With VisionQuest now out, it’s time to re-rank all 22 (!) Marvel series/specials that is available to watch exclusively on Disney Plus. These are content made strictly for this exact streaming service with the hopes of telling more stories with established characters that isn’t strictly in film format. When it comes to the overall quality of the shows, it’s results have been…..mixed to say the least. Even with a handful of good things to come out of it, they have their own limits and restrictions that have prevented them to be as engaging with some of the very best that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has offered throughout their history.
In hindsight, they have basically the exact opposite problems as Marvel Netflix. Where as the Netflix series often felt too long and bloated with filter, the Disney Plus series often felt too short and rushed. Despite there being plenty of good things to come from both Netflix and Disney Plus, most of them have struggled to hit that proper balance to have all these shows live up to their fullest potential.
Which one of these is able to be better than the others? Let’s find out by ranking all the Marvel Disney Plus series and specials up to this point!
22.) Secret Invasion
There was not a single Marvel Disney Plus series (and perhaps any other MCU entry) that fell as hard as Secret Invasion. While the idea of having a series focused strictly on Nick Fury and the famous Secret Invasion comics are intriguing ideas on paper, the execution could not have been anymore disastrous. It’s poorly structured, well known characters are killed off in the most anti-climatic way possible, the Skrull storyline feels incredibly wasted, the behind-the-scenes reshoots are very obvious, and Nick Fury doesn’t seem to change one bit over the course of the whole series. Not to mention, the pointless retcon of Rhodey being a Skrull since Captain America: Civil War is just lame. This has about every single problem these Marvel Disney Plus series has had and made infinitely worse. The only saving graces are the scenes between Nick Fury and his wife along with G’iah being a neat MCU addition (until she’s able to unlock every single superpower known to demand because……….reasons?!?!?!). Everything else about Secret Invasion is a segment of everything that can go wrong with the MCU when it’s fallen into the wrong hands!
21.) IronHeart
This is the Disney Plus series that was already finished two to three years before it’s release and got put in the back burner and…..it’s clearly obvious why it was hidden for so long. While the cast have their fun moments together, it is bogged down by bluntly obvious behind-the-scenes drama, a directionless plot that doesn’t go anywhere, ties to the MCU that feel incredibly forced, and too many characters that are given nothing to do. It’s like the show is trying to give Riri the same arc that Tony Stark had in Iron Man 3 but with none of the work or effort put into it to make it engaging. While it does end on a promising note for the future and is certainly more cohesive than say Secret Invasion, IronHeart is another forgettable Marvel series that is best left forgotten! And with the little to no marketing attached to this project and it collecting dust for the past two to three years, it seems as though Disney and Marvel would agree!
20.) Echo
There are parts of Echo where it comes close to capturing the same magic that the best of Marvel Netflix had. The backstory with Maya and how she became to be a vigilante is intriguing, every scene with Kingpin is glorious, the action is as brutal as it has been with the MCU, and the tone/style feels like it was ripped straight out of the Marvel Netflix run. It’s just a shame it’s central story is not told in an organic way with obvious reshoots and bizarre pacing that get in the way entirely. Not to mention, it’s overall representation of Cherokee Nation is barely touched upon, almost as if Marvel didn’t want to go too deep into it so they didn’t offend anybody. The seeds are there for future “Spotlight” stories to expand upon greatly but Echo still can’t escape the trappings of most of these Disney Plus series, making it fairly underwhelming and disappointing. PLEASE stop making these a four-hour long movie that is split up into five or six different parts and just make an actual proper tv show!
19.) Moon Knight
This has the ingredients to be a stellar series from it’s terrific cast to it’s psychological thriller elements to it’s exploration of someone with a dissociative identity disorder (DID). Unfortunately, Moon Knight is never able to make for the best of those ideas, despite Oscar Isaac trying his hard out as Marc Spector and May Calamaway being a welcome presence as Layla. It’s intriguing ideas are barely explored upon and mostly just results in a typical chase story with the character hunting down boring McGuffins while introducing lore and mythology that will leave you scratching your head. Not to mention, for a show called Moon Knight, there’s barely any actual Moon Knight in it. It is at least weird and bizarre enough that it might delight some folks who just want exactly that for their Marvel streaming series but it’s not enough to save the show from it’s undeniable shortcomings.
18.) The Falcon & The Winter Soldier
It’s cool to see many of the side characters from the Captain America movies that got sidelined get more to do in their own series along with giving an intriguing arc for Sam Wilson as the newer, progressive Captain America. Just too bad the series is held back by weak villains with odd, nonsensical motivations and an overall structure that feels more suited for a movie rather than a streaming series (something which many of the Disney Plus shows have greatly suffered from). You are lying to yourself if you didn’t find most of the endings to the episodes rather erupt because it just feels like the start of one scene and not the end of the other. I respect The Falcon and the Winter Soldier for what it stands for but certainly not in the way it goes about it. If there is ANY Disney Plus show that would have benefited MUCH better as a movie and NOT a mini-series, it’s this one.
17.) What If?
What If?! was probably the Marvel series with the most unlimited potential for captivating tales and expanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Creating scrappy stories of Marvel superheroes told throughout the multiverse and through multiple different variations point of view? That sounds like a series that could last for MANY seasons! Unfortunately, it’s unable to even scratch the surface of that limitless potential throughout the course of it’s three seasons by playing it as easy and safe as humanly possible! There’s a handful of intriguing episodes and fun character swaps along with some returning cast members from the live-action movies/series reprising their roles. Unfortunately, it’s held back by stiff animation, beat-by-beat storytelling, and a feeling of aimlessness rather than ambition with how it’s uses the multiverse (Something which the multiverse saga itself has greatly suffered from!). Instead of going crazy, it goes lazy and tame as hell. There’s some entertaining episodes here and there and plenty of fun to be had but man, it could have been SOOOO much more!
16.) Eyes of Wakanda
Here’s a little side project that has been in the works for awhile which puts the spotlight on the charismatic side characters that assist King T’Challa. It’s always neat to spend more time in the world of Wakanda and the side characters from the Black Panther movies are just as fun here as they are in the movies. But just like with a good number of Disney Plus shows, it still feels like it barely scratches the surface on what it’s trying to do. There’s not many episodes, it’s tackling on it’s subject matter feels very shallow and surface level, and the show moves at such a fast pace that it can be hard to jump into this fascinating world if you are not engaged with it already. I do put it above other animated D+ series like What If…? because it at least is more creative visually and animation wise but Eyes of Wakanda left me wanting more in the ways that I do not believe was intentional.
15.) Marvel Zombies
The newest addition to the Disney Plus Marvel canon doesn’t so much feel like it’s own series but more of a specific story arc made for Marvel’s What If? that for whatever reason got cut from the original show and had been sitting on the back burner for the past four years until it suddenly didn’t. The good news is that it deliver the goods in putting some of MCU’s heroes old and new together into this zombie world filled with blood, gore, and carnage, making for perhaps the best use of Marvel Studios animation to date. The bad news is that it still can’t reach it’s full potential because of how slim the whole experience feels and really feels like it only exists just to have more Disney Plus content on the streaming service. If a Season 2 happens, I’ll watch it but for now, I’m very on the fence on this one.
14.) The Punisher: One Last Kill
After abandoning doing MCU specials for the past few years, Disney and Marvel Studios decided to bring it back in the form of The Punisher: One Last Kill. On the bright side, it is able to deliver the brutal and bloody kills that fans love from their favorite bone crusher and Jon Bernthal is as good as he’s always been as the title character. On the down side, there’s nothing much here that we already haven’t seen before with this version of Frank Castle. Yet again, we see a good chunk of the special of him mourning over his beloved wife and kids and yet again someone he messed with in the past has return to act revenge on him. If you were to tell me this was a POC footage that got made back in 2015 or 2016 during the Marvel Netflix era that Disney decided to put on their streaming service just because, I would’ve believed you entirely. I sure hope Mr. Castle is able to get new things to do in Spider-Man: Brand New Day or a potential new series of his own because, it seems like Marvel is beginning to run out of tricks with this character.
13.) Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel gets off to perhaps the best start out of any of the Marvel Disney Plus series. With showcasing a classic coming-of-age story, neat visuals, intriguing family dynamics, and a hugely charismatic and charming lead character in Kamala Khan, played wonderfully by Iman Villani. It’s mostly the second half when the dull as hell villains get thrown into the picture that don’t really mess with the style and tone of the show where it falters quite a bit, almost as if Team A was put in charge of the episodes given early to critics while Team B handled the rest because Team A decided to go home. Thankfully, there’s just a bit more of the former in the latter to make this show overall worthwhile, with the entire experience being held together by Villani’s incredible turn as Ms. Marvel herself. If this gets a Season 2, please put more focus on Kamala and her family and friends and not so much on everything else.
12.) VisionQuest
The finale of the so-called WandaVision trilogy sees Paul Bettany as Vision coming back along with the long awaited return of James Spader as Ultron. Like the better of these Disney Plus series, it knows how to balanced it’s overall light/dark tone and there are themes involving AI and traditional masculinity that certain folks might find quite resonating. However, I can’t help but feel like we are running out of ideas in terms of what to do with these Disney Plus series and the whole show existence feels like it’s just for the sake of introducing a post-credit scene that will certainly tie into Avengers: Doomsday (Not to mention, T’Nia Miller being done so dirty as Jocasta!). VisionQuest makes for a decent epilogue to this rather ill-conceived trilogy of Disney Plus shows but I imagine most people won’t even bother checking it out again as soon as the Doomsday hype train dies down.
11.) The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Perhaps the most inconsequential of all these series but still has heart and charm when it counts. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special makes for a cute holiday tale in the MCU which sees the lovable galactic misfits celebrating Christmas in a time where things are most dire for Peter Quill! This is the special that gave Drax and Mantis more time in the spotlight than ever before, along with the delightful presence of Kevin Bacon himself. It’s mostly slim and something you can tell was made rather quickly without too much thought being put into it but no doubt James Gunn’s passion and love for the characters from his successful films is on full display here. Also, you are a robot if you didn’t at least get a bit misty eye at the ending with Peter and Mantis. Just saying!
10.) Hawkeye
While far from the most ambitious Marvel Disney Plus series, Hawkeye is the one series that take full advantage of it’s lower stakes and able to meet exactly the kind of endpoint it is aiming for, making a charming Christmas superhero tale that doesn’t try to be anything more than what it is. This of course helps introduces the immensely lovable Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop and gives Jeremy Renner his full time to shine as Hawkeye, which Florence Pugh’s Yelena eventually joining in on the ride. It does suck though that Kingpin doesn’t get much to do there and his only real purpose is to set up the Echo series. However, considering the MCU is clearly not done with Wilson Fisk yet and he’ll play bigger roles later on down the road, I can let it slide. Nevertheless, this was a good time and worth revisiting again during this wonderful holiday time.
9.) Agatha All Along
The latest series in Agatha: All Along is easily one of the most unique and creative Marvel has been in it’s Disney Plus era. It’s able to act as a proper follow-up to WandaVision while perfectly embracing it’s queer vibes and camp value that makes for the right watch at the right time of the season. The entire cast is awesome (Kathryn Han and Aubrey Plaza were literally MADE for each other), Jac Schaeffer is able to direct and show run the HELL out of every episode, and there’s so many unique surprises and reveals that will delight the most diehard of MCU fans. There are certain aspects and directing choices that won’t appeal to everyone (particularly some of the musical choices and being more “queer” than most MCU prosperities) but for those who believe the MCU is at it’s best when they are at their more weird and experimental, Agatha: All Along makes for a very special treat!
8.) Werewolf By Night
Marvel’s first ever attempt at doing a special sees an interesting take on the horror genre and universal monsters. With the old-school black-and-white style, gorgeous cinematography, haunting score, and plenty of blood and violence to be found, Werewolf By Night is everything you could want out of a special Halloween special and perhaps even more than that. Even judging it strictly based off of werewolves, this is probably the best werewolf content in the last decade or so. I never thought someone as Michael Giacchino, someone who is most well known as being a musical composer, could make such an unique stamp for his first every directional debut but he really manages to blow my socks away. This is something I can see myself watching every Halloween and never getting tried with it. Just stick to the original black-and-white format please!
7.) She-Hulk: Attorney By Law
While not quite the best Marvel Disney Plus series, this is the one that plays the most like an actual television show as oppose to a six-part mini series or a feature film cut in pieces. It’s able to tell a funny, fourth-wall breaking story about a woman struggling with her daily life, dating life, and superhero life all at the same time while introducing plenty of welcome cameos such as Wong, Bruce Banner, Megan Thee Stallion, and especially Daredevil. Tatiana Maslany is absolute perfection as Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk, able to be super convincing as both a cute, vulnerable lawyer and a beautifully buff green hulk. It might be too “meta” for some and will certainly causes the heads of every incel out there that it’s poking fun at to explode, but nevertheless, She-Hulk: Attorney At Law is definitely one of the most fun and enjoyable series in the Marvel Disney Plus library.
6.) Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
It might’ve took three times (four if you count the PBS-friendly Spidey And His Amazing Friends) but Disney has finally been able to crack the code on how to make a solid Spider-Man cartoon. Blending the traditional comic book panel traits of the character’s well-known origin while incorporating new distinct traits of it’s own, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is able to find the right balance of exploring the thrills of being Spider-Man and the chills of being Peter Parker, something which The Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man (2017) failed to do. The newer cast of characters the show chooses to explore are (mostly) intriguing, it’s callbacks and references all feel earned, the theme song is dope as hell, and it’s able to use it’s alternate timeline and multiverse concept to not just reuse plot assets of the MCU or recurring fan favorite characters but also show how Peter’s life would’ve been different in the MCU if things play out a different way and he made all new friends and allies in the process. There are some strange creative decisions I’m not a fan of and the animation style won’t be to everyone’s taste but for the most part, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a winner and is perhaps (by default) the best Spidey show since The Spectacular Spider-Man. I’m definitely intrigued to see Season 2!
5.) WandaVision
The very first of the Disney Plus series gives one of the best and most interesting characters in the whole universe, Wanda Maximoff, her own time to shine. What starts off becoming a fun homage to 90’s sitcoms becomes more of a character study of Wanda where she has to deal with the sins and consequences over the actions she has committed up to this point, while learning to move on from the pain and grief she feels with the loss of her Vision. The entire cast is great here with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda, Kathryn Hann’s Agatha, and Teyonah Parris’s Monica being the standouts with Paul Bettany as Vison being pretty good as well. The finale does suffer with the whole big CGI fight feeling quite forced and certain payoffs to certain things will be underwhelming to hardcore Marvel fans but as a whole, WandaVision still makes for a creative, fun, and engaging series that is one of the most interesting of the Disney Plus shows thus far.
Ralph Bohner was hilarious btw!
4.) Wonder Man
The one MCU show that no one expected ANYTHING from turned out to be one of it’s very best! Wonder Man makes for a surprisingly very fresh and enjoyable entry into the Marvel Disney Plus canon, stripping away form the typical action and quippy nature that the universe is no for in order for a more human story about an actor just trying to land a dream role and also happens to have superpowers while trying to do it. Simon and Trevor have awesome chemistry, it’s deep drive into the film and entertainment industry is intriguing, there is plenty of twists, reveals, and references that will keep you intrigued the whole way through, and this feels like a complete tv show from beginning to end, with very little of the flaws from the previous series to be found here and containing a perfectly functional episode structure. Between this, Shang-Chi, and the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Destin Daniel Cretton has proven himself to be one of the most reliable directors that is currently working for Marvel Studios.
3.) Daredevil: Born Again
Talk about the biggest bump in quality yet! While Season 1 of what was basically the unofficial fourth season of Netflix’s Daredevil left plenty to be desired, Season 2 of Daredevil: Born Again is able to deliver the thrills and chills that resembles Marvel Television at it’s absolute finest! Free from all the reshoots and reworking from the first season, co-show runners Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are able to let loose with the long awaited sequel series of Daredevil! It’s able to perfectly capture the street level vibe of the Marvel Netflix era while telling a dark story that feels timely yet efficient within the context of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character work between Daredevil and the newly elected Mayor Fisk is ace stuff, the cast of old and new are great in their roles, and it ends on a haunting cliffhanger that sets the table for an exciting third season with the rest of The Defenders and The Punisher: One Last Kill special later this year. It’s not perfect and still falls slightly sort of the very best of the Netflix Daredevil series but this is about as hard and aura as a Daredevil show on Disney Plus can get. Now, if only Daredevil can join up with a certain spider later on down the road and the two can fight Kingpin or something!
2.) Loki
Everyone favorite villain turned anti-hero in Loki is the best of the live-action Marvel Disney Plus shows thus far. There hasn’t been a live-action series thus far that took full advantage of the multiverse concept like this one did. It’s able to introduce the complete bonkers elements, universe building, and just plain “out there” concepts that Marvel set out to do with Phase 4 but never once loses focuses on the characters and their adventures throughout. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is more interesting and engaging than ever before showing off his “anti-hero” side than every other movie or show that he’s been in. Sophia Di Martion’s Sylvie makes for a great counterpart and stands out well as her own version of the God of Mischief. Owen Wilson is able to make the character of Mobius more charming and likable than he has every right to be. However, the one that arguably shines the most despite only showing up in the final episode is Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror! He not only helps make the character such an entertaining presence when he comes onscreen but also makes the series stick the landing in the end (Just a shame about………well yeah!). If more Disney Plus projects and post-Endgame content were on this level of quality, we would have had very little to complain about Marvel throughout the 2020s.
1.) X-Men ’97
In an era where it seems like the hype around superheroes and revivals have died down, here comes in X-Men 97, that was able to make it’s way to Disney Plus and show everyone how these things are suppose to be done. This was about as good of a revival as it could get, perfectly translate the traditional values and roots that the X-Men are known for in modern times while still being able to capture that Saturday morning cartoon vibe. The 2D animation is stunning and feels perfectly in line with it’s 96′ series counter part, the action sequences are filled with energy and excitement, and there is plenty of time given to each cast member of the X-Men to shine. And it was SUPER nice to see my boy Scott and my girl Rogue being done justice for once. Oh, and the glimmers of seeing Spider-Man 94′ back again brought a tear to my eye! No offense to the last several shows I listed but I think most would agree that X-Men 97 was far in a way the best Marvel Disney Plus show to come out thus far. It’s so good that I would love to see more Marvel revivals of beloved shows done in a similar matter. Come on, Disney! Greenlight Spider-Man 98 already! You know you want to!
The 2026 World Series is now officially over! Because of that, let’s see how this World Series rank among all the other ones that have took place throughout the entire 21st century!
For this ranking, I am ranking all of these World Series not just strictly how talented the teams were in the regular season or even from the amount of games that were played in it but strictly based on how much each World Series offered in terms of action, drama, tension, memorability, and how well it contributes to the history of baseball as well as all of sports! I’m also going by how each World Series matches up in not just the minds of baseball fans but even for those that aren’t even a fan of baseball. For example, don’t expect say…..the 2012 World Series to be ranked THAT high!
I’ve been wanting to do a new sports related piece for awhile now and I figured what better way to get back into it than a proper ranking of the last 27 World Series match-ups! You will probably strongly disagree on some of my choices but I don’t care it’s my list!
Also, fyi, I’m promise to do this ranking in the LEAST biased away imaginable. So, just because my team (the Cardinals) have been in FOUR of these last 27 World Series match-ups does NOT mean that they will take the top 4 spots. I will ranked these based on how much I believe it contributes to the great game of baseball regardless of if it includes teams that I hate or not.
Without further a do, let’s get to the rankings!
27.) 2007 World Series- Boston Red Sox vs Colorado Rockies
Champion: Boston Red Sox, 4-0 Series Win
MVP: Mike Lowell
Best Game: Game 4- Red Sox Win 4-3
Three and a half innings! That is how long the Rockies held a lead in this series! And even then, that didn’t feel very convincing!
Just like they did to the St. Louis Cardinals just three years earlier, the Boston Red Sox was able to steamrolled the first time NL champion Colorado Rockies, who came into the series with the hottest stretch of baseball in team history, by winning 21 of their last 22 games, in just four games without much hassle. And unlike the series in St. Louis, Boston and the rest of baseball can’t even remember it as a triumphing moment where the Red Sox finally got over the decades long hump since they already did it three years earlier. There might’ve been two one-run games in the series but there was hardly a moment where you felt like the Rockies had any sort of control whatsoever.
From the moment that Dustin Pedroia hit that leadoff homer in Game 1 which opened the floodgates for the Red Sox offense, you just kinda knew it was over. Unless you are a Red Sox or Rockies fan, this is a World Series you most certainly have forgotten about!
26.) 2012 World Series- San Francisco Giants vs Detroit Tigers
Champion: San Francisco Giants, 4-0 Series Win
MVP: Pablo Sandoval
Best Game: Game 4- Giants Win 4-3 in 10 Innings
If you were to describe a World Series that felt the most like a complete snooze fest, look no further than this one.
The San Francisco Giants was coming in red hot after coming back from a 3-1 series deficit against the Cardinals in the NLCS while the Detroit Tigers was coming in ice cold after being forced to wait nearly a whole week after completing their ALC sweep against the New York Yankees. Even though early odds favored Detroit due to their star studded rotation that included the likes of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer and slugging bats such as Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder, San Francisco was able to take care of business rather easily, having complete and utter dominance through the majority of the series.
They powered their way through Game 1 thanks to three homers from the Kung Fu Panda and World Series MVP himself, Pablo Sandoval, they shut down the Tigers bats completely in Games 2 and 3, and by Game 4, they were able to win in extra innings, with triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera infamously looking at strike three to the Giants closer Sergio Romo, earning the Giants their second World Series title in the last three years.
While Game 4 was a decent game in of itself as it’s the only one in which the Tigers took a lead and made it somewhat competitive, this is easily among the most forgettable World Series in baseball history. There’s a reason why this was the lowest rated World Series for several years.
25.) 2006 World Series- St. Louis Cardinals vs Detroit Tigers
Champion: St. Louis Cardinals, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: David Eckstein
Best Game: Game 4- Cardinals Win 5-4
Infamously known as the best worst World Series champions, the 83-win St. Louis Cardinals (the team with the lowest wins to ever play in a World Series) were able to win against the heavily favorite 95-win Detroit Tigers in ways I don’t think anyone imagined.
Just like the other World Series that Detroit was a part of this century, the bats completely disappeared when it matter most, getting shut down here by Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter and unlikely/unknown journeymen in the likes of Anthony Reyes (You probably don’t even know who he is) and Jeff Weaver (Not his brother Jered!). You also got embarrassing errors from Detroit’s defense (with starting pitches contributing SIX of them all series) and getting owned by little underdog David Eckstein, A.K.A. Mr. Ahsoka Tano (Only Star Wars fans will get that reference!). You can blame the Tigers being forced to wait a week to play all you want but Detroit (just like with 2012) simply did NOT showed up when it mattered most.
As much as many vote for this as the worst World Series this century, I give it a slight edge over the previous two due to a solid back-and-forth Game 4 and also feeling like a bittersweet end to the 2000s core of the St. Louis Cardinals (I promise that is how biased as I will get here!). The rest of the series though, pretty bleh.
Oh, and the less said about Tigers Pitcher Kenny Rogers and his “substance”, the better!
24.) 2023 World Series- Texas Rangers vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Champion: Texas Rangers, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Corey Seagar
Best Game: Game 1- Rangers Win 6-5 In 11 Innings
Talk about a World Series that started so promising and then just…..stopped become interesting all together.
Game 1 started the series off with a bang, with the Texas Rangers coming back late to force extra innings and steal the first game, thanks to clutch home runs from WS MVP Corey Seager in the bottom of the 9th and ALCS MVP Adolis Garcia in the bottom of the 11th for the game-winner. But, then the rest of the series happened and the whole thing just went straight to auto pilot.
With three of the next four games consisting of near blowouts, no team coming back to take the lead or even tie after the other team scored first, and lacking any sort of thrill or excitement, I can’t help but feel like this World Series was a missed opportunity between two underdog franchises, and that’s not just considering the fact that these were two teams that had to deal with dreadful 100-loss seasons two years prior and fought and clawed their way to make it to the World Series that year.
Congrats to the Texas Rangers for finally getting over the hump and breaking the 12-year long curse of David Freese (which will be discussed much later) but man, so much wasted potential here after such a thrilling Game 1.
23.) 2026 World Series- Milwaukee Brewers vs Tampa Bay Rays
Champion: Milwaukee Brewers, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: William Contreras
Best Game: Game 4- Rays Win 4-3 In 12 Innings
This year’s World Series featured two franchises with relatively small markets, two franchises that put more emphasis on fundamentals and strategy than anything else throughout the season, and two franchises that had NEVER won a World Series in their entire history, guaranteeing that the amount of teams that have never won a World Series being shrunk down from 5 to 4 regardless of the outcome. Becoming the envy of the MLB, baseball fans themselves had an engaging narrative to hook on here. Too bad, the series itself wasn’t really that great!
Sure, three of the five games were one-run games, with an impressive 4-0 comeback from the Brewers in Game 2 and a stunning walk-off extra inning victory in Game 4 with the Rays, but I was expecting more of a competitive series with the two teams that represented the best records in their leagues. Tampa Bay continuously kept shooting themselves on the foot all series, with piss-poor defense and baffling pitching moves from Rays manager Kevin Cash throughout (It wouldn’t be the first time!) while Milwaukee did what they did best throughout the entirety of 2026, playing perfectly clean and crisp baseball and refusing to beat themselves up. Just as the Brew Crew steamrolled their way through the Padres and Dodgers, they made winning their first World Series against the Rays look pretty easy.
Still, this might be the last World Series we get for quite a while with the inevitable 2027 lockout emerging. So, cherish whatever you can from it because we don’t know when we will have another one anytime soon!
22.) 2010 World Series- San Francisco Giants vs Texas Rangers
Champion: San Francisco Giants, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Edgar Renteria
Best Game: Game 5- Giants Win 3-1
What ended up being the first of three championships won by the MLB dynasty of the early 2010s, the San Francisco Giants were able to end their 56-year long World Series drought while the Texas Rangers fell short in their first ever World Series appearance.
Similar to the 2012 World Series against the Tigers, the Giants were able to win it all rather easily with not much getting in their way. With dominating pitching from the likes of the leader of the staff, Matt Cain, that year’s CY Young Winner, Tim Lincecum, and the birth of the postseason legend himself, Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco was able to silence the bats of Texas, allowing one run or less in three of the five games. Thrown in the clutch hitting performance that series from 33-year old WS MVP veteran Edgar Renteria, the Giants were able to make winning the World Series seem like a cakewalk.
Not a very competitive series overall and not one worth remembering unless you are a Giants fan.
21.) 2021 World Series- Atlanta Braves vs Houston Astros
Champion: Atlanta Braves, 4-2 Series Win
MVP: Jorge Soler
Best Game: Game 4- Braves Win, 3-2
Now, this was just……..a strange World Series!
It consisted of non-stop bullpen games from both sides, sloppy as hell defense, hours of deadtime in between pitches, Houston’s starters repeatedly getting shattered, and even had Atlanta starter Charlie Morton throwing a full inning with a broken leg (Somewhere, Bob Gibson is smiling!). And outside of Game 4, there was hardly any back-and-forth momentum, with the team that scored first being the one that ended up winning the game without much hassle. It might’ve went up to six games (likely because Mr. Morton wasn’t available for Game 5), but there isn’t much to chew on here other than seeing Freddie Freeman’s final series in a Braves uniform and the rest of the league being in delight of seeing the Astros lose in the World Series again for the first since the 2017 sign-stealing scandal broke out.
And for once, the Atlanta Braves were able to get it done in the postseason after consisting nothing but Ls in October for the past 25 years, winning their first title since 1995! I guess that’s something!
20.) 2008 World Series- Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays
Champion: Philadelphia Phillies, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Cole Hamels
Best Game: Game 5- Phillies Win 4-3
There were plenty of juicy storylines heading into this World Series. You had the Tampa Bay Rays entering their first ever World Series after coming off a disastrous 96-loss season along with their first ever winning season and the Philadelphia Phillies looking for their first title in nearly 30 years! Sadly, the headlines and narratives heading into the World Series were more eye catching than the actual World Series itself.
There were a lot of close games, with four of the five games being decided by two runs or less, which included a walk-off infield single in Game 3 by Phillies Catcher Carlos Ruiz but it was a pretty uneventful World Series all around, with plenty of silent bats and not much momentum between each inning.
The most memorable moment from this series came from the rain delay that happened in Philly in Game 5, forcing the game to be delayed and even postponed, the first and only time that has ever happened in World Series history! The game was suspended in the 6th inning and would resume two days later. And hey, at least closer Brad Lidge was able to make the comeback of a lifetime, getting all 48 saves in all 48 save opportunities! I guess Albert Pujols didn’t complete destroy him after the 2005 NLCS!
I’m sure Phillies fans can look fondly of that core that consists of the likes of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Cole Hamels was able to win a title but for the World Series itself,……..meh.
19.) 2004 World Series- Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals
Champion: Boston Red Sox, 4-0 Series Win
MVP: Manny Ramirez
Best Game: Game 1- Red Sox Win 11-9
Yes, this was also a World Series sweep! Yes, it was really only Game 1 that was even remotely competitive! Yes, Boston absolutely dominated St. Louis in every way, shape, or form in this series! However, I don’t think there was a bigger moment in the history of the Boston Red Sox and among MLB this century than seeing them hold the commissioner trophy for the first time in 86 years!
It must’ve been such a special moment to see fans of Boston and even the rest of baseball (other than Yankees and Cardinals fans) witness baseball history like no other! Take that special moment out of the picture and it was a pretty pathetic and lame World Series overall!
Outside of a solid back-and-forth Game One (with Boston committing FOUR errors but still managing to win), the juggernaut offense led by Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds, and late season acquisition Larry Walker, that carried the 105-Win Cardinals all year long were completely silenced, outmatched by the elite Red Sox starting pitching of Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, and Derek Lowe! And the Red Sox bats with the likes of WS MVP Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz came through at every possible moment! Boston had their foot on the gas since Game 4 of the ALCS against the Yankees and absolutely REFUSED to take their foot off of it until the very final out of Game 4 in the World Series!
If it wasn’t for this one special moment in history, this would be FAR down the list!
18.) 2005 World Series- Chicago White Sox vs Houston Astros
Champion: Chicago White Sox, 4-0 Series Win
MVP: Jermaine Dye
Best Game: Game 3- White Sox Win 7-5 In 14 Innings
It might seem odd to put a World Series sweep this high on the list but I would be damned if this wasn’t the most exciting and competitive World Series sweep that I’ve ever seen.
All four games were up for grabs and could’ve favored anyone of the two teams, it just so happened to favor the Chicago White Sox in all four games! With a decent back-and-forth Game 1, a Game 2 thriller that was decided on a walk-off homer by Scott Podsednik of all people (who didn’t hit a single home run in the regular season), a Game 3 that lasted for 14 innings with Game 2 starter Mark Buehrle getting the final out and save, and a Game 4 that consisted of pitching dominance with a mere 1-0 score! You had some exciting narratives hear as well, with the Houston Astros entering their first World Series in franchise history after having a disastrous start in the regular season and the Chicago White Sox looking to end their championship drought of 88 years, the second longest in MLB history! Still a World Series sweep is a World Series sweep, no matter how you look at it!
Ultimately, it was the White Sox that was able to have their one moment of glory in a franchise that has had very little! But no worries to the Astros, you would get your chance of your own glory soon enough!
Also, let’s not forget the best kept secret in baseball history when it was revealed over a decade later that Mark Buehrle actually pitched in Game 3 and got the save while drunk on like five pitchers! That’s just…….awesome!
17.) 2024 World Series- Los Angeles Dodgers vs New York Yankees
Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Freddie Freeman
Best Game: Game 5- Dodgers Win 7-6
The 2024 World Series match-up between the Dodgers and Yanks was more about narratives and headlines than it was about the quality of the games itself.
There were two standout moments that will be remembered in baseball history, a bad footed Freddie Freeman having his Kirk Gibson moment in Game 1 by hitting a walk-off grand slam in the 10th inning, securing him of the WS MVP Award, and the Yankees HILARIOUSLY imploding in Game 4 with their godawful defense that has plagued them all season long, choking away a 5-0 lead and eventually losing the game 7-6! The rest of the games might’ve been filled with action and high scoring but there was hardly enough back-and-forth to warrant this being ranked up there as among the best World Series this century.
The Dodgers were able to prove that they were not just Mickey Mouse ring champions by winning it all in a FULL season this time and the Yankees were exposed for the absolute frauds they were all season and still can’t get over their recent World Series hump that has now lasted for 15+ years! Plenty of fun and funny narratives here and a few memorable moments aside, this World Series could’ve been better.
16.) 2018 World Series- Boston Red Sox vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Champion: Boston Red Sox, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Steve Pearce
Best Game: Game 4- Red Sox Win 9-6
This might be a hot take but I found this World Series to be incredibly overrated! I get that expectations were high entering this series in seeing the baseball juggernauts that were the Los Angeles Dodgers and Boston Red Sox duking it out for the first time ever! However, outside of the tense 18th inning long Game 3 (wouldn’t be the only time that happened in the World Series for LA) and a stellar Game 4, with the Red Sox coming back late to win 9-6, there wasn’t much to write home about here.
Games 1, 2, and 6 were easy victories for Boston, with LA overwhelmed at every turn in those games, being unable to keep up with the momentum of the Red Sox. The Bronx bats that carried them throughout their entire 2018 campaign with the likes of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, and WS MVP Steve Pearce came through when they needed to, so much so that not even the INCREDIBLY stretchy closer Craig Kimbrel couldn’t prevent them from winning it all.
The 2018 Red Sox felt like a complete and perfect team in every way and they were able to show that throughout this entire series, winning their 4th World Series title of the 21st century. I still put it this high because of those two games mentioned but that is really the only thing keeping it this high on the list
15.) 2020 World Series- Los Angeles Dodgers vs Tampa Bay Rays
Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-2 Series Win
MVP: Corey Seager
Best Game: Game 4- Rays Win 8-7
This was such a weird World Series to rank! This came during the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, that forced a shortened 60-game long season and all the teams having to follow a certain set of rules and safety guidelines to make this World Series and overall season even possible. But still, for what we’ve got, this was a pretty good World Series!
It contained the two teams that had the best records in baseball from both leagues for the first time since 2013, you got clutch performances from the likes of superstar Mookie Betts, MVP Corey Seager and ALCS MVP Randy Arozarena, a bonkers ending to what was an incredibly wild Game 4 (I’m sure Brett Phillips is still running around like the wind with no oxygen), and the controversial decision of Game 6 with Rays Manager Kevin Cash removing starter Blake Snell out of a game which he was dominating the Dodger lineup, a move which ended up backfiring PAINFULLY for Tampa Bay, with the Dodgers coming back to winning that game 3-1 and win their World Series since 1988!
It’s hard to know how this World Series would’ve played out in a non-covid world but for what we got, this was probably the best possible World Series we could’ve had during such bizarre circumstances!
14.) 2015 World Series- Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets
Champion: Kansas City Royals, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Salvador Perez
Best Game: Game 1- Royals Win 5-4 In 14 Innings
This might’ve been just a five-game World Series but this was about as good of a five-game World Series as they come! With this being a series about underdog franchises with decades long World Series droughts, it was ultimately the Kansas City Royals who was able to make the final blow when it mattered the most.
You had Game 1 that started off with a bang with a inside-the-park homer from Alcides Escobar, Kansas City coming back in the bottom of the 9th on a solo shot by franchise legend Alex Gordon to force extra innings, and the Royals winning the game on a sac fly in the 14th inning to start the series off with a bang. Game 2 and 3 saw convincing wins from both sides with Royals dominating the Mets in Game 2 and New York returning the favor in Game 3. Game 4 saw KC coming back late yet again, rallying for three runs in the 8th inning, taking a 3-1 series lead. Game 5 saw an outstanding pitching performance from Mets ace Matt Harvey (A.K.A. The Dark Knight) be completely undone thanks to KC coming back late yet again in the 9th inning to tie it and yet again win in extra innings, winning their first World Series title in 30 years!
As much as the narrative around this series has pended on the Mets shooting themselves in the foot repeatedly with endless blown saves from closer Jeurys Familia and constant terrible blunders from the defense, credit should be given to the Royals for playing their own brand of baseball to win the World Series!
At a time where there was a cultural shift in baseball in focusing more on analytics, velocity, and launch angle, the Royals was able to play by their own set of rules to win it all, by sticking to old school traditions with a major focus on speed, contact, and defense! They might’ve not gotten it done in the previous year but they most certainly were able to get it done here!
13.) 2013 World Series- Boston Red Sox vs St. Louis Cardinals
Champion: Boston Red Sox, 4-2 Series Win
MVP: David Ortiz
Best Game: Game 4- Red Sox Win 4-2
We got a rematch of the 2004 World Series nine years later in 2013. Unlike in 2004, the St. Louis Cardinals actually competed this time around against the Boston Red Sox.
After a wild ending to Game 3 with the infamous obstruction call at home plate, the Cards took a 2-1 series lead with just two victories away from claiming their 12th World Series title in franchise history. Unfortunately for St. Louis, Boston fought back from that devasting loss quite hard for the rest of the series, with clutch hits from the likes of Game 4 hero Johnny Gomes, Game 5 hero David Ross, and Game 6 decider Shave Victorino along with running into the buzzsaws that was ace Jon Lester and WS MVP David Ortiz, who had a RIDICLOULOUS .688 BA with a WHOPPING .790 OBP, 1.188 SLG, and 1.948 OPS that series. The Red Sox bounced back from their Game 3 lost by taking the next three games, winning their third World Series in ten years. For the second time in the 21st century, Boston broke the hearts in St. Louis and took a World Series title away from them.
As much can be said about David Ortiz winning the World Series practically by himself, the other storyline in this was Boston’s way of rebounding after the terrible marathon bombing that took place in April 2013! Although Game 1 and Game 6 kinda sucked, the rest of the series was quite competitive and the storyline involving the Boston marathon bombing is so powerful that it warrants to be in the upper half!
12.) 2022 World Series- Houston Astros vs Philadelphia Phillies
Champion: Houston Astros, 4-2 Series Win
MVP: Jeremy Pena
Best Game: Game 1- Phillies Win 6-5 In 10 Innings
This was a World Series of changing narratives!
You had the underdog Phillies that overcame a 5-0 deficit to win Game 1 in extra innings, stumbled a bit in Game 2, but came back in grand fashion to win Game 3 rather easily with their elite bats of Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto, to take a convincing 2-1 series lead! You figured this would be yet another World Series lost for the Astros against another unlikely NL East team. However, the Astros proceeded to flip the script entirely for the rest of the series.
By throwing a combined no-hitter right in Philly’s ballpark in Game 4, winning a tight and tense Game 5 that gave future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander his first career win in a World Series game, and came back to win Game 6 on a three-run backbreaker from super slugger Yordan Alvarez, the Houston Astros proved why they were indeed the best team in baseball in 2022! Even if the rest of baseball was still triggered about Houston winning another championship after what happened in 2017, this was a pretty entertaining series all around. Also, good old Dusty Baker was able to earn his first ring as a manager!
Maybe it’s just me but this was the World Series that made me finally get over the cheating scandal, as the Astros proved they didn’t need trash cans to win a championship! Although, Phillies showed good enough fight throughout the series, reality eventually came back to bite them as the Astros were just too good in 2022 to take down!
11.) 2000 World Series- New York Yankees vs New York Mets
Champion: New York Yankees, 4-1 Series Win
MVP: Derek Jeter
Best Game: Game 5- Yankees Win 4-2
Speaking of competitive as hell five-game long World Series (it’s starting to become a pattern here), the first World Series to be qualified for this ranking between the long time Subway rivals was about as tight and nail biting as it gets.
Each and every one of these games were decided by two runs or fever. The biggest standouts being the Yankees coming back to tie Game 1 in the 9th inning on a sac fly and winning that game in 12 innings thanks to a walk-off hit from unlikely hero Jose Vizcaino, the infamous Clemens-Piazza fiasco of Game 2 which the Yanks won despite the Mets making it interesting in the 9th inning, and the Yanks winning the clincher with two runs in the 9th inning off a worned out AL Leiter, who was clocking it at 140 pitches in that game. Also, it ended on a temporary scare where Mets star Mike Piazza JUST got under a pitch in the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs that managed to stay in the ballpark and give the Bronx another World Series victory.
This was when the Yankees were able to continue their narrative as the evil empire of baseball, winning their third straight World Series title and their fourth championship in the last five years, and the Mets started to present their legacy as being the butt of everyone’s jokes in New York City sports lore along with the rest of baseball.
This world series was the textbook example of what you see is what you get! And what we got overall was a pretty damn competitive World Series, despite lasting only five games!
10.) 2003 World Series- Florida Marlins vs New York Yankees
Champion: Florida Marlins, 4-2 Series Lead
MVP: Josh Beckett
Best Game: Game 4- Marlins Win 4-3 In 12 Innings
It was thought not to be humanly possible after their massive fire sale and teardown following their World Series victory in 1997 but six years later somehow and some way, lightning was able to strike the Florida Marlins for a SECOND time!
Coming into the World Series high off their 3-1 series comeback against the Chicago Cubs (partially thanks to their good old friend Steve Bartman but not really), the Marlins were able to stop the New York Yankees from clinching their fifth World Series title since 1996, thanks to contributions from their young superstars fresh from their farm system in Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, and Josh Beckett, the latter of who threw a complete game shutout in Game 6 on just three days rest to win the World Series for Florida!
You also can’t forget how the momentum for the Yanks plummeted after taking a 2-1 series lead in Game 4, with the Marlins winning in a 12 inning thriller by a score of 4 to 3 after Yankees manager Joe Torre failed to put in his star closer, Mariano Rivera, to possibly keep the game going for New York.
All these years later, it’s still hilarious to think about how the Marlins was able to win it all TWICE as mere wild cards but have failed to achieve anything else noteworthy since then. If you were to look up the definition of “a broken clock being right twice a day”, I’m more than certain you would find a pic of the Marlins to go along with it. With this being a world series of bizarre storylines and competitive action all the way through, this is certainly worthy of being in the top 10!
9.) 2009 World Series- New York Yankees vs Philadelphia Phillies
Champion: New York Yankees, 4-2 Series Win
MVP: Hideki Matsui
Best Game: Game 4- Yankees Win 7-4
Hard to believe it’s been over 15 years since a World Series title last came to the Bronx but they were able to do so in 2009 against that year’s defending World Series champion, the Philadelphia Phillies! Admittedly, this series wasn’t anywhere near as tight or drama fueled as some of the best World Series on this list, but I couldn’t help but be entertained by seeing the crazy amount of star power on full display in this fall classic!
From the likes of Yanks legends of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and WS MVP Hideki Matsui along with their newly offseason additions of CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira to the Phils stars in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins along with their in-season additions of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez, this was the World Series equivalent of the World Baseball Classic in the best of ways, just the best of the best stars coming together to play some darn good baseball for our entertainment! The most crucial contest was in Game 4, when the Yankees scored three runs in the 9th inning thanks to a two-out rally started by A-Rod himself, which led New York to win that game by a score of 7-4!
The suspense may not have been there for the majority of this series but in this case, I just got pure enjoyment in seeing some of the best MLB players of the 2000s facing off and providing plenty of action to keep the series fun for me throughout. Mostly, this World Series was the best kind of stress-free World Series for me!
8.) 2019 World Series- Washington Nationals vs Houston Astros
Champion: Washington Nationals, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: Stephen Strasburg
Best Game: Game 7- Nationals Win 6-2
Infamously know as the World Series with home field DISADVANTAGE, this series saw the underdog Washington Nationals (who started the 2019 season just 19-31) in their first ever World Series against the mighty juggernaut that was the Houston Astros, who won a franchise-record 107 games that year!
This was a series that was able to go all seven games- with the road team being victorious in ALL seven of those games (the first time that had ever happened in the history of the four major sports at the time)! While all three games the Astros won in D.C. were pretty forgettable, with Houston taking leads in all three of those games and never looking back, all four games that the Nats won in Houston were standouts.
The biggest game was the final one, where the Nats were able to come back down 2-0 late, thanks to clutch homers from Anthony Rendon and the NLCS MVP Howie Kendrick. In a year that had plenty of amazing narratives written with underdog sports teams winning championships (A.K.A. the St. Louis Blues and Toronto Raptors), the 2019 Nationals were able to write a standout story of their own, overcoming prior choking narratives and providing our state capital with their first ever World Series championship!
This was also the last we saw of prime Stephen Strasburg, who you can tell pitched with every inch of his body to get the Nats their title that year. If the games in D.C. were more memorable, this would’ve likely have ranked even higher on the list!
Also, Juan Soto was able to win a World Series just DAYS after turning 21 years old, the age where you are legally allowed to buy a beer!
What am I doing with my life, man?!?!
7.) 2014 World Series- San Francisco Giants vs Kansas City Royals
Champion: San Francisco Giants, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: Madison Bumgarner
Best Game: Game 7- Giants Win 3-2
Here is the third and final chapter of the San Francisco Giants’ early 2010s run of dominance! Unlike the first two World Series that San Francisco was a part off, this one was actually quite memorable and made for a very enjoyable series all around against the unexpected AL champion Kansas City Royals!
There’s a lot that can be said by the massive amounts of scoring that took place in every game outside of Games 3 and 7 but the main storyline of this World Series and the entire 2014 postseason was no other than Madison Bumgarner, who had just won the NLCS MVP the series prior. Famously known as Madbum, Bumgarner was able to have the World Series performance for the ages, accomplishing a Game One victory by going seven innings and allowing just one run, throwing a complete game shutout in Game 5 and closing the door with a massive FIVE inning save for Game 7! There just hasn’t been anyone like Madbum that has ever been THIS dominant on the World Series stage in baseball history!
And of course, who could forget the way the World Series concluded, with Kansas City having the tying run on third base and an incredibly sore Salvador Perez coming up to the plate and inducing a pop flyout, securing San Francisco’s third World Series title in the last five years!
Even if the Giants haven’t been the same since this World Series, they were at least able to end their early 2010s even year run of dominance on the highest note possible! Oh and the Royals were able to win the World Series the very next year so you don’t have to feel sorry about them!
6.) 2002 World Series- Anaheim Angels vs San Francisco Giants
Champion: Anaheim Angels, 4-3 Series Lead
MVP: Troy Glaus
Best Game: Game 6- Angels Win 6-5
Remember the time the Angels won a World Series? You don’t?! Well, they actually did in 2002 when they were strictly the Anaheim Angels and the series itself was pretty great! What would also be the first and only World Series that Barry Bonds would be a part off, the 2002 World Series was a seven-game match up for the ages between the Angels and the Giants!
There was plenty of action, twists, and excitement to be had in the first five games, with three of them being decided by one run and Barry Bonds finally living up to his name in October, after having multiple failures in prior playoff runs! The most memorable contest game in Game 6, with the Giants leading the series 3 to 2 and commanding a 5-0 lead late, only for the Angels to rally back with six unanswered runs thanks to the likes of Scott Spiezio, Darin Erstad, and WS MVP Troy Glaus. This rally came right after Giants manager Dusty Baker infamously pulled starter Russ Ortiz early in the 7th inning which opened that exact door for the Angels! Then, Anaheim was able to win Game 7 rather easily by a score of 4-1, stealing the title away from San Francisco, securing their first and only championship in franchise history.
This was an absolutely fantastic World Series all around that I believe should be talked about more than it usually does! The fact that this is only #6 on the list just goes to show you how EXCELLENT these next five World Series match-ups are!
5.) 2017 World Series- Houston Astros vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Results: Houston Astros, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: George Springer
Best Game: Game 5- Astros Win 13-12 In 10 Innings
I understand this World Series has been tainted for many baseball fans out there! After the allegations came out that the 2017 Astros were using hidden technology in their home stadium to steal signs and bang on trash cans to alert hitters of upcoming pitches, I can see why many don’t look at this series the same way anymore! However, for me, whenever I rewatch the highlights of this series and remembering watching this series back in 2017, I still can’t help but be excited and thrill every time I watched them.
Back in 2017, this series was simply thrilling to watch because of how each game told a different story. We got a stellar pitching performance from infamous known playoff cursed Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 that gave the Dodgers an early series lead. We got a back-and-forth extra inning extravaganza for Game 2 that consisted of EIGHT home runs hit in that game! We got Games 3 and 4 that had tight competitive match-ups with Houston taking Game 3 and LA bouncing back in the series to take Game 4. Games 6 saw the Dodgers bounce back to tie the series while Game 7 saw Houston put pressure on LA early to win Game 7!
However, the real story of this entire series was with Game 5 that just had everything! From the insane amount of scoring to the unlimited amount of twists and turns to the constant back-and-forth momentum to the multiple flips of the script to the intense drama and knuckles gripping to the mere unpredictability of it all, it is simple one of the best games of baseball that has ever been played, cheating be damned! That game along with Game 2 warrants this World Series of being in the top 5 of this century!
If this series is still tainted for you because of what the Astros did this series and throughout the whole 2017 season, that is more than fair! But for me, this series represents everything I love about baseball!
Also, fyi, the Astros was only able to do sign stealing in at home and NOT on the road! So, those two road wins they had, which includes the thrilling Game 2 and series-clinching Game 7, are indeed LEGIT!
Also, I’m not gonna lie, these next four were VERY hard to rank! I kept going back and forth with each one to the point to where I almost want to put it as a four-way tie for the best of the 21st century. But, I’m not gonna chicken out of that so here I go with my top 4!
4.) 2011 World Series- St. Louis Cardinals vs Texas Rangers
Champion: St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: David Freese
Best Game: Game 6- Cardinals Win 10-9 In 11 Innings
What’s this?! My favorite World Series of all time is only #4 on this list! Am I going insane?! Absolutely I am!
We have the St. Louis Cardinals coming into the World Series red hot, overcoming a 10+ game deficit against the Atlanta Braves to make the playoffs and took out the WS favorites Phi Delphia Phillies in the NLDS and division rival Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS to make it here! We also had the Texas Rangers, returning to their second straight WS and looking to get the job done when they couldn’t the prior year. As much has been said about Game 6 of this year (and I have PLENTY to said about that), there were many other standout games here.
You got a tight Game 1 which the Cards won 3-2, you got a Game 2 which saw Texas come back late in the 9th inning to win 2-1, you got an offense explosion in Game 3 where the Cardinals scored 16 (!) runs which was aided by Albert Pujols hitting three home runs that game, you got a Game 4 that was dominated by elite pitching from Rangers ace Derek Holland that held St. Louis to just two hits all game, you got Game 5 which Texas coming back late after a bullpen mishap from St. Louis to take a 3-2 series lead, and of course you can’t forget Game 6!
What started off as one of the most messiest and sloppiest games ever (I still lose count on the amount of errors and play mishaps the Cards and Rangers made early on), the last three innings of the game might just be the most intense final three innings of any baseball game ever! The Rangers were one strike away from winning the World Series not once but TWICE and yet the Cardinals were able to rally back BOTH times! This came from the clutch two-run game tying triple from NLCS and WS MVP David Freese in the bottom of the 9th inning and a clutch RBI game tying single from Lance Berkman in the 10th inning,. Then came David Freese yet again in the 11th inning that was able to close the curtain with a solo walk-off home run, forcing a Game 7!
This was a series that had everything you want in a world series: close match-ups, twists and turns, and plenty of action, drama, and goose bumping moments to get your team pump up or heartbroken. Outside of this World Series not being as narratively satisfying or memorable to those outside of baseball fans as the first three, the ONLY thing that keeps this World Series not being higher on this list is Game 7 being somewhat anticlimactic and not that memorable! But, still an incredible World Series all around and will always be one of my absolute favorites!
3.) 2001 World Series- Arizona Diamondbacks vs New York Yankees
Champion: Arizona Diamondbacks, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: Randy Johnson & Curt Schilling
Best Game: Game 7- Diamondbacks Win 3-2
There are two main reasons this World Series is remembered as fondly as it is: 1.) it was the first major sporting event that came out the devasting heights of 9/11 (which actually caused Major League Baseball to be delayed for a week) and 2.) it represented the beginning of the end of the dynasty of the New York Yankees as we know it. Here, we saw the Arizona Diamondbacks in just their FOURTH year of existence taking on the evil empire that is the New York Yankees, winners of the last three World Series and four of the last five years!
The first six games saw three blowout victories for the D-Backs and three nail biting wins for the Yanks! The three victories from Arizona saw their bats explode from the likes of Luiz Gonzalez and Craig Counsell and dominate pitching from their co-aces Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. The three victories from New York benefitted from clutch hits from their stars Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Alfonso Soriano and lights out late inning pitching from their dominate closer Mariano Rivera. The series would wrap up in a satisfying bow in Game Seven where things got so intense and nail biting, culminating in Arizona coming back to tie things up in the bottom of the ninth with their backs were against the wall and Luis Gonzalez was able to get a clutch soft hit off of the G.O.A.T. closer Mariano Rivera, preventing the Yankees from their fourth straight championship and securing Diamondbacks’ very first one!
Each game had a different story to tell, there were clutch performances from both the hitting and pitching side on both ends, and it felt like just the breather that America needed to help heal their minds just a month after a horrifying terrorist act that has let a scar on this country for the past 25+ years! It’s also the one time in this century where we actually got not just one MVP but two, those being the one-two starting pitching punch of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, the former of which actually threw the last 1 1/3 inning of the series just less than 24 hours after his dominant Game 6 performance.
An extraordinary World Series all around!
2.) 2016 World Series- Chicago Cubs vs Cleveland Indians
Champion: Chicago Cubs, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: Ben Zobrist
Best Game: Game 7- Cubs Win 8-7 In 10 Innings
There might be some that argue that this World Series is more remembered for it’s hype and narratives than of the actual games itself, the two sport franchises with the largest championship droughts in sports history duking it out to see which one can break their decades long curse and make history like no other. There might be some that argue that only Game 7 is the one worth remembering, which led to the best ratings that the game of baseball had seen since this 2016 baseball classic (until recently that is). However, one can’t deny how massive this World Series was not just for baseball history but in recent global history!
Game 1 saw the Indians shut down the Cubs bats in a shutout victory thanks to elite starting pitching from Cleveland’s own Corey Kluber. Game 2 saw the Cubs climbing back to tie the series with their bats waking up for a 5-1 victory. Games 3 and 4 saw Cleveland putting Chicago bats in check once again by allowing just two in two games to take a 3-1 World Series lead, just one victory away from their first championship since 1948. But then, Game 5 saw the Cubs bounce back thanks to Jon Lester holding the Indians offense at bay and a 4th inning rally kicked off by that year’s MVP Kris Bryant, that force the series back to Cleveland. Game 6 saw the Cubs bats exploding once again with homers from Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Anthony Rizzo to tie the series. Finally, there was Game 7 that made for one of the greatest baseball games in the history of Major League Baseball!
From the leadoff homer from Dexter Fowler that got things started to the quick hook by Cubs manager Joe Maddon to go from Kyle Hendricks to Jon Lester that gave Cleveland some momentum to David Ross homering in his very final game he would ever play in to Rajai Davis of all people hitting a game tying home run in the 8th inning to the sudden 20-minute long rain delay after the game was forced into extras to the Jason Heyward clubhouse speech that bumped his club up to the Cubs coming back in extra innings and being able to hold on to win their very first World Series in 108 years! As a fan of baseball and viewing which World Series this century is more fondly remembered for not just baseball fans but casual audiences in general, I can’t think of one that is as memorable and impactful as this one!
However, there is still one more World Series I do think is slightly better overall.
1.) 2025 World Series- Toronto Blue Jays vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Champion: Los Angeles Dodgers, 4-3 Series Win
MVP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Best Game: Game 7- Dodgers Win 5-4 In 11 Innings
There might be a time where we look back at this World Series as the one that “destroyed” baseball, with the Dodgers buying up more players and additions every year like they are Disney. However, just days after riding the highs of all the thrills that this World Series has to offer, I can’t help but NOT put this in a well deserved #1 spot!
Here, we see the Los Angeles Dodgers looking for their second straight World Series title against the Toronto Blue Jays who are searching for their first World Series title in over 30 years! While many experts picked the Dodgers to win this matchup, I don’t think anyone was prepared for how much this World Series would deliver.
Game 1 saw the Blue Jays making a statement in that they would NOT be push overs in this series like they were predicted. Game 2 saw a complete game gem from WS MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Game 3 gave us an INCREDIBLE 18 inning thriller, which concluded with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off homer. Games 4 and 5 had Toronto responding back with their bats very convincingly to take a 3-2 series lead. Game 6 saw yet another masterpiece of a performance from Yamamoto, and there is a TON that can be said about Game 7!
The Blue Jays were just TWO outs away from winning it all until Miguel Rojas (who hadn’t had a hit in a MONTH!) tied it up with a solo home run! Then came the 9th inning where the Blue Jays were literally INCHES away from winning it on TWO separate occasions, one which IKF was a inch or two off from scoring at home plate and a series saving catch from centerfielder Andy Pages! Then came the coolest Will Smith in Hollywood with a solo homer in the 11th inning, smacking all of Canada harder than he did Chris Rock at the Oscars! And then, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who just threw a seven inning gem the night prior, was able to slam the door shut for the final 2 2/3 innings, ending with a ground ball double play with Toronto having the tying run on base!
This World Series has ZERO business to go THIS hard but it did! I don’t care about what outcomes could come from this World Series as a result of the monopoly Dodgers winning another title with legends like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto getting paid the millions on their contract for the next 20+ years after they retire, but man, this is a World Series that I believe will go down in absolute HISTORY for not just baseball fans but for anyone around the world!
Since I felt putting all 59 DC Comic movies was a bit too much for one list, I decided to make a second post of it! That way, there’s most stability and this specific ranking doesn’t feel too clutter for one piece. My previous one was rankings from #59 to #26. This list will consist of #25 to #1!
No more time and filler! Let’s finish this MASSIVE movie ranking!
25.) Watchmen
24.) Zack Snyder’s Justice League
23.) Stardust
22.) Blue Beetle
21.) Clayface
20.) Teen Titans Go! To The Movies
19.) Aquaman
18.) The Suicide Squad
17.) The Lego Batman Movie
16.) Superman II
15.) Superman (2025)
14.) Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Now that Clayface is now out in theaters, I decided to do something totally insane and rank every single DC movie ever! Not just the movies related to the DC Extended Universe or the brand new DC Universe but all theatrically-released films that have some sort of connection to DC. That includes all the Batman, Superman, DC imprints, and even animated films that have been released in theaters of all kind!
Throughout last year, I actually took the time to watch every other DC-related film that I haven’t got around to just for the sake of making this list. Why? Because I have no life whatsoever and I like making insane lists! That’s why!
But anyways, let’s get into list making and rank all 59 theatrically-released DC Comics films from best to worst! If you agree with this list, awesome! If you disagree, fine and I likely will by the time I actually publish this! Either way, let’s have some fun and rank these superhero flicks!
Btw, NO I’m not going into any sort of description of each said film because then this list would take a million years to make! I’m just gonna let the ranked number for each film speak for themselves!
Remember when Sony did those incredibly pointless Spidey villains spin-offs that nobody went to see except for the Venom movies for….some reason?! And remember how some of you actually enjoyed those Venom movies in an “ironic” way, even though that entire trilogy was nothing but big, dumb messes with tonal inconsistences, bizarre directing and acting choices, and having virtually no identity of their own whatsoever?! Well, here’s DC Studios equivalent of that except you can actually enjoy it in an UNIRONIC way, strictly because it is actually a smart and clever movie with a perfectly controlled tone, directing and acting choices that are actually ON point, and a film that has an actually identity of it’s own. To put it simply, if you wanted to see an actual good Venom movie that does NOT star Logan Marshall-Green, Clayface has you covered.
Premise: Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) is an actor whose face is disguised, and he turns to a scientist (Naomi Ackie) who transforms his body into clay, but begins to lose his sanity as he is unable to recognize himself.
The key to Clayface working as well as it does is by applying the formula that has worked for most modern horror films: win big by playing small. It’s no secret that Clayface has a budget that’s much smaller than your usual superhero film, reported to be around $30 to $44 million at best. However, it’s able to use it’s limited budget to it’s fullest advantage, proving the right amount of grossness and gnarly nature that feels appropriate for it’s story and titled character. Sometimes all it takes is only limiting yourself to a handful of tricks and you get some rather impressive results. While you do feel the budget restraint somewhat in it’s first two acts, by the time we get to the final stretch, it goes into full unleashed mode and does NOT hold back whatsoever.
What also helps wonders is the lead performance by Tom Rhys Harries. He’s completely buyable as the A-list Hollywood movie star that Matt Hagen has build his reputation as throughout his career AND his total transformation into one of Batman’s rose gallery baddies, using his new powers to get revenge on those that destroyed his lives. Even if you don’t 100% buy his motivations to want to get back on everyone that backstabbed him, you won’t be able to deny that it’s so damn satisfying to watch him return the favor. He also has pretty good chemistry with Naomi Ackie’s Dr. Corr, the woman that is responsible for Matt’s transformation and the only source of happiness that he has after he becomes the monster that he never believed he was destined to be. I’m so gonna dread the day when Batman has to go up against this version of Clayface.
Although Clayface does work pretty well as a “Venom but done right” experiment and fits perfectly in the same realm of compelling side adventures with Batman’s foes such as Joker, The Penguin, and Birds of Prey (That movie rocks! Don’t @ me!), it does feel lacking when you compare it to other recent horror flicks with limited budgets. Perhaps had this film came out a decade ago, it wouldn’t be as noticeable. But considering the 2020s had given us instant original horror classics such as Sinners, Obsession, Weapons, Talk To Me, and The Substance, all films of which were made with pure pennies compared to 99% of blockbusters today, it is understandable to be tad underwhelmed that Clayface isn’t quite in the same league as that.
And this also might be the least interesting version of Gotham City that we have ever seen in any live-action Batman medium. Nothing in here represents the Gotham City we have been accustomed too in any way, shape, or form. You could’ve replaced this with literally any other city and it wouldn’t make a difference whatsoever. And that’s not even taking away the fact that Batman is no where to be seen here. Between this, The Penguin, and the ungodly long wait for The Batman: Part II, our favorite Caped Crusader has been slacking off as of late (Can’t wait to see How It Should Have Ended’s next superhero parody!).
Also, while the slow burn direction of seeing the journey of Clayface in his final finished form is quite satisfying for me considering how compelling of a character Matt Hagen is here, for those that are expecting the actual Clayface itself to gain the majority of screentime will be very dissapointed here.
To give it a hint, Clayface himself has just SLIGHTLY more screentime here than the spider-women did in Madame Web! (At least here, it works for the development of the main character and not just in some random flashbacks sequences that could’ve been completely cut out of the finished film entirely!).
In the end, I still don’t think we needed a Clayface movie in the DCU before say we got Wonder Woman or even freaking Batman but for what we got here, it’s pretty damn good. It’s able to work as an engaging villain origin story, an intriguing character study, AND an enjoyable B-level horror flick all at the same time. The special effects are great, it moves at a good pace, and it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome, making for an enjoyable night out at the movies AND for a solid Halloween pick for the fall season.
If you happened to be that one sane individual that wanted to see a live-action R-rated version of the both “Feat of Clay” episodes from Batman: The Animated Series, you got your wish here!
Alright, I haven’t been able to be upload pieces on here like I’ve wanted to do for the past month for personal life related reasons. Because of that, I’ve decided to started doing more mini-reviews on here so that I actually have free time AND you all get reviews of recent movies. I’ll still plan to do a more in-depth review every now and then whenever I have the time to do so but I would expect more short and quick-to-the-point reviews for right now. There’s just too much going on in my personal life right now to stay 100% focused on here.
But earlier this week, I attended the fan screening for Laika’s newest film Wildwood, a stop motion animated epic that is based of the 2011 novel of the same name by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis AND has been in development for 16 years. In the film, a teenage girl named Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) and her classmate Curtis (Justin Tremblay) travel into an enchanted forest in search of her infant brother after he is abducted. They find a manor and learn about a coming war from a mysterious woman who tragically lost her son.
To get to the main point, Wildwood is yet another impressive achievement in terms of stop motion and animation from Laika studios. The narrative hook of a young girl going through the ends of the earth to save her baby brother and learning fascinating revolutions about him along the way is incredibly engaging and refreshing, there is not a single moment of art or craftsmanship that feels lazy and phoned in, the set pieces are among the best in any animated film in recent memory (the flying sequences make the original How To Train Your Dragon look tame in comparison), the entire voice cast, regardless of how big or small their roles are, bring their absolute A game, and the soundtrack by Dario Marianelli adds an extra layer to the film that it likely wouldn’t have had if it were in the hands of any other composer. If this film really took 16 years to get made like they say it did, then those were 16 years that were very well spent.
I don’t think it’s the very best from Laika Animation or up to the levels that Paranoman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Coraline were. There are times where the pacing comes to a screeching halt in order to allow for more emotional moments to come into play during the middle stretch and the runtime can get on the wayside once we get to the second half of the film. There is also the resolution which makes sense in terms of arcs and themes but felt like it was missing an extra beat or two to really hit home, almost like it was requested from the studios to trim the runtime a hair so it doesn’t fall into the two and a half hour long trap that most live-action movies suffer from nowadays. None of these flaws are able to put a dagger on the film whatsoever but I DO think they do enough to prevent it from being the near flawless masterpieces of some of Laika’s other work. Then again, even middle-of-the-pack Laika far surpasses the middle-of-the-pack likes of say Illumination Animation and dare I say….modern Disney.
I should also give a big warning that this is NOT a film for young kids whatsoever. This is Laika’s very first PG-13 rated film and you can DEFINITELY tell. The very first scene of the film involves a naked child committing suicide for crying out loud! (No, there’s nothing too graphic about that moment but it perfectly sets the dark tone the film has going for!) Wildwood contains it’s fair share of cruelty and mild haunting imagery such as strong fantasy violence, mild bloody scenes, and a couple of characters saying some naughty words.
There is just NO way in hell that you can sell this movie as just being another hard PG rated movie like Laika’s previous work or even the kind of PG movies that studios had back in the 1970s and 1980s before PG-13 was even a thing! Coraline was able to operate perfectly as being little Johnny’s very first horror film. For the most part, Wildwood is able to operate as little Johnny’s very first stop motion epic, giving the glimpse feeling of what it felt like to be in the same cultural wave as The Lord of the Rings back in the early 2000s. Just make sure he has a parent with him in the movie theaters!
After hearing that this film took 16 years to make, I can’t help but think how far we have come since 2010, for both better or worse. While animation has been taking into new heights and it has now become a medium that is able to push the storytelling boundaries you couldn’t possibly imagine back before 2010, we also have seen AI come into affect since then, coming to terms with the fact that the days of actual craftmanship in film are being numbered as each passing day goes on. Wildwood is proof that pure art and craftmanship still holds strongly to this day and stands up anything that robots could do.
I’m sorry but you can NOT tell me that ChatGPT, Claw, Grok, or any other AI generated slop would be able to top the whimsical and wonder of every flying sequence with the birds, the enhancing world building of Wildwood, the dramatic and emotional scenes with Prue and her entire family, or even the (slightly) overlong yet still equally amusing subplot with Curtis trying to prove his worth to a girl he likes in class. I’m sure it can give a slight hand in detecting bugs and errors but that’s it and that’s the way it should be. (Or if you ask director Travis Knight, it shouldn’t be a way…..at all).
When that day comes and we see that it is no longer possible for any film production to function without having AI involved, I can only imagine that I will view Wildwood in the same spotlight that I do with ParaNorman, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Coraline, as being among the last remains of a golden era of animation and filmmaking. Still, even when Laika is not quite perfect, it still leaps and bounds ahead of plenty other animation studios working today. And Wildwood is certainly no exception to that!
But for now, I will give this film a very strong 3.5 out of 4 stars but put a pin in there for a potential 4 out of 4 stars for the near future.
Let’s address the broken record out of the gate: Aaron Sorkin can’t direct! Despite being one of our finest screenwriters working today, he can never translated his thought provoking ideas properly on the big screen whenever he is given the full director’s chair. A Few Good Men, The American President, Moneyball, Steve Jobs, and of course, The Social Network all benefitted because Rob Reiner (RIP!), Danny Boyle, Bennett Miller, and of course, David Fincher were behind the camera and NOT him. He has a directorial vision that isn’t so much tryhard or style over substance but having ZERO sense of tryhard or ZERO sense of style or substance to speak off, just constantly delivering motion pictures that are visually flat despite hard hitting material, containing clunky direction with massively talented actors forced to carry their own weight, and constantly going to class at the Joss Whedon school of characters being overly clever and quippy just because. Every time he is given a chance at directing, Sorkin ALWAYS gets exposed butt ass naked off his own personal flaws as an entertainment creative. For all the redeemable qualities that the scripts for Molly’s Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7 contained, both films would have benefitted GREATLY if literally anyone else was behind the camera.
And I don’t think there’s a better place to test that hypothesis of Sorkin’s own limits as a director than with his newest directorial feature The Social Reckoning, the spiritual successor (NOT the OTHER S word!) to 2010’s The Social Network that dramatizes the 2021 Facebook leaks by the whistleblower Frances Haugen and Jeff Horwitz. However, this time around, Mr. Fincher is not directing as he is too busy working with Quentin Tarantino, with his spin-off of his (supposed) second-to-last film he will ever make, The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth. That leaves only Aaron himself to carry the baton that he helped start but has been left alone to do it all on his own yet again. And even more so than his other directed films, The Social Reckoning displays Aaron Sorkin flaws harder than ever!
Premise: Facebook engineer Frances Haugen (Mikey Madison) and The Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) blow the whistle on the social network’s most guarded secrets.
It’s easy to see why Sorkin was interested in returning to the world of Facebook and revisiting the legacy of Meta Head/Facebook Creator Mark Zuckerberg given the current political climate and how more critical social media has played a role in our lives now. In 2010, Facebook felt like it was living up to it’s intended goals, creating a social network service designed to bring people together from all walks of life, regardless if you met a person in real life or on the internet, to a create a much bigger and more unifying world that you couldn’t before. While there were negative side effects of it, the pros almost certainly outweigh any major cons.
Fast forward to 16 years later and that special, optimistic nature of Facebook is long gone, replaced by nonstop cynicism, tiresome rage bait and “hate” speech, and the constant spreading of “fake” news left and right. And despite all the complaining and acknowledgement of the obvious elephant in the room over the years, we still find ourselves stuck in a constant loop that is this bleak era of the internet we are currently living in because well….we have no where else to go.
To give credit to Sorkin, he has no desire of repeating the same notes he did back in 2010. In The Social Network, that not only fully explored the origins of how Facebook came to be and the bumpy as hell road to it’s creation but also the massive benefits that would come for it. In The Social Reckoning, it’s all about the massive downsides that have come with Facebook and how exactly it has operated to being the negative cesspool it has become. And with a writer that is known from using his own wits and intelligence to craft multilayered, satisfying scripts, what better person to tackle how bleak Facebook and the internet as a whole has become throughout the past 16 years other than him. While making a follow-up on that angle makes perfect sense in theory, the execution of it leaves plenty to be desired.
The Social Reckoning isn’t so much interested in exploring the effects on the mental health and radicalization of folks who use Facebook on a daily basis but more so of the ins and outs of how it became to be. This main narrative thread is carried by our two leads with Frances Haugen and Jeff Horwitz, played by Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White respectively. Frances is interested in getting to bottom as to why Facebook has become so hateful after seeing her friend get radicalized by supposed far-right, white extremist internet groups despite being a very progressive liberal at some point in her life. Jeff takes her under his wing (So much so that he has her wearing incredibly revealing dresses whenever she comes over to his apartment to give the impression they are on a date to his neighbors!). He is a Wall Street Journal reporter that covers the political landscape and believes current day factors have contributed to the rise of constant negativity on Facebook. Oh, and Mark Zuckerberg is in here too (played by the shockingly flat Jeremy Strong) because he attended a senate hearing about fake news and misinformation constantly being spread on Facebook after a certain controversial election, which the meeting also happens to take place on the exact same day as a certain controversial event that took place in our nation’s capital.
The underlining problem here is that the journey to discovering the extremely flawed algorithms of Facebook is not particularly interesting. I don’t really care how Facebook was operated to be the negative cesspool that is now, I’m only interested in seeing the consequences of it from it’s daily users and how it has affected them mentally. The handful scenes we do get of seeing the folks affected by Facebook and the desire for more internet restrictions plays out like comically over-the-top Saturday Night Live sketches and the cinematic equivalent of Boomer parents demanding for the internet to be banned because they can’t do their damn jobs themselves of keeping their kids off of it. Yes, it’s sad that kids get bullied on a daily basis on the internet, maybe the parents should supervise them to keep them away from any kind of cyberbullying.
The whole experience comes crashing down in the final act of the film, where we see the full events of January 6th, 2021 unfold (Yeah, spoiler alert but it’s already been revealed that the film contains it!). Even if you take away the fact that the film commits the cardinal sin of inserting it’s own OC to tie into this horrific day for no reason or how the whole sequence of events is shot like a Sydney Sweeney sports gambling commercial, the film seems to be under the impression that the results of January 6th is in large part because Zuckerberg couldn’t be bothered to censor or fact-check Facebook “enough”. It’s not the algorithms or plain extremism of political ideology that caused these events to happen, it’s because Facebook was allowing too much free speech on it’s platform and the government should have more eyes and ears about what is said on the internet. Aaron, you do know that protests and riots have occurred BEFORE the rise of the internet, right?!?! I get you don’t like Mark (I don’t either!) but come on!
This is suppose to act as the major culmination of the film but it comes off more as Sorkin spinning his narrative wheels all willy nilly, perfectly displaying how this time period of fake news and misinformation is still going on with no end in sight and no solution to present. It’s even more laughable by the time the credits roll and we get notified of the events that transpired after January 6th, only to be reminded that no lessons were learned at all, little to no consequences of Facebook and the rioters occurred, and we are still living through the aftermath of that event five years later. It makes you wonder why Sorkin even bothered to make the film at all if the main points that are brought up constantly throughout the film ends up contradicting itself by the end.
It’s not a totally unwatchable experience. Much like prior written and directed Sorkin films, it does move along at a nice, breezy pace and contains enough zingers that has become a staple of his filmography that helps carry the entire picture. Despite the film constantly jumping from multiple different timeframes throughout, I never felt lost or confused, largely because there is always a reminder after each scene as to what year each new scene takes place, which surprisingly flows much better than you would think.
Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White do good work here, having the most engaging banter and material throughout the film. It doesn’t play into traditional couple dynamics or even working relationship tropes but just two determined individuals trying to bring something into light that could cause them both deeply. Bill Burr stands out greatly as Charlie Garrigan, a former Facebook investor and member of Zuckerberg’s legal counsel, even if a majority of the scenes is largely takes place in that exact senate hearing, with the same tiresome “fact check” sequences with Zuckerberg that only work because Burr is so believable in everything he’s in.
Speaking of which, Jeremy Strong does not work as Mark Zuckerberg whatsoever. Removed from the charming sociopath nature that Jessie Eisenberg brought in The Social Network, Strong ends up playing Zuckerberg as the most straightforward tech bro figure you could possibly imagine, with nothing standing out from your usual straightforward tech bro figure. This may not be entirely Strong’s fault as Sorkin was clearly NOT expecting Eisenberg to step down from his game changing role as the world’s three or fourth most infamous billionaire but he doesn’t do himself any wonders here.
The Social Reckoning is certainly a film to admire on the surface, having the balls to address a major cancer that has polluted internet and political discourse throughout the past decade plus is a genius one. But none of the material is put to good use, with it falling into the same trappings that prior directed Sorkin films does (The score by Alexandre Desplat is disturbingly flat btw!) and no unique perspective to fall back on here that makes it worth backing despite it’s subject matter. Much like with Digger, I might agree with what the film has to say but that doesn’t mean I have to like the film because of it.
I suppose if you just want a film that will make you angry at tech bro billionaires for two hours and have you leaving the theater raising your fists, there are certainly worse alternatives than The Social Reckoning. But considering we got a Elon Musk documentary in theaters now and Artificial on it’s way to theaters in a couple of months to give you that exact fall, you might just want to log out for this one.
And NO, I am NOT watching that four-hour long Elon Musk documentary! I have more important things in life to spend four hours of my life on!
Alejandro González Iñárritu and Tom Cruise’s newest film, Digger is now out in theaters…..and playing in completely empty screenings. While I highly doubt anyone thought this would do Spider-Man: Brand New Day numbers, Digger is bombing at the box office in ways that very few films ever has before. With a budget that’s somewhere between $125 to $180 million dollars to a market campaign that did everything except explain what the actual plot of the film was, this is looking to be one of the biggest financial bombs in recent history, only grossing $8 million domestically and $20 million overall in it’s opening weekend. Considering all the other films that have crashed and burn since the 2020s have come around, Digger being among the worst of the worst is saying a LOT!
After seeing the film, it’s easy to see why this has not attract an audience whatsoever. It’s just really, REALLY bad! It’s certainly bad in a FASCINATING way and a bad film in a way that only an unconventional director like Alejandro González Iñárritu could possibly make, but it’s still bad all the same. Similar to what I say about Joker: Folie à Deux just two years ago, I can’t help but feel like this will be among the last “special” bad films we are ever going to get anytime soon. Not only because of how much money has been thrown at this with little to no satisfying box office results and it’s rather divisive critical reception but because of the massive black whale that is Paramount Skydance about to swallow up Warner Bros Discovery.
In case you haven’t heard, Paramount Skydance have been giving the full greenlight to purchase Warner Bros Discovery, anti-trust lawsuits and monopoly laws be damned! It’s believe that after tomorrow October 6th, the merger will be 100% completed and the faith of Warner Bros Discovery will be in the hands of CEO David Ellison, A.K.A. the father of Larry Ellison, A.K.A. the head of Oracle and the SECOND richest man in the world! Now strictly known as Skydance, Ellison is looking to use his recent purchases of Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros Discovery to conquer the movie industry and define how big films will be featured for the foreseeable future in Hollywood!
What once was the peak, is now just the beginning.
Paramount and Warner Bros. shaped over a century of culture. By combining them, we aren't rewriting history — we're equipping these iconic studios with a more powerful engine. Together, we are Skydance: a creative-first home for… pic.twitter.com/uInLRY3IrE
I can go into a million different reasons why this is horrifying beyond measures but put it simply, if you didn’t like it when Disney bought 21st Century Fox back in 2017, well you are almost certainly not gonna like a buyout that is basically the STEROIDS equivalent of that! While Ellison has constantly promised that the combination of Skydance, Paramount, and Warner Bros will help release up to 30 films a year, there is absolutely no guarantee of that happening giving the insane amount of debt that will be attached to the studio come Tuesday morning. And if we are going by the track record of 21st Century Studios since Disney bought them and David Ellison’s Hollywood resume as whole, that will mean far more focus on brand recognition and IP and far less on actual original projects like Digger!
And even though Digger is technically awful, it’s the kind of awful that only happens when a director with a complete vision helms the project without the higher ups at the studio weighing it down. It’s the kind of awful film that almost warrants seeing just to be a part of the conversation and NOT something that isn’t worth paying attention to because it’s the same old corporate slop that Hollywood has been serving for a long time. And best of all, it’s the kind of awful film that a studio head like Ellison wouldn’t greenlight in a million years because it’s ultimately a critique of people like him and why the world is in the dark, cynical place that’s it in right now due to people like him.
To further explain what I’m talking about, it’s time to go into full spoiler territory for Digger! If you haven’t seen the film and/or don’t want any spoilers, you might want to stop now and click off the article! You have been warned!
If anyone was wondering why the trailers didn’t show jacks**t about this entire film other than how Tom Cruise has been Hollywood Jesus for the past 40 years, that’s because in doing so would give away the big spoiler reveal/plot twist that is revealed after the initial reel. That twist being that none of the events happening in the movie is real!
Tom Cruise is NOT the actual titled character of Digger but just an actor named Curtis Markson playing the role of Digger Rockwell, a wealthy oil tycoon whose company causes a potential world-ending disaster in Greenland. The events that is shown throughout the entire film aren’t actually events that’s happening in real life but from a staged play titled Fossil Fools, a satirical Climate Change play about an event that played out that sunk the whole world to a complete and utter abyss and the incompetent clowns that were largely responsible for that. This is all taken place in a dystopian future where global disasters have already happened and AI and government officials have 100% taken over our lives as a result of it!
So, yeah! I think you can understand why they couldn’t show anything in the trailers. Not only because this would’ve given away what the film is actually about in ways that are beyond unsatisfying but this would’ve been the quickest way to turn any sane individual off from spending 15 to 20 dollars on a movie ticket to see in theaters. This ain’t a story where Tom Cruise gets to be Tom Cruise and dig his way through the whole mess that he caused, it’s a story where Tom Cruise imagines a “What If?” of an already happened scenario of him doing just that. (As a matter of fact, I don’t even think we get a single shot of the movie with Digger with an actual shovel outside of when he is in his pajamas!) This ain’t a film where a film where Alejandro González Iñárritu wants to use a black comedy satire to go into the ins and outs about global warming and climate change but wants to use a black comedy satire OF a black comedy satire that goes into the ins and outs about global warming and climate change.
The oddest part of all of this is the way the film continues to just trot along after revealing the big blockbuster after the first half hour of the film. It goes back and forth of Curtis doing rehearsals of Fossil Fools with Cruise doing his awkward accent that you’ve seen in the trailers and Curtis offstage drama with his wife and daughter, with Cruise going back to his normal voice. Even though the cat is out of the bag and the big magic bunny has already been pulled out of the hat, the film kinda acts like it never did that and still continues along with it’s full satire play is being played completely straight, with moments where it feels like Iñárritu has to come on camera and explain the themes of the movie, as if he doesn’t think his audience is smart enough to get it. It’s like Iñárritu watched Vice and Don’t Look Up on loop and thought, “Hold my beer!”
The closest thing we get to a real conflict with our main character Curtis is when we get updates of what’s going on with his daughter, whose plane she’s on disappeared on a radar because of a hurricane that transpires throughout the course of the film. And even then, that gets responded with a complete whole, “OH, SHE’S OKAY NOW, I GUESS!” and that’s it. You don’t even get to see Curtis reuniting with his daughter in person or even on the phone, we’re just told she’s okay at the end and because of that, everything is fine and daddy now…..until we are reveal in the last frame and in the credits that it’s totally not.
On one hand, it is admirable for Alejandro González Iñárritu to make a film that refuses to play by the rules and will almost certainly cause review bombings based on the kind of satire and individuals it is mocking. However, he still forgot to make an engaging film in it’s own right and one that works regardless if you look at it as a self-parody, political commentary, or just a good old piece of art in general. Once you known the big reveal of Digger and the point that Iñárritu is trying to get across, the rest of the film just feels…….pointless. When you nothing that is happening on screen is real and the only engaging conflict is resolved off screen, what exactly is there to invest in here other than Tom Cruise trying to become the first actor in history to win an Oscar AND a Razzie at the exact same time?!
Even if you buy into the factor about the movie being about how sometimes we need a comedic distraction to take our mind off of what’s happening in our world today, I don’t think it’s best to get that message across with a play that is about a big global disaster that occurs and the men that are directly responsible for it. Yes, it’s funny to watch great actors give comedically over-the-top bad performances to get the point across but it’s not so much laughing through tears of laughter but laughing because crying would hurt too much. But at least we get to laugh at all….I guess.
Yet again, I can’t help but feel like I’m gonna be nostalgic when these special kind of bad films don’t get made anymore from Warner Bros, or strictly now known as Skydance. Even taken away Ellison’s personal politics, a spectacular bomb such as Digger will only scare away studios from trying a failed experiment like this again and only resort to making your Days of Thunder 2 and Gremlins 2 for the foreseeable future. And unfortunately, you won’t always be able to count on YouTube filmmakers to pop out Iron Lung, Obsession, and Backrooms to say the day for originality in filmmaking.
With more and more mergers coming into fruition, more independent films such as Digger will become rarer and rarer! After acquisitions such as Disney buying Fox and Skydance buying Paramount and Warner Bros, it’s clear that studios are going to put the majority of their focus on pumping out big blockbusters films and less on smaller and more independent films. There will always be one or two of them that will be able to squeeze through the system (We did get Send Help from 21st Century Studios this year after all!) but for the most part, you are likely to get more Minecraft movies than you would films like Sinners and One Battle After Another. Holes will need to be filled to plug in that gape for fresh and original films to still be able to shine, providing that variety of selected films made for theaters that major studios aren’t bothering to invest in anymore. While I’m sure current independent film studios like A24 and Focus Feature will still keep that bright light glowing, I would not expect a massive studio like Skydance to focus on that anytime soon, especially with the insane amount of debt they will be in.
If Digger really does act as the final film to ever get the full Warner Bros logo and the last hoorah from prior WB co-chair heads Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca (who were responsible for the terrific 2025 for WB but a terrible 2026 so far), then at least it would be a fitting it to a legendary run from one of the greatest film studios in the history of cinema! Not because it’s a good movie but it’s probably the last good bad movie we will ever get from them. At least David Zaslav gets his half billion dollar retirement!
This weekend saw the re-release of Avengers: Endgame, or as it’s referred to in the marketing as Avengers Endgame- Encore. For the first time since 2019, Marvel’s biggest cinematic achievement returned to the big screens, not only for the sole purpose of FINALLY retaking it’s crown from James Cameron for the highest grossing film of all time but also to get fans and audiences ready for Avengers: Doomsday, which is schedule to be released on December 18th later this year. While it’s largely the same film that you remember from seven years ago, there have been a few extra scenes added in for the sole purpose of adding some form of connective tissue between Endgame and Doomsday that recent Marvel films couldn’t because well…….Kevin Feige had to abandon his plans for Kang as the main bad guy and pay RDJ extra bucks to come back as Iron Ma…..I mean Doctor Doom. Marvel Studios are treating this as a trip back in time to the good old days while the Russo Brothers have treated this as required viewing before Doomsday.
For those that don’t have the money or time to go a watch a three-hour long movie you already saw in theaters back in 2019, you might be wondering what exactly is in this Encore version that makes it so urgent to watch before Doomsday? What could possibly the Russo Brothers had possibly added to this version that makes it worth spending 15-20 bucks for a ticket to go see in a movie theater once again? Well, not a whole lot but there are at least four new narrative scenes that were included, plus a promised custom intro.
Encore’s four new scenes includes three new post credit scenes that sets up Dr. Doom AND the current status of the multiverse and a slight tweak to the ending of the film that connects Steve Rogers involvement for Doomsday. So, no this is NOT an extended version releasing in theaters like say Spider-Man: No Way Home had back in 2022 but it’s basically just the exact same movie as the original Avengers: Endgame but a slight rewrite to the original ending along with two new mid credit scenes AND one end credit scene. Because of that, I’ll go over into detail what exactly these four new added scenes are and what I believe it means for the future.
1.) The New Ending
Remember that heartwarming dance sequence that Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter shared at the end of Avengers: Endgame? That ending that saw Cap going back in time and FINALLY given his best girl the dance that she has wanted since The First Avenger. With Steve at peace with himself and getting to spend his new life with the woman he loves the most and then it cuts to credits. Well, this new ending sees a man knocking on the door at Steve and Peggy’s house during their dance, with the man wanting to see Steve Rogers. That man is no other than……Loki!
That’s right! The same Loki that we followed in his own Disney Plus series arrives at Steve’s house. Steve hides at first with Peggy opening the door. Loki asks Peggy if Steve is there. Peggy asks Loki, if she can help him with anything, with Loki replying that it’s HE that can help THEM! Steve steps into view and it cuts to credits.
It’s to anyone’s guess what this will lead to but it makes it all the more apparent that Steve’s journey in the MCU is not done yet. Could this be Steve finally facing the consequences of his actions of staying back in time after Endgame, which lead to the multiverse being out of whack and now having to face Doom head on as a result? Who knows, but hey, it’s a new ending that leaves the door open for what Steve’s role in Doomsday could possibly be.
2.) Mid Credit Scene #1
This one is actually not strictly a mid-credit scene for Avengers: Endgame but more so for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Hear we see Bruce Banner regaining his own self after losing himself as Hulk once again by Jean Grey in Brand New Day. Now, he’s isolated in a deep underground facility, recording a video diary as he works on a certain experiment. After the events of Brand New Day, Bruce has been working on a gamma-suppression serum, most likely to gain the same control as Hulk he did before and to avoid another incident like he just had from happening ever again. However, the feed glitches, with a weird mix of glowing and green runes in the background.
Bruce is confronted by a man. That man being Doctor Doom. Once Doom arrives at the facility, he tells Bruce, “I’m here to collect you!” Banner turns into Hulk and lets out a roar! Once the picture returns to a full screen, both are gone; with Doom’s fingerprints all over the floor at the facility.
Despite the reports that Bruce Banner would NOT have a big role in Doomsday, this mid credits scene confirms that might indeed be false. Whether this is a set up for Doomsday or for next year’s Secret Wars remains to be seen but it all but confirms that both Bruce Banner AND Hulk WILL return in the future! Well, at least we know Mark Ruffalo hasn’t been totally blacklisted from Hollywood…..yet!
3.) Mid Credit Scene #2
This one sees a connection back to the Loki series, which the first season aired in 2021 and the second/final season aired in 2023. We see the characters from Loki that include Mobius, O.B. (Ouroboros), Casey, and Miss Minutes at the TVA. There’s a sign that calls Loki, the “Employee of all time.” (Gen Z memes, am I right?!?!) They watch an incursion happen right before their very eyes: Earth-10005 (the Fox X-Men Universe) and Earth-1127 (Anyone’s guess?) colliding and firing on each other. They also see more worlds piling into each other and thousands of universes being terminated. As O.B. says, “The multiverse is collapsing!”
I can make a quip about how this might be a metaphor for the multiverse saga itself collapsing under it’s own weight for Marvel Studios , so much so that they now need the beloved heroes from the past to come back and save them. Besides that, this is clearly an insight as to what’s going on now with the multiverse itself within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, that it’s fallen apart and the TVA doesn’t know how to stop it. I sure hope to god this will be made much clearer in the finished film because man, anyone that did NOT watch Loki before seeing Doomsday are going to be COMPLETELY lost.
4.) End Credit Scene
At the very end of the re-release, we see one last tease for Doomsday. It’s at the very end of the credits where the original Iron Man cave-hammer sound-only sting gets replaced. Taking it’s place are quick flashes of Doctor Doom forging and putting on a mask, similar to Tony Stark putting on his Iron Man mask, with the same metal-striking audio playing in the back ground. As RDJ explained during his Doom reveal at Comic Con, new mask, same task….kinda!
I don’t know what this is suppose to add other than including one last little feature for the very end for the heck of it and hint at a potential parallel between Tony Stark and Victor Von Doom for Doomsday but it’s there anyway!
Well, there you have it! Those are the four new added scenes to Avengers: Endgame- Encore. Whether re-releasing the same 2019 film but including an extra two minutes was necessary is up to debate, but when watching it again in theaters, I was thoroughly impressed how swiftly Marvel was able to stick the landing for the Infinity Saga. Coming off in the same year which Game of Thornes and Star Wars badly butchered their endings to their respective series, the fact the Russo Brothers were able to make it all look too easily is extremely commendable. Now, let’s see if they make lightning strike at least two more times now!
Avengers: Endgame- Encore is now out in theaters for Standard, IMAX, and Infinity Vision.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Disney scrapped a Pixar film that had been in development for three years known as Be Fri, a film about two teenage girls whose friendship was on life support and wondering if it could possibly stand the test of time. It was confirmed that the project got canned because the higher-ups of Mickey Mouse felt a female-centered animated film like that wouldn’t appeal to younger boys. Whether or not you believe that was the main reason for that film being axed (considering the amount of female-led content Disney has produced the last few years, I’m gonna go with an absolute NO!), it’s quite fascinating that DreamWorks Animation’s newest release seems to act as the perfect antidote for those that were underwhelmed of Be Fri never seeing the light of day.
Much like the non-existent Pixar film, it’s main premise too surrounds the relationship surrounding two teenage girls whose friendship is put to the test and wondering if it can stand the test of time. Only it’s main setting is on a mysterious and whimsical island! Oh, and these are Filipino girls! Oh, and it’s also directed by the same guys that gave us Puss In Boots: The Last Wish nearly four years ago! All of those ingredients make this film seem like a match made in heaven and I’m happy to reported that it’s exactly that!
Forgotten Island not only makes for another fine animated adventure from DreamWorks Animation but it’s the best animated film of the year so far! This is a beautiful, funny, and emotionally moving film about two young girls learning the importance of friendship and knowing when to let each other go. The hyper style animation that worked tremendous well with The Last Wish works just as well here, the best friend dynamic between the two leads is incredibly engaging, the male driven side characters are giving enough moments and laughs without overstaying their welcome, and the Filipino cultural representation is absolutely off the charts, being able to capture that same lightning in a bottle with representation that Disney used to be able to do in their SLEEP! It does take a minute to get fully going and the 90s references and comedic male sidekicks won’t be for everybody, but Forgotten Island is the real deal and I highly recommend it!
Premise: Best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) stumble upon a mysterious portal that transports them to Nakali, a fantastical island that’s filled with magical creatures. When they discover that the memories of their entire friendship are the price for returning home, they try to find a way to leave the island before they forget each other forever.
Admittedly, for the first third of the film, Forgotten Island plays out exactly like the film that the trailer depicted it as, a kid friendly mix of The Hangover and After Hours, with 90s references and pretty visuals flying off the screen willy nilly and using it’s cultural representation as a shield to deflect any kind of mainstream criticism. Yes, the grade/high school friendship setup is cute enough but it can only go so far if it all it has to offer is the absolute bare minimum of decent at best chemistry between the two leads. However, once we see Jo and Raissa enter the unknown island that they’ve heard so much stories off, the picture becomes much more than meets the eye (and I am absolutely NOT making that reference based off another recent animated film that too was hurt by weak trailers and marketing!).
It’s then we see Forgotten Island using it’s own original premise based off to it’s finest advantage. Despite offering plenty of the same slapstick, laughs, and eye popping imagery that the initial reel does, there is still a solid central story here to connect with, with two girls using the memories of their distinct friendship and time together to navigating their way through a mysterious island, with the wonder of how long can their friendship last on the island and off of it once Raissa leaves for college. An island which it’s own gimmick is making you forget of all the time you have spent with the ones you love both on and off the island. While there’s a certain uncanny valley vibe here that directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado brought with their previous film, The Last Wish, with themes surrounding time and not throwing your lives away, Forgotten Island does exist in it’s own bubble with it’s main characters making actions not strictly through their own sense of selfishness like Puss in Boots does in The Last Wish but also through their own sense of selflessness. That throughline is what makes this newest DreamWorks animated classic the real masterstroke, making for about as good of a spiritual successor to The Last Wish as anyone could hope for.
Once we get to the forgotten island, we are greeted to several male sidekicks and some other female additions to the cast. These are all individuals of the island that Jo and Raissa have interacted with before but can’t remember when. Without going too much into details with each character, they all serve their purpose here without having roles come across as too small or too large. I can’t guarantee you will laugh at every joke that comes from Dave Franco’s mouth as Raww or won’t see the true motives coming with Jenny Slate’s Batiba but that make enough of a unique presence that only adds to the friendship of our two main leads rather than take away from them. Don’t be surprise if you see Raww added in to the next brand new DreamWorks Animation logo.
The film is able to finish off on a strong note, with a third act that is both equally parts funny and tearjerkingly moving (Did I REALLY get misty-eyed during the climax?!). It’s able to tie up it’s messages and central arcs for it’s two main characters in a way that resolves everything in a satisfying bow that never feels manipulative, contradicts the themes of the story, or even breaks it’s own rules of the forgotten island. It even manages takes perhaps the most infamous end of second act/beginning of third act trope that has become a staple with animated films and actually manages to make it work in a way that I haven’t seen done properly since Wreck-It Ralph. Despite all the laughs, gags, and jaw dropping animation to be found here, it never loses it’s heart and soul and the third act proves it.
The animation is as ever bit of gorgeous as you would expect for a brand new 3D animation film released in 2026! The visuals are eye popping and blend perfectly with the colorful art style that the film presents itself with. And much like the other hyper stylized 3D animated films we have gotten in recent memory, it’s able to use it’s animation to create genuine unique set pieces and imagery that you could possibly never do in live-action. Even if you are someone that is getting sick and tired of the Spider-Verse-like animation style, you can’t deny that filmmakers are doing everything to do their advantages to make animation stand out among the best mediums in film.
The directing by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado is excellent, it moves at a brisk and fast pace that makes every use it can of it’s 109 minute long runtime, it’s constantly funny throughout with plenty of amusing and creative gags throughout, the voice acting is on point, with H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, and Manny Jacintno standing out the best, and it’s Filipino representation is incredibly refreshing for a mainstream animated film, with plenty of love and care put into every single frame here. Also, having an end credits that shows off the photos of the cast and crew with their friends and families is genuinely heartwarming stuff.
I wouldn’t put Forgotten Island on the same level as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish as it does have some imperfections that weight it down a bit. It takes a second to kick into high gear, with the first reel containing all the tropes you expected with the trailer and a slightly rushed montage of Jo and Raissa’s friendship, the humor among the side characters won’t be to everyone’s tastes, and while it’s cool that the film is set in the 90s, I’m not entirely sure what difference it would make if you just set in modern day other than being free to include as many 90s references as possible and….the 1990s were cool I guess.
Forgotten Island makes for another home run to go with the other home runs that DreamWorks Animations has hit throughout the 2020s. Between the excellent The Bad Guys, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, The Wild Robot, and this to the very good/great Dog Man and The Bad Guys 2, it might be time to start declaring DreamWorks as perhaps the best western animation studio at the moment. Regardless of your opinions on Megamind 2, Kung Fu Panda 4, or the other sequels from their lesser known franchises that no one remembers, there’s not enough animation studio out there that makes hits click as well as they did, making any recent shortcomings seem forgivable in the long run. Now please DreamWorks, just nail it with Shrek 5 next year and I no longer have to keep defending you!
Regardless, Forgotten Island is the best animated film of 2026 thus far and deserves your money and support in theaters!
