Amazing Spider-Man: Amazing Grace Review

Finished reading Amazing Spider-Man: Amazing Grace, writer Jose Molina brings Spider-Man in the middle of a strange mystery of a strange resurrection that leads to him teaming up with the superhero team, the Santerians to try and uncover the truth. The book opens with Spider-Man swinging by the funeral of a local man form Harlem named Julio Rodriguez, who later that night crawls out of his own grave which becomes the headline of the next morning news. After seeing the news Peter Parker decides to investigate by starting with the local morgue and the medical examiner who did the autopsy on Julio who can't explain how he's still alive. Later on Spider-Man finds himself help the kids of Julio Rodriguez which is where he get the best lead on his surprising resurrection which leads him to come face to face with the Santerians who are friends of Julio and tell Spider-Man that his chance of finding out about what happened to Julio is to trace his last steps which takes Peter to Cuba in hope to find some answers. Overall this was a decent book as Spider-Man is drawn into an intriguing mystery that sends him form the streets of New York to Cuba and back again to uncover the truth to the resurrection of Julio. The theme of religion and faith plays a prominent role within the book with how it the whole mystery behind Julio's resurrection is revealed and the way the the majority of characters interact with one another about the subject. The art throughout is good as it works very well for the tone of the book with how the locations and characters fit into the story. However the art changes between the two different art styles in some places feel sudden and takes a while to adjust to the change to the fast difference. 6/10.

Uncanny Inhumans: The Quiet Room Review

Finished reading Uncanny Inhumans: The Quiet Room, writer Charles Soule continues the series by bringing in the Quiet Room into the continuity of the main Marvel universe which comes with new and existing characters to be further developed. The book opens up with Medusa, her son Ahura and Iso in Grand Central Station which is the home to Black Bolt's own establishment, the Quite Room. As Medusa has come to meet with her estranged husband to talk about the mysterious skyscrapers that have appeared around the world and to drop Ahura off to see his father. After Ahura has been given the tour of the place by Flagman a fight between two professional fighters breaks out while the Mad Thinker and the Leader try to out smart each other with a nuclear weapon along with a device with the ability to stop Inhuman power being stolen which leads to Medusa putting her best man on the case, investigator Frank McGee. The second story of the book sees Medusa and Johnny Storm being trapped under a falling apartment building after saving its residents which leads to Medusa to bring up the conversation about the twos relationship, until they are saved by Medusa's sister and Johnny's ex-girlfriend Crystal. However before Crystal can process what's happening the three of them end up getting kidnapped by aliens. The final story continues from the first half of the book as Reader is still searching for his dog that is now host to the inhuman Capo. Only for Reader to find himself caught in a trap and surrounded by armed men. Overall this was a great as it takes a step back from the large world ending story from the last book in order to focus more on character building. The reveal of how Medusa and Johnny got together feels very organic in the way it can be compared to real life relationships. While the story cantering around Reader is amazing as not only does his origin get reveal through his inner monologue and the way the he uses his powers to get out of the situation he finds himself in is brilliant. The art throughout the book is great from Brandon Peterson's photorealistic style along with colourist Java Tartaglia n the first half of the book makes the Quiet Room feel like it could easily exist within the real world while the more non human like people look very realistic. While Kev Walker's art in the later half of the book works extremely for the emotional scenes between Medusa and Johnny while also bringing to life some great alien and creature designs. 8/10.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Film Review

Finished watching King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, directed by Guy Ritchie and staring Eric Bana, Rob Knighton, Jude Law and Charlie Hunnam. The opens with a large battle between Uther Pendragon's (Eric Bana) army and the forces of the mage Mordred (Rob Knighton) as Uther brings and end to the war between the humans and mages with the help of Excalibur. During the aftermath of the battle Uther's brother Vortigern (Jude Law) leads an uprising in Camelot which leads to Uther's death at the hands of a demonic figure as he puts his son, Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) into a boat under the castle in hope to save his life. After being raised by the a group of prostitutes from Londinium and continues helps the women with any bad customers and the upkeep of the place, Arthur soon finds himself on a boat back to Camelot as Vortigern has asked his soldiers to find any man of Uther son's age in hope to lift Excalibur form the stone that has recently revealed itself and claim it for himself. Overall this was a good film as it tells a different version of King Arthur's origin that not only does the film gives its own spin on the story but also have enough similarities to the classic tale for it to feel a part of that world. The amount of character development and interactions is great as Arthur slowly fits into the role of king, while some interactions being shown by cutting together two or more scenes at the same time helps to show the passing of time and what's going on at the same time extremely well. The action set pieces a good as the fight choreography is used very well while the large CGI scenes with Arthur and Excalibur look amazing with how the fights have been created even though the CGI feels out of place within the film with how it's been rendered. 7.5/10.

Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears: Baby Talk Review

Finished reading Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears: Baby Talk, beginning the series again after Marvel's Secret Wars event writer Dennis Hopeless returns with Jessica Drew who has become pregnant since her last appearance which has not stopped her form getting into some crazy superhero situations. The book opens up wilt a heavily pregnant Spider-Woman taking down three villains inside a motel against while on the phone to Captain Marvel. The book then continues to Spider-Woman's last day at work before going on maternity leave to have her baby as Porcupine has become a better hero thanks to training that Jessica has giving him in hope that Roger along with Ben Urich can continue their private investigating company without her. Later that night Jessica hosts a party at her apartment with her friends form the superhero community where Captain Marvel recommends an intergalactic hospital to have her baby. After nearly two weeks on maternity leave Jessica decides to take a look at the intergalactic hospital that Carol recommend her. However when Jessica gets to the waiting room of the maternity ward of the hospital she finds herself along with other alien mums to be as hostages of a group of Skrulls who have stormed into the hospital in hope to find a prince of the Skrull Empire who is currently in the hospital receiving cancer treatment. Overall this was a great book as it continues to but Spider-Woman into more everyday situations while still bringing in the mix of the traditional superhero situations as well that is blended together greatly. The character interactions within the book are great as the friendship between Jessica and Carol taking centre stage with how Jessica has to deal with the threats of the Skrulls on her own. While the introduction of the Skrull prince Klundirk is great with how he ends up helping Jessica even though she was the one trying to rescue him. The art by Javier Rodriguez is great as the alien designs of the hospital and the people inside look great and fit into the story extremely well, along with the page layouts which helps to give the feel of a camera following the characters movements. 8/10.

Spider-Man 2099: Smack to the Future Review

Finished reading Spider-Man 2099: Smack to the Future, writer Peter David continues the adventures of the time displaced Spider-Man, Miguel O'Hara as he adapts to life in the present with a girlfriend and a new job. The book opens with Miguel stopping a armed bank robber but not without the casualty of a young girl which cause Miguel to quit being Spider-Man as Peter Parker offers him a job at Parker Industries later on. After taking Peter up on his offer and not being Spider-Man for a while Miguel has put more forces into is relationship with his girlfriend Tempest and building a time portal to 2099 in hope to return home. While out on a date with Tempest the restaurant a car crashes through the front window kill most of the people in the restaurant causing Miguel to dawn an updated version of his costume to find out how was behind the attack. While all of this is happening the newest employee of Parker Industries Roberta Mendez, the Captain America of 2099 begins to question Miguel's actions when she discovers that he is the Spider-Man of her time. Overall this was a good book as it continues Miguel's adventures in present day as relationship with Tempest becomes the main driving force for Miguel to be Spider-Man again which begins a very interesting mystery. The reintroduction of Roberta Mendez, the Captain America from the Secret Wars version of 2099 is a great addition to the cast with how Miguel interacts with her and how the two work together in the fight between the cyborg from and alternative 2099 at the end of the book. The art by Will Sliney continues to be a great as it fits the futuristic tone and feel of the book which is also help by the team of colourists on the book. 7.5/10.

Alien: Covenant Film Review

Finished watching Alien: Covenant, directed by Ridley Scott and staring Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, James Franco, Billy Crudup and Katherine Waterston. The film opens to the beginning of David's (Michael Fassbender) first day in life as he and creator Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce) talk about Weyland wanting to meet his own creator. The film then jumps several years in to the future as a colony ship known as the Covenant is preparing to recharge its power when a shockwave through space hits the ship, leading to the synthetic, Walter (Michael Fassbender) to wake the crew up early to help with the repairs. Once awake the captain of the crew (James Franco) is killed due to his status pod not opening leads to the first mate, Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) taking charge and the captain's widow Daniels (Katherine Waterston) being his second in command. After repairing the ship the crew stumble onto a distress from a nearby planet that is almost perfect fit to colonise causing the team to almost unanimously decide to investigate. Overall this was a good film as it continues to build upon the Alien universe by introducing new versions of the Xenomorph along with the classic version and the reintroduction of David into the film with how he effects the story. The use of having all of the main characters within the film being paired up as married couples help to make some characters death more effective thanks to the reaction by the characters. While the difference between the David and Walter is shown extremely well thanks in part to the script and Michael Fassbender's performance of the different characters and even the way he has to change between two feels seamless. The visuals throughout the film are great as the with the set designs fitting extremely well within the aesthetic of the universe itself while the shots in space look breathtaking while the design of the aliens look great as well. However in some of the final action scenes the effects do take a bit of a step back from how well they've look throughout the rest of the film. 7.5/10.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians of Infinity Review

Finished reading Guardians of the Galaxy: Guardians of Infinity, bringing together three separate teams of Guardians throughout time as writer Dan Abnett tells a story that spans over three millenniums. The book opens up with the present day Guardians consisting of Rocket, Drax and Groot, come across a strange ship that has appeared at the edge of the galaxy which gives Rocket the idea to snoop around in hope to find treasure. Once on the ship the three Guardians find themselves face to face with the Guardians of the 31st century who were investigating the strange ship when they were attacked by a large group of alien henchmen. However before the two teams become completely overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of enemies a Guardians team from the 11th century appear and rescue the team by getting them to safety before figuring out how to get everyone back to their own time period. Overall this was a good book as it brings together the two previously established Guardians teams together with a new incarnation of the team from the 11th century leads to some great character interactions and an interesting story that unfolds. While the main antagonist of the story is vary interesting with how his motives come from being close to the leader of the past Guardians, Stella Nega and the way he even executes his plans lead to some great moments with Rocket who becomes an integral part while the rest of the Guardians attempt to escape capture allows for some great storytelling with Nikki Gold being their only hope to escape. The art by Carlo Barberi is great as the character designs come to life extremely well while the way the art looks and feels like it was created by multiple layers between the background and the foreground makes everything feel nicely detailed. 7.5/10.

Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight Review

Finished reading Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight, beginning a new Captain Marvel series as part of Marvel's Publishing post Secret Wars as writers Michelle Fazekas and Tara Butters put Carol Danvers back into space to be in charge of the new Alpha Flight Space Station. The book opens with Captain Marvel and Alpha Flight readying to defend the planet from an oncoming meteor shower as Carol thinks back to what lead her to this position on her first day of being the in charge of the Alpha Flight space station. After fending off the meteors Carol and the team take a break before the the appearance of an alien ship appears near the station which brings with it many concerns. With the ship's occupants being dead during their time in the stasis pods and the spaceship begins to have an effect on Carol's powers an intriguing mystery begins to unfold. Overall this was a good book as it goes to another corner of the Marvel Universe that walks the line between Earth and outer space, thanks to the new form Alpha Flight that works as the first line of defence against extraterrestrial threats. The return of Alpha Flight is great as the writers are able to bring in preestablish characters that already have a history between one another making their interactions work perfectly. The reveal the antagonist and the reason behind their motive is very interesting with how it is related to Mar-Vell's history along with the way that Carol and Alpha Flight deal with the antagonist is great as is a little out of the ordinary with how it doesn't lead to a large action set piece. The art by Kris Anka is great as the designs for the characters including the multiple aliens along with the aesthetic of the space station itself are brought to life incredibly well. 7/10.

Sleepless Film Review

Finished watching Sleepless, directed by Baran bo Odar and staring Jamie Foxx, T.I., Michelle Monaghan, David Harbour, Dermot Mulroney, Octavius J. Johnson and Scoot McNairy. The film opens in Las Vegas as police officers Vincent Downs (Jamie Foxx) and Sean Cass (T.I.) stealing a large amount of drugs from a transport before taking the case the next day at work. When the Vincent and Sean return to the crime scene after being given the case they are met by internal affairs investigators Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan) and Doug Dennison (David Harbour) who have gotten word of someone in the police force is working within the criminal underworld. When news of the stolen drugs finds its way to its owner Stanley Rubino (Dermot Mulroney), he organises the kidnapping of Vincent's son, Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson) as leverage with the intention that Vincent will return the drugs before mobster Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy) discovers that the drugs he's promised have been stolen. Overall this was a decent film as the action takes centre stage within the film that showcases some very good action set pieces. While there is just enough character development to give insight to each character's motive and background to make the supporting cast more than simply one dimensional. While Vincent reveal to be an undercover cop so early on feels that the majority of his character development was told in a few moments leaving any suspense of the film to come from the action set pieces within the film. 6/10.

Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide: Volume Two Review

Finished reading Amazing Spider-Man: Worldwide: Volume Two, writer Dan Slott continues with Spider-Man's adventures as a CEO with the final confrontation with Scorpio and the Zodiac on the horizon Peter first has to make a trip to the Shanghai offices of Parker Industries. The book opens with Cloak and Dagger braking out Mr Negative from an over seas prison transport. Weeks later in Shanghai Peter as having dinner with his current girlfriend Lien before meeting with humanitarian Shen Quinghao for a tour of the Parker Industries offices in Shanghai. When Peter goes into his office to rest he's is kidnapped by Cloak and Dagger and taken to meet Mr Negative how try's to control Peter to make Quinghao tarnish his current reputation by show his true colours as the man who had been involved within the slave trade that lead to Martin Li to become the villainous Mr Negative. The second half of the book begins with Spider-Man and Nick Fury heading into space to used the satellites that Scorpio used earlier in the series to discover his location which leads to Spider-Man to literally jump back down to Earth, leaving Fury to find refuge in the international space station. After crash landing in Paris Spider-Man comes face to face with Scorpio and try's to stop him for executing his final plan before its took late. Overall this was a good book as writer Dan Slott brings a conclusion to the first main story of the current series as Spider-Man along with his friends in S.H.I.E.L.D. bring and end to Scorpio's plans while also telling a very interesting in Shanghai as the staff at the Parker Industries offices get a chance to grow and have a nice bit of insight into their characters, while also bring back Cloak and Dagger is a nice surprise. The character interactions throughout the book are great as Spider-Man interactions between the villains of the book and his supporting cast allows for some great comedic moments in places and additionally helps to lay more seeds into what the future of the series might bring. The art throughout the book is great from Matteo Buffagni's art in the opening story not only brings to the the city of Shanghai, it also allows for colourist Marte Gracia to work wonders with the power set of Cloak, Dagger and Mr Negative with the bright tones of whites and blacks. Additionally the art by Giuseppe Camuncoli for the rest of the book is great as the action scenes are designed very well and brings some great visuals ranging for the outer orbit of the Earth to the cities of London and Paris. 7.5/10.

The Flintstones: Volume One Review

Finished reading The Flintstones: Volume One, as part of DC's Hanna-Barbera imprint writer Mark Russell brings the world of the Flintstones to life in comic book form with a very intriguing modern twist. The book opens in a museum in present day as a tour guide is showing an exhibit on Bedrock before transiting to a thriving Bedrock where Fred Flintstone is asked by his boss Mister Stone to give three Neanderthals that have just been hired the tour of the town. The next story sees Fred dealing with the introduction of television which leads to the Flintstones and the rest of Bedrock dealing with shopping for to many things that they can't afford. The following story begins with Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm on a school trip to the towns cave of science and technology where they witness the launch of a spaceship with a chimpanzee named Sergeant Grumbles burning up in the atmosphere, gets noticed by an alien race who catalog Earth which inadvertent leads to Bedrock becoming a alien holiday destination. The fourth story of the book sees Fred and Wilma coming to a couples retreat with the subject of marriage coming under scrutiny due to the fact that is a very new concept in this time period. The penultimate story sees Bedrock in the middle of electing a new mayor which reminds Fred and Barney of their time as solders in the war that lead to Bedrock being built after a war with the area's previous inhabitants. The final story sees the whole two of Bedrock dealing with the a oncoming threat of an asteroid that could see the end of the town. Overall this was an amazing book as writer Mark Russell brings the classic Stone Age family to life with a story that is filled with social and potential comedy that makes these characters more assessable with the fact of them dealing with similar situations that people to day are in which brings a nice amount of comedy as well. There is some great character interactions as with how character relationships are show while also helping to give some great extensive background to characters and Bedrock. The art by artist Steve Pugh is amazing as Bedrock and is citizens, human and animal alike are brought to life with the familiar look of the classic cartoon with a more modern twist thanks to little subtle hints to modern society. While the addition of the colour palette used by colourist Chris Chuckry helps to bring the feel of the Stone Age to life with how it compares the couple of pages set in present day and the characters past as kids and before they moved to Bedrock looks even more set in the past. 9/10.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Film Review

Finished watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, directed by James Gunn and staring Chris Pratt, Laura Haddock, Kurt Russell, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Elizabeth Debicki, Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff. The film opens with a flashback to Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) parents Meredith (Laura Haddock) and Ego (Kurt Russell) on Earth before the film jumps to a more present time were the Guardians have been hired by a race known as the Sovereign to protect their power batteries as Star Lord, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista) and Rocket (Bradley Cooper) along with Groot (Vin Diesel) who is currently a baby due to the aftermath of the first movie, are in a fight between a giant space kraken looking creature. After defeating the creature the leader of the Sovereign, Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) pays the Guardians by handing over Nebula (Karen Gillan), as the Guardians plan to get the bounty on Nebula by taking her to the Nova Corps. However just as the team leave the Sovereign begin to attack them because Rocket stole some of the batteries for himself with leads to the Guardians to crash land on a nearby planet where the team finally meet Ego and his assistant Mantis (Pom Klementieff). Overall this was an amazing film as it builds upon each character after their first appearance in the first movie with the theme of family being the driving force of the film which brings some amazing character development. The comedy throughout the film is always on point thanks to some amazing comedic timing which is in part to the well written script and how the actors interact with each other. The soundtrack is amazing thanks to the way it works within the context of the film from adding and extra layer of emotion to making some scenes even more hilarious. 9.5/10.

Earth 2: Society: A Whole New World Review

Finished reading Earth 2: Society: A Whole New World, continuing the adventures of DC's Earth 2 series writer Dan Abnett brings all of the heroes of the world back together for the first time since the events of Worlds End. The book opens with Hawkgirl meeting back up with the other Wonders in Neotropolis along with Fury as they begin talks in hope to form an alliance between humans, Amazons and the Atlanteans. Only for the the villainous Ultra-Humanie to attack the conference when he hears that Fury brought artefact with her that has the power to recreate the world. Overall this was a good book as it continues to build upon the world of Earth 2 by bring everyone back together to allow for some great character interactions and action scenes with the appearance of Ultra-Humanite and his Humanites. The side story with Dick and his son John is great as not only does it show where Dick and Huntress went of to after Ultra-Humanite's initial attack but gives some great character development for both Dick and John and show how far each have come since they first appeared in Worlds End. The art throughout the book is good as the book's art does a good job with how the colours and the tone of the art stay fairly consistent while also having its own style as well. While there are some very great full page panels that are breathtaking to look at. 7.5/10.