Joker Is a New Type of Superhero Film – For Better and For Worse
Joker is the first film to deliver on the promise of a different kind of superhero film.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019)
Sure, it’s not great. Thing is, there’s a gem of a great idea in Dark Phoenix.
Why Avengers: Infinity War is a Different Kind of Marvel Movie
The divisive reaction to Avengers: Infinity War is explained by how it differs from its MCU forebears. Beware: spoilers!
Red Sparrow and the Objectification of Jennifer Lawrence
I’m not here to acclaim Red Sparrow as some misunderstood masterpiece. It’s not. Nor is it the disaster its detractors declaim it as.
New Blood in a Deteriorating Body: Logan
At this point, a superheo film eschewing setting up spinoffs and post-credit scenes in favour of robust character development feels almost revolutionary.
15 Reasons why X-Men: Apocalypse Sucked
My estimable colleague Jono Winter recently posted a favourable – if tentatively favourable – review of X-Men: Apocalypse on this site. As a steadfast fan of (most) of the X-Men films, I found time in my overseas holiday to fit in a (Croatian-subtitled) screening of the film and, regrettably, I can’t concur with his positive…
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
I enjoyed this flick—but then again, I’m an X-Men disciple who worships at the altar of film series progenitor, Bryan Singer. Ordinary film-goers who don’t know their Wolverines from their Cyclopses may be inclined to mutter ‘X-Meh’ when leaving the theatre. And understandably so as, on this occasion, Singer fails to find cohesion with a…
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
There’s been a wealth of conversation recently about the increasing homogenisation of superhero films: Matt Zoller Seitz kicked off the discussion with his piece on “Things Crashing Into Other Things” and I can’t dispute his points. Even if you enjoy most of the new wave of big budget superhero pictures, it’s hard not to notice…
X-Men: First Class (2011)
X-Men: First Class is a breezy slice of blockbuster. It’s fun while dabbling in the conventional superhero stuff – origin stories and brief banter, all interspersed with the mandatory action – but stumbles when it tries to be something more than disposable entertainment. There’s a lot to like here. Matthew Vaughan frolics through the sixties…
Double Feature: X-Men (2000) and X-Men 2 (2003)
As an introduction to a film series that’s still going fourteen years later, X-Men did everything it needed to. Specifically: be an adequate film with an amazing cast. There’s not much to X-Men. It’s more like a feature length television pilot than a complete movie, spicing up its introduction to this world of superpowered mutants…
ccpopculture 