Paul Bettany as Vision in Marvel Studios’ WANDAVISION, exclusively on Disney+. — Photo: Disney+ / Marvel Studios.
Disney’s Marvel Studios — the masterminds and architects of the global cinematic sensation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe — now also spends a lot of time on TV/Streaming shows due to the arrival of the streaming service Disney+, which Disney knows can thrive on several shows aimed at the Marvel and Star Wars fandoms. In the first year with MCU content straight-to-Disney+, Disney and Marvel Studios gave us four live-action series and one premier animated show. In this article, I’ll take a look at each of the ‘first-year’ shows in bite-sized reviews.
Some people in the industry may have been questioning the future viability of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe after the incredible infinity saga came to an end recently. If Spider-Man: Far From Home didn’t convince the naysayers, then what Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios announced last night certainly did. Today, let’s talk about the Marvel Studios announcements at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con. Continue reading “Feige Announces MCU Phase Four at San Diego Comic-Con – Special Features #54”→
Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The review does not include spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, (dirs. Anthony & Joe Russo) but you should absolutely expect spoilers for every film that came before it in the connected universe.
“All that for a drop of blood,” Thanos, the Mad Titan, groaned in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War moments before Doctor Strange relinquished the time stone to save Tony Stark’s life. Soon the not-so-seasoned Avengers turned to dust. The teenaged talking tree, the brave wall-crawler, an African king with a seemingly impenetrable suit made to look like an anthropomorphic big cat, and a quippy, tricker-happy, 70s music-loving outlaw — all gone from one moment to the next. Those left standing were left to live with their mistakes, as the Avengers had now well and truly lost even though a Norse God, multiple supersoldiers, an eccentric billionaire, and a magical surgeon — to name a few — had fought long and hard to save fifty-percent of the known universe. They failed. If those sentences made no sense to you whatsoever, then Avengers: Endgame isn’t for you. If, however, you’ve been waiting to see — nay, obsessing about — what comes next for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, then Endgame was designed for you. It is a somber epic like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Avengers: Endgame is peerless in scope and attention to detail, as well as moving from start to finish. Continue reading “REVIEW: Avengers: Endgame (2019)”→
The following is a review of Wind River – Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan.
When Taylor Sheridan gets one of his screenplays made, you pay attention. The first two films in his so-called ‘frontier trilogy’ — Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water — were amazing films that both ended up on my top ten films of the year lists in 2015 and 2016 respectively. And although Sheridan’s presumably last film in his frontier trilogy — Wind River, the first in the trilogy that he has directed himself — won’t be among my ten favorites of 2017, this modern western is still one hell of a movie. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wind River (2017)”→
The following is a review of Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival – based on a short story by Ted Chiang.
The very best directors can do anything. They aren’t just locked in on a single genre, they master multiple essential ones. They also aren’t ‘filmmaking slaves’ to a single franchise. While they may operate within a franchise from time to time – like Alfonso Cuarón did with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – they don’t dedicate their careers to them. Continue reading “REVIEW: Arrival (2016)”→
“Why are they here?” – That’s the question in Denis Villeneuve’s newest film Arrival, based on a short story by Ted Chiang. Today two trailers for the film were released, the one above this paragraph is the regular official trailer, but in this recap I’ll also be discussing the international trailer, which can be found here. Continue reading “Trailer Recap: Arrival”→
Theatrical Release Poster – Marvel Studios – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The following is a spoiler-free review of Captain America: Civil War, a Anthony & Joe Russo film. The reviewed film was seen in IMAX 3D.
This is a spoiler-free review, and the review thus won’t go into anything else than what is in the trailers. If, however, I need to mention a location, plot-point, or a character that could spoil something in the film, then I’ll only hint at it.
I’ve wanted to see this story on the big screen for a very, very long time. It’s the one story I’ve always wanted them to make into a film, ever since I first read the comic book crossover from 2007 (Mark Millar’s Civil War). But to be perfectly honest with you, Captain America: Civil War is so much better than the comic book.
The following is a spoiler review of Marvel’s The Avengers, a Joss Whedon film. This review was written in early 2016.
Marvel’s The Avengers was and is a very special movie. For many this film was not unlike a religious experience. You finally saw that these mega-movie events were possible, and Marvel Studios had finally proven that their cinematic universe was built on solid ground, with a fantastically entertaining team at the center of it.
But there are some very noticeable problems with one of Marvel Studios’s very best films, and some of those problems really annoyed me when I rewatched it a third or fourth time. So, in this review I will be brutally honest, and therefore the review does include some spoilers. You have been warned.
In honor of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice being released in March, I am moving my Favorite Thespians-schedule around a bit. For one time only, Favorite Thespians is being released the day before I’m seeing the thespian’s latest film. This time it’s all about Ben Affleck!
Favorite Thespians is a monthly opinion piece wherein I name one of my favorite actors or actresses. Favorite Thespians contains three separate sections: one section on the first film I saw the thespian in (“On My Radar”), another section on 5 films you need to see to know the thespian (“Homework”), and a section on my favorite performance from him/her. Continue reading “Favorite Thespians #3 – Ben Affleck”→
Paramount Pictures poster for ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’
The following is a spoiler-free review of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, directed by Christopher McQuarrie.
In Rogue Nation, the IMF is dissolved and Ethan Hunt is being hunted by the CIA. Hunt’s mission is to prove the existence of the Syndicate, and his mission leads him to an undercover MI6-agent that he teams up with. That is the basic premise of the fifth installment in the Mission: Impossible-franchise. Continue reading “REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)”→
I'm Jeffrey Rex 