Respecting the Dead(pool): Is Marvel Over?
Plus: my thoughts on Twisters, Longlegs, and other summer flicks!
Summer’s in full swing, and cinema is keeping time with the heat and fun that the season brings.
The summer movie lineup is fantastic this year. From blockbusters like Inside Out 2, Twisters, and Deadpool & Wolverine to thrilling and intense watches like A Quiet Place: Day One, Longlegs, and Trap, there’s something for everyone this summer. I always enjoy catching as many movies as possible when Hollywood picks up the pace mid-year, so I figured I’d share thoughts on recent films as well as my latest writing on what I’ve been watching. Hopefully you’ll find something to add (or avoid adding) to your watchlist!
Longlegs
My initial feeling after the Satanist horror film, starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, was deflation. It started with an immaculate opening sequence, replete with rock ‘n’ roll-tinged horror vibes, a beautiful 4:3 aspect ratio bleeding into widescreen, and contrasting snow-white with a bold red title card. The aesthetic was exactly what I was hoping for in the film. But the third act was quite a letdown. I wrote in my initial review that “the first two-thirds of Longlegs is my favorite horror movie of the year. . .The rest can say “cuckoo,” cover its eyes with white-powdered hands, and fade into the background.”
After pondering a horror film that was anti-climactic but, thankfully, left a lasting impression, I decided to return to Christ and Pop Culture with a feature essay on Longlegs’s construction of spirituality and Satanism. You can read all of my thoughts on “Longlegs, Satanism, and Our Need for Cosmic Justice” now!
Twisters
After seeing the trailer for Twisters, the sequel to the 1996 flick Twister, many times over before its July release, I wasn’t super excited for it. Sure, the Top Gun: Maverick effect can be replicated; Hollywood seems concerned with reviving once-dead films to give them the franchise treatment, and I’m a bit cynical about that.
But Twisters delivered. I liked it much more than the original. It had heart, a good story, and, of course, incredible effects. Daisy Edgar-Jones reprises her role of small-town girl with traumatic young-life experiences (à la Where the Crawdads Sing) but just nails the role. As for Glen Powell… if he were a Ken doll, his job would just be “charm.” Yes, he’s got some good acting moments and has proven he can move beyond just being the physically shredded guy in every scene, but primarily he’s still that. Their chemistry was great, though. Definitely willing to re-watch this and highly recommend it!
A Quiet Place: Day One
I know the first A Quiet Place film was surprisingly emotional for a thriller, but I didn’t expect the third film in the franchise to bring tears to my eyes. Joseph Quinn and Lupita Nyong’o nailed their roles. I did feel as if this was the first installment in the series that revealed how long (or short) this could go without being completely unoriginal. As a prequel, it’s good enough to keep me barely invested in the franchise.
I loved the characters, and the surprisingly emotional moments kept me sat. Not to mention, this film has my favorite score piece of the year (so far): “The Magic Trick.” The piano-driven composition is lovely.
Deadpool & Wolverine
[Warning: This section contains slight spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine]
Is Marvel done for?
The third installment of the Merc with a Mouth on-screen was… really fun. The opening scene is shell-shockingly hilarious, bold, and an immediate reminder that yes, you’re watching a Deadpool movie with as much crude license as Ryan Reynolds could muster in a two-hour franchise film. As the first Deadpool film under Marvel (and the first R-rated Disney/Marvel movie), the characteristic Fox-versus-Marvel pot-shots felt even more taboo and hard-hitting. Of course, the hype around Wolverine teaming up with an anti-hero as morally flexible as a gymnast was warranted. And, let me tell you folks, the suit did not disappoint.
Listen: I loved Logan (2017). It was a perfect, edgy send-off for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. I, like most other fans, was hesitant to see how they would treat Wolverine seven years after his honorable death. It was simultaneously better, and far, far worse than I thought it would be. Unfortunately, Wolverine’s character writing was bad. His arc was somehow still the best in the film, but nothing near what it should’ve been for him. Thus, my thoughts that Marvel should just let Logan rest in peace remain the same. And somehow I feel the same about the multiverse Logan they brought into Deadpool & Wolverine. He never really got his reprieve. Deadpool breaks the fourth wall about halfway through the movie to say, “Fox killed him, Disney brought him back; they’re gonna make him do this till he’s ninety.” I surely hope not.
It’s ironic that Deadpool & Wolverine uses practically the same formula as The Flash (2023); I hated the latter and loved the former. I believe part of that has to do with Deadpool’s fourth-wall breaks which acknowledge how poorly written the movie is: staring at the camera, he muses about how even a Deadpool multiverse story isn’t that great an idea, and that they should “just take the L” and move on. These moments don’t make the story more well-written, but at least someone in the movie is voicing the thoughts I had. This is somehow a step beyond the sludge Marvel has been pumping out for a few years, and also not a great superhero movie. Since Deadpool is the one leading the way, though, I’ll accept it.
Go into this movie looking for fan service to ooze out the rafters and for an underdeveloped multiverse story, and you’ll have a blast.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
This didn’t come out this summer, but my wife and I have been re-watching the Star Wars films and I had the opportunity to review Return of the Jedi for Loud & Clear Reviews!
What else is there to say on the climactic installment of the greatest sci-fi franchise of all time? Not much, but I gave it a shot.
The Sandlot (1993)
Perhaps the epitomic summer film, The Sandlot is one of the most fun and nostalgic watches for me. This summer, I was able to write an essay on it for
. You can read “Summer, The Sandlot, and the Legends That Never Die” along with their other summer-themed articles now!Postscript
Well, there’s my list of recent words and watches! What have you been enjoying in film lately? Let me know!