Kevin DeKlerk – Google

Spoiler alert: This review contains spoilers. I hated that James Bond dies, especially because there were other parts of the island that seemed to be safe but he just had to have his body blown up into a millions pieces to ensure he never comes back. Other than that, I really enjoyed this bond film. It had a lot of the kind of continuous action that makes a James Bond film. Lots of bullets, destruction, cool gadgets and vehicles. Loved the stealth glider to sub. Daniel Craig is the last James Bond. This film kills off more than just Bond himself to ensure his story is dead and can never be rebooted. It is an end of an era and seems the future bond will be more politically correct. The powers that be have decided to end the James Bond films and there is likely a new future 007 set of films that will have a new generation of fans.

This is really a better example of how an existing franchise can be made more contemporary. DC and Marvel have in the past dealt with social issues, inclusion and diversity - particularly using themes of super powers, alien species, mutation and meta human abilities to highlight prejudice, being different, accountability, acceptance and tolerance. If there is any form of political messaging or agenda, it doesn't have any prominence and you don't feel sick from anything being forced or socially engineered. Young Justice has appealing and relatable characters and personalities. It doesn't distract the audience from the story telling with cringe worthy details the way Kevin Smith's Master of the Universe does or the characters and scenarios in Star Trek Discovery. The animation is more like the stylized comics and Batman Beyond feel and other DC animations - but improved as one would expect. So while staying true to what one expects from DC animation, there are improvements - particularly with the use of light and color. It reminds me of when we saw Guardians of the Galaxy. The cosmic universe theme provided the perfect way to introduce bright colors that reminds one of the childhood comic experience. While I have been more of a Marvel comic fan than DC, this is one of my favorite DC series. I really hope we see many seasons of this and that it sticks to what works and doesn't get used for social engineering. I am not a fan of the way aliens are depicted. It is a problem in many other franchises. Do they always have to look like insects, skeletons, and reptiles? In Halo, the Bungie version of Forerunners had an advanced humanoid suit and then 343's incarnation of the aliens in the suit were a cross between vampires and skeletons. It seems like a Hollywood formula like adding zombies. These are not big flaws as overall, this is one of the better animation series.

This is an even more fun movie to watch in 2021. With all the rubbish of Foundations, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Trek Kelvin Timeline and Discovery - John Carter is what sci-fi and fantasy movies are about ... fans, fun and escapism with appealing characters, a flowing plot and good editing, quality cinematography, special effects and design that is consistent and immersive. This is why LadyHawke had a cult following years after and why those who watch it like it despite what the media and so-called professional critics say. Read the reviews of those who actually watched the film and had fun watching it, not the PR machinery or the media that didn't benefit from the bad marketing. Enjoy this one - you can watch it again and again and will appreciate it more.

There is a lot I like about this series. Overall, I like the way it focuses on some of the characters in the story. It is slow paced but well edited enough that you still want to know the fate of the characters. But there are some critical decisions that were made that make you wonder about the logic of the film makers - like a school bus going off a cliff that should have killed everyone in it but somehow the kids survive with minor injuries.

This is a very innovative animated series. It has a mix of anime and French animation styles. Like newer innovations, it makes use of improved lighting and environments. The social themes of inequality are contemporary and relatable. While the central themes involve inequality, social dynamics, conflicts and politics - its doesn't feel like there is any messaging; that it is forced; has political agenda; cringe worthy or pretentious. The story telling is thoughtful but rides the edge of being convoluted. It balances the broader social context and premise with the more personal stories of transformation. It deals with personal trauma and internal conflicts but doesn't allow the drama to detract from the action that the audience is expecting from this animated series. It has many lessons on how an epic like Foundations that is more about a broader society and system, can incorporate a character based story that drives the series from one episode to the next. I like the animation style. The graphics and visuals are interesting in that it mixes a western steam punk with a very subtle film noir tone but not as stylized like Borderlands the video game. The hues and tones of the visuals somehow works and the way the action, speed and framing, the explosions and destruction of the environment, the angles and perspective and how it all feels - just works and is interesting. I wasn't feeling the pacing at times but not badly enough that I wanted to skip through it.

I can't help but feel that the Eternals is the turning point of the MCU. The end of the golden age of a cohesive story line and that the subsequent mess of the Marvel Phase 4 stories will see a rapid decline in the MCU, - taken over by the same kind of modern day franchise killing "creatives" that made Star Trek, Star Wars, He-Man, Foundations, Transformers and other beloved source material an absolute nonsensical, boring, cliche story telling and CGI driven messes. A would have graded this a 3 star but it was such a let down and disappointment. The movie has some great visuals but CGI is awful and it is like so many modern films that is shot with so many dark scenes that work only for relevant themes like Batman. The Deviants are a wired CGI mess just like the Transformers. But making Ikaris the villain - killing and trying to kill the other Eternals is unforgivable writing and is what follows other franchise killers like Star Trek Discovery. When he says "I will kill everyone of you if I have to", it is perhaps the real mantra of the current crop of writers and creatives. In the spirit of Rian Johnson, why give the fans what they want? These aren't the Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy you love, the characters aren't likable in the end and this seems more like a fantasy like Wonder Woman 1984 that should just be forgotten or similar to Sentry whose existence was forgotten. Hopefully, the Kang story line will wipe it out of existence in the MCU and their story line has no consequence. If this has any consequence in the MCU and is the foundation for Phase 4 then the whole Phase 4 is a mess. Eternals maybe the turning point that makes the DCEU better than the MCU in the coming years. Zach Snyder may end up bringing the DCEU more true to its origin and we may see the MCU becoming the mess that the DCEU has been.

It is hard to get through an episode of Foundation. In contrast, I just recently watched Dune 2021 and really enjoyed it so you should try and compare to see. For me they are two extreme ends of the spectrum but others seem to have enjoyed Foundation and I have also read the same criticisms I have for Foundation in reviews of Dune 2021. Almost everything I thought was bad about Foundation, Dune provided the example of what I would have defined as good. The editing, pacing and story telling was more coherent and artistic in Dune compared to Foundations. The visual effects, cinematic, costume design, architecture, technologies, etc. were more thoughtful in Dune whereas Foundation was all over the place. Foundations characters are pretentious and awful whereas the Dune characters you felt more invested and interested in. But I have read reviews that say the exact opposite of each film so unlike me, you could very well enjoy Foundation and think Dune was terrible.