Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 423

WISH Will Have You Wishing a Great Idea Got a Much Better Movie

Disney’s newest animated musical, Wish, is technically about a girl helped by a magical creature after learning her beloved sorcerer king is not so wonderful. But Wish is really about Disney writing itself a love letter. The film is overtly based on “When You Wish Upon a Star” and “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” It’s also overstuffed with elements, like singing woodland creatures and a fairy tale framing, meant to pay homage to Golden Age Disney classics. And it’s structured like the studio’s Renaissance era movies while looking like an early 2000s release. It’s Disney-Inception. And none of it works.

All that self-adulation and referential storytelling detracts from a great idea, as does a woefully incomplete, subpar script. The result is a film with a major identity crisis made worse by subpar animation. If not for its clever premise and insightful themes, two leading stars, and some great songs it would be a total nightmare. Instead it’s merely a disappointing dream.

As someone who craves the return of shorter movies, it pains me to say the 92-minute long Wish desperately needs at least 15 more minutes. That way it could incorporate elements most good movies tend to have have, like meaningful characterization and plot development. Instead the film has too many shallow characters defined by a single trait, inexplicable plot points, and payoffs that come out of nowhere.

The script—which is actively unfunny the harder it tries to be humorous—is so incomplete that the more you think about it the worse it gets. The fantastic performances of stars Ariana DeBose (the young hero Asha) and Chris Pine (the villain King Magnifico) cover up many of Wish‘s flaws. As do some incredible songs. Wish has memorable numbers that are are more musically mature and intense than a lot of Disney fare. (Which is a pleasant surprise after a very standard opening number.) But not even DeBose and Pine can cover up some huge, obvious mistakes in the screenplay. The movie’s biggest emotional moments and some very important scenes, like the big ending, aren’t earned. More focus on incorporating basic storytelling elements would have been a huge improvement.

Disney

Unfortunately Wish isn’t interesting to look at, either. The animation style is not “retro” so much as it’s regressive. It seems to want to recreate the look of Disney film’s like Tangled and Bolt, but it looks like a cheap knockoff of those movies. What’s especially frustrating is that it occasionally employs other animation styles that look amazing. Wish has backgrounds that are truly gorgeous. A simple, stunning post-credits scene also shows what could have been. I wish we got to see the version of the movie with that animation instead.

The film isn’t a total disaster, though, even beyond its leads and songs. It’s premise is so good it covers up some of the movie’s many failings. Wish takes place in the magical kingdom of Rosas. People from all over the world come to live on the beautiful, peaceful island under King Magnifico’s protection. All he asks of them is when they move there or turn 18 they literally give him their heart’s most important wish via magic. The sorcerer then keeps their wish, which they don’t remember, as floating blue orbs. He not only keeps them safe, he grants one person their wish every month. All of which sounds great until Asha realizes why that’s horrible. That leads her to wish upon a star, which in turn brings the magical being called Star to Rosas.

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Star’s arrival results in Magnifico going full villain. Only, his transformation doesn’t carry any heft. But nothing that happens in Wish does, since it’s main focus isn’t the story, but rather celebrating Disney. It’s somehow overly meta despite being total earnest. There’s no “winking” at the camera, at least not until the credits roll, and yet it’s so overtly about Disney it still feels meta. It’s too bad, because the rare times Wish does its own thing it’s a lot of fun. There are also a few moments where it seems like it might get weird and interesting, but then a talking bunny shows up and it feels trite. There’s a fine line between tribute and banal. Wish is not close to the line. It revels in being derivative.

The perils of the film’s Disney-ness is best exemplified in its title. If the movie only cared about telling the best story possible, Wish wouldn’t be Wish. It would be Dream, because that’s what it’s really about. This movie is about how the dreams we hold dearest in our heart shape us, both good and bad. It’s about how dreams can push us to greatness just as much as they can fill us with disappointment and regret. And it’s about the fact that who we entrust with helping make our dreams come true is just as important as what our dreams are.

Disney

That’s exactly the type of idea that should make for a great Disney animated movie. But the word “wish” does not have the same connotation as the word “dream.” One has a power the other does not. “A wish is a dream your heart makes” doesn’t sound as good as the original because it’s not. We send our wishes far away to the stars, but we keep our dreams in our hearts.

Too bad for us that long ago Jiminy Cricket didn’t sing “When You Dream Upon a Star.” It might have led to a much better movie now.

⭐ (2.5 of 5)

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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All the DOCTOR WHO Guest Stars and Cameo Announcements for Ncuti Gatwa’s First Season

Doctor Who fans are ready to see David Tennant return as the Fourteenth Doctor (seriously, what is going on here?!) alongside the beloved Donna Noble in the 60th anniversary specials. But there’s even more Doctor Who excitement with Ncuti Gatwa taking over as the Fifteenth Doctor in his first season. While many of us will think of it as season 14, the show is officially going into a new era. So it will be season one once again. Gatwa will make his debut when Fourteen regenerates at the end of the final anniversary special before going off on his own adventures. We already know that Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor will travel with Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday. But there are some guest stars that have fans hype for the next chapter of Doctor Who. 

BBC

It is not unusual for more than one Doctor to link up. Time-traveling is strange business, after all. And it seems that the latest iteration of The Doctor will meet the original in some way. In his GQ Man of the Year acceptance speech, Gatwa revealed that the Fifteenth Doctor will share a scene with the First Doctor. He doesn’t give any more specifics but we can assume this will happen sometime in the first season. While William Hartnell died nearly 50 years ago, David Bradley has been playing recent portrayals of the First Doctor. However, it seems Doctor Who will use footage of Hartnell alongside Gatwa’s Doctor. Interesting.

Lenny Rush is also joining the cast as Morris. Interestingly, Russell T Davies refers to him as a member of the TARDIS team, a phrase typically associated with companions. It is not fully clear if he will travel with the Doctor for more than an adventure or two versus being a full-time companion like Ruby Sunday. Perhaps he will be more like a Mickey Smith who hangs around for a bit and then decides to do other things. Either way, we are excited to see him!

BAFTA-winner Lenny Rush joins #DoctorWho – meet Morris!

Alongside Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, @mrlennyrush plays Morris in the new series. Find out more here ➡️ https://t.co/R0CY9An4iJ pic.twitter.com/h5MsfM0UWr

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) June 15, 2023

Doctor Who season 1 (still gotta get used to that) will also bring Bonnie Langford back as Mel Bush. She traveled with the Sixth and Seventh Doctors before returning many years later, making a brief cameo in the Thirteenth Doctor’s final episode. Now, she will come back for a full on adventure.

There are quite a few mysterious new faces to this franchise. Drag Race’s Jinkx Monsoon will portray the Doctor’s “most powerful enemy yet.”

Here is your first look at @JinkxMonsoon in character… as the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/HndwI1nhW2

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) April 19, 2023

After taking one look at this character, we would let them take complete control of our lives. The statement about Monsoon’s character being a major baddie is very similar to what showrunner Russell T Davies said about Neil Patrick Harris’ character set to appear in the anniversary specials. Could this be the same character after a regeneration? Maybe. Or perhaps it is the Rani coming back to play again. Who knows.

Another high note for #DoctorWho! 💫

Award-winning star of stage and screen Jonathan Groff joins the cast of the upcoming series in a key role. Find out more here ➡️ https://t.co/x1zLJJcsF2 pic.twitter.com/7GGvJ0q7hG

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) May 5, 2023

Jonathan Groff will also appear in the upcoming season of Doctor Who. Most of us Americans know him best as Hamilton’s King George III. He certainly can give us a ton of humorous drama. The details about his character are unknown at this time outside of him playing a “key role” in the narrative. But we do know that it will be a historical episode based on this first look photo.

BBC

Anita Dobson and Michelle Greenridge will also appear this season as well in undisclosed roles along with Aneurin Barnard as a character named Roger ap Gwilliam. Indira Varma, who made a previous guest appearance in Torchwood, is starring as the Duchess.

BBC

We don’t know a lot about those new named characters yet, but the answers will eventually come. It seems this season of Doctor Who is going to be a campy good time based off of these guest stars. 

Another familiar face that we see again is Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Stewart. The leader of the UK’s UNIT branch and daughter of the Brigadier promises some more fun with the Fifteenth Doctor. We cannot wait to get more information about Doctor Who’s fourteenth season. Until then we will patiently wait for a trailer to really see Fifteen and Ruby in action.

Originally published on May 8, 2023.

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THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL Documentary Sets Digital Release Date

The 1978 The Star Wars Holiday Special is one the cringiest things to ever come from the galaxy far, far away. It was so bad, in fact, that it aired only once, despite the involvement of almost the entire main Star Wars cast. It has never seen an official home video release, and don’t even bother looking on Disney+ for it. Now, we’ve learned that a documentary about how this special ever came to be is on the way, and it will release on digital early this December. You can watch the trailer for A Disturbance in the Force below:

Set on the Wookiee home planet, the TV special was a variety “comedy” hour. (Comedy in quotes for a reason.) It focused on Chewbacca’s family celebrating Life Day, with celebrity guests galore. The special circulated for years on bootleg VHS tapes at conventions. Then, it became available in an unofficial capacity online. One YouTuber even remastered it. Lucasfilm has never done anything to crack down on this. Maybe they realized that the genie was long out of the bottle, and there’s no use. Hopefully, in this new documentary, we will finally learn how this train wreck of a cash-in ever went on the air.

Among the folks interviewed are Seth Green, “Weird Al” Yankovic, the late Gilbert Gottfried, Paul Scheer, and writer Bruce Vilanch. In the trailer, Vilanch explains that they even tried to get Cher to be in the special. To her credit, she was wise enough to turn it down. (Although that would have been a sight to see). What other secrets about the making of this infamous pop culture artifact might we learn?

Lucasfilm

In a weird way, the “bootleg” reputation of the The Star Wars Holiday Special has only made it more popular with fans. And elements of it have survived into official Star Wars canon. The animated short that was part of the special introduced Boba Fett. His unique phase pulse blaster, which looked like a tuning fork, saw use on The Mandalorian. And the planet of Kashyyyk was a major location in Revenge of the Sith. And these days, they honor the Wookiee celebration of Life Day with merch all over Galaxy’s Edge. Even the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special probably wouldn’t be a thing if Star Wars hadn’t gone there first. So it’s about time it got its props, even if everyone involved is embarrassed by it today.

A Disturbance in the Force will arrive on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 5. You can pre-order it today and take it home just in time for the holidays.

Originally published on January 12, 2023.

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Iman Vellani on THE MARVELS, Writing MS. MARVEL Comics, and Her Hopes for Kamala Khan’s Future

In The Marvels, Iman Vellani makes a delightful return as Kamala Khan after we last saw her in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel. The Pakistani-Canadian actress has been widely noted as a scene-stealer in the film, bringing all of Kamala Khan’s joy over meeting her idol Captain Marvel to the big screen. Vellani is fully living the dream of a comic book nerd in many ways. She recently co-wrote Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant alongside , which introduces Kamala Khan as a mutant and member of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics universe.

We caught up with Iman Vellani to talk about her ideas for Kamala Khan’s future, her relationship with her The Marvels co-stars, and her hopes for Ms. Marvel to meet a certain character in the MCU.

Marvel Studios

Nerdist: What is it like living every comic book nerd’s dream? Your joy in being in this film was so palpable and so wonderful to see. What was the experience like?

Iman Vellani: I really have been trying to figure out how to sum it up and it’s near impossible. I feel like such an imposter at times. I am very, very lucky and I can acknowledge that, but what if I’m not enough? What if there’s a bigger fan? It’s a lot of pressure when you actually think about it and knowing the fan base very well from God knows how many years I’ve been a part of this community… It’s a little intimidating, but I think if I’m happy doing the work, then people will be able to see that. So hopefully that’s enough.

The relationship between Kamala, Carol, and Monica was the highlight of the film. What was it like building that relationship and bonding over the filming throughout?

Vellani: Yeah, I was going into this thinking we’re going to be like sisters, super close, and they kind of just took me in. It was very sweet because both of them have not only been in Marvel things before, but they’ve just been in Hollywood before and I had just come off of Ms. Marvel. I hadn’t done any press yet. I haven’t been exposed to the world. I basically had these two years where I could just prepare for my life to change. Brie and Teyonah were both very good at giving me space to ask questions and be vulnerable and open.

There’s so many weird questions that you can’t really ask until you’re put in that situation, in terms of press and your makeup or body image. There’s so much of just being a woman in the public eye and I think they understand that on such a deep level. It was very great for me to have them as support, and then they just let me take off once the universe got ahold of me and they’ve always been available if I ever needed anything. It was a very sweet relationship.

In The Marvels, Kamala goes through this journey of learning not to put Captain Marvel on such a high pedestal. Did that journey parallel your own at all as someone who’s just entering this world of Marvel and this massive limelight?

Vellani: Absolutely. I say this all the time, but me and Kamala are going on a very similar trajectory here. With Ms. Marvel, it was like a homey environment, small, everyone was kind of my age and we were all new and this was everyone’s first big thing. Then suddenly, two weeks later, I’m doing a scene with Samuel L. Jackson and my brain cannot wrap my head around it. I’ve gotten a lot better at realizing famous people are also people.

Marvel Studios

I think at the same time, Kamala realizes Carol has so many stressors already on her, and she very clearly does not know how to express her feelings. She doesn’t know how to be vulnerable in front of other people. She doesn’t have any relationships in her life, whereas Kamala has her friends, her family, her religious community. She’s got her mentors, her idols, and so many people around her in her life and her entire Jersey City squad and Carol doesn’t have that. [Carol] has Goose. She has a freaking cat. That’s it.

It’s not even a cat. So it makes total sense that she is the way that she is, and I think Carol actually ends up learning a lot from Kamala about being open and having emotions and honoring those feelings and just like Kamala does. It was very sweet to watch our characters progress and go through this entire arc throughout the course of the film.

Kamala/Ms. Marvel is one of my favorite characters, not only as a South Asian Muslim woman, but also because so much of her culture and religion is woven into who she is in every comic page of portrayal. The same is true for her in live-action, too. Do you have a favorite example of a certain cultural or religious reference that happened in The Marvels?

Vellani: There’s this one part where Muneeba, Kamala’s mom, is saying how she’s going to kill Carol Danvers in Urdu. That was really funny. I don’t know why. That just makes me crack up every single time. That, and obviously [the moment where] Aamir is praying as they’re about to crash-land back on to Earth and Nick Fury was like, “Well, don’t stop. We need all the help we can get.” There are these little moments like that that make these characters so specific and [to me], this is representation. Not being “this is what Islam is and this is what being Pakistani means.” It’s just having these little moments. My parents talk to me half in English, half in Urdu. They’re sprinkling in little words just like the Khan family does. It makes me feel seen, and I love that we have that in the film.

Yeah, absolutely. I think something special about Kamala is that kind of specificity, but that is universally appealing, because, ultimately, she is just a girl trying to fit in.

Vellani: Exactly. Aren’t we all?

Kamala gets her little Nick Fury in Iron Man moment at the end of the film, which had me so excited. It seems that this new team seems quite intriguing. Do you have a dream team, aside from Kate and now potentially Cassie, even someone who isn’t in the MCU yet?

Vellani: People really love these Young Avengers, but I don’t even know if they actually read those comics—not that they’re bad. The chemistry between Kamala, Miles [Morales], and Sam [Alexander], it’s too good. I would love to see that trio in the MCU. Neither of those characters exist yet in live action, but I’m praying for it. Yeah. I love Sam Alexander. One of their first interactions that they had. Also when Sam tried to reveal his identity and Kamala was like, “Get away from me.” I love it.

Marvel Studios

If there were a Ms. Marvel season two, which we are all hoping for, what is your favorite comic storyline that you would like to see done in live action next?

Vellani: Doc.X, I think. Gen Z and their phones, people love talking about that and just the impact that technology really does have on us. I think Doc.X is such a good villain to incorporate and act as the metaphor for how much content we’re consuming and the ways we use technology to ruin other people’s lives.

I think that could work so well in a college setting or even her senior year. I really want to see that storyline play out. And also, I think it’s one of the storylines where Kamala is just at her peak nerdiness. The comic also starts with her hosting a LAN party with all these other nerds, gaming. It’s so amazing, honestly. So I want to see more of that. I want to see gamer Kamala. I want to see her just fueling on bags of chips and pop. 

Speaking of comics, co-writing the first comic book run where Kamala is now a mutant is a big responsibility! I’m sure you were over the moon at the opportunity. Did you learn anything new about Kamala’s character?

Vellani: I honestly wanted to honor a lot of G. Willow Wilson’s original Ms. Marvel run. She does such a good job of painting the picture of who Kamala is right down from the very first frame of her smelling bacon at Circle Q, and I love it. I love how much personality she has. For me, I wanted the comic that I co-wrote to showcase why I love this character so much in this specific medium.

I love Kamala in the MCU, but I wanted people to see why she’s even cooler in the comics. I wanted to put her powers on full display, so me and my co-writer Sabir Pirzada, who is my favorite human to work with, were just like, “Okay, how crazy can we go with these powers? What kind of shapes can we come up with?”

These powers work so well and only in comics. You could do so much with it. And as long as the artist can draw it, the sky’s the limit. That was my main takeaway, and I think I found so many new things Kamala can do with her powers. It’s crazy. She uses her own body as a slingshot at one point. Her fingers elongate into spaghettis and they separate drones. It’s so weird and crazy. You couldn’t do that in live action. So yes, this was my love letter to her powers, I guess.

Marvel Studios/Dolby Cinema

Now that you’ve written for Ms. Marvel, if you had the chance to write for any other superhero, who would it be?

Vellani: That’s tough. Maybe Deadpool, honestly. I think he’s a pretty fun character and I love reading his comics. He just comes to the top of my mind because I recently have been reading some Deadpool. But I love his humor, and honestly, when you read enough Deadpool comics, you can just mimic it and I feel like that would be really fun and put him in really strange situations.

Let’s hop back to The Marvels. As you talked about before, Kamala has a lot of people to rely on and it shows this emotional maturity that, say Carol or even Monica, can’t really get to. Could you tell me a little bit about how you portray that and what was most important to you in portraying her relationships to her family and friends especially?

Vellani: Kamala is very much the glue of the group in a lot of ways. She has so much more knowledge than them about superheroing. Even though she’s younger than all the rest of the characters, she’s still the most mature, still the most emotionally intelligent because she is such an observer. And I’m very glad for the way the movie is edited because it cuts back to Kamala just reacting and not speaking. There’s little moments where Monica slips up and calls Carol “Aunt Carol,” and you just have that one look from Kamala.

There’s a lot of moments like that and she realizes very quickly early on that she’s in between some really tense moments between Carol and Monica. They have years of history under their belt and yet she still doesn’t shy away from giving her opinion. She doesn’t shy away from making choices under pressure. A lot of the reason is because of her relationships, Kamala just feels like a character who understands what it is like to be human. She’s the epitome of humanity in my eyes. I think she’s the most human character in the MCU. I think she has so many relationships that ground her. I think her religion grounds her. The fact that she has both parents who are alive grounds her, and Carol just doesn’t have that. 

I think that quality just makes her a natural born leader in a lot of ways, which is why I would be so excited to see something like the Young Avengers come to fruition. There’s so much that so many characters can learn from her, and Carol definitely takes a lot of that from Kamala. Kamala teaches them about teamwork and about partnership because she’s researched all this. She reads comics, she writes fan fiction, she’s listening to Scott Lang’s podcast. So she’s so involved in the superhero of it all that sometimes she forgets that her heroes are also adults and they have lives and they’re human too. Carol and Monica teach her more about adulthood, and she teaches them about leadership and about teamwork. So it’s a good balance.

Marvel Studios

The scene in Aladna, with all the bright colors and set pieces, kind of reminded me of a Bollywood musical. We’ve seen Kamala go through some Bollywood-like scenes in the comics, but would that be something you would like Kamala to do in the MCU too? 

Vellani: I would like for Kamala to do it. I would not like to do it. They already had me dance twice in Ms. Marvel. I can’t move like that. No, I wish I could say I was the Madhuri Dixit of the MCU, but I’m really not. I don’t think I want to be. That seems like a lot, a lot of dance moves. But there are scenes from the comic where she is in Bollywood-esque numbers and stuff and I was like, “That would be fun for Kamala, if I’m thinking not selfishly.” I would love to see it. I’m a little scared of Bollywood. It feels very intimidating and a lot of pressure.

We have to talk about the end credit scene, it is groundbreaking for the MCU. Now that Kamala is already part of the X-Men in the comics, which member of the X-Men would you like to see her meet first?

Vellani: Wolverine. Wolverine any day. Personally, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine is one of my favorite characters ever, but also her first mentor in the comics was Wolverine. I wanted to bring Wolverine back into this one. Hopefully, we can do that in the future. I think their interactions are so sweet and she brings out a different side of Logan and I love it when she just has all these superhero parents. It’s wonderful. He’s very protective over her and I think he’s also very real with her. He doesn’t sugarcoat anything and I think Kamala needs just a reality check sometimes. 

The post Iman Vellani on THE MARVELS, Writing MS. MARVEL Comics, and Her Hopes for Kamala Khan’s Future appeared first on Nerdist.

NAPOLEON’s Lengthy Character Study Lacks a Compelling Story

Ridley Scott recently told historians calling out historical inaccuracies in Napoleon to “Get a life.” And that seemed to indicate that his big-screen adaptation of Napoleon’s story would be more concerned with the spirit of Napoleon’s history, reimagined to enthrall audiences, than the letter of it. But, though touted by trailers as a cinematic spectacle of massive scope, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is simultaneously too much biopic to be a larger-than-life feature and not factual enough to deliver a compelling history. The movie is ultimately a focused meditation on Napoleon, one that thankfully doesn’t glorify him, but it fails to offer audiences any kind of interesting storyline or meaningful takeaway throughout its nearly three hours of runtime.

Sony Pictures

This is not a problem exclusive to Napoleon, but the overarching issue with imbuing any biopic with a compelling narrative is that a person’s life, even a person as objectively fascinating as Napoleon, is just their life. And that’s a fine thing to embrace. But Napoleon doesn’t really seem to believe itself to be recounting the history of a person and instead seeks to tell an epic of a larger scale. And in that, it does not succeed. Napoleon oscillates unevenly, and often abruptly, between massive battles (not all of which are engaging), a love story of sorts, and attempts at depicting historical events it isn’t really prepared to delve into fully. And that leaves viewers occasionally fascinated, sometimes confused, and unfortunately, more often than desired, bored.

The main structure of the film really highlights this issue. Napoleon‘s sprawling screen time divides itself into many small chapters, indicated to the audience with a chapter heading that literally appears on the screen to announce a new section. Each of these chapters revolves around a specific moment or battle in Napoleon’s life. But they rarely shift smoothly from one to the next. Napoleon jumps from being merely a successful general to being a key leader of France to crowning himself Emporer with little in the way of explanation of how he moves from one stage to the next.

It seems like any one of these periods and transitions might have made for a compelling movie. Instead, we rifle through Napoelon’s life like a flipbook, jumping in where Scott feels something particularly interesting has taken place. But, much like a flipbook, it’s hard to tell a story with meat on its bones in this fashion. While some moments end up shining, most are just a page passing by.

A particular bright spot, for instance, comes during Napoelon’s frozen winter battle of Austerlitz. In this sequence, you get a taste of the movie Napoleon aspires to be. The cinematography is stunning, the scope is epic, and the music is swelling. There’s cleverness in the characters and the storytelling. In this sequence, you feel drawn into Napoleon’s world and what it has to offer. But, unfortunately, the chapter turns, the moment recedes, and virtually none of the rest of the movie captures the same brilliance. It’s a strong note but swallowed in a sea of weak to moderately interesting ones.

Sony Pictures

For me, Napoleon fails as both a war movie and an epic history. It really works best when read as a film depicting the slow unraveling of a narcissist. I commend Scott for starting viewers at a point where Napoleon seems like yet another socially inept, self-important upstart and then gradually pulling back the curtain until the strong realization that he’s really a narcissistic psychopath hits hard. That throughline is well done. But while the movie certainly doesn’t seem to praise or glorify this aspect of Napoleon, it doesn’t very strongly condemn it either.

A title card at the end of the film points to the amount of deaths Napoleon has on his hands. And some of the battle sequences and political moments create the feeling that war is a confusing, harrowing experience played out at the whims of the powerful. But while we might know these things are true and terrible, both the dramatic title card and this feeling go largely unexamined in the movie itself. Instead, the movie holds tightly to Napoleon and his perspective of things. This choice doesn’t allow us to see the true impacts of his decisions and the larger context in which they play out. And so, if Napoleon‘s strongest points simply hover, stated, but not explored, what purpose, then, does this movie fulfill exactly?

Sony Pictures

Strangely, in this way, Napoleon is very much in conversation with the contemporaneously released The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Both movies elect to follow their nefarious leads as they reflectionlessly embark on their respective descents into blind ambition and their desires to dominate. But in both cases, this perspective narrows the scope of what the movies can thusly say about the characters, sticking largely to their perspectives of themselves and setting aside wider, more interesting explorations. The blood on Napoleon’s hands and the impact his wars and conquering efforts had on so many people, countries, and the world would have made for a fascinating exploration of the historical figure. Instead, Napoleon stays inside of Napoleon’s head, where there is no reflection possible.

The film does have some well-done battle sequences that fans of war movies will no doubt enjoy. (Although fair warning, horses are not treated very kindly in this movie. There is a very graphic scene of a horse getting a cannonball to its body very early on.) Napoleon also contains some lines that will no doubt be repeated for years to come. (“Destiny has brought me this pork chop.” “You (the British) think you’re so great because you have boats.”)

Sony Pictures

Of course, the acting is also steller. Joaquin Phoenix does a tremendous job embodying Napoleon in the movie. Vanessa Kirby, too, shines as the emperor’s much-tormented wife, Joséphine. And she is responsible for the scenes that have the most life and interest in them, aside from the battles that really land. There’s also a strange humor to the staging, dialogue, and overall energy of the movie’s scenes that mirror Napoleon’s character in an interesting way. And, as mentioned, at times, it does capture the imagination and draw the viewers in.

But ultimately, for a movie that does go on, Napoleon doesn’t have very much to say at all.

Napoleon ⭐ (3 of 5)

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DISNEY LORCANA: RISE OF THE FLOODBORN Starter Decks Bring More Depth to the Game

When Disney Lorcana: The First Chapter arrived over the summer, I followed the Ravensburger game inspired by Disney animation into the trading card rabbit hole. I learned about deck-building, the perils of booster packs and boxes (when I could track them down), and the value of buying single cards. I joined a weekly Lorcana league at a local game store and enjoyed seeing how quickly a community formed around the game. After a few months of perfecting my decks and preferred ink combinations with The First Chapter, it’s all changing with Disney Lorcana: Rise of the Floodborn. The second set’s starter decks bring additional features that, while friendly to beginners, bring depth and fresh challenges to the game.

Ravensburger

Ravensburger sent Nerdist one of each starter deck for review purposes. The starter decks have 60 cards each and are designed for immediate play. Both feature different ink combinations than The First Chapter’s starter decks. Additionally, both decks include some cards from the first release. Though they might not have any of the set’s most powerful cards, the starter decks are a well-rounded representation of Rise of the Floodborn. Both have stunning art of Disney characters and hint at the mysterious flood of ink that transformed some of the characters.

Rise of the Floodborn Amethyst and Steel Starter DeckRavensburger

Called the Might and Magic deck, the Rise of the Floodborn Amethyst and Steel Starter Deck is all about transformation. This deck features several Merlin and Madam Mim transformation cards from their wizard’s duel in The Sword in the Stone. Besides being excited to see the characters from the 1963 film, the Amethyst ink cards come with effects for when the characters enter play and when they leave play. This can mean gaining lore, drawing a card, peeking at the top card of your deck, or returning a card to your hand.

With the Steel ink, you have cards that represent the best of the ink’s traits. That means bodyguards, damage dealers, and solid lore values. The Amethyst cards in this deck thrive with Steel at their back. Though I’m already imagining some modifications I would make with Steel cards from The First Chapter.

A huge selling point of this deck is Resist. After several months playing The First Chapter, it’s going to take me a while to incorporate Resist and to remember its value. This new keyword brings the ability for a character to resist damage. We’ve seen all kinds of modifications to strength values, but not to damage. If you’re playing Lorcana for the first time with Floodborn, use this to your advantage. If you’ve been playing Lorcana, I’d get this deck just to practice using this ability. It has the potential to be a gamechanger.

Play this deck if you’re bold enough to banish your own cards or return them to your hand. (Reader: I am not bold enough. I want to hang on to my cards as long as possible and quest with them).

Rise of the Floodborn Sapphire and Amber Starter DeckRavensburger

The Rise of the Floodborn Sapphire and Amber Starter Deck focuses on teamwork. It is, in fact, the Tactical Teamwork deck. That’s largely because of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The Seven Dwarfs play off each other, lending Support and abilities triggered upon banishment. They can build up lore and get very quest-y very quickly. Additionally this deck brings in more items (perfect for Tamatoa item deck builders) and adds new faces like Winnie the Pooh and Judy Hopps.

While the Sapphire in this starter deck doesn’t load the inkwell as quickly as Sapphire cards in The First Chapter, it delivers on items and being ink fodder. It also helpfully brings in a character capable of challenging Evasive opponents for only two ink (Cruella de Vil, Fashionable Cruiser). Sapphire has intriguing items, too.

That said, Amber is what shines in this deck. I found myself inking Sapphire cards over and over to get Amber cards in play. I was initially skeptical about the sheer number of Seven Dwarfs cards, thinking I would get tired of seeing them, let alone playing them. They seem to rule the deck. But I quickly became a fan. Using the Seven Dwarfs to their full potential will take more finesse but even in a handful of games, they proved beneficial for challenging the opponent and also for questing. This deck’s features make it easy to get characters with high lore value out on the board and make your opponent go on the defensive. It can go from low lore to high lore quickly to make a comeback, too.

Play this deck if you like to rely on a quest-heavy strategy. (Hi, it’s me).

Overall, the Rise of the Floodborn starter decks complement the existing game’s meta while introducing new possibilities. It delivers on expanding Lorcana’s story while bringing fresh characters and gorgeous new art.

Disney Lorcana: The Rise of the Floodborn will release first at local game stores on November 17. Mass market retailers follow on December 1. Get more information at the official Lorcana website.

Featured Image: Ravensburger

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Rick and Morty Just Changed EVERYTHING | “Unmortricken” Breakdown

Welcome back, Rick & Morty fans! This week’s episode offered up some massive developments for the series’ longrunning storylines around Rick Prime and Evil Morty in a story that will have massive implications for the series moving forward. Dan dives in to break down this epic end of an era on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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TED Returns in Trailer and First Images for Peacock Prequel Series

A lot has changed in the last 30 years, like how Jurassic Park turned into Jurassic World. Plus I’m sure some other things are different since then, too. But one thing that hasn’t changed, even during the streaming era, are television mini-series events. And since a certain magical talking bear was technically alive in 1993, he’s a perfect candidate to get one in 2023. Seth MacFarlane’s Ted is getting a special prequel mini-series at Peacock, which the site announced with a special teaser and first-look images.

The talking teddy bear who sounds a lot like Peter Griffin is back. Only this time we’re going back to a much earlier time in his life. Here’s the prequel series’ official synopsis from Peacock:

In this comedic prequel event series to the Ted films, it’s 1993, and Ted the bear’s (Seth MacFarlane) moment of fame has passed. He’s now living back home in Framingham, Massachusetts with his best friend, 16-year-old John Bennett (Max Burkholder), along with John’s parents, Matty and Susan (Scott Grimes and Alanna Ubach) and cousin Blaire (Giorgia Whigham). Ted may be a lousy influence on John, but at the end of the day, he’s a loyal pal who’s always willing to go out on a limb for friendship.

Peacock

Not the most informative synopsis ever, but in a press release Seth MacFarlane shared some insight into the inspiration behind the show. Despite the silly nature of Ted, the series is very personal to him. And also silly.

Each generation develops its own unique artistic style, its own way of seeing the world. In the twenties, it was the subversive musical phrasings of jazz. In the fifties, it was the bold brushwork of the abstract expressionists. Our generation’s unique art is streaming content based on previously successful intellectual property. In that proud tradition, we humbly give you Ted.   

Our series is a prequel to the Ted movies. It takes place in the nineties but is based on the timeless truth that being sixteen sucks. The only thing that makes it tolerable is going through it with a friend, even if that friend is a has-been magical teddy bear with a foul mouth and a proclivity for drug use.  

The three of us were teenagers in the nineties and grew up in and around Boston, where the show takes place, so many of these stories are personal for us. We were able to put the characters through some of the same indignities and milestones we experienced back then. Also, we made stuff up (it’s a lot of pages to fill and real life is mostly boring).  

Peacock

The streamer also provided three images from the seven episode “event.” They look very much like a throwback ’90s series. One where a teddy bear gets high with a teenager, which would have technically made for a “special event” episode in the ’90s.

Peacock

All seven episode of the Ted series will debut on Peacock on January 11, 2024, so we won’t have to wait for a new one every week. And that is very different from how things worked 30 years ago.

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Why SECRET WARS Should Be an AVENGERS/X-MEN Battle Royale

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Marvel Studios is certainly at a crossroads at the moment. The once indestructible brand where every film was an out-of-the-ballpark hit had its share of disappointments in 2023. There are a myriad of reasons for this, chiefly too much content in too short a time, and not enough of them were “events.” (Spider-Man: No Way Home notwithstanding). Aside from cutting back on films and shows drastically, there is a solution for this MCU malaise. And that solution involves putting the Avengers and the X-Men on screen together at last, and probably in Secret Wars.

Marvel Studios/Twentieth Century Films

A big part of the solution is to truly make the next Avengers film an event that even the most jaded and burnt-out MCU fans would have to check out in theaters—a proper Avengers/X-Men crossover. Certain hints that have popped up recently suggest Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Marvel’s Mutants are headed for a collision course with multiversal ramifications. Whether or not Avengers: The Kang Dynasty actually happens as planned, we do believe that the next Avengers film will feature the two iconic Marvel teams at odds.

The X-Men Hints So Far in the MCUMarvel Studios

Since Disney acquired Fox back in 2019, fans have been asking “So when are the X-Men coming to the MCU?” Even She-Hulk asked it in her own show. And so far, Marvel Studios has been playing the long game, not jumping into anything. We got the mutant hint in Ms. Marvel, and Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier in Multiverse of Madness. Plus, the news of Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine in Deadpool 3. Heck, we’re not convinced that Evan Peters’ Quicksilver in WandaVision isn’t more than he seems and not just a gag.

Marvel Studios

Now, The Marvels has revealed yet another connection to the X-Men universe with the return of Kelsey Grammar as Beast, working in the X-mansion from the original films. An incursion event with the X-Men universe and the 616 seems imminent, and that can only mean we’re getting an Avengers vs. X-Men project. And in fact, Avengers: Secret Wars could very likely be rebranded as Avengers/X-Men: Secret Wars. An announcement of that magnitude would blow the doors off of San Diego’s Hall H, and stop all talk of “Marvel Fatigue” dead in its tracks. Just from a mercenary business perspective, it makes sense. But frankly, it’s also a story fans have waited decades to see.

Will These MCU Mutants Be the X-Men We Know?20th Century Films

The big question is, which X-Men are we dealing with here? Beast was working in a lab that looked identical to the underground medical bay in the Fox X-Men films. The Charles Xavier we saw in Doctor Strange on Earth-838 seemed very reminiscent of the one from X-Men: The Animated Series. But the Scarlet Witch killed that Charles. Obviously, the Charles that the Beast refers to seems to be very much alive. So, this is another hint that Beast is in the classic X-Men movie universe, not Earth-838. Or, at least, a version of the classic Fox X-Men world. And yes, we know his appearance looks different. We remind you that the look of comic book Beast is continually evolving. No reason to think the live-action Henry McCoy would be any different.

X-Men: Days of Future Past May Hold the AnswerTwentieth Century Fox

Fans of the Fox X-Men films know that the timeline and continuity of those films are a bit of a mess. And that’s putting it mildly. But at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Logan’s adventures in the past caused him to wake up in a new present. Essentially, a “happy ending” future, where Xavier is still alive. The school was open, and former tragically dead X-Men like Cyclops and Jean Grey were alive and well. In fact, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast was there too, in a cameo moment.

Given one of music cues in The Marvels’ post-credits scene is from Days of Future Past, we think that they’re trying to tell us that we’re in that “happy ending” reality from that film. A reality that takes the best elements of the original movies and loses the things viewers hated. Mainly, the random and arbitrary deaths of the main X-Men. So, in short, it’s a new X-Men universe, made up of bits and pieces of the old one. And part of what it’s keeping is the classic actors. The rest is up to the filmmakers.

Deadpool 3 May Set the Stage for Avengers/X-Men: Secret WarsMarvel Studios/Marvel Comics

With three confirmed X-Men characters back, there’s no telling who else might show up coming up soon. There are rumors already that Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, and James Marsden are back for Deadpool 3 as Storm, Jean Grey, and Cyclops, respectively. Patrick Stewart has all but confirmed he’s back too. What’s to stop Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Alan Cumming, and Rebecca Romijn from returning as well? If you’re going to bring back the OG X-Men, it seems only using them in small roles in Deadpool 3 is a waste. No, we think there are much bigger plans afoot.

The 2015 event comic Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman began when incursions across the Multiverse resulted in its total destruction until there were only two realities left—the classic 616, and Earth 1610, home of the Ultimate universe. Eventually, both of those realities had to do battle with each other to determine which one would get to live. Spoiler alert—neither reality gets to live, and Doctor Doom fuses what remains of them together into a new “Battleworld.”

Marvel Studios

Although it could still be Kang in the MCU, In Avengers/X-Men Secret Wars, we could get a version of that story. But it would be the MCU Earth vs the Fox X-Men Earth. And the protectors of each reality would have to fight for the existence of their world. Much like Captain America: Civil War, neither side would be wrong. Who wouldn’t fight to protect everyone they know from annihilation? In an Infinity Wars-type cliffhanger, we could see both realities fade to white, presumably destroyed. A sixth Avengers film could open on Battleworld, a hodgepodge reality made of elements of both universes. It would be an excuse to bring back anybody.

X-Men vs. Avengers: A Battle Fans Have Waited Decades to See

From a pure fan point of view, the battles would be cant-miss events. Thor vs. Storm, Wolverine vs. Hulk, Scarlet Witch vs. Phoenix, etc. And yes, an all-star lineup of Avengers vs. an all-star lineup of X-Men is a lot of characters. But let us remind you that Civil War juggled 18 principal characters. Infinity War and Endgame showcased 30, and somehow gave everyone something to do. So an Avengers/X-Men crossover could absolutely work. Although Kevin Feige might want to give Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely a call. They seem extremely adept at juggling so many superheroes cohesively, and giving emotional character stakes to these comic book battles.

The original X-Men films truly started the Marvel superhero craze in cinemas after Blade proved it could be done. It led to Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and ultimately, the MCU. If, in fact, Avengers: Secret Wars and the Multiverse Saga are intended to bring an end to not just one era of storytelling, but going back even before the MCU, what better way to go out than with a bang?

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Classic DOCTOR WHO Is Streaming on Tubi for Free

Ncuti Gatwa’s upcoming role as the Fifteenth Doctor on Doctor Who along with the future episodes heading to Disney+ is further expanding the show’s massive US and Canadian fanbase. There are a ton of newbies who want to understand “that blue phone box show.” The show’s modern era (2005-present) is a common entry point for newer fans. However, many want to go back to the very, very beginning, a.k.a. the Classic era (1963-1989). There are also longtime fans who 1) grew up watching Classic Who and love to see it and 2) became fans via the modern era but want to explore the Classic Doctors. Thankfully, Tubi is providing a free gateway into Classic Doctor Who, bringing all of the available episodes to its platform. 

BBC

Until now, the Classic era episodes were only available to UK and US fans via BritBox, a paid streaming service courtesy of the BBC and ITV. We can presume Classic episodes will remain there for now. But with a zillion streaming services in the universe, some people simply don’t want to pay for another one. That is totally understandable. So the Classic era episodes of Doctor Who on Tubi are a good thing, indeed. In addition to the show’s episodes, there is also Classic Doctor Who: The Animated Lost Stories, which includes animated reenactments of live-action episodes lost to time. (Many of them are from the Second Doctor’s era.) All episodes will run on a dedicated FAST channel and are available on-demand. 

Tubi will also offer a “New to Who” collection to help new fans board the TARDIS with relative ease. Now is the time to expand our recruiting efforts, Doctor Who fans. We need more people to become one of us because, well, we are an awesome collective. The Classic Doctor Who episodes are free on Tubi right now, so stream away my friends.

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