JD Estrada’s Hurricane Maria Tag

Over the last few weeks, many countries have been devastated by disasters. Puerto Rico has been decimated by Hurricane Maria, with many left without basic necessities like food, water, and shelter. It will take months to properly restore electricity, years to repair the damage, and longer still for those affected to recover both physically and emotionally. The reach of these natural disasters spread further, affecting the Caribbean, Mexico, Oregon and Canada. However, news coverage – and the response from the US government in particular – had at first been severely lacking to say the least. Thankfully, support has rallied around the affected countries and help is at hand, though the lives of those affected remain in a perilous state of uncertainty.

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Rebel Yell: Revisiting (and Revising) Rogue One

I adored this film. I love it just the way it is. It breaks my heart just thinking about it. Subjectively, it’s perfect – to me, at least. Objectively, less so. And I know hindsight is 20/20, but I’ve been thinking about it recently and had an idea of how to do the film a little differently.

Strange Magic: The Weird & Wonderful Worlds of Kai Ashante Wilson

In the current literary climate, the phrase ‘unique voice’ has become somewhat overused, losing meaning and novelty as it travels from author to author. In this case, however, award-winning author Kai Ashante Wilson has emerged as the embodiment of the phrase at its most pure – his writing is both lyrical and grounded, mischievous and mournful, and there has never been anything like it before.

Harley as Heroine: Rewriting Suicide Squad (2016)

I have something to confess: I enjoyed Suicide Squad. I can’t defend it in any way, but I had a good time watching it. I own the film, I’ve seen it a few times since, and it doesn’t improve on repeat viewings, but I still like all the characters, despite how poorly they were drawn. It’s a fancy dress party of a film with little characterisation beyond costuming, but despite its lack of structure, character motivations or compelling villains, I have a little place in my heart for this tumultuous team-up.

But this is how I would have done it…

Fixing Fiction: Rewriting the Hobbit trilogy (2012-2014)

I really enjoyed ‘An Unexpected Journey’ when it first came out, even ranking it among my beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. However, as the franchise went on – and on and on – it became increasingly clear that cracks were beginning to show in a once-promising prequel. There’s still a lot to like about the films; the acting’s good, there’s some nice moments scattered throughout, but there are too many mistakes and missteps that point to wasted potential. After much thought, here are 5 things I’d have changed about the Hobbit prequel trilogy…

The Devil’s Double: Punisher vs. Daredevil (Season 2)

What can Matt Murdock and Frank Castle possibly have in common? I’ll be tackling that question in the third instalment of my Marvel Doubles series, looking at duality in Season 2 of Netflix’s Daredevil.

Basil (1998): Not the Great Mouse Detective; or Great, for that Matter

Taking a break from my Marvel Doubles blog series (as I’m still catching up on Luke Cage/ Iron Fist and collecting my thoughts on Punisher/ Daredevil), I just had to vent about this rather odd film I watched last night which features 1990’s-era Christian Slater and Jared Leto fighting against each other – and homoerotic subtext – in a twee love triangle that descends disturbingly quickly into disfigurement. No, really.

The Devil & Miss Jones: Doubles and Duality in Netflix’s Second Superhero Show

The next post in my Marvel Doubles series looks at duality and mirroring in Netflix’s Jessica Jones.

The Devil’s Reject: Looking Back at Daredevil (2003)

How does 2003 Ben Affleck vehicle Daredevil hold up 14 years later? When compared to Netflix’s take on the same titular defender, not very well at all. In fairness, it’s probably among the least rubbish comic book movies of the early 00’s, which also gave us Ang Lee’s Hulk, Halle Berry’s Catwoman and Jennifer Garner’s Daredevil spin-off Elektra, but it’s no X2 or Hellboy which came out around the same time. Still, it was a little slice of nostalgic nonsense that I enjoyed in a post-modern ironic kind of way whilst remarking on 2003’s questionable fashion and music choices. So here, in all its grungy glory, is 2003’s Daredevil…

Daredevil’s Doubles: Daredevil vs. Kingpin

The first post in my Marvel Doubles series which looks at the ways in which Netflix’s Daredevil frames its titular hero, and villain Kingpin, in more shades of grey than E.L. James could shake a stick at. What makes a hero heroic, or a villain villainous? In the grimy underbelly of Hell’s Kitchen, there’s more overlap than you might imagine…