"Spider-Man: Brand New Day" And Struggling With Grief
The highly anticipated Marvel superhero movie of the year displays important themes of loss, loneliness, and change.

The story begins with an indiscriminate slaughter at a cafe frequented by young people. Security camera footage shows an unarmed man with shaven head, able to seemingly kill people with a simple touch. Police investigation leads to the suspected identity of the murderer: middle-aged man named Tarō Yamada. When the police conduct a search of his apartment, they find the rotting corpse of a woman. Adapted from Sato Jiro's own debut manga.
The highly anticipated Marvel superhero movie of the year displays important themes of loss, loneliness, and change.
‘Better Than Chocolate’ isn’t perfect, but it sure has charm! The characters are great. Some took longer to grow on me than others, but ultimately they’re all compelling! I appreciate how a select few help those around them to grow.
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The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
2025 has just about wrapped, so we’re taking this time to celebrate the most inclusive films that came out this year. Graded on Gender, Race, LGBTQ, Disability, and more
The biggest highlight of the film is easily the performance of Andrew Garfield. In his days since hanging up his Spiderman suit, Garfield has routinely churned out great performances, and Mainstream is no exception. He proves that he is willing to try anything and go anywhere in a character.