The perfect dosage of optimism for 2020, WW84 is a classic Golden-Age DC sequel out a time-capsule – epic ’80’s nostalgia, potency of emotion, diverse genre-mixes, valorous action scenes, allegorical complexity, darkly-characterized villains. 7.9/10.
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Category: Superhero
Stargirl (2020)
From its striking opening JSA scene, Stargirl breathes a pure nostalgic Silver-Age comic book lore/vibrance – boosted by classic Nebraska-set Americana, good CGI, mythology depth, youthful pop energized tone, & ablaze Brec Bassnger lead. 7.8/10.
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Birds Of Prey (& The Fantabulous Emancipation Of One Harley Quinn)
A glittery, bonkers hard-R ‘90’s indie doubling as a comic book-antihero comedy, BOP brings together the iconic female gang in one of the funniest, most violent, & boldly-original CBM’s – despite a miscast Black Canary & Cassandra Cain. 7.8/10.
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Joker (2019)
An ultra-dark sociopathological study steeped in deep nihilistic psychology with wildly-violent social commentary, Joker is A Clockwork Orange x Taxi Driver x RFAD with a career performance by Phoenix on the origins of supervillains. 9/10.
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Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Locationally-diverse with a better + more-accurate (independent) Spidey, stunning VFX, personal-growth arcs, romance with a better MJ, and fantastic Gyllenhaal Mysterio, FFH corrects most of Homecoming’s flaws for fresh Euradventure. 7.5/10.
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Swamp Thing (2019)
A dark, operatic horror series set in the Louisiana swamps, DC’s delightfully-macabre weirdfest steeped in biological terror is – despite an early problematic Alex Holland – one of the most one-of-a-kind offerings in comic book TV. 8.7/10.
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Brightburn (2019)
A visionary horror-take on Superman, James Gunn spins an avant-garde subversion of the lore with a child-bullying/outcast narrative, stylistic flair in (*brutal*) slasher heavy sequences, small-town Kansas feel, & twisted coming-of-age origins. 7.6/10.
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Avengers: Endgame
The end of an era, Endgame wraps up The Infinity Saga in epic style, with massive fandom service, emotional gravitas, a darker Thanos, psychological war-aftermath reflection, & one of the biggest and wildest final acts in blockbuster history. 8.8/10.
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Shazam! (2019)
A brilliant cocktail of coming-of-age story, superhero origin, Christmas movie, and hilarious comedy with a lifetime-casting in Zachary Levi, dark villain in Dr. Silvana, & nostalgic heart – expertly handling the Seven Deadly Sins comics mythos. 8.5/10.
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The Umbrella Academy (2019)
Wholly unoriginal in concept rehashing Doom Patrol and X-Men’s core ideas under a new (umbrella), Netflix’s new misfit-academy is mediocre – only given boost by Sheehan &_Gallagher’s_leads_plus_serviceable_effects_and_nice_tone._4/10.…… Read more “The Umbrella Academy (2019)”