What to Watch This Weekend: Wolfwalkers, Yalda, Archenemy, Songbird, I'm Your Woman, Jimmy O. Yang, Fatman

For A Family Animated Adventure - Wolfwalkers (AppleTV+)

Wolfwalkers is a beautiful film with a striking, hand drawn style and a wonderful story about nature and acceptance that will have you howling for joy.  For more information, check out the review!

For A Look at Entertainment and Forgiveness - Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness (Virtual Cinema)

Yalda, A Night For Forgiveness brilliantly looks into our overproduced society and what we take for entertainment through the lens of a fake television show with plenty of drama, tension, stellar acting, and an entertaining end product.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Bright and Gritty Comic Movie With Darker Subject Matter - Archenemy (Theaters / Digital)

Archenemy is a fun, gritty take on the comic book movie with a bright style, interesting characters, and some darker moments and plot twists to keep you on edge.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Hollywood Take On The Pandemic - Songbird (PVOD)

Songbird's interesting take on a post-apocalyptic world and its stellar cast deliver a thrilling and sadly timely quarantine adventure.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Slow Burning Journey of Self Discovery - I'm Your Woman (Amazon)

I'm Your Woman has a wonderful cast of characters and a great 70s style, in this slow burning film about a woman's journey of self-discovery and confidence.   For more information, check out our review!

For Some Laughs - Jimmy O. Yang: Good Deal (Amazon)

In his debut standup special, Good Deal, Jimmy will tell you all about his take on Asian representation, how he learned to speak English from rap videos, dating tall women, and pursuing his dreams only to disappoint his old school Chinese parents.

For The Sports Fans - 2020 World Series Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers

2020 World Series Champions: Los Angeles Dodgers summarizes this unique and unforgettable season with some stunning highlight footage and inside commentary.  For more information, check out our review!

For A Serious, Edgy Christmas Movie - Fatman (Redbox)

Fatman goes for a serious take on the Chris Cringle legend with a ludicrous setup, but one that might be refreshing if you are sick of traditional christmas movies.  The film has a high audience score on rotten tomatoes so it might just scratch your itch.

Archenemy Review: A Fun, Gritty Take On The Comic Book Movie

Release date: December 11, 2020
Running time: 90 minutes
Starring: Skylan Brooks, Zolee Griggs, Joe Manganiello
Written and Directed By: Adam Egypt Mortimer

Max Fist (Manganiello) claims to be a hero from another dimension who fell through time and space to earth, where he has no powers. No one believes his stories except for a local teen named Hamster (Brooks).  But when the teen and his sister Indigo (Griggs) get into some trouble, they'll need to believe in Max Fist to help get them out of it.

Archenemy feels like a comic book movie right from the outset of the film.  I loved the comic book opening with its bright colors and out of this world story.  It sets the stage nicely and contrasts greatly when you get to the real world.  And despite the real world seeming to be much more bleak, there is a comic book flair to the real world too.  Characters have brighter colors and more out there clothing; such as Indigo's blue and pink hair or Hamster's bright pink jacket.  The sets also have bolder colors that lead to an overall comic book feel.  And the characters are quirky and well cast.  Manganiello is great as Max Fist, a super hero that has essentially lost his powers and his will to go on.  He uses his anger to try and get his powers back but generally only accomplishes in hurting himself.  Hamster is fun as a high energy character.  He is strong and pushy, sort of like what I imagine a confident Instagram influencer is like, but he is also caring.  And Indigo is good as someone doing what it takes to survive, even when that causes her to cross the line.

And the story of Archenemy has a nice build up, with Hamster and Max Fist slowly learning more about each other.  Hamster learns more about Max's "home planet" and Max learns more about Hamster and his troubles.  And the story has a few twists that will keep you guessing what will happen next.  There is a particularly funny twist that occurs in the middle of the story that causes the viewer to reevaluate much of what we had learned up to this point.  And the story is generally fun, though it can have some dark slides here and there.  Like a grittier comic book, the story and Max sometimes go to dark places when needed.  However, this felt like a character shift from what I understood Max's character to be.  It led to some exciting, visceral scenes, but it also felt a little disingenuous to the character.  And although the film has generally good effects, the CG can sometimes be overused or distracting.  And although i generally liked the story, the ending did leave something to be desired.  It felt like too much of a plot twist.

Archenemy is a fun, gritty take on the comic book movie with a bright style, interesting characters, and some darker moments and plot twists to keep you on edge.

Rent it.

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RLJE Films will release the action/thriller ARCHENEMY In Theaters, On Digital and On Demand December 11, 2020. 

For additional information about the film and to rent / buy it, check it out at the links below.

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