Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

 "Because I'm Marvel Jesus. Or Spock. Hard to say..."

I knew this was going to be enormous fun, and oooooh, it was. Both the stars are superb, and sooooo many cameos, many of them hidden behind Deadpool masks. I'm not going to talk about the plot because irt's bonkers: I mean (SPOILER ALERT) Deadpool and Wolverine, having saved Deadpool's universe for good, get to survive certain death by anti-matter because, er, they were holding hands to Madonna. That's the kind of cheerfully deliberate middle finger at plot logic we're looking at here. I mean, did you expect anything different?

So we have a rogue element of the TVA trying to recruit Wade to the MCU, while saying a fond farewell to the old Fox mutany universe- I loved that bit in the closing credits. The Big Bad (Emma Corfrin is great) Is Professor X's evil sister, and her goons are the likes of Pyro, Toad and Juggernaut. There's a hilarious appearance by Chris Evans, surely Captain America until he cries "flame on!" and an equally hilarious version of Gambit with Channing Tatum, pulling no punches at how ridiculous the character is.

And ahh, all those Deadpools. Love the unfortunate death of Nicepool, and yes... I did indeed notice the "Welshpool" visual joke.

Naturally we get hard-hitting, fourth wall breaking comments on the MCU, that Deadpool is not coming to the MCU at a good time, and his criticism of the Multiverse Saga. But there's far more than that. The 20th Century Fox logo is there in the void. Wesley Snipes' Blade gets to insist that "There's only ever been one Blade, and there's only ever gonna be one Blade", a delightful little comment on behind-the-scenes discord. Oh, and "Paul Rudd finally aged".

This film is, basically, not about the plot at all. It's just there to be hugely entertaining, and to throw cameos and in-jokes at us... and it works! I love the various alt Wolverines, from the comic book accurate short king to Patch to the Siege Perilous era crucified Wolverine. I love the Henry Cavill cameo and the little rib at DC. And of course Colossus loves The Great British Bake Off.

Basically, best Marvel film ever. And now I'm going to check out all the many Easter eggs I no doubt missed...

Elektra (2005)

"They say Elektra whispers in your ear before she kills you."

Meh. Thing is, this isn't an awful script, not really. There are some nice directorial touches in places, although there are also moments of, well, meh. But the main reason why this is Marvel's notorious flop, a spin-off of the already underwhelming Daredevil, is that Jennifer Garner is just phoning it in and offers up no charisma whatsoever. She simply sucks the energy out of the film whenever she's on screen.

Not that there aren't some positive points- it's good to see Terence Stamp, General Zod himself, appearing in a Marvel film, even if he is woefully miscast as Stick. The main baddies are good acting-wise, although I'm not familiar with the Hand from the comics. And the opening sequence establishing Elektra as the assassin she isn't going to be for the rest of the film is well done.

But... Jennifer Garner. And the film, frankly, flags once you're an hour in, not a good thing for a film that isn't really all that long. There are lots of action sequences, many of them good. Tattoo is a cool character. It’s good to see Typhoid Mary on screen. But... Jennifer Garner.

This film really isn’t worth seeing except for us Marvel completists. Meaning, sadly, that Marvel has yet to release a decent film with a female star, in the Cinematic Universe or elsewhere. I hope they do so by the time my daughter is old enough.

Daredevil (2003)

"I want a bloody costume!"

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear.

I remember seeing this at the pictures when it came out. As far as I can recall I didn't hate it. I may not have been overwhelmed but I was, at least, moderately whelmed. This time, though... oh dear. I'm afraid this review is going to be quite the spanking.

Please understand that this film isn't awful merely because it stars Ben Affleck, which is never a good thing, or even that Affleck is in even worse form than usual. Jon Favreau is awful (he should stick to directing), Jennifer Garner phones in her performance, and while Michael Clarke Duncan is a good actor he's miscast as the Kingpin. He has a kind face. You just can't cast him as a baddie, although it doesn't help that the Kingpin's lines are the worst in the film. Only Colin Farrell manages to shine by, wisely, chewing the scenery with gusto as it's the only thing you can do with lines like that.

And that brings us to the script, a steaming pile of dung. It beggars belief that anyone seriously thought this script was ready for production. It's clear from the performances that the cast doesn't exactly believe in it. None of the characters are well-developed. Far too much time is spent on a totally unnecessary recap of Daredevil's origin- why are superhero films always doing this?- and Daredevil doesn't act or feel like Daredevil. He kills. He beats people up and generally behaves like a homicidal Batman. It just feels wrong.

At least we can keep ourselves entertained by counting all the names of comics creators here. I'm not sure how Joe Quesada feels about giving his name to a rapist, but Kevin Smith gets a cameo as "Jack Kirby" (and Frank Miller gets a brief cameo as, naturally, does Stan Lee) and Jack Murdock has recently fought "Miller, Mack, Bendis" and is seen fighting John Romita.

Still, this film is a turd. It's not even entertainingly bad. For the morbidly curious only.

Juno (2007)

"Thundercats are go!"

OK. I'm a little biased. I was all snuggled up with my loved one when I watched this film and that's probably biased me in its favour a bit. (She doesn't even mind me taking notes for my blog when we watch films together, or even watching with subtitles- she's one very special lady!) Still, about the actual film.

It is, obviously, brilliant. Juno uses humour to fully explore the very serious subject of teenage pregnancy and all the stuff that surrounds it. It doesn't shy away from big emotional moments, and works superbly as a drama, but it leaves you smiling, and not only because of (SPOILER ALERT!) the happy ending. The humour really works in counterpointing the serious themes, and the whole thing is perfectly judged.

The film is full of wickedly wonderful dialogue, most of it from Juno herself (the excellent Ellen Page) and sounding almost Whedon-esque in its wit and pop culture savvy. It's also a brilliantly shot and structured movie; fast cutting is often used to advance the story or reveal a character point. The camerawork is as witty as the dialogue, and the seasons are used nicely to indicate the passage of time without being too heavy-handed.

The whole look of the film is great. There's a definite '90s slacker vibe in the clothing, general attitudes and pop culture references, which extends to the brilliant animated opening sequence and the amazing soundtrack. Everything oozes class, in a very Douglas Coupland sort of way. If you read and enjoyed Generation X, this film should be right up your street.

I suppose it can be said that Mark's reluctance to be a father, and his basic incompatibility with Vanessa, is pretty much obvious from the first scene (although the pregnancy fetish, er, isn't!!!), and it's no surprise when he bails out and rejects his marriage, the chance of fatherhood and adulthood itself for a Bohemian lifestyle that he's too old for. Also, his sell-out job pretty much tells us that he's a wrong 'un. I don't think the film means to imply that loving rock 'n' roll (especially Sonic Youth and the Melvins- cool!) makes you immature, mind. Plus, the Stooges, the Runaways, Patti Smith and Mott the Hoople seem to be endorsed by no less a figure than Juno herself. Let's just say that '77 and '93 were both excellent years for music. Who'd like to choose between Marquee Moon and In Utero?

Juno is very, very, funny, not too heavy, but managing to put across its central message without too much soppiness. It's always the women who are literally left holding the baby, and all too often this biological fact leads men to deny their responsibilities; not exactly something my own gender can always be proud of, sweet though the rather dim Beeker is here. Perhaps the film, with its supportive male characters, is a little rose-tinted in this regard, especially when it comes to teenage pregnancy. But it's a wonderful, wonderful movie.