Month: September 2023

Not even one day after the good news came out that the writers’ strike was over that there couldn’t be some peace when it comes to discourse surrounding Hollywood. Even if that discourse is very dumb, blown out of proportion, and should have been made no big deal of whatsoever. However, since we know live in an age where social media is filled with nothing but clickbait quotes from articles solely design to trigger people who never even bother reading articles themselves, that just can’t happen. The case this time is with the discourse surrounding the thoughts from legendary director Martin Scorsese about the state of Hollywood blockbusters, most notably films based off of superheroes and comic books.

Back in 2019, during his press tour for his latest film The Irishman, Scorsese went into length about his thoughts surrounding Marvel movies and basically comic book movies in general. During an interview with Empire magazine, he compared films from the MCU to that of theme park rides with claims that’s not what he views as true cinema. If you want to see his full quote, here’s a pic of it right below!

Those comments were, of course, a cause of massive debate among fans and haters of Marvel and superhero movies along with sparking backlash from Marvel creatives and executives. When responding to that about a month later, Scorsese had this to say.

“I was asked a question about Marvel movies. I answered it. I said that I’ve tried to watch a few of them and that they’re not for me, that they seem to me to be closer to theme parks than they are to movies as I’ve known and loved them throughout my life, and that in the end, I don’t think they’re cinema. Some people seem to have seized on the last part of my answer as insulting, or as evidence of hatred for Marvel on my part. If anyone is intent on characterizing my words in that light, there’s nothing I can do to stand in the way.

“Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures. What’s not there is revelation, mystery or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk. The pictures are made to satisfy a specific set of demands, and they are designed as variations on a finite number of themes.”

To put it simply! The man tried giving Marvel movies a chance, they didn’t work for them, and it’s not what he would describe as being cinema in his book. That’s basically it! He didn’t call out on any particular Marvel film or director or actor or whoever. He was just asked about someone of his overall opinions of these subgenre of films and he gave that person his answer. With the way certain folks blew his quotes out of proportions, you would think he went on Twitter and sent hate tweets to James Gunn or something to tell him how he ruined cinema!

And here we are again about four years later! As Scorsese approaches the release of his next feature film, Killer of the Flower Moon, the can of worms have opened once again. In an interview with GQ, he went in great discussions of what basically remains the final chapter of his life as a filmmaker, where he claims he now has to figure out who the hell he is. However, there is a part where he was asked about the current state of blockbusters. He responded by claiming that their omnipresence could be negative to audiences who aren’t well-versed in other types of film.

“The danger there is what it’s doing to our culture,” he said. “Because there are going to be generations now that think movies are only those — that’s what movies are.”

“They already think that,” he said. “Which means that we have to then fight back stronger. And it’s got to come from the grassroots level. It’s gotta come from the filmmakers themselves. And you’ll have, you know, the Safdie brothers, and you’ll have Chris Nolan, you know what I mean? And hit ’em from all sides. Hit ’em from all sides, and don’t give up. Let’s see what you got. Go out there and do it. Go reinvent. Don’t complain about it. But it’s true, because we’ve got to save cinema.”

The director also spoke about the streaming-era definition of content, as opposed to actual cinema.

“I do think that the manufactured content isn’t really cinema,” he said, adding, “It’s almost like AI making a film. And that doesn’t mean that you don’t have incredible directors and special effects people doing beautiful artwork. But what does it mean? What do these films, what will it give you? Aside from a kind of consummation of something and then eliminating it from your mind, your whole body, you know? So what is it giving you?”

Once again, it’s Scorsese voicing his displeasure of the current state of cinema and believe it’s up to the most well-known directors out there such as Christopher Nolan to provide quality entertainment that could be described as his true version of cinema. So, what exactly is the outrage this time over Scorsese’s comments on superhero films? Well, that’s because, for whatever reason, Variety posted in the title of Scorsese’s quote from the interview, it stated that he was calling for directors to fight back against “comic book movie culture”. Despite not once mentioning a comic book movie this time and focusing strictly on modern blockbusters in general, Variety felt the need to throw that word in there just because.

Never mind the fact that there was NOTHING in his quotes that took another shot at superhero films. Never mind the fact that this interview was strictly about Martin’s final chapter of his career as a filmmaker and how he plans to end it before he dies. Never mind the fact that all the man wants is quality entertainment for everyone. All of that has gotten pushed to the side because of yet another quote from the man that was not only taken out of context but flat out MISLEADING!

This, right here, ladies and gentlemen is EVERYTHING that is wrong with modern journalism. These are the kind of pieces that are written not to give a good inside into the mind of one of the most successful filmmakers currently working today but more just to take out of context quotes and use them as clickbait. Just using the most controversial quotes that they can use just to get enough people to click on the article and hope enough people turn off ad blocks to drive up the revenue. It’s no longer about honesty, it’s entirely agenda based.

Even if Scorsese really have as much scorn for superhero flicks as the media is trying to claim he does, who cares? Why in the world would a man who is now 80 years old be salivating over comic book heroes like Iron Man and Ant-Man when he has plenty of other things on his mind at his old age? I’m sure he would rather focus on the kind of films that he loves rather than what this current generation of millennials look forward to at the theaters. Heck, I’m willing to bet he didn’t give his quotes a second thought until everyone on the internet responded to it. I’m sure the man would just rather move on and focus on things he loves rather than things he doesn’t care for.

Not to mention, the man is just responding to questions that INTERVIEWERS ARE ASKING HIM! It’s not like he’s going on Twitter to voice his displeasure for superhero films or whatever. He’s just giving a response to those that keep asking him about that. If you have a problem with that, then maybe go after the interviewers that keep asking him these dumb questions instead of going after the guy that is just giving the answers that the interviewers are asking for. Keep that in mind, next time!

I love Martin Scorsese and I love Marvel movies but this discourse has gotten completely tiresome the moment it began in 2019! Scorsese is just not the guy I see getting into these kind of films because there’s nothing in his filmography that would indicate that. But, that’s okay! At the end of the day, opinions are like a-holes, everybody has one! I wish more people would consider that thought!

Here’s some links of articles that goes further into this discourse:

• https://variety.com/2019/film/news/martin-scorsese-marvel-theme-parks-1203360075/

• https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-11-05/martin-scorsese-marvel

• https://www.gq.com/story/martin-scorsese-profile

• https://variety.com/2023/film/news/martin-scorsese-christopher-nolan-comic-book-movies-1235734126/

After approaching five antagonizing months since the strike began between the Writer’s Guild of America and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, both sides are finally looking to end it at long last. It was reported yesterday that both sides had reached an agreement with one another, which might finally put to rest the strike that has gone on for 146 days and counting. This deal still needs to be approved by the WGAW Board and WGAE Council before it becomes 100% official. However, since I highly doubt anyone from either side wants to keep this dragging for much longer, I would be surprised if it gets denied. Even if we manage to live in the timeline that this deal is disapproved by the very higher ups, it’s at least a good sign that both sides seem to be on the same page for once.

As we await to see the response from the Board and Council, the attention should now be turned to other matters with groups in entertainment that still needs to be resolved. While it’s great that this current strike with the writers might come to an end, it’s only the beginning.

Of course, there is also the strike that’s also still happening with SAG-AFTRA, (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists). You also have the inevitable strikes that is likely to occur once the time comes with animators and the video game industry. And even if it doesn’t relate to anyone of these companies mentioning, we also need to direct our attention to VFX artists from Marvel and Disney that is looking to go on strike as well. All the end of the writer’s strike has indicated that it was just one battle won during a war that is far from over.

The next likely step is to end the strike with the SAG-AFTRA since that is still currently happening as we speak. And considering the holiday season is just around the corner with the last remaining big movies of the year such as The Marvels, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Wish, and Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom, it would be best to have the actors available to promote those films which would help greatly with the marketing campaign for these films. And of course, it would be nice to end this as soon as possible so the actors can actually be allowed to film their movies and television series and prevent any further delays on them, which is likely going to come no matter what. Even when that gets resolved, there will be still other things to focus on.

There is also the possibility of a strike with the video game industry, most notably with actors attached to gaming franchises that are a part of the SAG-AFTRA. The last strike with gaming companies occurred in 2016 to 2017, lasting 183 days! The guild’s national board had voted unanimously to send a strike authorization vote to members in preparation of its upcoming bargaining dates with 10 signatory video game companies. Voting started on September 5 and is suppose to end today on September 25. If it’s to be believed, then another strike will likely occur just seven years since the last one in the video game industry.

It should be worth mentioning that this will not affect ALL gaming companies out there but at least 10 major companies. These companies include Activision, Blindlight, Disney Character voices, EA, Epic Games, Formosa, Insomniac Games, Take 2, VoiceWorks, and WB Games. While not ever notable game company is listed, there is not doubt that video games will take a hit for a while just like films and tv shows will in the upcoming future if a strike is commenced.

You also got eyes that should be looked upon the animation industry. With their deal with the higher ups set to expire next year, don’t be surprised to start hearing whispers about animators going on strike. We’ve already had a discussion over the Across the Spider-Verse fiasco but that’s literally only one film that was REPORTED to have such dire circumstances for animators. I’m willing to be once a strike with the animation industry is likely to occur, you will be constant reports of other big animated films having very troubled productions to animators that were involved. Sure, there were certain animated films that was reported to have a smooth production like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem but not every film has a open-minded caring producer like Seth Rogen. If this happens, this could possibly be an even bigger strike than the one with Disney that occurred in 1941.

Lastly, it is worth bringing up the union strike that is going on with VFX artists between Disney and Marvel. This is not necessarily one that is under control from the likes of WGA, SAG-AFTRA, or AMPTP but it is one worth addressing. With the reports of crunch culture growing rapidly throughout the entertainment industry, there is likely not one group that has fallen victim of that than with VFX artists. I’ve already worth a piece on this last month so I won’t go too much in depth with this but I bring this up because it’s worth bringing up. It’s been reported that Marvel and Disney workers have unanimously voted to unionize with IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) in the hopes of creating a healthier work environment, fair pay, and a proper work-life balance. If this move is successful, let this be a learn to other studios out there to treat their VFX artists with respect and remember that they are all human beings who need time to themselves.

As you can probably see by now, there’s still plenty of problems that needs fixing in Hollywood. Even if they were able to have one matter solved, there’s still many more to be solved for the foreseeable future. With all the current movements that’s going on right now, this looks to be the turning point for filmmaking in Hollywood. A time where they will come to realize that the likes of A.I. are NOT the answer to everything and are only the answer to certain things. A time where they can no longer take the people who work on these successful films for granted. A time where they must change for the better or they will die worse as a result.

Nevertheless, the writer’s strike is likely over now and hopefully this is a sign of good things to come for entertainment as a whole!

Last week, on September 18th exactly, Adam Wainwright got his 200th career victory against the Milwaukee Brewers. Despite what has been an abysmal season for Waino and the Cardinals, he was able to pull the milestone that he had been struggling to get for the majority of the year, 200 career Ws on the back of his baseball card. He did that by having far in a way his best start of the year, pitching seven scoreless innings against the Brew Crew and only allowing four hits with two walks while striking out three. For what has been easily the worst possible swan song you could possible imagine, Adam Wainwright at least has the chance to literally end his career with one last great start before heading off into retirement.

It’s certainly no doubt that Adam Wainwright will go down as one of the best players and pitchers in Cardinals history. He ranks third of all time in wins as a Cardinal, he represents terrific class and leadership throughout his tenure, was part of easily the best pitcher-catcher combo ever with Yadier Molina, and was also responsible of leading St. Louis to a World Series title in 2006. With the exception of the deal with Lou Brock, the trade for Wainwright from his hometown in the Atlanta Braves would probably go down as perhaps the best trade in St. Louis Cardinals history. No doubt that the moment he become eligible, he will certainly being wearing that red jacket in Cooperstown in St. Louis. However, how about Cooperstown overall?

With the amount of pitchers that are discussed today to be almost certain Hall of Famers such as Clayton Kershaw, Max Scherzer, and Justin Verlander, how about Adam Wainwright? Plenty of folks would likely call blasphemy but there are actually a number of decent facts to support this argument. And these are also the kind of facts that we are likely not going to see for a very long time at least. With Adam Wainwright throwing perhaps his final game in his terrific career with the St. Louis Cardinals, now is the time to answer the question as to whether or not he deserves to be in the hall of fame? First, let’s take a trip down memory lane!

Back in 2000, Adam was picked by the Atlanta Braves and 29th overall in the first round of the MLB Draft. It was in December 2003 where Wainwright got traded to the Cardinals along with pitchers Jason Marquis and Ray King in exchange for veteran outfielder J.D. Drew and utility player Eli Marrero. It was then that Wainwright spent the next two years in the minor league with the Memphis Redbirds, attempted to build himself up as being a top starting pitcher in the Major Leagues for years to come. He’d make his major league debut in late 2005 and would work towards his first full season in 2006.

However, despite being a big pitching piece in 2006, Wainwright’s role wasn’t necessarily as a starter but as a reliever. Things got even more complicated and interesting for Wainwright when he found himself as a last minute closer at the tail end of 2006, with long-time Cardinal closer Jason Isringhausen undergoing season-ending hip surgery. With the Cardinals playoff hopes crumbling in the final week of September, on the verge of blowing an eight plus game lead in their division, Wainwright was able to save two crucial games on September 27th and 30th, which was able to hold off the second place Houston Astros and help the Cardinals secure the NL Central title for a second straight year and fifth of the last seven years. Despite having minimal experience in the closing role, Adam Wainwright was able to get the job done when it mattered the most in the playoffs. He would go on to get the final out in the NLDS against the Padres, the NLCS against the Mets (with the sickest curveball ever thrown), and the World Series against the Detroit Tigers to help the Cardinals land their 10th World Series championship in franchise history.

After 2006, it was then that Adam Wainwright moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation. His first ever career Major League start occurred on April 6th, 2007 against the Astros with Yadier Molina being the starting catcher. Wainwright would go seven innings and allow only run, enough to hand the Cardinals their first win of that season and the first win in Waino’s career as a starter. While 2007 would ultimately be a very down year for the Cardinals, with a poor 78-84 record, it help showcased that Adam Wainwright was an ace in the making for St. Louis.

Aside from 2011 where he would miss the whole season due to Tommy John Surgery (which the Cardinals would end up winning it all once again) along with missing the majority of 2015 and 2018 due to injuries, you’d be hard pressed to find a pitcher in St. Louis for the last two decades that was not named Chris Carpenter leave such a great lasting impact with the players and fans.

He had plenty of achievements throughout his career! 3x All-Star appearances, 2x Gold Gloves, 2x World Series champions, 2x NL Wins leader, finished in the top three CY Young votes four times, the Roberto Clemente Award and a Silver Slugger award! You can’t also forget being among the best in Cardinals history in wins, games, innings pitch, and strikeouts. With the exception of Lou Brock and possibly even Nolan Arenado, you would also be hard pressed to name a trade that has influenced the St. Louis Cardinals throughout their history this greatly.

Everything that I’ve mentioned thus far would at least be enough to consider a nomination to the Hall of Fame in the coming years but there are two main reasons why there could be a strong argument for Wainwright being a legit candidate in being a part of Cooperstown. These are two major accomplishments he achieved that may not be done for a long time and possibly ever. Those two being the most successful battery in major league history and possibly also being the last pitcher to ever achieve 200 wins!

The first point is most likely to never be replicated. It’s no secret that a key component to the success that Adam Wainwright has had in his career was his perfect chemistry with likely future hall of fame catcher Yadier Molina. Those who shared a dynamic duo that we will likely never see in baseball again. And that duo came into full fruition in 2022. On May 15th, the two made history by claiming their 203rd win together, becoming the most successful battery in MLB history. Later that season on September 14th, they set the ultimate MLB record by starting alongside one another for the 325th game, surpassing Mickey Lolich and Bill Freehan of the Tigers for the most starts by a battery in MLB history. With the way baseball is more scripted, analytic driven, and contract crazy, there’s no chance we will see a pairing like Waino and Yadi anytime soon.

The second point is that there could be a good chance that Adam Wainwright could potentially be the final pitcher to ever gain 200 wins in his big league career. Once again, we live in an age where analytics, numbers, and statistics are the main driving force in baseball. Because of that, pitchers are throwing harder than ever and don’t go deep into games as much anymore due to circumstances such as throwing too many pitches by the fifth inning or refusing to go third time through the lineup. Wainwright remains among the last remains of big game pitchers. The kind of pitcher that will gladly take the ball and goes as deep as they can without worrying about pitch count or innings limit. The kind of pitcher that’s basically the anti-Logan Gilbert. You have to search hard to find them nowadays, especially with young guys, but Adam Wainwright easily remained among the last few. And because of that, who knows the next person that will come along with 200 wins. Perhaps Gerrit Cole will have it within him for the next five years along with another name or two but even then, Adam Wainwright remains among the last of his kind in baseball. The kind of bulldog work horses that will commit to giving you as much innings as you need with no complaints whatsoever.

Of course, there are plenty of reasons to not include Wainwright in the Hall of Fame. He was never able to win a Cy Young Award, was far from the greatest K machine in the world, and had too many uneven years for the second half of his career to put him up there as the top-tier modern day pitchers in his prime, on par with the likes of Kershaw, Scherzer, and Verlander. Because of those reasons and more, there’s no chance Wainwright will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer and will take a longtime before he even becomes a consider candidate.

I don’t know how to answer the question of Adam Wainwright being deserving to be in Cooperstown that doesn’t come from a bias perspective. I’ve been a Cardinal fan almost my whole life and I’ve been watching Waino pitch since I was nine years old. I remember him coming up clutch to close out crucial games in the 2006 postseason to secure the team’s first World Series title in 24 years! I also remember him fitting comfortably into the starting rotation from day one and developing to being a terrific leader and dominant ace for many years to come! He’s been a face of the franchise for so long remains the last remaining member of the championship winning clubs of the 21st century for the Cardinals!

All of that and more will no doubt give Adam Wainwright the induction to the Cardinals Hall of Fame! When it comes to the actual Hall of Fame, that remains to be seen but I still think there should be some consideration when that time comes. Because, who knows when we will ever see history broken the way this man did throughout his career? Who knows when we will ever see another Adam Wainwright in baseball?

Regardless, thank you so much Waino for everything you have done in St. Louis for the past 18 years! I hope you have a wonderful retirement! You will always be a Cardinal and a hall of famer in my eyes!

It’s strange how much I talked down upon this movie despite never reviewing it. It was more of me going on about the amount of money that was spent on the picture even though there has been plenty of other recent animated films such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and TMNT: Mutant Mayhem that had less budgets but more creative and impressive animation with having a cast of much more recognizable celebrities. There was also the notion of Disney not putting as much effort on marketing their animated films as much as they used to since Bob Chapek too over, current strikes and Bob Iger stalling it not withstanding. However, all of that was mostly after the film was able to comeback with strong legs at the box office, so much to the point where it was able to make it’s money back completely according to Pixar themselves. Even so, I never did talk about the actual quality of the motion picture.

Although I did claim I didn’t think Elemental was among Pixar’s very best and would put it in the middle-of-the-pack of their filmography, I never thought it was bad. However, after watching it again on Disney Plus this week, I now find myself having to slightly reevaluate with as this film is much better than I originally gave it credit for. While I still don’t think Elemental is one of the very best Pixar films, it still is a damn good Pixar film and worthy of praise.

Premise: Set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic elements of nature, the story follows a tough, quick-witted fire element Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis), that also happens to have temper issues. She meets a sappy water element Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), after he is summoned by a plumbing accident at a convenience store owned by Ember’s father, Bernie (Del Carmen). As the two spend more time together, Ember comes to vision a life not just with Wade but outside of working at a convenience store. It’s then that she must choose between being with Wade and taking the first steps towards an uncharted but promising future as an intern or fulfill her father’s legacy by taking over the shop.

On the surface, Elemental seems to be the Pixar-equivalent of Zootopia. In the sense that it’s a film that covers important themes of race, migration, and inclusivity while taking a place in a world full of anthrophonic figures and not being afraid to deliver some of the most on-the-nose puns you would expect with it’s kind of premise. While I definitely got that impression with from an aesthetic, thematic, and world building standpoint, the story that Elemental sets to tell is one that feels more grounded and personal than that of Zootopia. Not only in the sense that it’s a love story that feels oddly refreshing or finding your place in the world, but it’s also about the amount of pressure of living up to someone’s expectations versus living up to your own expectations.

First off, I love the way the film portrays life as being a retail worker. It’s not always an easy job as many people claim it is. While it’s certainly good work experience that teaches great knowledge in accomplishing certain tasks and providing good costumer service, there will always be at least one incident that takes you out of it entirely. Regardless of how many people you service well, just dealing with one person that isn’t served well will have a dire impact on you. All it takes is dealing with one grouchy consumer or being overwhelmed with many different costumers at the same time that your temper takes over and gets the better of you. As someone that has previously worked at a similar retail job and even about to work at another one until further notice, I certainly find that aspect very relatable.

By working at the store, Ember is trying very hard to set herself up as taking over her father’s mantle with the shop but is doing so at the expense of her own happiness. No matter how hard she tries, she can just never let go of the fact that she has other desires for her life than simply working at her parent’s store her whole life. She doesn’t want anyone else to say that out loud and for her to hear but it’s deep down how she truly feels. Even if that doesn’t make her the perfect daughter, it makes Ember her perfect self.

Of course, the other main focus of the film involves around Ember’s relationship with Wade. Once again, Wade is someone that Ember deep downs believes she shouldn’t fall in love with but it’s just how she feels. Even if it feels like an unwritten rule for a fire and water element to be together in ways that makes as much logical sense as the world of Cars, it’s an attraction that feels genuine to both elements, which is the most important thing of all. It brings together the true meaning of love in a way that both elements discover about themselves throughout the course of the film. They don’t just have much in common but they have something elemental. While this sure isn’t a premise that will set the world on fire (Pun definitely intended!), but it’s able to hold water greatly (Again, pun certainly intended!) because of how earnest the relationship between Ember and Wade feels and Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie sharing great chemistry with one another.

As much as I’ve been ragging about the cost of the animation of this film, I can’t deny it looks as absolutely stunning as one could imagine from a Disney Pixar film in 2023. The world themselves are filled with bright colors and visuals that offer it’s own sense of uniqueness to it and capture the mood of each scene perfectly. There are plenty of gorgeous shots throughout the entire film that will make anyone want to pause the film to admire it’s beauty whether you’re watching on a 4K TV or even a laptop. And while the worlds themselves aren’t as fully explored as say the ones in Zootopia, they are still very fun to explore with enough creative set pieces and visually imagery to keep you interested in every moment you spend in Elemental City.

Arguably the biggest appreciation for Elemental would have to go to it’s overall sound. The voice work by Leah Lewis as Ember and Mamoudou Athie as Wade is very well done, as previously stated, along with the rest of the cast of actors that is fairly new to me. The biggest standout however is that of the original score from Thomas Newton. It’s incredibly soothing, relaxing, and is an absolute treat to the ears. Not only does it perfectly reflect what the tone is from each scene but also how the characters and audience are suppose to feel throughout the entire picture. From the very opening scene, you just get the scene that the score will stick with you the whole way through and it certainly did just that for me.

What stops Elemental from being top-tier Pixar mostly had to do with it’s timing. Not necessarily because the relevant and timely themes the film presents but more of because it’s the kind of themes that Disney and Pixar have tackled plenty for at least the past two decades. Themes such as finding your place in the worlds, your destiny not being set in stone, and welcoming other race and parties to your group have been done to death at this point and basically becoming an absolute blueprint at this point. While it’s all still done well here, it basically feels like a case of the same things but with a different code of paint. While Elemental can definitely be consider groundbreaking for it’s animation, it’s far from groundbreaking when it comes to themes and storytelling.

Perhaps it’s because things have slowly changed for me in my life than it was when I saw this film back in June but I definitely believe Elemental will stand the test of time as being an absolute gem of Pixar’s library. Maybe not the very best but definitely one that plenty will find to be another worthy addition to their library. It’s looks gorgeous, it’s very charming, the characters are engaging, the music is beautiful, and even the similar themes it tackles are done very well and might even stand out greater than other Disney and Pixar films that have done it to some people. I’m sure glad this film was able to stand strong at the box office as this might be an encouraging sign for Pixar’s future in movie theaters. I might have not enjoyed The Good Dinosaur but director Peter Sohn was able to win me over in Round Two with Elemental. If you haven’t checked it out yet, I highly recommend it.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has made it’s way to digital and everyone who has seen it have done their own rankings on all the Indy movies. Because of that, it’s time to throw my hat in the ring. However, I’m gonna do something a little different and rank six movies related to Indiana Jones together from worst to best. While there’s only five Indiana Jones flicks by name, there is at least one that has the same heart and spirit as these movies, more so than a good chunk of the movies, that I feel like it’s worth mentioning. For those that read my piece before Dial of Destiny came out back in June, you probably have an idea of what movie I’m talking about. I just feel like it’s worth a mention since now a lot of people are aware of the movie’s existence and considering the lukewarm to negative reactions of the last two Indiana Jones movies, they may want a new movie similar to Indiana Jones to wash the sour taste in their mouths. Regardless, here’s six movies released that have a connection or resemblance to Indiana Jones ranked from worst to best. Let the adventure begin!

6.) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

To put out all of my cards on the table, Dial of Destiny is the weakest of all the Indiana Jones movies by a country mile. It lacks the energy and passion that Spielberg provided with the previous four movies (Yes, even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!), it doesn’t justify any of the baffling decisions that it makes for the Indiana Jones character, and the whole thing just has a “going through the motions” feel to it that I imagine the people behind this movie were just as bored making it as I was watching it. It might succeed in the sense of making a more bleak and depressing Indiana Jones movie for those that actually want that along with good final contributions from it’s cast and John Williams respectively, but as a whole, Dial of Destiny is underwhelming and quite frankly forgettable. And considering this whole franchise is about a character that would love nothing more than to go down in history, being forgettable is about the worst crime you could possibly commit.

5.) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This film that has been the punching bag for Indiana Jones fans for the past 15 years is better than it’s reputation would have you suggest. As much as folks over the years have raged over things such as nuke the fridge, CGI gophers/ants, aliens, and anything having to do with Mutt Williams, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a legacy sequel that was way ahead of it’s time. This does a wonderful job at showcasing how Indy, even at his old age, is still able to gain new things such as new friends, family, knowledge, and a new purpose. And unlike Dial of Destiny, it doesn’t need to portray him in a constant negative light to get that point across. Plus, the ending when he marries Marion, was the cherry on top to what is a story about Indiana Jones finding the kind of happiness he never knew he wanted. The dumb moments I mentioned before are still presented here but that’s all they are, dumb moments and not the complete and entire picture. It’s far from the perfect long-awaited sequel that everyone envisioned but Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, at the time, made for a rather bittersweet epilogue that I would have honestly been fine with if it all ended here.

4.) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The most divisive Indiana Jones film is the one that broke all of the rules. Daring to go even darker, more violent, and 100X goofier than any other film in this series, Temple of Doom is like that crazy cousin in the family that you all know and love but they still feels rather out of place with the rest of the group. It’s also the film that was most infamous for creating the PG-13 rating. The film certain takes it’s time to get to where it wants to go with the first half being a slow buildup to the absolutely bonkers second half. Most of the scenes after the prologue until we get to the temple entrance really drag on with not much momentum to it. However, once we get there, that’s when Temple of Doom becomes something else of it’s own entirety that I can’t help but dig the hell out of it. Complimented by amazing set pieces, breathtaking production designs, the lovable yet badass sidekick in Short Round, and the most deadly villain in the series with Mola Ram, this is the Indiana Jones experience that’s arguably the most unique and different in the whole franchise. It may get bogged down by Kate Capshaw’s Willie Scott (even if she does have her moments) being too annoying and there are moments where you can feel Lucas and Spielberg taking out their personal real life problems at the time (The two were going through divorces!) right on the film, but Temple of Doom is an entertaining albeit uneven ride that swings for the fences without pulling any punches whatsoever.

3.) The Adventures of Tintin

That’s right, the third best Indiana Jones movie is one that’s not even technically an Indiana Jones film. That film is no other than The Adventures of Tintin. The main reason I put it on this list is because, when you watch it, you can definitely mistake it for being an Indiana Jones film. It’s got some of the main people that were involved in the Indiana Jones franchise from Steven Spielberg to Kathleen Kennedy to John Williams, there’s an adventure that leads to the main character in Tintin needing to look for a McGuffin before it falls into the enemy’s hand, there’s plenty of action set pieces that Tintin will have to overcome throughout his journey, and it even has an unlikely sidekick with the dog, Snowy, that makes for the most strange yet awesome pairing ever. However, the one element that The Adventures of Tintin captures just as well with the original Indiana Jones trilogy and does even better than either Indiana Jones movie that has come out in the 21st century, capturing that exact feeling of adventure, excitement, and discovery. Back up by strong animation and voice performances from the main cast, this is about the best Indiana Jones knock-off you can imagine and one that honestly feels appropriate to consider as a main part of the series, even if it’s technically not. Regardless, of how you feel about the entries that I’ve already mentioned, I do think The Adventures of Tintin is something that you should check out if you haven’t already. It’s one of the most overlooked animated movies in recent memory, one of Spielberg’s best films in the 21st century, and is just a terrifically enjoyable ride all around. It’s been 12 years but I am still eager for a sequel.

2.) Raiders of the Lost Ark

The one that started it all remains an absolute classic to this day. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said already by everyone else as to why Raiders of the Lost Ark is as good as it is, it’s all just up on the big screen as to why it rocks! The action is absolutely thrilling with each sequence managing to top the previous one, the Ark is among the most iconic McGuffins in any film of all time, the score is memorable and gives the film it’s own identity, the pacing is incredible without dragged on or feeling rushed, the twists and turns the story takes is fascinating and keeps you on the edge of your seats, the supporting cast is perfect and all shine in their own ways, and Indiana Jones himself is one of the best and most interesting protagonists in the history of pop culture. Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones is a match made in heaven and Karen Allan’s Marion Ravenwood is easily the best female protagonist of the entire series. If it’s wasn’t for the climax that, while memorable, basically had Indy pushed to the wayside where he’s basically just a spectator and some ill-fated backstory elements between him and Marion that hasn’t held up well whatsoever (Indy getting together with Marion when she was “a child”), this would be an easy #1 for me. Regardless, Raiders of the Lost Ark was no doubt the best possible start one could imagine for this series, a perfectly executed action-adventure film, and still stands strong as one of the best action and adventure films of all time! And no, do NOT bring up that “plot hole” that The Big Bang Theory brought up, that drum has been beat too many times and I’m sick of hearing about it because it doesn’t affect the quality of the film in any way.

1.) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

While there is definitely a strong argument to be made for Raiders being objectively the better film, I feel The Last Crusade edges it out from a subjective point of view. This is where everything felt like it came a complete circle for the series. It takes everything that was great from Raiders of the Lost Ark, cranks it up to 11, and throws Indy’s father into the mix for perhaps the best and more memorable adventure yet for the man who wears the hat and fedora. This is where Indiana Jones feels the most fleshed out as a character here, getting a deeper dive than ever as to who he is, why he does what he does, and who was the man that gave birth to him. The Holy Grail is the best McGuffin out of all of these films, the action is just as thrilling as it was in the previous movies, the returning cast from Raiders such as Sallah and Marcus are even better utilized here, Elsa Schneider, while not as great as Marion, is still a pretty cool female companion, the opening where we discover the origins of young Indiana Jones is an all-timer and the climax where Indy as to face the final three trails to save his father is one of the very best in any film. And of course, who could ever forget the perfect father and son relationship dynamic between Indiana Jones and his dad, Henry Jones, played marvelously by the late great Sean Connery. While some took issue with the similarities to the original Raiders and felt that the more lighthearted tone was a response to the negative feedback of Temple of Doom, they in no way, shape, or form bring the film down for me as it does most of the Raiders elements even better and the lighthearted tone just felt perfect throughout. Terrifically entertaining, superbly acted, emotionally engaging, very funny (The “He chose poorly” line kills me every time), and an ending that was the perfect way to bring the curtain down on the original trilogy, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is the best Indiana Jones film and one of my personal favorite films period!

The existence of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is quite bizarre when you think about it. Not just because this joins alongside 2021’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife in the genre of “movies made to apologize for a bad modern sequel”, but that you still have Harrison Ford putting on the fedora once again as he is pushing his 80s. Even if that basically defeats the whole wish fulfillment mindset of Indiana Jones in his prime (something which Dial of Destiny greatly excels at), that has to be quite commendable because it’s so unlike anything among actors in Hollywood. Like when is the last time you’ve seen someone in their 80s that is still continuing to do action roles? I guess you’ll just have to get back to me in 2043 when Tom Cruise is about to do Mission Impossible 17! It’s just a shame that this movie doesn’t do anything good enough to justify having Ford come back for what will likely be his last time as Indy himself!

To put out all of my cards on the table, Dial of Destiny is the weakest of all the Indiana Jones movies by a country mile. It lacks the energy and passion that Spielberg provided with the previous four movies (Yes, even Kingdom of the Crystal Skull!), it doesn’t justify any of the baffling decisions that it makes for the Indiana Jones character, and the whole thing just has a “going through the motions” feel to it that I imagine the people behind this movie were just as bored making it as I was watching it. It might succeed in the sense of making a more bleak and depressing Indiana Jones movie for those that actually want that along with good final contributions from it’s cast and John Williams respectively, but as a whole, Dial of Destiny is underwhelming and quite frankly forgettable.

Plot Synopsis: We start off in 1944, where Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) teams up with an Oxford archeologist named Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) to retrieve a legendary dial from the Nazi lead by Jurgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) that can change the course of history. This is know as the Archimedes’ Dial, which has the power to allow possible time travel. The pair are able to obtain a dial piece and escapes the Germany army before they are able to get the full artifact entirely.

We then fast forward to 1969, 12 years after the events of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, we see Indy in a worse place than he has every been in. He is on the verge of divorce with his wife, Marion (Karen Allen) after their son, Mutt was killed in the Vietnam War. As he is about to retire as a college professor from Hunter College, Indiana is visited by his goddaughter Helena (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who just got her degree in archeology and has interest in researching the Archimedes’ dial herself. Despite warnings from Indy that the dial drove her father so insane to the point that he wanted Indy to destroy it (which he didn’t for some reason), Helena is persistent and wants the dial for herself for her own personal gains and needs.

Circumstances become even more complicated when Indy and Helena are pursued by the Nazi to retrieve the full dial, as Voller has his own plans of going back in time to correct Hitler’s mistakes and make it to wear Germany is victorious in World War II. The chase is on as Indy must put on the hat and fedora once last time before the Nazi are able to accomplish their goals and change the course of history forever.

It’s no secret that this is the first Indiana Jones film to not be helmed by Steven Spielberg. This time around it’s been handled by no other than James Mangold, a director who has had a recent run of success with films such as Logan and Ford v Ferrari. On paper, Mangold does seem like the best possible replacement for Spielberg as he has proven to make films as crowd pleasers and intriguing character-driven pieces. Unfortunately, the results of Dial of Destiny doesn’t do him any favors whatsoever. Whether it’s 100% because of Mangold or interference with the studio, this new Indiana Jones film is clearly missing the spark of the first four Indy flicks and the very best in Mangold’s filmography. If Lucasfilm was hoping that Mangold would at least do a good job of acting as a poor man’s version of Spielberg, then they really seem to miss the mark.

There’s a lot that has been said with the way Dial of Destiny decides to portray Indiana Jones as a figure that is more dour and depressed than ever before. While Mangold was able to showcase that incredibly well with Wolverine in Logan, he misses the mark entirely with Indiana Jones. Taking away the fact that the main reason that the bleak portrayal worked so well in Logan was because Wolverine is at his heart a tragic character, it doesn’t really benefit Indy at all throughout the course of the film. Aside from one entertaining scene towards the beginning where grandpa Indy has his “get off my lawn” moment and one great monologue he has in the middle of the second act, this depressed version of Indiana Jones feels more like a footnote than anything else.

There’s no attempt at exploring this darker side of Indy other than an occasional reference to bad things that happened in his past or since Crystal Skull and some back-and-forth banter between Ford and Bridge. The decisions that’s made with characters such as having Indy and Marion being split (again) and killing off Mutt don’t really matter as much to the narrative as the film thinks it does. If you basically had it to where Indy and Marion are just taking “time off” (think the way Tony and Pepper took “time off” between Civil War and Homecoming) and Mutt is just living his own life with a slight grudge against his father, the film would basically play out the exact same way. All you really had to do was rewrite that one scene of Indy giving that emotional monologue to Helena (which Ford is so good in that one scene that it almost makes up for everything) and you would basically have the same film.

And speaking of the same film, despite claims that this film would correct the problems with Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, when you get right down to it, Dial of Destiny is really not that much different than Crystal Skull. Once again, we have an Indy that’s older, bitter, has lost everything and is forced to come to terms with his own age and morality. He also happens to have a relative that’s close to him and forces him on one last possible adventure. An adventure where Indy learns that even as an elder and past his prime, he can still gain new things such as new friends, family, knowledge, and a new purpose. Although whereas Crystal Skull, albeit flawed, was able to tell that story while having Indy finding a new sense of happiness that he never knew he wanted, Dial of Destiny rips that away from him entirely, only for him to learn the exact same lesson all over again towards the tail end of the film.

Another big addition to the film is that of Indy’s granddaughter herself, Helena, played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. While there’s an interesting idea towards her character acting as a mirror to Indy in Temple of Doom, in it all for the fortune and glory instead of knowledge, it comes across as rather half baked as the film basically doesn’t really know what to do with her. Her motives comes off as very vague as it’s unclear if she’s doing all of this for personal gain or to stick it to her angry fiancé (which the film mentions once or twice but is then handwaved) or her new kid sidekick (who is certainly no Ke Huy Quan) or something else entirely. Phoebe Waller-Bridge does what she can and helps provides charm and energy in a film that severely lacks any of that but the character of Helena feels like an idea that is barely explored.

And that is basically Dial of Destiny in a nutshell, ideas that sound good on paper but never explored. There are subplots that are set up but go nowhere like Indy being on the run from the government, side characters that feel pointless such as Short Round 2.0 and whoever Antonio Banderas is playing, action scenes, save for the prologue, that aren’t memorable, a lengthy runtime that feels unwarranted, and an ending, while bittersweet, is about as clean cut as once could imagine in the most contrived way possible. There’s just too much of a going-through-the-motions feel to the whole picture that it only feels like it exists because Disney now owns the rights to Indiana Jones and they had to release something with it eventually. Even by the time we get to it’s bonkers third act (which likely had George Lucas smirking throughout), it still feels like business as usual with the film pulling back it’s punches.

If there’s a main saving grace to the picture is that the cast has equipped themselves admirably, even with the bare minimum material they are given to work with. Harrison Ford is still great as Indiana Jones as he always has been, selling this bitter version of Indy so well that it almost justifies the decision made. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is hugely charismatic and seems to be having the most fun out of anyone in the film, even if I don’t buy her whatsoever taking the mantle in the future. Mads Mikkelsen is always a blast to watch as the main bad guy, even if I won’t remember what his character’s name is by next Monday. John Rhys-Davies is underutilized as Sallah but still as charming as ever. Everyone else is fine but play such little of a role that they honestly aren’t worth mentioning by name.

In terms of other positives, John Williams brings his A game once again, putting together a score that feels appropriately Indiana Jones, making one realize how much the world will miss him once the inevitable happens to him. The prologue, despite too much of de-aging Harrison Ford that’s not buyable whatsoever, is fun stuff and contains the classic Indiana Jones magic that the rest of the film lacks. And in spite of the film’s abrupt way of wrapping up, it does end on a nice callback to the original Raiders film that will certainly get one in the feels.

Perhaps I’m being too harsh on this film since I have a big fondness for the original trilogy and even have a soft spot for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in spite of it’s flaws, but Dial of Destiny is just yet another in a sea of franchise installments that have come out throughout the summer of 2023 that seems to exists for the sake of existing. It’s not that it’s an exceptionally terrible film but it’s one that just left no impact on me whatsoever. I expect this film to go down the way of the last few Home Alone sequels, just buried and forgotten about with only a few mentions from folks in the future to go like “Oh, yeah! That movie did exist!” And considering this whole franchise is about a character that would love nothing more than to go down in history, that’s about the worst crime you could possibly commit.

For those who were not fond of Crystal Skull and perhaps want a more “mature” take on the Indiana Jones character, you might get some enjoyment in this. For everyone else, you will likely find this as tiring as Indy himself does throughout the entire movie. In that case, at least Dial of Destiny is truthful to itself, even if it’s in the worse ways.

To tell you all the truth, out of all the summer movies I missed out on reviewing at the time they came out, this is the only one I didn’t want to review whatsoever. I always try my best to be as fair to each movie I’m reviewing as possible and judge it on it’s own terms regardless of the behind the scenes drama or offscreen behavior of certain actors that might have occurred. In the case of The Flash, this has to do with lead actor for Barry Allen themselves, Ezra Miller, who can’t seem to get out of trouble as they have been charged with multiple charges and allegations for the past few years, regarding abuse, assault, harassment, manipulation, and burglary. To quote Tony Stark from Iron Man 2, “Can you please NOT do anything awful for five seconds?!” I won’t go too deep into all of that as I already did a piece on that last year, which I will leave a link to at the end of the article, but Ezra has been causing an absolute s*itshow for everyone involved with The Flash.

I just didn’t think there was a way I can do a fair review for The Flash without recognizing the giant rain cloud behind the entire production of this film! However, after wrapping my head around my thoughts on this movie since June and rewatching it recently on Max, I now feel like I am able to give a complete and honest review for The Flash without the outside baggage from Ezra Miller influencing my opinion. That’s not to say I won’t mention it once or twice for the remainder of the review but I promise you this will in fact be a review of the movie and not what’s going on outside of that.

So, anyway, The Flash is a movie that has been in development hell for about as long as your parents have been alive and that’s NOT an exaggeration. The development for a Flash movie began all the way back in the late 1980s with multiple writers and directors attached to the project through 2014. Of course, when Warner Bros decided they were gonna make their own cinematic universe with their own superheroes, they knew that human Sonic the Hedgehog would have to play a role in it. However, there had been many, and I do mean MANY delays since this film was announced as part of the DC Extended Universe. With constant director changes, the Covid-19 pandemic, post-production setbacks, and controversies surrounding Ezra Miller, the fact this film was able to be released in an actual finished form is somewhat of a miracle.

After the mixed to negative response that the DCEU has received since it started in 2013 along with James Gunn and Peter Safran taking over to push forward to a new DC Universe, The Flash had been confirmed to be using the famous Flashpoint storyline to reset the DC timeline and set a clear path for future DC film installments. While it is quite risky to announce ahead of time that a film’s main purpose for existence is to wipe the slate clean as it would just give the sense of obvious obligation that folks can skip entirely, it can make for some good visual storytelling with plenty of fun action and fan service to get folks hyped for the future. While there have been films released that was able to do just that, The Flash is unfortunately not of those films.

Yes, Michael Keaton is back as Batman and is awesome to see once again! Yes, Sasha Calle is perfect as Supergirl and should definitely reprise this role for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. Yes, there are a few of action beats and a fun cameo at the very end that work well here. However, none of those elements are able to save the picture. We still have a Barry Allen that’s not interesting, compelling, and is just annoying, there is still pointless fan service and cameos throughout that don’t amount to anything, some of which are quite frankly insulting, and it can just never outrun the whole feeling of obligation that the film is desperately trying to avoid. While The Flash might accomplish exactly what it sets out to do, it doesn’t accomplish it well whatsoever and makes for a middling at best experience.

Premise: Worlds collide when the Flash (Ezra Miller) uses his superpowers to travel back in time to change the events of the past. However, when his attempt to save his family inadvertently alters the future, he becomes trapped in a reality in which General Zod (Michael Shannon) has returned, threatening annihilation. With no other superheroes to turn to, the Flash looks to coax a very different Batman (Michael Keaton) out of retirement and rescue an imprisoned Kryptonian (Sasha Calle) — albeit not the one he’s looking for.

To be sure, The Flash‘s overall purpose of existence is not the main cause for it’s failure whatsoever. There are plenty of ways to tell interesting stories involving multiverse concepts, time travel mechanics, and just even for the sake of course correction. You have Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse that was able to use the multiverse concept to perfection to craft genuine, multilayered stories about what it means to be a superhero with fan service that actually meant something. You have No Way Home that used it’s multiverse concept to act as both a logical progression for the MCU’s Peter Parker and bringing back the other two live-action Spider-Men that acted as a culmination of the past two decades of Spider-Man films. Heck, there was even X-Men: Days of Future Past, a movie which solely existed to erase the X-Men movies that no one liked, who used it’s time traveling mechanic and obvious course correction template to craft a film about our heroes fixing their mistakes of the past to push for a better, more uplifting future. Even Multiverse of Madness used it’s set pieces and effective imagery to flirt with and mock the kind of fandom that care more about filmmakers making their bizarre fan theories coming to live instead of making a genuine work of art. And do I need to say anything about the impressive cinematic achievement that was Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, The Flash lacks the cleverness, inventive nature, or memorability of any of those films mentioned.

While the film sets up the idea of Barry Allen messing with time to so he can go back and save his mother from death, that ends up getting pushed to the way side once the characters shows up in another timeline. It’s once we arrived at an alternate 2013, it’s all about stopping Zod from Man of Steel and basically The Flash doing Superman’s job for him with the help of an alternate version of Batman and an alternate version of Supergirl. It’s honestly about half way through the movie where I already forgot that the main purpose of Barry traveling back in time was to rescue his mother because that got lost in the sea of everything else on display.

It also doesn’t help that Barry Allen as a character is just not endearing or a main protagonist to follow. There’s no reason as to why we should care about this version of Barry other than his mom died and his father is in jail now. He’s just some annoying young adult who has the awkward behavior of a nerdy kid from grade school without any of the traits that have made prior superheroes that fit under that sort of criteria likeable or interesting in their own rights. Not to mention, there are TWO Barry Allens we have to follow throughout the majority of the movie and man, are they both insufferable whenever they are on screen together and both are just not funny whatsoever. There’s only so much Ezra Miller one can take. All of that and more is what makes the first hour of this movie an absolute slog, aside from some fun cameos with Batfleck and Wonder Woman. And that’s not even mentioning the opening action scene with The Flash where he literally puts a baby in a microwave to protect it! A BABY IN A MICROWAVE! I got nothing else on that!

Once Michael Keaton’s Batman and Sasha Calle’s Supergirl gets thrown into the mix, the film does become much better as those two do some serious heavy lifting to make the middle act of this picture more bearable to sit through. Keaton is just as much fun here as Batman as he was back in the Tim Burton’s duology. The action scenes with him are awesome, especially the break-in scene, being back in his Batcave is cool, and it’s always a delight to hear Danny Elfman’s Batman music. Sasha Calle is fantastic as Supergirl and looks stunning in her suit, perfectly displaying the range and emotion for Kara. While she has a bit less screentime than Keaton, she’s steal every scene she is in and probably kicks more ass in this movie that Batman and Flash does combined. Please Mr. Gunn, let Calle come back as Supergirl for future movies!

Even so, it’s a huge problem when the only characters you like in a movie are strictly the main supporting players. They should be added bonuses and not the only saving graces of your picture. If anything, it just makes me wish I was watching a Batman Beyond movie with Michael Keaton (which was suppose to happen but got scraped) or Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow with Sasha Calle (which should happen). I’m willing to bet those would be more interesting films than The Flash and probably even make a better profit.

Another controversial element of this film has to do with some of the bizarre cameos within the film. While there a handful that fine and dandy such as Batfleck and Wonder Woman in the first act and the one at the very end, about every other one is distracting, pointless, and insulting on multiple levels. These aren’t even like “blink-and-you-miss-it” cameos either, they are right on screen with absolutely TERRIBLE CGI and each one takes you out of the film completely. I don’t care if they got approved by family members or the actors themselves, those cameos felt so dirty to watch that I needed to take a shower after watching the movie. At least the extended cameos in the Star Wars Disney Plus series such as The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett knew who they were aiming for and which fans would love that. I couldn’t tell you what these cameos were aimed for but I assure it’s not for the fans that DC thinks they are.

And speaking of CGI, it is absolutely ABSYMAL at every turn. They do not look even remotely convincing whatsoever and reek of obvious green screen and post-production problems. The cameos that have heavy CGI attached to them look like they came across from an early PlayStation 3 game rather than an actual movie with even Injustice 2 released on the PlayStation 4 looking more convincing than that. The Flashpoint itself looks more like a main menu screen in a video game than an actual scene from a 200 plus million dollar film. Even the CGI in the MCU have never been this bad and that’s saying a lot. I can’t imagine how hard the VFX artists were cringing when they were all trying to make these special effects look even half salvageable. I didn’t think it could possibly get worse than the obvious CGI-removal of a mustache and the messy final battle with Steppenwolf in Josstice League but I was dead wrong.

When it comes to The Flash, as a whole, even if you are able to separate the artist from the art in regards to Ezra Miller, it’s still not a very good movie at all. It’s got some fun moments with the action and a few cameos that aren’t ugly or insulting to look at along with the presence of Michael Keaton and Sasha Calle. That still doesn’t take away how terrible the CGI is, how the fan service scattered throughout don’t amount to anything, how it can’t escape the whole feeling of obligation, how this version of Barry Allen is still an incredibly annoying and unengaging character, and even the entire message of how cheating in time to correct your mistakes is wrong is one that basically contradicts itself by the end in ways I don’t think was intentional by the filmmakers. It might accomplish it’s goals it sets out do but doesn’t do in a way that’s particularly good either.

The whole thing just comes across as a movie that DC felt they were forced to make just so they can then get to the movies they might actually want to do. The Flash is far from the worst film that has been associated with the DC Extended Universe (if we’re going by recent ones, I did like it more than Black Adam), but I don’t think there has been one where it felt like a movie that the filmmakers were forced to make rather than one they actually wanted to make. If I were you, I just look up all the Batman and Supergirl scenes on YouTube. And now that the movie is out on digitally and Max, I imagine that’s what everyone else is doing. And it’s all for the better! I certainly hope that the future for the DC Universe is not as phoned-in as this movie was.

Part of me wants to give it a 1.5 stars but the fun parts were fun enough to where it’s get 2 stars!

Time to rank some of the biggest and most overblown blockbuster franchises of the 21st century! You should need no further introduction that that! Here’s my ranking of all eight Transformers films thus far from worst to best!

8.) Transformers: The Last Knight

If you want an example of literally everything wrong with modern cinema, look no further than the absolute monstrosity that is Transformers: The Last Knight! This is what happens when a franchise just stops caring and think releasing anything in any state is acceptable! From the godawful directing to the inconsistent frame rate to the nonexistent plot that makes the other films in the series make no sense whatsoever to the butchered characterization to the nearly unwatchable action to the bizarre virtual signaling, there is not enough words in the English language to describe this trainwreck of a feature film! This is not just the low point for the autobots, this is a low point for movies in general! You can tell Michael Bay was over this franchise even before he took the camera and as a result, ended up finishing his run with this series by saving his worst for last!

Not to mention, Unicorn being planet Earth this whole time and Bumblebee fighting the Nazi?!?! Really?!?!?! Just really?!?!?!?!

7.) Transformers: Age of Extinction

If Age of Extinction is better than The Last Knight, it’s not better by much! This bloated disaster took everything that was wrong about Bay’s first three Transformers movies and cranked them up to 11! The action is even more exhausting, the humor is even more unfunny, the characters are even more obnoxious, the product placement is even more on the nose, the effects are somehow even more blatantly unfinished and obvious, and the runtime is even more taunting than perhaps any movie that has ever existed. While this does at least feel like a complete film overall, it’s still an absolutely terrible one and easily the worst film to ever make a billion dollars at the box office.

Also, statutory rape as a plot point! I just…..what more can you say?!

6.) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

The fact we now live in a timeline where this piece of crap is not even the second worst Transformers film really says a lot! At the very least, this had an excuse as to why it sucked as much as it did, most notably because this movie was rushed into production due to a writer’s strike. There is also a couple of legit good action beats here, especially the forest fight with Optimus Prime. Plus, unlike the last two films mentions, this has a proper three act structure! Just unfortunate that the script is complete garbage with a story that makes no sense with multiple plot threads that go nowhere, the typical Michael Bay humor being it’s absolute worst here, has some of the most annoying and particularly racist side characters in any film, and the Fallen himself being one of the most useless villains in any movie I’ve seen. While Revenge of the Fallen may be watchable compare to the last two films mention, it’s still pretty damn bad overall and not worth your time!

At least, it gave us Megan Fox on a motorcycle though!

5.) Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

There’s not much you can say about Rise of the Beasts other than what you come to expect from a Transformers movie at this point. With the kind of material it’s adapting in Beasts Wars and what is present onscreen, it could have made for one of the better Transformers movies rather than one that is middle-of-the-pack at best. It delivers the action, visuals, and spectacle you can come to expect from these movies and does them well to make for a fine watch but it doesn’t do enough to justify adaption the Beasts Wars and it’s plot feels frighteningly similar to that of Revenge of the Fallen except with less crude humor and no racist stereotypes. Even with the tease at the end of a potential cross-over that could make for interesting future installments, Rise of the Beasts feels too surface value and run-of-the-mill that it’s hard to get excited about this franchise on film for the near future. And if the lackluster box office numbers have been any indication, I’m certainly not alone in thinking that. Serviceable time waster but nothing more.

It gets points for the Sonic and Tails references though!

4.) Transformers: Dark of the Moon

The third installment of the Bayverse is probably the best in terms of action, scope, and effects. The entire second half of this film delivers some of the most badass action set pieces in Transformers history with every notable character, from the human characters to the Transformers, getting to play a big part in it, with Optimus Prime being at his most badass and Leonard Nimoy as Sentinel Prime being just awesome. Sam Witwicky even has an engaging arc this time around for a man who just wants to matter in the world and his new girlfriend, while no Megan Fox, is pretty cool in her own right and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s acting is surprisingly not terrible. It’s still held back by most of the flaws with these Bay films along with Megatron being useless for 99.99% of the runtime and containing one of the most abrupt endings in recent memory. Even so, Dark of the Moon is the only one of the Bay sequels that I was actually able to tolerate and find a good bit of enjoyment in. This is also the one where Michael Bay most certainly should have stop at.

Also, what in the world is the title of this film suppose to mean? Dark of the Moon?! What even is that?!

3.) Transformers: The Movie

The 1986 animated film that is based of the famous television series is certainly more than meets the eye. While on the surface it looks to be a harmless and inoffensive movie for kids that is completely design to sell toys, it’s actually a very touching and emotional tale of loss and grief with many established characters being killed off left and right, especially Optimus Prime. If that doesn’t scream “balls of steel”, then I have no idea what does. The animation is also well done for it’s time with fun action, a great voice cast and an impressive score throughout. While I can definitely see it be described as cynical to many people with the way certain characters are wiped out and those who aren’t familiar with the series will likely be lost in the plot, Transformers: The Movie makes for one brave little movie that has to be seen to be believed.

And try not to cry when Optimus Prime dies! *sheds tear*

2.) Bumblebee

After Michael Bay ended his directing run of this series with an absolute whimper, Travis Knight was able to step in and deliver a Transformers movie that puts it’s characters and emotions first and action set pieces second! The plot does hit many of the same beats as the 2007 film along with tropes seen in other “kid befriends beasts/machines” story but it’s able to work to it’s advantages by making the best use of every single one of those beats and tropes. Hailee Steinfeld is perfectly casted as Charlie Watson, easily the best human character in the series, and every scene between her and Bumblebee is so wholesome. The action in the prologue is perhaps the best bit of action in any of these movies and the rest that is presented throughout the rest of the movie is very well done. It’s certainly not the most original movie ever but Bumblebee is full of so much heart, energy, and passion that it’s genuinely hard to care. This is one of those movies that you just wish you can give a big hug too because it’s just that sweet and charming. While it’s not quite my favorite Transformers movie, it’s probably objectively the best one to date.

Also try not to cry when Charlie says goodbye to Bumblebee at the end of the film!

1.) Transformers

Like I said before, while I do think Bumblebee is the best Transformers film overall, I don’t think there is a Transformers film that I would rather re-watch than the original 2007 film. I’m gonna sound like a hypocrite since I spent so much of this ranking bashing Michael Bay but I gotta admit, he certainly nailed it on his first try here. I don’t think anyone could forget the experience of seeing the Transformers on the big screen for the very first time and how satisfying it felt to watch in theaters. Yes, it puts a focus on the human characters first but that felt necessary since this was the first film the autobots and deceptions were on screen so having a main human lead guiding the picture felt natural. The action is spectacularly done, with the climax of the film being an all-timer, the special effects still hold up well to this very day, the soundtrack is great, the human cast blend very well with the Transformers, even Shia LaBeouf himself is quite good here, and even the humor is actually quite funny here (every scene with Anthony Anderson always gets me cracking). You can definitely pick apart the overly complicated plot and overabundance of human characters but for what this movie needed to get right, it was able to get right incredibly well that I can easily overlook any faults. This might be purely because of nostalgia but to me, Transformers still remains a classic blockbuster to this very day.

And yes, Megan Fox is hotter than the sun and I crushed on her just as hard as any teen or pre-teen did in 2007 after seeing the film for the first time!

2018’s Bumblebee was a refreshing change of pace for the Transformers series. This was coming after a slew of overblown and bloated installments from the Bayverse itself, most notably with the nearly unwatchable Age of Extinction and The Last Knight. It got to the point where even the most hardcore fans of Bayformers would admit that iteration of the autobots had officially warned out it’s welcome. Travis Knight was able to deliver the new shot in the arm that the series needed with Bumblebee and here we have Steven Caple Jr. trying to deliver another one with Rise of the Beasts. As much praise that Bumblebee got for strictly not being Michael Bay’s Transformers, from being more small-scaled to action that was comprehensible to the transformers feeling more like their series counterparts to a more human and fleshed out story, it really wasn’t as far removed from Bay’s Transformers as one might think.

I’m not just talking about the fact that it wasn’t made perfectly clear at the time it came out whether or not it was suppose to act as a prequel to Bay’s universe or just a complete reboot entirely (It’s been confirmed that it is in fact a reboot!). It’s more because Bumblebee basically hit many of the same beats of as the 2007 film did! Once again, you have a shy teenager that wants a car and happens to stumble upon one that turns out to be a Transformer, that Transformer being Bumblebee. It’s also got it’s fair share of wacky comedy sidekicks, the U.S. government playing a big role in it, evil robots that also happened to be aligned with dopes in the U.S. government, and there’s a bunch of badass military men with killer guns. While there were certainly elements that were changed or tweaked such as the main human character being a girl, having female characters that aren’t just eye candy, action without red bull shaky cam, a nice coming-of-age story, and a more family friendly tone, it would be easy to mistake Bumblebee as being a modern retelling of the original Transformers, even if it probably did it better.

Which is honestly why it should come as no surprise that Rise of the Beasts follows the same plot beats as 2009’s Revenge of the Fallen. You have Unicorn playing the role of the Fallen, Scourge playing the role of Megatron, the shocking death of Optimus Prime with the shocking death of *spoiler*, an interdimensional key, a moral that the main human character must learn about responsibility and leadership, and certain transformers that seem to only exist for comic relief. Again, that’s not to say Rise of the Beasts doesn’t do these plot beats better but you can definitely feel the Michael Bay influence still present within this franchise. While Travis Knight was able to measure up the material with inspiring results with Bumblebee, director Stephen Caple Jr. is only able to measure the material to results that feel as auto pilot as the autobots themselves with Rise of the Beasts. It’s a serviceable Transformers film overall but not one that serves as the next right step for this series, and that’s even with it’s obvious tease for the future (?) at the end.

Premise: Optimus Prime (Anthony Ramos) and the Autobots take on their biggest challenge yet. When a new threat capable of destroying the entire planet emerges, they must team up with a powerful faction of Transformers known as the Maximals to save Earth.

The main selling point for Rise of the Beasts is the fact that it would be an adaption of the well-known Beasts Wars, perhaps the most popular sub-franchise in the series. The most well-known Transformers in that series include a group known as the Maximals, with characters such as Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rhinox, Arcee, Airzaor, Mirage, etc.. That in of itself could make for the most engaging material in a Transformers film to date and finally get an installment that they feel more of the main characters of their own movie. Unfortunately, this element is no where near as well utilized as it could have been.

That’s not to say the Maximals don’t have their moments, most notable Pete Davidson’s Mirage who has some of the best and funniest moments in the movie. However, they mostly feel like an afterthought here, with only about two members of the Maximals getting anything of significant to do in the story. It feels as if they were thrown in there at the last second just for the sake of having more Transformers in action. While the action beats with them are cool, there is so much potential with them that the movie doesn’t even bother to explore. Instead, it choses to focus on characters that mainstream audiences are more familiar with such as Optimus Prime (who is surprisingly almost as much of a jerk as he was in the last two Bayformers movies) and Bumblebee along with the personal human drama.

Anthony Ramo is likable in the lead role as the new main human lead of Noah Diaz and has a fun sibling relationship with his brother Kris, played by Dean Scott Vazquez. I especially love the way they both refer to each other as Sonic and Tails (which of course is referenced to Paramount owning the rights to the Sonic movies). However, that mostly gets pushed to the wayside in favor of giving him a female love interest named Elena Wallace, played by Dominque Fishback, whose presence also feels tacked on. Fishback is fine in the role but she isn’t giving much to work with other than playing love interest #101 and lacks property chemistry with Ramo. While it’s far from the worse human drama in this series, it’s lacks the spark of that was present between Bumblebee and Hailee Steinfeld and even Shia Labeouf to an extent.

However, for those that come to these movies for the robo fights, this should definitely do you proud. The action is quite top-notch, able to build perfectly from the prologue of Bumblebee and able to translate that scale and chorography wonderfully into Rise of the Beasts. While it’s certainly not as explosive heavy as Bay’s movies, it certainly avoids the trappings of obnoxious shaky cams and awkward cuts, being able to see clearly what’s going on and feeling the tension throughout every single action scene that is present. Even if the Maximals don’t make as much impressions as characters, they do make for some entertaining spectacle.

Despite the paper-thin characterization and plotting, the cast does a fine job overall, from the voice celebrity actors for the Transformers themselves to the human cast. Peter Cullen is still the G.O.A.T. as Optimus Prime. Rob Perlman, Peter Dinklage, and Michelle Yeoh does good work as Optimus Primal, Scourage, and Airazor respectively. Pete Davidson probably makes the biggest impressions among the new Transformers as Mirage, certainly making for one of the better comic relief characters in this franchise. Although, the two lack on-screen chemistry or characters with depth, Anthony Romos and Dominque Fishback have enough personality and charm to carry the material they are given to work with.

There’s not much you can say about Rise of the Beasts other than what you come to expect from a Transformers movie at this point. Some might think I’m demanding to much from the kind of movies that solely exists to be fun popcorn flicks that don’t require much to turn your brain off too. However, with the kind of material is was adapting and is present onscreen, it could have made for one of the better Transformers movies rather than one that is middle-of-the-pack at best. Despite sharing similar faults as Bumblebee with following familiar beats and tropes, it lacks the energy and heart that film provided, leaving this one feeling more disposable than anything else. It delivers the action, visuals, and spectacle you can come to expect from these movies and does them well to make for a fine watch but it doesn’t do enough to justify the Beasts Wars brand or even the brand that it has follow through for over a decade now. Even with the tease at the end of a potential cross-over in the future, Rise of the Beasts feels too surface value and run-of-the-mill. And if the lackluster box office numbers have been any indication, I’m certainly not alone in thinking that.

Who in the world would’ve thought that the Fast & Furious series would have eleven installments up to this point? This is a franchise that has come a long way from it’s traditional street racing days and now acts as some of the biggest and dumbest actions films ever made. Everyone has their own opinion of which days of Vin Diesel and crew that they prefer. As I mentioned in my review for Fast X, if it wasn’t the original The Fast and the Furious that got you into the series, then it was likely Fast Five that did just that. Because of that, opinions on the series’ quality and decline certainly differs from one generational fan to another. That’s why there’s a good chance my ranking won’t match with yours. Regardless, let’s rank these crazy films from worst to best!

11.) F9

This is the installment that basically redefining jumping the shark by having a sequence where it had it’s characters literally jump out in OUTER SPACE WHILE IN A CAR! F9 is the movie that took every known component that F&F was known up to this point and cranked it up to 11! The result was a mindless and proudly stupid film that constantly reminds you how mindless and proudly stupid it is. You have action sequences that have no tender to reality, characters that are brought back but giving nothing to do, and the whole family dynamic that has been the driving force of the series is abandoned, with Dom having a brother this whole time that he literally threw out of his life and pretended never existed. There’s jumping the shark and there’s whatever the hell F9 is! If this wasn’t a sign that the franchise had lost it’s heart and soul, then I really don’t want to know what is.

10.) 2 Fast 2 Furious

The one entry that put the full spotlight on Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner and Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce is unfortunately one of the weakest in the franchise. Most of the fun and personality that carried the best F&F movies and even some of the worst ones is just not present here. The racing sequences fall flat and don’t hold a candle to the original, the villain is a complete joke, the plot is silly beyond words, and the film’s overreliance on weird Dutch angels gets distracting the longer it goes on. While it’s no longer the worst in the franchise since it at least doesn’t get so ridiculous that it’s insulting to the human brain, 2 Fast 2 Furious is best left ignored.

9.) The Fate of the Furious

The first post-Furious 7 flick that showcased the lack of creativity that this franchise has remaining and the amount of staying power it no longer contains. These movies were slowly starting to flirt with the amount of ridiculousness contained within itself that was clearly not going to carry over well with future entries. What makes it stick out more like a sore thumb here is the needlessly self-serious tone along with putting too much emphasis on constant timeline retcons, bizarre character reveals, and predictable outcomes. You also have Jason Statham feeling like a completely different character from the last movie, Charlize Theron (A.K.A Furious herself) cast in a F&F movie but doesn’t even get to drive a car, and the tone-deaf name reveal of Dom’s son named Brian. While not without some enjoyable moments, The Fate of the Furious was the sign of this series had been stuck in neutral.

8.) Fast X

Fast X is not the worst entry in this franchise but it definitely feels like the most tired one. It’s pretty much a statement that this series has lost the pride and heart that it once have and has literally become the parody that it was previously avoiding or poking fun at. Jason Momoa carries the whole thing with his charismatic performance as the new evil baddie in the series and there’s a few fine characters moments and action beats here and there but there is just no reason to care about anything that’s going on in this series anymore because whatever happens where, it will likely be retconned by the next film. For those who are still on board and don’t care about effective stakes and consequences in these movies, you will likely get your money’s worth and still be entertained. For everyone else, just get out of the car while you still can. It’s better than 8 and 9 but that’s not really much of a race to win.

7.) Fast & Furious

The bizarrely titled Fast & Furious (which I actually thought was suppose to be the first one based on the title when I first binged these movies) is the one that basically resembled the end of one road and the beginning of another. Acting as a bridge between the street racing flicks of the original three movies and setting the groundwork for Fast Five and onwards, this was one of the last movies in the series where we see the Fast Family acting more like mortal human beings who have to deal with the consequences of their past. Just a shame of outside of those elements along with the supposed death of Letty (which would get retcon two movies later), there’s nothing much that stands out as being particularly memorable about Fast & Furious. It’s harmless enough but not one you will find yourself going back to outside of potential future binging.

6.) Hobbs & Shaw

This is probably the only one chapter of the post-Paul Walker era that I found enjoyment in. Yes, it’s just as crazy and over-the-top as those recent films and I still don’t buy Jason Statham being portrayed as a suppose “good guy” now but that’s forgivable because of how well done the action scenes are and the Rock and Statham just have perfect chemistry whenever they are on screen together. Idris Elba makes for one entertaining bad guy as basically “Black Superman” and Vanessa Kirby blends in very well with the rest of the rose gallery of badass women in the series (even if Eiza Gonzalez could have been given more to do). It may not be necessary but Hobbs & Shaw is able to deliver what it says on the box quite well without trying to convince you it’s something else entirely.

5.) The Fast and the Furious

The one that started it all is the most unapologetic Point Break knock-off out there and somehow managed to be a better Point Break remake than the actual turd remake that somehow made it’s way to theaters in 2015. While this franchise has certainly come a long way in the best and worst ways, it’s odd to look back when these films were about street racers boosting DVD players as it made things more focused with clear cut goals to deliver straight forward racing flicks with a limited budget and runtime. Similar to the very first X-Men and Harry Potter, while it’s reputation is higher than it’s actual quality along with playing more like a “proof of concept” than an actual film, The Fast and the Furious works well as a one-and-done racing/crime melodrama that requires no homework whatsoever to understand and enjoy.

4.) Fast & Furious 6

Coming off the series’ high of Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 was always gonna have tough shoes to fill. Even if it doesn’t quite measure up, it’s still a lot of fun to watch Justin Lin try to top himself with even more action-heavy stunts this time around and a stronger focus on being a heist thriller. Despite coming off an entry where it felt like everything paid off big time for the whole crew, this is still able to give each member of the Fast Family something to do and their own moment to shine. While this did introduces tropes that would later come back to prior future sequels with resurrecting dead characters and defying internal logic, it still holds together well because there’s still legit stakes throughout and the family dynamics still feel real. This is probably the one F&F movie I always put on whenever I need a good fun time without thinking too much about it.

3.) Furious 7

Acting as the beginning of the end of the F&F franchise as we know it, Furious 7 existing at all feels like a miracle. What makes it even more of a miracle is that it works all despite having everything going against them with the tragic passing of Paul Walker. This acts well as being the final chapter of the successful self-parody era of this franchise along with delivering an ending that’s such an all-timer and perfect send-off for Brian O’Connor that it should have been the end to this franchise. It’s a shame that The Rock gets pushed to the wayside this time around and this was when the series was starting to get so ridiculous that people were beginning to get very annoyed by it. Warts and all, James Wan is still able to deliver the great stunts and action where it counts the most while giving the Fast Family a nice send off that would have worked well as a satisfying conclusion to this franchise. It might be an easy movie to nitpick to death but considering all the circumstances surrounding the production, Furious 7 is a marvelous achievement that deserves all the credit in the world.

2.) The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

There are two kinds of people in the world: those that get Tokyo Drift and those that do not. Considering that this is #2 on the list, you probably know which group I fall in. Acting as a brief departure from the main series by not including 99% of the Fast crew, this was easily the best of the pre-Fast Five films because it’s makes the best use of street racing element that played the biggest key factor in the series. Setting a F&F film in Japan was such as genius choice that I’m surprised it wasn’t done from the get-go as it makes for the perfect location to provide some genuinely intense and fist-bumping racing sequences. Lucas Black may not be the best actor in the world but his character fits perfectly in the F&F universe as yet another anti-hero that’s trying to take the law into his own hands for his personal greed. Of course, this also introduced fan-favorite Hans who was so likeable they had to make the next few films actual prequels to this so they can keep him as part of the gang for a limit period of time. If there’s anyone that wants to know the appeal of this series during it’s early era, look no further than The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. When even Christopher Nolan himself is a big fan of the film, you know you’ve done something right.

1.) Fast Five

Of course, there has been no installment in this entire franchise that been able to top his one. Not only is Fast Five hands down the best F&F movie to date, it’s arguably one of the best action films of the 21st century. Every action scene, from the car chases to the hand-to-hand combat to the heist missions, is spectacularly done, the stunt work from every member of the team is so good that they all deserved an Oscar, the supporting cast is at their absolute best and most well utilized here, the family drama and tension has never been more personal, and introduces the most charismatic actor of the series that acted as the perfect “shot in the arm” with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. This was the one where it felt like the whole thing came full circle, paying off four movies of ill-conceived plots and delivering a spectacular climax in the heist mission that is easily the most stand out sequence in the entire franchise. This has the right mix of everything and was able to avoid most of the series’ problems before hand and especially after. Because of all of this and more, Fast Five is the best that the Fast and Furious franchise has got and is just as good as blockbuster films can possibly get in general.