Warner Bros’ slow, tortured mishandling of its DC Comics characters continues with Jaume Collet-Serra’s Black Adam. Dwayne Johnson was confirmed to play the titular anti-hero all the way back in 2014 (having circled the property since late 2006) and the confused … Continue reading REVIEW: Black Adam (2022)
“Adrift” Something that is genuinely impressive about Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy is that he understands the need to slide up the scale as he goes. A prologue scene aside, The Fellowship of the Ring began with … Continue reading TV REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1.02
“A Shadow of the Past” While watching the first episode of The Rings of Power, the latest big-budget television play for streaming audiences, I found myself desperately craving a little reality. I do not mean this in terms of genre … Continue reading TV REVIEW: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power 1.01
Comic book adaptation Ghost Rider (2007) was one of the last pre-Iron Man superhero movies, taking a second-string Marvel character and casting world famous comic book geek Nicolas Cage in the role. It was directed by Mark Steven Johnson, whose 2003 Marvel adaptation Daredevil had … Continue reading REVIEW: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
“Gods and Monsters” Against all odds, Moon Knight’s finale managed to pull together all of its flailing disparate story threads into some form of conclusion. I honestly had my doubts, given just how wildly anarchic the preceding five episodes have … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.06
“Asylum” In Moon Knight’s fifth and penultimate episode, Marc and Steven’s adventures through a mental institution-shaped underworld provide a canny excuse for a whole lot of back story. It is emotionally fulfilling stuff, and the really impressive achievement is just … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.05
Only a few weeks ago I used a review of Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: No Way Home to make the argument that their broad interconnected franchise of superhero films represented a major shift from traditional film narrative, and deserved – indeed, needed – … Continue reading REVIEW: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
“The Tomb” After finding Moon Knight’s third episode something of a disappointment, I am relieved to find the fourth showing the series back on track and working in an immensely satisfying fashion. We are largely back at protagonist Steven Grant’s … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.04
“The Friendly Type” I am sensing a wobble in “The Friendly Type”, the third episode of Marvel’s current streaming serial Moon Knight. The first two episodes did an excellent job of breaking out from Marvel’s standard formula with a story … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.03
“Summon the Suit” The first episode of Moon Knight really felt like a major jump away from the comic book antics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and a welcome jump at that. The second episode still remains entirely separate from … Continue reading TV REVIEW: Moon Knight 1.02
FictionMachine 