The Marvels (2023) | REVIEW

Iman Vellani’s charming performance as ‘Kamala Khan’ is easily the best part of Nia DaCosta’s THE MARVELS. — PHOTO: Laura Radford / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) — Screenplay by Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik.

Something feels off about retitling the sequel to a billion-dollar hit like Captain Marvel into ’The Marvels.’ While I get that part of the idea is that two characters in this film are both called ‘Marvel’ — Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel — had it been almost any other major character like, say, Iron Man who teamed up with someone of a similar name like, say, Ironheart, then it almost definitely would’ve stuck by the Iron Man title because of how popular his films are and because of how relatively unknown the secondary character is (even if, like with The Marvels, it were team-up film). After all, you’ll want to stick to the title of the character making you a lot of money. So, why has Marvel Studios abandoned its principal character in the title? Perhaps it’s because a toxic vocal minority of the fanbase had been review-bombing the first film and because said vocal minority has insisted on making the internet a tough place to be a fan of the character. Once upon a time, fandoms were largely regarded as good and uplifting groups of people, but now toxic vocal minorities have ruined it for everyone. Now, I’m not saying that not calling it Captain Marvel 2 is the main reason for this sequel wildly underperforming at the box office (there are a bunch of reasons such as genre fatigue, sexism, and unfortunate release timing as it falls in the middle of industry strikes), but ever since that title was announced I have been disappointed that they didn’t stick to the name of their principal character in the film. I desperately wanted them to underscore their support of the character and, especially, the actress portraying the character. 

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Fast X (2023) | REVIEW

Jason Momoa in Louis Leterrier’s FAST X — PHOTO: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Louis Leterrier — Screenplay by Dan Mazeau and Justin Lin — Story by Dan Mazeau, Justin Lin, and Zach Dean.

Louis Leterrier’s Fast X follows Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) and his team — which consists of family, friends, and former villains (all of whom Dom considers to be ‘family,’ of course) — as they are put in danger when an unknown crazy enemy from their past named Dante Reyes (played by Jason Momoa) seeks vengeance.

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IJR Awards 2019: Nominations – Television, Games, etc.

Today, I am revealing the first half of the 2019 nominations for my blog’s awards (I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards [IJR Awards]). The nominations that I will reveal today concern the television, video games, superhero, and music categories. The second half of the nominations — the film categories — will be revealed at some point in early February, so that I am able to watch some of the Oscarworthy films that won’t be released in Denmark until the beginning of 2020. Continue reading “IJR Awards 2019: Nominations – Television, Games, etc.”

REVIEW: Unicorn Store (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Unicorn Store — Directed by Brie Larson.

Unicorn Store — Brie Larson’s directorial debut — had its original world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival back in 2017, but Larson had to wait until after she had become the titular hero of a superhero franchise before her directorial debut was distributed widely, now in April 2019. You can call it timing — good or otherwise — but, in any case, Brie Larson, an Oscar-winner and popular superhero actress, is now almost a household name. Unfortunately, I don’t think her debut feature, Unicorn Store, was worth the wait.
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REVIEW: Captain Marvel (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The following is a review of Captain Marvel — Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

It’s good to be Marvel. One year ago, the industry was still in shock over the huge success of Marvel’s Black Panther. Only one month later, Avengers: Infinity War would break many records and, along with Black Panther, make sure that the first six months of 2018 was owned by Marvel. Now, in March of 2019, Marvel Studios can finally say that it has Oscars to its name following Black Panther‘s historic wins at the 91st Academy Awards. Some things never change, we are now waiting for another huge Avengers-film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Captain Marvel (2019)”

REVIEW: Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Kong: Skull Island – Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

In 2014, no film disappointed me more than Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. It’s not a bad film, per se – and I do think Gareth Edwards is a talented director – but it remains one of the biggest movie disappointments over the last few years, for me. Therefore, I was, obviously, apprehensive about the next film in Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s monster movie cinematic universe.

My main issues with Godzilla were that Godzilla, essentially, had a story that was populated with mostly uninteresting characters, and that I also felt the marketing had promised me much more of both Bryan Cranston and the titular monster than we were given. Does Kong: Skull Island share those issues? Well. Yes and no. Continue reading “REVIEW: Kong: Skull Island (2017)”

Is Brie Larson Our Captain Marvel? – Marvelous Monday #52

Marvelous Monday Outline

I am, by no means, a big fan of the Captain Marvel character, but I appreciate the love a lot of fans have for her. Still, this character means more to me as a result of this blog. The very first Marvelous Monday, way back in January of 2015, was about who could play Captain Marvel. I wrote about Katee Sackhoff, Emily Blunt, and Yvonne Strahovski. Now, we’re hearing that Brie Larson, star of Room, is in talks to star as Carol Danvers. Why is Marvel going for Larson, and why are we hearing this now?
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88TH ACADEMY AWARDS: REACTION – MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS #7

MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS

Leonardo DiCaprio – Academy Award-Winning Actor! Finally! The 88th Academy Awards was a great show, with a lot of great winners. Chris Rock was a really solid host, and, as a whole, it probably was one of the better Oscar shows in recent memory. Continue reading “88TH ACADEMY AWARDS: REACTION – MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS #7”

88th Academy Awards: Predictions – Motion Picture Thoughts #6

MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS

I love the Academy Awards. There’s just something special about that show, even if I don’t think they pick the right winners each and every year. Often times I find myself agreeing with the nominees for the BAFTAs instead, but only the Academy Awards can make me straight-up giddy to see accolades being handed out. Today I’m trying to predict the winners of each and every category! Continue reading “88th Academy Awards: Predictions – Motion Picture Thoughts #6”

Golden Globe Awards: Predictions – Motion Picture Thoughts #3

MOTION PICTURE THOUGHTS

On the 10th of January 2016 Ricky Gervais hosts the 73rd Golden Globe Awards. In this Motion Picture Thoughts post I predict the winners in the film categories. Carol may have the most nominations, but I definitely think this is Spotlight‘s year. Keep in mind that these aren’t necessarily the films I want to see win, these are just who I think will.  Continue reading “Golden Globe Awards: Predictions – Motion Picture Thoughts #3”