Todd Phillips' origin story for the Clown Prince of Crime veers away from the trappings of a traditional comic book movie by taking inspiration from the Martin Scorcese films of the 1970's like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. The result of this bold, though slightly derivative, direction is an impressive piece of filmmaking … Continue reading Review: Joker
Tag: comics
Top 10 Movies of 2018
Last year, I remarked on the uncommon number of smart and daring blockbusters that littered the cinematic landscape. Unfortunately for much of this year, I felt that most of the truly exceptional work was few and far between, particularly on the studio level. However, 2018 finished with quite a bang and I think that my … Continue reading Top 10 Movies of 2018
Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Teenage Miles Morales must contend with living up to his parents' expectations after getting admitted to an esteemed high school and with living up to the expectations of multiple Spider-heroes after getting bitten by a radioactive spider of his own. Into the Spider-Verse is the most visually creative and innovative movie since Edgar Wright's Scott … Continue reading Review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Review: Aquaman
James Wan unleashes an underwater fantasy of epic proportions with a film that is overlong, overloaded, unabashedly over-the-top, and filled with enough spectacle for five movies. It feels like the filmmakers were worried they may never get another chance at this and threw everything they had into the mix. The design and effects of this … Continue reading Review: Aquaman
Summer Catch-Up: Part 2
Where I continue to catch up on this summer's big would-be blockbusters and am left feeling mostly ambivalent towards them all except for a pair of smaller-stature heroes. But let's go ahead and dig into them regardless. Ocean's 8 While it refreshingly plays as a straight sequel with new characters and is a great showcase … Continue reading Summer Catch-Up: Part 2
Summer Catch-Up: Part 1
This summer movie season hasn't necessarily been churning out a host of must-see entertainment. In fact, it's one of the weaker seasons I can remember. With that in mind, it felt like a great opportunity to flex this whole MoviePass business and take it for a drive, which has allowed me to catch up on … Continue reading Summer Catch-Up: Part 1
Review: Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: Infinity War is a whole 'lotta movie - for better and for worse. It starts with a bang and never lets up over the course of its 2 1/2 hour running time. The time flies by as we jump from one gigantic action set-piece to the next. The Russo brothers deserve an enormous amount … Continue reading Review: Avengers: Infinity War
Rankings: The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel movies have been part of our cinematic lexicon for ten years now and will have released 20 films by the end of 2018. While the quality of said films have ebbed-and-flowed through the years, the achievement alone of getting to this point is unprecedented. Unfortunately, with such a large franchise, the films can all … Continue reading Rankings: The Marvel Cinematic Universe