Godzilla: King of the Monsters – 2019 Preview

Originally published on Set The Tape

Following the success of 2014’s Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, Legendary Pictures quickly began work on a franchise set within the same universe. With the surprise inclusion of Kong: Skull Island and a post-credits scene that promised huge things to come, the excitement for Godzilla: King of the Monsters was huge even before the first details of the plot began to emerge.

With only a few months to go until the monster movie hits cinema screens and with a number of trailers having already been released, the hype for horror director/writer Michael Dougherty’s (Trick ‘r Treat, Krampus) ultimate creature-feature has reached fever-pitch.

Set a few years after the events of the first Godzilla film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters sees the shady kaiju-colossus-hunting government agency Monarch go up against a series of new giant creatures that begin to terrorise the world. The list of enemies will be well familiar to fans of the classic Godzilla films, including the likes of Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah.

On the other less-CGI hand, the film’s human cast include Vera Farmiga, who plays Dr Emma Russel, a scientist who has figured out a way to communicate and possibly even control the giant Kaiju monsters. When she and her daughter Madison (Stranger Things‘s Millie Bobby Brown) are kidnapped by ‘a mysterious organisation with their own plans for the creatures,’ a rescue mission is mounted to bring them home. The cast also boasts the likes of Charles Dance, Sally Hawkins, Ken Watanabe and Ziyi Zhang.

The story details are still very thin on the ground. We don’t know if this mysterious organisation that kidnap Emma and Madison are Monarch or another group, but we do know that the film will be exploring the history of these creatures. The trailers and the film’s viral marketing have teased ancient temples where the monsters were once worshipped and how they may have helped to shape our own cultures.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the first time that many of these new Kaiju will be seen within the Legendary universe. The designs that have been revealed for the modern reinterpretations are absolutely stunning. Mothra looks beautiful and elegant and is the closest to a real-life moth that we’ve ever seen her. Rodan is stunning, covered in burning magma, his flight tearing cities apart in his wake. King Ghidorah, Godzilla’s greatest foe, is gigantic and terrifying.

We all know that the giant monster fights are the big reason why people tune into a Godzilla are the monster fights; and this film promises some of the biggest to ever appear on screen with Godzilla and Mothra fighting side by side once again to combat Ghidorah and Rodan, and possibly more. It is currently scheduled for release in the UK on 31 May 2019.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×22 – ‘Beginning of the End’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Despite starting out in a somewhat rocky beginning the season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. manages to wrap up multiple plot threads in a satisfying way, whilst setting up exciting new developments for the upcoming second season.

Following the shocking moment in the previous episode where Ward (Brett Dalton) ejected Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) out of a moving plane into the sea it’s a surprise to find that the two of them are relatively unharmed, despite being stuck under the ocean. The scenes between the two of them, however, are some of the best in the episode and really show how far the two of them have come over the course of the season.

The relationship between Fitz and Simmons is one of the most earned and genuine, having seen them gone from best friends to two people who clearly have much stronger feelings for each other. Sadly, thanks to everything that has happened to the characters over the latter half of the season, neither one of them has been in a place where they could pursue these feelings. It doesn’t look good for them going forward with Fitz making a huge sacrifice to save the woman that he loves.

Whilst Fitz and Simmons lay stranded on the bottom of the ocean Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the rest of the team formulate a plan to finally put an end to the evil John Garrett (Bill Paxton) and former team-mate Ward.

The attack on the Cybertek facility feels surprisingly big in scale, despite the relatively small amount of people involved. The action is well paced and makes the most of both the actors strengths, and their limited budget constraints.

Teaming Coulson and Triplett (B.J. Britt) together is a great choice, further showcasing not only that Triplett is a fun and enjoyable addition to the cast, but that he works very well alongside Coulson thanks to the fact that they both love being secret agents, and the history behind S.H.I.E.L.D..

Coulson is later partnered up with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in order to face off against Garrett, a pairing that makes a lot of sense considering the history that the three characters share. Despite Marvel revealing before the episode aired that Fury would appear, the fact that he has multiple scenes is a pleasant surprise. It makes the episode feel more like a part of the bigger Marvel universe in ways that the series hadn’t with the past cameo appearances.

However, the best part of the episode has to be the confrontation between Ward and May (Ming-Na Wen), as she finally gets to work out the frustrations of having slept with a Hydra agent. It’s a great fight, one that helps to remind the viewers that even in a group of brilliant fighters May is head and shoulders above them (she was described as being as good as Black Widow earlier in the season).

The season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. feels very far removed from the start of the series, not just because the characters have grown so much, but because the series itself has finally figured out what it wants to be. The destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. may not have been the disaster that viewers thought it would be for the series, with the team working so much better as a group of outlaws on the run, trying to do good and take down the bad guys without a huge support network. Hopefully this will be a trend that will continue into the shows second season.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×21 – ‘Ragtag’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Since the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier things have just been going from strength to strength for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as the titular organisation has fallen apart, reducing our heroes to a lone band of agents with no resources or back-up. This reaches its peak in ‘Ragtag’ as Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team are left planning a secret op from a motel room using a case of 1950’s spy gadgets.

The addition of Agent Triplett (B.J. Britt) to the team really comes to life in this episode. Whilst before he hasn’t stood out much as having brought anything new to the group other than replacing Ward (Brett Dalton) this episode has him bonding in wonderful ways with Coulson as the two of them geek out over his grandfather’s old Howling Commandos kit of classic spy gear.

We’ve known for a long while that Coulson loves history, particularly that of the S.H.I.E.L.D. organisation, so watching him act like an excited school boy over laser cigarettes, EMP joy-buzzers, and hand held hypno-beam. It finally feels like Triplett has his place on the team, he’s the super agent who is actually fun and friendly and gets on well with the team, which is a big breath of fresh air from the Ward we had at the start of the season.

The low tech and retro gadgets are a fun change for the show, ditching the hologram tables and computer hacking. The mission where Coulson and May (Ming-Na Wen) have to infiltrate the Cybertek facility in order to steal files becomes much more enjoyable when you realise that the files aren’t on a computer. The ‘large file transfer’ moment is honestly one of the best jokes in the season to date and feels well earned.

A large portion of the episode is given over to a series of flashbacks that reveal a lot of the backstory for Ward, showing how Garrett (Bill Paxton) recruited him from a youth offenders prison and moulded him into a Hydra agent, or at least someone loyal to Garrett; as Ward has said more than once that his loyalty is to Garrett over Hydra.

Despite these flashbacks explaining a lot of why Ward feels like he is in the man’s debt, I can’t help but feel like there’s something missing from the relationship, something that would instil complete loyalty in the man. I kept expecting a moment where Ward’s life would be saved by Garrett, or some kind of big moment like that, but alas not.

We also get to learn a little more about Garrett in this episode too, particularly the fact that he is the very first Deathlok prototype. Whilst his character in the comics has no connection to Deathlok he was a cyborg, so combining those two here actually makes a loot of sense as it keeps things connected to the main story without adding the complications of a second completely unconnected cyborg.

The highlight of the episode, however, has to be the confrontation between Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) and Ward. After attacking Garrett with with an EMP Fitz and Simmons are locked in a storage unit on board the Bus, at which point Garrett orders Ward to kill them.

Whilst I never thought that Ward would simply shoot them in the head, as Garrett wanted, but the two of them being dropped out of a moving plane into the ocean is a shocking moment. Yes, it’s not an instant death and there’s a chance that they could survive they’re not safe by any means, and even is they live there’s a good chance that there will be serious consequences from this action. It also completely puts to bed the notion that Ward may not be completely evil, truly cementing him as a villain.

The series has a lot that it needs to resolve moving into it’s final episode, but the show has more than proven that not only is it a great comic book show worth the time to watch, but that it can more than just survive without the S.H.I.E.L.D. organisation, but it’s been thriving.


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Shazam! – 2019 Preview

Originally published on Set The Tape

It seems 2019 will be a good year for comic book movies, especially for fans of heroes called ‘Captain Marvel’. Or, as is the case with this DC Comics character, one whose name was finally officially changed from ‘Captain Marvel’ – not to be confused with Marvel’s Captain Marvel – to ‘Shazam’ with the release of DC’s New 52 comics line in 2012.

Shazam! will follow streetwise teenage orphan Billy Batson (Asher Angel) who can turn into an adult superhero just by shouting the magic word. Batson bounces from one foster home to another until he eventually ends up in Philadelphia with the Vasquez family.

While protecting his foster brother Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer) from some bullies, Billy is transported into a strange realm by an ancient wizard who imbues him with fantastic powers whenever he speaks the wizard’s name, Shazam. The now super-powered Billy (Zachary Levi) works together with Freddy to discover the extent of his newfound abilities, whilst also contending with the mysterious villain Dr Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong).

What immediately sets Shazam apart from other superheroes is the fact that Billy transforms from a teenage boy into a super-powered man. This isn’t a film about a billionaire who makes himself a suit, or a displaced alien, a super-soldier, or someone with mutant abilities. Billy is a kid, not too much unlike any other child, chosen by the wizard to receive his powers for his bravery and kindness. Shazam appeals to younger audiences because anyone could be like him.

Despite this broad appeal, it’s hard to believe it’s taken so long for the him to appear in a live action film, with the character not having been portrayed in cinema since 1941. Thankfully, with the popularity of DC characters outside of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman increasing – thanks in part to the DC Extended Universe movies like Aquaman and CW television shows such as Arrow and The Flash – audiences seem ready for a more fun and lighthearted hero to follow.

Shazam! has been in the works for years and in various stages of development since the early 2000s, but finally seems to be have turned into a film that’s packed with the fun, charm and wonder of the comics if the trailer is anything to go by.

The magical hero is one of the oldest existing characters in DC’s publication history, having first made it to the page in the 1940s, created by the (now defunct) Fawcett Comics. Ironically, DC threatened Fawcett with legal action over then Captain Marvel’s similarity to Superman. While he lay dormant in the 1960s, a certain rival publisher saw fit to create a hero of their own using that same name and had the wherewithal to trademark it. Cue a rebrand from DC in the 1970s (who now owned the rights to the original Captain Marvel) and thus Shazam! was (re)born.

Ergo, there is a wealth of stories and a gallery of characters for DC Comics to draw upon from the series’ history. This upcoming adventure film could be the beginning of an exciting new franchise for DC Comics, especially with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson rumoured to be attached as Shazam’s iconic foe Black Adam.

Shazam! is set for release in April next year, just a few weeks before Avengers: Endgame hits cinemas. It could be a defining month for both studios and their superhero franchises.


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My Favourite Murder – 12 Days of Podmas

Originally published on Set The Tape

Let’s be honest, we all have an interest in true crime. Whether it’s enjoying episodes of police procedurals, watching documentaries about serial killers, or delving into books on the topic; we all have something of a morbid curiosity when it comes to the darker side of human nature and what drives people to act upon the darkest of all impulses.

Hosted by comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, each episode of My Favourite Murder takes the audience through stories of murder, crime and survivor tales with the aim of educating the audience on the subject. But what sets My Favourite Murder apart from other true crime podcasts is that the hosts aim to try to shine a light on problematic themes that are often a part of true crime reporting, such as how people with mental health conditions are demonised by both the press and police, how crimes against women and minorities are treated as less serious, and how even to this day sex workers are treated as if being murdered is simply a hazard of their job.

The show not only talks about these issues, but it empathises with the people involved. Georgia and Karen feel for the people they talk about and you can tell that they care deeply for the victims. They also draw upon their own life experiences to imagine themselves being in similar scenarios, with both of them talking openly and frankly about their own mental health issues and history of addiction.

My Favourite Murder began as a show with two true crime lovers talking about their secret passion, but has transformed over time to become a passionate and caring community. The listeners have become a part of the show, sending in their own ‘hometown stories’ and coming out en mass to attend live shows. But it’s the times when their hometown stories bring the hosts to tears, or when the subject of a survivor story comes to their show to thank them for telling their story, that makes the podcast so special.

You’ll be drawn into amazing stories, made to laugh out loud, and even moved to tears. True crime can leave you horrified, it can show you the darkest of human nature, but My Favourite Murder will also leave you feeling awed at the strength of humanity, people’s ability to survive against the impossible, and it will let you know that if you ever feel like you’re not normal for being fascinated by the topic you are far, far from being alone.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×20 – ‘Nothing Personal’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Season one of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. continues to move towards its final confrontation between Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and the villainous John Garrett (Bill Paxton) in ‘Nothing Personal’ as the team discover that one of their own has been a member of Hydra all along and Skye (Chloe Bennett) fights to keep herself alive.

Having seemingly forgotten their previous ‘adventure of the week’ format, this episode continues on from where the last one left off, with Ward (Brett Dalton) believing that he’s tricked Skye into going with him to decrypt the information that Hydra desperately needs. Whilst this in itself would be a good scenario, the fact that Skye knows Ward is a traitor, that he murdered Agent Koenig (Patton Oswalt), and that he could kill her makes these scenes so much better. There’s an underlying sense of dread throughout. You can see that this isn’t Skye being casual, but someone desperately trying to act casual.

These scene are actually some of the best from both actors and takes two of the blandest characters in the series to date and gives them scenes that put them to the test. They’re both putting on acts, both trying to get the upper hand on the other, and both of them know that their futures are riding on the outcome.

It’s not just these two that are given great things to do this episode as, back in the Providence base, Fitz (Ian De Caestecker) finds the message left behind by Skye that Ward is Hydra, and Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) discovers Koenig’s body. The reactions from the two of them are bold and two completely different sides of the spectrum. Simmons shuts down, focusing on the autopsy on Koenig and looking at facts rather than getting emotional, whilst Fitz breaks down, unable to accept that someone that he lived and worked alongside, who he thought was a friend, is actually a killer.

De Caestecker is definitely the best actor in the cast and will have some amazing material to work with over the next five seasons, but this is the first time that he really gets something big to work with. He gets to be emotional to the extreme. You completely believe that he’s feeling broken and betrayed, and his desperate cycling through possible reasons why Ward isn’t really evil, including brainwashing, effectively reflect the responses to his Hydra reveal that a lot of viewers had at the time.

Whilst there’s a lot of character development and heavy emotional scenes, there are also some good action sequences in this episode too. We get to see the return of Hulk antagonist Colonel Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) as his team storm the Providence base with the assistance of Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), which leads to Coulson and his team having to fight their way out in order to track down Ward.

The best sequence in the episode though – and perhaps one of the most fun in the show – is when Coulson has to rescue Skye from the Bus, resulting in the two of them escaping the plane mid-flight in Lola, Coulson’s flying car. Whilst the effects aren’t the best, the visuals of the two of them falling through the air as the car fights to stay aloft is a great deal of fun. It would have been easy for the show to simply have them eject out of the plane in Lola and then cut to the next scene with a ‘well that was a close getaway’ kind of comment, but it has the balls to be ridiculous and amazing and really push what they could get away with.

‘Nothing Personal’ continues the trend of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. improving in quality and excitement. It’s got some of the best character moments in the series to date, it moves the story on at a great pace, plus thanks to a tiny namedrop at the start of the episode, it makes Man-Thing a canon part of the MCU. All in all, a pretty damn great episode.


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Captain Marvel – 2019 Preview

Originally published on Set The Tape

It’s hard to believe that Iron Man, the first of the Marvel Studios films, was a complete gamble when it was first released over a decade ago. With the Marvel films now one of the biggest and most successful franchises of all time, it doesn’t seem like there’s anything left for the studio to do that would be a risk for them. Hell, they’ve made films about space raccoons and talking trees that were massive successes.

However, directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s sci-fi adventure Captain Marvel represents the last real frontier for the series and it is one that is seen as something of a risk: It is their first female-led movie. There have been strong female presences in the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this will be the first time that a woman has taken the lead outside of the TV shows Agent Carter and Jessica Jones.

Set to tie heavily into the events of Avengers: Infinity War and the upcoming finale in the current storyline, Avengers Endgame, the film takes a bold step by going backwards in time to the 1990s to tell the story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), an ex-U.S. Air Force pilot and member of the Kree special military unit Starforce.

Little is known about the plot at this point, but thanks to the two trailers that have been released audiences have been able to put together than Carol was once an Air Force pilot before being granted amazing powers by the Kree, though it appears to have affected her memory too. Despite this, Carol returns to Earth in order to stop an invasion from the shape shifting Skrulls, a mission that sees her teaming up with the young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

The 90s setting allows the filmmakers to explore the origins of established characters such as Fury and Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) as S.H.I.E.L.D. learn about alien life, Ronan (Lee Pace) and Korath (Djimon Hounsou) turning towards a path of evil that will lead to their Guardians of the Galaxy fate, and possibly throw in some cheeky nods to new characters that will appear later in the timeline such as Minn-Erva (Gemma Chan) and of course Mar-Vell (Jude Law).

What we know for certain – and something that has Marvel fans very excited – is that this will introduce the Skrulls to the MCU. The rights to the Skrulls have previously been tied to the Fantastic Four, which has now returned to Marvel, so this could be the first stages to the return of ‘Marvel’s First Family’.

With connections to the next Avengers film, the return of fan favourite characters and a whole new mythology to explore, Captain Marvel has much more going for it than just being Marvel’s first female led movie.


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Death of the Planet of the Apes – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

If someone mentioned Planet of the Apes to you there’s a chance that you’d end up thinking about the new Andy Serkis-starring films, in large part to how popular the new trilogy of films have been, particularly with their spectacular visual effects bringing the apes to life. But what most people will think of is the iconic image of Charlton Heston on his knees before the remains of the Statue of Liberty.

The original Planet of the Apes films are icons of cinema, with the time-displaced astronaut fighting for his life in a world ruled by humanoid apes creating some incredibly striking visuals. Despite the popularity of these films it’s hard to believe that only two of the original five films were set in the strange future world, with the planet being completely destroyed in the second film.

What Death of The Planet of the Apes does is spend time during these first two films expanding not only on the story of George Taylor, but also delves into the history and structure of of the ape society in a way that the films were unable to do as it tracks the final days of the strange future world.

As described in the synopsis, a great deal of the book is dedicated to following Taylor after he disappears in the Forbidden Zone, as was seen briefly in the events of Beneath The Planet of the Apes. Whilst the decision to remove Taylor from the story was made due to production limitations Death of the Planet of the Apes is able to use Taylor as much as it likes. It can follow him through the irradiated wastes of the Forbidden Zone, it can show his amazing discoveries, and it can go back in time and explore his past.

Despite the amazing things discovered within the boundaries of the Forbidden Zone it’s the look backs into Taylor’s past are are the most interesting parts of the book that involve him. We get to see his experiences as a prisoner of war in World War 2, the atrocities that he witnessed and the things that shaped his anti-war personality. These insights make him a deeper character than he ever was in the films, one with depth and layers, a man with flaws and complexities.

The book also spends the time expanding upon ape society, following the political machinations of General Ursus as he attempts to gain the powers that he needs in order to wage a war upon the humans. Andrew Gaska has made the bold decision to show the inner workings of the ape government, to have characters with ambitions and goals that can only be achieved through duplicity and political manoeuvring. Whilst this was the kind of thing that made the Star Wars prequels dull here it adds so much more to the world. The apes are made into more than just caricatures, they have deeper personality, goals and ambitions, they develop plots and schemes.

Death of The Planet of the Apes has so much more to offer its readers than just the mystery of what happened to Taylor, it has political intrigue, robots, ape-human hybrids, giant psychic brains in jars, and even alien spaceships. The book has multiple plots that intertwine and build a bigger whole, one that creates a living breathing world in its final days. Andrew Gaska has taken the world of Planet of the Apes and has made it into something bigger than it was, given it more layers, taken concepts only hinted at before and made them bigger.

Whether or not you’re a fan of the original films the book is sure to draw you into its well crafted and fully realised world.


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The Dollop – 12 Days of Podmas

Originally published on Set The Tape

Podcasts’ can be fun, and they can tackle important issues and be education, but podcasts’ are at their best when they combine the two, and The Dollop is one of the best that does this.

Hosted by American writer and comedian Dave Anthony and his friend, stand up comic Garteh Reynolds, The Dollop takes listeners through the bizarre world of American history.

Whilst this may not immediately sound like an area that lends itself well to being entertaining, with history often making people think of stuff academics and remembering lists of dates, The Dollop brings to light events that you’ve not only never heard of, but you’ll be hard pressed to believe actually happened.

Whether it’s the disaster that was Balloonfest, Tong Wars on American soil, the Hippo Bill that tried to introduce hippos to the US, or the unbelievable life of Donald Trump, this show has a little of everything. It trawls through the forgotten parts of America’s past to bring you the unbelievable.

What makes The Dollop stand out, however, is that whilst Dave has gone and researched these topics Gareth has no idea what it’s going to be each week. He goes in as blind as the audience, with hilarious results. He reacts the way we do, calling out the unbelievable, condemning the awful, and breaking down laughing at the ridiculous. Combined with some great comic timing and improv that sometimes goes to crazy places the show never has a dull moment as the two hosts clearly have a lot of fun with each topic.

With over 5 million downloads a week the show has attracted a huge audience, and as such has a number of live shows mixed into their feed, including trips to Australia, where they will go through some crazy Australian history too.

It might be it’s two comedian hosts, it might be that because America is such a young country it’s really trying hard to make up for a lack of history, but every single episode is a laugh out loud tour through the past. If you love history then the show is ideal for you, and if you don’t you should still give it a go because it will blow your mind and show you that there’s more to learning about history than what you were taught in school.

A warning, however, it might not be the best show to listen to whilst driving, as I once almost had an accident from laughing too hard when The Dollop taught me that Tommy Cooper once almost decapitated Michael Parkinson live on television; so always listen to The Dollop responsibly.


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Pokemon: Detective Pikachu – 2019 Preview

Originally published on Set The Tape

Pokemon has been around for over 20 years now and is the third biggest selling video-game franchise behind Super Mario and Sonic The Hedgehog. The series is so popular and so open to adaptation (there is no shortage of the kind of stories that can be told within its universe) and yet there hasn’t been a live action release of a Pokemon movie. Until now.

Maybe this has been down to the fact that there have been animated movies almost every year since the inception of the franchise, or maybe it’s because technology wasn’t good enough to be able to bring the titular creatures to life in a believable way? Whatever the reason, fans are finally getting the (mostly) live-action film they’ve been longing for in the form of quirky crime-comedy Pokemon: Detective Pikachu.

Loosely inspired by the spin-off game of the same name, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu sees Justice Smith playing the role of Tim Goodman, a young man with no interest in being a Pokemon trainer, who must unravel the mystery of his missing Private Investigator Father. Luckily for Tim, his father’s former partner, an experienced detective, will help him in his search. The only thing is, his father’s partner is a Pikachu.

However, making things a little more interesting is that it would appear Tim can understand this particular yellow electric mouse (who speaks with the voice of Ryan Reynolds), just as his father could, despite everyone else just hearing the normal adorable Pikachu noises.

In the face of many misgivings from lots of Pokemon fans and the general public when it was announced that Legendary were producing a film based on the Nintendo 3DS game of the same name, the first trailer for director Rob Letterman and writer Nicole Perlman’s caper seems to have really nailed things. The world looks like a very grounded and well thought out with humans and Pokemon living together. It’s not a world filled with just Pokemon trainers like in the games; people are using Charmanders to help them cook, herds of Bulbasaur wander the forests, and Charizards compete in underground cage-fights. The backgrounds of scenes are filled with posters and signs that show that Pokemon are just an everyday part of this world, part of entertainment, business, and home life.

The trailer did a good job at setting the world up, but it still left a lot unanswered as to the plot of the film. There’s little here to hint at what might have happened to Tim’s father, whether it’s a simple disappearance or if there’s some kind of conspiracy going on. Instead of frustrating, this lack of information seems to be working to the film’s advantage. It has really grabbed people’s attention, shifting from a film that was flying under the radar to one of the most anticipated films of 2019.

Whatever is going to be revealed next is sure to garner much more excitement now that the hype has begun; and any story details they give out will mean so much more than if they’d been given up front. With Pokemon continuing to be one of the most popular franchises in the world, the audience for Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is guaranteed to be big, but it’s going to have a lot that it needs to deliver on to meet expectations.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×19 – ‘The Only Light in the Darkness’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The Only Light in the Darkness’ is a strange episode to have at this point in the first season. On one hand it continues to tell the story of the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the machinations of the villainous John Garrett (Bill Paxton), and on the other it feels very adventure of the week as Coulson (Clark Gregg) must revisit a piece of his past.

We’ll deal with the more out of place plot first, the mysterious cellist that who was mentioned as a romantic interest for Coulson way back in Avengers when he recruited Iron-Man onto the team. Whilst this may seem like a very small thing, and something most people wouldn’t even have remembered, it would appear that there was a small and dedicated Coulson fan-base online who wanted to know more about this woman he was romantically attached to before his death.

The series Executive Producer Jeffrey Bell spoke about this plot point, saying that “It’s so funny how one line in a movie… it tells you the power of Clark, and the power of the character, that there’s that one line and suddenly it’s who is this person? And what is this person? And when are we going to see this person? And we talked about it a number of times over the season, and we had different versions and different ideas how to get there. But when the Fridge was emptied, suddenly we had a real legitimate reason to go there and bring him back. At a time when he’s at his most vulnerable, it seemed to be a good choice for us.”

Despite initially seeming like the kind of story that would be better suited in the early part of the series, before things became as dire for the team as they are right now the fact that Coulson is having to revisit a painful piece of his personal past whilst his whole world is falling apart actually makes this a great time to do so.

The cellist herself is a woman named Audrey (Amy Acker), who Coulson saved from a deranged powered individual, Marcus Daniels (Patrick Brennan) months before the events of Avengers. Now that Garrett has released a load of prisoners from The Fridge Daniels is once again focused on Audrey.

It’s a touching little side story, one that explores the impact that dying and secretly coming back to life had on Coulson from a personal perspective, something the show hasn’t really done before. It shows that his life outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. is pretty much non-existent now, that the one piece of happiness he had outside of work is long in his past. It actually shines a light on just how much our hero has had to give up.

The other main story in the episode is the return of the evil Grant Ward (Brett Dalton) to the team. Unable to access encrypted information thanks to Skye (Chloe Bennett) Ward has been sent back into his old team in order to get her to help him. Now that we know Ward is Hydra it’s interesting to see him interacting with a team who has no idea, how things that wouldn’t have been out of place for him before are now clearly his being a bad guy.

His complex feelings for Skye become a big point in the episode as Ward almost has his cover blown when being questioned. His declaration that he came back for Skye, because he has feelings for her might be a clever cover in order to hide his true intentions, but feels a lot more genuine. How these apparent emotions will play in once his true allegiance is revealed is anyone’s guess, but thanks to the dark turn of events at the end of the episode it’s looking harder and harder to see any kind of redemption for the character.

‘The Only Light in the Darkness’ is definitely an episode of two halves, with stories that don’t really feel connected, but have a similar theme in regards to characters having to hide who they really are as they give up on an important piece of their past.


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Marvel Action: Spider-Man #1 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

There’s a reason why Spider-Man is one of the most popular comic book heroes ever made, it’s because he’s a normal kid. Peter Parker isn’t a billionaire, he isn’t a super-soldier, or an alien refugee, or any of the amazing origins people expect from a hero. He’s an every-person, he’s a character that almost all readers can identify with on some level, and a hero that readers could picture themselves being.

Over the years the character has become a lot more complex, and numerous people have take up a ‘spider’ mantle of their own, meaning that despite his popularity it can be difficult for new readers to know where to being with the character. This is where Marvel Action: Spider-Man comes in.

The new series, written by long-time Spider-Man fan Delilah S. Dawson, brings together three of the most iconic spider heroes, Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, Miles Morales’ Spider-Man, and Gwen Stacy’s Spider-Woman (known as Spider-Gwen among fans). The book is designed as a jumping on point for readers, one that isn’t ‘focusing on origin or history’, but telling it’s own story.

This first issue introduces us to a young Peter Parker, aged only 16. Much like his original comics and the new Tom Holland movies this Peter is still in school, balancing his nerdy school life with the pressures and adventure of being Spider-Man. Instead of focusing on his school life, however, which has been done so many times in numerous versions of the Spider-Man story, this series follows Peter as he enters an internship programme at the Daily Bugle, where he ends up in a group with Miles and Gwen.

Whilst there’s initially not much indication that there is more than one spider hero in this universe when huge mutant dogs start attacking the city Peter, as Spider-Man, soon discovers that Miles also has incredible powers much like his own. The issue ends with Peter figuring out that Miles is like himself, and determined to learn more about his new friend. Throughout this first issue there’s nothing that shows Gwen has powers too, but considering that Spider-Gwen is featured both on this cover and the cover for issue two it’s a pretty solid conclusion that she does.

The first issue doesn’t have huge amounts of action, nor does it introduce any kind of villain or big-bad for Spidey to fight, because it’s chosen to focus on the characters instead. This immediately makes me think about some of the earlier Spider-Man comics, and the start of the Ultimate Spider-Man series, which built a solid foundation for itself with strong central characters.

The artwork, provided by Fico Ossio, is absolutely gorgeous, and immediately evokes the same sense of style that Ultimate Spider-Man had at the beginning of it’s run, especially in some of the ways the young Peter is drawn. Miles doesn’t stand out too much in this first issue, mainly thanks to him wearing a plain grey hoodie, he’s well drawn and instantly recognisable as the character. Gwen, on the other hand, stands out as the best looking of the three, with her civilian look combining her traditional comic book look, whilst also making nods to her super-hero alter-ego with her hooded coat and pink in her hair.

What really stands out in this issue is Spider-Man’s suit. Whilst not making a huge leap away from the classic design it has little touches that make it different enough to stand out, without looking too strange. He has very clear soles on the bottom of his boots, which have been changed from the traditional red to blue, he’s got blue wrist pieces that presumably hold his webshooters that break up the red along his arms, along with a few other small changes. The overall effect is one where it’s clearly Spider-Man, yet he’s distinct enough to not be mistaken for the regular Spidey.

With issue one being a tiny introduction to this new universe there’s still a lot left unanswered, but the book doesn’t feel lacking in any way. We’re going to learn more about these new versions of the characters soon, and we’re going to get to see this awesome spider team in action. I can’t wait until issue two to get more.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×18 – ‘Providence’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Following the complete game changing events of the previous episode ‘Providence’ continues to apply pressure to the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, whilst also giving the evil Agent Ward (Brett Dalton) a chance to finally shine after nearly a season of being one of the blandest characters in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Carrying on from the shock reveal in the final moments of the last episode that Ward has actually been a Hydra agent since the beginning of the show, the episode makes it clear that this isn’t a ploy, a triple-cross, or even Hydra brainwashing. This is who Ward is, a cold blooded killer.

Assisting the series villain John Garrett (Bill Paxton) to attack a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility called The Fridge, where he uses his status as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to willingly kill the staff stationed there. Whilst he doesn’t seem to take any joy in killing people he clearly doesn’t feel any kind of compunction in doing so. It’s interesting to see him opening up about his time in with Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team, where he reveals that he jumped out of a plane to save Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) simply because it’s what his cover would do, and that he started a sexual relationship with Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen) because she was the biggest threat.

These explanations go a long way to explaining some of his character. He was bland because he wasn’t trying to stand out or draw attention to himself. He never made big moves to form strong friendships where he opened up because these were people that he was prepared to kill. The revelation that his feelings for Skye (Chloe Bennet) are genuine is a little surprising, and makes me wonder what about her has drawn him to her other than her looks, as there’s not much that I remember from the season that stands out as a real bonding moment between the two.

Whilst the episode showcases the villains coming together, including the return of Raina (Ruth Negga) the rest of the episode showcases Coulson and his team on the run as the worlds government move to arrest any remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Now joined by Garrett’s former right hand man Agent Triplett (B.J. Britt) the team head out for a set of mysterious coordinates found within Coulson’s S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to discover an off-the-books facility manned by the odd Agent Koenig (Patton Oswalt).

Koenig is a great new addition to the show, bringing a sense of fun and humour to events that have become quite dark compared to the start of the season. He has an air about him that reminds me of Coulson way back in Iron Man, when he was the deadpan guy there to give exposition in a way that made him instantly charming.

The episode also introduced us to another new character, Glenn Talbot (Adrian Pasdar) a military officer tasked with capturing Coulson and his team. He’s a great addition to the series, with an over-the-top bravado and swagger to him. The fact that it’s another new character to the MCU from the comics, this time the Incredible Hulk, is just a great little bonus.

Not a huge amount of action happens in this episode, but it does a lot for the world building of the new status-quo of S.H.I.E.L.D. on the run, considered criminals and terrorists by the government whilst they try to combat Hydra. It’s a bold new time era for the series, and it’s already off to a strong start.


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The Dark Vault – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

I’d only discovered V.E. Schwab a few months ago when I had the opportunity to review a copy of her new novel Vengeful, so when the chance came to review another of her books I jumped at it. I began The Dark Vault without having even read the blurb on the back of the book, simply eager to read more from an author that I’d fallen in love with.

Not knowing what to expect from the book I was surprised to discover that it was actually two books in one, collecting together The Archived and The Unbound, complete with an extra story, meaning that at only £9.99 for a book containing two novels the new release is an absolute bargain.

The Dark Vault tells the story of Mackenzie Bishop, a teenage girl whose family moves to a new city following the tragic death of her little brother. Moving into a converted hotel Mackenzie’s mother opens a coffee shop in the building, with Mackenzie helping to get it ready before school starts. But little do her parents know that Mackenzie has a job to do herself.

She’s a Keeper, a gifted person who is employed by the mysterious Archive to track down and capture Histories in the space between the real world and afterlife, called the Narrows. Histories, we learn, are the collected memories of people who have died, a reservoir of all of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Whenever a History wakes up and tries to escape it’s up to people like Mackenzie to get them back to the Archive before they finds a way into the real world.

The book throws a lot of new terms and concepts at the reader as we’re introduced to Mackenzie and her world, but V.E. Schwab doesn’t drop you in the deep end, instead choosing to allow the reader to get to know Mackenzie first. By the time the reader takes their first step into the Narrows we’ve already become invested in Mackenzie and the situation that she’s in.

Whilst the first book could easily spend its time just focusing on the impact of Mackenzie losing her little brother, moving to a new city, hunting down Histories it instead plunges the reader into a mystery that delves deep into the heart of the Archive, and Mackenzie’s new home. Whilst the mystery starts small, with the clues being given out long before you’re even aware that there’s a mystery going on, by the end the stakes have become huge, with the fate of the Archive, and Mackenzie’s life hanging in the balance.

The book also gives Mackenzie a number of romantic options, as many Young Adult fiction tends to do, yet subverts the almost cliched love triangle dynamic in a surprising yet refreshing way. The Archived feels like it should be a standard ‘paint-by-numbers’ teen fiction story, yet is so much more than that. It deals with loss and depression, it has a nuanced and believable lead, it subverts expectations, and it introduces readers to a strange new world that’s incredibly well thought out and cleverly built.

The Unbound is the sequel to The Archived, and continues the story of Mackenzie and the Archive, exploring the fallout from the first book. Set only a few weeks after the events of the first book Mackenzie is still incredibly damaged from the events, not only physically, but emotionally. The exploration of Mackenzie’s emotional state is one of the most interesting parts of the sequel, and at times it’s hard to know what’s real and what’s part of the psychological damage she’s suffered.

Moving Mackenzie into school is a great way of adding new characters and expanding the world in entertaining ways. The school setting should be cliched and I was expecting it to go a certain direction, yet V.E. Schwab once again subverted my expectations and made these scenes some of my favourite in the book.

What struck me most about The Unbound, however, is how much it feels like a continuation of the first book than a sequel. Whilst the two books work perfectly well on their own presented as one huge novel it feels more like one big story. Yes, there’s a break of a few weeks between the two stories, but it isn’t jarring like in some books, instead flowing easily from one to another.

The book is big, close to 700 pages, but thanks to interesting and realistic characters, a story with great twists and turns, emotion and action, and a brand new fantasy world to delve into The Dark Vault is an amazing book that never feels slow or boring, that keeps introducing new and interesting things, and makes you feel emotionally invested in the characters.

Whether you’ve read the books before or never experienced the series this collection is the perfect opportunity to own this amazing series.


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Ghostbusters: Spectral Shenanigans, Vol 1 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The IDW run on Ghostbusters has been a great series, introducing many new elements to the mythology, from new and diverse characters and a deeper exploration of the characters’ backgrounds, to new villains that expand the world. If you’ve not read any of the IDW run before, Ghostbusters: Spectral Shenanigans is a good place to jump into it. It might not be the first things that IDW have done with the characters or the universe, but it is the start of their ‘Volume 1’ series, written by Erik Burnham.

The book collects together the first 12 issues of the series and sets the Ghostbusters off on their next big series of events. Things begin with the team having to go up against their first big villain once again, Gozer the Gozerian. Enraged that they were forced to take on the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man when it came to destroy the world, Gozer has come back for a second attempt, this time sending a new minion, Idulnas, to force Ray to pick a new form for Gozer to take.

This story adds some interesting new tweaks to the mythology, and it’s good to start the series by bringing back something that people will be familiar with from the films. It’s also a nice explanation of why Ray wasn’t to blame because he couldn’t clear his mind whilst the others could, but that he was always the one who was going to pick Gozer’s form due to a closer connection to the world of the paranormal. This also explains why Ray was the one possessed by the villain in the second movie, as more than just ‘this keeps happening to Ray’.

From this initial story we discover that the Ghostbusters have also become contractors for the city, and that a side-effect of this is that the city is sending them outside of New York in order to help on other big cases, partially because the city can charge people for this. Thus begins a cross-country road-trip that sees the gang fighting ghosts across America.

It’s a great new addition to the series, one that means the action can easily shift outside of the New York setting without having to have clients come in to hire them; they can just be somewhere else and we know it’s because the city have hired them out. It means that the book has a lot more variety to it, and can even make use of some regional ghost stories. For example, in one of the issues they travel to Roswell and come up against what appears to be alien ghosts, complete with an alien obsessed FBI agent that looks like David Duchovny; whilst in another they delve into the real life ghost story of New Orleans Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau.

Despite showcasing a series of great one-off adventures, the book contains an ongoing mystery that is seeded throughout: a huge increase in paranormal activity. Egon investigates this and believes that he comes up with an answer – an old friend of his from college who should be dead but is somehow still alive. When it turns out that the guy trapped death in a bag when he came to reap his soul, Egon believes this is the reason why there are so many spirits in the world now.

Whilst this situation isn’t resolved by the end of the book, with Egon’s friend demanding proof that him still being alive is causing something bad, before letting death free, it’s sure to be a plot thread that will continue on into further volumes of the series. The companion issue that expands upon this concept by using diary entries from an expedition into Siberia in 1912 is one of the best in the book, with a really creepy tale and dark art-style that makes it stand out from everything else.

A great collection that brings together a year’s worth of adventures from the Ghostbusters team, Ghostbusters: Spectral Shenanigans is a great book for those who have already been reading the IDW series, as well as a perfect entry point for new fans.


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Back To The Future: The Heavy Collection – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Collecting together the first 12 issues of the Back To The Future comic book series Back To The Future: The Heavy Collection tells a sprawling tale that fills in some of the gaps from the films that you weren’t even aware were there.

The book mainly follows Doc Brown in 1893 after the events of Back To The Future 3 after Marty is sent back to the future, but before Doc and his family develop the Time Train. Whilst Doc works on building the Time Train he tells his sons stories about his adventures in the future, giving the readers a series on ‘one-shot’ type stories with a loose connected narrative.

They give a lot of background detail to both the Doc and Marty, showing us how they first met, how the Doc got the Delorean, and Doc’s journey to develop time travel during the decades. Whilst the stories involving Marty and his parents are interesting enough, the best of these shorter stories is the one where Doc Brown has the US government visit him asking him to develop time travel for them in order to prevent the Cuban Missile crisis. It’s fun to see the Doc put into a difficult situation like this, where he comes to realise the bigger impact that his developing time travel could have on the world. It’s interesting to see Doc Brown trying to figure out how to make the technology work and the missteps along the way, especially as he is doing so knowing that he will one day succeed because of his encounter with Marty in the 1950s.

However, the book really picks up once the Doc tries to make the maiden voyage in the Time Train, where the story drops the ‘one-shot’ model for a more traditional comic book adventure where the Doc ends up travelling all across the future in an effort to find the parts he needs to finalise the train.

This particular story acts as both a gap filler for events we’ve already seen, taking place for the Doc before the last scene of Back To The Future 3, and a sequel for Marty and Jennifer as it takes place after the film for them. This is part of the beauty of the Back To The Future comic series, it goes out of the way to explain things like how Doc Brown was able to get the hover tech for the Time Train, when did he have the opportunity to collect Einstein, and what was powering his time machine. The story answers all of these questions, yet never feels like it’s ticking things off a list just to fill in gaps; it comes naturally and feels like a series of events that would actually happen to the characters.

Most of this comes from the fact that the stories are all co-written by Bob Gale, one of the original creators of the Back To The Future films. A lot of comics based on film franchises are written by fans who love the movies, yet they often feel more like fan fiction than a continuation of the source material. But this is never the case with the Back To The Future books. They fit the franchise perfectly because they’re written by the person who wrote them back in the day. They’re a companion piece, a continuation, and a celebration of the Back To The Future films all in one.


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Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1×17 – ‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ – TV Rewind

Originally published on Set The Tape

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. began with a very simple premise: that the audience would follow the adventures of Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team as they participate in covert missions for the global organisation S.H.I.E.L.D.. Outside of some minor team changes or a big guest star or two there seemed to be little that would alter the show in any major ways outside of the initial setup. Then Captain America: The Winter Soldier came along and destroyed everything.

‘Turn, Turn, Turn’ is the episode that coincides with the second Captain America film, where it’s revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated by the evil organisation Hydra since it was founded. It’s no exaggeration to say that from this point onward nothing about this show will ever be the same again.

The episode begins with the ‘surprise’ reveal that a Hydra message has been sent out over every S.H.I.E.L.D. frequency, initiating sleeper agents across the organisation to attack and kill those loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D.. This makes the sudden turn of Victoria Hand (Saffron Burrows) wanting Coulson captured and his team dead at the end of the last episode make a lot more sense. It also puts Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge) in a lot of danger, her being stuck in The Hub with the somewhat unknown Agent Triplett (B.J. Britt) and dozens of Hydra soldiers.

The Simmons story is handled pretty well, with a number of points where Triplett comes across as quite sinister; by the end it’s clear that he’s not Hydra, preferring to die an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. than defect to the enemy, but it’s a small mystery that could have gone either way. The double reveal that both Trip and Victoria Hand are actually S.H.I.E.L.D. is a great scene, and one that showcases just how much of a great character Hand is.

With one major S.H.I.E.L.D. operative confirmed as being loyal, it’s no surprise that another is actually Hydra, Coulson’s good friend John Garrett (Bill Paxton). By then, the fact that he’s actually a bad guy is not so much of a surprise. His sudden urge to kill Victoria Hand is too much of a turn for him not to be a villain. The revelation that he’s also the Clairvoyant is a shock though, and a plot that the series will hopefully explore in greater detail as the series progresses.

The biggest shock of the episode – that one of the core team has been Hydra since the very beginning of the series – comes when Agent Ward (Brett Dalton) murders Victoria Hand. Considering how great she was in this episode, it’s a huge shame to lose her, but she certainly went out in a memorable way.

It’s not a surprise that one of the main characters would turn out to be Hydra, but that it’s Ward was not easy to see coming, mainly because he’s been so dull and lacklustre up to now. Perhaps this is the only way that the writers could think to make the character more interesting, a character whose only major thing was being attracted to Skye (Chloe Bennet). Whatever the motivations for making him Hydra it certainly makes things more exciting going forward, especially after he admits his feelings for Skye before saving her life.

The changes to the series are incredibly bold and mean that nothing will ever, or can ever, be the same again. It also changes everything that came before, especially with the knowledge that Ward has been a bad guy since the start. With S.H.I.E.L.D. now gone the team are left with no resources, no back-up, Garrett on the loose, and a snake within their midst things have never been more dire for Coulson and his team.


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