Mark McPherson's Blog, page 35

“Crimes of the Future” (2022) Review

David Cronenberg delves back into science fiction in a big way with Crimes of the Future. Here is a film that not only embraces a certain sense of the artificial and organic but finds more beyond weird body horror. There’s something bigger at play in this story that goes beyond the weird contortion of bodies and the overlaying tale of crime. There’s a fascination with evolution and the fears that come with it. It’s an intriguing aspect that Cronenberg has always weaved but it’s powerfully prese...

“Nope” Review

There’s a moment in every Jordan Peele movie where the mysterious evil is given a title. It’s that crucial moment early on where everything connects. For Get Out, it was when Stephen Root’s character speaks of benefiting from a racist system. For Us, it was when the doppelganger declares herself an American. But in Nope, we have a creature who cannot speak to us but is always watching. Thus, the characters declare this mysterious evil The Viewer.

Thankfully, Nope manages to be something more...

“The Black Phone” Review

In an era of retro horror like Stranger Things, The Black Phone has a surprising amount of teeth to be both a supernatural thriller and a crowd-pleasing horror picture. Sitting in a theater with an audience watching this film where they jolt in their seats for the frights and cheer when there’s victory is always a treat. Thankfully, this isn’t just another rollercoaster horror where the ride is more engaging than the story.

Thanks to a stellar short story by Joe Hill, Scott Derickson’s direc...

“Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank” Review

Many years ago, this animated action-comedy was called Blazing Samurai. If that title sounds close to Blazing Saddles, that was intentional. The classic Western comedy was being tranformed into an animated kid-friendly picture. And though it changed titles to seem less obvious, the remake angle is incredibly blunt. So, yes, they remade Blazing Saddles in the safest way possible.

The premise essentially replaces racism with specism, ala Zootopia. Japan is ruled by anthropomorphic cats that de...

“Thor: Love and Thunder” Review

Within the first few minutes of the fourth Thor movie, my mind drew to Star Trek: The Final Frontier, which opens similarly with a bald man seeking salvation in the desert. That film also came with the notable aspect of rejecting God when asking the comical yet telling question, “What does God need with a starship?” A similar sense of existential teeth is present in Love and Thunder but struggles to find just where to sink its fangs in a film about killing gods, getting over the loss of others,...

“Elvis” (2022) Review

style is one of great energy and wild imagination that often has this surreal quality when it comes to adaptations. Whether it’s his wickedly fast-paced modern take on Romeo & Juliet or his 3D trip for The Great Gatsby, his films are visually dazzling even if they don’t bring out the best of the material. And yet his blinding blaze of music seems to work rather well for recapping the legacy of Elvis Presley.

The film begins with a rip-roaring pace that jumps all around in time...

The Boys And The Importance of Media Literacy

Season 3 of The Boys has become an eye-opening experience for some. The superhero satire has grown far blunter and much more vicious in what it wants to skewer most. In the past two seasons, the show has satirized a bit of everything: superhero media, political cover-ups, corporate corruption, and eugenics just to name a few. With the current season, there’s no mistaking what the series is talking about: fascism, white supremacy, police brutality, and far-right nationalism. And there is 100% no...

“Brian and Charles” Review

Much like the scrappy robot of this film, Brian and Charles is a movie more admirable for its mere functioning than anything else. Slapped together from a short film shot in North Wales, it’s a film that has its heart in the right place even if it can’t quite fire on all cylinders. It’s a stock bit of whimsy but at least never loses sight of where its strengths lie.

The movie adopts the rustic style of a mockumentary format, where a camera crew takes aim at the quiet country life of Brian (

“Lightyear” Review

Lightyear is perhaps one of the oddest of Pixar spin-offs given its trajectory. It’s a story that’s meant to exist as a movie itself within the Toy Story universe to market the Buzz Lightyear merchandise and the only way you’d know that is from the textual introduction. None of this is important as the film works well enough as a solid space adventure and doesn’t require any Toy Story lore to appreciate.

Yet it almost felt like you would be given the rocky first scene. We’re introduced to Bu...

“Jurassic World: Dominion” Review

Lumbering on at 2.5 hours, Jurassic World Dominion is a test to see how many dinosaur movie tropes you can reiterate in one feature. Here is a film in which you’ll see Bryce Dallas Howard flee from a velociraptor. Then she’ll hide from a bigger dinosaur. Then sneak around other dinosaurs. After two hours, one has to question if there’s anything more to Jurassic World than just running from dinosaurs, repeating the same things we’ve seen time and time again. The answer might be no considering ho...