Congratulations to Kevin Feige for making the very best Fantastic Four movie ever... by default. Yeah, it's not hard to improve upon the unreleased 1994 Roger Corman abomination, the cringeworthy 2005 film that only existed to make Jessica Alba's underwear levitate (28% on Rotten Tomatoes), its wholly unnecessary and unwarranted sequel (37%), and the 2015 … Continue reading A Retro Fit – The Fantastic Four: First Steps
The Marvel Cinematic Universe post-Endgame has been, at best, a mixed bag. Between Phases Four and Five, there have been 13 films released, with the range of quality so extreme that graphing it out would basically resemble a heartbeat monitor, every peak followed by a devastating valley, to the point where you legitimately wonder when … Continue reading What About Bob? – Thunderbolts*
We're a third of the way through 2025, and I can safely say that we're on track to have a much better year than the last two as far as cinematic quality is concerned. There are still myriad problems like the continued push for AI-generated content despite two labor strikes that halted the entire industry, … Continue reading This Film Is Not Yet Watchable – May 2025
There's nothing wrong with an honest mistake. Human beings are inherently fallible creatures, and our entire lives are spent in one giant exercise of trial and error, hoping to achieve a level of balance that allows us to prosper and reach a state of contentment once we've adjusted enough to meet our individual goals properly. … Continue reading The Replacements – Captain America: Brave New World
As I've mentioned a fair few times over the last fortnight, the timeline for this year's Oscar Blitz had to be compressed due to the fire-induced delay in announcing the nominees. What is usually seven to eight weeks for this process is reduced to just over five, leaving me with little time to do anything … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – February 2025
The Marvel Cinematic Universe began as an ambitious experiment in shared worldbuilding, a multi-year gamble that could have gone bust at any moment. The idea of creating a massive overarching narrative that allowed for cross-pollination, cameos, and a climactic showdown of dozens of superheroes was completely unheard of, and the fact that the entire plan … Continue reading Make Me Lose Control – Deadpool & Wolverine
Happy birthday, America! Or rather, Happy Barbecue and Fireworks Day, as the Supreme Court decided three days ago to essentially kill the republic by declaring the former President a monarch unaccountable to the law. Hey, we had almost 248 years. It was a good run. In that spirit, I have decided that for this month's … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – July 2024
The writing has been on the wall for quite a while now. Ever since Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe began, the onslaught of diminishing returns has brought us to this inflection point. There have been a couple of bright spots, mostly from fan service films that served as closure for beloved characters that … Continue reading RIP MCU – The Marvels
If you're wondering why I haven't posted anything in the last week, there's a very good reason. I just spent five days at this year's AFI Fest in Hollywood. Over the course of the festival, I took in an insane 15 movies, including 10 that have been submitted for the Oscar for International Feature. Needless … Continue reading This Film is Not Yet Watchable – November 2023
Throughout the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there have been two subseries that have been my absolute favorites, namely Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy. The two are vastly different in terms of tone, story, and character, but at their absolute core, they kept the same high points throughout. More than anything else, … Continue reading Rocket’s Man – Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3
I Actually Paid To See This 