Tag: Sebastian Stan

Thunderbolts* (2025) | REVIEW

(L-R) David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Sebastian Stan, Florence Pugh, and Wyatt Russell in Marvel Studios’ THUNDERBOLTS* — PHOTO: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / Marvel.

Directed by Jake Schreier (Beef) — Screenplay by Eric Pearson (Black Widow) and Joanna Calo (The Bear).


When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel Studios and fans alike like to think of the series of films in distinct phases, with the first three being known as the Infinity Saga, which culminated in Spider-Man: Far From Home and Avengers: Endgame in the summer of 2019. Since then, the MCU has operated within the so-called Multiverse Saga, which, however, has largely struggled to recapture the spirit, enthusiasm, and success of the first three phases. Phases four and five have had incredible highs (e.g. Spider-Man: No Way Home) but also messy lows (e.g. Captain America: Brave New World), and with Marvel Studios’ latest release, Thunderbolts*, they’re hoping to end phase five on a high and right the ship before the sixth phase of the MCU, which is set to include major event films such as The Fantastic Four: The First Steps and two Avengers films. Whether or not Marvel Studios can recapture the prominent pop culture spot they once held is still very much up in the air, but Thunderbolts* (the asterisk is there for a reason) is definitely a step in the right direction.

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Who Will Be Nominated? – Final Predictions | 97th Oscars

It’s finally that time again. Tomorrow, AMPAS is announcing its list of nominees for the upcoming 97th Academy Awards. So, of course, now is the time to fill in your final Oscars nominations predictions. This is exactly what I’ve done here. Below you’ll see what I’m predicting along with a few comments here and there. The choices are ranked from either one to five or one to ten based on how confident I am that something is getting nominated with 1 being the most confident. Let’s get to it.

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REVIEW: Ghosted (2023)

Ana de Armas and Chris Evans in “Ghosted,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher — Screenplay by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers.

A romantic action-comedy from the director of Rocketman, with a screenplay from the writers of Deadpool and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and starring Captain America himself and the Oscar-nominated star of Blonde and Knives Out (who, notably, proved her action chops with a memorable appearance in the James Bond flick No Time to Die) sure sounds like a winning combination. Apple TV+’s Ghosted is a film with so much marketable talent that it has several major cameos that almost feel crammed in there. However, even though this is a project that has attracted a lot of talent, Ghosted is a largely ineffective romantic action comedy where neither the romantic, action, nor comedic elements work all that well. 

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REVIEWS: MCU Series on Disney+ – Year One (2021): ‘WandaVision,’ ‘Loki,’ ‘Hawkeye,’ and More

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.

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REVIEW: FRESH (2022)

Noa (right, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) falls for ‘Steve’ (left, played by Sebastian Stan) in the comedy-thriller FRESH — Photo: Searchlight Pictures.

Directed by Mimi Cave – Screenplay by Lauryn Kahn.

Modern dating can be difficult. We all like to think that we can have a grand love story and just meet someone out of the blue, but, nowadays, many people find their eventual partners through online dating. In Mimi Cave’s FRESH — her feature debut as a director – Noa (played by Daisy Edgar-Jones) is tired of spending so much time finding potential suitors on the online ‘meat market.’ Her online dating usually ends with disappointing dates with rude men or with men sending inappropriate images that she never once asked for. So, it is understandable that she excitedly chases romance when she meets and flirts with the undeniably charming ‘Steve’ (played by Sebastian Stan) in a local supermarket. In spite of obvious red flags (he has no Instagram account!), she decides to go away with him on a weekend vacation, where she will soon find out that he has an uncommon ‘hobby’ — to say the least — and that his intentions aren’t good.

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REVIEW: The Last Full Measure (2020)

Theatrical Release Poster – Roadside Attractions

The following is a review of The Last Full Measure — Directed by Todd Robinson.

Todd Robinson’s The Last Full Measure is a war drama that tells the true story of William H. Pitsenbarger (played by Jeremy Irvine), a Vietnam War-hero, who died defending a unit of soldiers during a tough battle in 1966. The film, however, primarily follows Scott Huffman (played by Sebastian Stan), a relatively young Pentagon bureaucrat, thirty-two years later. After having met with Pitsenbarger’s parents and the soldiers that he saved, Huffman risked his career to tell Pitsenbarger’s story in an effort to have him awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Last Full Measure (2020)” →

Feige Announces MCU Phase Four at San Diego Comic-Con – Special Features #54

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” →

REVIEW: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

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)” →

Who Should Play Batman in Matt Reeves’ Batman-Film? – Special Features #47

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Warner Bros. Pictures

Oh, Affleck. It seems like just yesterday that I was flip-flopping on the night of the announcement whether or not I liked that he was cast as DC’s Caped Crusader. He ended up doing a pretty good job in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but he was one of the clearly noticeable problems with Justice League. Recently, it was announced that Affleck will not be playing Bruce Wayne in Matt Reeves’ film about the Dark Knight. So, today, I want to show my readers who I want to see play Batman in Reeves’ film. Continue reading “Who Should Play Batman in Matt Reeves’ Batman-Film? – Special Features #47” →

REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Annapurna Pictures

The following is a review of Destroyer — Directed by Karyn Kusama.

In the first scenes of Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer, a seemingly inebriated LAPD detective, Erin Bell (played by Nicole Kidman), walks onto the scene of a crime to investigate what colleagues of her’s think of what happened to a murder victim with three dots in the back of his neck. What follows is a labyrinthine narrative complete with twists and shoot-outs as we learn what events made Bell, a former undercover officer, into a disheveled and visibly weathered revenge-seeking rogue detective. Continue reading “REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)” →