The Present is a fun, yet flawed, movie that combines two familiar genres — the family movie, and science-fiction — for an enjoyable enough time for anyone who might be scrolling through their favorite streaming service looking for an easy watch. This low-budget indie comes from “Love, Rosie” director, Christian Ditter, and “Get Hard” writer,…
What do you do when you’ve made multiple successful films in New Zealand, graduated to Hollywood blockbuster franchise installments while maintaining your idiosyncrasies and then won an Academy Award? In the case of Taika Waititi, the answer is to make another blockbuster where the idiosyncrasies are even more pronounced, to an extent that may amuse…
In 2002, the superhero genre achieved an ideal form in “Spider-Man,” which built upon aspects from the Superman and Batman franchises as well as 1998’s “Blade” and 2000’s “X-Men.” Over the subsequent two decades, the genre developed and expanded, but a consistent aspect throughout is the cinematic expression of the experience of superpowers. This was…
The balance between innovation and homage is a difficult one to strike. This is especially so when dealing with established and beloved properties. Spider-Man: No Way Home takes on the formidable task of balancing the demands of a standalone film, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the wider presence of Spider-Man in cinema and popular…
Two beautiful people in a beautiful setting confess the beauty they see in each other, before creating something beautiful between them. There’s a lot of beauty in this scene, a scene that could happen in any number of films, but here it takes place in an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Its presence…
It has become a cliché to identify that Marvel Studios combine the superhero genre with other genres. From conspiracy thriller in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” to buddy comedy in “Thor: Ragnarok” to space opera in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Kevin Feige and the various writers, directors, editors, actors, composers, cinematographers and more that work…
Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone are back, six months after the release of their last (and worst) film, “Superintelligence.” Their latest work, Thunder Force, is a superhero comedy telling the story of best friends Lydia (McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”) and Emily (Octavia Spencer, “The Shape of Water”), who become the superhero duo known…
