Mark McPherson's Blog, page 9

“Captain America: Brave New World” Review

Captain America films have been some of my favorite films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe mostly because they shake up the political landscape of this comic book world rather than stick to its own box. Brave New World, by comparison, is a far too delicate film, reducing itself to more of a complex political thriller than a reshaping of the landscape. Much like how Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness tested the limits of horror in the MCU, this fourth Captain America movie hits the wal...

“Grafted” (2024) Review

Grafted plays like one of those projects where the final result doesn’t quite resemble the instructions. It takes the skin-tingling grotesqueness of skin-ripping gore and tries to mesh it with the social horror angle of trying to adapt. It’s a good idea for a film, but it never feels like the two aspects mesh that well, coming off with visible stitches that don’t quite hold.

Wei (Joyena Sun), a promising college student who grew up with a father who specialized in skin regeneration, is tryin...

“Winner” (2024) Review

If 2023’s Reality was too terrifying for how it focused on the tragic tale of whistleblower Reality Winner, then 2024’s Winner is a lighter chaser. The corruption within the US government and the lengths it will go to silence those who expose conspiracies is so maddening that you almost have to laugh. Thankfully, director Susanna Fogel never tries too hard for laughs in this dark comedy. She finds just the right moments of absurdity amid a story of US interventionism and the propagandist influe...

“Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” Review

The crisis within Congo, which was instigated by the United Nations, deserves something more than a bog-standard documentary. It needs something loud and angry. It would be best if you felt like you were in that era and were as furious about the fact that outside forces bragged about their racist assassinations. Reading about history like this is not enough. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat does everything in its power to make this moment alive instead of sorted into a compartmentalized series of ci...

“Love Hurts” (2025) Review

Love Hurts plays like a misfiring Valentine. It has plenty of reliable ingredients for a film that could have been equal parts bruised-arm action, absurd-suburb comedy, and dangerous romance. But none of it comes together in this picture that spends more time talking about love than ever showing it. If only this film put as much thought into its script as it did for ways to brutalize with cookie cutters and straws.

resurgence deserves something better than what this film strugg...

“This Is the Tom Green Documentary” Review

Long before the advent of YouTube prankers and even before the age of Jackass, there was Tom Green. He tried anything for a laugh, making him a stand out of Canadian public access that soared to the heights of disrupting MTV to such a degree that Eminem mocked him in his lyrics. Green’s penchant for annoying his parents and sucking on cow udders to starring numerous comedy films of the early 2000s. When his controversial comedy Freddy Got Fingered debuted, it was an offensive mash of his clawin...

“You’re Cordially Invited” Review

Watching You’re Cordially Invited is like being invited to a tedius wedding of some old friends. You love seeing them again and remember your good times, but the ceremony tests your patience for how willing you are to endure their latest social milestone. Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are both fine actors that do their best to play up the familiar scenario of a double-booked wedding. They don’t really turn this tired formula on its head, but they do put their best comedic foot forward for ...

“Back in Action” (2025) Review

I hate how old Back in Action feels. It’s not just that this action-comedy makes dated references, but pulls dated genre tropes straight off the shelf without even a dusting. Here is a film loaded with action sequences juxtaposed with eccentric jukebox hits, parents struggling to conceal their spy nature from their kids, routine code heists, and egregious product placement. The result is an empty-headed action adventure that ups the commercially-safe game of Netflix’s most forgettable of pictur...

“Dog Man” Review

I find myself now placed in the spot where an adult critic must critique an animated squarely aimed at the young kids who consume the easy/fun-to-read books of Dog Man. I never thought I’d end up like this, not because I avoid reviewing such media, but because it always seemed easy when considering what these films are aiming for. I never aim to write off mindless cartoons with not-for-me passivity, nor do I reduce such pictures to childish toys. The last thing I want is to deliver a condescend...

“Star Trek: Section 31” Review

There has always been a debate on Star Trek regarding its best and worst interpretations. In the realm of movies, there were debates over which Trek film was worst, ranging from The Motion Picture’s slow pacing to The Final Frontier’s absurd staging. But I think Section 31 may bring the Trek fandom together to collectively confirm that the worst movie is Section 31, a project that could’ve been the worst Star Trek series.

Spinning off from Star Trek: Discovery, this pilot-turned-movie center...