Basic (2003)
2003 John McTiernan military thriller with Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Rashomon-style investigation of a Panama training accident.
Samuel L. Jackson
This archive collects the films featuring Samuel L. Jackson reviewed at Master of Worlds — 8 titles spanning “Basic (2003)”, “Captain Marvel (2019)”, “Hard Eight (1996)”, “Iron Man (2008)”, “Jurassic Park (1993)”, “Pulp Fiction (1994)”, “Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)”, and “The Marvels (2023)”. Seen together they form a substantial cross-section of Samuel L. Jackson’s screen work, and the reviews approach them as storytelling first. The questions are consistent — what the performance asks of the audience, how it serves the structure of the film, and what holds up on a second or third viewing. Watching one actor across this many roles makes the craft legible in a way a single film cannot: the recurring instincts, the range, the choices that separate a memorable performance from a forgettable one. The collection is curated rather than exhaustive, built from films reviewed in depth at Master of Worlds, and it grows as further titles are added.
Hard Eight (1996)
PTA’s 1996 debut. Philip Baker Hall as an aging gambler taking in a stranger. Released as Sydney against PTA’s wishes. The film that announced Anderson’s voice.
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino’s 1994 anthology crime film. Three interlocking stories. Palme d’Or. The film that made indie a commercial proposition. Still works.
The Marvels (2023)
The Marvels is the Captain Marvel sequel that team-ups Brie Larson with two female MCU successors. Nia DaCosta directed. Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik…
Jurassic Park (1993)
Jurassic Park is the film that redefined what visual effects could do and one of the foundational science fiction productions of the 1990s. Steven…
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) — Review
Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio, the European tour, the basketball court Blip gag that confirmed the franchise wouldn’t engage with its own catastrophe. At 6/10.
The Marvels (2023) — Review
The catastrophic $237 million loss that confirmed audience withdrawal. Body-swap premise, Captain Marvel continuation, and franchise collapse. The Marvels at -100.
Iron Man (2008) — Review
Robert Downey Jr., Jon Favreau, and the cave construction sequence that built a franchise. The casting decision that built Marvel Studios. Iron Man at 9/10.
Captain Marvel (2019) — Review
Flat performance, press tour damage, decorative feminism, and the protagonist who is actually the villain. Captain Marvel reviewed at -1000.