Considering the unforeseen tragedy that plagued the eagerly awaited Black Panther: Wakanda Forever before the film even went into production, co-writer Ryan Coogler should be commended for actually producing a thrilling and awestruck follow-up without the use of its star, the late and beloved Chadwick Boseman.

A lot of franchises crash and burn spectacularly when they attempt to continue after the death of their star (Just look at the Pink Panther movies after Peter Sellers died), so the direct sequel to 2018's massive hit might not be as memorable or even as successful as its predecessor. But just the mere fact that it's a spectacular technical achievement while it also manages to provide a touchingly taut and intimate exploration of grief and the journey to recovery is a miracle on its own.

The story begins with the inevitable: T'Challah, The Black Panther, the ruler and prote...Read the entire review

As much as I loved (almost) every second of Thor: Love and Thunder with the giddiness of a geeky teenager soaked in 1980s pop culture, I can also fully understand why it might have rubbed some MCU fans the wrong way.

The so-called self-aware "MCU humor" that has been bugging a lot of fans lately is in full effect in Taika Waititi's latest Thor epic. After two entries that tried to treat this cheesy character as Shakespearean mythology, Waititi swept in with the terrific Thor: Ragnarok and finally tapped into the goofy 1980s machismo parody potential of the titular Norse god.

Ragnarok almost killed Thor's badass charisma and Love and Thunder rages in with a glorious kaleidoscope of 1980s kitsch to finish the job. This is as close to a rip-roaring ZAZ or Mel Brooks parody of the MCU that just happens to be a part of the real deal.

There have been attempts at delivering...Read the entire review

The best surprise about the experience of watching Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is the gradual realization that Sam Raimi was hired not because of his experience with putting together an excellent superhero epic with the original Spider-man duology (Not trilogy, mind you, let's not go there), but because of the kinetic energy he brought to horror in the 1980s with his trademark mix of goofy and terrifying thrills.

Sure, fans of the MCU get their share of the cameos that are expected from anyone who slaved over every frame of the film's trailers, and let's face it they weren't hard to pinpoint. Those who watched Marvel's What If on Disney Plus already got about half of them anyway. You can read your share of reviews that go into as much detail as they can about the new additions to the MCU after Disney's 20th Century Fox takeover, without offending the "NO SPOILERS!" flyer th...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

Entertaining and well-cast, The King's Man is a prequel and soft reboot of Matthew Vaughn's Kingsman series. Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, are highly enjoyable homages to 1960s spy thrillers, complete with intricate gadgets, stylish leads, and over-the-top villains. Buoyed by leads Colin Firth and Taron Egerton, the first two films are certainly worth checking out, as is The King's Man, which jumps backward in time over 100 years to detail the roots of the films' spy agency. The pacing and tone are somewhat erratic here, by Vaughn again offers dazzling action, humor, and a stacked cast. The film also weaves in real historical events and figures, inclu...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

The consensus among my friend group was that no one was really interested in seeing Black Widow; a film that seemed superfluous given the events in Avengers: Endgame. I still stand by what I wrote in my review for that Blu-ray, as the 23 films released in the first decade of the Marvel Cinematic Universe include more hits than misses. I personally feel a bit Marveled out at the moment, and my lack of enthusiasm for this Scarlett Johansson-starring spin-off was not helped by the film having its release pushed back more than year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When I sat down to give this disc a spin, I did so with some reluctance, assuming I could browse the Internet on my phone if my attention waned. I will confess something up front: I have gotten bored with superhero action films. I ...Read the entire review

The Movie:

In a recent review I talked about checking out a recent release through a streaming service and it wound up being a good experience. But it was a soft-spoken release that was done through Kino. But now we are talking about Onward, a film that my family was set to see in the theater in March before we decided to cancel due to Coronavirus concerns, and then school cancelled and staying at home became the norm. So bless up to Disney+ and their decision to bring it out to their service, and in HDR to boot! What a country!

Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley and Keith Bunin co-wrote the film, and Scanlon directed the film, another in a long line of Pixar releases from the Pixar veteran. Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland, Spider Man: Homecoming) is an elf who just turned 16, and lives with his mother (Julia Louis ...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

Director J.J. Abrams no doubt knew that returning to the franchise to helm this final installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy would open him up to much criticism, no matter how well he stuck the landing. I will be the first to tell you I am not a franchise fanboy; I like the films and have fond memories of being introduced to the original trilogy as a child, but I do not know the lore inside and out as some fans do. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is now upon us, and Abrams has ultimately crafted an OK conclusion to this story that better serves as a sequel to his Star Wars: The Force Awakens than a follow-up to Read the entire review

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Disney and Pixar continue to churn out sequels to beloved properties to varying results, but I am happy to report that Toy Story 4 largely retains the quality and entertainment value of previous films. The story directly follows 2010's Toy Story 3, itself a sequel to the massive animated hits of the 1990s. Did we need this film? Probably not, but what is a studio to do when it has a billion-dollar property with enough gas left in the tank? Josh Cooley directs after making his Pixar debut as writer of Inside Out, and returning voice talents Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are joined by Keegan-Michael Key, Christina Hendricks and Jordan Peele. Familiar themes of loyalty, growing up and remaining relevant are woven into the fabr...Read the entire review

Spoiler Fever has been sweeping social media as Endgame releases across the world and audiences tune in, some of which can't stop themselves from talking about what they just saw. I had the same problem walking out of the theatre, I had to remember to keep my voice down, that I wasn't alone, that my desire to discuss what just happened wasn't more important than the enjoyment of the people around me who were just walking in. So no spoilers here, I won't give away who lives, who dies, who tells their story (excuse the Hamilton song break), but you should know that the more you read and wait the higher your chance of catching some clue as to what you don'...Read the entire review

The modern Disney remakes of classic Disney animation are entirely unnecessary; I hope we call all agree on that point. We grew up with these musical gems, we pass them on to our children in their original, white, cracked plastic boxes, but we never asked for them to be turned into live-action knockoffs that shadow what we used to love and can't possibly create the same magic a second time around. We also still watch, because the pull of Disney is just too great, and because our children deserve to have their own set of hallmark entertainers, even if they won't be able to reach the level of quality their predecessors were able to pull off. So he...Read the entire review

The twenty-first addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe is here, and for the first time we have a female lead and title character. Black Widow is one of the Avengers, Gamora is one of the Guardians, Wasp got her name in the second Ant-Man movie, but Captain Marvel is Marvel's answer to DC's Wonder Woman, an elite and powerful character who is here to make a huge impact on the entire story arc of the MCU. To get the job done, Disney chose, *checks notes*, the directors of Mississippi Grind and the actor from Read the entire review

Mary Poppins is the quintessential Disney musical, the classic of classics that showed us what entertainment could be. The fact that Mary Poppins Returns is a throwback to that style has thrown critics for a loop, as they scramble to justify their desire to enjoy a film they feel they should and the confusion brought on by a modern movie attempting an old school format. This isn't a Beauty and the Beast remake, this isn't a look from another angle like Read the entire review

THE FILM:

Disney may soon begin suffering from sequel and franchise fatigue if Internet grumblings are to be believed. Coming 14 years after the incredible The Incredibles, this sequel offers all the gorgeous animation and voice talent the Mouse House can bankroll, but Writer/Director Brad Bird constructs a film lacking in fresh ideas. A middling Disney/Pixar film is better than a large segment of the family film market, but Bird and company had every opportunity to create an interesting follow-up story for the Incredible family and failed to do so. There are glimpses of interesting superhero angst and a cute, shape-shifting baby that steals the show, but Incredibles 2 is undercooked and overproduced.

This sequel picks up immediately after the events of the original film, as superhero family t...Read the entire review

One of the most undervalued Disney movies is Wreck-It Ralph, and although it automatically sounds whiny to label something that way, it can also be perfectly true. We can't call it underrated, because it's extremely well-rated, well-respected, and was even nominated for an Oscar. But when discussing the best of Disney, we tend to either lean toward the standard princess musicals or the great Pixar classics, while Wreck-It Ralph gets lost somewhere in the middle. It's simply too original, with the only real comparison being Toy Story; games coming to life whe...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

I had to chuckle when I saw a couple of discussions on the Internet last summer on the principle that "Thanos did nothing wrong." If you are one of the six people worldwide who have not seen Avengers: Infinity War that phrase may puzzle you, but I suspect most of you already know to what I am referring. Infinity War is a celebration and culmination of the first decade of Marvel films, and it even sports a Marvel anniversary logo before the action. Here, the Avengers battle their most impressive foe yet, Thanos (Josh Brolin), a super-villain who seeks the six Infinity Stones that will make him the most powerful being in the universe. Unfortunately for Earth and its inhabitants, Thanos wants the stones so that he can wipe out half of the universe's population in an instant, something that Thanos feels is critical for sustaining life into the future. Whi...Read the entire review

Incredibles2 is a(drum-roll, please) incredible(yes, pun is intended)trip back to the magic well thatwriter-director Brad Bird (Tomorrowland, TheIron Giant,Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) started 15 yearsago. Thefilm is a jubilant blast of entertainment that will satisfy fanscraving for a return to this fantastic world and these belovedcharacters.

We onceagain are reunitedwith the coolest superhero family in cinema: dad Mr. Incredible(Craig T. Nelson), mother Elastigirl ...Read the entire review

Ant-Man may be one of the weaker additions to the Marvel Universe, but we've seen worse (Thor 1, Thor 2, Iron Man 3), and it did what it did fairly well, even if that isn't rousing applause. It was fun and funny, a throwback to the origin stories that started the whole shebang, a good time had by all. But there were some flaws, and they matter because they were invited back for the ...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

I think the word "timeless" is thrown around too frequently when describing Disney movies, but, in the case of Peter Pan, the adjective is appropriate. Now 65 years old, this imagining of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" remains as entertaining and universally appealing as it was six and a half decades ago upon release. The animation is less polished, which is no criticism, and the story is a bit tougher than those of modern Disney films, but Peter Pan is a treasure for today's children to discover and enjoy with older generations. Disney opens the vault yet again to re-release Peter Pan as part of its "Walt Disney Signature Collection," and this new Blu-ray should be much cheaper than the out-of-print version. This new package ports over a n...Read the entire review

Solo: A Star Wars Story is a prequel to theoriginal StarWars series. The film aims to introduce our rouge hero Han Solo byexploring his early days years before coming into his encounters withLukeSkywalker and Princess Leia. This time Han flies Solo. Hence thepun-tastictitle of the film. The film is executive produced by Lawrence Kasdan,PhilLord, Christopher Miller, and Jason D. McGatlin.

Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) has yet to join therebellion.He sets off a journey all on his own after becoming separated from hischildhood friend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) after evading the clutches ofthe darkside. Going on his own missions, Solo traverses the galaxy working anumber of"odd jobs" as a pilot.

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The Star Wars revamp was such an extreme success that the universe was deemed ready to support off-shoot films. The Force Awakens worked, Rogue One was solid, The Last Jedi caused more than its fair share of stir, and the newest project was aimed at Han Solo, his origin story and another peak into a galaxy far, far away. Audiences will never get quite enough of this franchise, we will always be willing to...Read the entire review

Welcome to the largest event in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before we dive in, here are the 18 films you need to see in order to completely understand what the hell is going on, and yes 18 is a large number of films. Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Thor Dark World, Thor Ragnarok, Captain American First Ave...Read the entire review

THE FILM:

Middle films in a trilogy are often problematic. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is an entertaining film with expected "middle film" problems, but not for the reasons you might be expecting. No, Director Rian Johnson may actually be going in too many directions; offering too much new mythology and world building. But I'll take this uneven, jam-packed actioner over a space-filler middle film any day of the week. The fol...Read the entire review

This is a tough review to write, because there's been a lot of controversy surrounding the latest installment in the Lucas-less Star Wars trilogy. There's a clear line between detractors and defenders, and while I typically enjoy conversations over divisive films, it doesn't seem like either side is willing to listen to the other. Franchise purists want you believe that Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is the worst film of all time, but it isn't. The people who loved this movie have tried to repress those negative views by arguing the purists just weren't ready to see a different kind of Star Wars flick, and that, too, is inaccurate. So, what's the deal, exactly?

I'll say up front that I wasn't a fan of Episode VIII, and to be clear, I have no problem living in a world where Star Wars, or any franchise, evolves into something different. Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Evil Dead II… the world ...Read the entire review

My daughter is 8, and when I went to the theatre with her to see A Wrinkle in Time, I knew that I was mostly going for her. This was a film I wanted her to see, not only because she enjoyed the book, but because I knew the messages she was about to receive would be important ones. A parent can tell their kid every day that they are proud of them, that they can do anything, but sometimes it takes a movie, a book, a friend, a magic moment, for that lesson to sink in. Ava Devernay's version is a broadcast to the young; that they are special, that they are strong, that they can change the world, that there is beauty in this weird world, that fau...Read the entire review

"Uneasy is the head that holds the crown", indeed. In Captain America: Civil War, we saw the stoic and thoughtful prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) donning the generational Black Panther costume to fight against injustice after losing his king father to a terrorist attack. In Black Panther, T'Challah has to undergo a massive responsibility that even the bravest of superheroes might be afraid of: He has to become the king of the secret African nation of Wakanda, the safety of millions of lives in his hands. Understandably afraid of white western colonization that would immediately steal their awesome resources, the previous kings have adopted an isolationist and tribalist attitude, keeping themselves from interfering in world affairs, no matter how much the rest of the world's black population suffer...Read the entire review

Black Panther was cinematically introduced in Captain America: Civil War, and he was definitely one of its strongest parts. That character is completely and roundly awesome, with a few superpowers, a ton of natural skill, and a backstory to give him depth. We've seen him out of his element, kicking ass, seeking revenge, now we get a look at his homeland, Wakanda, a place of secrecy and beauty more like Krypton than NYC, the hidden gem that houses the precious vibranium. If you're into comics and MU movies, you've been looking forward to this one, a lo...Read the entire review

From what I can tell, feminists love this film, fanboys want it removed from the canon, and critics were supposedly paid by the studio to give it high praise. I'm not sure I've ever seen and read such immediate controversy surrounding a movie, especially one that is made entirely for entertainment purposes. Star Wars is a legitimate and well-loved universe, it stands completely on its own as one of the best ever made in Hollywood, its sole reason for existence is to be enjoyed by young and old, to survive for decades as a sp...Read the entire review

In an expanding Marvel Universe, the Thor films may be the weakest links. The Iron Man franchise was a great success, as was the Captain America franchise, and the Avenger movies have mostly held their own as well. Even the stand-alone origin stories like those o...Read the entire review

One of the most amazingly animated feature films I have ever seen, Cars 3 trails only Inside Out as a combination of perfect visuals and stirring story, stamping its own legend and franchise with a gold seal as Lighting drives off into the sunset. I'm a fan of the series and I have a young boy, so I'm partial to the characters and my son has more than a few of them in Matchbox form. It's a wonderful world of humor and heart, of astonishing anthropomorphization that approaches real genius. Lighting, Doc, Mater; these cars will live on forever, and I'm aware how dramatic t...Read the entire review

Before we start, I think we should agree that Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the best comic book movies ever made, and that it was enjoyable on too many levels to count, a film that came as near to a perfect balance between style, substance, entertainment, and quality as you are likely to see. Even skeptics going in like me came out blown away, as GotG gave the genre the exact thrust it needed in the exact right direction, setting the stage for a Marvel Universe explosion that everyone an...Read the entire review

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 enhances the first film, James Gunn's terrific blend of awestruck space opera and deliciously irreverent pop-culture obsessed comedy, rather than improving it. It's pretty much what we got out of the original, not much more, and not much less. I understand that this doesn't sound like the most passionate of endorsements, but considering my love for the first Guardians, which I still think of as the best Marvel movie and one of the best films of 2014, I'm more than wholly satisfied to be met with the same level of quality.

Yes, the first sequel does its typical first sequel thing, and takes what the audience loved about the first film and delivering more of it with slight tweaks. Yet there's still an undeniable amount of genuine ingenuity and charm that keeps pumping fresh blood into this ...Read the entire review