Avengers: Endgame - Review (NO SPOILERS)

Eleven years. Twenty-One films. One Universe.

Stitching together narrative threads of dozens of characters and multiple franchises into one expansive story is not an easy task on paper. And yet, Marvel has produced something that has systematically changed Hollywood and popular culture at every turn. Now, with Avengers: Endgame, it all comes to an end, at least for now.

The Curse of La Llorona - Review

Since Marvel has seemingly taken over Hollywood, numerous cinematic universes have come and failed in the wake of their success. The Dark Universe of Universal crashed before it ever began. The DC Extended Universe has rebranded at least three times by now. And a handful of classical King Arthur and Robin Hood attempts were misguided from the start. Yet somehow, the Conjuring Universe, of all things, has become the successful franchise of the bunch, even if the quality has started to decline.

Hellboy - Review

As a premise, rebooting Hellboy because the previous version of the franchise didn’t make a ton of money seems ill-advised. It’s a fairly unknown property, even with the two Guillermo del Toro films gaining some fans, and it’s unlikely you’ll find the same visual creativity that he provided. Turns out the actual result is even worse than you could imagine, and an absolute slog to experience.

Missing Link - Review

Animation is a medium that frequently gets labeled as children’s films despite the expert craftsmanship and design that goes to each release. The limitations of live action and believability can be forgotten in a world of exaggerated features and cartoonish designs, and the beauty of a story can shine through. And slowly but surely, a studio that understands this completely is gaining ground on the dominance of the major studios like PIxar and Disney. Laika continues their streak of hits with their newest release, Missing Link.

Pet Sematary - Review

The horror genre can be equal parts exciting and frustrating all at the same time. It opens the doors to so many creative individuals to tell wacky and weird stories that can chill audiences to the bone, but it also frequently produces remakes and reboots to seemingly no end. Pet Sematary, fortunately, falls somewhere in the middle, a remake of an adaptation no less, but it presents a chance to new something new and unique with the creepy source material.

Shazam! - Review

The DC Extended Universe, or the remnants of it, has seemed to finally get a grasp on the creative potential of superhero films. Gone are the dreary and brooding heroes, replaced with the light-hearted, fun, and entertaining nature of Wonder Woman, Aquaman and now, Shazam!. Add in a little heart and some good old fashion magic, and Shazam! may just be the best the DCeU has to offer.