Finished reading Spider-Man/Spider-Gwen: Sitting in a Tree, crossing over the Miles Morales Spider-Man series with Spider-Gwen as Miles goes on ab adventure to try and find his father who went missing in an alternative universe on a mission from S.H.I.E.L.D. The book opens with Miles talking to his friends Ganke and Fabio about his most recent adventure which started with Maria Hill coming to meet with Miles who is out looking for this father where Maria tells Miles that his father went on an off the books mission for her to an alternative universe that turns out to be Spider-Gwen's universe which leads to Miles teaming up with Gwen in trying to find his father. Overall this was a great book as it sends Miles and Gwen into a interdimensional adventure that is easily assessable for anyone who hasn't been reading both books while continues to build on the characters own development and their own part of the Marvel universe. The character interactions in the book are great as Miles and Gwen play of one another extremely well as there is a great amount of comedy that's to how they react to one another in the different situations they find themselves in. Additionally the interactions between Miles, his friends and the two different versions of his father brings some emotional driven moments for Miles as a character. The art throughout the book is great as both art teams work together extremely well thanks to the way the aesthetic and tone of Miles and Gwen's universes are brought to life thanks to the constant colour palette between each art team and how the changes for the different point of view. 8/10.
Finished reading Spider-Woman: Shifting Gears: Scare Tactics, concluding the second Spider-Woman as writer Dennis Hopeless rings an end to the series as Roger Gocking past as a super villain has come back to haunt him. The book opens with Spider-Woman in a middle of a fight with the villain Blizzard when she heads home to get a different set of clothes where she sees Ben Urich covering Roger's babysitting shift for Jessica's son Gerry as Roger has go to an appointment. When Roger returns, Hobgoblin and a group of villains seemingly kills him which sends Jessica into fully commit into finding Hobgoblin with the hope to avenge her friend. The final story of the book sees Jessica setting up a party for some of her superhero friends on the top of her building meanwhile in her apartment Gerry begins to develop his own superpowers, similar to those of his mother's which becomes a problem for Roger when try to deal with Gerry. Overall this was an amazing book as it brings an end to the series as writer Dennis Hopeless wraps up multiple plot points from throughout the series while also giving it an extremely satisfying ending. The book also continues to deliver on some amazing character development for each of the characters within the book as Jessica and Carol are able to rebuild their friendship that became tainted during the events of Civil War II, while Roger gets surprisingly the most development within the book thanks to his history as Porcupine is fleshed outside along with the way his past has cone back to affect his life. The books artwork by artist Veronica Fish is amazing as it brings the action and character drama to life extremely well thanks to how effective the art is for the story while it still fits into the books aesthetic thanks to colour palette used by colourist Rachelle Rosenberg. 9/10.
Finished watching The Post, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Matthew Rhys, Bruce Greenwood, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The film opens in 1965 as military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) goes to Vietnam in the middle of the war where he sees first hand how the war is going. On the plane back to America Daniel meets with Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) as they discuss how America is losing the war and are sill sending more and more troops into the country. This leads to Daniel to make copies of classified documents which he later sends some to the newspapers years later. Meanwhile the owner of the Washington Post Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) is preparing to but the company onto the stock exchange while the editor in chief of the paper Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) works on the papers day to day business where one day the paper is given some of classified documentation and are beaten to repotting it by the New York Times who quickly find themselves in trouble with the government for reporting on the documents. This then leads to the whole press team at the Washington Post to question what they should do with the documents they have in their possession and if they should report on it or not. Overall this was a great film as it dives into the world of journalism thanks to a very intriguing story that shows not only some of the day to day business within the creation of a newspaper but also showing how impactful a paper can be essentially during the release of news on government secrets. There is an amazing amount of suspense within the film thanks to how well each character and actress interact with one another and deal with the different types of situations they find themselves in which us are just as suspenseful on there own. The film does a great job in bringing to life the elements of the Vietnam War be it briefly on the battlefield to how the American people and government reaction to it along with the time period as a whole. Additionally the film does a great job within its more character driven moments as it helps to develop some of the cast more and bring a more personal feel and prospective to the events the are transpiring within the film. 8.5/10.
Finished reading Captain America: Sam Wilson: #TAKEBACKTHESHIELD, continuing the Sam Wilson centric Captain America book as writer Nick Spencer spends time focusing on Sam's own supporting cast. The book opens with the group know as Ultimatum taking hostages with Senator Tom Herald being at the centre of the hostage situation which leads to Sam and Steve working together with S.H.I.E.L.D. in hope to keep the situation for getting out of hand. The next story in the book sees Sam and newest Falcon, Joaquín meeting with Rage at charity wrestling match where they go to cheer on D-Man. The following story see Misty Knight on her own adventure to Miami as The Slug has been using life model decoys disgusted as female villains and heroes for videos of a inappropriate nature that have found themselves online. The penultimate story sees Falcon and Rage teaming up to confront writer Ariella Conner about her views on Falcon only for the two to find themselves having to save her from a group named as the Bombshells in hope to silence her permanently. The final story of the book is a classic Captain America story where Steve Rogers finds himself dealing with an outbreak in Washington DC that is turning people into mutated lizards. Overall this was a great book as it continues the series as Sam's doubts about being Captain America especially with is team up with Steve that happens to have some secret motives behind the situation which makes for an intriguing direction for the series. The spotlight that the gives to its supporting cast is great as writer Nick Spencer is able to give each each character their own chance to shine while developing them as characters and the role they have within the book and the Marvel Universe as a whole. The art throughout the is great as its able to bring each story to life extremely well thanks to the great action set prices and how well the whole art team is able to bring the more character driven moments such as the interactions the characters have with one another with great detail on the emotions at play. 8/10.
Finished reading Moon Knight: Reincarnations, continuing writer Jeff Lemire's run on character as Moon Knight finds each of his personalities at odds with one another due to each personally's perception to the world. The book opens with the production of Moon Knight the newest film that is being produced by Steven Grant, meanwhile Jake Lockley is on the city streets trying to come to terms with what has previously happen in the series only to find himself caught in the middle of a murder case. This is also juxtapose by Marc Spector finding himself fighting alien werewolves how have invaded Earth and the human race lass line of defence is their base on the moon. The second story within the book is a classic Moon Knight story where he finds himself investigating a series of murders of the homeless by a killer who has been named the Slasher. Overall this was a great as Jeff Lemire tells a mind bending story that gives Moon Knight's multiple personalities their own spotlight as each of the situations the personalities find themselves become intertwined and lead to a intriguing direction. The art throughout is amazing as each art team is able to bring each aspect of Moon Knight's psyche to life thanks to the way the different art styles and colour palettes work with one another, while also feeling very cohesive thanks to how well the book transitions between each art team. 8.5/10.
Finished watching Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, directed by Martin McDonagh and starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Kathryn Newton and Sam Rockwell. The film open with the grieving Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) deciding to hirer the billboards just outside the town in hopes to gain the attention of the police department and singling out Police Chief Bill Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) over the case of her daughter Angela's (Kathryn Newton) death as there has been no arrests in months. Overall this was a great film as it is able to bring across some amazing drama thanks to how the film's plot effects each character which leads to great character interactions between the film's cast. There is a great amount of character development over the course of the film as some characters thanks to the way they grow over the course of the film and learn from their own mistakes especially with Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell) who is able to grow as a character thanks to a multitude of events. 8/10.
Finished reading Captain America: Steve Rogers: The Trial of Maria Hill, continuing the Steve Rogers centric Captain America series from writer Nick Spencer as Steve's current status as a secret Hydra agent. The book opens with a flashback to Steve's time within the Hydra school he attended as the flashback scenes continue with Steve becoming friends with Baron Zemo and eventually meeting Doctor Erskine. Meanwhile in the present the Red Skull has continued to build Hydra's forces after successfully helping the people in Sokovia with their fight against the dictator of the country. The book then continues with Steve at the Alpha Flight space station helping Captain Marvel against an constant swarm of Chitauri, while back on Earth Maria Hill is preparing for her trail over the incident at Pleasant Hill with the hope to get of free with the potential of an Earth wide shield to help protect alien invaders. Overall this was a good book as continues to build upon the story of Captain America being a secret Hydra agent and how this came about thanks to the great flashbacks of a younger Steve Rogers showing the difference of Steve's history since the Hydra reveal. The present day storyline with the Red Skull's new direction with Hydra and the fall out of S.H.I.E.L.D. dealing with Maria Hill after Pleasant Hill take interesting directions especially with how Steve allegiance to Hydra affects these situations. The whole art team does a great job throughout the book in bringing the great character moments and interactions to life extremely well as each character's emotion is shown thanks to the great detail that's but into the book drama and conversations. While the transition between the the present day storyline and the flashbacks to Steve's twisted past continue to have the changing colour palette that worked extremely well. 7.5/10.
Finished reading Amazing Spider-Man: The Clone Conspiracy, bringing another Spider-Man centric event into fruition as Spider-Man finds himself fighting against the resurrection of multiple people from his past that have apparently come back from the dead. The book opens with Spider-Man at the funeral of his Aunt May's most recent husband Jay Jameson Sr where J Jonah Jameson blames Peter for his father's death for not agreeing with going with a procedure from the company New U. After the funeral Peter along with his colleague Anna Maria Marconi decide to meet with one of Peter's employees who had the procedure from New U only to discover that the employee has been taken to New U after missing his medication on a camping trip. This leads to Spider-Man going to New U's headquarters in San Francisco where he soon discovers that the company is run by his villain, the Jackal who has been busy bring the dead back to life by closing them with all their memories intact. Things take a turn when the Gwen Stacey clone is found out to be Spider-Gwen who is helping Kaine to stop New U because the world becomes a over run by zombie like creatures that Kane and Gwen have already witnessed happen on multiple parallel universes. Overall this was a great book as writer Dan Slot takes the lead in the story that see Spider-Man dealing with the return of clones affecting his life again as the action feels as important as the character interactions and development with the situations they find themselves in which also show in even within the parts of the book that is written and cowritten by Sean Ryan, Robbie Thompson and Christos Gage. The book has some great twists and turns that bring back some older characters to the Marvel Universe and sets them for the future stories especially with the reappearance of Kaine along with the surprising development and return of Ben Reilly sends the characters into some interesting directions thanks to what they have to deal with in the book and the positions it leads them. While the Silk and Prowler parts of the book are used to great effect as the give a different view to the events of the main story while also giving some of the supporting cast members more time within the book to develop and come to terms with what is happening within the story as well. The art throughout the book is great as each art team is able to bring the story to life extremely and give each part of the book it's own feel with the change of character taken centre focus while also still makes it feel like a connected part of the book. 8/10.
Finished watching Hostiles, directed by Scott Cooper and starring Rosamund Pike, Christian Bale and Wes Studi. The film open with a group if native Americans attack a family home where they steal their horses and burn the family home of Rosalie Quaid (Rosamund Pike) who was the only survivor of the attack after watching her family being killed. Later on Rosalie is soon discovered by a group of soldiers lead by Captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale) who have been tasked to escort a chief named Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family from New Mexico to their home in Montana as Yellow Hawk has been allowed to life his last days in his home by orders of the president. After helping Rosalie bury her family she joins the group as everyone begins to be more careful for any potential attack on the group. Overall this was a good film as it takes a slow start into getting into the film's main plot but once the film gets into its stride it's a pretty enjoyable film as there are some great action scenes and character moment. The multiple character interactions throughout the film are great as shows whole each character being able grow on the journey as each character begins to form relationships and respect with one another over the course of the journey. 7/10.
Finished reading Uncanny Inhumans: IVX, concluding not only the series but writer Charles Soule's time with the team and it’s related characters. The book opens with the daughters of the Inhuman Auran speaking with her partner Frank McGee about his time working with their mother. After building enough information from people who where close to Auran, Treste and Irelle head to the Quiet Room to meet with Reader in hopes that he could bring their mother back to life with is ability to make the things he reads come to life. However when Reader brings Auran back things are not what they appear when Auran's memories and personality is being contradicting with each other. The second story sees the return of Maximus as he forms a team consisting of himself, Lineage and the Unspoken as Maximus come up with the plan to create new Terrigen crystals in hope to be the hero of the war between the Inhumans and the X-Men by giving them a reason to stop fighting and the Inhuman race to continue. The final story is an epilogue to Charles Soule's time with the Inhumans as Black Bolt and Medusa begin to rebuild their relationship while reminiscing about the events that have transpired over the last few years. Overall this was a great book and it brings an end to writer Charles Soule's time with the Inhumans by wrapping up smaller stories that the series has previously been set up along with bringing some great character moments with how well the interactions and development for some characters bring some great drama and comedy. The art throughout the book is great as the story centring around Auran is able to bring the great emotional moments to life extremely well while also bring the designs of each character and the Quiet Room greatly. While the second half of the book’s art for the Maximus centric story features some hilarious visual comedy thanks to the situations that Maximus, Lineage, the Unspoken and Triton find themselves in and how they interact with one another especially when they find themselves under the sea meeting with a group of aquatic monsters. 8.5/10.
Finished reading Karnak: The Flaw in all Things, giving the spotlight to one of the main Inhuman cast members as writer Warren Ellis sees Karnak teaming up with S.H.I.E.L.D. to search for a kidnapped boy how recently discovered that he is an Inhuman. The book opens with Karnak getting a call from S.H.I.E.L.D. at the Tower of Wisdom before meeting with Phil Coulson at a S.H.I.E.L.D. substation in the Arctic where Karnak meets with the parents of their kidnapped son Adam Roderick recently went through Terrigenesis which appeared to have barely changed him. Accepting to help find Adam, Karnak begins his search in Berlin where a group named I.D.I.C. who kidnapped Adam are based where Karnak soon finds out things are not what they appear to be when he discovers that the this isn't a simple kidnapping as Karnak soon discovers what Adam's Inhuman abilities truly are and how they could have disastrous consequences on the rest of the world. Overall this was an amazing book as it sends Karnak on a solo mission to rescue an Inhuman from a kidnapping only for the book to take an intriguing and surprising turn with how the young Inhuman ends up becoming in charge to the organisation that kidnapped him as he seemingly begins his own religion thanks to how powerful his Inhuman abilities are. There are some great character interactions between Karnak and the rest of the book's cast from his working relationship with Phil Coulson to the interactions that Karnak has with Adam Roderick and his followers show how much they eventually start to get under his skin. The art throughout the book is amazing as the whole art team is able to bring the brutality of Karnak's fighting style to life extremely well thanks to the way the art focuses on the action scenes. While there is some amazing character designs within the book as some of the people that start to believe in the young Inhuman's abilities leads to some great and at times look horrifying in design which leads to some more great action scenes when Karnak has to fight these creatures. 9/10.
Finished watching Molly's Game directed by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba and Jeremy Strong. The film opens Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain) at an skiing competition where she has a dangerous fall, when the film transitions to Molly being arrested by the FBI for her underground poker games and how they might be connected to some larger criminal organisations. After getting released on bail Molly heads to New York where she meets with lawyer Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba) who eventually agrees to defend her in the trial. While this is happening the film is also interwoven with the events that lead to Molly's arrest starting from when she got a job that lead to Molly organising poker nights for her boos at the time Dean Keith (Jeremy Strong). Overall this was a great film as it delves to the world of underground poker from the view of Molly Bloom which brings some great character interactions especially within the poker room settings the film is able to bring a level of suspense to the games being played as well as the suspense with the film's main plot with Molly's impending trial. The interactions between Molly and Charlie brings a great amount of development for the characters with how two are able to work together and build a more understanding with each other that leads to same great exchanges between the two. 8/10.
Finished reading Astonishing Ant-Man: The Trial of Ant-Man, bringing an end to the series as writer Nick Spencer concludes Scott Lang's story as the book catches up with the present by show how Scott found himself back in prison. The book opens with Ant-Man's team he brought together to stop his daughter, Cassie from making the same mistake that originally sent him to prison, soon discover that Scott has been taken captive by Darren Cross. This leads to half of the group deciding to make a run with some stolen property of Cross Technological Enterprises while Cassie, Darla, Giant-Man, Machinesmith and Grizzly decide to stay and try to save Scott by breaking back into Cross Technological Enterprises. However when the remaining team are able to save Scott from Cross they soon discover that the police have been notified about the situation by Darla's own boss which leads to Scott finding himself back in prison and in need of a lawyer. The final story of the book written by Nick Giovannetti and Paul Scheer sees Drax the Destroyer chasing after an alien finds themselves in Miami as a deal for a dangerous weapon, which leads to Drax and Ant-Man teaming up to stop the deal from happening. Overall this was a great book as it concludes the series by catching up with how Ant-Man found himself back in prison and continuing the story with Scott having to call She-Hulk for help to be his defence lawyer which brings with it some great interactions between Scott and Jen especially when it's revealed who the prosecutor of the case is. The books comedy continues to be amazing as it bring some hilarious laugh out loud moments from the situations Scott finds himself in along with the way each characters interactions especially with how some of the lower tier villainous characters deal with working with Ant-Man and how they try to turn it into a win for them. The art throughout book is great as as each art team does a great job in bring Ant-Man's world to life thanks to how well the action and more character driven scenes are drawn extremely well while there is the addition of some really great visual comedy mixed in within. 8.5/10.
