Mark McPherson's Blog, page 39

“Hawkeye: Episodes 1 & 2” Review

It’s fitting that the Marvel series Hawkeye would debut on Thanksgiving and come with the theme of being set during Christmas. The previous Marvel series all felt as though there were heavy stakes on the line with key events that will affect the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now comes a show that doesn’t feel as bound by keeping as many timelines, characters, and dimensions together. It still feels saddled in addressing the MCU and still carries that almost annoying postmodernism for t...

“House of Gucci” Review

The legacy of Gucci is one that seems built for great drama. It’s a story of a family divided, an empire fought over, a romance that dwindles, and a boiling point that brings murder. But Ridley Scott’s film is perhaps a tad too scattershot to ever truly take off with such material. It explores so much time for the decades of how an empire rose and fell for the family involved. And, yet, it only feels like a handful of great scenes with astounding actors, sparingly used in a picture more concern...

“King Richard” Review

It may seem strange that a film centered around the early careers of Venus and Serena Williams doesn’t feature the central girls in the spotlight. The focus instead shifts to their father, Richard Williams. That may seem strange until you consider his legacy. Those early days for Venus and Serena seem to mostly just be embracing the teachings of their father. Their father himself turned out to be a very complicated figure.

Portrayed by in one of his finest roles to date, Richard i...

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife” Review

Perhaps the best way to describe the dreary retread of Ghostbusters: Afterlife is to reference the film’s only eccentric character. plays Chad Grooberson, a sub-standard teacher and big Ghostbusters fan. He exists in a world where the Ghostbusters are now considered so old and out of the game that kids don’t know about the shlubby ghost-catchers. Chad’s dream comes true when discovering his sleepy town of Summerville is home to Ghostbusters technology of traps and proton packs. When f...

“Encanto” Review

In the same way that songs brought life and love to the streets within In The Heights, his magic once more invigorates Disney’s animation. While his previous animation efforts in Moana served as an extra dose of musical charm, he has a story credit on Encanto and his influence feels more present and powerful than ever. His music not only provides an eccentric vigor to this feature but brings out an emotional core, whimsical charm, and a story that bucks the formula by not p...

“Home Sweet Home Alone” Review

As a spin-off of sorts, Home Sweet Home Alone is a long, long way from what would be called home. The 1990 film that continues to entertain as a mixture of slapstick, childhood heroism, and Christmas cheer feels distant despite being partially present in this picture. Kevin McCallister exists off-screen in this world as the owner of a home security system, hinting at a better film that will never come. Kevin’s brother Buzz is still in Chicago as a local cop who refuses to get involved. These ar...

“The Eternals” Review

I find myself deeply torn on Marvel’s The Eternals unlike any other entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Most of these films aim for some simple and low goal that they can usually cross with a certain grace and an ounce or two of insight. Black Widow managed to focus on both the dysfunction of the family and the sexist nature of archaic systems. Shang-Chi was a picture about grief and questioning destiny. Now comes a film that wants to be about existentialism, criticizing utilitarianism, and...

“Last Night in Soho” Review

Nostalgia can trap you. It can cloud the mind with dreams of a more pleasing world that diverges from the modern one. It’s a powerful theme that Edgar Wright evokes in Last Night in Soho, his doozy of a horror picture that stirs together supernatural and psychological elements. The results are trippy, twisty, and perhaps Wright’s most nightmarish of pictures. It’s also sure to be the most polarizing for favoring darkness and surprises in a way that will undoubtedly catch its audience off-guard....

“Titane” Review

Titane is a film where a woman has sex with a car in the first act. This is pretty much the elevator pitch. It’s wild and unorthodox enough to pique some interest on that first act alone. What other film starts with such an act and then progresses into said woman becoming pregnant with a metallic child? All of that stuff is bizarre but there’s thankfully more of a heart beating beneath such a bombastic and steel exterior.

Alexia () is established as a woman who lives a weird ...

“Dune” (2021) Review

If there was anyone who could take the denseness and darkness of Frank Herbert’s legendary sci-fi novel series to the big screen, it’d have to be director Denis Villeneuve. With his penchant for atmospheric and introspective science fiction such as Arrival and Blade Runner 2049, he’s the easiest choice for such an adaptation that once overwhelmed David Lynch to the point of wanting his name taken off the 1984 film. Sure enough, Villeneuve’s take on Dune is apt, chilling, and brimming with ambia...