It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been so moved by a piece of media (good or bad) that I just had to write about it, but that’s where we are this evening with Across the Spider-verse.
There isn’t much I can say about this movie without delving into spoilers, so I’ll begin by saying that visually this movie is unmatched. There’s a reason that animation exists as a medium and that is because you can do things with it that you cannot achieve in real life. As much as I love No Way Home and that original Spiderman trilogy, the fact of the matter is, none of those films —no matter how spectacular—is doing what Into the Spider-verse and Across the Spider-verse have done.
And while I could gush about the art style all day, the second most impressive thing is how this sequel manages to build on almost everything that was established in the first. Rio and Jefferson (Miles’ parents) have so much more to do here, they’re active characters who aren’t simply there to provide Miles with obligation and tragedy; Gwen, whose background was waved by in the first movie, has almost the same amount of screentime as Miles; and speaking of Miles, this movie allows him the chance to stand as Spiderman without Peter Parker.
To be clear, I love Peter Parker as a character. In particular, I like what Into the Spider-verse does with Peter B. Parker because it’s really the only story that allows Peter to grow up. Much as I like Tom Holland’s take on the character, I’m very much tired of teenage Peter Parker and teenage Peter Parker problems. I want to grow with him, I want to see him advance to the next stage of life, which here: means divorce, reconciliation, even a child (who we’ll get to later). That is the Peter Parker I want to see.
After this, I’m going to go into spoiler territory, but honestly my overall take from the film is that we have a Spiderman, an Afro-Latino Spiderman, who is standing his ground and making it clear that he is not Peter Parker. That’s not his struggle, his destiny or his story. Across the Spider-verse is making the statement that Miles Morales is here and he is here to stay on his own terms. And skeptics, well, they just have to accept it or move along.
And now….
First of all, Hobie is the fucking best. I am not exaggerating. He’s one of the first (and only) Spiderman to not necessarily be on Miles’ side but also not be against him. He warns him upon entering Spider society that he shouldn’t become apart of something without realizing what it is, helps him break out by telling him how best to use his power and then gives Gwen the tool necessary to further assist him.
To that end, with the exception of Jessica Drew, Miles is assisted almost entirely by the Black Spiderpeople who have known him less than a few hours. . .as opposed to Gwen and Peter B. who knew him a couple of days. I’m not saying that I no longer like their characters or even that they’re somehow intentionally racist, but there is something to be said that Gwen and Peter joined this society made up of mostly white Spiderpeople and then decided to side with said establishment over Miles who they had known personally (and who saved their lives).
Migel O’ Hara, aka Spiderman 2099, is a terrifying Spiderman and honestly his canon logic is flawed. He’s essentially surrounded himself with Spidermen who prove him right, which feels like confirmation bias but also, if you even think too hard about the established “canon” of Spidermen, it falls apart. In No Way Home (which the movie establishes is canon) all of the Peter Parkers rehabilitate their villains and while we’ll likely never receive confirmation, I’m fairly certain that those universes didn’t fall apart after they did so. Gwen’s father in this very movie, quits being Captain which means that he has avoided this canon. Peter B. tells Miles that it’s because he met him that Mayday (an absolutely ADORABLE future Spidergirl) exists. Not to mention…the Spidermen from No Way Home would most certainly not agree with that, “let one die to save many,” considering their actions and I’m fairly certain there’s a number of other Spidermen who wouldn’t.
The villain in the movie, or the main villain I should say, is named The Spot and things escalate there in a hurry. He seems relatively harmless at first but it takes ONE time for Miles to write him off as insignificant and this man loses his mind. Decides to take it incredibly personally and show Miles that he is a worthy foe. Kodos to the team for making a joke villain legitimate.
The ending where Miles goes to Earth-42 and meets Miles Morales is EPIC. I honestly cannot tell which way Prowler Miles will go considering when our Miles told him that their dad would die, he said, “your dad.” Miles isn’t necessarily a threat to him at all and maybe he’ll want to see Miles’ universe, but I can’t say one way or another.
Which is, I suppose, the best part of the movie. While I was able to call that that wasn’t Miles’ room and that Miles was probably the Prowler, there is so much more that I didn’t see coming. I don’t know how Miles will get out of the situation he’s in (though it seemed like he was going to use his venom strike) and I don’t know if he’ll be able to save his dad, it’s such a good cliffhanger because the only given at this point in time is that Miles Morales will return.
All in all, I give the movie ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of 5 and I am counting the moments until Beyond the Spiderverse comes out next March.
So Spiderman No Way Home...Yeah...(Not a Review, but a Mini-Essay that was supposed to come out before the movie)
***As a disclaimer, I wrote this on November 21st, but had a lot of things that kept me from publishing it before the review, but I’m glad I was proven right at that we finally reached the end of the “origin” of the MCU’s Spiderman***
Alright, look—I have a full-time, salaried job now so I don’t necessarily have the same amount of bandwidth to review books and movies on the weekly like I used to however I will ALWAYS make time for Spiderman and both trailers have me incredibly excited for this installment in the franchise.
That said, I feel like there’s something about this new iteration of Spiderman that I really need to get off my chest because if this is really “the Endgame of Spiderman movies,” then there is a significant problem that the MCU has yet to address and that is: this Spiderman has yet to stand on his own.
And ***spoilers*** if the rumors are true and Tobey and Andrew will be making appearances then this Spiderman will continue to be a baby Bambi Spiderboy instead of your Friendly Neighboorhood Spider-MAN.
Now full disclosure, I’ve come to like Tom Holland’s Spiderman quite a bit. Of the four, he’s third in line behind Miles and Tobey and even though it comes right before Andrew he is just...leagues ahead in my opinion but I digress. I like this version of Spiderman, I think he’s sweet, I think he is the most realistic portrayal we’ve had of a young Peter Parker however the issue with this is that they have essentially aged him down to the point where he doesn’t truly seem capable of handling any issue of his own accord.
In his debut, Civil War, he’s recruited by Iron Man to fight against Cap but if you look at the bigger picture: Sam and Bucky stop fighting him aggressively after they realize he’s a child. Tony tells him in Homecoming that Steve could’ve laid him out but chose not to (although, given Spiderman’s strength we don’t know this to be true. This kid has much more physical power than people seem to realize.) And in said movie, his “origin” movie, he spends most of his time chasing the shadow of Tony Stark. He wants to impress Tony. He wants to prove himself to Tony. And while despite this motivation he still wants to do the right thing (which is why he continues to pursue Vulture) in the end, he relies on Iron Man and Stark tech entirely too much.
In his second movie, Far From Home, he wants a break from his responsibilities as Spiderman which is understandable considering he was snapped and fought against Thanos and his army for the sake of half the universe...except, up until this point the only conflict he’s had separate from the Avengers was the Vulture and as previously stated that had more to do with Tony Stark than he ever will. Now, this movie is a lot of fun and I love the ending in which Peter learns to trust in himself.
However, if the rumors are true and this is his last outing as Spiderman in his trilogy then it feels very incomplete. I won’t know how this story wraps up until I see No Way Home but instead of feeling like a hero’s journey, Tom’s series of movies have felt like an extended introduction to him becoming Spiderman. He feels like a hero who wants to be Spiderman, but hasn’t actually come up to task yet.
Take for instance Spider-Man (or Spiderman 1) we see Peter as a bullied nerd, we see him experiment with his powers and then we see his defining moment that takes him from “kid who got bit by a spider,” to “superhero who takes on the responsibility of saving New York.” This moment is, choosing to let a robber go and then Uncle Ben dying as a result. He goes to kill the guy, realizes that he is responsible and then takes on his role of the city’s protector.
For all the readers out there, this is going to be a SPOILER review of Spiderman: No Way Home. I will give fair warning before it happens and will put it under a cut, but please be warned that I will be discussing major plot points in the movie, the ending and things not shown in the trailer.
And I say these things because I want to provide some context for this review with a few points. The first, I haven't felt moved to review a movie since Space Jam or In the Heights (whichever came out first.) The second, I haven't physically been to a movie theater since I took my son to see Sonic the Hedgehog back in February of 2020. The third, I have only gone back to the theater and paid extra money to see a movie more than once a handful of times. Those movies were: Into the Spiderverse, Kubo and the Two Strings, Infinity War and Black Panther. The fourth, Spider-Man is the first movie I ever saw in theaters and he is my favorite superhero of all time.
So when you read this review please use those points to understand, where I'm coming from, what my biases are, and what expectations I might have had going into this movie.
And ALLLL of that said, I f*cking loved this movie, I can't wait to see it again, it addressed all of the issues I had with this iteration of Spiderman on-screen and it took me back to the place of being six years old and seeing Spiderman for the first time.
Easily
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of ten stars.
And now...spoilers below the cut:
This is a whammy of a movie that starts off pretty standard for MCU Spiderman (lighthearted, jokey, fun!) and then around the one hour mark becomes an emotional, heart-wrenching tragedy.
One of my major gripes with this version of Spiderman was that I felt like he had things far too easy. He was sponsored by Tony Stark, taken in by the Avengers, loved by the public. There was no sense of accountability or responsibility, and none of his actions really had consequences. He was just cool, young Spider-boy. Costing along with everything going okay, but then he receives his "Uncle Ben" moment, when Goblin kills May at the beginning of the second act.
And let me tell you.
Another gripe I had not with just Spiderman, but the MCU in general is the use of CGI fights. I will always call back to that scene in the original Spiderman when the Green Goblin is just viciously whopping Peter's ass. It felt raw, it felt real and honestly six year old me didn't know if Peter was gonna make it through and they bring that rawness back with the presence of the Goblin. He beats the ever-loving shit out of Peter Parker, kills his Aunt and later in the movie tries to kill MJ.
And to that point, the Goblin is easily the best villain in this movie. He's very Joker-esque in that he essentially wants to make Peter bitter and mean by taking away the things he loves the most to the point that towards the end of the movie when Peter is getting his revenge he doesn't even seem to broken up about the punches to the face.
But I know what you want to hear. You want to know if Tobey and Andrew return and yes, dear reader, they do.
And another full disclosure, I've never really been a fan of Andrew Garfield's Spiderman. I thought he was an asshole.
However, seeing the three of them interact you begin to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each iteration of Spiderman. Tobey's was incredibly sincere and has the most balance out of all of them, but seemed the most tired. Andrew's was rough, but felt driven to do the right thing and was bitter about his losses. And Tom was just starting out, and was learning his lessons the hard way. You can't save everybody, you can't have everything, and being Spiderman comes at a cost where you have to learn that being responsible means understanding the impact you have on the lives of people you love.
I won't spoil the ending because it really needs to seen and experienced--but what I will do is list my favorite moments:
1. Doc Ock capturing Peter and saying, "you're not Peter."
2. Doc Ock revealing that Norman is dead
3. Peter using math to trap Dr. Strange in the Mirror Dimension
4. The first fight between Peter and the Goblin
5. The entrances of Spiderman 2 and Spiderman 3
6. The talks between the Spideys
7. Peter seeing Doc Ock and them having a small heart to heart
8. Peter 2 (Tobey) stepping in to stop Peter 1 (Tom) from killing the Goblin
9. Doc Ock saving the Spidermen from Electro
10. Peter 3 (Andrew) saving MJ and then crying because he couldn't do the same for Gwen
This movie works because it essentially makes the bold move of turning Tom’s trilogy into a slow burn. Homecoming, Far From Home and now No Way Home are now a complete origin story that sets Spiderman up to be the superhero that Spiderman is supposed to be.
This is the most excited I’ve been about Spiderman in a LONG time and me and mini-me will be seeing the movie again next week!
Side Note: I’ll also post an essay I had written and was supposed to post before the movie came out, but wasn’t able to. 😅
I know that WandaVision was the first of the Disney+ Marvel shows to air, but hey, I have a full time salaried job now and sometimes I'm just too darn tired to write these things out.
Now--my review of the Marvel shows won't be on an episode to episode basis like I did in prior years for Rick and Morty and Insecure; and the reason for this is that these shows go by so quickly that there isn't really a point to doing them in succession--all of that out of the way, this was the show I was most hyped for and this is the show I liked the most (save for the ending I think it's the weakest of the three) and here's why:
We have not had a good superhero couple since the Raimi trilogy. And I know that each of the modern heroes has been paired off with a Strong Independent Woman™ but with the exception of T'Challa and Nakia and this current iteration of Peter Parker and Michelle Jones, I just cannot be bothered. Scarlet Witch and Vision are the first legitimate loving superhero couple I've seen on screen since 2007 and I loved them. I wasn't interested in this show for any other reason--not for hints about the future of the MCU, not for cameos--than to see Wanda and Vision living together as a couple. I find them adorable.
I liked that although there was a budding mystery about what Westview was and how Wanda and Vision got there given his death in Infinity War, at the end of the day this show was about these two people and how they relate to each other. That is why this is the strongest of all the MCU shows thus far. Quite frankly, when you take away that ending and perhaps that explanation episode, this show reminded me of the original Spiderman trilogy because it felt grounded and self-contained.
And now I suppose I have to talk about why I'm not a fan of the ending. I like White Vision and Vishawn talking. I like the conversation that takes place between the pair as Westfield comes down. What I don't like, is everything that comes around and in the middle of this. And here's why: it's just a big ol' CGI mash fest and we didn't need it. Yes, the threat of Agatha needed to be dealt with, but the nonsensical throwing magic back and forth and the punch-out between the two Visions wasn't needed. Like Black Panther you could've allowed the drama and emotional stakes of the narrative take center stage, but because this is Marvel...we couldn't just have a quiet moment.
Then again, given how much people speculated and came up with theories about how this show would introduce Mephisto and bring in mutants or Reed Richards, I don't think that the studio feels it can afford to have quiet uninterrupted moments.
I wish it were coming back for Season Two, but given what we got I give Wandavision ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ out of five.
Let me start by saying Space Jam 2 slander will not be tolerated here. I read reviews dogging this movie like it was the worst movie ever put to film. People went on and on about how “Michael Jordan was SOOO much better,” and how this movie was just, “one big advertisement.” Mind you, Daffy Duck kissed his WARNER BROTHERS’ stamped ASS in the first movie.
That out of the way, this is probably the most fun I’ve had with a new movie since The Peanuts Movie a few years back. I was admittedly worried by the fact that the Tunes were 3D and it did seem like Warner Brothers was just parading around IP but having watched the original and this back to back, I can’t say that one is any more commercialistic than the other.
And honestly, the movies are so similar that anyone who says that the first one is so much better is incredibly biased towards Lebron.
Let’s look at the plots.
Beginning:
Space Jam 1: We open with little Michael playing basketball before having a talk with his dad laying out his plans for himself. Cue montage of Michael through the ages. Cut to Moron Mountain where the conflict is introduced: they want the Looney Tunes to come work for them
Space Jam 2: We open with little Lebron at practice, talking to his mom, coach and friends. Cue montage of Lebron through the ages. Cut to Warner Brothers Studios where the AI spells out why he wants Leron James.
Middle:
Space Jam 1: The aliens go to the Looney Tunes’ world to capture them, the Looney Tunes challenge them to basketball. The aliens steal the talent of five players, causing the Tunes to kidnap Michael Jordan. Bugs explains the issue, Michael agrees. The aliens turn Michael into a basketball, the Tunes go to his house to get his shorts.
Space Jam 2: Lebron tells his son he needs to focus more on basketball and is then invited to Warner Brothers Studios where he offends the AI and him and his son are kidnapped. The AI challenges him to a basketball game and sends him to Tune World because they are “rejects.” Lebron meets Bugs, explains the issue and Bugs agrees to help. Bugs and Lebron go to get the Tunes from different worlds
3rd Act/Ending:
Space Jam 1: The basketball game starts and the Monstars have a lead. The team is down so they go to the locker room at halftime and Michael gives them a pep talk, they go back out and catch up. The boss gets upset and Michael says he’ll take the place of the Tunes. The bad guys start winning again, but there’s a last minute win. Michael goes home and gets cheered on, gives the other players their talent.
Space Jam 2: AI brings in an audience, the game starts and Lebron realizes he’s playing against his son. He’s pushing the Tunes too hard and they end up behind. They go to the locker room at halftime and then Lebron has to realize he’s being a bad dad and encourages the Tunes to be themselves. They get a lead and the bad guy gets upset and begins to cheat. Lebron’s son tells him about a glitch and Bugs performs it so they can win. The Tunes win, AI is defeated, Lebron learns to be a better father
Like, these are basically the same movie with updated technology and players. And believe me when I say, I LOVE Space Jam—but don’t ask me to call it a good movie because it 100% is not and in all honesty, A New Legacy fixes a lot of the problems from the original.
For instance—even though multiple people see Michael Jordan SUCKED DOWN A GOLFHOLE—they don’t do anything about it. They go about their game, say, “Hope he’s okay,” and go home. We see the transition from day to night so even his wife seemed to forget the biggest athlete in the world at the time. In this, security AND his wife notice and it gives her a reason to be at the basketball game.
And another thing—MICHAEL JORDAN HAS NO REASON TO HELP THE TUNES—specifically, he has no reason to offer himself up in their place because what happens between the two parties doesn’t affect him or the Earth at large. New Legacy gives Lebron a reason to be in Tune World, it makes it so he’s the one who needs help, and it gives stakes to the outcome of the game.
There’s a few more instances like that which is a long way of saying: Space Jam: A New Legacy is not the massive failure it’s being made out to be. It’s incredibly fun, it’s upbeat and it’s the most 2D animation I’ve seen on the big screen in over a decade. I think me and my partner actually enjoyed it more than our son (9) did, because we have more of an emotional connection with the Looney Tunes.
Lebron is not the Denzel of our time, but when he’s interacting with the Tunes he’s incredibly sincere (something that Michael DID not do in the original, he barely interacts with them) and in those moments he has to play Dad, he is at least 60% believable.
I also like Don Cheadle a whole lot more than I do the alien’s boss (even though it’s really bizarre that with all that IP NO ONE recognizes Don Cheadle) and I like that there’s an explanation given for why the basketball game can include such looniness. It’s about style, not necessarily the rules.
And for those who want to talk about the commercialism….in the original, when Stan comes to get Jordan he says the name of FIVE different companies in one sentence. They CONSTANTLY bring attention to Mike’s shoes, and as previously mentioned—Daffy kisses his own ass. While they do have other IP on screen in this movie, it honestly seemed like something the Tunes would do if they could interact with other Warner Brothers characters. It was looney and in good fun.
The bottom line of the longest review I will have ever written in my life—is that fun is fun. Space Jam doesn’t need to be high art, it can be a 95 minute romp with a basketball player and a cartoon bunny and that can be the end of it.
In the Heights, Colorism, and the Legacy of Lin Manuel Miranda
The last few days Twitter has been ablaze with discourse about the lack of Afro-Latinx representation in In the Heights. And while I am just another voice on the internet who no one asked an opinion from, I’m going to give it out anyway.
I think the backlash that Lin is getting is uncalled for.
And before I proceed any further, I want to be clear about which backlash I’m talking about. I will never tell anyone that they don’t deserve to be seen and feel represented–I’m sure if the Black Panther trailer had come out and it was a majority light-skinned cast, we all would’ve felt some type of way–HOWEVER, what I am 100% not for is all the insults directed specifically at Lin and his work.
Over the weekend, I saw people say he was anti-Black, racist, that he didn’t show support for Black Lives Matter (which he did many times tweeting out the names of those who had been killed by police, talking about how he was against police brutality, making a video specifically saying that Hamilton was his responsibility and that his production supported the movement) and more laughably, that Hamilton was a bad piece of theater and that Lin himself was not only a terrible person but a terrible writer. Have whatever feelings you have about the issue of colorism–but to say “The Room Where It Happens,” “Satisfied,” and “Wait For It,” are not exceptional pieces of music is just petty.
Criticism of the movie has stemmed from the fact that none of the lead roles were dark-skinned or Afro-Latinos. The leads of the musical are Usnavi (and that role was always going to Anthony Ramos), Sonny, Benny, Nina and Vanessa. I consider the salon ladies secondary, but that’s just me and here’s how I feel about it.
Personally, as someone who is Black/Filipino, given the narrative of the musical, I always thought that not having any dark-skinned or Black characters in the main cast was intentional to drive home the prejudice of Nina’s father who doesn’t accept Benny because he’s not Latino. In those two roles specifically, that narrative point doesn’t work if Benny is actually Latino and Nina is Afro-Latina. It would defeat this point. Now granted, in the movie for some reason they drop this from the story (it was one of the cons I mentioned in my review) so in this version Nina could’ve been Afro-Latina and really, Vanessa could’ve been as well (I thought Karen from the original production was but she’s not) and wanting to see more representation from those two characters is completely valid.
Now, I can’t speak for John Chu who really put his foot in his mouth over the weekend (although I will say that I also don’t agree with the issue of not casting South Asians in Crazy Rich Asians. If anyone who brings this up had read any of the books, they’d know that that is a major plot point. These people are classist and colorist. They want all of their children to have fair skin, they look down on those who aren’t. I mean this very literally when I say that it wouldn’t have made sense in this specific case because if the family would’ve had no problem with South Asians, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Nick’s girlfriend being American Chinese) and really, I can’t speak for Lin–I don’t know the guy.
However, when I look at In the Heights as a stage musical and as a movie, I don’t see something that was written to maliciously exclude Afro-Latinos. I am not Latino, so maybe I don’t have the right to speak on it, but every time I’ve listened/seen the show, I always walked away feeling happy for the Latino community because it felt like a celebration of who they are and in this sense, if something is supposed to be a celebration of your community and you are not represented I 100% understand feeling slighted but I don’t agree with coming for the man’s career, questioning his integrity and basically calling him a piece of shit.
I also don’t agree with saying the apology was bullshit–either we want people to grow or we don’t. Either people can fuck up and work towards being better people or they can’t. So unless you’re expecting everyone to come out the womb, knowing exactly what to do with a perfect moral compass and knowledge of how to navigate through these things then it’s a little baffling for you to say you’re upset about something, be given an apology and a promise to do better, and then say, “That’s not good enough.”
But again, this is just my long two cents about the situation.
I sometimes really wish people would just read before replying so I'm going to put in bold two things I clearly said:
"I want to be clear about what backlash I'm talking about...I am 100% not for all the insults directed specifically at Lin and his work."
"...Wanting to see more representation from (Nina and Vanessa) is totally valid."
And this one is the most pressing:
"If something is supposed to be a representation of your culture and you are not represented I 100% understand feeling slighted."
Absolutely nowhere, NOWHERE, in this post did I say that Afro-Latinx were wrong for wanting more representation in the movie, I didn't say they needed to wait for representation and I damn sure didn't say if didn't matter. What I said was that I DID NOT AGREE with the coming for this man's career, as though he didn't open doors for POC on Broadway, as though In the Heights WASN'T an attempt to celebrate the Latinx culture.
For the love of god please READ before you make a complaint. And if you're going to say I'm gaslighting or saying that the criticism of not having dark-skinned Latinos is perfectly fine; please use my actual words and not your interpretation of them.
In the Heights, Colorism, and the Legacy of Lin Manuel Miranda
The last few days Twitter has been ablaze with discourse about the lack of Afro-Latinx representation in In the Heights. And while I am just another voice on the internet who no one asked an opinion from, I’m going to give it out anyway.
I think the backlash that Lin is getting is uncalled for.
And before I proceed any further, I want to be clear about which backlash I’m talking about. I will never tell anyone that they don’t deserve to be seen and feel represented--I’m sure if the Black Panther trailer had come out and it was a majority light-skinned cast, we all would’ve felt some type of way--HOWEVER, what I am 100% not for is all the insults directed specifically at Lin and his work.
Over the weekend, I saw people say he was anti-Black, racist, that he didn’t show support for Black Lives Matter (which he did many times tweeting out the names of those who had been killed by police, talking about how he was against police brutality, making a video specifically saying that Hamilton was his responsibility and that his production supported the movement) and more laughably, that Hamilton was a bad piece of theater and that Lin himself was not only a terrible person but a terrible writer. Have whatever feelings you have about the issue of colorism--but to say “The Room Where It Happens,” “Satisfied,” and “Wait For It,” are not exceptional pieces of music is just petty.
Criticism of the movie has stemmed from the fact that none of the lead roles were dark-skinned or Afro-Latinos. The leads of the musical are Usnavi (and that role was always going to Anthony Ramos), Sonny, Benny, Nina and Vanessa. I consider the salon ladies secondary, but that’s just me and here’s how I feel about it.
Personally, as someone who is Black/Filipino, given the narrative of the musical, I always thought that not having any dark-skinned or Black characters in the main cast was intentional to drive home the prejudice of Nina’s father who doesn’t accept Benny because he’s not Latino. In those two roles specifically, that narrative point doesn’t work if Benny is actually Latino and Nina is Afro-Latina. It would defeat this point. Now granted, in the movie for some reason they drop this from the story (it was one of the cons I mentioned in my review) so in this version Nina could’ve been Afro-Latina and really, Vanessa could’ve been as well (I thought Karen from the original production was but she’s not) and wanting to see more representation from those two characters is completely valid.
Now, I can’t speak for John Chu who really put his foot in his mouth over the weekend (although I will say that I also don’t agree with the issue of not casting South Asians in Crazy Rich Asians. If anyone who brings this up had read any of the books, they’d know that that is a major plot point. These people are classist and colorist. They want all of their children to have fair skin, they look down on those who aren’t. I mean this very literally when I say that it wouldn’t have made sense in this specific case because if the family would’ve had no problem with South Asians, they wouldn’t have had a problem with Nick’s girlfriend being American Chinese) and really, I can’t speak for Lin--I don’t know the guy.
However, when I look at In the Heights as a stage musical and as a movie, I don’t see something that was written to maliciously exclude Afro-Latinos. I am not Latino, so maybe I don’t have the right to speak on it, but every time I’ve listened/seen the show, I always walked away feeling happy for the Latino community because it felt like a celebration of who they are and in this sense, if something is supposed to be a celebration of your community and you are not represented I 100% understand feeling slighted but I don’t agree with coming for the man’s career, questioning his integrity and basically calling him a piece of shit.
I also don’t agree with saying the apology was bullshit--either we want people to grow or we don’t. Either people can fuck up and work towards being better people or they can’t. So unless you’re expecting everyone to come out the womb, knowing exactly what to do with a perfect moral compass and knowledge of how to navigate through these things then it’s a little baffling for you to say you’re upset about something, be given an apology and a promise to do better, and then say, “That’s not good enough.”
But again, this is just my long two cents about the situation.
I have not written a new review since the pandemic began but with the premiere of In the Heights
My score: 7.5/10
Before I even get started with this review I want to state the obvious: In the Heights is not Hamilton and Hamilton is not In the Heights. The later is a celebration of a culture and people and the former is actually trying to tell a cohesive story. If you were to ask me which is the better musical, my answer is obviously going to be Hamilton. As his first musical, In the Heights captured the blazing potential of all the things Lin Manuel Miranda could do, however the plot is thin and not every song serves the story as well as they do in Hamilton.
That said--if you were to ask me which one I enjoy more, which one gets the biggest emotional response from me--the answer is In the Heights. Nothing in Hamilton gives me a sense of pride and community like "Carnaval Del Barro" or an understanding of being poor and trying to make it like, "96,000." "Satisfied," "My Shot" "Yorktown," are all technical masterpieces but don't quite hit that same emotional beat, and the only two songs that come close are "Wait for It" and "Dear Theodosia."
Now, with context out of the way, I want to talk about everything I loved about this movie before I delve into some of the cons.
First, Anthony Ramos. I think he made a terrific Usnavi. Second, the production design. Every single number burst with life and even the poor streets look like a charming place to be. Third, the direction. I believe John Chu also did Crazy Rich Asians and it shows. While I know Lindsay Ellis is something of a controversial person right now, in her review of 2019's Cats she was absolutely right. The movie musical that's grounded in realism needs to crash and burn and from the ashes we need to rebuild with something better. This movie with all it's bright, popping hopefulness gave me such Moulin Rogue vibes I almost cried.
So what is it that I didn't like?
Everything that disappointed me about this movie can be summed up in "The Club/Blackout." I kept trying to figure out what was bugging me up until this point and it was when "Blackout" starts that I finally figured it out--they essentially sanitized any of the harshness that was present in the musical.
See in the musical, leading up to the club Nina and her father get in an argument where she tells him why she left Stanford and he throws Benny out of their home telling him that he will never be apart of their family because he's Black. He doesn't actually use the word, but he tells him he isn't apart of their culture and never will be which causes Nina to storm out of her house after Benny. They end up meeting in the club and then Benny and Nina get into an argument because he's furious over losing his job and being harshly judged by her father. Usnavi on the other hand is on his date with Vanessa, and she is upset that he doesn't mind her dancing with other men and he also becomes jealous. At this point, another man starts hitting on Nina, Benny punches him and fight breaks out and then BOOM power goes out. End result is that Usnavi leaves the club to make sure Abuela's alright, Sony and Graffiti Pete go to protect the bodega from looters, and Nina and Benny reconcile with Nina spending the night at Benny's and act two opening with them in post-coital bliss standing on a fire-escape.
In the movie...not so much. First off they killed off Nina's mom which I don't understand in the slightest. My only assumption is that they had to do this because making her dad an asshole with no one to play off of would've made him unlikeable--but in doing so, they made her dad a stern but ultimately loving father who actually likes Benny and doesn't mind him dating Nina and only wants what's best for his daughter when in the musical, he seems a bit controlling and stubborn. Secondly, instead of Usnavi leaving the club and going to check on Abeula on his own (where she then tells him about winning the lottery), HE gets into an argument with Vanessa about her dancing with men and then she leaves. "Blackout" doesn't end with Nina and Benny kissing or her going back to his apartment, instead he goes to the dispatch where Nina's father finds him and they work to navigate the neighborhood.
Now, if I wasn't so familiar with the musical, I probably wouldn't care. But there was something genuine about how Nina and Benny wanted to be together, how Usnavi and Vanessa just weren't great at communicating their feelings, and the reality that they DO live in the ghetto that was missing from this adaptation. In certain ways, it feels too accepting and too sweet to where there isn't really a point of conflict, even with the looming theme of gentrification.
And I suppose the last thing that kept this from being a 10 out of 10 movie for me is that the actresses for Vanessa and Nina just weren't that great. Their voices didn't really seem to fit the music and they were just there to be pretty. This affects Vanessa far more than Nina because in the musical, while she certainly has an edge there are several moments where she shows a softness towards Usnavi (particularly in "It Won't Be Long Now") but she was so standoffish in the movie, it was almost as though the character didn't like where she lived, the neighborhood she grew up in or the people she was around which isn't the vibe that I got from her in the original. As a result, I don't buy this Usnavi and Vanessa. They don't seem compatible.
As far as Nina, in the movie they make the reason for her leaving Stanford that there was racism and she didn't feel like she could handle it. That is actually a 100% valid reason to want to leave college (it's why I transferred my third year) but she doesn't really do anything but softly object to her father. She seems like a pushover, whereas in the musical, she seemed more ashamed of the fact that she couldn't afford college, didn't want to put that burden on her parents and was willing to fight for her relationship with Benny by being openly defiant.
By this point in my review, if you're still reading, you might be asking yourself if I even liked this movie at all if I'm so vocal about what I didn't like--and the answer is, yes I did. It's hard to describe to someone who's not a person of color, but there's a certain joy you feel for another community when they're able to have something of their own to celebrate. We had it with Black Panther, the Asian American community had Crazy Rich Asians and now the Latino/Chicano/Mexican community has this and it feels good to see such a proud display and celebration of who they are. "Carnaval Del Barrio" will always have my heart for this exact reason and despite the changes to the source material, In the Heights is one of the most sincere and heartfelt movies that I've seen in a very long time; it is beautiful to look at and if you want a movie that feels like summer and will lift your spirit, I 100% recommend you go out and give it a watch.
How this show managed to slip through my fingers is beyond me but holy hell is Adventure Time great. I recently binge watched the show with my son and his father and now that I have I wanted to talk about my overall opinion of the show, but also how I feel it compares with Steven Universe.
My first immediate thought is that I now understand why Adventure Time became a thing. It’s reminiscent of an early 90s Nicktoon (ironically Nickelodeon passed on the series) but is more fluid in its animation and is just so...weird. And I suppose I have to qualify weird, because Steven Universe could be weird. Gumball is weird. Adventure Time is just organized chaos and while that may sound like a contradiction, what I mean is that there is so much that seems to come out of nowhere and be random that comes back in significant ways later on.
This show is almost deceptive in it’s true intentions by how bubbly, cute and bright colored everything is because very quickly you come to find that the characters in Adventure Time aren’t really nice. Princess Bubblegum is a prime example, I kept trying to figure out why she didn’t sit with me and the further I got into the series the more I realized that most of her actions were surface level nice but ultimately questionable. She rules over a kingdom where the citizens have very little free will or the ability to think critically. And this is in no way a knock against the series, I think the deceptiveness works in its favor but the only thing that hasn’t sat very well with me is the ending.
Maybe it’s because of how big the world seems or how endless the possibilities were, but Adventure Time never seemed like a show that should have a definitive ending and The Great Gum war seemed to come a bit out of nowhere to me. It wasn’t as built up as other points had been so while I enjoy the overall message (that adventures will always continue) I felt like the series needed more. Which brings me to my comparison with Steven Universe/Steven Universe Future.
One could argue that Adventure Time didn’t have the overarching story that Steven Universe did, but one thing Steven Universe had over Adventure Time was its ending. For a show that consistently shed light on mental illness, it made sense that Steven, savior to all, would be suffering from PTSD himself and have some sort of mental break. Having the show end with the teen hero getting the love and support he needs felt like where this story needed to go.
On the whole, I’d say that AT was more consistent in its storytelling but SU stuck the better landing thematically.
Both are great and I love them for different reasons but yeah, this was my opinion of a show everyone else has already seen!
