Spider-Man: No Way Home

There’s a curse of sorts that’s become attached to “the third Spider-Man movie”, one that’s brought us something very bad, something very cancelled and now something very delayed. After a Covid-afflicted shoot and the postponed release that comes with that, we have “Spider-Man: No Way Home”, a big-budget tentpole tasked with not only proving that a Spidey…

The Mandalorian S1

“The Mandalorian”, Disney’s new live-action Star Wars TV show, debuted with the release of Disney+, the company’s new streaming service. Its eight relatively short episodes mean that the total runtime for the first season is about two movies or so long. In a display of true corporate synergy, this Star Wars property was entrusted to a veteran of…

25 Movies, Turning 25

The movies that made us The movies you’ve seen represent who you are and where you’ve been in life. Younger people, particularly teenagers, are much more likely to be impacted by what they watch than older adults because they are still developing and shaping their world-views. Since they are still being generally socialised, they are…

Best Movies of 2019

2019 is coming to an end, which mean you’re either recovering from a hangover and Christmas food coma or you’re about to recover from another hangover. Either way while this year is ending, it’s once again time to sit down and talk about the best films that were released this past 12 months. These are,…

Disney’s New Circle of Life

Recasting animated classics of the 20th century as live action in the 21st has become Disney’s own kind of circle of life: “Dumbo”, “Aladdin”, “Cinderella”, or “Beauty and The Beast”. This remake of “The Lion King” is meant to represent the next step in Disney's Circle of Life. The 1994 original animated features is unique, and also became the…

A New Era

“Avengers: Endgame” irrevocably changed the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That’s mainly why “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is arriving in theaters facing impossible expectations. This sequel to 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” offers a soft launchpad for the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, tying up loose ends in the wake of “Endgame”. As an antidote to that film’s heaviness, “Far from Home” operates in…

Thank you Marvel

Just over ten years ago, “Iron Man” directed by John Favreau, arrived in cinemas. Despite the film being a hit with both audiences and critics, and possessing more deftness, wit and charm than most superhero films that had come before it, one could have been forgiven for not registering it. And, indeed, for not ascribing much…

The Endgame

"Part of the journey is the end" and my oh my, what a glorious journey and end! The Avengers are dead. Long live the Avengers. For the millions who watched half the Marvel universe vaporize onscreen in the final moments of 2018’s “Infinity War” — whole standalone franchises reduced to swirling ash with a sweep of supervillain Thanos’…

A New Era for Animation

Over the past couple of decades, one idea has almost become a cliché in reviews of animated movies: they might be aimed at kids, but there’s plenty about them that will appeal to adults! It’s an idea that has come up consistently since the mid-’90s, the height of the Disney Renaissance and the start of the computer animation…