8-10-25

lately I've been pretty busy, and mostly reading old x-men back issues from the 90s. I did, of course, watch the new superman and fantastic four movies.

superman

I considered writing some thoughts about superman after I first watched it, but it was before the official release, and I already knew i was going to see it again, so i held off. Even after seeing this movie a few times, I cant come up with anything interesting or intelligent to say about it, especially not anything that has yet to be said.

Obviously, the hopeful tone of this movie that has led many to labeling it "hopecore," is one of its most notable attributes. I also believe that it does a great job showcasing superman as a charcter, as well as the world of james gunn's dcu. In personal conversations Ive compare this film to an open window--it shows you just a piece of the vast world outside, and from that piece you can speculate what the rest of that world will be like. While its far from a perfect film, I find that this movie serves it's intended purpose spectacularly well, and perhaps more importantly, it resonated with people very strongly, which is arguably far more impressive than any technical writing feats.

Needless to say, it released at a very culturaly appropriate time, and Im hoping that the way it seems to have resonated with audiences provides a meaningful shift in public demeanor-- no matter how small.

The political messages in the new superman are crucial-- a big blockbuster film of its kind taking such an overtly pro-palestinian stance forces the american public to face a reality that they have, as a whole, chosen to look away from. Lex Luthor being the main antagonist here (aside from just being a great, long overdue, adaptation of the character) provides a sense of irony as he invokes the peersona of billionare tech-bros akin to musk and bezos. And as gunn himself stated, this movie is in some ways, an immigrant film. Superman grapples with his hertitage and identity, as billionares and the american government target him for being an 'alien.' I do question though, why with these parallels drawn, (deliberatly so-- if we're to belive what Gunn said prior to the film's release) the narrative choses to demonize the kryptonians. I hold back on making more serious critisicm here, only because I suspect that this will be retconned later. (Specifically becasue the new supergirl movie that has been announced is based off of Woman of Tomorrow, and kara's positive experiences on krypton are not only vital to her charcter, but to that story in particular.) I also want to shout out the portrayl of Mr. Terrific here, as I was not expecting him to have such huge role in the movie, and its really refreshing to see one of DC's most prominent black characters from the comics get the treatment that he deserves in film. Similarly, the treatment of Lois lane's character was also deserving of her long history as one of DC's most iconic female charcters, especially one that is so often mistakenly relegated to a damsel in distress.

There is much more i could say about Superman (2025), and overtime I may have more to add, but in genreal, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I belive that in many years it will still be looked back on, if only because it was so notable and relevant to the time that it was created.

fantastic four.

I want to add more later, but yeah this was pretty good. Not nearly as good as superman, about as good as thunderbolts. Which is to say- a huge step in the right direction for the current MCU, but still pretty lacking. (In fact I'd argue that Thunderbolts was better as it's positive points didnt feel as overshadowed by its flaws, but that is also because it had a lot less riding on it.) There is an unfortunate corporate feeling about FF first steps that I cant quite shake. The cynic in me beleives that the modern marvel movies are doomed to always feel a little bit too intentionally curated or "corporate" simply because of Disney's involvement, but I'm hopeful that executives will eventually understand that good, genuine creativiy will generate them more money than planning, pandering, and corporate involvement. (another reason I slightly preferred thunderbolts-- it felt marginally less disney than FF, likely because the company wasnt expecting a lot from it and the creative team was able to have a bit more freedom to express themselves.)

let god sort 'em out (Clipse)

I love listening to music, but talking about music inexplicably bores me, so Ill keep it brief. I really enjoyed Clipse's let god sort em out. When they first released the music video for "so be it," I was already entranced. There was something instantly iconic about it. Even though it may not make much sense, this album really spoke to my love of gothic sensibilities, and perhaps thats in large part because the lense through which I was introduced to it was the "so be it" MV. The music video is filmed in black and white at a giant gothic-looking mansion. Many of the shots appear to have been taken at night. The instrumentals open up with a slightly distorted sample from Saudi Arabian musician Talal Maddah. Throughout the track, the strings play a haunting melody, often accompanied by abstract visuals in the MV. The rest of the album delivers on the emotional, moody, and dramatic aura. My personal favorite track- Chains and Whips, starts with a sound akin to a swing screaking, and an intense repeated bass ( or perhaps guitair?) riff. And of course, while on the topic of Chains and Whips, the features on this album delivered. Honestly, nothing I can say about this album would even begin to convey the experience of actually listening to it, so i'll cut it there.