After the recent comments that the Russo Brothers have made about the “elitist” nature of movie theatres and that current criticisms of Marvel’s Phase 4 are juvenile, they have no right making a movie as bad as The Gray Man.
Perhaps “bad” isn’t the right word to describe The Gray Man. The movie is technically proficient, possesses some moderately engaging fight sequences with well executed choreography, competent cinematography (except for some of the most in your face and annoying drone…
Audiences: Why isn’t it possible (for you to make a good movie Taika)?
Taika Waititi: It’s just not.
Audiences: Why not, you stupid bastard?
[Spoilers for some minor plot details and jokes within the movie]
[In short]
Whereas Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, despite its abundant flaws, rekindled my love for the Marvel Cinematic Universe with its campy charm and striking Sam Raimi visuals, Thor: Love and Thunder has ostensibly killed it for good. Put simply, this was…
Thor: Ragnarok is one of the highest rated Marvel Cinematic Universe films and I honestly have no idea why. Taika Waititi offers nothing substantial to this film in the slightest and robs it from all narrative tension and weight. While it’s overplayed to use this term, Thor: Ragnarok is purely a case of style-over-substance. I don’t want to give this movie any more thought than I already have (clearly Waititi didn’t either), so I’ll break my points down into digestible…
Thor: The Dark World gets a bad rap, but it really isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Sure, it has weak attempts at humour, a silly villain, and the Earth sequences manage to be even more annoying as they were in the first movie, but Thor: The Dark World makes an attempt to tell a self-contained story for the Marvel Cinematic Universe that works to further develop its characters while also introducing more universe-expanding elements such…
Contrary to popular opinion, I rather enjoy the first Thor film and thoroughly believe it to be the best installment of a series that becomes worse with each new release.
A lot of what works best about Thor is in its depiction of the Norse mythological elements which help to establish the characters and a distinct tone for this part of the MCU. Kenneth Branagh’s distinct visual style and eye for scale and scope gives Thor a level of grandiose…
The Final Girls is a movie that is unsure of itself in terms of what it wants to be. On the one hand, it tries to emulate the self-aware satirical nature of a Scream film through its commentary of the summer camp slasher sub-genre (which is quite literally represented by the characters of the film jumping inside of the screen to become part of the film that they’re watching – thus making it a movie-within-a-movie) while also trying to be…
When it isn’t falling victim to a contrived and predictable rom-com formula, Palm Springs holds its own as comedic, yet introspective look into the Groundhog Day sub-genre of films. In this regard, I’d consider Palm Springs to be a companion piece to the original Groundhog Day in that it builds off of some of the core themes that its predecessor established while also reinterpreting them and providing a new philosophical approach to understanding them. Sure, it’s depiction of nihilism, while…
I’ve said this about Joel Haver’s work before, and I won’t hesitate to say it again. I don’t know how he manages to do it, but Haver’s character work is simply phenomenal. There are few filmmakers who are able to capture the essence of a human being without resorting to snarky, sarcastic dialogue where everyone quips and sounds the same as one another. The dialogue is awkward, unpolished, and full of natural pauses and interruptions. Seeing that this film, along…
I’m glad to see the common consensus for the discussion regarding Disturbia is that the actions of Shia LaBeouf’s character are equally as appalling as those of the literal serial killer in the movie. The trope of the peeping-Tom nice guy who creeps on his crush, gets caught / admits to it, and still is rewarded for those actions is so overdone but also quite horrifying (especially after the unintentionally hilarious “you’re not like other girls” monologue). It’s really strange…
[potential spoilers]
While I wish I had watched this film prior to watching The Endless, I don’t think there’s a lot that’s lost by watching these two films in their reverse release order (except for gaining a more “literal” understanding of the meaning of the ending). In fact, Resolution is more of a companion piece to The Endless than The Endless is to Resolution, despite The Endless being the resolution to Resolution. Confused? So am I.
Resolution also manages to…
Despite its clear budgetary limitations and charmingly B-movie style performances, The Endless crafts a mostly compelling narrative with themes of free will and religion mixed with existential Lovecraftian horror elements. While this concept should be a perfect pairing (and it certainly does work most of the time), the end result is somewhat muddled and unfocused as the directors seem compelled to simultaneously over-explain the mysteries of its narrative while also not explaining enough for there to be a satisfying conclusion.
[This review contains light allusions to key plot points]
I was cautiously optimistic when entering my screening for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has yet to impress me in the slightest, mostly because I’ve found that the focus on the multiverse has given Marvel Studios the leniency to operate with a paper-thin narrative but get a pass because some obscure character from the pantheon of Marvel Comics will appear, introduce themselves,…