Review: ‘Eternals’ Breaks the Marvel Formula, But Not Necessarily for the Better

After over a year of movie delays, Marvel is back on schedule. Only a few short months after the last theatrical installment (Shang-Chi, in September), the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with Eternals. Based on the characters in the Marvel comics of the same name written by Jack Kirby and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, Eternals follows a group of super-powered beings who have been on Earth for centuries. 

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Review: ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ Burns Bright

So far in his filmmaking career, Taylor Sheridan has demonstrated that he knows how to do gripping survival situations. His action sequences always feel risky and down to the wire, like one wrong move could end the scene as quickly as it began. Those Who Wish Me Dead should be grand slam for someone like him: a film that leaves behind the fraught portrayals of sexual assault and poverty on a Native reservation in his directorial debut Wind River, but keeps the suspenseful action and sense of overarching danger nature can pose if you’re not careful. Continue reading “Review: ‘Those Who Wish Me Dead’ Burns Bright” →

Review: ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ is Style over Substance

The best summary of this film is style over substance. The sets, costumes, makeup, and CGI are gorgeous (by today’s standards). Things do not look realistic, but for a fantasy environment, the film pulls it off really well. The costumes, especially Maleficent’s, are stunning, and it is clear they put effort into all the little details. Sadly, all the other aspects of the film fail to live up to how it looks. The characters are bland. So much time is wasted on characters that do nothing, and Maleficent does not get near enough screen time. Aurora (Elle Fanning) and Prince Phillip (Harris Dickinson) are dreadful to have on camera. The characters are the opposite of charismatic and the actors don’t do anything notable with what they are given. It is hard to appreciate anyone but Maleficent and her raven lackey. They really carry the movie, but don’t get enough focus.

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