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drbarx1976
Reviews
Upstart Crow (2016)
I wasn't sure at first but now i like it
When I watched the first couple of episodes of this show I wasn't sure about it. The jokes seemed a bit too obvious and repetative and just generally not that funny, but as time has gone by the stories and humour seems to have gotten a bit stronger and the cast have eased into their roles. It's not a classic for the ages like Blackadder, but it is better than most of the BBC dirge that passes for Sitcom these days.
Weekend Box Office: Weekend Box Office: March 8 to 10 (2019)
Not terrible, but very average, with huge plot holes and non-heroic hero
This movie is not terrible, however it is not good either.
The effects are as good as you would expect (particularly de-aging of SLJ) and the overall plot is so so, provided you an can live with the Skrulls turning out to be goodies, a the faster than light drive McGuffin that makes no sense in a world when interstellar travel is possible in a matter of hours and a hero who by the end is way overpowered. I can imagine that when I was 6 I would have thought it was the best movie ever for about a week, until I watched Howard the Duck and decided that was the greatest movie ever instead. However, I could easily say the same thing about plenty of the other average MCU movies (Dr. Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Dark World, First Avenger, Spiderman Homecoming, Black Panther, Iron Man 3) which I wouldn't bother going back for a second viewing of.
In the case of CM however, Disney double down on the average story by failing to put the character through any particular journey of self-discovery. We are meant to see CM as determined and strong willed and there is no doubt that she is. However, an inner conviction to prove herself in the face of other is the full extent of her personality from start to finish (aside from a smidge of narcissism when she destroys a juke box in a bar just to show off her powers). There is no apparent capacity for self-reflection. Most of the MCU heroes are weighted down and simultaneously driven by a burden of guilt and this internal strife and this is what makes then interesting (e.g. Spiderman - Death of Uncle Ben, Tony Stark - built weapons used to kill innocents, Black Widow - trained from childhood to be an assassin, Winter Solider - brainwashed by Hydra). In CM's case the central motivation is the desire to prove that all the people who ever tried to keep her down were wrong. In of itself this strength of will is not an unadmirable quality, but in the context of a hero it shouldn't be the primary driver, let alone the sole driver behind their actions. When CM finds out that the Skrulls are the goodies she doesn't show any remorse for the fact that she had misguidedly killed dozens if not hundreds of them while working with the Kree, she just decides that it is all the Kree's fault and kicks the crap them. Likewise, when she breaks free of the Kree control of her powers she does it more as an act of defiance against them for daring to try to control her than because there are thousands of innocent lives in the balance. The engaging heroes are the ones with self-doubt and weaknesses that they must overcome to save the day. That is not the case with CM.