Reviving a franchise with a brand new day

Warning: mild spoilers.

Enjoyed Senior privilege at the movies. It was really gratifying that a 4:10pm screening was packed! Cinemas have recently been complaining about a lack of audience, but Marvel/Sony's "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" seems to have brought back the crowd. It wasn't all old folk, though. Young adults, teens and little kids were out in force to watch Spidey battle an unseen menace in his 4th MCU outing as the titular hero.

From the trailers, it looked like a Sinister Six kind of set up, but I'm glad the focus fell on only a few of the pantheon that was promised. I especially loved Frank "Punisher" Castle's portrayal. Normally unhinged and trigger-happy -- still is here -- he turns out to be a very good friend to Spider-Man and has his back all the way, well, maybe except for that one oops moment, 'nuff said.

Banner is here too presumably as a technical consultant for some new tech Spidey is building. This new tech foreshadows something dark in the future, although the tech already exists in rudimentary form which we've already seen Damage Control using elsewhere. But Banner is also here to help Spidey see that they both have monsters inside of them that they must keep under control, or the consequences will be devastating. Carrying the weight of the world on lone shoulders will do that to a guy.

Ned and MJ are Spidey's only humanizing force, especially now that Aunt May is physically gone. But because of Dr Strange's final spell in "No Way Home", they don't remember Peter. It was a clever choice to let all three characters age up. Through Ned's TikTok posts, we see time pass from when they were freshmen at MIT to graduation, to returning to New York -- which is about the length of time it took to make this movie. Chronologically, we're all caught up. Frank still calls Spidey 'kid' though, the old fart. But Peter can't decide if breaking Strange's Forget spell is the right thing to do, so circumstance decides for him.

Circumstance comes in the form of an identifiable character from the X-Men, making their MCU debut. Speculation about Sadie Sink's character is now confirmed. She plays 616's version of Jean Grey, telepath and telekinetic extraordinaire. But she is in her pre-X-Men self, needing guidance for both her psychological trauma and training in the control of her abilities which are quite terrifying. Which leads to the question: does Xavier's school already exist in the 616 timeline? Also, if the X-Men in the Doomsday trailer are native to 616 or yet another timeline -- like maybe the one Monica Rambeau ended up in, in 'The Marvels'. Yes, overlapping lore can be confusing, but so rich in universe-building potential.

And Damage Control, ever the representatives of everything that has gone wrong under the current political administration of the USA today. No spoilers here. Despite their friendly facade, we already know from past movies and TV series what the DODC are all about. Every time they involve themselves, everything gets worse. Apart from that one voice of reason in the 'Ms Marvel' TV series, Damage Control is usually bad news.

So, Brand New Day mission brief: Spidey has to solve the mystery of the attacks on DOCD, make the reacquaintance of old friends, control the monster he could become, survive a resurgent Hulk, and keep Frank from killing too many people. And make friends with a young, rageful, terrifyingly powerful mutant this universe hasn't -- overtly -- identified as a potential threat to humankind yet.

Overall, this is one movie that needs to be watched on the big screen. Though, easy for me to say on a $5 ticket. Grandpa flex.

Finally seeing the light of a 'Brand New Day'

It's been a long time coming but since the studio collaboration between BABYMETAL and Polyphia in 2019, the two bands have finally got to play 'live' at Fox_Fest this year -- and we get to audit the official footage.

'Brand New Day' is not one of their heavier songs, possibly putting focus on the strings played by guest guitarists, Tim Henson and Scott LePage from Polyphia, but also sets the tone for the content of the song that features a moment in time within a relationship that is very seldom addressed -- and more often overlooked -- in contemporary media. Of course, I'm only interpreting from the feels I get from the music and staging, and based on translated lyrics, so I could be way off base.

Anyway, here goes: Stage lighting alternates between a dark theme and an unusual pale gold one, and the sun motif keeps popping in and out on the cyclorama, or backdrop. We're in a pre-dawn state. It's difficult to fall asleep. A special someone is in our thoughts and we're thinking and perhaps half-dreaming of the good times we've had and hoping for more good times to come.

But we're in the earliest stages of our transitioning from friendship to maybe something more. Our emotions are a blend of anticipation for a blossoming new relationship, and anxiety that perhaps we may be reading more than what is actually there. So like the way the pale gold light never intensifies, our expectations are more logically rather than emotionally driven. The muted colours and the lighter beat echo this state of rationalizing this new life development in which we are not yet fully invested.

The stakes aren't very high. I'll go out with you if it's sunny, but I won't put myself out if it's rainy when I'd maybe prefer to curl up with a book. At this stage, if nothing develops, it's no big loss -- but I'm open to possibilities. There's not a lot of drama, conflict, or emotion here, so this stage tends to get glossed over in most other media portrayals of budding romances. But for me, I've been there, which is what makes this particular song feel extra special. It's the feeling of picking up a promising-looking present from under the Christmas tree, but not yet having read the tag to see who it's meant for. If your name's on it, great! But if not, you're happy to pass it on to whomever it's addressed to. There's nothing to be possessive about, and no regret letting go. I love that BABYMETAL has immortalized this often fleeting moment in this song.

'Brand New Day' is about uncertainty. We don't know what the new day will bring, but while we may anticipate and hope for good things, we won't create such high expectations that will disappoint us if things don't go our way. And there's still tomorrow to come. Just take things 'step-by-step' and see what happens. Even if I'm wrong about this song being about relationships, it's still a very healthy attitude towards life in general.