Superhero fatigue has been talked about a lot recently. There seems to be no shortage of superhero TV shows, movies, etc. With that being said, there are shows or movies that take on the superhero genre in a new way. I had The Umbrella Academy on my radar for a while. The recent announcement of Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly joining the cast in season #4, it piqued my interest in watching The Umbrella Academy from the beginning. The Umbrella Academy is addictive, eccentric, and offers a fresh take on the superhero genre.

The Umbrella Academy begins on October 1st 1989 where 43 women around the world give birth despite never showing any signs of being pregnant. Rich and egotistical Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven of these children who start displaying extraordinary powers. Reginald trains these children to be superheroes and announces them to the world as The Umbrella Academy. Flash forward to present day, Reginald has passed away and the heroes feel that something bad must have happened to him.

Each child within the Umbrella Academy has a number assigned to them besides their first name. Starting in chronological order, there’s Luther Hargreeves aka. Number One (played by Tom Hopper) who shows signs of extraordinary strength. Diego Hargreeves aka. Number Two (played by David Castañeda) who can telekinetically move projectile objects to a specific target. Allison Hargreeves aka. Number Three (played by Emmy Raver-Lampman) who can control minds by saying “I heard a rumor”. Klaus Hargreeves aka. Number Four (played by Robert Sheehan) who can see and communicate with the dead. Five Hargreeves (played by Aiden Gallagher) who can transport through time. Ben Hargreeves (played by Justin H. Min) who can summon horrors from his body. Ben is deceased and only Klaus can see him when season #1 begins. Finally, there’s Viktor Hargreeves (played by Elliot Page) who has been told his own life that he’s ordinary and has no powers. When season #1 begins, Five transports back to The Umbrella Academy from the future and lets everyone know that in a few days, an apocalpyse is going to happen which will kill everyone on Earth. The members of the Umbrella Academy initially don’t believe what Five is telling them. However, they do eventually believe Five and agree to help figure out what causes the apocalypse.

One thing that I enjoy about The Umbrella Academy is how realistic it is. Each of the members of the Academy struggle with their powers and the negative connotations that come with them. Klaus is a drug addict who numbs himself, so he doesn’t have to see the dead. I think of how traumatizing that must be for him as he finds solace in being high to escape what he’s capable of. Ben tries to bring out the good in Klaus which helps aid in Klaus’s character development. Luther sees himself as the leader, but doesn’t garner respect from the other Academy members. Allison uses her power on her daughter to try and prevent a toddler meltdown, but is discovered by her husband. Her husband is granted sole custody of her daughter. Five is trapped in a young body despite having the knowledge of the future. Finally, Viktor was told he wasn’t good enough and constantly feels overshadowed by the others. It shows that each of these characters are good people, but are contemplating how their powers have shaped their lives.

For ensemble shows like these, it’s crucial that these characters have chemistry with each other. I think that’s what makes the first season so fun to watch. Each member of the Academy has a unique partnership with each other. For example, Diego and Klaus butt heads a lot because of their differing personalities. By the end of season #1, Diego starts to admire Klaus and sticks up for Klaus during a group meeting when he’s being interrupted by someone else. Luther and Allison have this “will they” or “won’t they” romance to them because of the crush they had when they were kids. Viktor is easily seen as the outsider, yet Allison tries her best to be the sister that he needs. In only ten episodes, I feel invested in these characters and what might happen to them.

I watched half of season #1 in one day because I felt compelled to watch each episode back to back. I’m on season #2 now which transports the Umbrella Academy to the 1960’s before JFK’s assassination. I like the combination of the sci-fi elements of the show with the real world history unfolding in season #2.

The Umbrella Academy is one of my new favorite shows. It feels different to other superhero content out there and is entertaining throughout. The first three seasons of The Umbrella Academy can be streamed on Netflix.

The first thing I heard about Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania was the film was getting negative reviews. There’s been a lot of discussions online about superhero movie fatigue which I feel contributed to the reviews that this movie received. I went to see Ant-Man last weekend and I liked it a lot. I felt that Ant-Man had a lot of build-ups considering that Kang the Conquerer (played by Jonathan Majors) will be the next Marvel villain to become front and center.

Scott Lang (played by Paul Rudd) is enjoying his fame from battling Thanos. He’s written a book that he obnoxiously listens to in his car much to his daughter, Cassie’s chagrin. Cassie (played by Kathryn Newton) chastises her father for seemingly not caring about real-world events especially since he’s an official Avenger. Cassie shows Scott, Hope van Dyne ( played by Evangeline Lilly), Janet van Dyne (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), and Hank Pym (played by Michael Douglas) how she invented a device to communicate into the Quantum Realm. Janet panics and shuts off the device, but not before they all get sucked into the Quantum Realm. Scott and Cassie are separated from Hope, Janet, and Hank. Despite their separation, they are told stories of “The Conqueror” an individual who has overtaken numerous worlds in the Quantum Realm. Cassie is determined to help even though Scott is reluctant. They realize that “The Conqueror” needs to be stopped as his existence is a threat to the multiverse.

I liked that Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania tied the other Ant-Man films together. First, there’s the reveal of M.O.D.O.K M.O.D.O.K was created by “The Conqueror” who is revealed to be Darren Cross (played by Corey Stoll) from the first Ant-Man movie. I know this isn’t comic book accurate, but I liked this reveal. It tied up loose ends and helped connect the movies together. Also, I liked how Cassie and M.O.D.O.K faced off considering that Darren went after her when she was younger and now she’s able to defend herself.

I liked Kang as a villain. His motives are simple, he wants revenge for being exiled. He feels it’s his duty to protect the multiverse by killing millions of people. Jonathan Majors knocks it out of the park. He’s someone who’s physically capable of holding his own in a fight and he has the tech to be a fierce opponent. I do think there’s much more potential to make Kang more lethal in future installments. This is for sure hinted at in the post-credit scene which by the way, I love the tie into the second season of Loki. I wasn’t expecting that, so I was happy to see that connection.

While Ant-Man was getting negative reviews, I personally liked the movie! It was fun, it tied in the other Ant-Man movies, and it was easy to follow. I’m looking forward to the other Marvel films that will be released this year and seeing Kang the Conquerer pop up throughout the franchise.

I love making lists. It keeps me organized and I feel accomplished when I cross things off. One of my lists includes movies that I haven’t seen. This includes whole franchises or stand-alone films. One franchise that’s been on my list for a while is the Underworld franchise starring Kate Beckinsale. I know the Underworld series was about Vampires and Lycans, but that’s it. Watching Underworld for the first time, this movie has held up since it was released twenty years ago.

Underworld focuses on Selene (played by Kate Beckinsale) who leads a team to take down the Lycans as she is led to believe that the Lycans are evil and killed her family. As Selene is tracking a group of Lycans, she’s surprised to see that they are targeting a human which is unheard of. Selene feels that’s suspicious enough, so she finds Michael (played by Scott Speedman), the human that Selene feels is being targeted. Selene is correct as Michael was attacked by Lucian (played by Michael Sheen). Selene is too late and sees Michael has been bitten by Lucian. Selene is aware something is going on, but she’s gaslit by her clan who tells her there is nothing to fear. Selene turns her back on the clan to try to save Michael along with uncovering why he’s being targeted, to begin with.

The first thing I noticed about watching Underworld for the first time is how awesome Selene is. She’s a female protagonist who is not dressed provocatively and she can hold her own throughout the movie. It’s obvious that Selene is stunning because she’s a Vampire who doesn’t age, but they don’t dress her in a campy outfit, she wears all leather and black and her look is functional. I think that’s interesting considering the time frame in which Underworld was originally released.

Besides Seline, I think the cast in Underworld helps make this a more memorable supernatural action film. Michael Sheen as Lucian was a perfect casting choice. Lucian has this sort of goth, animalistic look to him. Lucian is the type of villain who isn’t physical, but more manipulative as he plays both sides of this war. Bill Nighy plays Viktor, one of Selene’s mentors as she became a vampire. Viktor is a character that is cold-hearted, yet he has a soft spot for Selene which is proven throughout the film.

It was fun to watch Underworld for the first time. I’m glad that I could cross another film off my list.

I remember watching a trailer for Bullet Train last year and thought it seemed like a fun movie. It’s tough to tell with action movies because as much as I love them, they tend to follow the same premise. Bullet Train was getting rave reviews, so maybe there was something unique about the movie that made it stand out. Bullet Train was such a fun twist on an action movie. If Knives Out was an action film, that’s how I would describe Bullet Train.

Bullet Train begins with Ladybug (played by Brad Pitt) being sent out on a last-minute job to pick up a briefcase on a train. As Ladybug searches for the briefcase, the film introduces us to “brothers” Lemon (played by Brian Tyree Henry) and Tangerine (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) who are also looking for the briefcase while also protecting “The White Death’s” son who was kidnapped earlier. If that wasn’t enough to keep track of, “The Father” (played by Andrew Koji) is searching the train for the person who pushed his son off a building. “The Father” is knocked out by “The Prince (played by Joey King) who reveals herself as luring “The Father” to the train to help kill “The White Death”, but it’s not revealed why “The Prince” wants the “White Death” dead until later. As the characters fight each other over the briefcase, they realize that details were left out as to why they were asked to be on the train.

As far as the characters, it’s clear that Lemon and Tangerine stole the show. They were hilarious and they had great chemistry together. I would watch a “buddy cop” type film starring Lemon and Tangerine. Lemon talks about his love of the Thomas the Tank Engine TV show and how he would group people as one of the trains on the show. This carried throughout the whole movie with everyone referring to the “double agent” as Diesel, a train on the show. As a side note, there are rumors that Aaron-Taylor Johnson is being auditioned as the next James Bond and after watching Bullet Train, I can see it. Lemon and Tangerine are the best part of this movie.

The reason I would describe Bullet Train as being a “Knives Out” action film is how much mystery there is and how it’s revealed towards the end. There are moments that happen earlier in the film that feels innocuous but then is revealed as being important later on. An example of this is when Ladybug punches a stuffed cat and walks away. The stuffed cat was really an assassin in disguise that Ladybug has to fight later on. The way everything is revealed and tied up at the end is satisfying.

Bullet Train was one of the more memorable action films that I have seen recently. I’m still waiting on a Lemon / Tangerine team-up movie. Hollywood should make that happen.