MOVIE: Captain America – Brave New World (2025)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Captain America: Brave New WorldYear: 2025Rating: PG-13Length: 118 minutes / 1.97 hours There’s a certain point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) where you wonder what decisions go into making a Disney+ TV show or a movie. Captain America: Brave New World (2025) felt like one of those decisions that might have worked better as a second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Sure, it introduces a few things that will hopefully be important in later MCU movies, but then that’s the bigger problem of the MCU needing “filler” movies (like this and Wakanda Forever (2022)) to provide exposition for Avengers movies so they don’t end up being four hours long. I think part of the problem stems from Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and his struggle to accept the mantle of Captain America. This was exactly the same thing that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier covered, but I understand how not everyone watches the Disney+ MCU series and might...
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MOVIE: Solo – A Star Wars Story (2018)

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Solo: A Star Wars Story Year: 2018 Rating: PG-13 Length: 135 minutes / 2.25 hours Most superhero franchises start with an origin story. Sure, sometimes the franchise gets to this foundational plot after its first set of films (a la X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)), but these movies are usually pretty rare. Unfortunately, they’re also hampered by the source material that preceded them. While not necessarily “prequels,” these films need to fit within the canon of the franchise while also telling a story that expands the canon as well. Star Wars is not a superhero franchise, but it has its fair share of prequels and origin stories. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) is the first to focus on a specific character, though. With Han Solo being such an iconic and fan-favorite character, there was plenty to pull from to expand out his backstory. Unfortunately, most people will only recognize Harrison Ford as the “true” Han Solo, and this film gives them some ammunition for that. Sure, Alden Ehrenreich does a...
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MOVIE: Blade Runner (1982)

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Blade Runner Year: 1982 Rating: R Length: 117 minutes / 1.95 hours When I first saw Blade Runner (1982) many years ago, I understood that it was the quintessential, if not the defining, cyberpunk film. Since I was used to the more modern cyberpunk at the time (a la The Matrix (1999)), I felt the slow unfolding of exposition wasn't nearly as action-driven as I had hoped it would be. Of course, at the time, I might not have been watching the "Director's Cut" version of Blade Runner, which was what I watched this time around. Needless to say, it's a much better movie than I initially remembered. I think part of my improved assessment of this film came from a realization that it wasn't intrinsically a science fiction film. Sure, it is based on a story by Philip K. Dick, it is set in a fast-approaching and somewhat inaccurate representation of the future, and it has the trappings of a sci-fi film (i.e., androids,...
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