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Friendly Neighborhood Comeback

28 Jul
Tom Holland stars in SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY

Damage Control isn’t just the site of much of the action in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, it’s an all-too-obvious metaphor for a movie with a lot riding on its shoulders, coming after so many disappointing comic-book films — in the DC and Marvel cinematic universes — and an over-reliance on the multiverse and fan-pandering novelty.

The good news is that this hero is up to the task.

Brand New Day gets things back on track, delivering an emotionally rich and action-packed spectacle that’s bigger than previous outings and hugely satisfying, even if it feels a tad overstuffed. 

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My Favorite Movies This Year Started a Conversation

29 Dec
F1, SINNERS, BLACK BAG, and MARTY SUPREME were some of my favorite films of 2025

Every December, frequent moviegoers like me fall into the same familiar ritual: looking back at the movies we saw and ranking the ones that made an impact — for better or for worse. 

There’s no real science to this; it isn’t about “the best films according to an algorithm” or awards-season prognosticating. It’s just about calling attention to the movies that stuck with me, the ones I couldn’t wait to discuss afterwards, that I’m still thinking about weeks or months later.

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“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Leaves Our Heroes and the MCU in a Better Place

1 May

Spider-Man: Far from Home wasn’t just the last film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s so-called “Phase Three,” it was the last MCU film that could reasonably be considered great.

Alright, fine. Could be considered very good.

Since then, the MCU’s big-screen output has been fair, at best, but mostly underwhelming, with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever among the highlights and Eternals among the lowlights of Phase Four. Things have been better on the small screen, but no other series has been as good as WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were.

After the not-very-good Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, not to mention a less than inspiring The Marvels teaser trailer, it’s been more than fair to say that Marvel’s best days are behind us. MCU movies just aren’t as exciting as they used to be.

So, what a relief it is to report that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stops the downward slide. While not a top-tier movie like, say, Captain America: Winter Soldier or Civil War, not to mention the original Black Panther, the conclusion of this offbeat trilogy is generally one of the better post-Endgame releases and an emotionally satisfying film for longtime fans.

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“Spider-Man: No Way Home” Is for the Fans. That’s Not a Good Thing

16 Dec

There’s not a whole lot you can say that won’t ruin Spider-Man: No Way Home, but here’s a non-spoiler: It’s a Christmas movie!

That’s right: Like Die Hard, Batman Returns, Go, and many other films before it, the latest Spidey flick takes place during December’s holiday time, which — yes — qualifies it as a Christmas movie. 

It’s also a legitimate event. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard the incessant drumbeat of promotion and buzz, which has made people feel like they have to see it — in a theater! — as soon as possible, before the film is spoiled. It’s one of those truly communal, shared cinematic experiences that are all too rare these days.

God bless it for that. 

But is the film worthy of all that hype? Well … It’s a Wonderful Multiverse this is not.

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The Most Bizarre Summer Festival Ever, and 7 Other Movies You Should See (or Not)

30 Jun

Thumbs up, Spider-ManIt’s summer, and if you’re like most people, you’re looking for a good movie to see in a cool, air-conditioned theater. Thankfully, I’ve seen a bunch in recent weeks and I want to tell you about them — starting with one that probably isn’t on your radar, but should be. Continue reading →

Plays Well with Others

6 May

Summer is here!

With The Avengers now in theaters, we have our first big slam-bang, star-studded, popcorn action film of the season.

And what a good time it is.

Bringing together more than a half-dozen of the brightest stars in the Marvel universe, The Avengers is kind of like Ocean’s 11 for comic book geeks. (If you prefer Marvel, that is. Personally, I’m more a DC universe / Justice League fan. But that’s not really important here. I’m just sayin’.)

The movie begins with a portal to another universe opening (how does that keep happening?), and Loki, Thor’s megalomaniacal adoptive brother, arriving to cause mischief. After Loki tells Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, head of the peace-keeping alliance S.H.I.E.L.D., that a global war is coming, Fury assembles the Avengers to defend the planet — even though, really, it’s only the U.S. that seems to be in danger.

So Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and the Hulk (now played by Mark Ruffalo), all with their own egos and issues, are forced to work together. (Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, too, but not until he can break free from Loki’s mind control.) Of course, it doesn’t go well at first, but eventually they get their act together and they take on the Big Bad in New York City. Because if aliens descend on Earth, where else would they go? Continue reading →

Summer Is Back

6 May

Iron Man 2 begins with a bang.

Or, perhaps more appropriately, with a zip, zoom, swish, and a bang — not to mention a rockin’ song by AC/DC playing over the action.

Those are the sounds we hear as our hero flies through the air amidst fireworks and then lands to wild applause. “Oh, it’s good to be back,” exclaims Tony Stark, after shedding his Iron Man costume.

The expression could go many ways.

In my world, it applies not just to Stark, but also to Robert Downey Jr., the Iron Man series, and summer movies in general. Yes, IM2 kicks off the summer season in high style; this movie is a great big ball of fun. Continue reading →

You Won’t Like Him When He’s Angry

9 Jun

What you want to know is this: Is the new The Incredible Hulk movie better than Ang Lee’s Hulk movie from a few years back?

Not really.

But the good news is it’s not any worse. It’s just different.

For example, the story is much better, more focused, and more faithful to the comic book source material than Ang Lee’s daddy-issues epic was.

And the first two-thirds of this film are certainly more enjoyable than most of Ang Lee’s film was.

But that’s pretty much where the good stuff ends.

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High Flying Fun

8 May

Watching Iron Man, it’s almost as if the movie’s not based on a comic book.

Sure, it’s about a guy in a suit who fights evil, but Iron Man deals with contemporary issues — like terrorism — in such a serious way that it’s not as hokey as most other films in the genre typically are.

Not that a film like Batman Begins is hokey, per se, but given that the villains in those movies are all disfigured or “special” in some kind of way, having a bad guy who’s simply a businessman and arms dealer is sort of, ahem, disarming. Continue reading →