Mark McPherson's Blog, page 21

“The Boys: Season Four” Review

The satire of The Boys continues to make it one of the most engrossing superhero shows by a wide margin. While other shows stoop themselves in the escapism of its adaptations, this adaptation of Garth Ennis’s comic book dives into the deep end of modern reflections. Season four arrives as fresh with its biting commentary, even if some subplots have meandered more than usual and a few problematic issues arise.

The source of terror continues to be the egotistical hero-turned-villain Homelander...

“The American Society of Magical Negroes” Review

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“Twisters” Review

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I recall the biggest draw of the original Twister was the special effects. You didn’t go to the theater because of the compelling dynamic between Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton; you went because you wanted to see if either of them got sucked up into those massive tornadoes. Twisters, on the other hand, has more than big, destructive winds to be entertained. You’ll get al...

“Sausage Party: Foodtopia” Review

The sequel series to Sausage Party is more of the crude and childish subversion that audiences were treated to with the 2016 film. There are plenty more acts of food fucking, cursing, and delivering puns so awful even grade school kids wouldn’t use them. That said, there’s a firmer focus within this extended tale to explore a more compelling political narrative. There is no subtext for this show’s intent. Anti-capitalism and socialism are the text.

Soon after the fall of mankind, the sentien...

“Robot Dreams” Review

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Robot Dreams evokes a certain sense of loss and laughter that can only exist within the medium of animation. It has the allure of experimental shorts despite being fairly grounded in its world and premise. For a film with anthropomorphic dogs and robots straight out of classroom doodles, there’s a wealth of relatable adult emotions and a child-like sense of wonder. W...

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” Review

We live in a golden age of giant monster movies. Last December, I watched Godzilla serve as an example of post-war Japanese anxiety in the Academy-Award-winning Godzilla Minus One. Less than a year later, I’m watching the same monster team up with King Kong to do battle against an evil monkey king with surprise guest Mothra. While The New Empire is nowhere near as compelling Minus One, it does fulfill that light dose of popcorn entertainment, ensuring audience can still get campy Godzilla at th...

“Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.” Review

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Several questions arise about the provocative and award-winning Slave Play. They’re questions that usually don’t have easy answers. Or, rather, answers that never want to be easy. The documentary on the play’s production...

“Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” Review

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In the same way that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence seemed to slip so easily back into their cop roles for Bad Boys, so too does with his role of Axel Foley from the Beverly Hills Cop movies. After 3...

“MaXXXine” Review

There’s a lot of pressure on Ti West’s MaXXXine to bring the X trilogy to a strong conclusion. After two amazing films (X, Pearl) released in the same year, one would expect the final film to be a grand finale. This same sentiment can be felt in the script, where one of the plots involves a horror B-movie getting a more theatrical production. In that quest for a stirring horror sequel, this film sadly falls into a vat of vanilla 80s echos.

The determined porn star Maxine Minx () has ...

“I Can’t Breathe (God Forgive Them)” Review

Most people know the phrase “I Can’t Breathe” as a movement against police brutality in the wake of Eric Garner’s death in 2014. Garner was unarmed and pled that he couldn’t breathe as cops placed him a chokehold for selling smokes without a license, leading to his demise. Black Lives Matter protested with this slogan and the messaging became clear about how police brutality would not be tolerated. This film, however, is not about Eric Garner. It is instead about a rich white guy grappling with...