₦airaland Forum

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Not so brand new day.

There’s been a school of thought lately that you have to forgo a logical, well-written plot to enjoy movies these days. But I dare say, if I have to forgo the plot, is it really a movie anymore?

The plot here is so narratively weak, and I think that’s where my entire problem with the film stems from. It’s no secret that a superhero movie is only as good as its villain. The charisma and twisted ideologies of a great villain are what people remember years later. Think Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and you instantly think Thanos. Think The Dark Knight, and you think the Joker.

Making a young Jean Grey the villain here simply didn’t work for me. I couldn’t take her seriously, and it feels like it negates much of what the franchise has been building toward.

The film stretches to almost two and a half hours, but it could easily have been 45 minutes. There are surprisingly few scenes that actually matter, with the rest padded out by unnecessary characters and recycled MCU ideas in a desperate attempt to tie everything into Avengers: Doomsday (2026) because apparently that movie needs every bit of buildup it can get.

Seriously, why were Yelena, the Punisher, or even the Hulk in this? I’m going out on a limb and saying Avengers: Doomsday might end up feeling the same way, because it’s being built on a pretty shaky foundation. Thin plot, bloated runtime and nostalgia bait. I’ll still watch it as part of my dirty December plans, but man, my expectations are on the floor.

Technically, though, I can see why this movie made so much money. The production value is ridiculously high, as expected from this franchise. The cinematography is great, the colours pop, and the Spidey suit is insanely good. The VFX, web-slinging and those sweeping shots of Spider-Man swinging through a spiralling New York are gorgeous. I can totally see how this will read beautifully on a cinema screen and, honestly, it’s a pretty good distraction from how weak the plot is.

Personally, I think this franchise has been worn thin. Tom Holland has taken it as far as he can. It needs some kind of refresh, but with the amount of money it brings in, I doubt Sony will ever let it go.

Almost a nothing film with very little replay value. Just glad to be done with it.

5/10

Beorn:
My fellow movies/series guru, wanted to come shout-out to you for the the Star Wars: Maul - Shadow Lord you appraised some months back after the finale. Very solid animation series. Now that you're here, I might as well give you your props. 👍🏿🙌🏿👏🏿💪🏿

My leader 🙌🏿🙌🏿

Sheba thinks she is "it"....so cute 🙂😂

TheEnforcer:
How will a boring Aikou win the season?Another second Kelly rae here.Nigerians are just amazing. The guy practically did nothing just forming some fake professor nonsense lol

Perhaps that was his game, and so many others has played this same script before without success, so allow this one...make razz and poverty script rest small.

BlackManta:
RIP Warner Bros


1923-2026

Thanks for the memories

All of the valuable ips are about to be destroyed.

Game of Thrones, DC comics, Harry Potter, Monsterverse, Lord of the Rings etc

Destroyed how? The current materials of the IP would no longer be available? because i don't think, this would be the case.

They have been on a theatrical slump all year, so maybe let somebody else try.

I saw this SS and immediately thought of "Squid Game" and "Parasite" and i just burst out laughing 😂😂😂....

Fro5t:
Toxic relationship final boss. We go still see you here when the next massive project drops hoping against hope 😁

lool clocked my gimmick, you have chief 😩😂.

Like moth to flame, i will be there for whatever poo, they serve me next 😩

abduleez1:
After watching this trailer.... I now have confidence. It's like my Idolo is back.
It seems like this folk horror style from Robert Eggers is bigger and better.... This one seems to be way more weird and unhinged than even The VVitch sef.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL1EFACsWag?si=6ch2Slhtrr9tLz6p

He's basically dancing around the same weird gimmick maan, for 2 or 3 movies now. worse still, basically the same cast.

This might interest horror fans, but for me, i have seen enough in Nosferatu (2024), to know this would follow the same scope and wouldn't be worth the hassle. 👍🏿

“Ordinary People” (2026)

It is the hope that kills.

There is something peculiar about the Nollywood projects backed by Netflix in recent times. You can clearly see the ambition on paper, but the execution just falls flat. And this was no different.

The story follows a “hacker” named Dare, who moves into a seemingly normal estate and starts peering into the lives of his fellow occupants. He soon discovers they aren’t ordinary Joes and that they harbour dark secrets behind their walls. Chief among them is Tornado, a former militant leader now seemingly trying to live a normal life.

The story had so many important societal issues on its plate, mental health, domestic abuse, trauma, etc...while also trying to keep a central focus on Tornado’s story, which was plastered all over the promotional material. Neither the writing nor the directing had the range to handle all of this, and that’s where the trouble started.

The series relies heavily on exposition rather than carefully unravelling the pieces and letting the viewer digest the story. It cared more about revealing the next secret than making the last one actually make sense. The over-explanation of simple things was a constant pain, like the show thought you were too dumb to figure things out yourself. Then there was a silly voice-over that did nothing but cheapen the ambience of the narrative.

The acting was also underwhelming, even from the experienced cast. Ramsey Nouah is a fine actor on his day, but there is a way new Nollywood makes our established actors feel like they have never acted before. In 2003, Ramsey Nouah could lie to Ini Edo that she was the only babe he was dating while juggling three other babes, and I would totally believe him, even if I knew better, because the acting was good. Here, however, he could not convince me for eight episodes that he was a militant leader.

This is supposed to be a big-budget Nollywood production, but most of it felt cheap. The hacking sequences were abysmal. The setup looked more like a church media guy’s workstation than an actual hacking setup. Nothing about it suggested Dare could hack a 1970 IBM machine, let alone a modern one. There was also this jarring use of AI, where you could clearly see typos on PC screens.

The action sequences were exciting, though. And that’s about it.

I asked someone about this show and the person simply said, “It was exciting.” It made me wonder if perhaps modern, streaming-giant-backed Nollywood has finally gauged the average Nigerian audience. Maybe they don’t care how a story is told; they just care that it’s exciting.

I mean, there’s an action sequence right at the beginning and another at the end, so why should you care about what’s in between?

But movies shouldn’t exist just to excite you. A good story should sit with you days after you’ve seen it. I’m already forgetting this, and I finished it less than 48 hours ago.

Again, it is the hope that kills.

I delude myself into thinking this industry can be more than it is, and projects like this remind me that maybe this is exactly what the industry is and, surprisingly, what the masses want.

Nollywood stresses me so much, maann. 😩

Baddestguyp:
I haven't started Dark Matter season 2.

I was about to start it today, but after watching a recap of season 1, I'm not sure if the series is worth continuing right now...

There's really no intrigue left for me in the series.

Is anyone following season 2? Is it worth it?

I read the source material and watched S1 back to back, and they both ended perfectly. They are forcing it now. You aren't missing anything if you skip S2.

Achilles100:
Stanley Johnston in The Gentlemen reminds me so much of Stilgar in Dune who believes in the main character than they do in themselves.

is this Gentleman series any good?.like is it something we haven't seen before or all it's all hype?

phr0nesis:
I remember your tragic run .

No vex say I laugh abeg

Brooooo...back to back mid wan take my neck during that run! 😩😂😂

✨✨

samistry:
Totally forgot this movie comes out next month. No marketing

It isn't a Tier one DC project, niche even, so i believe they think people that are going to see it, knows about it already plus they are still reeling from the disaster marketing and returns, that is "Supergirl". James Gunn talks about it on his socials tho and I don't think they reckon it to be a box office hit, so why waste resources on marketing.

abduleez1:
Omo, guy I leave many shows half way ooo.

Euphoria, e be like na episode 2 I stop.
HOTD, for months na episode 2 I stop until I just watched 3&4 two days ago.
DTF St Louis episode 1, Your Friends and Neighbours episode 6.

Omo, so the list goes..... 😩😩

Lanterns I'm actually enjoying but I still dey episode 2.... I wan amass the episodes to rush am once sha. Sadly, na that binge watching wait na wetin make me never watch Peacemaker S2 till now.

loool Euphoria S3 tight sha imo, i liked it, what helped was that i binged everything once, a staggered watch, and i for chop am half way fgss...The DTF Louis dey my radar before, but i don give up 😩😩, The YFN for me was a classic one season show, i believe they are just going to be dancing around the same plot till they cancel it, so i didn't bother with S2.

I don't know, maybe is a me thing but i have found "Lanterns" relatively "dull", i don't know how best to describe it. Aaron Pierre has the charisma of a wooden slab, so the show it's just difficult for me to digest, might see it eventually, but my head space needs to be right for it.

phr0nesis:
Me and giving up are besties right now.

I made similar statement about HOTD.

Brooo..i have seen enough rubbish these past 2 years or so, to know that I ain't really missing out of an all timer, if i decide not to see a show or movie now. My giving up game, tight die...if i watch am, i watch am if not make the show just dey go abeg 😩

As a design head myself, this is a ridiculously good poster!! Good grief!!!

abduleez1:
Emmys na this night sha and I never caught up......

No stress chief no be only you 😩..I have reach the point where i just give up on shows.... started HOTD S3, after Ep 3 i just gave up, like i didn't even go back. I have been stuck on "Lanterns" Ep 2 and i have zero motivation still to continue...Na Mr.Recap on YT go save me last last 😩

abduleez1:
😂😂😂

Make the assistant Direct the film to Masterpiece status since it's that easy.

lool i don clock that guy since...na ragebaiter normal 😂

abduleez1:
Yeah, they can be said to be almost on par. I'll say Park edges Bong a little due to most of his films consistently being great watches.

Bong is on fraud watch my G, gave me an all timer in "Parasite", and i am forever grateful but everything he has done since then, has been kinda burst 👀😒😩

abduleez1:
I dey tell you. Dem no gree leave Palme D'or award for A24 again.

In my humble opinion, NEON has already beaten A24 in it's game. They're more A24 than A24 are these days with the kind of project they bet on.

Reminds you of A24's early days, when they were less known before gaining that maaad reputation with films like The VVitch, Midsommar etc.

Only difference is NEON doesn't have that horror juice A24 had— it's strength is more or less in Drama genre and life in general.

Midsommar!... You just reminded me of that banger!...Ari Aster my G!...oh how i wished he took filmmaking seriously 😒.

lol A24 has changed business models and are taking less risk with Indie filmamkers like they used to, back in the days hence i think, but Neon is greenlighting every indie script that comes through the door 😀.

Kaczynski:
His assistant a woman came up with the idea for this film which he stole and repackage as his.

Everything is an agenda with you fgs 🤦🏿‍♂️. Source material has been out since 2002, even adapted into a show, before this movie, which also credited the source material.

But okay, his assistant came up with the "idea for the film"...heck mann, i seriously can't with you.😩

pu7pl3:
Reacher s4 has been mid soofar.
This is the weakest season.

They are steady gassing it on X Mannn.

abduleez1:
Let's go.....AI has come to stay. 🧐🤔


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDZplZFnbOk?si=yCtzTnvNfsNZNpko

Sam Altman, origin story?? 🤔

abduleez1:
This is looking like those Slice of Life films that will have you thinking deeply after watching about the machinations of life and human relationships. 🤔



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AxtdPvDojA?si=-1CTaf21ByljyatW

Neon just hold A24 for neck for like 2 years now for this indie genre thingy 😩😩

abduleez1:
That guy is GOATED like maaad.

I no fit resist liking his films.
Na like this I dey anticipate when I'll have time for Sympathy for Mr Vengeance.

Omo...He too sabi die!!....on par with Bong Joon Ho, for me tbh

“The Handmaiden (2016)"

“The daughter of a legendary thief, who sewed winter coats out of stolen purses. Herself a thief, pickpocket, swindler. The saviour who came to tear my life apart. My Tamako. My Sook-hee.”

There is a certain satisfaction you get when you hold off on seeing an all-timer, waiting until you’re fully prepared for its greatness, and then you finally see it, and it is an absolute banger.

Like, just wow! I am in total awe of just how beautiful this movie was. Told in three parts, from different perspectives that initially seemed warped, but eventually connected in the most amazing way.

There is a reason why I continue to insist on and bother with Park Chan-wook’[/i]s filmography. In an industry as conservative as the Korean movie industry, he is audacious and always dares to put the unthinkable on screen and somehow, it comes out beautiful every single time.

[i]He is a sick, sick man!, but I hope he doesn’t get help, because the way he used stunning cinematography to portray a taboo love between the two leads was next level. Like, there was an intense 69 scene between them that looked like it could go on forever, and I just sat at the edge of my seat, applauding the beauty I had just witnessed. 😩

Exceptional. Exceptional film. ✨👍🏿

8/10

Nova15:
how good is "Just Play Dead" starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green?

1.5/10.

And i defended it shamelessly when it was first announced but seeing this new trailer, a Black Snape looks so silly and unnecessary fgsss 😩😩....They just had to punch in that big diversity quota smh.

I continue to ask, who is this even made for?, if they are going to replicate almost 100% what the movies already did with a slight dash of "modernity" 😩😩

samistry:

loool toh...Damon Lindelof wey i sabi reach house 😩😩😂...He made one of my best shows ever, so i know what he is capable of, look at what he did with "Watchmen".