Mark McPherson's Blog, page 30

“Elemental” Review

Pixar is usually at its best when its animated films can do one of two things. They either create a world we’ve never seen before with a heavy dose of creativity to bring it together or present a story typically not associated with average animated family films. Elemental does both by creating a dazzling world of colorful elemental figures and presenting a tale of romantic drama. No, not a romantic comedy but a romantic drama. It all combines to make for something far more than a different flav...

“The Flash” Review

The DCEU cannot be retooled to be better. That’s the somber realization that Barry “The Flash” Allen (Ezra Miller) realizes, but it’s also a sentiment that the audience recognizes on an external level. This first theatrical film for the speedster superhero arrives so late to the party and tries to keep it going with all the bravado comic book fans have come to expect from the character. Try as he might, The Flash cannot save this cinematic universe from its own messy assembly and glaring limita...

“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” Review

There’s a finer polish on this Transformers movie. It buffs out much of the chaos that makes these films such a headache to get through. Gone are the confusingly-shot action sequences, the messy design of characters who look like walking-talking garbage, and the stumblingly awful attempts at humor. In its place, however, is a rather generic and by-the-numbers sci-fi action film.

The plot is the same as every Transformers movie before, albeit with less clutter. Taking place in 1994, the heroi...

“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” Review

As the follow-up to Into The Spider-Verse, the high expectations for Across the Spider-Verse are more than met. While the previous film was playful and experimental with the Marvel comics hero in a way that live-action films lacked, this sequel comes closer to touching a postmodern perspective on the nature of superhero canon. Suffice to say, it’s easily one of the best superhero films of the year, if not the decade.

Having established Miles Morales as the new Spider-Man of his universe, he ...

“Fast X” Review

The past few Fast & Furious films have had a fluctuation of popcorn action movie elements. The car chases have grown more absurd, the sentimentality adorably cornball, and plots a smeary combo of routine world-saving and preservation of the family. After so much mounting of the silly, to the point where F9 made good on rumors about taking the street racing into space, Fast X would seem like it would be running on fumes. Thankfully, it’s one of the most exciting entries to date and possibly my f...

“You Hurt My Feelings” Review

There’s an almost aggravating preciousness to how tender this dramedy of New Yorkers proceeds. The film features characters who have weathered so much insecurity amid all their devoted love. There’s no real threat of a family splintering or a marriage crumbling. All they need is a gentle reminder that their preference for books and perceptions of confidence needs to be kept in check. On one level, it’s refreshing to see characters more communicative and less hung-up on mild shortcomings. On ano...

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” Review

Nine years ago, director James Gunn convinced audiences to root for a talking raccoon and talking tree save the galaxy. Nine years later, he makes us cry about what might happen to them. Guardians of the Galaxy has become the oddball, misfit ensemble of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. They’re quirky but not bubbly, brash but not mean, and heartfelt but not sappy. With a colorful assortment of underdogs, the third and final film gives them a proper send-off with a fitting finale.

It helps that...

“Beau is Afraid” Review

It might be hard to sell Beau is Afraid as Ari Aster’s weirdest film to date. He’s already made surreal nightmares with Hereditary and Midsommer, horror films with so much to munch on with their dark twists so bizarre you almost have to laugh. This film is in the same realm but becomes so absurdly cerebral that it’s an unpredictable voyage. It’s also one of his more expensive films considering the cast, set pieces, and visual effects. It’s reassuring that Aster doesn’t skimp on the surreal when...

The Mario Movie and Misreading Movie Reviews

In April of 2023, Universal released The Super Mario Bros Movie. The film was made as a co-production between Nintendo, the titular video game’s franchise creators, and the Illumination animation studio, known for profitable and lukewarm animated movies made as bland as possible to appeal to the largest swath of general audiences.

The film’s original release date was December 21st, 2022. But when Puss in Boots: The Last Wish took that slot, Universal decided to move the release date to April...

“Suzume” Review

made a massive splash in 2016 with Your Name, a coming-of-age anime fantasy that found fondness in the contemporary and cerebral. Given how revered that film became when an international live-action remake came up, there’s a lot of pressure to see what he’ll cook up next. Consider that there have been many anime films that have followed this same pattern since. Suzume doesn’t exactly redefine the formula, but it showcases how some gas is still left in this tank.

The premise is...