“Shortland brings her keen feature filmmaking chops to ‘Black Widow’ as a welcome addition to the talented pool of storytellers who can match the Kevin Feige house style without any significant artistic compromise.”
“Masculinity in Mann’s world is its own prison, a conundrum of duality, a question of what someone will stand for and the masks they may wear while striving for an identity.”
“Previous incarnations of Godzilla worked best by implanting ideas that were tangible. However, in the world of ‘Godzilla Singular Point,’ the ideas prove to be non-existent, as do the inhabitants.”
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“‘Army of the Dead’ is an algorithmic cleansing exhale in the wake of a whirlwind period in Snyder’s career. As a zombie movie, it’s a shallow, scattershot effort with interesting mythology ideas that don’t really go anywhere…”
“Comic book adaptations are by no means an easy task, but Robert Kirkman and his co-producers achieve a soaring success with the Amazon Prime series ‘Invincible.'”
Mannhunting #1 by Bill Bria: “The protagonists and antagonists in Mann’s films tend to be mirror images of each other, all of them caught within masculinity’s shackles.”
“‘All these books, all this magic, yeah, they have potential. But what exactly is ‘DOTA: Dragon’s Blood’ trying to say?”
“In an era where Disney allows Marvel to experiment boldly with narrative structures in a show like ‘WandaVision,’ ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ seems like a tired old horse that needs to be put out to pasture.”
“There Is No Evil’s artistry is inconsistent, but its argument is undeniable.”
“‘Raya and the Last Dragon’ welcomes a reflection on its Asian-fusion design because western adaptations of Asian culture, even with visible and vocal creative Asian input, will come with a spectrum of orientalism…”
“By the time ‘Riders of Justice’ ramps up its stakes, the final showdown hardly seems to matter as much as the gang’s presence.”
“While Suzuki’s overly-stylized and sometimes incomprehensible films ultimately led to his termination from Nikkatsu in 1968, his legacy safely lives on in modern day Japanese cinema…”
“‘Branded to Kill’ doesn’t flow, it staggers — it moves like a dying man, shot through the gut, bleeding out.”
“Occupying a middle space between the classicism of Japan’s most well-known filmmakers and the politically charged avant-garde of the New Wave, Suzuki uses the trappings of noir to explore the ramifications of isolation.”
“‘A Colt Is My Passport’ represents a supreme tension between American and Japanese Noir, and asks questions about the past and future of international cinema.”
“‘No Man’s Land,’ Conor Allyn’s earthy effort at a serious revisionist western, is a film of good intentions that goes awry when it attempts to unpack any of its ideas.”
“A blueprint for Suzuki’s later masterpieces, ‘Take Aim at the Police Van’ is a solid cinematic vehicle full of suspense and surprises.”
“‘Pale Flower’ finds its own rhythm and mood, superimposing frictionless cool on tireless ennui, punctuating everyday boredom with an enigmatic tremble.”