Drew Swords
drewswords
0following
2followers
Dołączono 2026
- Spider-Man: Brand New Day
I feel like I saw a totally different, far more average cut of the movie than everyone else. Brand New Day feels superficial. The Marvel “universe-building” takes priority over the Spider-Man side of things, and the inclusion of extended MCU characters like Florence Pugh’s ‘Black Widow’ and Jon Bernthal’s ‘The Punisher’ felt clunky, as if pulled at random from a hat. I don’t have an issue with Spider-Man being part of the wider MCU, but these characters need to feel like they’re actually serving the story, rather than just being here because Marvel has them available. And honestly, Mr Negative would have saved this movie. This feels so obvious. Give Peter a proper Spider-Man villain, give them some thematic connection to what Peter is going through, and suddenly you have a story that actually feels like a Spider-Man story. That being said, Tom Holland himself shines in the role more than ever, with an entirely new and improved NY Queen’s accent. There’s a maturity to his performance now that I really liked, and Holland feels completely comfortable in the role. It’s probably the strongest Peter Parker has felt throughout his entire run. Zendaya, however, is the absolute standout of the film. She brings so much depth to her portrayal of an MJ who doesn’t remember Peter Parker. There’s something genuinely heartbreaking about watching Peter interact with the person he loves while she has no idea who he is, and Zendaya sells that dynamic incredibly well. She’s given some of the best material she’s had as MJ and completely runs with it. My incredibly biased feud with Ned Leeds continues. A character so unlikable and annoying, I genuinely wish they’d used the memory wipe as an opportunity to finally write him out of these movies. The Hulk was also a highlight for me, which I absolutely was not expecting. His inclusion could have easily felt like another pointless MCU cameo, but his thematic ties to Spider-Man’s character arc actually give him a purpose here. For once, an extended MCU character feels like they’re actually contributing something to Peter’s story rather than simply reminding us that this movie exists in the MCU. Then we have this mystery character, and honestly, I found them pretty disappointing. It came off to me like an attempt to do a Marvel take on “Eleven” from Stranger Things, played by Stranger Things alumni Sadie Sink. I feel like Sink is very miscast in the role, and while the power set is cool, the character never really connected with me. Her powers do lead to my favourite sequence of the film, though, the first act tank scene at the Department of Damage Control. That was the kind of inventive, fun superhero stuff I wanted more of throughout the movie. Speaking of Damage Control, we have a new department head character played by Tramell Tillman, who is basically Mr Milchick from Severance, but like, if Mr Milchick had no character arc or subtlety. Tramell Tillman feels completely wasted here. He has such a great screen presence and I can absolutely see why Marvel wanted him, but the character feels like he’s being introduced for something much bigger that never really materialises. One can only hope his Marvel role is expanded in the future and, more importantly, that he’s actually given some depth to work with. And visually, there are definitely improvements. The directing feels more intentional, the VFX have had a serious upgrade, and there are sequences here that look fantastic. The tank sequence in particular is a great example of the movie actually feeling confident in its visual identity. But unfortunately, all of that still doesn’t fix the biggest problem I had with the movie. The story feels hollow. The villains just didn’t connect with me. I genuinely think Mr Negative would have been such an obvious fit here. He could have given us a visually distinctive Marvel villain, while also providing so many opportunities to connect Peter’s personal story with the superhero plot. Instead, Brand New Day sometimes feels like it’s more interested in building the next stage of the MCU than telling the best possible story for Spider-Man. It’s basically Iron Man 2, but if Iron Man 2 wasn’t really funny. And that’s frustrating because there are genuinely good things here. Tom Holland is great. Zendaya is probably the best part of the movie. The Hulk actually works. The VFX are much better. The directing feels more confident. There are some really fun sequences. I just wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Brand New Day isn’t a disaster, but it still feels surprisingly average, and after everything Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has been through, I really wanted this to feel like a proper new beginning. Here’s hoping we continue to get improvements in the Tom Holland Spider-Man journey. I just want them to remember that this is a Spider-Man movie.Spider-Man: Brand New Day - The Odyssey
The Odyssey feels like the thematic culmination of Christopher Nolan’s career. It has the scale of Interstellar, the world-weariness of Oppenheimer, but what surprised me most was the deeply human story at its core. Nolan rejects the familiar reading of the Trojan Horse as a brilliant military victory. Instead, he reframes it as the ultimate betrayal: a cursed gift whose ripple effects spread across the world, corrupting the land and exposing what humanity becomes when law and hospitality collapse. Odysseus’ recounting of Troy’s destruction, with buildings reduced to rubble and women screaming as they’re slaughtered, inevitably recalled for me the images coming out of Gaza. Whether that parallel is intentional or not, it gives the film a haunting immediacy. I couldn’t help but wonder if Nolan is interrogating a 21st century world that has failed to learn from its own fables. The final monologue only reinforces that reading, asking whether humanity’s darkest impulses will always sow the seeds of its own destruction. Matt Damon delivers one of his very best performances, bringing remarkable nuance alongside incredible physicality. Robert Pattinson is delightfully devious, and Jon Bernthal is simply Jon Bernthalling to the max. But it’s Samantha Morton who quietly steals the film. I’d be surprised if she isn’t firmly in the Best Supporting Actress conversation. My only real nitpick is Telemachus, who feels a little underbaked. Still, in a film with this much to juggle, prioritising Penelope was absolutely the right call when you have a performer like Anne Hathaway. The score is an absolute engine, and Ludwig Göransson deserves every award coming his way. Despite those few gripes, I think this is Nolan’s finest work. A journey. The fall of a civilisation. The human cost of war. The weight of the world. And a love that transcends it all.The Odyssey - Casino Royale
Cold take: This is comfortably the best film of the Craig era by a significant margin. Le Chiffre never slips into the caricature he so easily could have become, making him one of Bond’s most compelling villains. The pacing and structure are meticulous, with each set piece feeling purposeful and naturally advancing the story. Daniel Craig delivers a Bond who is charming, arrogant, guarded, and surprisingly vulnerable. It’s a magnetic performance that holds the entire film together and makes it impossible to look away.Casino Royale - Supergirl
Yikes… Supergirl features every trope under the yellow sun! With a sound mix to rival Tenet, a Suicide Squad 2016-esque music video edit AND a script that had my eyes rolling consistently. Then to add insult to injury, there’s no post-credits scene for Man of Tomorrow. After the disastrous Peacemaker S2 finale, and now this, DC has lost a lot of the good will earned by the fantastic Superman (2025).Supergirl - Disclosure Day
There are a lot of great elements here, even if the film isn’t the most cohesive overall. This is probably my favourite Emily Blunt performance; she creates a heartfelt yet wonderfully oddball character that really carries the film. (My mum desperately wants her wardrobe from it.) The comedy landed well for me, and the action sequences were confidently directed. The film also attempts to spark a deeper conversation about the paradoxical relationship between religion and extraterrestrial life, though I found that aspect less compelling than its exploration of synchronicity, the human spiritual experience, ESP, and the idea of “light workers” or spiritually chosen individuals. While it doesn’t fully bring all of its ideas together into a cohesive whole, it’s an interesting and entertaining watch that’s worth seeing at least once.Disclosure Day
