Batman: Hush (2019) - 2/5

This movie boasts a better story than it can deliver. Most of the Batman villain A-list villains are in the movie, but only two or three have any impact on the plot. The plot is more like a soap opera than a super hero movie, and it attempts to tantalize without following through with any substance. The final reveal is lackluster and less interesting than no reveal at all.

Closest comparison: It’s like Suicide Squad (2016) by way of Batman: Bad Blood.

Setting: Neo Noir
Plot: Detective
Tone: Super Hero

Loki (Season 1, Disney+, 2021) - 3/5

This show is fun and interesting, but has several problems holding it back. The show poses a lot of good questions about the multiverse, but season 1 ends on a cliffhanger without resolving almost anything which is very annoying to say the least. The set design and costuming is gorgeous, but some of the new superpowers and worldbuilding rules are very problematic in their retroactive implications. Owen Wilson does an outstanding job, but the writers seemed to want to write for a post-Ragnarok Loki and sloppily shoehorn 6 years of character development into one scene. It also seems to think it’s ‘woke’, so all the female characters are stronger, smarter, and more competent than all of the men. Ironically, this backfires by making the two male leads by far the most interesting characters. This show could have been great, but in the end it has nowhere to go.

Closest comparison: It’s like Doctor Who by way of Brazil (1985).

Setting: Sci-Fi
Plot: Sci-Fi
Tone: Action Comedy