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…

Eternals

When did Marvel become a mood ring? Early on, their movie multiverse was mostly helmed by amiable experts-for-hire (Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh) in a sort of stylish superhero style more notable for its general competence than flair. Then came the auteurs and their looser, bolder take Taika Waititi's gleefully loopy “Thor: Ragnarok”; Ryan Coogler's culture-smashing “Black Panther”; Destin…

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…