Mark McPherson's Blog, page 43

“Here Are The Young Men” Review

There comes a moment when boys become men or, rather, are expected to become men. But what does it mean to be a man? The answers varie based on the individual and culture around them. When seeking that answer is hard amid such troublesome people and the haze of drugs, it can be a confusing time. Here Are The Young Men treads through this swamp of adolsences searching for some meaning and validation that will define them as adults.

Three teenage boys in Dublin are heading down a path of nihil...

“Mortal Kombat” (2021) Review

There’s a moment of clarity at the beginning of Mortal Kombat, where the action is exciting, the violence potent, and dialogue minor enough to never come off pretentious or meandering. The scene proceeds long enough for me to almost believe I was in for a genuinely compelling samurai action picture. Things only go south from there as the film turns into less of the fantastical adventure and more of a series of full-motion video clips in a video game. While the video game curse may be dead, the ...

“Crisis” (2021) Review

There are three stories told in Crisis that try to paint a complete picture of the opioid epidemic. We see how it affects those personally when tragedy strikes a family. We watch as crime rises with the influence of stronger drugs that protrude into cartels. And we see how even on the academic level there’s corruption from the top that keeps the drug problems flowing. While such a sprawling anthology is also sporadic in tone, there’s at least a bigger view for a topic that deserves a larger len...

The Oscar Nominations and Escapism

The Academy Awards are soon approaching. The nominations for Best Picture included the following:

The Father, a drama about Anthony Hopkins losing his memory and his family dealing with the fallout.

Judas and the Black Messiah, a historical biopic on the racial and violent tensions between the Black Panthers and the FBI.

Mank, a retro Hollywood biopic on the screenwriter of Citizen Kane.

Minari, a drama about an immigrant Korean family trying to make their farmland work in 1980s Ame...

Zack Snyder Owes You Nothing

To promote his director’s cut of Justice League, director decided to appear on a charity stream on the week the film would premiere on HBO Max. Towards the end of the stream, Snyder said this:

“Just a quick thing before we get started, I know that on our donation page we still have the Geeks + Gamers logo. I just want to say that, we talked about this, we’re really not affiliated with Geeks + Gamers as far as I’m concerned. I really just want to make that clear. I also just want ...

“The Truffle Hunters” Review

The act of hunting for truffles was something I knew about but never thought too much about. It seemed like it’d be an interesting profession, hiking through the woods searching for the most elusive and expensive of mushrooms. It would seem like such a profession would make for an interesting picture about highlighting the quirks and secrets of the trade. As it turns out, however, such hunters tend to mostly keep to themselves.

The Truffle Hunters is a contemplative documentary on the lifest...

“Godzilla vs. Kong” Review

It’s hard to talk about something like Godzilla vs. Kong and not just equate it to a blow-by-blow recount. This doesn’t make such a film bad as it’s rather pleasing on an exciting level of giant monsters beating each other up. It does, however, make it one of those films where the spectacle is such a treat that the giddy kid in me comes out to defend this film as much as I adored the romp of Kong: Skull Island. There will no doubt be some viewer who can’t wait to tell me how a film with hollow ...

“Zack Snyder’s Justice League” Review

Fittingly titled, Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the most Snydery film he’s ever made. All of his usual hallmarks are ramped up to absurd degrees. The colors are extra washed out. The aspect ratio is 4:3, per Snyder’s vision according to the pre-movie advisory. The slow-motion sequences proceed for so long they become complete music videos. The pretentiousness swells in every scene. And the Christ allegories are cranked up to such a level that it honestly didn’t surprise that one of the promot...

“The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” Review (Episode 1)

The benefit of saddling the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a miniseries format can allow for better breathing room and more experimentation. It’s the perfect vehicle to give the sidekicks of Captain America more dimension. For the past few films, the characters of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes felt like little more than the one with the mechanical wings and the one with the robot arm. Surely there’s more to a character who has felt unworthy of following Captain America and someone who is haunted by...

WandaVision is (Almost) Horror

Marvel’s Cinematic Universe has dabbled in a number of genres past the standard superhero stagings. The Winter Soldier had aspects of being a political thriller, Guardians of the Galaxy is more of a space opera, and the likes of Thor and Doctor Strange deal more in fantasy. But WandaVision is one of the more unique stories within the MCU because it’s a horror series.

Kinda.

It’s at least the most refreshing in that it has a sense of mystery from the very beginning. The first episode sets ...