX format, so it'll cut or fade between the center and side screens, and it's a bit disappointing when you've been treated to a wider shot. (The opening space scene and inciting event had a cool wide effect, but later on there'd be space scenes that don't use the side-screens and it felt strange.)
Some of the action scenes and establishing scenery shots of the film used the added screen space and it was pretty cool, feeling like you're surrounded or deeper immersed into the world, but as mentioned above, there wasn't "consistency" in where its used.
I'd aay a good 60-70% of the film's scenes use it though, and the entire climax had the side-screens turned on which was cool.
As for the film itself, it was fun. I liked it.
Not really the best ever, but it was of acceptable quality for what Marvel has put out lately.
Iman Vellani is definitely the standout energetic performance with a really great animated intro that calls back to her opening episode of Ms. Marvel... Really love that creative/artistic flair they give her "fangirl dreams" and I really wish it appeared more!
Brie Larson does a great job at showing more of Captain Marvel's emotional side, since we were robbed of a lot of that in the last film due to her being a brainwashed stoic soldier. Though she does bring in some cool stoic, focused energy that I did enjoy in her character when in the group.
Teyonah Parris is the newcomer, essentially, to the group, as she learns more about her powers and offers some big scientific knowledge to the group where needed. I liked discovering she is essentially the Danny Phantom of the power-trio.
All their powers combined to give some very neat teleporting fight scenes as they're forced to tap in and out of each others' battles.
The movie gives the characters a kinda one-note villain but with interesting motives that evolve from the lingering conflict at the end of the first CapMarvel film.
I also liked all the exotic alien places the trio visits as
Overall, it's a good entry to the MCU. I'd watch it again one day. There's fun to be had here and I liked the cosmic scope of this film.
Plus, a very neat ending stinger...
Spoiler Time
I felt so bad for the Khan's house at the start of the film. Damnit, why the hell can't superheroes just take the fight outside?? I liked how the whole family tried to step in and help beat the baddies though that was fun.
The weird organic eggs found around the space station were a bit of an "oh god it's a contrived hidden threat for later" but I quickly guessed and got right that it was Goose the cat laying eggs all around the place.
Totally gross but adorable hatching of kittens though!
And man, the whole Goose stuff in this film and the ensuing Cats Escape Pod master plan was soooo weird but in a fun way. It was ridiculous but I loved how creative they got in solving the horrible Titanic problem of "not enough escape pods"
I was giggling so much at that fun ending, with Kamala parodying Fury at the end of Iron Man 1. I guess they're finally giving fans hope that a Kid Avengers team might happen!
Also, oooh, Monica is in the X-Men universe now! I wonder if this might tie into Deadpool 3 in some way, if that's the start of the whole X-universe integration to the MCU...
What If? Season 2 had a two episode live screening event and with it came some announcements about the animated side of the MCU!
Eyes of Wakanda, an animated series set in, you guessed it, Wakanda was announced with the description, "Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story."
Spider-Man: Freshmen Year has been retitled to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
X-Men '97 will be animated similarly to What If? but with an added filter to simulate the visuals of the original series.
And probably the biggest surprise is that they will all be released in 2024!
As for What If?. The two episodes that were screened, Happy Hogan Saves Christmas and What If Nebula joined the Nova Corps received high praise for the writing and animation, calling them an improvement from the first season.
The Eyes of Wakanda series sounds pretty cool, like an artifact of the week thing. Especially since it seems like it'll be set some time in the past.
Huh. I heard there was some Wakanda-focused series in development, most likely featuring/surrounding the Dora Milaje, but I thought it was gonna be live-action (seeing them kick more butt IRL would be sweet!)
But hey, I'll take animation if it's more of them.
Hopefully the actors have some free schedules and good contracts to reprise their roles if that's the case.
What If? Season 2 had a two episode live screening event and with it came some announcements about the animated side of the MCU!
* Eyes… more of Wakanda, an animated series set in, you guessed it, Wakanda was announced with the description, "Throughout Wakandan history, brave warriors have been tasked to travel the world retrieving dangerous vibranium artifacts. This is their story."
* Spider-Man: Freshmen Year has been retitled to Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
* X-Men '97 will be animated similarly to What If? but with an added filter to simulate the visuals of the original series.
* And probably the biggest surprise is that they will all be released in 2024!
* As for What If?. The two episodes that were screened, Happy Hogan Saves Christmas and What If Nebula joined the Nova Corps received high praise for the writing and animation, calling them an improvement from the first season.
The Eyes of Wakanda series sounds pretty co… [view original content]
Comments
I've started to rewatch Loki in anticipation of Season 2.
The opening episode is great at giving Tom Hiddleston time to act extremely narcissistic and vainglorious again, with a whole bunch of TVA agents as the straight-men. Completely unimpressed with his antics and pompous attitude. I love it.
I don't know what is so appealing about vast, near-unexplainable concepts being contained and controlled by an old-fashioned bureaucratic process of piles of paperwork and wooden desks, but I like that we keep seeing it and how much fun the creators have designing it.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2021/07/10/lokis-production-designer-on-the-modernist-inspiration-behind-the-shows-stunning-visuals
I noticed that Miss Minutes (who appears in the finale as a 3D hologram (and is also in S2 trailers as such) -- is also 3D when in the PSA animated videos.
Just, in the way she moves, it's clearly from a completely different style than the cartoon -- just 3D with a cel shaded look. Would have been cool if they could fit her in the proper style...
Also, gosh, the soundtrack. Natalie Holt is a really good hand with a theremin and a violin. This soundtrack is so ethereal and spacey.
Marvel Studios will be releasing, Werewolf By Night in Color, a coloured version of Werewolf By Night on October 20th.
It being in colour kind of ruins the charm of the original black and white, but I'm pretty interested to see what all the violent scenes look like in colour since they were originally shooting for an R rating.
Huh. I guess they had a blank spot on the calendar, and with all the strikes going on, figured "ehhh I guess we can release this"
I also don't really see the point, but it'll be interesting to see how red and bloody it actually is (unless they CGI some stuff out in the colour version. ATSV has me worried recently with post-release changes to key content)
Here's a shorter but sweeter teaser for Loki Season 2. The cinematography looks to be really fun in this again!
Loki Season 2 will now premiere on October 5th, instead of the 6th!
It will also release in the Prime Time slot of 6pm Pacific Time! So that's 9pm for me, neat!
Rewatching Season 1 recently has been great. It's very nice to see how well executed and tight this first season was! Every episode moves the plot along to a new place and its great.
I did notice the way it seems to treat Sylvie as a variance anomaly -- kind of based on the fact that she's just a girl?
The first 2 episodes heavily feature her in a long dark cloak so you can assume it's anyone (and the characters regularly use 'He'), until it's revealed Ooh wow Girl Loki!
Later on, when they're stuck in The Void, Loki makes a point to ask if the other variants have seen any other Female versions of themselves, as if that would be such a rare occurrence in an infinite multiverse...! ?? And there aren't any female versions of the God of Mischief to come across in the Void at all, surely many others would have been pruned too?
It's also never quite revealed why Sylvie was targeted so young or what she did to break the timeline. I think it was kind of inferred based on how little info we have that it was due to her being a female variant which is unfortunate...
However, I'm hoping that it's revealed that she wasn't simply targeted due to a gender anomaly in the multiverse (if that were true, they'd have taken her as a baby) -- I think it's moreso because she was developing the innate desire to be a Good Loki. The scene in question sets her up as a child playing with toys, and she acts out a heroic mission that Valkyrie undertakes. You'd expect a Loki to want to play out malicious scenes of evil, but no!
So, the TVA stole her away, and in turn caused her to shift to the other side of the dial, selfish chaotic desires.
At least Prime Loki is showing the power to change, and I hope is explored further in the new season.
Side note: I've heard that the latest series of I Am Groot shorts on Disney Plus sort of ties into What If?... I'm intrigued, I'll binge 'em tomorrow and let you know how it goes...
Finished Loki Season 1, ready once more for Season 2 now.
That finale really is something neat. Just one big long conversation and monologues about the fate of the multiverse and the TVA.
My dad was eavesdropping in the room at the time, he doesn't watch the show, he said he didn't like what he'd overheard. Too much talking, not enough action.
Lmao no way buddy, that's what's great about this finale. No predictable CGI Final Fight. Just... dialogue.
Now, I think it does play up the mystery and tension a little too much in the episode, as things could flow a little faster overall, but it's fine.
I'm a little disappointed in how the episode starts to wind down before the final twist.
You see agents in the field being shown the original variant of Ravonna Renslayer - the school teacher - then Hunter B-51 and Mobius watching the timelines go crazy, both knowing the truth about the TVA, interested in letting the chaos bring it down.
Then, the show cuts to Loki running back to find them, and it turns out the universe 'reset' or something, Kang is the TVA ruler and no one remembers who Loki is or what he did. So... it's a shame so many B-plots got overwritten at the very end like that I guess?
Very excited for Season 2 and what it's new Theme Song might be according to trailers so far..
I love the MCU but at this point it’s getting a bit too drawn out. Yes it’s nice to have a bit of everything to connect to the series but it becomes to hectic when you try to watch a new film and you have not been able to watch a show or something because life just gets busy sometimes. Loki was a fun a character and I am glad he got a tv show but I hope the show doesn’t have a lot to do with Galactus or whoever the new big bad is supposed to be 😇😅
I mostly only watch Doctor Strange and the Spider-Man movies haha and all the avengers movies.
It's truly really sad that Marvel wants to break into TV for its MCU properties, but has zero knowledge on how to properly make and maintain a successful TV property.
Tons of shows just made so they can get those characters in a movie without doing a 2-hour origin story song-and-dance. (haha now it's actually 6 -- if you're lucky -- hours of an origin story with the same template)
So far, we've only got Loki who had a Season 2 planned from the start it seems, all because it's probably going to set something up for the films in its second season.
But there's plenty other shows that just... are in TV limbo because of how they produce stuff. Hawkeye, who knows when he'll come back. Moon Knight, a show mostly unconnected to any other MCU stuff -- and had an a great season-ending hook -- also no confirmation of a second season.
At the very least we get some actually well-made and interesting shows like WandaVision, Loki, Moon Knight, She-Hulk (IMO) that actually have some unique style or genre going for them. But I agree that they seem to be putting out too much, following the same formula, and the same restrictive episode count of 6.
IDK how Secret Invasion turned out since I haven't seen it yet but I've heard it's just... really really bad in terms of production and even maintaining its own spy-thriller theme. And that's really put me off, yikes.
Of course, I agree they have issues with lots of the their TV series however, I am excited to see that new X-Men Animation series they are working on. However, the problem with Disney and Marvel is that they want to shove all these heroes into everyone's face without developing them properly. Captain America and Iron Man were among the two best developed characters in the MCU because you saw the movies and you can sort of tell what kind of character they would be from the start. Thor however, in my opinion has changed drastically and not for the better. He is an Asgardian God and yet he behaves like a total idiot since Thor Raganork (He did have some really good scenes in Raganork) but Love and Thunder was a huge disappointment for me, mostly because he seemed like your basic surfer guy with superpowers. The only other character I am excited for is Doctor Strange but other then that not a lot of Marvel series have seemed interesting to me, that's not me bashing on Marvel of Disney but it's just something I feel like they will have to acknowledge, that a lot of the newer characters are uninteresting. One movie I did enjoy a lot was Across the Spider-Verse that movie was amazing, but that also has to do with the fact that it took the time and developed everything properly. The characters, conflict, solution was done rather well. I still have plenty of Marvel content I want to watch but it's just got to be something that captures my attention and I feel is done right. Just my opinions
Okay the I Am Groot shorts are very cute, and an extremely easy afternoon binge. 2 seasons so far, 10 episodes total, each is only about 5 minutes and the credits take a minute or more at that so it's even shorter.
The animation is of high-quality, though not as realistic as the films. There's a more stylized expressiveness to Baby Groot than the films.
I like some of the nonsensical elements they bring up for him, just for the sake of comedy. Like, he'd pull roots out of his hips to signify having nothing in his pockets, or gets a toy nose stuck to his face, meaning he can smell? Silly stuff, but fun stuff.
I also like how some episodes are framed as "The Guardians go on a mission, while Baby Groot is left behind". Because sometimes the ship is super weirdly empty, or if it's on a planet, you can see the Benatar in the background, docked. Clearly Groot didn't fly that thing, so...
There are in fact a few tiny cameos as well. Just 2 really. Rocket appears at the end of the first season, and The Watcher narrates the last episode of Season 2.
Check it out if you like cute stuff and need something to pass a small bit of time.
Loki Season 2 has now started, and will continue for the next 5 Thursdays, releasing at 6pmPT/9pmET!
The season premiere was a massively tense episode, with a super creative time-twist!
(Stay tuned until after the stylized credits, btw!)
Thankfully, we pick up right back off of the last season's cliffhanger.
New puzzle pieces start moving in, they use their well-built sets to great use to show different time versions of them, and the cinematography and match-cuts in this were really great!
God, how I've missed Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston's banter together. They are such great buddies, I loved the elevator scene of them together.
The ending was extremely tense, but so far this season builds off of the last one really well (probably because that was planned)
Near the end, I wonder what's also got the Future in shambles too!
And whoever pruned Loki just in time to get him extracted from the Loom is a savior! (I've bet that it's himself)
There's still a few time-slipping moments from the trailers that haven't happened yet... I wonder if it didn't work, and it's something he will need to control over the season...
(It's harmless, but it's just... weird. McD has a whole marketing campaign right now of all the shows/films they've squeezed themselves into, including the new Loki Season. Congrats, you paid production companies to say your name.)
First episode of Loki season 2 is out and I really enjoyed it! It feels like the show never left. The chemistry between Loki and Mobius continues to be excellent, with the wonderful addition of Ke Huy Quan as OB. I really hope he remains as a significant character throughout the season. Visuals are as good as the previous seasons, as well as the music and sound. It just looks and feels like a high budget production. The episode was surprisingly tense, with some pretty interesting surprises. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out!
Spoilers
Big news that is both good and bad for Marvel Studios TV division!
Daredevil: Born Again's production has been put on hold due to a troubling production along with Marvel Studios revamping their TV division as they move away from limited series and going for ongoing shows.
Marvel is now on the search for new writers and directors for the series, however they still plan to use some of the material that has already been written and filmed. Originally, Born Again was more of a legal procedural and was planned to have Matt Murdock only suit up by the fourth episode of the series.
As for the rest of their shows, Marvel is now going for a much more traditional method of production. Originally they would immediately head into production once a proper script was submitted and then relied on post-production and reshoots to fix what wasn't working. They are finally now requiring each show to have proper showrunners, which was partly inspired by Jessica Gao's work on She-Hulk, who developed and wrote the series before being sidelined in favour of the directors, but was later brought back to oversee post-production. Alongside showrunners, pilots will be required as well as show bibles.
It's pretty wild that they did any of that before, which explains certain things, but I guess better late than never.
The fact that showrunners, proper pilots, or show bibles weren't even a requirement or mandate earlier explains a lot about some projects...
And it's a miracle that a few of the shows still turned out half-decent-to-good by the end!
WandaVision was a great puzzle box that screwed its ending.
Loki had a great unexpected ending that was maybe a little too expository.
Moon Knight stuck to its psychological horror/DID introspective action really well, but also had a bit of a weird finale.
Ms. Marvel had a great playful identity at the start that kinda got lost in the shuffle by the end.
She Hulk thankfully was episodic so things didn't need to tie together all that much. And the episodes fit the tone pretty well! (Though again the finale may have gone too meta too soon for some people)
Here's hoping this improves the quality overall, and Disney is willing to spend their cash wisely on all this.
This both sucks for production, but great (hopefully) for making the Marvel shows feel like proper shows.
Really enjoyed Loki S2E02. Everything continues to be solid, with continuous praise towards Tom Hiddleston, Owen Wilson, and Ke Huy Quan, and it's still visually very impressive. It's nice to see Loki acting a bit more threatening and antagonistic. I don't think he's acted like that since the first Avengers lol. I think my only criticism is the little bit of action we got towards the end is about the same quality as the previous season, which wasn't super great. Also McDonald's must have paid a fortune for this cause there's like a solid 5 second bit where it's pretty much just an ad lmao. Reminded me a lot of Subway in Community and Chuck.
Overall still super solid and am looking forward to next weeks episode.
Alright if they're gonna make it in colour I actually like that they made it look like a horror movie from the 80's. The chromatic aberration gives it that VHS look to it.
I am a huge fan of Daredevil and would love to see a new series or a continuation of the Netflix show whatever way Marvel decides to go forward with this show. I hope it stars Charlie Cox again! He did show up once in the Marvel Movies too so he does technically exist in the MCU and it would be an awesome way to get Wilson Fisk introduced to the MCU as well. I just hope they make his show a little bit darker than their other shows. Shame that it’s delayed or stopped production… I think Marvel needs to make games based on their lesser known heroes too! 😎
Well do I have news for you. Since his appearance in No Way Home, Charlie Cox has appeared in She-Hulk, will be in the upcoming Echo series, and is starring in the new Daredevil: Born Again series. Vincent D'Onofrio appeared as Kingpin in the Hawkeye series and will also be in the Born Again as the same character. And if you liked Jon Bernthal as The Punisher from Daredevil Season 2, he'll also be returning as the same character in the Born Again series.
The newest episode of Loki is by far the silliest episode of the series so far lol. The first half is very cartoony especially with its characters and borders on being slapstick, though it does mellow out into the usual tone the series has by the second half. We also see the return of a couple characters that haven't appeared since the last season. The set and costume design this episode is excellent! The series continues to be worthy of the budget it's given. I really enjoyed the episode, and it goes into a pretty wild place at the end in my opinion, and really has me curious about what's gonna happen next.
Spoilers
Episode 4 of Loki was fantastic! Really tense and very dark, with an incredible ending that feels like it belongs in a season finale. The acting, especially by Tom Hiddleston and Jonathan Majors is absolutely wonderful, the VFX continues to be some of the best in the MCU, the sound design and music continues to be great as well, and does a good job of keeping the audience on their toes with what happens next. Also big praise for the wild turn around on Miss Minutes, considering she started off as the series quirky mascot. In other words, Loki continues to be my favourite MCU series.
Spoilers
Episode 5 of Loki S2 is absolutely fucking brilliant from top to bottom and is possibly my favourite episode of the series so far and even further cements the series as not only the best MCU tv show, but one of the best MCU projects in general. Fantastic acting from everyone all around with massive praise to Tom Hiddleston for an incredibly emotional performance. The visuals this episode were beyond excellent. Very disturbing, trippy and horrifying. My literal only complaint is that there's like one shot with Loki in a room that's clearly entirely CG, and that's it. Every other shot in the episode is near perfection. I absolutely cannot wait to see how it all ends, especially since the next episode will be the series finale.
Spoilers
The trailer for Echo is out and for a first, all episodes will be available for streaming on January 10th! It's also Marvel Studios first TV-MA production!
Surprisingly violent! It has a really similar tone to the Netflix Marvel stuff. Even the title font looks like the ones used for Jessica Jones/The Defenders. Hopefully it ends up sticking to it in the actual series. I wasn't super jazzed about the series announcement, but the more mature rating and tone is piquing my interest quite a bit.
Also Daredevil's got his red suit back at 1:27!
Looks pretty cool!
A small bit worrying that they might not have much faith in this project if they're dumping it all at once -- but that could be good and mean it does something very unique compared to the usual MCU TV formula!
Very interested to see how they incorporate the show having a deaf protagonist/lead.
Really wish they'd committed to some more MA for Moon Knight, but better late than never! Hopefully this is successful and could open up more doors for mature, darker MCU stories.
The Echo series will also be part of a new banner under the MCU called Marvel Spotlight, which aims to "bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity. Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.”
This sounds pretty similar to what Marvel Films (before they became Marvel Studios) tried to do with Punisher: Warzone and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, which were under the Marvel Knights banner. Except hopefully these end up being good. I could see Daredevil: Born Again and potentially Marvel Zombies ending up under the Spotlight banner as well.
Oh yeah I've been slacking on posting my thoughts on Loki episodes (sorry my lonely lupin!
) and I've also been slacking on keeping up with them, but I have seen Ep2 and 3, so I'll just post some quick thoughts before bed:
Ep2. Was pretty great. The sudden and weird opening made me think we missed a scene (we kinda did?) but overall it explained itself over time and understood, mostly what was going down.
One big note was that I was very confused on how "Brad" managed to live out a life on the timeline, the Sacred Timeline that is, especially if he's a big prominent actor... Was expecting some kind of twist that he'd killed his Sacred self to put himself back in the timeline -- but then wouldn't that label the timeline as "Branched"?
IDK what's with the "sacred/branched" labels so far this season, since the timelines are all going crazy anyhow, doesn't really seem like any one is worse than the other.
Anyway, Brad somehow hid away and became a famous actor, and they found him.
Really enjoyed the interrogation scene Loki had with him. God, Tom Hiddleston slides back into his slick, villainous persona all too well. The dude nearly had me believe that he was enjoying the torture and would go so far as to make it personal, but thankfully it was all a ploy, a wonderful acting job by Loki and Mobius, and Tom and Owen Wilson respectively. Bravo 10/10 scene.
I wonder how they filmed that torture Box around Brad since that was clearly all special effects. Did he mime??
The ending felt kind of rushed, as they just... find the defectors, warp in, defeat them all, but not before they unleash bombs. Very quick, would have preferred some better build-up.
I liked that this paralleled Season 1's moment when Sylvie weaponized those same bombs to create branches instead of pruning them.
Ep3. The big Johnathan Majors episode. He did good. I still haven't seen Ant Man 3 so I don't have much other Kang to reference off of, but he was a good troubled, introverted scientist. Still potentially a problematic actor which would suck, but what he did here, I enjoyed.
I also enjoyed Tara Strong's performance as Miss Minutes again, though for really ugly reasons. Ugh. Yikes. Did not expect that lustful twist with her, keep it in your pants, clock!! WTF..
Still don't really know... what in the hell MMins is. She's some sort of AI, but why does she have a physical form? But not entirely physical because she can inhabit electronic objects, and increase her size or appearance at will? How can she escape the TVA? Maybe it's all comics stuff they're glossing over, but man, I do wish they'd be giving us some more info on how the heck she works.
The ending was neat as Sylvie's back and showed some mercy for once. Clearly she's gotta get over her whole vendetta, since it's known that not all Kangs are bad guys. Though I fear that this might come back to bite them in the butt, unless we come across another different Kang who ends up being evil...
I like the cyclical nature this plot is setting up though, having HWR get back on top of the TVA, and Loki/Sylvie's quest from Season 1 to be all for nought. Though that'd be a little sad. Hopefully there's some little twist in there...
Oh yeah and Ravonna gets some poetic justice being sent to the end of time... but damnit, they really should have checked for a tempad on her before that. Or, either way, I'm sure Miss Minutes will uncover some way for her to get out of there -- or HWR has some failsafe tempad in case he ever lost his special one...
anyway, enjoying the season so far, will get to more soon..
The series finale of Loki is out, and if I were to describe the episode in one word, it would be glorious. Easily the strongest finale out of any of the MCU shows, and cements the series as one of the best things to come out of the entirety of the MCU. Absolutely fantastic from top to bottom in every way shape and form, and the perfect ending to such an amazing series. Everything comes full circle and even brings up some things that could have you re-evaluate certain moments and character motivations from the previous season.
One can only hope that the franchise looks to Loki on how their tv shows and even movies should be handled and Eric Martin, who wrote every episode this season, sticks around for a bit to help guide the franchise towards its own glorious purpose.
Also please keep Natalie Holt around because she was fuckin' cooking with the music, like goddamn.
Holy shit, Episode 4 of Loki was fantastic!
Note: I'm pretty sure this is the first time Marvel Studios have speeded through their logo. We got like 2 seconds of the start, and immediately got the studio card. Wow.
Some really great acting by Johnathan Majors, really digging this concept now of him playing different versions of a similar person. It was fun to see him obsess over a trivial thing in the TVA like a Hot Cocoa machine (though that's a bit of a time-hazard? Letting a 19th century man explore your 1950s-themed office?)
Sophia Di Martino had a great scene with Loki about the morality of letting the TVA grow and change, possibly, instead of razing it and potentially many timelines to the ground.
And wow, so many brutal deaths in this episode. Jeez.
Off-screen but WOW brutal.
The cell where Ravonna and Minutes use the torture machine, with like 20 people in the room, and go all the way with it?? That cutoff of their screams and the lingering dripping noise will haunt me...
And then Victor? I was so impressed and excited that he'd undertake such a dangerous and critical task in a place he barely understands, and he gets spaghetti-fied in an instant? God that looked painful! Looked like his insides turned outside for a second!
The black-hole effect near the end was pretty darn cool.
And that cliffhanger... damn you and your 5-second cut to black, really wished there was some reveal it built up to!
At least there's still more for me!
Adore how stuff from the season premiere finally looped back on itself.
There's also a bunch of nonsensical time-loopy stuff, with OB's and Timely's work being based off each other lol.
I do wish the episode went into a little more on how Ravonna got back from the End of Time, but I'm assuming that's just something MM can do, since she hid away in Chicago for a secret meeting somehow...
OHOHOHO NO FUCKING WAY
S2E5 of Loki... that was total sci-fi bliss!!
I love it whenever fiction uses something weird, unexplainable and unstable as -- is it theoretical Quantum physics I'm thinking of? -- to throw the viewer into very strange realities and twists on characters as a plot device. And this episode had that in spades.
The Loom was destroyed, consuming everyone in a black hole, scattering them back to previous events in their lives, but everything is still at stake. Time is literally unraveling.
Loki, a man of magic, quickly thinks he needs to find the people he knows and snap them out of whatever fantasy they're inhabiting, and thanks to OB's scientist pre-persona, a man of science, he finds a theoretical way he could unlock the key to getting to the TVA.
Gosh, there's so much that's cool and spooky in this episode.
The strange, quiet opening in the barren TVA, finding out the origin of all the key players of the show, the extremely touching and depressing scene between Loki and Sylvie (and how Loki appreciates way more people than himself now -- but also would have to do some morally horrible stuff to make things right, taking people from their own lives, giving them a choice by showing them the unexplainable, to get them to a place where they had no choice in the first place to get to where they were... ), oh yeah, and how everything becomes spaghetti in the end. It's such a cool and scary effect.
Gosh it's so wibbley-wobbly-timey-wimey I love it.
And the only thing I love even more is the reveal of Loki controlling his time-slipping. But it's not like he becomes a portable time machine that can go anywhere and everywhere, he can only shift back and forth on his own timeline.
And the effect they did for that is so darn cool.
That episode was amazing. Gonna wait a bit before I finish it off, just to savour it just a little bit more.
This is a damn good MCU/sci-fi show, if it can wrap up in a self-contained way, I really hope I can convince my sister again to give it another chance. (She's been really burnt out from Marvel post-endgame which is fair)
Okay, reportedly, allegedly, What If Season 2 might start on the 22nd of December, and release one episode per day.
Honestly that's a great release strategy for a more standalone, shorter, anthology series of that nature.
The trailer for Madame Web is out.
It certainly looks like a movie.
Where all the webshooters, why's everyone just jumping?
I feel like this looks worse than Morbius
and yeah, what's with all the jumping lmao.
They're definitely banking on all the quick shots of people in spider-suits to bring people to the theater... but damn that acting looked so flat
The trailer for What If...? Season 2 is out and it looks pretty darn cool! I really liked the first season, outside of its overreliance on humour so I'm looking forward to it. Also like Echo it has a different episode schedule. One episode a day starting from December 22nd!
The Marvel version of Final Destination???
Even the actress looks like the main protagonist of FD3. Just a little bit
In my opinion, there is no better film than the first part of Iron Man. It’s somewhat similar if you compare additions to WoW from the first wrath boost to the latest, so to speak, for an amateur.
It does seem like that lol. It's certainly an interesting premise, though considering the writers of this also wrote Morbius I have doubts that it'll actually be good.
Finale of Loki! My god they truly went wild with this show, and I love it!
Leaves Loki in a pretty interesting place, and I wonder what the TVA might do in the future. Really great sci-fi time series that added a lot to the dread of the Kang Saga!
But ooooh boy, what another great twist that Loki himself does indeed get the throne he seeked out at the start, but using it to wrangle and preserve whatever timelines he can.
I wish we got a bit more explanation as to what the heck Loki's role is now, as the "origin of Yggdrassil" if you will, but it seems way more hopeful than a dude who looks exactly like the previous dude, or, a reversion to the previous status quo.
Great series overall! Had some very nice writing, cool sci-fi, great effects, very timely wimey, and pretty self-contained so far?
There was this one specific song used in various Season 2 trailers that I didn't notice appear in the season. Sounded like a new Natalie Holt track, but I guess I was mistaken? I'll check the soundtrack whenever that's out and see if there's any bonus unused tracks, then.
My dad and I just watched The Marvels in a special "ScreenX" format in theatres.
We've never heard of this before, but apparently it's been around for a good 7 years at least.
It's a special gimmick version of the film, yeah, where they project a whole 270° view of the film on the front and side walls of the theater.
It's done through either a 3-camera setup during production or CGI in post.
It's kinda cool? But yeah, mostly a novelty.
The illusion of the surrounding screen doesn't totally work if you look to the side, as it's meant to convey peripheral vision.
Plus, not all of the scenes use the ScreenX format, so it'll cut or fade between the center and side screens, and it's a bit disappointing when you've been treated to a wider shot. (The opening space scene and inciting event had a cool wide effect, but later on there'd be space scenes that don't use the side-screens and it felt strange.)
Some of the action scenes and establishing scenery shots of the film used the added screen space and it was pretty cool, feeling like you're surrounded or deeper immersed into the world, but as mentioned above, there wasn't "consistency" in where its used.
I'd aay a good 60-70% of the film's scenes use it though, and the entire climax had the side-screens turned on which was cool.
As for the film itself, it was fun. I liked it.
Not really the best ever, but it was of acceptable quality for what Marvel has put out lately.
Iman Vellani is definitely the standout energetic performance with a really great animated intro that calls back to her opening episode of Ms. Marvel... Really love that creative/artistic flair they give her "fangirl dreams" and I really wish it appeared more!
Brie Larson does a great job at showing more of Captain Marvel's emotional side, since we were robbed of a lot of that in the last film due to her being a brainwashed stoic soldier. Though she does bring in some cool stoic, focused energy that I did enjoy in her character when in the group.
Teyonah Parris is the newcomer, essentially, to the group, as she learns more about her powers and offers some big scientific knowledge to the group where needed. I liked discovering she is essentially the Danny Phantom of the power-trio.
All their powers combined to give some very neat teleporting fight scenes as they're forced to tap in and out of each others' battles.
The movie gives the characters a kinda one-note villain but with interesting motives that evolve from the lingering conflict at the end of the first CapMarvel film.
I also liked all the exotic alien places the trio visits as
Overall, it's a good entry to the MCU. I'd watch it again one day. There's fun to be had here and I liked the cosmic scope of this film.
Plus, a very neat ending stinger...
Spoiler Time
The weird organic eggs found around the space station were a bit of an "oh god it's a contrived hidden threat for later" but I quickly guessed and got right that it was Goose the cat laying eggs all around the place.
Totally gross but adorable hatching of kittens though!
And man, the whole Goose stuff in this film and the ensuing Cats Escape Pod master plan was soooo weird but in a fun way. It was ridiculous but I loved how creative they got in solving the horrible Titanic problem of "not enough escape pods"
Natalie Holt breaking out the synths and her theremin, really giving us the best Marvel soundtrack ever, huh?
What If? Season 2 had a two episode live screening event and with it came some announcements about the animated side of the MCU!
The Eyes of Wakanda series sounds pretty cool, like an artifact of the week thing. Especially since it seems like it'll be set some time in the past.
Huh. I heard there was some Wakanda-focused series in development, most likely featuring/surrounding the Dora Milaje, but I thought it was gonna be live-action (seeing them kick more butt IRL would be sweet!)
But hey, I'll take animation if it's more of them.
Hopefully the actors have some free schedules and good contracts to reprise their roles if that's the case.