‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017) is again a visual feast
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): James Gunn delivers a fun sequel.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017) is again a visual feast
What’s the largest leap in quality between original and sequel? A case for the ‘Jumanji’ films (Movie reviews)
2017 featured one of the longest time gaps between an original and a sequel when “Blade Runner” (1982) was followed with “Blade Runner 2049.” That franchise thus overshadowed “Jumanji” (1995) and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” (now available on home video). But in terms of quality, there aren’t many sequels that have made such a […]
MCU gets metaphysical in ‘Doctor Strange’ (2016)
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): The MCU cribs from “Inception” as Benedict Cumberbatch joins the fold.
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘Willow & Tara’ (2001-02) (Comic book reviews)
Following James Marsters and preceding Juliet Landau and Nicholas Brendon, Amber Benson became the second “Buffy” actor to write a Buffyverse comic, co-penning three “Willow & Tara” issues with veteran scribe Christopher Golden. Considering her editorial at the back of the first issue where she says she only got into the medium in preparation for […]
Heroes pick political sides in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): Heroes pick their sides in the third “Captain America” film.
‘Annihilation’ is Garland’s disappointingly slow and weird follow-up to ‘Ex Machina’ (Movie review)
The 2015 masterpiece “Ex Machina” put Alex Garland on my list of must-see auteurs, and the trailers for “Annihilation” – now available on home video – made it look like an amazing follow-up. A shimmering energy field, monsters, moodiness. Instead, it’s a step backward to the smarter-than-thou mindtrip of the Garland-penned “Sunshine” (2007), leaning on […]
‘Ant-Man’ (2015) a small-scale amusement
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): Paul Rudd enters the MCU in a film that has fun with scale.
‘Angel’ flashback: ‘Close to the Ground’ (2000) (Book review)
Jeff Mariotte – who had teamed with Nancy Holder on Buffyverse guidebooks and will go on to be a reliable author – makes a respectable debut in the “Angel” novel line with “Close to the Ground” (August 2000). I like how this novel is – pun kind of intended — grounded in the meat-and-potatoes aspects […]
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015) a step down for Whedon
An outsider’s take on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Movie review): Joss Whedon’s second “Avengers” film isn’t as good as the first.
‘Buffy’ flashback: ‘BTVS Classic’ Issues 56-63 (2003) (Comic book reviews)
A lot of comic series whimper to their conclusion, but “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Classic” is not one of them. It saves the best for last, ironically by going back to the start of the timeline and filling in the events between “The Origin” and “Welcome to the Hellmouth” (Season 1, episode 1) in its final […]