AUDIO REVIEW: Thor: Ragnarok

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, how’s it going? Today I return to bring you my thoughts on Thor: Ragnarok, the latest film from Marvel Studios. Like the Blade Runner 2049 review, this review won’t be written but is an audio review via my podcast, Film Focus on Soundcloud. Anyway check out the review below:

So that’s my review people, hopefully, you found it to be an engaging listen, like Blade Runner, I felt like doing an audio review would be easier and better to do than writing something up. I will admit that a lot of the review was ad-libbed but it was the easiest way for me to get my thoughts out there.

Also, what did you think of Thor: Ragnarok? Is it the best film from Marvel yet or were you left wanting more? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below, until next time peeps, laters! 😀

 

REVIEW: Michael Giacchino at 50

Good day to you ladies and gents, how’s it going? Last night I had one of my favourite experiences of 2017 in the form a concert held at the Royal Albert Hall entitled Michael Giacchino at 50.

Image from royalalberthall.com

So what is this event about? Well, essentially it was a concert where you had an orchestra play several pieces of music from the numerous films, TV shows and video games that Giacchino’s score over the years. If you’ve checked out this blog for any amount of time you’ll know I have not only massive love for good film scores, but for Michael Giacchino in particular, so when I heard about this even back in February, I bought my ticket as quickly as possible. And so finally, the time had come yesterday, alas the London Underground was closed by the time I arrived at St Pancras just after 6pm, so I had to use Google Maps to run down to Royal Albert Hall, luckily after taking a few wrong turns and running through a dark park with no lights, I got to the venue with around 30 minutes to spare.

And I’ll say it right now, the concert was frigging awesome! We were introduced to a gentleman with a sousaphone (whose name I cannot recall, unfortunately) who played the birthday song and got the crowd involved. From there we were introduced to Adam Savage, the host for the event and he was wonderfully funny and charismatic, and in between the music, he’d appear in interesting costumes and introduce the special guests too. And speaking of the guests, we got to see several of the directors Giacchino’s worked as well as some actors featured in the films he’s worked on come onstage and share some kind words about Giacchino and his work. There were appearances from Colin Trevorrow, Andrew Stanton, Gareth Edwards, Matt Reeves, Carlton Cuse, Pete Docter, JJ Abrams, Benedict Wong, Raffey Cassidy, and Gonzo too. 😀

So what about the music? Well, it was all delicious! The concert started off perfectly with The Incredibles, taking all of the key themes from film and blending them together to show off the bombastic, sassy, playful and badass music, clearly, the people behind this show knew what the deal was by opening with that Pixar classic. Next up was some music from Medal of Honour, I was never into shooting games but I really felt like I may have missed out on something special as the music had some gorgeous sounds which felt like a mix of Lost and Jurassic Park. Though I don’t recall much from Jupiter Ascending, the music was and still is really intense and wonderful. Jurassic World had some lovely pieces which I had honestly forgotten about, the compositions Giacchino made for that film were so heartfelt and made me almost shed tears. The Marvel suite featured music from the Marvel Studios logo sequence which was great, the awesome sounds of Doctor Strange (mainly “Strange Days Ahead”) and the upbeat and heroic sounds of Spider-Man: Homecoming. The music for Rogue One had a selection of the best material from the middle and final parts of the film which was really special and powerful. And then there was Lost, so glad I watched the first season recently as the piece they used from the end of the first season and it was frigging perfect and made me well up because it was hella beautiful. And so that ended the first half.

In the second half we had some of the key music from Up which was beautifully handled by the orchestra and the string quartet Bond, then there were the humourous sounds of One Man Band and the final piece of Pixar piece was from Ratatouille. From here my memory gets a little hazy so excuse any mistakes I make if you attended and have the programme. There was also a haunting piece from Cloverfield I think before going on to do the sounds from War for the Planet of the Apes which was really dramatic and cool. Next up was the really beautiful sounds of John Carter, I’d honestly had forgotten about that film and hearing that music really brought back some memories of certain scenes I remembered from 2012. Oh, and the sounds from Tomorrowland was quite nice having a hopeful and majestic sound. And then we had the Star Trek suite which had the sounds of the 2009 film, Into Darkness and Beyond which was easily a highlight for me as it is some of my favourite material in any film ever. Then we had Gonzo come along and had some fun with the audience and then did a bit of a duet with Giacchino on “I’m Going To Go Back There Someday” from The Muppets Movie. And the final music was from Super 8 played with some archive footage of Giacchino’s childhood films he made with his friends which were perfect. But it wasn’t over, after a standing ovation we had our first encore was in the form of Speed Racer,  and then the next encore was a preview of Coco which was so playful and catchy and the final encore was from Alias.

Musical highlights:

• The Incredibles
• Jurassic World
• The Marvel Suite
• Lost
• John Carter
• Star Trek Suite
• Coco

Overall Michael Giacchino at 50 was a fabulous session and I was glad I was able to attend, there was a lot of laughs and comedy, and insightful and heartfelt moments from Giacchino, his home movies and the kind words from his friends/work colleagues, and of course the work put in from conductor Ludwig Wicki, the Cinematic Sinfonia and the English Chamber Choir was nothing short of amazing as they brought Giacchino’s music to life in such a special way.

 

What I’m Currently Watching #37

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 37, and I’ll be going back to the old format of having mini-reviews for several shows in the week and today I’ll be giving you my thoughts on Inhumans, Lucifer and Star Wars Rebels. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Inhumans (Season 1) “Make Way for… Medusa”

So Inhumans episode 4, what can I say? This has to be the least engaging episode so far. While the plot of all the characters certainly advanced, most of it was very dull. I liked how things started off with Medusa and Louise on the hunt for Black Bolt in the helicopter, but their back and forth started to become tiresome, Louise was the character holding those scenes together because Medusa’s stubbornness and lack of knowledge for human-based rules became frustrating. Seeing Black Bolt and the other guy head to Declan’s facility only to find out it was dangerous after all was no big surprise, but what really bugged me was the fact that Declan was in contact with Maximus. I mean how many people does Maximus have in his pocket? It feels a little ridiculous that he knows so many people he’s in contact in Hawaii. The most interesting story was with Karnak and his new lady friend, I knew they’d end up together at this point, sure they had a relationship starting grow, but damn she got on him quickly and by the end of the episode she wants to shag the guy? That escalated quickly, maybe it’s Karnak’s tattoos? Haha. Crystal, the most boring of the main characters needed help with Lockjaw after he was hit by a vehicle at the end of the last episode, I’m glad he’s gotten medical attention, but unfortunately, it looks there may be a romance there for her character as well. Oh yeah and Gorgon, absolutely forgettable. The use of music in this show is really starting to feel like a CW show, they need to cut it out, it’s not cool it’s distracting.

Lucifer (Season 3) “Mr. & Mrs. Mazikeen Smith”

This week’s episode of Lucifer was really fun, as usual, there were some laughs, mystery, interesting revelations and good character development. This episode featured Maze wanting more out of life so she goes on the ultimate hunt for a fugitive, however, as the story progresses it seems like there is more to this case than she realised. It was great to see the return of Maze, after last season she really did become one of my favourite characters, and I loved how this episode focused on not only her bounty hunting adventures (which is always fun), but also how on her wanting more out of life to keep things fresh and exciting. I like how the creators behind the show have given Maze more layers, shown that for a demon with no soul, she does care about her friends, knows to do the right thing when the time comes, and doesn’t have to be isolated. I also liked how Decker and Lucifer were integrated into Maze’s story through their own sleuthing, I also loved the interaction between Maze, Trixie and Decker, Maze and her bounty Ben, and Daniel, Linda and Lucifer have some fun moments too. Also, the action in the episode was quite good, the hand-to-hand combat was done well, and because of the Canadian setting, it made for a nice change of scenery not only in the cabin/hotel room but also out in the snowy mountains too. The ending also was sweet and further illustrated the core connection that the main characters have with each other.

Star Wars Rebels (Season 4) “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2”

Man, it feels like the wait for season 4 of Rebels has been incredibly painful, especially after the awesome trailers came out showing off all that delicious footage. But somehow October arrived a lot sooner than I expected and the show’s back on the air. So the first two episodes, “Heroes of Mandalore Part 1 & 2” debuted this week and it was pretty good two-parter. Since last season I really started to get into the politics and drama surrounding Sabine and the Mandalorians, and this episode leans heavily on those plot elements from last season with Sabine and her crew attempting to save her father from the Empire while the Saxon worked from the shadows releasing the superweapon on the Mandalorians. It was interesting to see Sabine in such a tough situation, with her still trying to rise to the occasion as leader of her people, but how her past actions cost the lives of some of her people and lead several other Mandalorians to mistrust her or want her dead. Poor girl. Luckily she kept her head and had the right support to help make the right decisions, though, seeing Sabine get a little dark and want to make the Empire suffer was an intriguing and engaging turn for her. On top of that, there were some great interactions between Sabine and her father about art, Ezra had some fun moments here and there, and the appearance of Bo-Katan was cool too, I’ve still not got around to watching The Clone Wars, but even in this episode she came across as a capable fighter, a confident individual and someone who should be respected. But the main interaction that I liked was seeing the moment between Kanan and Hera, while it has never been made overly obvious, I always knew there was something between them and their exchange was swift, playful and yet totally realistic. After three seasons my suspicions/hopes about them being an item are finally coming to light haha. As usual, Rebels continues to be a beautiful-looking show, the lighting, colour scheme and overall cinematography is great. I also appreciated the sense of scale between the human-like characters and the ships and walkers was nice and the use of shadows during certain conversations was very effective as well. The only stuff I didn’t like related to some of the moments of humour which again is mainly for kids, but I don’t think it landed that well especially with Ezra’s silly jetpack shenanigans, the writers really should just make him mature a little more. Also, some of the situations where the heroes were surrounded by Stormtroopers didn’t look that dire and could have been fought through in my opinion. And finally, I was pretty disappointed that Sabine’s mother and brother weren’t among the casualties of the superweapon, while death isn’t a requirement for a show to be good, I wish the show had gone for it. For a few minutes, I really felt for Sabine and thought Rebels had gone to a dark place, and considering Sabine’s recent reconciliation with her family it would have made for some sad yet engaging story and character development.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

REVISITED: Doubt

Good day to you ladies and gents, and welcome to another review in the REVISITED series where I’ll be reviewing films I haven’t seen for a while and see if they still hold up since or not. And today’s review will be of a film I haven’t seen for a few years, Doubt.

Now I remember renting this film from Blockbuster back in 2010 during my film discovery phase in college doing media production, and I remember once it was over I was really impressed with the film overall but was deeply unsettled. And that is a feeling I have never forgotten. So after getting into films a heck of a lot more since I was 20, I wanted to rewatch this film and see how it was, and in all honesty, I feel about the same, both impressed and disturbed. Even as I type this review, there’s a feeling in my heart and a bit of tremble in my movements because this film affected me so. Straight from the beginning you know something is off, there’s a smell in the air, but you don’t know what it is just yet, however, once certain plot points and character motivations and suspicions come to light, then things get intriguing. What we have is a very horrible situation with the priest and a child, and the head nun trying to ascertain whether something indecent has happened or not. The situation is shrouded in mystery, allegations and hearsay and because there’s no clear evidence it makes it makes for some awkward and intense moments throughout. As the film progressed, I felt more and more troubled and just goes to show well this film was crafted, there is a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the tone, dialogue, pacing and ambivalence of this situation, and it felt very realistic in the way certain situations were set up and the complicated battles that followed between the priest and head nun. I liked how not only the cinematography helped accentuate the uneasy nature of the plot (especially with Dutch angles), but also how the weather played a big part in elevating the mood from being calm to being quite ferocious. The performances in the film were fantastic, this was the first serious film I’d seen both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep in and both of them impressed me greatly. Meryl Streep as Sister Aloysius is this very strict and scary principal who doesn’t seem too likeable at times, but because she’s so mean it does lead to some funny moments, but beyond her surface level, she does care about the kids and does not let unjust things happen under her watch which makes her very crafty, tenacious and more aggressive. Streep is magnetic and acts with style and finesse, but also a great level of intensity, and it was this film that made me understand why Streep is talked about so much in the film community. Not to be outdone, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn is a kind and warm, and yet at times he seems off and untrustworthy, and there are times when he shows a darker side which is very creepy and unexpected. Hoffman’s performance is very captivating as he handles every situation with subtly and dangerous levels of realism, and along with Streep, they have some powerful scenes together. Amy Adams is also really great as Sister James, she’s a cute and kind-hearted soul who wants to believe in the best of people but has reason to doubt the priest. And finally, there’s Viola Davis who plays a significant role as Mrs. Miller and good gravy that woman can sell anything because her acting is that good, such power and sincerity. Overall Doubt is an incredible film with great direction performances and a solid and haunting film score from Howard Shore.

So have you seen Doubt and if so what do you think? Also if you’ve seen it more than once does it hold up better, worse or the same as before? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #36

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It is week 36, and I’ll be going back to the old format of having mini-reviews for several shows in the week and today I” be giving you my thoughts on Inhumans and Lucifer. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Inhumans (Season 1) “Divide and Conquer“

Inhumans continues to be an interesting yet frustrating experience, there are small moments of intrigue and decent material with certain characters, but this is hidden behind a story with varying levels of foolishness, uninteresting characters, bad dialogue and just a basic feeling overall. In this episode, we continue to see the Inhuman royal family separated on their own Earth-based scenarios, all of which are pretty lacklustre save for two people. Firstly there’s Black Bolt, I found it interesting how calm and compliant he’s been given his incarceration, but it was nice how he was paired with the other Inhuman dude in jail, they had some good scenes together and Anson Mount continues to be the most engaging of the cast because he’s charming, has a nice physicality to his actions and does well to act through body language and facial expressions.  Oh and his action scenes during the prison riot wasn’t half bad, I liked it. Seeing Karnak in a vulnerable state while being held hostage lead to the first scene where he didn’t come across as an asshole, but rather someone who has lost their focus and feels useless. Gorgon and his battle with Maximus’ henchmen proved to be less than stellar with a horribly choreographed fight scene, and Medusa’s story was really boring, besides when he somehow got into someone’s house as stole clothes and money, WITHOUT BEING CAUGHT AT ALL, it was when she got to the prison and just missed Black Bolt’s escape in the helicopter and then forced the science lady to follow along, that was decent. Beyond that, we got more scenes with Crystal and Maximus which was could have been so much better had the dialogue been less predictable, the same can be said for the flashbacks which felt like the emulated Thor so badly (in regard to the beef between young Black Bolt and Maximus) that it wasn’t funny. Oh and finally I don’t want to hate too much on Isabelle Cornish as Crystal but good gravy she is my least favourite character, her delivery of her lines lacks conviction and I can’t take her seriously at all. So will I quit the show? Probably not because I’m a bit of a completionist when it comes to TV shows, hopefully, things will improve.

Lucifer (Season 3)

“They’re Back, Aren’t They?” and “The One with the Baby Carrot”

So Lucifer is currently back on the air with its third season and it feels so good to have the show back. I liked season 1 a fair amount but good gravy season 2 took things to another level with cool stories, engaging characters and interesting mythology and by the end of the last season I was dying for more. So with the first episode of season 3, “They’re Back, Aren’t They?”, it did well to address the major cliffhanger involving Lucifer from the season 2 finale. This episode did well to continue the story beats from last season while introducing new scenarios which will play out over the course of future episodes. I liked seeing Lucifer come to terms with some of the changes to his body and abilities and how they not only affected him but also the people around him. It was also interesting how the police case was tied to Lucifer’s previous situation and I thought they were tied together rather well. Also, the main takeaway from the episode was the introduction of Tom Welling as the new lieutenant, Marcus Pierce, he left quite the impression as the sharp-tongued, no bullshit and quite frankly rude head of the department who clearly isn’t someone people should mess with. The next episode “The One with the Baby Carrot” was another solid episode as it had some interesting character development for not only Lucifer but also Marcus Pierce we learn he a bit of what his deal in relation to one of the people Lucifer is looking into and how it affected Pierce in the past. I liked the exchange between these two, it was heated, yet humorous and it is clear that this two will have more interactions as the season goes on which is great. I liked how the murder case was focused on comedy, stand up comedians and nature of how people become famous and what lengths they’ll go to keep themselves on top. The episode provided some great comedic moments not only for Lucifer but also Ella as she had some really silly and great moment. I also enjoyed the screen time given to Amenadiel and Linda together as they bonded but also tried to make sense of Amenadiel and his brother’s personal struggles. Anyway, so far so good for Lucifer season 3.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀

 

REVISITED: The Incredibles & Super 8

Good day to you ladies and gents, time for some film reviews and today I’m going to start a new series of reviews under the title REVISITED, and what that means is that I’ll be reviewing films I haven’t seen for a while and checking out how they hold up since my last watch. And today’s reviews will be of films I’ve been meaning to rewatch for a while and they are The Incredibles and Super 8.

So first we have The Incredibles, a film that is not only in my top 3 Pixar films but also one of my favourite animated films ever. Funnily enough, I never watched this film in a conventional way, I missed it in the cinema and saw at least the first half of it on a pirated DVD and then saw it properly on TV a few years later. I’m pretty sure this film was made for me, it is a superhero film with elements of the spy genre and family drama mixed in too. I loved being introduced to this world of superheroes learning about how they operate, how they were phased out and how it affects the main characters down the line. For all of the fantastical elements, this film has a lot of realistic material at its core. This film deals with a lot of issues relating to death, revenge, missing the simplicity/glory days of youth, having marital issues, being able to truly express yourself and sacrificing your wants and needs for those you love. This film does a good job of balancing between the humour, drama and action, and there’s a lot to enjoy for audience members of all ages. The characters are all great, they all have wonderful quirks, strengths and weaknesses, confidence issues and specific personality traits that make them shine, like Dash for example. Also, the voice work is really good especially from Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter as Mr Incredible and Elastigirl, Jason Lee as Syndrome, Samuel L. Jackson as Frozone and of course director Brad Bird as Edna Mode. Visually the film is so very beautiful, artistically the film is very distinct and colourful, the animation is super smooth and the camera work used during the action sequences is very kinetic and has some amazing tracking shots. Oh, and the creativity in the use of the abilities of all the superpowered individuals was so creative and badass. Equally as good is the film score from the brilliant Michael Giacchino, besides Star Trek (2009), The Incredibles has my favourite Giacchino score overall as it is some of the sassiest, upbeat and bombastic material of all his compositions. The score has a varied sound that works in all situations, besides having a deliciously jazz-inspired soundtrack that harkens back to the days of old spy films, there are also lovely dramatic and emotional moments that stick out a lot too. My favourite pieces were during the action scenes with Dash and Mr Incredible training montage. In the end, this film is still as fun as the day I first saw it.

Ah Super 8, I remember this film well, the hype behind this film was quite notable because of the mystery surrounding the film and the well-crafted yet intriguing trailers that had a lot of interesting shots but no major plot details revealed. I recall upon this film being released that the reception was quite mixed, a good few people liked it, but a lot of people found it boring and unengaging especially given the lack of information about the film beforehand. I remember enjoying the film for the most part but thought it the reveal of monster and main story towards the end lost some steam. Either way, I haven’t seen this film since it was in cinemas 2011 and I’ve wanted to check it out again for ages. So how was my experience 6 years later? Pretty good actually. I feel like Super 8 is one of those films that benefit from a second viewing, once you understand how the story works in terms of the style, pacing, mystery and character arcs I believe it is a more enjoyable experience. I found it interesting how this film combined a coming of age story with a sci-fi plot and I feel like it works for the most part. You have a story dealing with friendship, growing up, dealing with traumatic events of the past, mysterious events that have dangerous ramifications and the search for truth. I enjoyed the adventure, while there were some issues with the hit and miss humour and some less than interesting story stuff when the kids weren’t involved, I thought it had some really cute, funny and dramatic material that worked well. I thought the cast of kids were good, they acted well and had good chemistry, bouncing off of each other in a natural way, Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning, were really good, and I also liked Riley Griffiths and Ryan Lee too. As for the adults, they were fine, but Kyle Chandler was the most memorable even those his character wasn’t very likeable. Visually the film looks nice, the lens flare is less than usual, and while it was a little too dark during the night scenes, there were some really cool-looking action sequences including one of the most impressive train crashes I’ve ever seen put to film, it is a beautiful massacre, so much crashing, smashing, flying debris and explosions. It is truly a wonderful spectacle. Also the film score from Michael Giacchino is really nice, Super 8‘s score feels like it has elements of Jurassic Park and Star Wars, but most notably has shades of Lost in the sense that there are subtle/emotional vibe moments mixed in with these uplifting and hopeful sounds that swell and engulf the scenes they’re used in. Overall I was glad I saw this film again and if you’re interested to give it a watch.

So have you seen these films and if so what do you think? Also if you’ve seen them more than once do they hold up better, worse or the same as before? Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below and I’ll see ya on the next review, laters! 😀

 

AUDIO REVIEW: Blade Runner 2049

Howdy ladies and gents of the internet, how’s it going? Anyway today I am here to bring you my thoughts on Blade Runner 2049, however, unlike most of my reviews that are written on this blog, I decided to do an audio via my podcast, Film Focus on Soundcloud as it felt better and easier to do. Anyway check out the review below:

So that’s my review people, hopefully, you found it informative and interesting to listen, and I hope my voice wasn’t too grating on your ears haha. While I don’t think I will be phasing out the written reviews altogether, at the same time there are certain times when doing a recorded review allows me to creatively get my thoughts about a film across better than when I’m sat in front of my laptop trying to form sentences and paragraphs. But we’ll see, hopefully, you’ll be around to check out later reviews via my podcast.

Also, what did you think of Blade Runner 2049? Was it the sequel that you hoped for or was it a disappointment? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below, until next time peeps, laters! 😀

 

What I’m Currently Watching #35: Marvel’s Inhumans

Howdy ladies and gents, and welcome to What I’m Currently Watching where I give you a tiny update on what TV-based stuff I’m watching and give mini reviews/impressions on them. It has been a while, but I’m back in week 35, and today I’ll be giving you my late thoughts on the first two episodes of Marvel’s Inhumans. With that out of the way let’s talk about some TV! 😀

Inhumans (Season 1)

“Behold… The Inhumans” and “Those Who Would Destroy Us“

By now, I assume most of you have heard about ABC’s latest Marvel show; Inhumans and how bad it is. From the time it dropped in cinemas, in IMAX last month, various critics and general individuals dropped their thoughts on the internet and unanimously that the show sucked, that it was the worst material that’s come out of Marvel’s television division and that people should skip it. Now there have been some defenders of the show, some who thought it was fine or actually enjoyable, but they are in the minority. So it is currently October and the show’s officially aired and I just watched it a few hours ago, and you know what, it wasn’t the worst thing ever, it was certainly disappointing.

The first two episodes tell the story of the Inhumans, the human/alien hybrids with abilities who live on the moon. There’s a royal family who lives in luxury and rules over everyone but then is usurped by the brother of the king, they are then separated with several of them set to Earth, and so it is a race against time for the royal family members to regroup on Earth and get back to the moon and restore order. Now on paper this sounds like an interesting watch, and it is because I’ve seen in comic form, alas clearly the people behind this show didn’t have the right creative vision to bring this property to life as there it was a fairly basic and generic start to a superhero property that should have been much better.

These first two episodes throw every generic story element at us from the jealous brother who is secretly bad to the queen and brother of the king having a history which creates some dramatic tension, to an outsider usurping the royal family and causing a revolution/uprising with the lower class citizens, to having a fish out of water kind of story for several of the humans dealing with issues on Earth. From the opening sequence on Earth, I was less than impressed. There’s a chase sequence involving two Inhumans evading humans and it was less than stellar. Most of it was all in slow motion, possibly add a sense of drama and highlight some visual detail, but it was more annoying than engaging. And then we move to the moon where most of the key story elements come into play and it isn’t that captivating. With the introduction of the Inhumans in this show, there was no mention who/what they are until later on (very briefly I might add), and what information we are given is bare bones, there’s far more to these superpowered individuals and we’re given such simple mythology. I feel like the show just assumes you watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or know the source material and that excuses them from providing basic information which should not be the case. Anyway most of the material on the moon is okay at best, but things get worse on Earth, some of these supposedly smart and superpowered individuals make some of the most stupid and illogical decisions for people who are aware of and constantly looking at Earth.

One of the best moments in the show, alas it is just one moment.

When it comes to the characters they’re not too likeable, all of them are incredibly one-dimensional and boring for the most part. The most likeable character isn’t even human, it’s a teleporting space dog called Lockjaw and he is delightful and for a CGI creature on TV, he looks good. Firstly there’s Black Bolt, king of the Inhumans and probably the best of all the human characters, as someone who can’t speak he does well to communicate his feelings through facial expressions, body and sign language. He has the best material on Earth as he has some interesting interaction with humans in humourous and subtly dramatic ways, it is too bad Anson Mount wasn’t given better material to work with because he was decent in the role. Serinda Swan was very pretty, but not much else as Medusa, I felt like there were layers to this character but she wasn’t too interesting beyond her animated hair and relationship with Black Bolt. And speaking of that relationship my initial impression wasn’t great, they’re just a loved-up couple who are selfish and ignore their responsibilities and would rather make out. Lame. The rest of the family is basically dull, Karnak (Ken Leung) is an interesting yet incredibly logical and insensitive prick, Gorgon (Eme Ikwuakor) is an overconfident doughnut, and Crystal (Isabelle Cornish) is the worst as one of the most forgettable characters. And Iwan Rheon does his best as Maximus but he’s hardly written well, Maximus is diet Loki who you can see his evil deeds coming a mile away and while it seems like he’s conflicted at certain points, other times he seems so ruthless. Other characters felt so paper-thin and insignificant, and holy cow some of the extras chosen for the scenes on Earth were bloody terrible either due to bad dialogue or poor acting.

Visually the show is fine, the shots of scenery are nice and the visual effects are decent, but could be better. Besides the one use of Black Bolts voice with a police car, the action scenes are terrible, they are so slow, and plain in the choreography department and don’t make very good use of some of the characters abilities or supposed fighting skills. Oh and that intro is one of the laziest/plain intros I’ve ever seen especially for a superhero show. Also, the soundtrack by Sean Callery (from Jessica Jones) crafted music that was decent at times, and terribly bland on other occasions. And the use of notable songs during some of these notable scenes in the show is bloody terrible, such a waste.

In conclusion, Inhumans‘ first two episodes aren’t the worst TV I’ve ever seen in the Marvel TV world, that still goes to Iron Fist haha. But in all seriousness, Inhumans has small elements of potential but is bogged down by some bad storytelling, bad dialogue, a lack of flair and style in its direction and bad action scenes. I’ll keep watching to see if it gets better but it is highly doubtful at the moment.

Well, that’s what I’ve been watching. So have you seen or plan to watch any of this show? If you have any thoughts be sure to drop a comment below and let me know what TV shows you’re currently watching too. Until next time, laters! 😀