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Hunter Panoch Director of Photo Memories (2024) and How The Arrow Landed (2023)
Ratings
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Reviews
What If...? (2021)
What If S2: My Twitter Thread Review In IMDB Form
Ep 1: Nebula in the Novacorp
Didn't add anything substantial and wasn't over all a totally necessary addition to the MCU, I'm a little (very) confused as to why they made this the opening episode. That being said- it is always lovely to hear Karen Gillian back as Neb, and I am a pretty big Yondu fan. So that was the only two redeeming qualities. The other additional characters were boring, and the story uninteresting. (C-)
Ep 2: 1980s Avengers
WOW a shockingly great line up. A great concept, with a stellar turn out of the voice actors. Like 5 mini plots woven together in a very short time span that still pulled together beautifully? Honestly a contender for top 5 fav from the show so far. Genuinely the young Hope and Peter team up was a pleasant mix, Howard had some substance for once, new panther and the addition of Bill in a suit was a little weak but all together fine and made for some good lines. Peggy is always great to see. Thor and Bucky stole the show but I really think that is to be expected. I would give this one a really high A or low S probably, a pleasant surprise. Had to add that I think Howard being the one to talk Bucky down, while LISTENING to a young Hope as she stands next to him is just really poetic compared to the sacred timeline of Bucky taking out Howard while Tony isn't around to say goodbye or interfere...okay i'll leave now
EP 3: Happy Hulk Hogan Christmas
Where do I even start with this wild one. I don't think cared for one minute about the A plot of this story. But that being said!!!!! Darcy and Maria B plot was a delight to see again, and the C plot of what the Avengers do on Christmas was the real delight of the episode. What even was that character for Happy, I felt bad for Jon... definitely not a fan. My favorite part though: 100% FINALLY seeing more of Avengers tower!?!? Young me used to fantasize about that! So cool, /loved/ the environment designs! (C+ maybe?)
Ep 4: Tony, Gamora, Valk, and the Collector play Sugar Rush (Korg was there too)
THIS ONE GUYS! THIS ONE WAS GOOD! Good story, good team, good writing all the way through. I genuinely didn't realize that I missed Tony that much? Like my heart ached seeing him again quite a bit Never a Korg fan on principle, but that didn't take away lol. (The Mojo references to the comics were a great lil nod as well.) Felt real to Tony and his character. AND THE ENDING!? I actually out loud yelled 'YOU CANT DO THAT?' UGH I need more of this one. (S tier or high A)
Ep 5: Capt Carter and Widow
This one was pretty good. I think... i'm just sick of the whole capt x bucky needs to be saved dynamic. It's been old for years now and I feel like capt and his variants just NEVER grow and every story in any form is just the exact same thing over and over and over again. I love Haley, Widow was fun, Bucky... underdeveloped and confusing, Steve I couldn't care less honestly. The last 30-second twist was the most exciting bit. (B+ probably)
Ep 6: Kahhori!!!!!
THIS! IS! THE! FUTURE! What a wonderful way to introduce such a lovely new character that feels rich and full of new life!? And in a historical piece in a Native Language???? This had me emotional throughout as someone studying History. Marvel needs more authentic cultural storytelling to continue strongly into its future. Such a refreshing and completely new story from a group whose stories aren't told enough. It reminded me of the thrill of watching Shang Chi in theater for the first time. Giving it an A!
Ep 7: Hela the White
Great concept, good execution! A good strong story front to back, using the story of Thor and updating it in an interesting and completely original way (cough cough take notes Capt x Bucky writers) Great to see the 10 Rings again finally and to get another glimpse into the world of Ta Lo... I do hope we get to see K'un Lun sometime soon in the MCU Really no complaints, a very strong episode, missing a tiny bit of WOW factor maybe? (A-)
Ep 8: 1602 Avengers
My brain died and I forgot to finish the show, only to come back to the ep I was most excited about it!? UGH this was everything. I want a whole Marvel comics EVENT that is this theme. I loved the references and the style of the ep. As a history & film nerd I was quite pleased. I had some minor quarrels, and mostly wish we got more on how the heroes themselves functioned within that time frame. And I don't think the story was rushed... however I do think it was a tad crowded. Anyway- still very good! (A+)
Ep 9: Ending
I love Evil Strange deeply, and i'm so excited to see more of Kahorri. But that being said, nowing so little about her at this point made parts of this episode weaker overall. Like she is amazing, but how did she do any of that? I loved the concept of releasing the other villains and the beautiful fight scenes throughout the ep. I was going to give this a B+ BUT THE BUZZBEATER LAST 5 SECOND REVEAL!? WORLDS TREE???? LOKI??? EXISTING ON THE WATCHERS PLANE CONFIRMED!? AHH... slipped into an A.
Echo (2023)
It's 2am and I'm giving my honest reveiew
I have been more excited about this than the holidays that we just left behind. I was so thrilled to see more "Daredevil" or "Netflix Style" action delivered into the wider MCU, and this does that in every way.
I'll first discuss what I loved. Visually this series was beautiful and told the story of Maya in every way I needed it to. I think it was a clever plan to release What If's Kahhori right before this. The parallels it draws for serious fans of the new content doesn't go overlooked. I grew up in a town with high native population and culture and our school had Pow Wows every year of my young life, we had native story classes as a requirement in my middle school.
As a child I never gave it the respect and honor those stories truly hold. Today though, I am a proud double major about to graduate with a degree in both Film and History. Maya is a wonderful addition to the MCU and the acting in this was nothing less than stellar.
The choices they made to deviate from the comics felt logical and sound. I feel as if we will be tying a few characters together in the near future. I do hope we get more pulled from the page to the screen.
Now for more of a "film critique". Because of the way this has been promoted, and the crossings between other beloved street level heroes (Matt and Clint) there does leave something to be desired.
While I love the story we ended up with, and felt it needed its room to breath in Tomaha, taking the story immediately out of NYC and never going back was a strange choice.
My biggest quarrel with this show was not with the show itself but with the lack of information Marvel is providing their audience in regards to what happened to ALL of the street-level heroes in the blip. There has been just enough information neglected from the audience that it makes certain moments borderline infuriating to watch because the lack of context and it makes weight of scenes makes no sense or blatantly WEAKENS other characters' stories. And when that character happens to be Marvel's BEST asset, Daredevil, I do start to take issues.
We still are left with no information on how Fisk got out of jail, the Daredevil scene was pure fan service and never mentioned again leaving it pointless, and the persistent talk about Maya's life in New York while taking away all of Maya's ties there left those areas feeling weak.
Kingpin is and always will be Daredevil's target within the MCU. If the Netflix shows are all canon now, as confirmed by MCU themselves, where did Matt go in his story. This simple question should have been answered before this shows premiere- and not after.
Overall though, a beautiful piece. With beautiful acting and amazing diversity. I'm excited, if not mildly hesitant, to see where Maya's story will go in the future.
Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022)
Yeah know what, I watched the whole thing
It's oddly good.... in a weird way? Given the concept anyways. Just turn your brain fully off and enjoy the ride. I started watching it as a joke and found myself loving the quirky main characters almost instantly. Plus the music is pretty decent I won't lie. There is subtext there and it is definitely telling a story if you look deeper into it, you just have to ask yourself how deep you WANT to look into a movie like this. I think its a good film to watch, even as an adult, if you just fully want to forget about the world for a little under two hours. It's also quite funny to hear Shawn Mendez coming out of a Croc... what a movie.