Top Ten Films of 2021

This is a list of the best films of 2021. There are many like it, but this one is mine. It is a little late, but pay it no mind. The film industry in 2021, like 2020, was still impacted somewhat by the COVID-19 Pandemic, though obviously not as much as 2020 was. It was a year that, to me, showed a lot of problems for the theater industry, as it was starting to look like film fans had become comfortable waiting for films to hit streaming services rather than to see them in theaters. Because exactly what films became hits last year? Like others have noted, they were pretty much all franchise films. In a way, it feels like HBO Max may have made it easy for American audiences to let go of the moviegoing experience, but, hopefully, the movie theaters will thrive again soon.

Continue reading “Top Ten Films of 2021”

REVIEW: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

MJ (played by Zendaya) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) trying to escape the public eye in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Photo: Matt Kennedy / Sony Pictures.

Directed by Jon Watts — Screenplay by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.

Next year is the 20th anniversary of the first-ever live-action Spider-Man film, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which catapulted an already immensely popular comic book and animation character into big screen superstardom. A lot has happened since then. At this point, three different actors have played Marvel’s beloved wall-crawler on the big screen, and all of them have devoted fanbases. This, Spider-Man: No Way Home, is the third solo film in Tom Holland’s tenure as Peter Parker, but it is so much more than that as trailers have revealed. Rest assured, this is a spoiler-free review that will not reveal anything you wouldn’t already know from promotional material. Promotional material — trailers and posters — have revealed that No Way Home will feature villains (and the actors that originally played those villains) from the previous two Spider-Man sagas and thus connect the different cinematic universes. It is a massive crossover event for Spider-Man fans. My one worry going into the theater was that this movie might be too big to work, but, ultimately, I don’t think that is the case. Because at its heart, this is very much a Spider-Man movie, and I think they manage to balance the various elements of the film remarkably well.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)”

REVIEW: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Sony Pictures Releasing

The following is a review of Spider-Man: Far From Home — Directed by Jon Watts.

Do note that this review includes spoilers for Avengers: Endgame.

Isn’t it crazy that Tom Holland has already played Spider-Man in five movies? Holland hasn’t even been Spider-Man for as many years as Tobey Maguire was, and Maguire only appeared in three films. Even though Tom Holland’s first solo film only came out two years ago, a lot has happened since Tony Stark first took Holland’s Peter Parker under his wing and presented him with a snazzy suit powered by Stark Industries technology. Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame happened. Parker was snapped out of and back into existence, he lost his mentor, and, somehow, five years went by in the blink of an eye for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Continue reading “REVIEW: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)”

REVIEW: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Teaser Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a review of Spider-Man: Homecoming – Directed by Jon Watts.

There is a great iconic comic book line that all movie lovers know these days. I am, of course, talking about the classic Uncle Ben quote: “With great power, comes great responsibility.” It is a line that was delivered well by Cliff Robertson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. However, it was also poorly paraphrased in the disappointing reboot — Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-ManContinue reading “REVIEW: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)”

How Long Will Spider-Man Be in the MCU?

‘Spider-Man 3,’ Columbia Pictures.

It has been a lot of fun being a big fan of Marvel’s favorite wall-crawler since Marvel Studios and Sony agreed to ‘bring Marvel into the amazing world of Spider-Man’ back in February 2015. Since then we’ve seen this new version of Peter Parker appear in Captain America: Civil War where he stole Steve Rogers’ shield for a minute, and that was probably one of the best on-screen moments ever for the character.

But they say that all good things come to an end, and during these last few days Spider-Man’s future involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been called into question. Continue reading “How Long Will Spider-Man Be in the MCU?”

My 17 Most Anticipated Films of 2017

2017-anticipated

2016 is almost over, and I really can’t believe it. It feels like the summer movie season just ended, but here we are at the end of the year. That also means that we need to start looking forward to some of the films that are released next year. I, obviously, don’t know if any or all of these will be good, or even great, but with this list I’m trying to point out which films I’m super excited for. Continue reading “My 17 Most Anticipated Films of 2017”

Marvelous Monday #37 – Pre-Phase Three Watchlist

Da Marvelous Monday

The first two phases of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe have ended, and the third phase is looking to be the largest and most expensive yet. Still, there are a ton of films coming up in the third phase that we need to prepare for. Today I’ve assembled a watchlist for people interested in the new actors, directors, and writers for two of Marvel’s third phase films. Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #37 – Pre-Phase Three Watchlist”