‘Mission: Impossible’ as a franchise just might be the most successful in achieving its, pun intended, mission. While other action blockbuster intellectual properties have ambitions that go way beyond just the movies themselves, Tom Cruise’s ‘M:I’ series is content to entertain, one movie, one set piece, one moment at a time. Nearing 30 years since… Continue reading ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ – Choose To Accept?

Perhaps the biggest question going into the fifth Indiana Jones film, now almost as many decades later, is . . . Why? Why would Harrison Ford reprise a role that has beleaguered him physically as he rounds his 80th birthday? Why would Disney/Lucasfilm green light such an endeavor without spear heads Steven Spielberg and George… Continue reading ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ – Returning to the Well One Last Time?

If the core theme of 2018’s animated masterpiece, ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, was “anyone can be under the mask”, its sequel, and in some ways superior work, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’, interrogates what it really means to be under the mask. ‘Into’ introduced the idea of multi-dimensional spider-themed heroes linked by common tragedy and the… Continue reading ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ – What Does it Mean to Be Under the Mask?

The third volume of Marvel Studios’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ franchise within a franchise has had a unique path to fruition to say the least. Writer/Director James Gunn, who had brought his own kooky/gooey/funny/heart-on-his-sleeve stamp on the first two volumes and further influenced the rest of the MCU, had been fired from ‘Vol.3’ years ago… Continue reading ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3’ – Did An Exiting James Gunn Deliver?

At this point it’s truly hard to believe how incredible the ‘John Wick’ series continues to be. ‘Chapter 4’ hit theaters and it’s once again a non-stop feat of balletic action fantasy. Keanu Reeves and his long time stunt coordinator / now director Chad Stahelski have crafted an epic master class in logic / age-defying… Continue reading ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ – Never Too Much of a Good Thing?

The new film, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ is the first entry of Phase 5 in the ongoing saga that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This an important factor as it’s also supposed to be the third entry in the ‘Ant-Man’ subfranchise. When it works, it’s successful at being both, but when it doesn’t (and… Continue reading ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ – Small Tries to Go BIG?

Thirteen years in the making, one year more than the gap between his previous two box office crushers, “Titanic” (1997) and “Avatar” (2009), James Cameron is back to do it again. His sequel, “Avatar: The Way of Water”, comes to the multiplex, or IMAX, or Dolby, or RealD high frame rate – whatever version is… Continue reading ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ – An Unparalleled Cinematic Experience?

Marvel had an unenviable task with its sequel to ‘Black Panther’, one of the most, if not the most, celebrated comic book adaptations ever made. After the sudden and tragic passing of its star Chadwick Boseman, the speculation as to what Marvel/Disney would do ranged from recasting, to mantle passing, to canceling the franchise completely.… Continue reading ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ – Can the Sequel Succeed Tragically Missing Its Center?

Olivia Wilde’s sophomore directing effort, “Don’t Worry Darling”, has arrived to theaters amongst some of the most discussed backstage turmoil on a feature film in some time. Cutting though the noise and nonsense is a difficult endeavor. The end result though is a competently made, if ultimately shallow attempt at a twisty thriller that’s neither… Continue reading ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ – Can Florence Pugh Save a Half-Baked Idea?

A Jordan Peele feature is an event in its own right. His films, all original stories and visions in the horror/comedy milieu, are challenging, expertly made, and peculiar in the best ways. It’s kind of shocking that he has found a pretty substantial audience which has allowed each movie to be bigger than the last.… Continue reading ‘Nope’ – Jordan Peele’s Take on a Close Encounter?