Mark McPherson's Blog, page 24

“Infested” (2024) Review

The very thought of a spider horror movie is probably enough to make the skin crawl of anybody who finds themself shrieking over an arachnid in the bathroom or a web in the attic. Infested doesn’t rely on that easy mode of terror. This is the nightmare-mode spider movie that will most likely garner that largest and quickest “NOPE” from those with a bad case of arachnophobia. For those who won’t nope out of this picture, they’ll be in for a treat of one of the best spider-themed horror movies (f...

“Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury” Review

The Gundam franchise always takes on different flavors when it ventures out of the established Universal Century timeline. For The Witch from Mercury, there’s a merging of Gundam’s traditional anti-war roots and the colorful drama of high school romance. While that might seem like a controversial cocktail, this anime series ended up being rather surprising for how well it blends the two genres. There’s enough promise within the premise that it made me wish it was given more time to simmer befor...

“Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” Review

The second part to Rebel Moon, Zack Snyder’s all-style-no-substance Seven Samurai in space, is mostly action. Although Part One served up much of that, it was also drowned in a cascading mountain of uninteresting exposition and characters more notable for their weapons than any personality. Part Two could be the action-packed finale promised with the premise, where the frenetic violence might be enough to excuse the lesser elements. It does not, as Part Two showcases just as many flaws.

Desp...

“Mars Express” Review

There’s a lot of familiarity on the surface of Mars Express. With its neo-noir tale set against a futuristic society of robots, this is well-treaded science fiction for touching on the intersection of tech and humanity. Thankfully, director Jérémie Périn finds far more than stylish animation to make this film more of its own thing rather seem like another Blade Runner clone. The theme of humanity’s relationship with tech sings far more beautifully here when you care about the characters beyond ...

“Challengers” (2024) Review

Challengers is a film that is horny for tennis in more ways than one. It has a throbbing heart that seems to thump with an overpowering soundtrack that overtakes the dialogue. There’s a thirsty drive for something bigger and competition heats up in battles of tennis and sex. As the battle continues, it’s not about who wins the match, but who is manipulating who in this complex love traingle of shifting power dynamics.

Tashi Duncan () is established a tennis player who has made the spo...

“Abigail” (2024) Review

Years from now, there will most likely be someone who stumbles upon Abigail and be surprised by its second-act twist. I look forward to future generations discovering the film this way considering how much the marketing has spoiled this picture. I think it’s impossible to talk about this film’s rauchous brilliance without revealing the big surprise. For as much as I try to keep my reviews free of spoilers, I should preference this review with a spoiler warning.

For the first half of the film...

“The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare” Review

There’s an almost comforting nature to how Guy Ritchie briskly trots this WWII picture promising Nazi hunting. Though based on real people and events, Ritchie’s film adaptation of Damien Lewis’s book has more in common with Inglorious Basterds than something like Hacksaw Ridge. In the same way that Basterds makes its characters known for quirks of bashing Nazi skulls with baseball bats, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare reduces figures like Gus March-Phillipps down to a dude who likes to sw...

“Monkey Man” (2024) Review

Monkey Man is bold because it has the guts to reference John Wick in passing. Sure, Dev Patel’s action extravaganza may gain comparisons for the mere mention and gritty abundance of fight scenes. Thankfully, though, Patel’s directorial debut is anything but derivative. This action film has grit, guts, and a deeply engaging tale of revenge and corruption.

Patel plays a nameless man (sometimes called Kid, sometimes called Bobby, as he adopted it from a brand of bleach) who wants to get revenge...

The Amnesia of Anti-Woke Media Commentary

Early in 2024, Disney announced that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy would helm their next big Star Wars project. Shareen is a Pakistani director of documentaries on feminism. The topic was discussed on the Fox News panel show Outnumbered and had predictable talking points. Fox News host Emily Compagno proclaimed that Star Wars had succumbed to wokeness and that feminism has ruined it.

This was a fairly garden-variety conservative talking point, but something strange happened. Emily tried offering an ...

“Hundreds of Beavers” Review

For any filmmaker who has adored the zany antics of Looney Tunes, there has most likely been a desire to replicate that same sense of fast-paced fun and cleverness. Many films have tried, but they always felt missing one or two components. But Hundreds of Beavers, with a budget of a mere $150,000, is a film that has managed to pull off the impossible. It’s a feature-length slapstick cartoon that flawlessly transitions to live-action with brilliant absurdity.

The film’s entire premise perfect...