The Olive Opinion

Dwayne Johnson has endlessly been promising that Black Adam was going to change the hierarchy of the DECU and the proof is here. Bringing the Shazam villain to the big screen comes with a set of challenges, taking a book of Sony's cinematic plan to adapt all of Spider-Man's villains in order to present anti-hero stories that dabble in villainy but end up heroic by the end of the third act. Surprisingly, DC takes this route to introduce not only to introduce audiences to Teth Adam but a team of iconic characters that were sidelined.  One can only fly to Black Adam's aid for the sake of Dwayne Johnson's way of handling this role. The film adapts the character scarcely from the comics in order to make it more permissible to vouch for not all but only one of Rock's signature styles of acting. The monotone, stoic deliveries of dialogue and the character's mannerisms worked, but only so far to not lean into any other characteristic. What bothered me the most is the la

Just when you think fairy tales and magic could only get more cliche, School For The Good and Evil steps out for a tackle at being the next fantasy epic for a young adult audience. With an A-list cast that overacts within reason, Good and Evil is an adaptation of the famous book series by Soman Chaimani, a book series I never had an interest in checking out. But I fear that I will end up heading out to buy these books, like many people who forgot that this was premiering on Netflix this past week.  Good and Evil centers around Agatha and Sophie, two friends who come from different upbringings, with both seeming too stereotypical for modern audiences (pr readers). They are then swept to the secret school where heroes are taught to defend while the villains are taught to attack. However, Sophie aspires to be a princess and is disappointed when Agatha ends up in Good while she is dropped in Evil. Agatha just wants to go home to her Mom, where she and her best friend can carry out their

It's hard to find a legal drama that is also a comedy these days but nothing is impossible for Marvel Studios. She-Hulk Attorney At Law is the latest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that finally expands on Bruce Banner, gamma radiation, and his extended family. However, this is not a Hulk show. It instead focuses on his cousin, Jennifer Walters struggling to juggle her life as a Hulk and a lawyer for superhero-related cases.  Taking cues from slapstick sex-postive comedic works of Darren Staar (Sex and The City, Emily in Paris) to legal premises that made Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, How to Get Away Murder) a busy producer, Marvel head Kevin Feige, headwriter Jessica Gao and head director Kat Coiro managed to make She-Hulk the talk of the town for 9 weeks straight whether it was positive or negative receptions. She-Hulk not only proves herself yet memorable addition to the roster of Marvel heroes but also introduces discarded characters and corners of the comics into the franchis

  Mike Flanagan gained popularity through the infamous Haunting of Hill House miniseries, making him a household name. Despite attempting an original storyline with last year's Midnight Mass miniseries, the Flanaverse (according to Netflix) expands through yet another adaptation, this time through Christopher Pike's The Midnight Club with new and familiar faces portraying characters that can only be fleshed out the way Flanagan can.  Personally, I have never been a fan of Christoper Pike's work due to his constant focus on high schoolers making horrible choices whilst being extremely horny, something I never really connected with due to my upbringing in Asian culture. The Midnight Club novel was no different. As far as I remembered, the novel was anything but a horror story but rather, a secret anthology of stories told by the members of the titular club while dealing with loss and accepting death in the eyes of an entitled teenager. Christoper Pike may have been accurate t

  As someone who has never seen the original Universal monster movies, Werewolf By Night is the best choice to relive or be introduced to the black-and-white horror that traumatized audiences all those years ago. However, Marvel Studios' first Halloween Special is one hour of tight-to-the-belt storyline that may recapture the magic or at least the gruesomeness that made such flicks iconic the best they could.  As previously mentioned, Werewolf By Night is adapted from the forgotten run of comics that introduced the supernatural and the macabre to Marvel comics in the first place, introducing the likes of the Bloodstone family and Jack Russel's ability or 'curse' to transform into a lycanthrope every full moon. This less-than-an-hour special deals with all of this exposition and exploration in less time than any Phase 1 MCU feature could ever exploit. Despite the tight runtime, this deep dive into Marvel's supernatural roots is effective enough to let audiences be co

Spooky Season begins and what a way to start than with the return of the Sanderson sisters. 29 years since the original Hocus Pocus, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy reprise their roles as Winifred, Sarah, and Mary respectively with the exception of Doug Jones as the good zombie, Billy Butcherson.  Worries about the sequel looking too much like a Disney Channel should be put to rest since Hocus Pocus 2 exceeds expectations despite not making any bold choices or blowing minds in any way. Still, like most sequels or reboots lately, the nostalgia is utilized reasonably while introducing new, modern elements to a seasoned phenomenon.  The sequel centers around Becca and her friend, Izzy celebrating Halloween and Becca's 16th birthday. (which is convenient) After being given a candle by Gilbert, the new owner of the Sanderson house turned gift shop, Becca and Izzy accidentally resurrect the sisters once again. Instead of wanting to enact their revenge on the children