Matt Reeves’s The Batman isn’t really a superhero movie. Sure, all of the trappings are there: the Batmobile, the gadgets, the trusty butler. And, of course, at the center of it all is the Caped Crusader himself: tormented, brooding, pursuing vengeance under the guise of justice in the...
Much like 2019’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: No Way Home reminded me why I love Spider-Man. Comic books often have a level of unpredictability to them, something that’s lacking from modern superhero flicks, where every twist and turn is precisely calculated. Of course,...
Let’s start on a downer: 2020 has been one of the worst years I’ve had in recent memory. The only real contender is 2015, but that’s not very important. Now, I’m aware that claiming that 2020 has been a terrible year doesn’t make me particularly unique; I think everyone...
Early on in Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) tells the camera, “Me and the Joker? We broke up.” This declaration sets out the film’s mission statement. This is a new and improved Harley Quinn, one unshackled from the...
Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse is a film about two people slowly going mad. Not only that, the film pushes you to the edge of sanity, too. Through sound design and filmmaking style, the film evokes the feeling of watching someone else’s fever-induced nightmare. The constant crashing of...
Forty-two years after the original film changed cinema forever, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes along to put a cap on the core nine-film Star Wars saga. Whatever you thought of 2017’s The Last Jedi, that film felt like it was trying to build a new house on old ground. The Rise of Skywalker...
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out is, in my book, the most purely entertaining film of the year (sorry, Avengers: Endgame). Every twist and turn of this carefully crafted whodunnit is thrilling. And not only is this film a tight little mystery story, but it also has a bit of scathing social commentary...
Spider-Man: Far From Home is light and sweet, a winning combination of high school comedy and superhero action. It serves as the dessert at the end of the six-course meal that was Marvel Studios’ third phase. I don’t think anyone is dying for another Marvel movie already, just two months...
Following last year’s disappointing and problematic Bohemian Rhapsody, I found it hard to have high expectations for Rocketman. For one, the (uncredited) director of Bohemian Rhapsody, Dexter Fletcher was helming this film. Add that to the fact that I had never really listened to Elton John’s...
Unlike most fans of the franchise, I didn’t come to Pokémon through the original games. Rather, I bought Pokémon Ruby with my meager allowance when I was 10 years old. As soon as I clicked that cartridge into my GameBoy Advance and flicked the power switch on, I was transported into another...