Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Hunter Radesi

  • ‘House of the Dragon’ – Best & Worst of ‘The Princess and the Queen’

    ‘House of the Dragon’ – Best & Worst of ‘The Princess and the Queen’

    House of the Dragon is back, and this time, people are older. The show traversed a full ten years in only one week’s time, replacing the incomparable Milly Alcock and Emily Carey with the equally-as-impressive Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. Despite a full decade’s worth of potential character development, it would seem not much has changed when the series’ sixth episode, The Princess and the Queen, starts ticking. Princess Rhaenyra is now the mother of three children, fathered by someone who is definitely not her husband, and nobody seems to think their lack of white hair is suspicious. Nobody, that is, except for Queen Alicent Hightower and her entourage of sketchy male cohorts. Tensions start to rise as Alicent and Rhaenyra challenge each other in King’s Landing, and secrets about the latter’s romantic history begin to resurface.

    Meanwhile, Matt Smith‘s Prince Daemon Targaryan learns that married life might not be all that he’d hoped it would be, and Paddy Considine‘s King Viserys Targaryan learns that living ten years past ones expiration date might not be as comfortable as he’d imagined. From there, in classic Game of Thrones tradition, everything starts going downhill – or, more accurately, up in flames. After all, this is the House of the Dragon. Join Murphy’s Multiverse as we dig into both the best and the worst The Princess and the Queen had to offer.

    BEST – The Birth of Joffrey Velaryon

    The Princess and the Queen opened with the first of two birthing scenes present in the episode. Viewers are introduced to an adult Rhaenyra while she’s in the midst of delivering her third child, whom her husband eventually names Joffrey Velaryon after his deceased lover. It’s a messy scenario, but it’s an incredibly effective way to demonstrate just how headstrong the Princess has become in the years since fans last saw her. Immediately after giving birth, Rhaenyra receives word that the Queen would like to see her old friend’s newest son. Knowing this is likely some sort of power move, the King’s heir decides to walk Joffrey to the Queen herself, in spite of the fact she had only just pushed out the afterbirth.

    The move is perhaps one of the single coolest things any Westerosi character has ever done. This goes without saying, but as one learns in biology class, birthing a human is not an easy task. Standing up from said task, coated in sweat and bleeding, and trucking it directly to face a personal rival is the epitome of a power move, one-upping Alicent tenfold. Not only was the sequence great for the story, but the camera work was excellent as well. The first several minutes of the episode was some of the best shot footage the franchise has seen, and one can only hope it’s a sign of what’s to come in the final few entries of the season.

    WORST – Prince Aegon II Targaryan

    Folks, there’s a new Joffrey Baratheon in town. Previously only seen as a newborn baby, Tom Glynn-Carney‘s Prince Aegon II Targaryan is shown as a full-blown young adult in The Princess and the Queen. As it turns out, he’s simply the worst. From the moment he makes his onscreen debut, he’s actively working to make the lives of much more likable characters miserable. He starts with a pig-themed dragon prank on his younger cousin, moves on to – *ahem* – revealing himself to the entire kingdom, and eventually plays fairly dirty in a sparring session with the same aforementioned family member. If the history of this franchise has taught viewers anything, it’s that this behavior will get worse before it gets better. In fact, it probably won’t get better. It will just keep getting worse and then Aegon will die or he won’t. Hopefully, and this feels weird to say about a minor, the show lands on the first option. (It won’t.)

  • REVIEW: ‘The Rings of Power’ – ‘Partings’ Has Hope on the Brain

    REVIEW: ‘The Rings of Power’ – ‘Partings’ Has Hope on the Brain

    “Of drink I have little
    And food I have less
    My strength tells me no
    But the path demands yes

    My legs are so short
    And the way is so long
    I’ve no rest nor comfort
    No comfort but song

    Sing to me, sing to me, lands far away
    Oh rise up and guide me this wandering day
    Please promise to find me this wandering day    “

    The Rings of Power begins its fifth episode, titled Partings, with a song sung by Megan Richards‘ Poppy Proudfellow. Called ‘This Wandering Day’, the tune is described in-universe as something Poppy’s mother once used to entertain herself whilst walking for days upon end with the other Harfoots. In the real world, however, the song comes across as much more than just a means of keeping the brain occupied. The lyrics, written by the maestro Bear McCreary, instead double as a metaphor for the theme of this week’s episode, and perhaps the entirety of the Lord of the Rings franchise – holding on to hope, even when all seems lost.

    The many plotlines of Partings all see their lead characters facing difficult choices. Robert Aramayo‘s Elrond must decide if he’s willing to break a personal oath for the sake of Elven kind, Nazanin Boniadi‘s Bronwyn is forced to watch as her people choose between the light and the dark, and the citizens of Númenor weigh the consequences of going to war. Yet, despite the dire stakes at hand in each story, the concept of a potentially brighter future looms larger than the tangible threats at hand. Thematically, it’s actually a welcome departure from the series’ previously doom-centric thought process. Partings feels like a lighter installment in the Rings of Power saga from the very get-go, which in turn makes it a bit easier to watch than the denser first quarter of the season.

    Of course, this doesn’t mean the episode is without it’s hardships. In a particularly action-packed sequence, Daniel Weyman‘s mysterious giant saves the Harfoots from a pack of monstrous wolves. In another, Joseph Mawle‘s Adar revels in making a villager kill a child to prove his newfound allegiance to Middle-earth’s darkest forces. This is, unfortunately, par for the course in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s land of fantasy. As Poppy’s song, and Markella Kavenagh‘s Nori Brandyfoot, explain, the path to peace is filled with perils, something true of both Middle-earth and the actual planet it was based on. Partings does a fantastic job of relaying this message to the audience. There will always be setbacks on the road to finding true happiness. A person who lets that stop them will never know the contentment they were hoping to find in the first place.

    That being said, the episode does also present a few problems for the series at large. One would think that with so much time to spend with the show’s vast collection of characters, fans would be able to care about more of them. Aside from a few standouts, many of the individuals getting screen time week-in and week-out are beginning to feel like they only exist to advance parts of the plot. The obvious leads of each arc are well-developed and fun to watch, but many of their smaller counterparts are beginning to mash together and become slightly forgettable. Hopefully, before the season ends, The Rings of Power will be able capitalize on a talented ensemble in the same way shows like Game of Thrones have done to capture audience’s attention.

    Until then, the series will likely continue to stand on its greatest strengths. As per usual, this week’s episode was gorgeous, and the effects were impeccable. A particularly memorable moment involved the origin of Middle-earth’s most precious metal, which was shown via striking slow-motion images and beautiful color contrast. Despite any problems one may have with the series, its thematic element is also undeniably riveting. It’s as rich as anything Tolkien wrote and as comforting to watch as anything Peter Jackson put to screen. For anyone who has yet to be hooked, take this week’s entry as a form of advice – the road may not be perfect, but maintain hope, and the finale might just pay everything off.

    At last comes their answer
    Through cold and through frost
    That not all who wonder or wander are lost
    No matter the sorrow
    No matter the cost
    That not all who wonder or wander are lost

  • Babak Anvari Will Direct New ‘Cloverfield’ Film for Paramount

    Babak Anvari Will Direct New ‘Cloverfield’ Film for Paramount

    An acclaimed horror franchise is finally on its way back to the big screen. Babak Anvari has been tapped to direct a new installment in the Cloverfield series, which is now in development at Paramount, based on a script by Joe Barton. Like previous entries, J.J. Abrams will act as a producer through his company Bad Robot, alongside Hannah Minghella and Jon Cohen. The list of executive producers also includes Drew Goddard and Matt Reeves, who wrote and directed the original film, respectively, as well as Bryan Burke.

    The untitled Cloverfield project is keeping to tradition by not revealing any plot details at this time. It will be the fourth film in the franchise that began with 2008’s found-footage movie, about a group of party goers fleeing from a rampaging monster in New York City. After nearly a decade of radio silence, Cloverfield was followed by two anthological sequels, 10 Cloverfield Lane and The Cloverfield Paradox, released only a couple years apart in 2016 and 2018. All three films were famously shrouded in mystery before being unveiled to the public, with the latter two both marketed as original projects before surprising fans as Cloverfield installments shortly before release.

    This will be Anvari’s first foray into tentpole work, with the creative having only previously worked on small indie flicks. His debut film, 2016’s Under the Shadow, earned him a BAFTA award for Outstanding Debut Filmmaker, and his second movie, Wounds, released in 2019 to mixed reviews. He recently released his first major studio project, I Came By, for Netflix. That dropped on the streamer in August of this year. His Cloverfield film does not currently have a release date.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Avatar’ Rerelease Includes Surprise Footage From Sequel 

    ‘Avatar’ Rerelease Includes Surprise Footage From Sequel 

    Avatar is back in theaters, and apparently, it now includes an early look at its upcoming sequel. The film, directed by famed visionary James Cameron, was originally released in 2009 to critical acclaim and one of the largest box office accumulations in worldwide history. It’s once again showing on the big screen in anticipation of Avatar: The Way of Water, the long-awaited second installment of the franchise, which is set to drop in theaters on December 16th. While the new edition of Avatar is not yet available in North America, it has already released in Korea and France, and fans who’ve gone to see it claim they were treated to a surprise taste of scenes from The Way of Water after the credits began to roll.

    Perhaps most interesting is that not all showings of the film featured the same exclusive footage. The tweets revealing the unexpected tags indicated different theaters had different sneak peeks at the sequel, meaning not everyone has seen the same content. However, nearly all the reactions were positive, giving those who’ve yet to see anything a lot of hope for a quality Avatar follow-up. It’s unknown if every theatrical market will include the exciting post-credits footage, but it does seem likely that Disney will want to increase discussion surrounding the big-budget blockbuster in as many places as they can.

    Avatar: The Way of Water has been in production for years and was also directed by Cameron. Most of the first film’s cast, including Zoë Saldana and Sam Worthington, will return, alongside newcomers like Jemaine Clement and Michelle Yeoh.

    Source: Deadline

  • Richard Harmon Joins ‘The Flash’ as Captain Boomerang For Final Season

    Richard Harmon Joins ‘The Flash’ as Captain Boomerang For Final Season

    The Flash is going out with a boomerang. The ninth and final season of the hit CW series has added Richard Harmon to its cast as the villainous Captain Boomerang, a longtime rival of the Scarlet Speedster from DC’s original comic books. According to The CW’s official description, Harmon will play a new version of the baddie in a post-Crisis world. Instead of Digger Harkness, who was played by Nick E. Tarabay in earlier seasons of the show before being killed off in the fifth season of Arrow, this Boomerang will be known as Owen Mercer, after the comic character of the same name. Harmon’s villain will be portrayed as a recently released inmate of Iron Heights, with a chip on his shoulder and a twinkle in his eye that disguises a dangerous and violent threat to Central City.

    Harmon is best known for his role as John Murphy on another CW hit series, The 100. He has also appeared on Smallville, Fox’s Fringe, SyFy’s Van Helsing, AMC’s The Killing, Showcase’s Continuum, and the recently released horror movie, Margaux. In the comics, Harmon’s Mercer was the son of the first Captain Boomerang. It’s unknown if The Flash will go this route for the series, although it seems unlikely. Either way, it’s nice to see the series finding a way to include one of its hero’s greatest nemesis in his last television outing.

    Grant Gustin will reprise his role as the title character for the shortened ninth season, so expect a few dramatic moments between him and Harmon before the curtains close on Barry Allen’s story.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Bond’ Producers On Idris Elba and Casting Their Next Star

    ‘Bond’ Producers On Idris Elba and Casting Their Next Star

    James Bond will be back, he’ll just look a little different when he finally returns. The last time fans saw the iconic secret agent on the big screen, he was doing something he’d never done before – dying, and closing out an emotional arc to finish off Daniel Craig’s tenure in the role. Producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, who have been in charge of the Bond franchise since 1995’s GoldenEye, recently sat down with Variety to discuss what the future holds for 007 after such a definitive ending in 2021’s No Time To Die. The duo confirmed that their next leading man will be a “reinvention” of the character, something that became a necessity after Craig quote, “cracked Bond open emotionally”.

    Broccoli explained a bit further with a resonating pull-quote, reflecting on the current times and looking at the years to come:

    It’s an evolution. Bond is evolving just as men are evolving. I don’t know who’s evolving at a faster pace.

    Barbara Broccoli

    Wilson and Broccoli also joked about Craig’s infamous distaste of the franchise’s demanding time schedule and decades-long commitment, which the producers admitted will play a role in the casting process for their next film. They explained a star like Idris Elba, who fans have long been wanting for the role, would likely be too old or too busy to put aside so much of his life for the Bond films. The elaboration of their point also revealed the official casting probably won’t happen for a while:

    The thing is, it’s going to be a couple of years off. And when we cast Bond, it’s a 10-, 12-year commitment. So [Elba] is probably thinking, ‘Do I really want that thing? Not everybody wants to do that. It was hard enough getting [Daniel Craig to do it].

    Barbara Broccoli

    Wilson then added in jokingly that Craig was also in his early 30s at the time of his casting, adding further fuel to the rumor that the studio is looking mainly at younger actors during their process. It’s become clear that whoever ends up as the next Bond will be around for the long haul, and will have to be prepared to focus on the franchise above all else for at least a decade of their career. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take too long before a face can be put to the world-famous name.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘House of the Dragon’ – Best & Worst of ‘We Light the Way’

    ‘House of the Dragon’ – Best & Worst of ‘We Light the Way’

    Yikes. Now, there’s an episode that feels like Game of Thrones. The latest edition of HBO’s House of the Dragon, titled We Light the Way, is a rollercoaster ride of political intrigue and romantic persuasion. Milly Alcock’s Princess Rheanyra Targaryan is engaged to be married with Theo Nate’s Ser Laenor Valeryon, only neither of them are all that interested in each other. Instead, they’d rather be with their paramours. For Rheanyra, that is Fabien Frankel’s dashing Kingsguard soldier Ser Criston Cole, and for Laenor, it’s Solly McLeod’s Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, his secret partner and battle companion. As the wedding draws near, things begin to take a turn for the worse, with Paddy Considine’s King Viserys Targaryan growing increasingly ill and Emily Carey’s Queen Alicent Hightower learning the truth about her closest friend. If that wasn’t enough, Matt Smith’s Prince Daemon Targaryan is still up to his violently mischievous ways and causing quite a bit of trouble all on his own.

    It’s a lot to tackle, but nothing Murphy’s Multiverse can’t divide into “best” and “worst” categories. Let’s get into it.

    BEST – Planning a Wedding

    Obviously, what is now being called “The Green Wedding” was the big spectacle of We Light the Way. It’s what everyone will be talking about coming out of this week and the highest point of the entire season thus far. However, none of that pageantry would be possible if it weren’t for the exceedingly wonderful build-up happening in the first three-fourths of the episode. King Viserys and Princess Rhaenyra’s trip to visit Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys, played by Steve Toussaint and Eve Best, in their home provided immaculate foreshadowing for what was to come. The wordplay between Corlys and Viserys in coming to political agreements, the conversations Laenor has with both his future wife and his lover, and the moment shared between Rhaenyra and Criston aboard her ship – all existed to serve the episode’s ending, and yet still managed to be more interesting in the long run.

    As has been said before, this sort of thing is actually the juice that keeps this franchise running. It’s the slow build-up and quick pay-off combo that keeps fans coming back for more, and oftentimes, it’s the first half that really stays with viewers for weeks to come. For example, Alicent’s arc in this episode alone is magnificent. Yes, it’s her beautiful green dress and dramatic wedding entrance that stands out, but it’s the tearful argument with her father and the quiet rage she displays as Ser Criston drops a bombshell that stick in the brain. Game of Thrones’ infamous Red Wedding had seasons worth of material to play off of when everything went down, but the Green Wedding had no such advantage. It had only a handful of episodes to use as meat in the emotional grinder, and We Light the Way did a fantastic job of bringing all those elements together before finally pulling the rug out from under Westeros.

    WORST – The Death of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth

    It’s so unfortunate that people can never just be happy in these shows. It’s even more unfortunate how often it’s women and LGBTQ+ folks who face the brunt of the suffering. All commentary aside, Ser Laenor and his partner were so close to having the best kind of future Westeros could possibly afford them, and then Joffrey had to have his face bashed in for, assumedly, making a comment he shouldn’t have. It’s an old and tired trope, to have the gay character suffer for being gay, and it would have been nice if the show could have embraced Joffrey and Laenor as an interesting subplot instead of slaughtering the former and forcing the latter into a loveless marriage against his will. Alas, this is how it is and how it shall continue to be. There is much opportunity for storytelling with Laenor going forward.

  • REPORT: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Renewed For Second Season 

    REPORT: ‘Ms. Marvel’ Renewed For Second Season 

    It looks like Iman Vellani is here to stay. According to a new report from Daniel RPK, Marvel Studios may have just given the green light to another season of Ms. Marvel, one of the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe series to drop on Disney+ and a hit with fans earlier this year. The show, centered around Vellani’s teenage hero Kamala Khan as she grows up in Jersey City, was initially believed to just be an origin story for the character. However, if true, this news would indicate Marvel has changed course and will alter the live-action title from “limited” to “ongoing.”

    Vellani can next be seen in 2023’s The Marvels, a sequel to 2019’s Captain Marvel that features Khan teaming up with Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers and Teyonah Parris’ Monica Rambeau after the trio’s powers begin to malfunction. It’s likely a second season of Ms. Marvel would pick up after the events of the film, with Khan resuming her personal life in New Jersey and continuing to grow into her new role as a superhero. There are plenty of loose threads left hanging from the first season that another batch of episodes could help resolve, taking the pressure off of future team-up films to do the heavy lifting when it comes to Kamala’s character arc within the MCU.

    Aside from Vellani, the cast of Ms. Marvel includes Matt Lintz and Yasmeen Fletcher as friends Bruno and Nakia, as well as Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapoor, and Saagar Shaikh as members of the Khan family. Laurel Marsden, Rish Shah, and Aramis Knight also have supporting roles. Former Batgirl directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah directed most of the first season with Meera Menon and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. Bisha K. Ali served as head writer.

    Source: Daniel RPK

  • REVIEW: ‘Slaughter Day’ is Proof People Should Make More Movies with Their Friends

    REVIEW: ‘Slaughter Day’ is Proof People Should Make More Movies with Their Friends

    The horror genre is known to dip into low-budget territory, but 1991’s Slaughter Day is on a completely new level. Written by the brothers Blake and Brent Cousins, and directed by the latter, this insanely obscure little gem is now available on Blu-Ray disc for the very first time – even if it still looks like a home video from another world. For the uninitiated, and there are probably a lot of uninitiated, Slaughter Day is a micro-budget movie shot with consumer-grade equipment about a pair of teenagers who find themselves battling a group of murderous construction workers after they’re possessed by forces flowing from a mysterious occult book. It’s only about an hour long, and it somehow still manages to be filled with both the worst acting and craziest action sequences ever put to, what appears to be, a camcorder, in history.

    Yet, there’s something undeniably charming about the ingenuity behind Slaughter Day. There’s a sense that the cast and crew of this film had no interest in making it big or popular. Instead, it very much feels like a group of friends finding a way to have as much fun as possible over summer vacation. Whether that’s actually the case remains a mystery to most, but at the very least, it injects the project with a certain aura that makes it easier to swallow the fact it also comes off like an over-done class assignment. Like watching a child show someone something they’re proud of, Slaughter Day makes one sit back and gaze on with a smirk that says, “honestly, good for them.”

    At a certain point in the picture, the story switches gears and becomes an absolutely bonkers, balls-to-the-wall action flick. This point, maybe twenty or so minutes into the runtime, is when Slaughter Day really comes into its own, and a viewer starts to understand why it received a re-release 30 years later. Cousins and his team pull off the kind of stunts and effects most kids merely dream of doing in their backyards growing up. The amount of effort and creativity put into crafting something like, say, a man folding in half and being sucked into a magic book, is astounding. The camera work is also surprisingly impressive for the limitations of the brother’s technology at the time. Early on, most shots are clearly replicas of ones seen in grander, theatrically released films of the era, but as Slaughter Day plays out, the filming techniques appear to become more complicated and start to leave audiences wondering how two kids from Hawaii might have made them happen.

    It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney has long been a champion for, quote, “making your own stuff.” He argues that, if a person has an idea of what they’d like to see and they can’t get anyone else to make it, they should just do it themselves and see what happens. That’s how Sunny began its remarkable 15-season run, with a micro-budget home video shot on a crappy camera by McElhenney and his friends. It’s a lovely story, and one that seems to be in line with the mentality the Cousins brothers had almost 15 years before Sunny ever aired. The childlike wonderment and originality of Slaughter Day is proof that one never knows what they’re capable of producing until they just do it. It’s an ode to making art with people you love, simply because you all love making art. After all, people never know where their creations might take them. Maybe one day, someone else throws together a little passion project in their backyard, and 30 years after that, it gets its very own Blu-Ray Collector’s Edition.

  • REVIEW: ‘The Rings of Power’ – ‘The Great Wave’ Plants Plenty of Seeds for the Future

    REVIEW: ‘The Rings of Power’ – ‘The Great Wave’ Plants Plenty of Seeds for the Future

    The Rings of Power has returned, and this time, it’s looking toward the future. Unlike last week’s action-packed entry, this week’s episode – The Great Wave – is focused mainly on setting up arcs that will hopefully pay off later in the season. Galadriel and Elrond anchor two very solid plotlines in wildly differing locations, while Arondir comes face-to-face with a new threat and reconvenes with cohorts in trouble. It’s another wonderous journey into the depths of Middle-earth, supported heavily by more incredible visuals and some truly powerful acting. Like previous installments, the episode leaves the viewer wanting for more, and continues to open doors without closing them on the way out. Luckily for fans, it doesn’t look like The Rings of Power is going to run out of steam anytime soon.

    Much of The Great Wave plays out with a sense of foreboding. The episode’s title is literally taken from the visions had by Cynthia Addai-Robinson‘s Queen Regent Míriel, of Númenor’s disastrous fate. The great City of Men, she sees, is destined to be consumed by a great wave and sunk beneath the ocean, if the Queen Regent does not remove Morfydd Clark‘s Galadriel from the island post-haste. This opening scenario sets the tone for the whole shebang, as viewers begin to see similar vibes present in the other two major plotlines happening concurrently. In Khazad-dûm, Robert Aramayo‘s Elrond seeks to continue the bonding process with his old pal, Owain Arthur‘s Dwarven Prince Durin IV, but no matter how chummy they’re able to get, the idea of something more in the works keeps both of them on edge. Rounding out the episode, Ismael Cruz Córdova‘s Arondir is allowed to escape his captivity by Adar himself, but only under the condition he deliver a special message to the human survivors not far from danger.

    The titular “Great Wave” quickly becomes a metaphor for the paranoia spreading throughout all corners of Middle-earth. All characters are beginning to find themselves afraid of something. That fear, and the anxiety and greed that come with it, are the fuel that keeps The Rings of Power‘s fourth episode ticking. In a fun change of pace, the Lord of the Rings universe is allowed to feel more like a political thriller than a fantasy epic. Granted, it does still look and sound like a fantasy epic. In fact, this episode contains one of the most bone-chilling sequences of the series thus far, with Sophia Nomvete‘s Disa belting a gorgeously haunting musical number as the Dwarves perform an ancient prayer. It’s the show’s ability to switch so effortlessly between moments of grace and terror that keep it so refreshing week in and week out. On an added note – the grand reveal of Adar, an Elven-looking man portrayed by Joseph Mawle, was also expertly done. The flipping of expectations as to how Adar would appear was a wonderful surprise, and one that instantly makes the villain more intriguing.

    If there was to be any concern around The Rings of Power, it would have to be for its pacing. Of course, the Lord of the Rings franchise is not exactly known for its swift storytelling, but one has to wonder how long The Rings of Power will wait before it begins answering any of the multiple questions it’s lobbed into the air. It’s not a problem at the moment, but another episode or two of set up without pay off could lead to some viewers starting to tune out. For now, though, the series remains stellar, and viewers remain excited to see new batches of orcs show up on their screens every week.