Tag Archives: movie review

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Posted on by Henry

It’s not a good sign for a movie’s longevity when my biggest takeaway from a film is that I really enjoyed some of the other films that it referenced.

After watching Deadpool, I was tempted to watch it again. Watching this movie, all I could think of was how I might want to go back and watch Logan, or maybe X-Men: First Class. I would even enjoy watching some of the other X-Men movies.

Previous Deadpool movies have managed to simultaneously deliver snarky commentary, cheeky references, large quantities of superhero movie violence, and plots that feel emotionally grounded enough and central enough to give me a sense of continuity and investment. This movie…

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Road House (2024)

Posted on by Henry

Road House was… fine. Is that underselling it? I’m not sure, the context in which I saw it makes it hard to judge. It did some things really well, but felt extremely predictable. Maybe my viewing experience was skewed: I watched this on the same flight where I saw Madame Web, and I watched the two movies back to back. Thus, I can’t talk about this movie without talking about Madame Web again.

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Madame Web (2024)

Posted on by Henry

Madame Web held so much promise. Instead, it felt… uneven.

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Underdog Sports Movie Showdown, The Boys in the Boat vs The Long Game

Posted on by Henry

I flew this week. On my flight, I watched The Boys in the Boat and The Long Game.

Each movie is a triumphalist underdog sports movie. Each movie is dedicated to a sport that I know little about. I think I’m marginally more fond of or impressed by crew (specifically, eight-person rowing teams) than golf. I like the drama of team sports, and appreciate the skill required to work that smoothly together, even if I have little interest in crew in general. I admire the skill and tenacity of golfers, certainly, but if I had to pick between a movie about golf and a movie about crew, well…

I’d pick the boat.

I’ve heard that you’re supposed to be more prone to enjoying movies that you watch on an airplane. Perhaps that’s because they pull you out of the noisy, cramped tin can soaring through the air at uncomfortable speeds and deposit you (for a limited time) in some other world of dramatic and emotional experience. Regardless of whether what I’ve heard is true, it can’t rescue a movie from simply being worse than its competition.

And “worse than the competition” is a galling and ironic position for a triumphant underdog sports movie to be in, don’t you think?

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