‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011) a blast from the past
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): The MCU looks to the past to introduce a core character.
Movies
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011) a blast from the past
‘Thor’ (2011) makes clunky debut in the MCU
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): Thor gives the MCU an otherworldly addition.
‘Iron Man 2’ (2010) doesn’t distinguish itself from the original
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): The sequel repeats too many beats from the original.
‘The Incredible Hulk’ (2008) not incredible, but not bad
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): The Incredible Hulk is introduced into the MCU, albeit with an actor who wouldn’t return.
‘Iron Man’ (2008) modestly, confidently launches MCU
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): Downey’s character confidently launches the MCU.
All 13 ‘X-Men’ Universe films, ranked from worst to best
Movie commentary: Here are my rankings of all of Fox’s “X-Men” films, from 2000’s original through 2020’s “The New Mutants.”
‘Broken Flowers’ reviews
John’s “Broken Flowers” flashback review, April 15, 2021 “Broken Flowers” — This unofficial companion piece to “Lost in Translation” finds a numb Bill Murray visiting all his old girlfriends, with decidedly different results. Great scene: One […]
‘Sideways’ review
“Sideways” — This road trip movie combines two character arcs (Paul Giamatti is a romantic dunce, Thomas Hayden-Church is a little too good at landing the ladies) with a passion for wine (which could stand in […]
Get your Infinity Stones here! The best (and worst) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie commentary)
With the release of “Avengers: Infinity War,” the Marvel Cinematic Universe hits the apex of its third phase of movies that have entertained moviegoers through the past decade since the release of “Iron Man.”
Celebrating 50 years of ‘Apes’: ‘Battle for the Planet of the Apes’ (1973) wraps saga with relative whimper (Movie review)
This series celebrates 50 years of the “Planet of the Apes” film franchise. Here, we look back at the fifth and final film in the original series. “Battle of the Planet of the Apes” (1973) […]