Things are about to get Strange in the MCU.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the newest MCU movie featuring the (former) Sorcerer Supreme himself, Doctor Stephen Strange (reprised by Benedict Cumberbatch). Also returning is Benedict Wong as Wong, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlett Witch, Rachael Adams as Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo, and introducing Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez And for a special treat Spider-Man and Evil Dead trilogy director Sam Raimi takes over directing duties for the first time in almost a decade.

After aiding Peter Parker in No Way Home, Stephen Strange unfortunately finds that his actions have great consequences. When he encounters a girl named America Chavez and learns of her extraordinary ability to travel between Multiverses he must defend her against monsters and dark forces are crossing over that seek her power. But soon he will learn that the greatest threat may be himself from another universe. Or so it would appear.

The first positive goes to the performances. Everyone does an incredible job. I believe the biggest standouts are in fact Cumberbatch, Olsen, and Gomez. Cumberbatch is still the best choice to be the titular sorcerer. Olsen is just fantastic as the Scarlet Witch. There's a lot of emphasis on her character in this film and she goes through a major arc throughout. And Xochitl Gomez was great America Chavez. I'll admit I know almost nothing about the character of America Chavez, but after seeing this film I'm willing to check out more of her comics.

The visuals are still amazing. I think the visual effects team outdid themselves in this one. There's a scene where Strange and America Chavez are crossing Multiverses and it tops the trippy scene in the first film. I mean it. This was hella trippy. I'd be down watching it again in 3D... or on acid.

Composer Danny Elfman teams up with Sam Raimi again and he gives an epic score. The best use of his music came during a fight Doctor Strange was involved in and it actually involved musical notes, and you can hear the score be affected by the fight. It was pretty much a battle between Beethoven and Bach. It was amazing. I was grinning like an idiot watching that scene and hearing the music play out.

I do have a major gripe against a certain character in this movie: the villain. No, the villain is not lame in any way. In fact you might be surprised who the villain is. For the sake of not spoiler the movie I won't identify the character or by any certain pronouns. Let's just say that their actions throughout the movie have made me grow to hate that character. To clarify, there's nothing really wrong with the villain. The character is very well written and you do understand their motivations and what is driving them. It's just that some of the things they say to Doctor Strange like calling him a hypocrite despite the shit they pulled before.

Man, this is really hard to explain without spoiling it. Tell you what, if you've seen this movie and know who I am referring to, please send a me a message and I'll freely talk about why this character pissed me off every time they were on screen. For now, let's just say that their actions is similar to something they did in another MCU property, and just like that one they never received any repercussions for their actions (sorta).

There's also some cheesy moments scattered here and there. I mean, I expected as much from Sam Raimi movie, not so much from an MCU movie though. Honestly it doesn't take me out of the movie. Some cheese is good.

Overall Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness is another solid entry to the MCU. In my opinion, it's not as good as the first film but it's a good sequel that's fascinating and fun.

Positives:

-Stellar performances

-Character development & dynamics

-Trippy visuals

-Dark, horror elements

-Danny Elfman's score

Negatives:

-The villain's logic

-Some cheese

Final Grade: B

So those are my thoughts on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? What do you think your alternative universe self is doing right now? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Doctor Strange: "Red means go?"

America Chavez: "Rule No. 1 about Multiversal travel: you don't know anything."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #Marvel #fantasy #scifi #action #Multiverse #adventure #superheroes #magic

"I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Fjolnir."

The Northman is a Viking epic film directed by Robert Eggers, best known for having directed critically acclaimed films The Witch and The Lighthouse. It stars Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, and William Dafoe.

When a Viking named Amleth (played by Alexander Skarsgard) was a boy, he watched his father, the king, (played by Ethan Hawke) be murdered by the hands of his uncle (played by Claes Bang), his mother (played by Nicole Kidman) forced to become his uncle's queen, and his kingdom be taken from him. Having now grown to be a brutal warrior he strives for revenge against his uncle.

It this premise sounds familiar to you that because the character of Amleth is in fact the inspiration for William Shakespeare's Hamlet, which in turn inspired The Lion King. Although, could you imagine young Simba be like, "I will avenge you, father. I will save you, mother. I will kill you, Scar."

Regardless, this movie is fucking awesome.

The cast is great and all deliver strong performances. Hawke, Kidman, Taylor-Joy, everyone. Though probably the big standout in this movie is Skarsgard. As I understand he's been wanting to make Viking movie for years and I'm glad he got the chance to do so. This guy was a beast in this movie.

Robert Eggers is already proving himself to be an outstanding film director of our time. Having already directed two incredible movies, The Witch and The Lighthouse, how he directed this one is just as epic. The thing I like about Eggers' directing skills is that he knows how to make an artsy film but make it so that the story is engaging. However some audiences don't really see the art Eggers is presenting, only because they're expecting something they've already seen but that's not what Eggers is going to deliver.

The musical score is also amazing. A great use of strings and percussions, as well as incorporating Viking chants as a chorus.

Speaking of Viking, the film really embraces the Norse culture. You can see it in the production, the set designs, the music, and even the customs. There are Viking songs and dances, sports, and rituals that actual Vikings would perform. You may think that some of their customs are pretty brutal but keep in mind that that was their customs at the time. I'm sure a thousand years from now an advanced civilization would look at us and think that we were savages. Plus, it's just really cool to see how practical and historically accurate this film is.

Overall The Northman is an incredible experience to check out. It might not be for everyone if you're expecting a two hour long battle sequence. This is a more character driven story set in the brutal age of Vikings. However, I guarantee you may end up liking and charging towards the gates of Valhalla.

Positives:

-Strong performances

-Eggers' Direction

-Production

-Powerful music

-Use of Norse culture

Negatives:

-None

Final Grade: A+

So those are my thoughts on The Northman. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts on it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Fjolnir: "I will meet you at the Gates of Hel, where you will die by the hand that killed your father."

Amleth: "At the Gates of Hel, you will find me."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #Viking #historical #war #revenge #AGrade

There weren't many crimes in the last film so expect very little secrets in this one.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is the third installment of the expansive world of Harry Potter, created by transphobic author J.K. Rowling. David Yates returns to the Wizarding World once more as the director, with the aforementioned Rowling returning as the screenwriter. Speaking of returns, Eddie Redmayne reprises as Newt Scamander, Jude Law reprises as Dumbledore, Dan Fogler as Jacob Kowalski, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, Callum Turner as Theseus Scamander, and now featuring Mads Mikkelsen as the dark wizard Grindelwald.

Continuing after the last Fantastic Beasts film, Grindelwald prepares to start his war with the muggle world by trying to claim leadership over the wizardry world. While Dumbledore cannot make a move against his old friend he assembles a team consisting of magical zoologist Newt Scamander, his Auror brother Theseus, and his muggle friend Jacob Kowalski in order to stop Grindelwald's war from coming.

Despite J.K. Rowling revealing herself to be a transphobic, cold-hearted bitch I do love the Harry Potter franchise. Unfortunately, these recent Fantastic Beast films hasn't been doing it for me.

Addressing the positives first the cast is excellent. That's the one thing that these Fantastic Beast films have going for them. Each film has a great cast and they all deliver solid performances. The best of the bunch, I'd say, is Jude Law as a younger Dumbledore and Mads Mikkelsen for his take as Grindelwald. With Jude Law I can definitely see a young Dumbledore. He acts exactly as I pictured Dumbledore from the books and how he's portrayed in the Harry Potter films. As for Mads Mikkelsen, he's great. Honestly I think Mads Mikkelsen is a better choice to play Grindelwald over Johnny Depp. If any is still complaining about the recasting keep in mind that technically three different actors have played the character of Grindelwald in each movie. Take all the time you need.

But in all seriousness Mads Mikkelsen was excellent. He pretty much carried the movie on his shoulders. He made me believe that this is who Grindelwald is in the eyes of the public versus Johnny Depp's unusual appearance. With Mikkelsen I can understand why people would follow him. There's power in his words and he's very charismatic. Johnny Depp, god I don't know what they were trying to do with him. He just looked off in that movie if I'm being completely honest.

The visuals are pretty solid too. I mean, I can't complain much about it. I also don't have more to say on the subject either. Honestly, it's a weak positive. Like, shit, do you expect the visuals to get worse in each film?

Now let's address the negatives starting with the story. The story in this movie is not very good. Basically the good guy's plot to stop the BBEG is to present an animal that can see someone's soul and knows if someone is purely good. I mean, that's it. The rest of the movie is just shit happens because Rowling just needed shit to happen. If anything it really shows that Rowling is not a screen writer.

I'll give credit to the first Fantastic Beasts it was trying to be its own thing separated from Harry Potter, and I enjoyed that. But with these two other films—the fact that they incorporate Dumbledore's backstory, Grindelwald, and other lore that doesn't match up to what's established—felt like they should have been something else, meaning they should not have had Newt Scamander and co. forced into these situations that they probably wouldn't find themselves to be in. My friend said it best that it probably would have been more interesting if all the Grindelwald stuff was its own set of movies without it having to connect to the Fantastic Beasts stuff, and I definitely agree.

Not to mention but this movie was so long with nothing really important happening through much of the runtime that it was a slow drag. This movie, like the last, was sadly boring.

But what I think gets me is that I feel there's a lack of inspiration in these movies, in terms of creating the material. When you look at the Harry Potter movies you can see there's a ton of inspiration and a ton of creativity. With the Harry Potter movies it was a different ride every time. It was a roller coaster, then a haunted house, and then a Ferris wheel. Those movies were a blast. These new Fantastic Beasts movies is much like being on the same Ferris wheel five or six times and wanting to be let off the damn thing. There's no real inspiration or creativity to be had with these movies. I'm wondering if it's because Warner Bros. is sucking out all creativity by milking the Harry Potter franchise further or if J.K. Rowling is just running out of ideas (or never really had good ideas when she started writing these Fantastic Beasts movies). Whatever the reason is it's clearly effecting the Fantastic Beast trilogy in a negative way.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was fun. This film not so much. It's a dull experience that's losing its magic (pun not intended).

Positives:

-Solid performances

-Solid visuals

Negatives:

-Long and boring

-The story

-Lack of inspiration

Final Grade: C-

So those are my thoughts on Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Credence Barebone: "Have you ever thought about me?"

Aberforth Dumbledore: "Always."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #HarryPotter #fantasy #wizards #witches

Gotta go fast... again!

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the newest video game movie featuring the return of everyone's favorite blue hedgehog. In this adventure, Sonic is enjoying his time on Earth with his new family, the Wachowskis (James Marsden and Tika Sumpter reprising their roles). But things get complicated when Dr. Robotnik (reprised by Jim Carrey) returns to seek his revenge, but this time he's not alone. On his one quest to vanquish Sonic is the honorable warrior Knuckles the Echidna (voiced by Idris Elba). However, Sonic is not alone in this new battle, aided by his new friend, the ever intelligent Tails the Flying Fox.

I enjoyed the first film, having it be the last film I saw in theaters for a while before lockdown began in 2020 (shit, that feels like a life time ago). I've also mentioned how the character and the games of Sonic the Hedgehog forever hold a special place in my heart. So I definitely was interested in checking out the second film, coming in with low expectations. And if I'm being honest, I think this film far succeeds over its predecessor in becoming the best video game movie ever made.

First positive goes to our three anthropomorphic main characters: Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. Let's start with Sonic. He's still awesome. The writers once again nailed his personality. He's cocky and free-spirited, and still has a love for chili dogs. But he also knows when to get serious and is willing to do what is right.

Tails is also amazing in this movie. The writers nailed his character and his dynamic with Sonic. These two are not just friends, they're brothers. They have a special bond that has lasted for decades. What makes his character even better is that voice actress Colleen O'Shaughnessey reprises as the voice of Tails, having already voiced the character throughout the franchise.

They also nailed Knuckles as well. I'll admit I was a little sceptic when I first heard Idris Elba was cast as the talking echidna. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Idris Elba. I just thought they casted him because they just needed an excuse to cast a big name actor into this movie. Thankfully Idris Elba nailed it as Knuckles. And Knuckles, in this movie, is awesome.

And of course the other big positive is the main villain, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. Jim Carrey is still an absolute delight here. If you loved him in the last movie you'll love him more in this one. With the announcement that Jim Carrey is retiring from acting, it's hard to imagine that this is going to be his last film. But hey, it's a helluva film to go out on.

The rest of the cast is great too. I love the return of James Marsten and Tika Sumpter. And I love their own dynamic with Sonic. Plus, I loved their screen time. They had the right amount of balance sharing the screen with the animated characters that it didn't feel like they took too much screen time but they weren't completely left out of the movie. It was perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

The visuals in this film look downright amazing. Much better than its predecessor. When the characters are on screen it doesn't look like cartoons phoned into the foreground. They legit look like they are a part of the world. Although I cannot help but think back to how they originally animated Sonic. Remember that nightmare fuel? Ick, think about if they applied that to Knuckles and Tails. Bottom line, the visual effects look much better.

This is also a very funny movie, I have to admit. There were so many jokes that had me laughing pretty hard. They weren't cringey at all. They were legit.

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is an absolute blast that I don't have much to complain about. I would say that the only gripe against the movie was that it did feel a little long. I mean this movie was a little over two hours. I felt like it was going to end some time but it wasn't over yet. But honestly if the runtime is the only thing I can think of as a negative that really isn't much. These Sonic the Hedgehog movies are proving to be the best video game movies out there. Honestly this movie is just a ton of fun, and that's all it needs to be. If video game movies start having this much fun then they may have a chance.

Positives:

-Sonic

-Tails

-Knuckles

-Robotnik

-The whole cast

-Better visuals

-Great humor

-Character dynamics

-All out fun

Negatives:

-A bit too long

Final Grade: A

So those are my thoughts on Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? What's your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog game? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more review here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Tails: "You're really heavy."

Knuckles: "That's because I am one million percent muscle."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #action #adventure #fantasy #animation #videogame #AGrade

Morbius is the new superhero film by Marvel and Sony as part of their own Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. It stars Jared Leto as the titular vampiric hero, along with Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyreese Gibson, and Jared Harris.

The story centers on Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant scientist and physician who has been suffering from a rare blood disease since childhood. Desperate for a cure he begins to experiment on himself with the use of vampire bats. The experiment seems successful but not without some side effects. He has gained near supernatural abilities such as superhuman strength, flight, and echo location sense similar to a bat. However he begins to hunger for human blood, morphing him into a vampiric monstrosity. Can Morbius control his darker half or succumb to the monster within?

Morbius is an interesting character in Marvel comics. First starting off as an antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man comics to gradually becoming an anti-hero later on, teaming up with the Avengers and the Midnight Sons. I was definitely excited for this while also remaining skeptical. I mean did we really need a Morbius movie? Regardless, we got one, and it was super disappointing.

The first—and probably only positive—thing about this movie are the performances. Jared Leto seemed like a good fit as Dr. Morbius. He did a better job in this role than as the Joker in Suicide Squad. At the very least he didn't do much of his standard weird-ass method acting, so that's good.

Rest of the cast do an exceptional job with what they're given. But I think the best out of the bunch was Matt Smith. He seemed to be having the time of his life portraying the villain in this movie. I don't think I'm spoiling anything by stating that. I mean it's pretty obvious that he was going to be the main antagonist.

Sadly a good cast and good performances cannot save a bland story. It's the typical superhero origin story we've witnessed for the past two decades and ultimately does nothing new with it. You know exactly what I'm talking about. The protagonist gets super powers. His rival gets similar powers. There's a big battle. The end. The only difference is there's no sky laser this time.

And you'd be surprised how fast all these cliches happen in this movie because it is so rushed. I think the movie was barely a half hour in and Morbius is already experimenting on himself with the cure to his disease. And then afterwards he goes on a killing spree. Speaking of, there are several elements that the movie seems to gloss over like with Morbius' childhood or that he won a Nobel prize or the fact that he created artificial blood, which that alone raises a number of questions unless you're familiar with the comics.

I also cannot help but notice that there were scenes in the trailers that were cut from the movie. For example, the scene where Morbius is talking to Jared Harris isn't in the final cut. The scene where Morbius is singing that famous Bach composition isn't in the final cut. Also, that scene where Michael Keaton's Vulture from the MCU says "What's up, doc?" isn't in the final cut either.

And let's not forget the CGI. Good god, the CGI. Now I'm not say it's terrible. In fact there are some that holds up pretty well, like Morbius' vampire face. Yet other times it looks very awkward and pretty bad. Like super obvious CGI bad. And it's not helped by the awkward slow motion they also incorporate into the movie too. I thought we were done with that shit in the early 2010s.

Ultimately what does this movie in is that it is boring. The action isn't exciting. The horror elements it incorporates are lackluster. The fights are nothing more than a CGI blur that you cannot make out what is happening.

Overall this movie was a letdown. Delay after delay, followed by a review embargo, was already a red flag that the studio had little faith. I don't know what more to say but don't watch it. It's bad. Not the worst Marvel film I've seen but it's up there.

Positives:

-Performances

-Solid cast

Negatives:

-Basic story

-Awkward CG & slow motion

-Rushed

-Boring

Final Grade: D

So those are my thoughts on Morbius. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Michael Morbius: "I've seen this movie before. The stranger in the hoodie kicks everybody's ass. I love that part."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #Marvel #superhero #supernatural #horror #fantasy #scifi #vampire #ThisMovieSucks

Hello everyone! I'm back!

It's been some time since I posted any reviews here. Part of the reason is because there really haven't been any movies what I was interested in reviewing during the months of January and February. Plus, I was recovering from a personal injury. So I took a bit of a hiatus on writing.

But now I got my writer's spirit back and picked arguably the best movie to get back into the habit, the long-awaited The Batman.

The Batman is yet another DC comic book movie featuring the Caped Crusader himself, this time with Twilight's Robert Pattinson donning the bat cowl. In this film is a standalone and in no way connected to the DCEU, Bruce Wayne is in his second year as Batman and he has Gotham's criminals scared of him. However a new threat strikes fear into the heart of Gotham when a serial killer known as the Riddler (played by Paul Dano) starts targeting the city's most elite citizens, leaving riddles as his calling card. Batman must do everything it takes to bring him to justice, but is it worth crossing some lines?

The film also stars Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, Jeffery Wright as Commissioner Jim Gordon, Zoe Kravitz as Selena Kyle/Catwoman, John Turturro as Carmine Falcone, and Colin Ferrell as The Penguin.

This film took a while to get made. Originally this was going to be a standalone Batman film in the DCEU, starring and directed by Ben Affleck himself. However due to conflicts Ben Affleck stepped down from directing and director Matt Reeves (best known for directing two amazing Planet of the Apes sequels). Then Batfleck left the project all together so Warner Bros. brought on Robert Pattinson on broad and Matt Reeves started from scratch for an all new Batman movie. A standalone film with no connection to the current DCEU. Think of it as like another Elseworld story, like Joker.

I must confess that I'm bit biased when it comes to anything Batman. I am a huge fan of of the Caped Crusader. Batman is one of my favorite superheroes of all time, if not one of my favorite characters. So whenever there is a Batman project I'm going to hold it to the standards of how the character and world are portrayed from the comics and how I generally know the character. And I'm glad to say that this is does Batman right.

Obviously let's address the emotionless vampire in the room: Robert Pattinson is a damn good Batman. I've stated this before that outside of the Twilight films Robert Pattinson is an outstanding actor. He did a great job as Batman. He's actually in the Batsuit for about 90% of the movie and he delivers a stellar performance. This isn't quite the Batman we all know. It's not yet a professional crimefighter. He's still in his sophomore years.

While I standby and say that as Batman Robert Pattinson has definitely earned the mantle. The issue, however, is with his portrayal Bruce Wayne. The script has him written as this super emo caricature. The thing is when someone is playing Batman they technically are playing three different personas. There's the Bruce Wayne in the eyes of the public, a multibillionaire playboy that's the life of the party. There's the true Bruce Wayne when he's in the Batcave, only showing his true self to those closet to him. And of course there's Batman himself. The issue is that Pattinson doesn't really distinguish any difference between these personas aside from the true Bruce Wayne and Batman. We don't really see him as Bruce Wayne in the eyes of the public. We don't see him put on the mask that hides his tormented and stoic personality. He's just constantly brooding 24/7. Now that's not really Pattinson's fault. I just think the character is written that way. That doesn't mean the script is bad. Hell, far from it. This film has damn good writing. I just don't completely agree of how the character of Bruce Wayne is portrayed.

Hell, he's even rude to Alfred. There were a couple of comments Bruce makes towards his trusted friend that comes off as extremely dickish. Seriously, dude! The man raises you and you come off as a prick to him? I know for a fact that Bruce Wayne would never say such things to Alfred. Alfred is the only family Bruce has left in this cold, dark world.

Also, add Pattinson's Batman to the new list of Batman shouts.

"WHERE WERE THE OTHER DRUGS GOING?!?"

"WHY DID YOU SAY THAT NAME?!?"

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?"

Now it may sound like I'm dissing the movie for no good reason. I'm not, honestly. The movie is very well written and very well directed. It really gives that dark and gritty feel that Gotham is quite possibly the worst place to live in. With all the corruption in the police force and politicians to the criminal underworld that hides in the shadows. Much of the story is based on The Long Halloween graphic novel and you can tell which elements they borrowed from that story to breathe new life into this movie.

Props to the cinematography as well. Much of the movie takes place at night, which makes sense for a movie about Batman. The lighting and shadows really give off a neo-noir vibe that the film is going for. The scenes where Batman walks out of a shadowed alley are outstanding.

And gotta give props to the rest of the cast as well. Zoe Kravitz was great as Catwoman. I was totally invested in her character, more so than Batman frankly, and I wanted to see more of her. Jeffrey Wright was great as Jim Gordon. He's not the commissioner yet but he is Batman's only ally on the police force. Paul Dano make for a haunting Riddler in his performance. Although there were a couple moments where he's shouting and he's trying sound scary that it comes off as a little over-the-top and I cannot help but laugh. But major kudos to Colin Ferrell as the Penguin. You would never believe that was him the entire time. You hardly recognize him under the make up and fat suit. But he owed the role.

The action is outstanding. Everything was done with stunts and practical effects with little CGI used. Both Pattinson and Kravitz did their own stunts during fight scenes and they looked fantastic. My favorite action scene just happens to be the scene where Batman is chasing down the Penguin in his new Batmobile. I'll admit that I was sceptic that the Batmobile was going to be cool since it looked like a muscle car with a big ass engine, but it definitely grew on me.

I especially love the film's score. It was composed by Michael Giacchino, the same man show composed music for Jurassic World, Rogue One, and the Planet of the Apes reboots. This man delivers a powerful score that fits perfectly with the brooding nature of Batman and the criminal underworld of Gotham. Not gonna lie I was humming the main theme by the time I reached my car. This score might rival Hans Zimmer's music from The Dark Knight Trilogy.

In my opinion I feel this film captures what Batman truly is about. The bat logo on his chest doesn't just symbolize striking fear into the heart of criminals. It is a symbol of hope. Batman is essentially a story about how a man plagued with tragedy can rise above it and do great things. His trauma doesn't cripple him. It motivates him to be and do better. While the character tends to teeter the line between hero and vigilante, and sometimes he does go too far. But that is because he is a man. He's not a god, nor should he be. He is incorruptible. He is the hope that Gotham City can be a better place. And that is why I feel this movie gets Batman right.

If there's one more bit of criticism I had against the movie is that I can't shake the feeling that this movie was intended to have an R-rating. I feel some of Riddler's murders were meant to be more disturbing and graphic but either the studio or executives wanted to cut back so they can profit off a PG-13 rating. I don't mind R-rated superhero movies. I feel some superheroes should definitely have an R-rating while others should not. With what they were going for in this film I feel this should have been R-rated. But if there's a director's unrated cut of this I'd definitely check that out.

Overall, is this the best Batman movie ever made? In my opinion, no. The Dark Knight still holds that title and that is a hard film to top. However, I will say this is film definitely fits in the top ten Batman movies I've seen. I'm willing to say top five even. It is a damn good movie and well worth three hours of your time.

Positives:

-Robert Battinson

-Writing and directing

-Stellar performances

-Cinematography

-Intense action

-Awesome musical score

-That awesome Batmobile chase

Negatives:

-Emo Bruce Wayne

-How Bruce treats Alfred

-Should have gone R-rated

Final Grade: A-

So those are my thoughts on The Batman. Have you seen it? What were your thoughts on it? Is Robert Pattinson your new favorite Batman? If not, who you do believe played the best Batman. Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Bruce Wayne/Batman: "Fear is a tool. When that light hits the sky, it's not just a call. It's a warning."

#harrysituationreviews #film #opinion #DC #superhero #Batman #comics #action #drama #thriller #mystery #AGrade

Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton, or really any song by Chris Stapleton. His version of the song is a cover of the original (written in the 80's), but it became so popular that it put him in the mainstream spotlight in a major way. You Should Probably Leave and Cold definitely deserve some recognition too.

My husband runs sound at a bar/venue and between open mic nights, karaoke, and bands covering crowd favorites, he hears this ALL the time. At least once a night. It came on a lot at my job too but I heard the country twang and kind of tuned it out. One day it came on while the office was quiet and I fully listened to it. It's a really beautiful song.

Chris has a raspy but powerful voice. I could see him being a great blues performer, but country really works for him. His sound is a callback to the more traditional days of country, before the genre was taken over by overproduced southern-style pop. I like the The lyrics are simple but honest, and when combined with his soul-bearing vocals, his message comes across artfully. Poetry does not need to be complex to be profound.

Despite his feelings on the song, my husband did a graphic design project using some pictures of Stapleton. He rarely smiles in pictures and I find that amusing, especially given the vulnerability in his songwriting. I don't dislike country as a genre, but I am very picky about what I listen to. Stapleton is definitely one of those legacy artists for me, someone who I'm willing to go out of my way to listen to and keep up with.

When my mom and I lived alone in our first apartment (post divorce), before she saved for a house and a stereo, she used to turn on the radio in the kitchen of our small apartment every morning and the station was always country music. I fell in love without being aware. I loved the storytelling. Sometimes the songs made me laugh, more often, they made me cry. They always made me feel.

Before that, the first non-Disney soundtrack that I listened to and cried over as I played it repeatedly on my Donald Duck record player was Ben by Michael Jackson. I was five and my parents had just divorced. I have a vivid memory of sitting on my aunt's big bed, alone, listening, singing and crying. Ben, the two of us need look no more/ We both found what we were looking for/ With a friend to call my own/ I'll never be alone /And you my friend will see/You've got a friend in me. (It was only years later that I discovered he was singing to a mouse.)

Ben (also a soundtrack, though not Disney) was the last album I owned until some years later when my mom's boyfriend bought me the soundtrack from Grease right after we saw the movie. The star of that movie was also the singer of the first country song I ever loved, Please Mister Please by Olivia Newton John. Please Mr. please, don't/ play B-17/It was our song, it was his song /but it's over/Please Mr. please/ if you know what I mean/I don't ever wanna hear that song again.

I'm sure it meant more to me when I was a teenager with personal exeprience than when it first made me cry. Even so, other people's heartache made/makes me cry as much as if not more than my own.

The next song I remember crying to every time I heard it on the radio was Spring by Tanya Tucker. The lines that always started the crying were: Momma don't go away/And leave me all alone/Momma said to the welfare lady/Find my child a good home. (There is a happy ending. Although Momma dies and Spring grows up in an orphanage, she finds love and gets married in the end. :-)

One song that made my mother laugh hysterically when she heard me sing it was Lucille by Kenny Rogers. The chorus is You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille/With four hungry children and a crop in the field/I've had some bad times, lived through some sad times/But this time your hurting won't heal/You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille." I, however, thought he was saying "400 children and a crop in the field." My mother cried she laughed so hard before saying, "400 children? I guess she did leave. I'm surprised she's not dead."

I could be heard singing other Rogers songs in the late 70s/early 80s, particularly: The Gambler, She Believes in Me, Through the Years, Lady, You Decorated My Life, and We've Got Tonight.

Once I reached high school I was falling in love with classical music, pop, soft rock, hard rock, heavy metal, R&B, musical theater and rap. In college I added jazz. I listened to some country in the 90s, but life was crazy as I married, lost my daddy, had a child, bought a house, a car and started my career in education. It wasn't until I was driving on 95 North heading home from a conference in DC that I found a country station for the first time in years. A new Alan Jackson song came on. I had to pull over because I couldn't see through my tears. It was 2001. The first lines were

Where were you when the world stopped turnin'

That September day?

Were you in the yard with your wife and children

Or workin' on some stage in L.A.?

Did you stand there in shock at the sight of that black smoke

Risin' against that blue sky?

Did you shout out in anger, in fear for your neighbor

Or did you just sit down and cry?

I was in a classroom, teaching.

After that day, I renewed my love of country. Until they took it off the air last fall, 94.7 NY country was my go to radio station. (Now, I'm all classical or "music from the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s" when I have the radio on.)

Over the last two decades, I have amassed a treasure trove of country songs that have made me feel not only joy or sadness, but also, simply, connected. We, humanity, share a lot of the same basic life experiences - love; lust; longing; anger; sadness; loss; loneliness; betrayal; family - the good, the bad and the ugly; work woes; illness; death. Some of my favorites include: Let's Make Love by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw; Tim McGraw's Live Like You Were Dying and Humble and Kind; Reba McIntyre's If you See Him, and every single song on her album What if it's You ; all the songs on Alan Jackson's album Drive; Luke Combs' One Number Away and Forever After All; Scotty McCreary's Five More Minutes; Blake Shelton's My Eyes and Austin; Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris' Chasing After You; Sam Hunt's Make You Miss Me, Take Your Time, Break Up in a Small Town and Nothing Lasts Forever; Lee Bryce's Boy; Jane Kramer,'s I Got the Boy, Brad Paisely and Carrie Underwood's Remind Me, Trace Adkins, You're Gonna Miss This; Luke Bryan's Play it Again; Carrie Underwood's Before He Cheats and Drinking Alone; Little Big Town's When Someone Stops Loving You and Overdrinking; The Civil Wars Dance Me to the End of Love, Dust to Dust, Tip of My Tongue, Poison and Wine, and Forget Me Not; Lady Antebellum's Dancing Away with My Heart, What if I Never Get Over You, Bartender, Need You Now, If I knew Then, Wanted You More; Taylor Swift's Our Song, Teardrops on My Guitar, Fifteen (which came out when my son was fifteen - cue the tears), White Horse and Love Story; Miranda Lambet's The House that Built Me; and Dolly Parton and Kris Kristofferson's From Here to the Moon and Back (which I sang and recorded for my husband a decade ago and which he still keeps on his desktop <3).

I guess I love country music because so often it says exactly what I feel or felt or need to hear...or simply tells a great story.

Much like my experience on Prose.

Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms. When I was a kid my big sister and I would visit my father for a week, twice a year. One of my more memorable takeaways from those visits was the intercom system in his house. At 5:30 am Pop would start cooking breakfast (eggs, sausage, biscuits, gravy… the works), and while doing so would fill the house with very loud bluegrass music. Ready or not, like it or not, in imitation of an infamous grizzled farm rooster Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were suddenly right there in your bedroom with you, a-picking and a-grinning as only they could, rolling out those raging banjo and mandolin alarms. Lucky for me I was an early riser. My sister was not. She was always late to the kitchen, with a tussled head and an attitude, so this practice caused no little bit of friction between she and my father. But no worries, when you only had two weeks a year there was no time for, lyin' round the shack 'til the mail train comes back. We was jammin’!

… she found another and PHHFTT she was gone! Pop used to love Hee-Haw. When he would turn it on Sis and I would stick our fingers down our throats and pretend puke in our attempts to get the channel changed over to anything else! I hated that show, until I was grown. It was not until then that I saw past the silly, beyond the hokey, and was able to appreciate the self-deprecating, stereotypical humor that was aimed directly at me and mine… and still today when I stop flipping channels for a few minutes to check out those old reruns on the RFD network I marvel at how good the music was, and I understand why Pop tuned in.

East bound and down, loaded up and truckin'. I remember Pop took us three times in one week to see “Smokey and the Bandit”. My sister wouldn’t sit beside him in the theater because she was embarrassed at how he laughed until tears ran down his cheeks, and at how he beat on her leg while continually blurting, “Did you see that? Did you see that?” Jackie Gleason was absolutely incredible in that movie, no matter how red-necked up it was.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. And on the long drive to meet my mother half way home Pop would pop a Guy and Ralna cassette in the 8-Track player. I would provide a link for you, but trust me, you really don't want to hear it. Guy and Ralna were regulars on the Lawrence Welk Show, and more importantly Guy Hovis was a fraternity brother of my father's at Ol' Miss. The three of us would sing our hearts out to their cheesy gospel right up until we cried them out as we parted again for six long months.

Pop loved hill-billy music. So do I, now. Funny how the worst memories can also be the best, and the longest lasting.

I was and always will be a rockhead first, but I was raised with country music too. Here are a few artists/songs that I love:

Dwight Yoakam - "Turn It On, Turn It Up, Turn Me Loose (https://youtu.be/Bmun9iNJ_Lg)."

Not so long ago, my Dad played this rockin' tune for my fellow teenage friends on a Boy Scout camping trip, and he turned all of us into fans.

Hank III - "Smoke & Wine (https://youtu.be/1ZyL0TWFeLE)."

His voice sounds like his grandfather, but his music is like punk rock with twang. One of the few country artists whose albums have Parental Advisory stickers too :-)

Gary Allan - "Yesterday's Rain (https://youtu.be/AC5Dlzz44qM)."

His music has helped me through past heartache, including this song.

Aaron Lewis - "Tangled Up (https://youtu.be/HmSTjofvXwM)."

I never expected the lead singer of Staind to be decent at country music, but he is :-)

Johnny Cash - "I Still Miss Someone (https://youtu.be/0GM-1N8TfHE)."

You can't go wrong with Johnny Cash :-)