Not a “good” Samaritan; not a “bad” Samaritan; just a “wish it was better but I appreciate what it is” Samaritan. Continue reading
Tagged with Marvel …
“‘The Avengers’ Gave Us Marvel’s Peak, 10 Years Ago”
Pour one out for the superhero movie, which had a great moment once upon a time and has steadily lost that moment every year since. Continue reading
“‘Helstrom’: Hulu’s Dismal, Supernatural Marvel Series Is Thunderously Dull”
There are better ways to fall asleep at night, but there are also worse ways! Continue reading
“Who Is ‘Captain Marvel’ Breakout Goose?”
Real talk: I wrote this piece just so I could use the phrase “jerkin’ your flerken.” Don’t act like you don’t adore me for it. Continue reading
“Captain Marvel Review: How Brie Larson’s Training Shaped Carol Danvers”
Happy “Captain Marvel” weekend! In the first of Andy’s *three pieces* about the new Marvel movie, an appreciation for Brie Larson and her fondness of baked goods and weight training, and how all of that hard work (and not hard work) reflects on the screen. Continue reading
“Why ‘Iron Man’ Was The Most Pivotal Movie Of The Last Decade”
While you all are talkin’ about your “Infinity wars,” I’m talkin’ about Iron Man, the movie that really actually started it all, even if everyone likes to say the Marvel Cinematic Universe really began with The Avengers. I guess it did, in a way. But Iron Man put the MCU in motion in the first place. Ten years … Continue reading
“New Season Of ‘Jessica Jones’ Wants Us To Know That Superheroes Have Feelings Too”
Remember back in 2015, when I reviewed every single dang episode of the first season of Jessica Jones? A couple years later, here I am up at The ARTery, compromising by reviewing just the first five episodes of the series’ new season, which is available for streaming on Netflix now. Bad news: It’s not as good as the … Continue reading
The Defenders Proves That We Need Fewer Superhero Teamups
Maybe I’m the wrong person to write about superhero stuff in 2017. Guys, really: I just can’t watch superhero things without finding big philosophical flaws in their makeup and intent. I’m afraid to sit through the second season of Jessica Jones when it airs next year, even, though then again, Jessica is the best thing about The Defenders, … Continue reading
Spider-Man: Homeroom
It’s bad enough we have to learn about superheroes in movie theaters all across the world these days, but now our children have to learn about superheroes in the classroom. Someone, please: Think of the children. There’s a lot that happens in <i>Spider-Man: Homecoming</i>, most of it designed to bolster the bonds holding the Marvel … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.11, 1.12, & 1.13, “Now You’re Mine”/”Soliloquy of Chaos”/”You Know My Steez”
Well: That’s it. Luke Cage‘s first season is over. It’s done. Finished. Complete. It went out well. I struggled with episodes five through seven, and I wish that the show had bothered to bring in Diamondback sooner; to use Stokes’ knowledge of Luke’s real identity against him; to pit Luke’s ideal of Harlem against Stokes’ and … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.09 & 1.10, “DWYCK”/”Take it Personal”
At this point, I probably don’t need to say that I like Luke Cage, but I’ll say it anyways: I like Luke Cage. But I do wonder if there’s a more perfect version of the series lurking within the very good version we must content ourselves with, one where the fear explored in both “DWYCK” and “Take … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.07 & 1.08, “Manifest”/”Blowin’ Up the Spot”
Much as I love Mahershala Ali, I’m kinda glad to see him go in the context of Luke Cage: He’s one villain too many, or the show just plain ol’ has one villain too many, and if one of ’em had to go, Cornell Stokes makes the most sense. (Don’t feel too bad for Ali: 2016 is … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.05 & 1.06, “Just to Get a Rep”/”Suckas Need Bodyguards”
So: Problems! Luke Cage hits kind of a standstill during its fifth and sixth episodes, mostly because it fails to appropriately pair its hero against a suitable villain. You can see how this is almost inevitable from the start: Stokes, a mortal man with a mean streak and delusions of Robin Hood-dom, uses bullets to get … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.03 & 1.04, “Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?”/”Step in the Arena”
Every Luke Cage review I post, I wonder a little bit how many people read it who belong to that conglomerate of anti-Cagers. Are you a part of that group? How about yoooou? Well, if that’s where you’re at, then this post is just going to be a waste of your time, because it links to about a … Continue reading
TV Review: Luke Cage, Episodes 1.01 & 1.02, “Moment of Truth”/”Code of the Streets”
Remember all those times I reviewed Jessica Jones? Have you been missing those times? Miss no longer! Now I’m reviewing Luke Cage, aka “the best screen thing Marvel has ever put their name on,” which is maybe just a smidge hyperbolic but, well, I don’t care. Luke Cage is great. It also has vaulted Marvel’s Netflix and television … Continue reading
“How Deadpool Aced Viral Marketing”
Heard about that Deadpool movie? If you watch TV, or if you are a slave to any particular social media platform, then yes! You have! Even if you aren’t, there’s a good chance you have heard people talking about it who do watch TV, or who live a gross percentage of their lives on Twitter. Such is the strength of … Continue reading
TV Review: Jessica Jones, 1.12 & 1.13, “AKA Take a Bloody Number”/”AKA Smile”
“Luke Cage might be super-strong, but the hardest blow he lands in Jessica Jones is his frank appraisal of Kilgrave’s odds of getting back together with Jessica, which tally to zero. ‘Tell me the truth,’ Kilgrave spits at Luke, ‘did you bugger my chances with her?’ ‘No,’ replies Luke. ‘You screwed that up yourself.’ (Via … Continue reading
TV Review: Jessica Jones, 1.11, “AKA I’ve Got the Blues”
“Jessica Jones has made a point of being judicious with flashbacks; they’re used sparingly when they’re used at all, and they never overstay their welcome. Take, for example, “AKA The Sandwich Saved Me,” which visits a Jessica and Trish in the B.K. (before Kilgrave) days of their friendship, when everything looked bright and optimistic (by … Continue reading
TV Review: Jessica Jones, 1.10, “AKA 1,000 Cuts”
“Is this whole virus/vaccine plot device played out? Does boiling down a character’s super powers to nothing more than an airborne infectious agent rob them both of their dramatic oomph? Back in the day, Blade (incidentally the Marvel film that laid out the groundwork for the rise of comic book films through the aughts and … Continue reading
TV Review: Jessica Jones, 1.09, “AKA Sin Bin”
“…well, that got out of hand quickly. Nobody would ever mistake Jessica Jones for a planner. That’s not to say she is incapable of planning; for reference, see her nearly successful joint bid at capturing Kilgrave with Simpson in Trish back in “AKA The Sandwich Saved Me.” Jessica is smart enough to put together a … Continue reading
A Constant Visual Feast 