Movie #6 of 2021: Black Widow (2021) While I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe in general, this particular title wasn’t high on my priority list, given its status as a standalone prequel for a character whose plot arc had already reached a frustrating conclusion in the main series. But I’m pleasantly surprised by it, especially …
Tag Archives: Marvel
TV Review: Loki, season 1
TV #57 of 2021: Loki, season 1 This latest Marvel series has been a blast to watch and to speculate about, even if in my opinion the ultimate answers aren’t as clever or as daring as certain fan theories out there. (I wonder how it will be received differently for audiences who come at it …
TV Review: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, season 1
TV #39 of 2021: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, season 1 One sad truth about franchises with heavy degrees of serialization is that it becomes harder to judge discrete installments on their own terms — and that they can be ruthlessly undercut by the weaker elements they inherit. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, …
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Book Review: True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman
Book #90 of 2021: True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman Drawing on years of archive research and interviews with Stan Lee’s closest associates, this new biography is probably the definitive account of the Marvel Comics editor-turned-Hollywood cameo superstar. It also complicates if not contradicts a lot of our established …
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TV Review: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 7
TV #31 of 2020: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 7 The plot logistics go somewhat off the rails by the end, but overall, this is a fun and confident sendoff to the unlikely durable Marvel property. Time travel allows the season to play in a lighter key than usual, more akin to DC’s Legends of …
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Book Review: Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee
Book #4 of 2020: Loki: Where Mischief Lies by Mackenzi Lee A fun YA take on Marvel’s Norse-inspired Loki figure, informed by but not especially beholden to his characterization in previous stories. I didn’t spot anything in this novel that’s out of line with the established canon of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though it …
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TV Review: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 6
TV #35 of 2019: Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., season 6 With its future still uncertain at the time, the previous season of Marvel’s sci-fi spy show ended in such a way that it could have functioned as a series finale if necessary. Instead, the program got renewed for two final outings, leaving this first one …
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Movie Review: Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Movie #9 of 2019: Avengers: Endgame (2019) These tentpole Marvel movies are tricky to review individually, because each one is so intertwined with both the past and the future of the franchise. Case in point: everyone knew that this latest Avengers flick would find some way of walking back the unfathomable calamity of the previous …
TV Review: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 3
TV #27 of 2019: Marvel’s Jessica Jones, season 3 A confident send-off to both this series and the larger Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, canceled in the lead-up to the new Disney+ streaming platform. The serial killer bad guy could sometimes feel like he wandered in from a show like Dexter, but I …
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Movie Review: Captain Marvel (2019)
Movie #7 of 2019: Captain Marvel (2019) I love so much about this alien superhero movie: from the confidence of its sci-fi start without audience hand-holding, to the well-crafted plot beats that are satisfying even when guessed ahead of time (or spoiled, presumably), to the sheer heart of its titular heroine. Neither the throwback 90s …
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