I didn’t bother to see Matthew Cullen’s adaptation of London Fields, but our writer Jake Sokolsky did and he pretty much ripped it. He wasn’t alone. The film has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but more importantly it had one of the all-time worst box office debuts in history with just $160K in over 600 theaters. Oof. After a three-year battle to get the film into theaters and absolutely zero buzz to help it, none of this should come as a surprise. Not even to Cullen, who says all of the bad rap the film has received is totally justified.
So here’s the deal. London Fields was due to open three years ago, following a big premiere at TIFF. However, that debut never happened because of a dispute between Cullen and the film’s producers. Lawsuits followed, including one by star Amber Heard, and the film sat in limbo looking like it would never be released.
Cullen eventually struck a deal with the new rights holders to have a version of the film released. And it got murdered.
“I’ve read the reviews. I agree with them,” Cullen told THR.
The film is based on Martin Amis’ book and co-stars Billy Bob Thornton, Theo James, and Jim Sturgess; a strong cast who are also pretty reliable. But Cullen says figuring out a way to adapt the material proved a huge hurdle to overcome…
“There’s a reason why they said that Amis’ book was unadaptable.”
He’s not kidding. David Cronenberg, David Mackenzie, and Michael Winterbottom have all given it a shot before figuring that out for themselves.
What’s strange is that there are two versions of London Fields out there, right now. Cullen agreed to finance his own cut of the film, but that’s not the one getting shredded by critics. That would be the cut put together by the producers, who have also made sure it’s the one most widely seen. Pretty dumb, right?
Cullen chose to take the bullet and keep his name on the film, even though this cut wasn’t his. He says, “Under DGA rules, I could have used a pseudonym, but in that process, I wouldn’t ever be allowed to talk about the film again and I wouldn’t have had the ability to release my version of the film.”
The report adds that Cullen is considering retirement from filmmaking, which is sad to hear from a director so young in the business. Maybe he’ll go back to making music videos, which I assume is less cutthroat?
London Fields is still in theaters, but it won’t be for long so better check it out soon.
After numerous successful movies together, including two Mission: Impossibles, Jack Reacher, and Edge of Tomorrow, the partnership between Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie isn’t going away. It should come as no surprise Cruise has enlisted his pal to help out with the upcoming Top Gun sequel in a screenwriting capacity.
Cruise and McQuarrie were giving an interview with Empire about the awesome Mission: Impossible-Fallout, and that’s when Cruise revealed his pal was helping rework portions of the script by Peter Craig, Justin Marks, and Eric Warren Singer. That’s a lot of hands in the pot, right? This is still just a Top Gun movie, isn’t it? Dudes flying jets? Why so many writers?
This will be McQuarrie and Cruise’s tenth collaboration since they first teamed up on Valkyrie a decade ago. Most of the time things have worked out but occasionally, like when McQuarrie rewrote the script for The Mummy, they land on a turd. Hopefully this won’t end up like that one. Joseph Kosinski remains director of the film with Cruise joined in the cast by Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris, and Jennifer Connolly.
It’s too soon for Amy Schumer’s rom-com I Feel Pretty to have a sequel, right? Because Rebel Wilson’s latest stab at making fun of the genre, Isn’t it Romantic?, sure looks like it’s trying to say the same thing.
Wilson plays a cynical woman in New York City (of course) who sustains a knock on the head, only to wake up and discover her life has turned into a romantic comedy. Wait, didn’t Amy Schumer’s character also have her perceptions jumbled by a bump to the head? Both films are looking to make a statement about the genre, but also our idea of what is considered beautiful. Wilson isn’t the typical rom-com lead, nor was Schumer, and I get the feeling the film will try to have it both ways, embracing the genre while trying to crap on it.
The problem with satirizing rom-coms is that the genre’s tropes are exactly why we love them. We aren’t dumb and we aren’t blind, either. There’s very little a film like this can joke about that we haven’t already thought of. That said, Wilson is supremely funny and she could kill it in a movie like this. She’s joined in the cast by Adam Devine, Liam Hemsworth, and Priyanka Chopra, with Todd Strauss-Schulson (A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas) directing.
NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance might want to watch out or they’re liable to get a reputation. After Patti Cake$ spit fire all over the screen last year, the festival hosts Joseph Kahn’s fierce battle rap comedy, Bodied, featuring another white boy rapper with the sick rhyme flow. Given that Eminem is on board as a producer, the rags to rap superiority tale should come as no surprise, nor should the film’s antagonistic take on racial dynamics in the hip-hop world.
As a black man who grew up embedded deep within the rap culture, the questions Bodied poses are nothing new to me, and I chuckled listening to the mostly-white critics here at Sundance act as if they were. But I dig that Kahn, along with co-writer and legit battle rapper Kid Twist bring edge, phat rhymes, attitude, and a deep respect for the game that not everybody understands or gets to see.
Like a rap version of Rudy, this underdog story features scrawny, PhD literature student Adam (Calum Worthy), who slaughters his foes in the underground battle rap scene while working on a thesis about the use of the N-word in battle raps. If Eminem had no street knowledge he might look something like Adam, who drags his PC vegan girlfriend Maya (Rory Uphold) into what looks like the setting of Fight Club to witness his hero and reigning champ Behn Grymm (Jackie Long) destroy another opponent. “Just assume everything is a gun metaphor”, he tells Maya who is confused and disturbed by the fuselage of racist, sexist, mysogenistic, fat shaming, slut shaming lyrics.
Grymm agrees to help Adam out with his thesis while constantly challenging him on the need for it in the first place, “It’s because they really want to say nigga” is the usual rationale for discussion of the word’s use by non-blacks. An impromptu parking lot challenge by a fellow white rapper finds Adam spittin’ bars he never knew he had, much to Maya’s chagrin. And just like that, Adam is the new hot battler, joining forces with Grymm and a United Nations of fellow rappers: Korean-born Prospek (Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park), Che Corleone (Walter Perez) from Ecuador and the afro-puffed black female rapper, Devine Wright (Shoniqua Shandai). “What is this, a Captain Planet reunion?” snipes one opposing rhymer.
The battle raps are the constant highlight, with Kahn’s energetic camera whirling around the battlefield, weaving in and out of the hyped onlookers. A particularly devastating insult might be superimposed with powerful comic book letters, or emboldened with the visual rat-a-tat-tat of verbal gunfire. If the film is overlong at two hours, the matches themselves never grow old, and I found myself forgetting that they were fictional and not taped footages of actual fights.
But Kahn isn’t interested in just the act of it; he recognizes that there is an art to battling. While Adam’s whiteness is always his Achilles heel, race, gender, physical appearance, religion, they are all fair game and the trick is to tear down your opponent with style. Does saying the word nigga in a rap battle make it okay? Does saying such vile things to defeat your opponent make you a terrible person? The script is a little all over the map when trying to decide. Adam goes through a stretch where his take-no-prisoners lyrics, a combination of vicious wordplay and liberal politics, causes him to lose everything he holds dear. At some points it’s tough to tell if he’s the hero of this story or the goat, and I don’t mean G.O.A.T. like LL Cool J.
Bodied is sure to offend just about everybody with its politically incorrect takes, but it holds particular venom for privileged white liberals who don’t recognize their biases. To win, Adam has to embrace that part of himself, while someone like Maya says what sounds right without recognizing the content of her words. And that may be the ultimate answer to the question that dogs Adam. The vile, nasty words he destroys opponents with don’t matter as much as who he is as a man. It’s only when the verbal assaults get personal that a clash has gone too far.
Debuting to a raucous reception at last year’s TIFF, Bodied was just picked up by YouTube and screened here at Sundance for a select group. I’m not sure the progressive white crowd in Park City was the right audience, but I’m more curious to see how it’s received to a wider audience. Bodied can definitely get the crowd pumped like the world’s best hype man, but it’ll be interesting to see if it offends so many that nobody is left in the crowd to be moved.
Controversy, thy name is Lars von Trier. The director of such contentious films as Nymphomaniac, Antichrist, Melancholia, and Dogville split the Cannes audience once again earlier this year with The House that Jack Built. While there were disgusted walkouts and no shortage of crushing reviews, there were just as many who praised von Trier’s vision. Now for one night fans will get a chance to see the director’s vision fully in an unedited cut released prior to the R-rated national rollout.
That’s right, there will be two versions of The House that Jack Built dropped into cinemas, so pick your poison. For a single night, November 28th, select cities will get the full director’s cut of the film, which stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer in the 1970s, whose murdering career is defined by five kills he sees as works of art. Even as the police begin to track his every move, Jack takes greater risks and puts his life in the outside world at greater risk. The film co-stars Uma Thurman, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Sofie Gråbøl, Riley Keough, and Bruno Ganz.
A couple of weeks later on December 14th will see the R-rated cut hit theaters. Those with a weaker stomach might want to choose this one, based on what I’ve heard. However, if you’re feeling adventurous, you can check out the list of theaters showing the unrated version here. Only a couple of options for us folks in the DC area, sadly.
On the surface, so much of Lee Chang-dong’s Palme d’Or contender Burning is very simple. A boy of modest means and grand aspirations meets a girl. They make love. She leaves on vacation and comes home with another guy on her arm. The awkwardness you’d expect to follow isn’t at all what you get; rather a deep, complex, and soulful character study about class, jealousy, and violence.
Based on Haruki Murakami’s short story (itself an homage to William Faulkner’s Barn Burning), Burning is a quiet, contemplative film that wields its deliberate pace like a surgeon’s scalpel. The deafening silence between characters is full of bottled up secrets, pent-up rages and judgments. You keep waiting for something to explode, yet Chang-dong turns up the heat only degree by excruciating degree. At the center of this story is Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in), a writer, or so he claims to be, but really he squeaks by doing odd jobs to stay afloat. His mediocre life gets a ray of sunshine when he has a chance encounter with Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo), a childhood friend from his neighborhood right on the border between North and South Korea, so close North Korean propaganda can be heard blaring over the loudspeakers.
Something feels off, and it’s a sensation that permeates throughout Burning. Jong-su and Hae-mi hit it off. They become fast friends again and even make love, but something isn’t quite right. Did he really rescue her from a well when they were children? Why didn’t he recognize her at all when they first met? And where is the kitten she’s asked him to care for while away on vacation to Africa? Does it even really exist? Up to this point, Chang-dong is content to let us view these minor discrepancies and character quirks with detached bemusement. It might mean nothing at all. Jong-su is the model of docility but he’s imaginative; could be his fantasies have gotten away from him. On the other hand, Hae-mi is extroverted and chatty, and whether she’s reliable isn’t really something Jong-su wants to explore.
There’s an ominous undercurrent that arrives when Hae-mi returns from her trip, accompanied by the wealthy, handsome, arrogant Ben (The Walking Dead‘s Steven Yeun). A bizarre friendship/love triangle emerges between them, one powered mostly by resentment. Conversations between the three of them expose their differences. Hae-mi tries to make her life sound more exciting in an effort to please Ben and his stuck-up friends, while he seems to view her as a pet more than a girlfriend. Jongsu, meanwhile, eyes Ben with quiet disdain, while also coveting the confidence his wealth affords him. Very little of this is expressed verbally. We catch a glimpse of Ben with a look towards Hae-mi that is…maybe it’s menace? Maybe it’s desire? Ben admits to something illegal; every couple of months he burns a random greenhouse, and soon it’ll be time to do it again. Was he being literal? Or was it a euphemism for something even more sinister? So much about Ben remains a mystery, and Yeun’s performance is key. His Ben is a big personality with the ability to be whatever the person he’s speaking to needs in that moment, a powerful quality easily used for good or ill.
The ambiguity only serves to ratchet up the tension more, until finally, a true mystery emerges. But rather than descending into common thriller tropes we’d expect from a Hollywood studio film, Burning‘s ambivalence only escalates to another level. It’s the slowest of slow burns but patience is rewarded with a striking, powerful finale to a film that will smolder in the mind long after it’s over.
In case there was any question whether Disney streaming was something worth investing in, the last few days of reveals are showing exactly why it’s going to be a must-own for Marvel fans. Not only will it be the place to get all of our favorite MCU films, but shows featuring many of our favorite Avengers and Avengers foes have already been announced, and now you can one more familiar face into the mix.
While Paul Bettany’s Vision is currently a dead/deactivated android thanks to Thanos’ actions in Avengers: Infinity War, we can assume he’ll return because he’s expected to be part of the upcoming miniseries featuring Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch. Slashfilm says the six-to-eight episode series could actually a Scarlet Witch and Vision series rather than just focused on her, which would make sense given their romantic relationship and shared history. Whether this leads to them having kids, the future Young Avengers known as Speed and Wiccan, is anybody’s guess but nothing is out of the realm of possibility, right?
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Maria by Callas, the latest from writer/director Tom Volf.
SYNOPSIS: Tom Volf’s MARIA BY CALLAS is the first film to tell the life story of the legendary Greek/American opera singer completely in her own words. Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs—nearly all of which have never been shown to the public—the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time. MARIA BY CALLAS is a loving portrait of one of history’s most extraordinarily talented women, told in a way that is revelatory, unprecedented, and authoritative.
The screening takes place on Wednesday, November 7th at 7:00pm at Landmark E Street. If you’d like to attend, simply send an email to wdcmovies@gmail.com and passes will be sent to you directly. Please remember that all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure receiving a seat. Enjoy the show!
Last week in the Arrowverse had all sorts of fun. On Supergirl, the aftermath of the reveal of the president as an alien divided the country between coexistence and “humans only” echoing our real-life political debate. On Arrow, Diaz recruited The Longbow Hunters to carry out his nefarious plans as Felicity and Diggle clashed over their different priorities on dealing with Diaz. On Legends of Tomorrow, the Legends started their new mission of stopping monsters dispersed throughout the timeline, and even recruited John Constantine to join them. On The Flash, Cicada tried to launch his attack on Vibe and even managed to “kill” him, at least as far a the public is concerned. Finally, on Black Lightning, Tobias was arrested while Lynn and Jefferson try to understand the mystery of the Green Light kids and keep their own kids safe.
So how did the Arrowverse go this week?
Supergirl: “Man of Steel”
The episode begins showing us the aftermath of the Kryptonite dispersal. Kara immediately becomes weak as a result and starts falling out of the sky. Of course, since she’s miles up in the air, if she hits the ground, she’ll probably die. At the same time, J’onn is at the “Human’s Only” town hall Agent Liberty is hosting. Just before he is about to confront Agent Liberty, he gets a call from Alex informing him of the situation. Although he promised not to get involved, he immediately springs into action and flies up into the atmosphere to rescue her. Thanks to Brainiac-5’s calculations, the DEO is able to find her and guide J’onn to finding her and rescue her before she crashes into the ground. Kara is safely then taken to the DEO where they try to expose her to yellow sun radiation in the hopes that it will counteract the effects of the kryptonite.
Last week, the preview for this week’s episode made us all think that it was going to be yet another episode of Kara in some sort of semi-coma and she barely clinging on to life after Kryptonite was dispersed throughout the atmosphere. Instead, we got a fascinating supervillain origin story that pretty much showed xenophobia, radicalization, and Trumpism in action as we see the origin story for Agent Liberty.
The episode flashes back to two years ago and we meet National City University professor Ben Lockwood. He seems like a normal centered person living and working to take care of his family. Of course, the country is going through some changes before his eyes. Aliens exist, and from his perspective, that’s not always for the better. He tries to keep an open mind. He even tells his xenophobic father to pipe down the rhetoric as he calls them “roaches” in a drunken rant in front of his children. His father (played once again deliciously evil by actor Xander Berkeley, who was just left being hung on The Walking Dead) is a down on his luck steel plant owner, who just lost his contract with the Luthor company (before it was rebranded L-Corp) to a newly opened Nth Metal company. It’s a good Easter Egg for DC comic fans, and a perfect metaphor for how industries die to be replaced by others and leave those workers down and out in the aftermath (see the arguments for/against coal in our current political/economic debates). Ben, remaining optimistic (for now) even advises his father that maybe it’s time to move with the industry shift, but his father is resistant to change.
Later on, there’s a confrontation between the steelworkers from his father’s factory and alien factory workers at the Nth metal factory across the street that gets escalated rather quickly. Ben even stands between his friends and one of the aliens to diffuse tensions. As the riot starts, one of the aliens gets attacked and his biological self-defense mechanisms kick in, and one of the spikes from his arm launches and hits Ben in his chest. The DEO arrives on the scene to cease the hostilities on both sides. Ben, his father, and the steelworkers notice that they are treating the aliens with the same respect as the humans, which angers them. Ben, later on, tries to meet with Lena Luthor at her newly rebranded L-Corp offices asking her to reconsider the contract. Lena’s nice, but she’s also a businesswoman. She advises Ben that his father take these steps to try and “modernize” as she’s still sticking with the Nth metal company.
Further down the line, Ben is teaching a class at his college when he notices that the metal used to hold the blackboard is made of Nth metal. This is the first time he makes a cognitive effort to really “stand up” and proceeds to go off script and talks about “progress” and what it means for other people in its wake. He mentions the “progress” of moving to the New World, which was good for the European colonists, bad for the Native Americans as one of his countless examples. When he arrives home, his father has closed the steel factory, since he was unable to get a bank loan to continue there. His father’s views have now infected the house as even his son is calling aliens “roaches” with no problem. Ben is still somewhat on the fence but just then, Rhea (from the Daxamite invasion) shows up on their TV to announce the invasion. Later on, Ben is trying to get their family to leave to avoid the carnage of the invasion when J’onn and one of the Daxamite started fighting, which ended up in their house. Even though J’onn was able to defeat the Daxamite, the wreckage caused their family house to burn down in the aftermath. All J’onn does is tell them “they are safe.” However, they have additional problems to worry about. Later on, it’s revealed that home insurance doesn’t cover alien invasions, which further angers Ben.
Ben now is giving lectures on “nativism” and how it’s really not such a bad thing. He even cites Ben Franklin’s views on nativism and immigration. Instead of thinking about European immigrants, Ben is now applying the logic towards aliens and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to protect the human way of life. The aliens in the class notice and start walking out of the class. Some humans also join in the protest against him. Of course, the Dean has a quick meeting with him and soon enough, he’s fired for his views. Ben, later on, goes to the alien bar to confront one of his students who challenged him saying that she ratted on him and got him fired. Of course, she didn’t, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to scapegoat her. Before his confrontation got physical, Kara showed up and got in the middle. He then turns his anger towards Kara and calls her a “human traitor.”
Ben now is handing out anti-alien fliers on the streets. He’s still not violent, but his anger towards aliens continues to grow as evidenced by an alien bumping into him accidentally and knocking the fliers out of his hand. Before he can do anything, he runs into Otis Graves, who tells him to keep up the good work. Just then, the events of Kara fighting the World Killers happens and the whole city is shaking. Ben finds his father who has gone to the steel factory to die in peace. This is the last straw for Ben, who now has resolved to follow his father by giving an impassioned speech of “Never Give In.” in the aftermath of the funeral, Lena Luthor tries to talk with him, but he wants nothing to do with her. In the aftermath of the funeral, he’s having a drink with a few steelworkers where they decide to set fire to the Nth metal factory. After they torch the place, the same alien who injured Ben comes out looking for help. Ben proceeds to beat him to death with a piece of steel. His transformation is complete.
In addition to violence, Ben continues talking to people on the streets about aliens. He catches his former Dean getting some coffee. She reveals to him that she lost her house in the terraforming event and now has to live in student housing. Ben invites her to listen to him speak at one of his town halls. Next, Mercy Graves finds him and lectures him about being sloppy and leaving evidence behind as he’s killing aliens. She proceeds to give him his “uniform” and tells him to keep up the good work. In his father’s old steel mill, he finds a steel mask and his transformation to Agent Liberty is complete.
Oh yeah, isn’t this a show about Supergirl? We flash forward back to present day where even though the yellow sun radiation is helping her, it won’t save her. Alex gets help from Lena Luthor to try and save Kara. Lena arrives and uses some nanotechnology to create a specialized suit that will shield her from kryptonite until they can figure out how to get it out of the atmosphere.
Arrow: “Crossing Lines”
The episode begins with Oliver holding a shank as well as images of blood on the ground and on prison guards’ uniforms. It’s clear that Oliver is definitely going to have to “break bad” to survive in prison. It’s clear that this is some sort of aftermath, so we’ll just have to wait and see how it all unfolds.
Felicity, who’s annoyingly determined to stop Diaz at this point has reached out to FBI agent Watson to try and work up some sort of partnership. After all, Felicity isn’t called Overwatch for no reason. If anyone has the hacking skills to find and take down Diaz, it’s her. The FBI probably could use her help. However, Agent Watson doesn’t really care for her help. However, it’s clear that Felicity’s pleading did hit a chord with her. Felicity also used that time to big Agent Watson’s office, in which she later learns that Watson tried to take Felicity’s concerns up the ladder, only to be met with bureaucratic red tape, or is her boss in Diaz’s pocket?
Oliver isn’t having much luck either. Although he was able to “take care” of the prison guard by making it look like the guard shanked him and making the guard be removed from the post, he’s still no closer to finding out how to get to Diaz. Brick tells him that since he did keep his word, he would take him to meet someone in the prison that knows Diaz. He tells Oliver that later on that night, he will be able to meet “The Demon.” Later that night, all the prison cell doors are opened, allowing Oliver and his sidekick the chance to explore and find out who this demon character is. On his way to try and meet up with Brick, Oliver runs into Bronze Tiger. Only he’s not there to help escort Oliver, he’s there to kill him. After Oliver successfully defends himself, he forces Tiger to take him to Brick.
Diggle and Lyla go on a “business trip” to Zurich for the purpose of finding intel on a bank with ties to criminals. Curtis provides tech support as the two of them go undercover as a rich couple wanting to invest in the bank. Curtis is able to hack the bank’s computer systems just in time for them to almost be found out of their ruse. However, Curtis later learns that there were actually two downloads made in the hack. Curtis knows he didn’t do it, and Diggle is surprised when the information is presented. This means that Lyla is doing something sneaky that she’s even keeping from her husband. Diggle, who doesn’t want secrets kept from him by his wife follows her and confronts her. Turns out, she was sharing the hacked information with another criminal. Lyla then tells her husband that she kept the details from him for his own protection. She has been investigating something else, and when she ran it up the flagpole to her superiors, she got the runaround. Meaning that something is fishy at ARGUS as well.
Later on, Felicity and Rene speak with Agent Watson and reveal that Diaz is going after the CDC and planning to rob them of something important. Since the boss didn’t seem to care, Agent Watson also decides to go rogue and decides to partner with Felicity, Rene, and Dinah to break into the CDC and catch Diaz and the Longbow Hunters as they try to rob the place. All seems to be going well at first, but Felicity isn’t able to lock the doors. Turns out Diaz has a hacker just as good as (or better than) Felicity. Not wanting to come home empty-handed, they proceed to attack Diaz and the Longbow Hunters. Renee and Agent Watson engage them in hand to hand (since gunfire will set off chemicals) while Dinah proceeds to fight Silencer again. Although it’s repetitive, the fight is just as good in silence as it was last week. Unfortunately, Diaz is able to steal the chemicals. However, Renee gives chance to Silencer (after she beats up Dinah) and he and Felicity lie to Agent Watson, saying that she escaped. Having gone on a rogue mission, Agent Watson is reprimanded and transferred back to DC.
Escorted by a bound Bronze Tiger, Oliver is able to make it to Brick’s room. Turns out, he’s running an underground fight club, with the crooked guards blessing (hence needing to get rid of the other guard last week). Brick sees Oliver and then has Samson fight Oliver. Oliver manages to defeat him and the goes after Brick. Brick tells Oliver that the Demon is not in their section of the prison and he will need to get to “Level 2” in order to get the answers he needs. Oliver realizes he will have to cross a few lines and not be the hero he normally is. He proceeds to fight against the guards and even manages to shank a few of them (hence the blood on the guards’ uniforms in the beginning). Just like the Green Arrow, however, Oliver doesn’t kill them. When the riot police show up, Oliver surrenders himself. This allows Oliver to “graduate” to Level 2.
Legends of Tomorrow: “Witch Hunt”
The Legends continue to have to clean up time for things of their own doing. Thanks to them stopping a demon last season, the opened the doorway for all sorts of monsters to be throughout time. Last week, it was a bloodthirsty unicorn. This week, it’s witches!
The episode begins with Ray in his miniaturized form connecting the Wave Rider’s computer to the bones that Constantine showed Sarah last week in the hopes of being able to have a way to detect monsters that have escaped through the portal throughout time. Ever the tongue in cheek way of the show, they even comment that this probably wouldn’t even work. Of course, it does! They receive an alert that there is a monster in Salem Massachusetts in 1692. That would put it right in time for the Salem witch trials. At first, Constantine didn’t want to join their group, but now he’s on board. He even wants 2 weeks vacation and benefits.
Back in 2018, Nate is trying to bond with his father. His father, however, really didn’t approve of his career choices and they remained estranged over all these years. As a result, the dinner quickly breaks out in an argument between the two of them and Nate quickly leaves. Later on, Ava is at the Time Bureau burning the midnight oil and working on the budget for the agency when she notices Nate walking around in a bathrobe and no pants. He’s currently homeless as being one of the Legends, he really doesn’t have a job. Why don’t they get paid is the bigger question! Ava then asks him if he doesn’t mind helping her make a funding request to a high ranking official.
The Legends arrive in Salem where they notice the town turning on one of their own. A woman who happened to be dancing in the woods naked is accused of being a witch. With no real legal system, she’s guilty until proven innocent and will be brought up on charges of witchcraft. Just as the woman is being taken away, crows begin attacking the townspeople. The Legends deduce that the woman is a witch. Later on, Constantine tells them that a witch would have to use her mouth to create a spell, so it’s probably not the woman. They then figure out that the woman’s daughter Prudence is probably the real witch and they have to stop her and take her to hell. As Constantine uses his powers to make the witch reveal herself, they discover the real culprit. Instead of Prudence being the witch, her “fairy godmother” appears. This fairy godmother is incredibly powerful, she even sings her lines all the way through much to Ray’s delight. Bound to do whatever Prudence tells her to do, she’s a living weapon. The fairy godmother then tells the Legends that if they send her to hell, Prudence will also have to go with her. The Legends realize they will need to find a way to remove the bond between the two. To make matter worse, they cannot save her mother as her death was already fixed and the Legends vowed not to change time as part of their mission.
Nate goes with Ava to present to the DID officials for their budget. However, the bigshot they have to impress turns out to be none other than Nate’s father. Given their strained relationship, Nate decided to back out, thinking he would cause more harm than good. Ava needs someone to help her. Unfortunately, the only other person is Gary, and he’s not really reliable. As expected, Gary fails miserably in the presentation and the funding is going to be cut short.
Zari tries to break Prudence’s mother from prison, but she doesn’t want to be freed, citing that she will atone for her “crimes,” even though both she and Zari know she’s not a witch. On the Wave Rider, the fairy godmother reveals herself to Constantine as they argue about her intentions. The godmother doesn’t want to go back to hell, so she advises Constantine that she will tell Prudence what she needs to hear in order to remain bonded to each other and carry out whatever she wants her to. The fairy godmother uses her powers to take away Constantine’s ability to speak and turns Rory and Ray into pigs.
At the trial, Zari uses her powers to try and save Prudence’s mother. This causes the townspeople to suspect that she also is a witch and the arrest her. Then they order that both of them are to be burned at the stake. Just before the torch is lit, Sarah intervenes and proceeds to beat up a bunch of them. However, she is subdued and the trial continues. Just then Prudence arrives with her Fairy Godmother. Realizing that she might cause more harm, she decides to break the bond between the two of them. Just at that time, Nate is trying to convince his father that time traveling magic monsters is real and uses pig Ray as evidence. Just in the nick of time, Pig Ray revers back to his human form, and the billions are earmarked for the Time Bureau.
Constantine takes the godmother to the woods and offers for her to bond with him as he’s going to need her help for who he has to face. She advises him that she knows who is after him, and she’d rather go back to hell, which he reluctantly does. Back at the Time Bureau, Nate and his father bond having found out what his son really does and the two agree to have dinner again. Ava offers Nate a job at the Time Bureau. He decides not to return to the Wave Rider when talking with Ray, citing he wants to spend time with his dad. It looks like another Legend will be leaving them soon.
The Flash: “News Flash”
The episode begins in the season 4 finale, the night of “The Enlightenment.” As things are crashing all over the place found footage style, a blogger is attempting to capture everything. While trying her best to capture the footage and offer commentary, we get to see Nora and Barry punching the satellite and then Nora comes and saves the woman at the last moment from falling debris. However, something happens and energizes the camera in an explosion.
Back in the present day, Iris is trying to cook breakfast for Nora and Barry. However, it’s clear that cooking isn’t her strong suit as she pretty much burns all the food. Barry and Nora put on a nice face as they eat the food. Of course, they are going to head to Jitters afterward. Barry then reminds everyone that they have a softball game to head to, hoping that he won’t be placed in right field, because he kinda stinks. She says goodbye to Barry and Iris, but Nora is still cold to her. Iris comments that it’s always one step forward, five steps back.
At the softball game, everything seems fine. Barry continuously drops every ball hit towards him and everyone in the stands comments that he’s uncoordinated and not fast enough, a great cover to show that he’s not The Flash. However, something interrupts the game as one of his fellow police officers all of a sudden, walks on the field with a backpack in some sort of a trance and his eyes turn purple. Then Nora gets in the same trance. She quickly speeds away, gets in costume and then takes the backpack from the officer revealing it’s a bomb that she throws in the air in time to save everyone. Afterward, both she and the officer go back to normal none the wiser.
In the aftermath of the bombing attempt, everyone is questioning the officer who doesn’t remember anything. Just then, there is a fire threat across town which leads Nora and Barry to try and save the day. When they arrive, Barry comes with the plan for the two of them to do it together. However, Spencer Young, the blogger form the beginning is on the scene and she uses her smartphone to broadcast a signal that says “The Flash Heads To Vegas” on a screen. As soon as Barry sees the message, his eyes go purple and starts running to Las Vegas. Nora is left to save the day herself and thanks to Iris’s tutelage, she manages to put out the fire. Low and behold, Spencer has already published an article saying that she saved the day. Somehow Spencer has the ability to hypnotize people.
Iris recognizes a former colleague Spencer on the scene. The weird thing is that the blogger had already written an article before the events happened. Is she driving the news in a metahuman type of way? To try and figure out if she is driving the story, Iris recruits Nora to try and talk with her and they will use a metahuman detector to see if she has powers. As Nora goes in on the “sting operation” at Jitters, Spencer starts flirting with Nora. Iris then jumps in to ensure that Nora uses the device, which says she’s not a metahuman. Iris is happy that she and Nora worked together, but Nora is still distant. Iris finally asks her why she is so distant with her. Nora reveals that in the future, Iris surgically implanted a device that negated Nora’s powers her entire life and it was only recently that she learned about it.
Spencer triggers a bomb alert at a stadium which leads Nora and Barry to head there to try and stop it. However, it’s a ruse to get the two of them together. Spencer then broadcasts a signal saying that Nora is to kill Barry. This leads her to attack her own father and they speed throughout the stadium. Iris manages to use a tranquilizer before Nora can seriously hurt Barry. Realizing that Spencer must be close, Barry finds her and stops her.
After Spencer’s arrest, the team reunites at STAR Labs where they run into Sherloque and Ralph, who were investigating the source of Cicada’s mask. They reveal that whoever Cicada is, he needs the mask to breathe and he was someone who was injured by radiation during The Enlightenment. The radiation while able to turn people into metahumans, it is now also able to create metatech as evidenced by his dagger. Barry then looks at Spencer’s phone, and it is always hyper-advanced. Team Flash will have to deal with advanced people and advanced technology going forward. Barry and Iris try to talk with Nora about her mother stopping her powers in the future. Barry backs Iris saying that whatever she did, she had a good reason. This angers Nora and she decides to move out and live with Joe and Cecile for the time being.
Black Lightning: “The Book of Consequences: Chapter Four: Translucent Freak”
The episode begins with Jennifer walking down the stairs all dressed up for her school dance. Her family is all happy and excited for her as she’s about to go on a date. They even joke that Jefferson is using an old-school camera instead of a smartphone. Just then, Khalil bursts through the door and uses his darts on the whole family. Jennifer then proceeds to fight Khalil throughout the house. She finally defeats him by unleashing her powers, blasting him from the house. It’s revealed that the entire ordeal was a simulation that Perenna was doing to help Jennifer control her powers. She is almost able to contain them, but she still has a lot of work to do.
At the police station, Tobias is being interrogated by Inspector Henderson. Henderson is not having any luck as he doesn’t have any concrete evidence against Tobias. The District Attorney (Salli Richardson guest stars, once again showing that every big name black actor is either on this show or in Black Panther) advises him that he needs to find something to charge him with, or he will need to be released.
Gambi reveals to Jefferson that Anissa stole from the mob, just as he told her he would. At first, Jefferson is angry that Gambi helped her. Gambi tells him that it would be better that he helped her and then told Jefferson than Anissa could have ended up dead. Gambi tells Jefferson that he told him as promised and whatever he does is up to him. Jefferson then speaks with Anissa later on and they get into a huge argument. Jefferson tells her that while she lives under his roof, she will have to abide by his rules. As a result, she decides to leave his house by the morning. Jefferson later talks with Lynn in the bed and she reminds him that he was just as reckless as she was when he first became Black Lightning way back when.
Jefferson gets called to by Henderson who advises him that Tobias will be released from prison as there’s no evidence. Jefferson volunteers to testify that he witnessed Tobias killing his father when he was a child. Henderson doesn’t think it’s a good idea, which is proven right when the District Attorney stages a mock cross-examination which Jefferson fails when his emotions get the best of him. It looks like Tobias will be released with no problem, rehabilitating his image in the process.
The next day at school, Jefferson breaks up a fight between two students. Using the same leadership and charm when he was principal, he is able to diffuse the situation between the kids. Principal Lowery then comes with a security guard and ends up expelling one of the students and suspending the other under his new “zero tolerance” rule. Jefferson later confronts Lowery about his new harsh rules and they don’t help the students. They argue about Jefferson’s role as he realizes he’s just cover for the new principal and he needs to be the black face of these new rules. It’s clear he wants his school back as evidenced by his conversation with Lynn afterward. Both he and Lynn agree that Jennifer isn’t ready to go back to school until she gains control over her powers and Jefferson doesn’t even want her back to the school under Lowery’s rule anyway.
Anissa has gone home to temporarily live with Gambi where she learns that the mob is going to attack the clinic she was raising money by robbing them for. Anissa decides to ask her father for help in protecting the clinic. The two reconcile and suit up to help save the clinic. They both manage to contain the bombs with their respective powers. Gambi tries to take down the bomber, but she beats him up and manages to escape.
The episode ends with Tobias being released from prison with his standing in the community improved. He even taunts Jefferson via press release by saying that he wants to help find the person who killed his father, which angers Jefferson. Although Gambi told him not to retaliate, it looks like Jefferson will try some way to get even with him.
Iron Man 3‘s Rebecca Hall and Baby Driver‘s Eiza Gonzalez are the latest to join Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong cast. They join the previously cast Millie Bobby Brown, Brian Tyree Henry, Alexander Skarsgard, and Julian Dennison in the MonsterVerse flick.
There aren’t any details on Hall or Gonzalez’s roles, but it’s always possible they’re involved with Monarch, the monster-hunting organization seen in 2014’s Godzilla and again in 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Godzilla vs. Kong serves as a sequel to both films, as well as next year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
