If the season finale of Loki, on Disney+, is any indication, the show is finally coalescing around its own approach to the currents of time. However, its direction is very reminiscent of two other well-established sci-fi series, Doctor Who and Lost. At best, Loki features a carefree, don’t-worry-about-it attitude, and at worst, it’s mostly characters sitting around, questioning who should get to be the man or woman behind the curtain.
Read MoreIt took Scarlett Johansson seven appearances in other MCU films before her titular character received her own standalone film – through no fault of her own – and while we should applaud it because it’s a well-acted and well-produced film, know that it also doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the library.
Read MoreSo much of Tom Holland’s second solo venture as Spider-Man is tied to Iron Man and Avengers: Endgame that you half-expect another superhero to show up, and it’s oddly weird that no one does. The end result is another competent entry in the MCU, the final chapter in the universe’s Phase 3, but a film that doesn’t stand out on its own.
Read MoreAs far as I’m concerned, Endgame’s relationship to spoilers runs a little deeper than this, because the movie is basically constructed out of them. It’s the culmination of twenty previous features, which have all had several breadcrumb scenes embedded inside and at the end of the credits that have led to this movie’s release. From beginning to end, watching the movie is like getting numerous stubborn itches scratched, with hilarious banter, epic team-up shots, and satisfying emotional arcs.
Read MoreYet, it’s Shazam! that’s the first DC film to really explore this idea of a family, of how there really is a home for everyone and going solo isn’t always so cool. A large portion of the (pretty good) subplot deals with Billy’s attempts to find his birth mother, but when he finally begins to forge a new relationship with his foster family, it’s incredibly uplifting.
Read MoreBut like Wonder Woman and even Black Panther, it’s important to weigh the cultural role of the movie differently than its artistic role. Is Captain Marvel merely a series of boxes being checked, as if an H.R. rep were ensuring that everyone received equal consideration for the box-office domination job? Or is there more going on in this origin story?
Read MoreBut because Aquaman mostly steps around the broader story that occupied the previous film, it becomes more fun as a result. It’s an often ridiculous experience, but charmingly so. We get space-opera-style battles between undersea navies, kaiju-like monsters, and some fleeting examples of chemistry between the cast members.
Read MoreAnd then there’s the visual treatment in Spider-Verse. It grabs you by the eyeballs and doesn’t let go for two hours, making me want a whole cinematic universe of Marvel movies in this style of animation. Other than perhaps Zack Snyder’s panel-for-panel recreation of Watchmen, it’s the rare film that gives you the true sensation of a moving comic book.
Read MoreFor her part, the Wasp is a sensible new addition to the Avengers roster. At a time (10 years, 20 movies) when Marvel has yet to deliver a female-centric solo film, the Wasp gets halfway to the milestone by sharing the marquee with Ant-Man.
Read MoreThey say that Reynolds was born to play Deadpool and probably because so much of the character has been informed by his own career. He got his first breaks in the ‘90s when gross-out teenage comedies were big summer films, and for a long time he was known as that guy from National Lampoon’s Van Wilder before becoming the lovable idiot or the action star who couldn’t stop making stupid but funny jokes in Blade: Trinity. Superhero films have become both a source of fun and occasional misery, but perhaps no other actor has as much right to lampoon them than the guy who’s been in two of the worst ones in history.
Read MoreThis is why it doesn’t make any sense to fixate on who lives and dies in Avengers: Infinity War (this review certainly won’t). The odds on who survives the titular battle have been argued over for years online, with armchair critics trying to guess the exit points of series regulars like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) or Captain America (Chris Evans) based on vaguely defined employment contracts that every fan seems to know about without having actually read.
Read MoreIt turns out that this shouldn’t be a surprise. The form of representation offered by Ryan Coogler’s new film is a powerful one. Even though the Black Panther character isn’t the first black superhero to lead his own film, Marvel’s latest outing makes some new and important strides in how it handles race in this genre. Most visibly, it puts a comparatively huge cast of black actors in all the central roles, something that is still rare in films of this size. And narratively, the status of black and African people - including the competing ideas on how to improve it - is deeply woven into the story. It doesn’t feel painted-on, as socio-political issues too often are in superhero films (even in the Marvel universe – I’m looking at you, The Winter Soldier).
Read MoreAnyone who knows the previous movies by Ragnarok’s director, Taika Waititi, will recognize the style of humour here instantly. There’s a deadpan, bantering quality to the writing that I loved, seemingly born just a much via improvisation than by a writer’s room. Waititi also doubles down on the wacky possibilities of his outer-space setting, resulting in some space-time gags that wouldn’t be out of place in Doctor Who. One of my favourites involved a weird mashup of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the scary tunnel scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – yes, you read that right. It’s awesome.
Read MoreIf you spent any time in the pop culture world over the weekend, you probably heard that Homecoming has one huge thing going for it: a formidable, carefully chosen villain. And it’s important to point that out as soon as possible, not only because Marvel films tend to fall apart in this exact area, but because Adrian Toomes (a.k.a. The Vulture, played by Michael Keaton) is crucial to why the movie feels so cohesive. Toomes has a relatable objective, a code of honour, and his relationship with Spider-Man makes you forget at times that we’re watching yet another fragment of a perpetually sprawling, incomplete story.
Read MoreTrue North Streaming is a semi-regular column highlighting some of the best new additions to Netflix’s Canadian service. Like many of you, every so often I get a pleasant surprise when I discover a cool movie or TV show that’s just popped up on Netflix’s often-maligned sister platform. These posts will help you filter through the often quirky mix of Netflix Canada’s offerings and find the most valuable ways to waste some time.
And with that, in no particular order…
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