Movie Reviews
Film and television reviewed the way I’d want to read them — with a rating that means something, an honest accounting of what works and what doesn’t, and craft notes for writers who want to understand how the machinery operates.
Each review includes a craft notes section for writers — specific observations about structure, character, world-building, and what the film does that you can actually use. Not theory. Technique you can steal.
Superheroes (41)
May 12, 2026Ant-Man (2015) — Review
Paul Rudd's likability anchors a heist-comedy that survived Edgar Wright's departure. The Quantum Realm setup that would matter. Phase Two closer. At 6/10.
May 12, 2026Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) — Review
Evangeline Lilly's Wasp introduction through earned narrative foundation. Ghost's underdeveloped sympathetic antagonist. Phase Three bridge filler. At 5/10.
May 12, 2026Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) — Review
Jonathan Majors's Kang, MODOK's design disaster, and the Phase Five opener that confirmed the collapse extended into the new phase. Quantumania at -100.
May 12, 2026Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) — Review
James Spader's exceptional voice performance carrying an uneven ensemble film. The Vision's introduction and Sokovia's destruction. At 8/10.
May 12, 2026Avengers: Endgame (2019) — Review
The most contrived blockbuster of the decade. Time travel as fan service, the Stark sacrifice, and the multiverse infrastructure that destroyed the MCU. At 4/10.
May 12, 2026Avengers: Infinity War (2018) — Review
Two billion dollars on the strength of accumulated franchise capital. Forty characters, the Snap that wasn't depicted, and structural failures. At 4/10.
May 12, 2026Black Panther (2018) — Review
Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger is one of the franchise's best villains. Production and costume design earned Academy Awards. The third act collapses. At 5/10.
May 12, 2026Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) — Review
The Chadwick Boseman tribute mishandled into incoherent narrative. Tenoch Huerta's Namor as genuine asset. The Shuri succession compressed. At 3/10.
May 12, 2026Black Widow (2021) — Review
Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova carries a film that arrived too late to matter. The Phase Four opener that established the pattern of decorative empowerment. At 0/10
May 12, 2026Captain America: Brave New World (2025) — Review
Sam Wilson's Captain America cannot inherit Steve Rogers's moral authority. Harrison Ford as Red Hulk. Decorative political signaling. At 1/10.
May 12, 2026Captain America: Civil War (2016) — Review
The Phase 3 inflection point where moral clarity became moral confusion. Spider-Man and Black Panther's introductions as franchise expansion vehicles. At 4/10.
May 12, 2026Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) — Review
Chris Evans, Joe Johnston, and the most disciplined origin film in the MCU. The 1940s adventure that built the franchise's moral foundation. At 9/10.
May 12, 2026Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) — Review
The Russo brothers' 1970s political thriller in superhero clothing. Robert Redford, Chris Evans, and the MCU's peak film. Winter Soldier at 8.5/10.
May 11, 2026Captain Marvel (2019) — Review
Flat performance, press tour damage, decorative feminism, and the protagonist who is actually the villain. Captain Marvel reviewed at -1000.
May 12, 2026Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) — Review
Hugh Jackman's nostalgia return at the cost of Logan's emotional finality. Wesley Snipes's Blade, the comic-source costume, and excessive snarkiness. At 1/10.
May 12, 2026Doctor Strange (2016) — Review
Cumberbatch as a specifically arrogant intellectual protagonist, Tilda Swinton's Ancient One, reality-folding combat. The MCU mystical foundation at 8/10.
May 12, 2026Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) — Review
Sam Raimi's horror direction, the Illuminati fan-service massacre, the magic system violation, and Wanda's unjustified heel turn. At 3/10.
May 12, 2026Eternals (2021) — Review
The Celestials are cosmic-scale beautiful. The rest of the film fails under decorative diversity and two-and-a-half hours of incoherent narrative. At 1/10.
May 12, 2026Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) — Review
James Gunn's space-opera commitment, the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack, the cosmic Marvel foundation. The film that worked before the formula did. At 6.5/10.
May 12, 2026Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) — Review
Kurt Russell's Ego, Yondu's affecting sacrifice, comedy density exceeding the original's balance, family themes as load-bearing foundation. At 6/10.
May 12, 2026Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) — Review
James Gunn's farewell with substantive Rocket Raccoon backstory, the High Evolutionary's dark register, the Phase 5 exception. At 6/10.
May 12, 2026Iron 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.
May 12, 2026Iron Man 2 (2010) — Review
Robert Downey Jr.'s strongest moments buried under franchise machinery. Black Widow's intro, War Machine's recasting, and Whiplash wasted. Iron Man 2 at 5/10.
May 12, 2026Iron Man 3 (2013) — Review
Shane Black's buddy-comedy direction, Downey's strongest character work, and the Mandarin twist Marvel spent eight years correcting. At 5/10.
May 12, 2026Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) — Review
Tony Leung's career-best Wenwu, Hong Kong-influenced martial arts choreography, the Phase 4 entry that demonstrated the alternative. Third-act problems. At 6.5/10.
May 12, 2026Spider-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.
May 12, 2026Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) — Review
Tom Holland's age-appropriate Peter Parker, Michael Keaton's working-class Vulture, John Hughes-influenced high school direction. At 7/10.
May 12, 2026Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) — Review
Florence Pugh's Yelena carries another film that fails. Mental health as decorative content. The Sentry/Void mechanic is structurally confused. At 1/10.
May 12, 2026The Avengers (2012) — Review
Joss Whedon's ensemble breakthrough, Tom Hiddleston's Loki, and the film that proved interconnected superhero cinema could function at scale. At 8.5/10.
May 12, 2026The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) — Review
1960s retro-futurist aesthetic as protection against contemporary political fatigue. Galactus underdeveloped, period setting works. Phase 6 opener. At 5/10.
May 12, 2026The Incredible Hulk (2008) — Review
Edward Norton, Louis Leterrier, and the most underrated MCU film. Norton's psychologically committed Bruce Banner. Tim Roth's Abomination. At 8.5/10.
May 12, 2026The 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.
May 12, 2026The Wolverine (2013) — Review
James Mangold's first Wolverine film. Japan setting, bullet train sequence, the foundation that led to Logan. Third-act Silver Samurai problems. At 8/10.
May 12, 2026Thor (2011) — Review
Kenneth Branagh's Shakespearean direction, Chris Hemsworth's introduction, Tom Hiddleston's debut as Loki. The MCU mythological foundation. At 8/10.
May 12, 2026Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) — Review
The completion of Thor's degradation from Shakespearean prince to comedic buffoon. Mjolnir transfers to Jane Foster, Christian Bale's Gorr wasted. At -100.
May 12, 2026Thor: Ragnarok (2017) — Review
Funny but stupid. Taika Waititi's tonal pivot that broke the Thor character and signaled the MCU's slide into decorative comedy. Thor: Ragnarok at 6/10.
May 12, 2026Thor: The Dark World (2013) — Review
Loki saves the runtime. Christopher Eccleston wasted as Malekith. The first MCU film that feels like industrial franchise routine. At 6/10.
May 12, 2026Thunderbolts (2025) — Review
Florence Pugh's Yelena carries another film that fails. Mental health as decorative content. The Sentry/Void mechanic is structurally confused. At 1/10.
May 15, 2026Wonder Woman (2017) — Review
Wonder Woman is one of the better DC Extended Universe productions and the first major female-led superhero film of the contemporary American superhero cinema era. Patty Jenkins directed. Allan Heinberg wrote the screenplay from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs. The film was...
May 12, 2026X-Men (2000) — Review
Bryan Singer's foundation of modern superhero cinema. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman's debut. The mutant-as-allegory framework working. At 8/10.
May 12, 2026X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) — Review
Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber's underrated Sabretooth, and the Deadpool handling that damaged the property for years. Split rating 9 / 0.