Mark McPherson's Blog, page 37

“Morbius” Review

The trailers for Morbius revealed a scene where the titular anti-hero beats up a bad guy and is asked who he is. Morbius responds “I…am…Venom” and then snarls with his teeth before smirking and saying he was joking, revealing himself to be Doctor Michael Morbius “at your service.” The Venom line remains in the film but without the smirk or punchline. While the joke isn’t great, its absence does speak to how pretentious and devoid of humanity such a Marvel movie can be.

It’s not that Sony cou...

The Academy’s Animation Problem

At the recent Academy Awards ceremony, Encanto, the musical fantasy by Disney, won the award for Best Animated Feature. The other nominations were Luca, a cute coming-of-age monster story from Pixar, Flee, an autobiographical drama by Vice Studios, The Mitchells versus The Machines, a fast-paced sci-fi adventure from Sony, and Raya and the Last Dragon, a fantasy adventure from Disney.

Earlier that evening in the opening monologue, co-host Amy Schumer made a comment on this category, stating ...

“X” (2022) Review

There’s a knowing enough tone in X to be both a love letter to the slasher genre and a meta-commentary on its components of sex and violence. There’s a sensation coursing throughout that life is short and it’s best to enjoy it while you can. There’s a certain catharsis that is touched upon in a picture that is peppered with all the hallmarks of the grotesque.

It’s 1979 and a small group of entrepreneurs is seeking to make a new porno movie. They plan to shoot their latest narrative of The Fa...

“Turning Red” Review

There’s a refreshing earnestness to Pixar’s Turning Red. It does what the studio’s best films accomplish beyond the competition, treading into territory not expected of the medium. On the surface, it looks like a fish-out-of-water tale about a teenage girl transforming into a red panda. But, being Pixar, some people speculated there was something more. Perhaps it was an allegory for girls getting their periods? Yes, but there’s more to it than that. I say this mostly because the film isn’t afra...

“The Batman” Review

There’s a moment in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight where a Batman wannabe yells at the caped crusader about what the difference is between them. Batman gives a one-liner: “I’m not wearing hockey pads.” It’s an interesting question that is sadly reduced to a punchline. Thankfully, this version of Batman by director and co-writer place both Batman and Bruce Wayne more in the crosshairs of his own world. Rather than make him the unquestionable dark knight of Gotham’s crime world, ...

“Uncharted” Review

There’s a cameo in Uncharted that feels as though it’s strictly funny for the fans. , the voice actor of Nathan Drake from the Uncharted video games, occupies one scene of this movie adaptation. He asks what happened to the character of Nathan Drake () after he marches onto a beach. Holland tells him that he fell out of a plane and North replies that something similar happened to him. North then gives a look over his shoulder as Holland departs, most likely holding for the...

Death on the Nile (2022) Review

After helming Murder on the Orient Express, second film based on Agatha Christie’s Poirot murder mystery series is…better. Death on the Nile doesn’t feel nearly as rigid or awkward in trying to stage a compelling and sophisticated tale of murder most foul. It’s a better shot, has better pacing, and a cast that mostly shines. It’s still far from being one of the more definitive takes on the classic story but just narrowly pushes out an enthralling picture, if not mixed in its r...

“Moonfall” Review

There’s a perfectly poetic moment in Moonfall where the absurdly left-field twist of the premise is delivered by a child. That’s just too fitting for giving the film’s silliest exposition a childlike approach, giving off the sensation of just making up something wild off the top of your head. By this point in Moonfall, all semblance of finding something dignified in its apocalyptic action setting is long gone. After all, it’s a movie and I expect them to be loud and dumb. And, o...

“Jackass Forever” Review

How many ways can a nutsack be hit? How many games can be played with a penis? How far can a man be launched into the air? These are questions that are posed with the fourth Jackass film that tries to find ways to outdo what it has done before. Somewhere between vaudeville and a freak show, the saga of Jackass continues to be a prank and skit smorgasbord. Without much a narrative, these films can really only be judged on whether or not their constant slapstick generates a laugh. On that level, ...

“Escape from Mogadishu” Review

There’s a volatility to Escape from Mogadishu that makes it more of a nail-biter for more than just its thrilling escape story. It’s a political thriller that takes place during the chaotic uprising of citizens in Mogadishu with Korean diplomats caught up in the crossfire. It’d be so easy for such a film to fall into a simplistic pattern of painting either the revolutionary Somalians or the scheming North Koreans as the easy-to-spot antagonists. Thankfully, this film narrowly dashes through tha...