About halfway through Ant-Man and the Wasp I started thinking about Lebron James. The brand new Los Angeles Laker has been so good at basketball, for such a sustained period that it’s easy to take his talents (to South Beach) for granted. An average Lebron game last season – a tumultuous one for his Cavs – saw him nearly put up a triple double: 27.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 9.1 assists. That’s so darn good (and so stupifyingly in line with his career averages), that if you saw Lebron put up a conventionally *excellent* 25, 5 and 6, it would feel mundane. While those numbers might be all-star caliber for nearly anyone else, for Lebron, that’s a below average night. He’s simply capable of so much more. [Read more…] about Ant-Man & The Wasp Review! Small Stakes
Comic Book Movies
Deadpool 2 Movie Review! Wait For Cable
It’s an odd development, but in a world with a healthy output of comic book movie releases, timing makes a big difference. Much like Deadpool 2’s slate of a million jokes per minute, nailing the right moment, the beats between set-up and expectations, is critical to success.
I have to say, that for me, Deadpool 2 is simply too slight for the moment.
Avengers: Infinity War Review — Oh Snap!
Over the years, as I’ve continued to assert Avengers is the best movie in the MCU, I’ve held that nothing could surmount the film’s delivery on expectations. Everything in the nascent MCU from 2008 to 2012 built to that moment of the Avengers coming together for the first time to save New York. The film’s ability to turn all that hype and world-building into a genuinely thrilling, humorous, compelling story is the reason we still even have the MCU. What could be bigger?
The answer, of course, came at the end of that same Avengers, as the budding Marvel Cinematic Universe introduced Thanos and his quest to collect the infinity stones for himself. That introduction has led to an often tangential throughline for Marvel movies from 2012 to 2018, all building to the release of Avengers: Infinity War. [Read more…] about Avengers: Infinity War Review — Oh Snap!
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Black Panther Review! All The Stars Are Gold
That a movie can intelligently reflect big picture racial politics and simultaneously have me turn to my wife mid-battle and squeal “THEY BROUGHT RHINOS” is nothing short of miraculous. Nonetheless, that in a nutshell is Marvel’s Black Panther from director Ryan Coogler, the third straight perfect game in his cinematic ascent (following Fruitvale Station and Creed), and the third straight gem released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [Read more…] about Black Panther Review! All The Stars Are Gold
Justice League Movie Review: I Believe In Justice
If you’ve invested years into Justice League comics and Justice League Unlimited (the animated series), it’s hard not to feel like 2017’s Justice League is designed directly for you.
Unlike Marvel Studio’s (declining) obsession with overlaying their movies with “true” film styles (Winter Soldier is a “political spy thriller”; Thor: Ragnarok is a pure comedy), DC’s Justice League is a Comic Book Movie heart, mind and soul. [Read more…] about Justice League Movie Review: I Believe In Justice