Murphy's Multiverse

Author: Joseph Aberl

  • REVIEW: ‘Spider-Man’ Still Remains a Timeless Classic of Cinematic Heroics

    REVIEW: ‘Spider-Man’ Still Remains a Timeless Classic of Cinematic Heroics

    With classic villains returning in Spider-Man: No Way Home, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit the cinematic outings of our favorite webhead. So, it only seems fitting to kick off with the film that started it all, 2002’s Spider-Man. Sam Raimi, at the time mostly known for his work in horror, took on the responsibility of adapting one of Marvel Comics’ most popular characters. It was no small feat, but the franchise is still fondly remembered to this day. Tobey Maguire takes on the role of Peter Parker, as he’s ready to face off against his most iconic villain, Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin. Does the film still hold up after all this time?

    Spider-Man (2002) - IMDb

    It’s always weird looking back at films you adored as a kid. I wasn’t a big comic reader at the time, but Raimi‘s film was most certainly the push that would make me the Marvel fan I am today. As an adult, you look at these films with nostalgic glasses but also learn new insights you may have missed as a kid but also have a harder time with some elements. Sadly, it seems the romance between Kirsten Dunst‘s MJ and Peter just hasn’t aged as well for me as I thought it did. While it’s a perfect set-up for Peter to learn not to be selfish, and the ending highlights that very fact, it just takes away from the film a bit with her short-lived romance with Harry.

    Now, that doesn’t take away from the film in any way, it just is an element that doesn’t work as well as it used to for me. However, as an element in the story, it is hard to imagine it without. His love for her pushes Peter throughout the story and even builds some distrust with James Franco’s Harry Osborn. I will say, the fact they play out their friendship early on, only for him to date the girl he knows his “best friend” is in love with was a curious choice. It does add some tension to the story, but it adds a naivité to our hero. It’s punctuated by his actions later own as this is a Peter Parker who sees the good in others, which becomes especially essential in the sequel.

    Spider-Man (2002) - Rakuten TV

    Speaking of good, it’s incredible to see how well these effects have held up over the years. Yes, there are some moments where it sticks out, but the work here is incredible nonetheless. The scene as he swings MJ to safety with the puppet and hair blowing the wrong way is something you never truly realize until someone points it out, which highlights just how immersed you truly are in the film. Green Goblin’s glider effects have weight to them, but the pumpkin bomb turning people into skeletons was quite a bit over-the-top. Still, it fits right into Raimi’s wheelhouse.

    As I mention the director, you can see a lot of his work influenced this film. The creeping camera shots and generally how everything moves to stand out among films of the time. Hell, it even rivals recent releases on how creatively it uses the camera to convey the gravitas of Spider-Man’s actions. While I believe he perfected it in the sequel, there are some truly memorable shots sprinkled throughout that make the film stand the test of time. Even as we have gotten a bit tired of seeing heroes’ origin stories nowadays, this was a spectacle and the film manages to breathe that life into it.

    Top 10 Reasons Why Spider-Man 2 is Still the Best Spidey Movie

    The highlight of this story lies in how it’s not just an origin story for our hero, but also its main antagonist. We spend a lot of time with Norman throughout the story and mean Norman. While Green Goblin is well played, Raimi understood that it’s the “man” behind the mask and his loss of self. He’s the reflection of our hero, as he’s technically what would happen if Parker never got the Uncle Ben speech. It’s what makes the “my father” speech at the end hit so incredibly well. Not only does it build upon the tragedy that Peter faced early on, but also highlights just how opposed these two characters are.

    The film still stands strong among the many that have followed since and there’s a reason it set the stage for modern heroics alongside Blade and 1989’s Batman. While still a bit cheesy, it does lean into the “comic book” aspect of its adaptation and doesn’t shy away from it. What truly cements this film as a cinematic classic lies in its heart, the parallels of Norman and Peter build the story throughout, while also highlighting the performances given by Dafoe and Maguire. There’s a reason they are remembered so fondly in these roles to this very day, and it’s exciting to think their story, especially Norman’s, didn’t end all those years ago.

  • First Look at Hulu’s ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Sequel Series ‘Dragons: The Nine Realms’

    First Look at Hulu’s ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Sequel Series ‘Dragons: The Nine Realms’

    Hulu and Peacock have been busy working on the next major project for DreamWorks Animation. The much-beloved How to Train Your Dragon series is getting a new sequel that’ll switch things up in an interesting way. No longer are we exploring the times of the Vikings, but will not set out 1,300 years into the future, when dragons are now nothing more than legends. The first trailer has dropped for the series alongside a synopsis of what we can expect from the newest entry titled Dreamworks Dragons: The Nine Realms.

    Set 1,300 years after the events of How To Train Your Dragon, dragons are now just a legend to the modern world. When a geological anomaly opens up an immense, miles-deep fissure in the Earth’s surface, scientists from all over the world gather at a new research facility to study the mysterious phenomenon. Soon a group of misfit kids, brought to the site by their parents, uncover the truth about dragons and where they’ve been hiding — a secret they must keep to themselves to protect what they’ve discovered.

    The concept of going into the future is a promising one, but it’s shame we won’t revisit some of our beloved characters. Yet, the trailer does hint at one of Toothless’ offspring still living in the modern age and will be joined by a new group of dragons that become friends with these kids. The series will continue the CG-animation style from the original and bring a new adventure to life later this month.

    The series will premiere December 23rd and includes Voltron: Legendary Defenders‘ Jeremy Shada, 10 Things I Hate About You‘s Julia Stiles, Marcus Scribner of Black-ish fame, Aimee Garcia from Lucifer, Fuller House‘s Ashley Liao, Lauren Tom from The Joy Luck Club, as well as The Good Place‘s D’arcy Carden, One Day at a Time’s Justina MachadO, and Keston John, who some might recognize from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

  • Latest ‘One Piece’ Volume Highlights Netflix’s Live-Action Cast

    Latest ‘One Piece’ Volume Highlights Netflix’s Live-Action Cast

    We’ve known early on that Eiichiro Oda was heavily involved with bringing Netflix’s live-action adaptation to life. It’s his baby since he published the first chapter back in 1997. The series has gone on to pass the 1,000 chapter mark and its Anime followed shortly after with 1,000 episodes. The latest volume, 101, has finally been released and included a cute page all about t Netflix’s upcoming series.

    As shared by @OnePiecePodcast, the latest puts an emphasis on the upcoming cast of Inaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Jacob Romero Gibson, Taz Skylar, and Mackenyu. It’s a big sign of trust in these characters that they are highlighted in the latest volume and is another sign of proof that the productions are working closely with the original team behind the series. Sadly, it doesn’t include any details outside of the cast announcement.

    https://twitter.com/OnePiecePodcast/status/1468026162542780417

    Probably the biggest highlight is also the detail put into this reveal. The upcoming series will adapt the East Blue Saga throughout ten episodes and, as such, the character designs are taken from that timeline. So, here’s hoping the show can live up to the expectation and also the wait for the first look at these actors as the respective characters won’t take too long.

    Source: Twitter

  • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Eyeing $250M+ Domestic Opening Weekend

    ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Eyeing $250M+ Domestic Opening Weekend

    Currently, Spider-Man: No Way Home is beating all expectations. Even while some are cautious about the new Omnicom variant, its box office performance has been nothing but stellar. Its pre-sales were on par or slightly behind 2019’s Avengers: Endgame in key markets. Even without a China release, the film is pretty much on route to beat any release since the pandemic started and even rivals those of 2019. With 10 more days until release, the numbers are looking better than ever.

    Charlie Jatinder, who has been a reliable source for box office insight, shared that the film has already sold around $60M in pre-sales tickets in its domestic market. As such, while including $40M for its opening day, it would set the film on opening at around $200M or even $240M over the weekend. With international developments, the film might even manage a $500M opening worldwide.

    These numbers also match with Box Office pro’s prediction that has given the film a higher fluctuation rate in its release, as they believe it could even go up to $250M. We’ve seen a few films break even their best predictions while some also barely scratched it. In these uncertain times, it’s a bit hard to define, but with some strong momentum, it could even manage upwards of $690M in its worldwide release. We’ll see how its critical reception and word-of-mouth strengthen those numbers moving forward.

    Source: Twitter, Box Office Pro

  • REVIEW: Sanji Turns Up the Heat in ‘One Piece’ Chapter 1034

    REVIEW: Sanji Turns Up the Heat in ‘One Piece’ Chapter 1034

    Right when you think Eiichiro Oda will showcase Zoro’s power after finally unleashing his Conqueror’s Haki, he once again shifts his interest elsewhere. It highlights how much is truly happening throughout the Onigashima raid and we’re still uncovering the true potential of our Straw Hat pirates. Sanji once again takes over in his battle against Queen, who may have pushed his buttons one last time in chapter 1034.

    Before we get into the ain fight, we catch up quickly with Mononoke, who is still struggling with making use of his newfound dragon powers. He may not be able to make new clouds, but he shows his commitment to saving his country by cleverly pulling the island away from the flower capital. It’s just a brief interlude that helps tie us in on where exactly the raid is heading and also that they have a bit more time to take out the Beast pirates.

    Queen’s quite interesting in this. We know he worked with the Vinsmoke’s in the past but seeing him utilize the same abilities as Sanji’s brothers was a clever trick. It makes the fight even more personal and just adds to Sanji’s fury. There’s a perfect irony in Queen wanting to prove he is stronger to his former ally against the one child that wants nothing to do with any of it. Also, the “no such thing as freedom of speech anymore?!” line was a hilarious and clever touch, Oda.

    I do love Queen as a character. He’s a terrible person but has some of the funniest reactions. The giant robot dino can go invisible but is shocked when Sanji does it. His face just adds that perfect touch to the comedy. Though I was a bit disappointed that it was Queen all along instead of continuing Sanji’s inner conflict on losing control. It made sense but it still is a bit disappointing not to use it so that our Straw Hat chef strengthens his resolve, which he technically did.

    Still, it all built up to that Diable Jambe upgrade now with the fitting name of Ifrit, which might be a name familiar to Final Fantasy and Islamic mythology fans. That final shot feels like the perfect build-up for his attacks, as we get a callback to his fight against Arlong pirate Kuroobi. After an onslaught of attacks, he kicks him with his iconic kick Boeuf Burst with an Ifrit added damage boost. What a way to end the fight against Queen, if it even is the end. Here’ shopping Zoro vs. King returns next.

  • REVIEW: ‘Cowboy Bebop’ 1×08 “Sad Clown A-Go-Go”

    REVIEW: ‘Cowboy Bebop’ 1×08 “Sad Clown A-Go-Go”

    It’s fun finding out that one of the first looks we got from the series was for the eighth episode in the series, “Sad Clown A-Go-Go.” As the title points out, we get the live-action introduction of Pierrot LeFou. It’s a bit sudden that Vicious goes out of his way to send out the madman to take on Spike, but it does open the question of whether the show can tackle one of the series’ most memorable villains or lack the subtlety to bring it full circle?

    Cowboy Bebop' Season 1, Episode 8 Recap: Sad Clown a-Go-Go

    So, the strangest change here is connecting Ein directly to LeFou. It technically has no true effect on the story outside of our team heartlessly leaving the upper behind. There’s a reason for the set-up later down the line but it seems a bit heartless from our usual ragtag team. Here’s hoping they make up for this action next season, but it seems like an easy way to explain how Spike finds the assassin rather than it being through actual sleuthing.

    Still, Josh Randall does play the character quite well and he has his quirks from the anime, even if not as “animated” as you would think. It’s funny how Western adaptations go out of their way to explain things, as we get a showcase for why he can float. Though the shot of his shadow hanging over the team until his reveal was well done even if he lacked the absurdity of the original. Once he gets his clown-inspired costume, the look is completed even if it feels a bit too short-lived on screen.

    Netflix's "Cowboy Bebop" Trailer Breakdown

    Spike is his main target, but he feels a bit less in danger than he did in the episode that inspired it, “Requiem for a Clown.” The opening does push him to his limits, which was great to see but the actual one-on-one confrontation loses that appeal when Spike seemingly knows exactly how to solve the impenetrable shield of LeFou. So, it kind of explains away a plot point that was more of discovery during the original for us as the viewers and Spike.

    Even the “mommy” scene feels less impactful as we see the character act a bit more controlled earlier on in the same episode. He’s manic but still in control which doesn’t quite work with the message of the original. It does highlight the aspect of the series that it lacks the same kind of subtlety that the original had when it came to its message and characters. Strong moments like “Galileo Hustle” are there but they seem sometimes far and too few throughout the first season.

    Watch Cowboy Bebop | Netflix Official Site

    Speaking of lack of subtlety, Vicious’ story arc throughout the series comes to the moment he’s been waiting for. His plan by switching places with Santiago was surprisingly smart for the character we meet, and even if it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to die, it still was well executed. Especially as it seems like this twist was why the character of Abdul Hakim was wearing the tech that changed his entire look. So, they technically set it up indirectly.

    The reveal that his father was an Elder here was a pleasant surprise, as it explained why Vicious seems like the cliché of a “rich boy with daddy issues.” I’ll still argue that the character works in the context of this series even if it’s far removed from the original. He gets “his moment” in this episode but it is undercut by Mao just selling out Julia randomly. That scene was a bit of a headscratcher for me personally at that moment, but I guess it’s to set up her role as well.

    COWBOY BEBOP Recap: (S01E08) Sad Clown A-Go-Go

    Overall, it’s a bit of an underwhelming episode in comparison to the last three. It lost a bit of its momentum and tried too much to lean into LeFou without truly utilizing the character’s full potential. It feels more like they wanted to include him and forced a connection that takes away from the mystery. It’s kind of a general issue with this adaptation as it focuses too hard on serializing a series that didn’t necessarily require it. We’ll see how it ties it all together in the final two episodes. Though I wonder if the clown referenced in the title is about LeFou or Vicious.

  • Amy Pascal Confirms ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Sequel is in Early Development

    Amy Pascal Confirms ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Sequel is in Early Development

    Venom: Let There Be Carnage ended on quite an interesting cliffhanger. Our favorite unlikely duo finds themselves in a seemingly new world and we get the first hint at a confrontation with Peter Parker. Venom even seems to recognize him even though they’ve never encountered each other in the series.

    So, it had everyone’s eyebrows raised what it might mean for a third installment. We didn’t even know if a third one was in some kind of form of development. Luckily, in an interview with Collider, Spider-Man: No Way Home producer Amy Pascal confirmed that it’s already in early development.

    We are in the planning stages right now but what we are focused on is getting everybody to come and see No Way Home.

    Amy Pascal

    It was only a question of time before we get an official confirmation if you consider that it had one of the strongest openings of the year. It’ll be interesting to see how they tackle this project and what it might mean for the franchise’s future once they start interconnecting their various Marvel projects more moving forward.

    Source: Collider

  • Luminosity Adapting J.V. Kade’s ‘Bot Wars’

    Luminosity Adapting J.V. Kade’s ‘Bot Wars’

    The great wave of adaptations continues, as it seems Luminosity Entertainment is working with Altit Media Group to adapt the book by J.V. Kade, Bot Wars. Alexander Kiesl and Steffen Hacker have been attached to direct the sci-fi film, which currently doesn’t have any writers attached. The story tells the age-old history of humanity vs. artificial intelligence but does explore how human ingenuity manages to give them the upper hand. Luminosity’s Daniel Diamond had the following to say on the project:

    The world and characters brought to life in J.V. Kade’s novels are tremendously original, thrilling and thought provoking.We are very excited to be working with Dean and Kia in bringing Alexander and Steffen’s vision of this incredible story to the big screen

    Daniel Diamond

    Luminosity was just founded earlier this year by Elie Samaha, Geno Taylor, and Diamond. It’s quite the undertaking as their first film won’t release until next year, which is Back on the Strip featuring Wesley Snipes and Tiffany Haddish. As no writer is currently attached, might still be some time until it sees the light of day but the sci-fi franchise pulls in a very classic

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘John Wick’s Derek Kolstad to Adapt ‘Battle Chasers’ as a TV Series

    ‘John Wick’s Derek Kolstad to Adapt ‘Battle Chasers’ as a TV Series

    The series Battle Chasers made its mark in comic history by outselling Marvel and DC as an independent comic. Now, it’s finally making its way to television as part of a deal in which Alcon Television picked up the rights. Joe Madureira’s comics will be brought to life by Derek Kolstadt who famously created John Wick and recently worked on Falcon and the Winter Soldier for Marvel Studios.

    Alcon’s CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove will take an active role with the project as executive producers alongside Adrian Askarieh, who famously produced the Hitman series. Ben Roberts, from Alcon TV will take on a producer role. The story is about Gully, a 9-year-old girl, who ends up in an unlikely crew to fight villains as she searches for her father.

    As pointed out by The Hollywood Reporter, the original series ran from 1998 to 2001 after Madueriera made a name for himself on his work with Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men. It outsold both publishers but once he fell behind schedule, he had a hard time catching up again until the video game adaptation Battle Chasers: Nightwar made up for it.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • Amazon Prime’s ‘The Wheel of Time’ Finds Its Season 2 Cast

    Amazon Prime’s ‘The Wheel of Time’ Finds Its Season 2 Cast

    The Wheel of Time‘s first season has been welcomed with much praise as the book adaptation finally found its way on Amazon Prime. Even before it made its premiere, the series already was preparing for its second season and now it looks like they’ve finalized their cast. Deadline reports that Guy Roberts, Arnas Fedaravicius, and Gregg Chillingirian have joined the series in recurring roles.

    Roberts will take on the role of the one-eyed soldier Uno Nomeshta, while Fedaravicius will play Mesema, who is a quiet and intense warrior of Lord Agelmar. Last, but not least, Chilingirian will be Ingtar Sinowa, who is a lord and soldier from a country that was ravaged by war. Marco Polo‘s Thomas Chaanhing will also guest star as Nomeshta’s Lord Agelmar. Sandra Yi Sencindiver will take on the role of Lady Amalisa in the upcoming season.

    The series is an adaptation of Robert E. Jordan‘s books that explore a magical world where only one woman, Rosamund Pike‘s Moiraine, can make use of it. Sony Picture Television has been co-producing the series alongside Amazon Studios. Agents of SHIELD and Chuck writer Rafe Judkins is acting as showrunner and executive producer on the series.

    Source: Deadline