Loki (2021-3)

The Marvel universe has gotten unwieldy.  In the early years, they used to be pretty good at making standalone movies. But now they've started making TV shows too, it's all so interconnected. Season 1 was actually pretty decent. But I did not follow a single plot point in Season 2. Single season contained shows is the sweet spot for Marvel. There's too much happening in between seasons. 

The Time Variance Authority is not named accidentally. The acronym TVA recalls the New Deal Tennessee Valley Authority program. The design of the TVA evokes the FDR era. The production design is the best part of the show. That and Owen Wilson playing his usual self. Ke Huy Quan is fun too. I don't know if I completely buy into the message of the show either. We're made to believe that the sacred timeline is the inherently correct one. But the fact that there are branches suggests that to be untrue. And I think I had other problems with it back at season one but I don't really remember now.

Blindspotting (2018)

This movie is a marvelous risk that pays off handsomely. Not anyone could pull off a spoken word/rap "musical" but it somehow works. I think Hamilton has primed us to be receptive to such a movie. It would not have played as well ten years ago. But it's so unique and catchy that you can't help smiling at the boldness. The dialogue is really fast and pointed. The themes (gentrification, police brutality, inequality) it deals with are heavy but poignantly tackled from a point of view rarely seen on screen and with comedy. Yeah, it's a buddy comedy under all that.