Shang-Chi Has So Many Cheer-Worthy Moments Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings is an incredible movie held down by only one thing: its hero’s journey parts. Unlike a lot of films dealing in mythical storytelling, its structure is a detriment. The placeholder plot points are unnecessary—a lingering piece of the Marvel formula only… Read More »
Black Widow Does Not Really Stick The Landing The funny thing about Black Widow is if I’d seen it even ten years ago, it would’ve blown my mind. The things in this movie, both individual moments and theming, would’ve been something unique for superhero cinema. Now, it’s just a Marvel installment. And, if we’re grading… Read More »
Arcane Continues A Wonderful New Media Trend Arcane cemented for me we’re living in an era where video game-inspired media is consistently good. It seemed to get going with Sonic the Hedgehog but hasn’t stopped since. Finally, people are throwing passion and craft at stories and lore and worlds that gamers have been connecting with for years.… Read More »
(IT’S ALMOST CHRISTMAS TIME! And, in honor of those of us that watch this movie every year–and in honor of this still amazing film–let’s talk about why it’s such a classic.) Originally Published: November 19th, 2018 Walk into any store that sells tees for the young and the nerdy, and you are bound to see… Read More »
Hawkeye Nails The Best Parts of Any MCU Project The problem with reviewing Hawkeye is not that it’s bad, but that it’s so consistently good, in that specific Marvel way, that to describe it in usual terms doesn’t work. We all know what a good Marvel thing is like: fun, witty, action-packed, with simplistic but… Read More »
(It’s been a while, and this article needed an update. So, we’ve added two more things to stream this holiday season.) For fans of sci-fi and fantasy, there may not be that many go-to Christmas television episodes and movies that tickle our unique sensibilities, but that does not mean it is all hopeless. This is… Read More »
Free Guy Is Fun But The Plot Is All Over The Place Free Guy is a mess of a movie, a strange, all-over-the-place insanity of a film. It follows one plotline, a standard Matrix-style idea—and then fails to have one genre anymore. Oh, and it’s also kind of a blast. It’s delightfully fun and sweet.… Read More »
(One of the most evergreen articles I’ve ever written, it’s still super relevant today. Worth rembering whenever some new Marvel movie gets slammed by critics.) Originally Published: November 25th, 2020 Novelty Does Not Ever Equal Quality Media The thing about reviewers and critics is that we sometimes get overwhelmed with the sameness of media—and thus… Read More »
Circle Uses An Extremely Simple But Clever Plot To call Circle an intense film is to undersell it. Utilizing almost only a single location, this death game story touches upon politics, human nature, mercy, and bigotry. It uses a very simple premise and plays it straight and is one of the best-paced films I’ve seen… Read More »
Some of the videos contain animated violence and gore, scary imagery, and possibly swearing. [embedded content] Murder Drones Is Precisely The Show I Expected If you were tracking—as I was—the creative output of Liam Vickers on YouTube, then Murder Drones seems the obvious next step. His various shorts and series ideas have been culminating to… Read More »