When Sam Raimi Lets Loose, ‘DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS’ Is Pure Dark Magic. Otherwise, Meh.

May 3, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Bruce Campbell, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Elizabeth Olsen, Kevin Feige, Marvel, MCU, Rachel McAdams, Sam Raimi, Xochitl Gomez 1 Comment

Not Quite What the Doctor Ordered

The multitude of successes and failures of the larger MCU brand is put on full display with its most recent entry, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film directed by Spider-Man and Evil Dead director Sam Raimi, more than any other Marvel effort to date, underscores issues of creative overlording (Kevin Feige, master of the box office, checking in) that has long plagued the comic book production house. The push and pull between actual directorial style and ownership of said style and the larger corporatized Marvel Brand has never been so readily apparent in the finished product, resulting in one of Marvel’s most split-identity entries to date. One that also houses some of its most daring and dazzling segments across all of its 28 films and six Disney+ TV events. Read More

Fantastical but Flawed ‘SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS’ Expands MCU’s Horizons

August 23, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Andrew Lanham, Awkwafina, Benedict Wong, Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Marvel, MCU, Meng-er Zhang, Shang-Chi, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Simu Liu, Tony Leung Chiu-wai 2 Comments

Indebted as much to Ang Lee’s Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as anything within the Marvel Cinematic Universe proper, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the MCU’s spin on a Wuxia epic. Big fantastical action mixes with Chinese mysticism and Marvel’s signature mood-lightening jokes to create a unique, if imperfect, Marvel experience, one that introduces new characters, powerful Macguffins, new brand of superpowers, and even more hidden worlds to the ever-expanding MCU. Read More

Better Late than Never, ‘BLACK WIDOW’ Gives MCU’s Preeminent Shero a Fitting Sendoff

June 29, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Black Widow, Cate Shortland, David Harbour, Eric Pearson, Florence Pugh, Jac Schaeffe, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU, Natasha Romanoff, Out in Theaters, Rachel Weisz, Ray Winstone, Reviews, Scarlett Johansson, William Hurt 1 Comment

The second to last of the original Avengers to get her own standalone bow (with Hawkeye’s very own miniseries hitting Disney+ late 2021), Black Widow has been long overdue her turn in the spotlight for some time now. If we weren’t living in an aggressively patriarchal society, it might seem strange that it took so long to get Scarlett Johansson, who has led the charts for most bankable actress alive for many years, her own feature film. But then again it seems that Hollywood suits only recently learned the lesson that the masses would turn out for superhero movies that starred people other than white men and so thus Black Widow was bankrolled into existence, 11 years after her debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Read More

Marvel Resurrects Dead Hero in First Trailer for ‘BLACK WIDOW’

December 3, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Black Widow, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, Marvel, MCU, Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johnasson, Trailers Leave a comment

It’s hardly a spoiler at this point to acknowledge the fact that Black Widow, Marvel’s first female superhero who has been played by Scarlett Johansson since 2010, is dead. The former assassin-cum-non-powered-superhero sacrificed herself in Endgame to save the world. More specifically, her friend and partner Hawkeye. Had the movie not come out in April and gone on to make literally more money than any other movie ever, I’d maybe try and dance around that fact but let’s be honest: either you know already or you couldn’t care less about the MCU. Read More

‘AVENGERS: ENDGAME’’s Epic Stroll Down Memory Lane Makes for Best MCU Film Yet

April 24, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Christopher Markus, Joe Russo, Josh Brolin, Marvel, MCU, Paul Rudd, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Stephen McFeely 5 Comments

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in earnest when Tony Stark proclaimed, “I am Iron Man.” Then Nick Fury stepped out of the shadows and assembled a team. The movie industry shook. It was the beginning of something new; an unchartered holistic approach to franchise filmmaking and the genesis of a box office monolith unlike any to have ever proceeded it. Over the course of 21 films, the MCU has become the equivalent of global Saturday morning cartoons; serialized superhero adventure stories that somehow most of the world has bought into. And all that comes to a head in Avengers: Endgame, a movie that is so momentous, it’s difficult to classify in and amongst other general releases. Empty out your pockets now folks, cuz you’re gonna need to strap into this ride a few times. Read More

‘CAPTAIN MARVEL’ Punches Through the Glass Ceiling With Style

March 5, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Anna Bowden, Avengers: Endgame, Brie Larson, Captain Marvel, Clark Gregg, Djimon Honsou, Geneva Robertson-Dworet, Jude Law, Lee Pace, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU, Pinar Toprak, Ryan Fleck, Samuel L. Jackson Leave a comment

True to its name, Captain Marvel is pure Marvel. That’s not to say that it’s necessarily a top-tier entry to the now twenty-one film franchise (it is however a worthy middle entry) but the film perfectly sums up what the Marvel brand is: a family-friendly blend of sci-fi and action adventure, led by postured heroes in colorful spandex, lit up by busy, expensive CGI and regularly relieved with whip-snap jokes. It’s an origin story of somewhat common degree, one familiar with the storytelling roots of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America before it, that encapsulates the highs and lows of the superhero series in equal measure. Read More

Out in Theaters: ’ANT-MAN AND THE WASP’

July 2, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ant-Man and the Wasp, Evangeline Lilly, Hannah John-Kamen, Marvel, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, Michelle Pfeiffer, Out in Theaters, Paul Rudd, Peyton Reed, Randall Park Leave a comment

Bigger seems to always be better in the eyes of many studio executives but Ant-Man knows better. Marvel quite literally blew up their world in this summer’s Infinity War, a massive cross-over event starring most of the biggest names in Hollywood and three of its favorite Chrises. If only by contrast, Ant-Man and the Wasp’s shrunken stakes and narrower focus on character gives it that much more super-powered punch. Threats of world domination, universe destruction or the untethering of reality itself only carry so much weight, particularly when they’re doled out as often as an E. Coli outbreak, so making this movie more a rescue mission than another save the world ordeal works to its favor. Shrinking everything down to a nice self-contained chapter allows director Peyton Reed to hone in on what really makes these characters work, and where they come up short. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR’

April 24, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Avengers: Infinity War, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Kevin Feige, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel, Scarlett Johansson 1 Comment

Over the course of 18 films and 10 years, Kevin Feige and his army of Marvel men and women have laid a pretty nifty foundation upon which the Marvel Cinematic Universe rests. What started with humble beginnings with 2008’s Iron Man has since blown up into a cultural and financial supernova with no less than 30 recognizable characters and all that comes to a head with the Russo Brother’s astonishingly ambitious though perfunctorily flawed Avengers: Infinity War. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘BLACK PANTHER’

February 14, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Andy Serkis, Angela Basset, Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Kendrick Lamar, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Marvel, MCU, Michael B. Jordan, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ryan Coogler 3 Comments

Heavy hangs the crown in Black Panther, a Marvel movie whose real-life cultural and societal implications overshadow its storytelling prowess. The import and impact of Black Panther as a chapter in film history cannot be overstated. Although this isn’t Hollywood’s first attempt to turn a historically black superhero into the main event, headlining their own tentpole film – consider Wesley Snipes run as the vampire-hunter Blade, Halle Berry’s turn as Catwoman, Will Smith’s alcoholic anti-hero Hancock or even Shaquille O’Neal’s turn as Steel – this feels like a first in part because of how much effort has been poured into its making and, more importantly, how readily it embraces its fundamental blackness, from its colorful African settings to its tribally-influenced makeup, hairstyle, and costumes to its predominately black cast and crew, a verifiable assemblage of talent that’ll turn even the most skeptical of heads. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING’

June 29, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Hannibal Burress, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Jon Watts, Laura Harrier, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Marvel, MCU, Michael Keaton, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Robert Downey Jr., Spiderman: Homecoming, Tom Holland, Tony Revolori 3 Comments

Tom Holland may be the third Spider-Man to crawl across our cineplexes in the last decade but, as a much younger version of Peter Parker than his predecessors, he and director Jon Watts have presented a new enough spin on an old classic. That’s not to say that everything that Watts and company do to give Spiderman: Homecoming a fresh coat of paint works but, for the most part, the freshly minted union between Marvel and Sony have produced an acceptable enough product, incorporating yet another super-powered hero into their increasingly unwieldy lineup and laying the groundwork for a solo series involving the fresh-faced webslinger. That being said, the sting of superhero fatigue is real and even when Watts and his spray of screenwriters (there’s a sinister six of them) avoid familiar Spider-Man tropes (the fated spider bite, the iconic “with great power comes great responsibly” lesson, Uncle Ben’s untimely demise), this is still a character we’ve seen onscreen a whopping 7 times in the last 15 years. That’s not to say that Spider-Man: Homecoming isn’t a fun, splashy, perfectly acceptable mid-July popcorn spectacle, because it is just that. But is it really anything more than that? Not exactly.