Mark McPherson's Blog, page 42

“Dual Mania” Review

Dual Mania boasts a tale so simple it neatly fits more into the realm of traditional noir than it does the neo-noir thrillers of the 1990s. Sure, it has some of the familiar lighting, where exteriors and interiors are often bathed in somber blues, but it also lets the story linger with dialogue that is often direct and blunt. Rarely does it feel as though a moment lingers too long in this psychological thriller that poses itself with few cuts and straight-to-the-point storytelling.

The film ...

“Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” Review

Samuel L. Jackson at one point in the film picks up a mace and asks himself how it would work against bad guys. Being in the middle of an escape, he tries it out with brutal results. This very much encapsulates the experimental tone of Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard; willing to try anything wild that it can throw at the screen. Sometimes it works.

As a sequel to The Hitman’s Bodyguard, with its mild throwback elements of buddy action flicks, this continuation tries to find more wild stuff for the...

“In The Heights” Review

What a wonderful summer treat of a musical! In The Heights is that sublime feel-good picture with everything one could want out of such a production. It’s lavish in its portrayal of an urban wonderland but doesn’t shy away from the anxieties and tragedies of such a community. It’s bursting with intoxicating numbers as much as it is an exhilarating showcase of charm and dance. So easy it is to get lost in the stylish allure that I couldn’t believe the film ran 2 1/2 hours.

I suppose I should ...

“Loki” Episodes 1-2 Review

character of Loki receives perhaps one of the most lore-heavy and perplexing of Marvel series. The series takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame, when a Loki from an alternative timeline acquired the Tesseract and fled the timeline. It was a major lingering threat from the film about just what happened to that other Loki. In his own series, it apparently appears he went onto become a time-travel cop (sorta).

The first episode finds Loki’s time-distortion antics at...

“A Quiet Place Part II” Review

The world of sound-sensing monsters from the 2018 hit A Quiet Place expands just enough in its sequel. More of the world is explored but only to a degree where the audience is more fascinated than forced to read the obvious signs of humanity degrading. More monster action is to be had but never to a point where the characters are gunning down creatures by the dozens. More importantly, however, is that the nail-biter aspects that made the first film so notable are still just as jolt-worthy and i...

“Cruella” Review

Akin to Disney revisionist villain origins of Maleficent, Cruella reimagines the 101 Dalmations villain as both a tragic girl and anti-hero fashion magnet. Yes, it’s yet another Disney retread of a familiar property but at least this time there’s some spark of visual flair and originality to be more than just a box-ticking franchise revival. There’s actually some style, camp, and allure in the studio’s bold attempt to make audiences give a crap about such a figure who would grow into slaughteri...

Why The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Almost) Works

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier continues the adventures of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes. Sam, having been given the Captain America shield by Steve Rogers at the end of Endgame, is not sure he’s ready to take on the mantle of such an icon and continues working as Falcon for the US government. Bucky, having been granted a pardon for his time as a brainwashed assassin for Hydra, struggles to come to terms with all of those he had been forced to murder. He now works for the government and will n...

“Those Who Wish Me Dead” Review

I’d like to imagine that the pitch for Those Who Wish Me Dead centered entirely around the climax. Picture this: Angelina Jolie in the woods defending a boy from hitmen by engaging in a brutal showdown. Not good enough? Wait, hold on, the woods are on fire! Now we’ve got a movie. If only the rest of the film had a better build-up to such a scene rather than being another by-the-numbers thriller.

Jolie is at least given a decent role as the former firefighter Hannah. She has a history of deal...

Songbird is the Worst Dystopian Film

The term dystopian refers to a state or society where there is great suffering or injustice. Fictional dystopian stories often come under the umbrella of speculative fiction, carrying a cautionary message about societal progression. Such stories include George Orwell’s 1984, a grim future of mass surveillance and restricted freedom of expression, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, a world in which media is censored and regulated by the state, and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a future wher...

“Star Wars: The Batch Batch” Episode 1 Review

The Bad Batch attempts to give some more character and humanity to the cloned Stormtroopers that once fought alongside the Jedi. It was hard to feel for them during their extended usage as mostly red-shirts amid the lengthy seasons of The Clone Wars. This is due in part because, well, I’ve seen the Star Wars prequel movies and know there’s little reason to care for a collective of characters who will ultimately be turned into instruments of evil. Thankfully, this series doesn’t try to dangle th...