July 28, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Destin Daniel Cretton, Florence Pugh, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Liza Colón-Zayas, Mark Ruffalo, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvin Jones III, MCU, Michael Mando, Sadie Sink, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tom Holland, Tramell Tillman, Zabryna Guevara, Zendaya
…Started up a Brand New Day! (CREDIT: Marvel/Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Michael Mando, Mark Ruffalo, Florence Pugh, Liza Colón-Zayas, Marvin Jones III, Zabryna Guevara
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Running Time: 145 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Occasionally Gnarly Action Violence, and a Little Bit of Language
Release Date: July 31, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: It’s been a lonely life for the Tom Holland version of Peter Parker ever since his last big screen adventure. He’s still Spider-Man, and New Yorkers still love their arachnid guardian, but a spell has been cast that has made everyone forget the entire existence of the human being behind the mask. He’s inching towards re-introducing himself to his former girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon), but he’s got to be careful, since there are always new threats lurking around the corner. This time around, the primary threat is a mysterious newcomer (Sadie Sink) with the ability to jump her consciousness into other people who’s trying to expose a secret at the suspiciously friendly Department of Damage Control. Meanwhile, Peter seems to be going through a sort of second adolescence, as he develops new powers and then consults a relatively Hulk-free Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to help him get a grip on these emerging abilities.
What Made an Impression?: The Day After When?: To rewatch or not to rewatch? That’s always one of the big questions at the heart of the latest MCU release. With Brand New Day, I wondered if I ought to revisit 2021’s No Way Home to remind myself how we got to the point where nobody remembered Peter Parker anymore. But ultimately, I decided I would prefer not to and instead see how this chapter stands on its own (which is typically my prerogative in general). And I believe I made the right decision. While things started off feeling a little vague, I appreciated that this movie didn’t feel the need to recap itself to death and instead give off at least a hint of mystery.
Criss-Cross: Brand New Day reaches towards the platonic ideal of a true low-key comic book crossover sensibility. We’ve seen Peter team up with all the major Avengers already, but what about the other rando Marvel heroes and villains we’ve yet to see him interact with before? Several of them are in this movie! But not all of them, as that would be too overwhelming. Sometimes superhero flicks have multiple antagonists combined with a whole host of friendly cameos, and it ends up feeling like three or four (or a thousand) different movies smashed together. But in this case, it feels natural enough that all these folks would be interacting with each other in this series of scenarios.
They Had an Effect on Me: My biggest bummer with BND is that the visual effects are too slick in the way that our digitized and sanitized CGI era so often is. There’s just not much tactility as Spidey swings around the Big Apple. Nevertheless, there is a decent amount of emotional heft to the big set pieces. It helps when there are some close-up shots interspersed within those sequences, as Tom Holland’s eternally youthful visage immediately conveys plenty of vulnerability.
Brand New Enough Indeed: Ultimately, I’m pleased to report that I was satisfied by Brand New Day because it didn’t feel like just more of the same once again in the way that so many Marvel movies have. While it didn’t quite blow me away like the most transcendent examples of this genre, I never quite knew where we headed. The reveals are clever, the ideas are sincere, and the enthusiasm is still real.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is Recommended If You Like: A mix of the old and the new
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Lattice Quanta
July 15, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Andrew Howard, Anne Hathaway, Benny Safdie, Bill Irwin, Charlize Theron, Christopher Nolan, Corey Hawkins, Elliot Page, Elyes Gabel, Himesh Patel, James Remar, Jimmy Gonzales, John Leguizamo, Jon Bernthal, Logan Marshall-Green, Lupita Nyong’o, Matt Damon, Mia Goth, Robert Pattinson, Samantha Morton, The Odyssey, The Odyssey 2026, Tom Holland, Travis Scott, Will Yun Lee, Zendaya
It certainly has been an Odyssey (CREDIT: Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures)
Starring: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Lupita Nyong’o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Benny Safdie, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Bill Irwin, Himesh Patel, Will Yun Lee, Corey Hawkins, Mia Goth, Logan Marshall-Green, Jimmy Gonzales, Andrew Howard, Travis Scott, Elliot Page, James Remar, Elyes Gabel
Director: Christopher Nolan
Running Time: 173 Minutes
Rating: R for Monstrous Violence and a Few Four-Letter Words
Release Date: July 17, 2026 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: The King of Ithaca, just wants to get back home! And if he could, he’d also like to safely return the men who served alongside him in the Trojan War, thank you very much. It’s been years. Decades, even! Obviously, travel times were much longer in the B.C. days, but when it’s getting to be ten years since the end of the war (on top of the ten that the war itself lasted), it’s a little ridiculous even by Ancient Greek standards. But that’s just the daily struggle for Odysseus when his life is ruled by the gods and they place a series of monstrous and magical obstacles in his way. Back in Ithaca, Odysseus’s queen Penelope and son Telemachus have been patiently and faithfully awaiting his return. But the situation is becoming more and more untenable, as a legion of suitors are demanding that Penelope finally get around to remarrying one of them. We’re talking about one of the most enduring works of mythic storytelling in human history, and this version from Christopher Nolan can reasonably claim to be the most epic adaptation yet.
What Made an Impression?: The Entire Known World: The moment that most blew me away in this telling of The Odyssey was a simple but all-encompassing shot of a ship navigating along a seemingly endless sea. Simply put, if you give Christopher Nolan hundreds of millions of dollars, he’s going to make you re-evaluate our entire conception of reality, even if he’s telling a story we’ve heard plenty of times before.
As Epic as They Wanna Be: That ship shot is a microcosm of Nolan’s entire odyssean m.o. This is an epic film with an epic cast, on epic sets, with epic visual effects, soundtracked by an epic score. Even Odysseus’ loyal pooch Argos was probably the oldest living dog of his era! And nothing sticks out awkwardly just to add to the gargantuanness. Every piece of this movie, no matter how major or minor, is there to shoot its meaning directly into our souls.
They Are Merely Players: Is Matt Damon now the gold standard for Odysseus? Does Anne Hathaway’s Penelope one-up everyone? Is Tom Holland’s Telemachus simply undeniable? As far as the acting is concerned, basically the entire cast performed their parts more or less exactly as I expected them to, and they all acquitted themselves quite well. I kinda wish at least one performance had been much more unpredictable so that I could say something weirder, but I’m not complaining. Sometimes meeting expectations is exactly how you must rise to the occasion.
How’s Your Appetite?: You know what else blew me away? The scene when Circe (Samantha Morton) turns Odysseus’ men into swine. The warping of their faces into porcine mugs is some legitimately groovy body horror. And the rest of the visual effects are similarly creative and effective at conveying the sense that human existence is totally helpless.
A Word From the Head Honcho: As I wrap up this review, let me end on a theme that this film underlines over and over: Zeus’ Law. The idea is that any visitor in your home could be a god in disguise, so you really ought to treat them with hospitality. This is a lesson that transcends all religions and societies, and it goes a long way towards explaining why Odysseus is able to last as long as he does. The Greek gods may have been petty and cruel, but I nevertheless hope that plenty of moviegoers end up taking Zeus’ Law to heart.
The Odyssey is Recommended If You Like: Rereading books you read in high school, Ray Harryhausen, Cecil B. DeMille
Grade: 4 out of 5 Suitors
April 14, 2026
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alana Haim, Hailey Benton Gates, Kristoffer Borgli, Mamoudou Athie, Robert Pattinson, The Drama, Zendaya, Zoë Winters
How do you pronounce “The Drama”? (CREDIT: Jaclyn Martinez)
Starring: Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Alana Haim, Mamoudou Athie, Hailey Benton Gates, Zoë Winters
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: April 3, 2026 (Theaters)
I’ve heard chatter about how The Drama has led to breakups between couples who watched it together, so I figured it could be a public service for any of us who have already seen it to share our experiences to help the uninitiated figure out what they’re potentially in for. I knew going in that Zendaya’s character Emma was going to reveal the worst thing she’d ever done, and that that revelation would make her fiance Charlie (played by Robert Pattinson) and her friends played by Alana Haim and Mamoudou Athie completely re-evaluate everything they know about her. But as for the actual nature of that secret? I never would’ve guessed it.
I saw The Drama with my brother-in-law, a grad school friend, and a karaoke friend, and we were all pretty much on the same page about what the consequences of this revelation ought to have been. So how can you be similarly lucky in your moviegoing companions? Well, that’s a little tricky to say for sure, since this is definitely a flick where you’ll want to go in completely cold. But in general, I’d say opt for a crew made up of folks who are all generally down for whatever.
Grade: 79 [Redacted] out of 100 Wine Tastings
April 29, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alan Ritchson, Alex Pettyfer, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Challengers, Danny Sapani, Eiza González, Freddie Fox, Guy Ritchie, Henrique Zaga, Henry Cavill, Henry Golding, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Josh O'Connor, Luca Guadagnino, Mike Faist, Rory Kinnear, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Til Schweiger, Zendaya
Ungentlemanly Warfare, huh, what is it good for? CREDIT: Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures/Lionsgate
Challengers
Starring: Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, Mike Faist
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Running Time: 131 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: April 26, 2024 (Theaters)
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Starring: Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Alan Ritchson, Henry Golding, Alex Pettyfer, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Babs Olusanmokun, Cary Elwes, Til Schweiger, Henrique Zaga, Rory Kinnear, Danny Sapani, Freddie Fox
Director: Guy Ritchie
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: April 19, 2024 (Theaters)
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December 14, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Alfred Molina, Angourie Rice, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benedict Wong, Hannibal Burress, J.B. Smoove, J.K. Simmons, Jacob Batalon, Jamie Foxx, Jon Favreau, Jon Watts, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Marvel Cine, MCU, Rhys Ifans, Spider-Man, Spider-Man No Way Home, Thomas Haden Church, Tom Holland, Tony Revolori, Willem Dafoe, Zendaya
Spider-Man: No Way Home (CREDIT: Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures)
Starring: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, J.K. Simmons, Thomas Haden Church, Rhys Ifans, Tony Revolori, J.B. Smoove, Hannibal Burress, Martin Starr, Angourie Rice
Director: Jon Watts
Running Time: 148 Minutes
Rating: R for The Usual Punching and Stabbing, Perhaps a Little Darker Than Usual
Release Date: December 17, 2021 (Theaters)
Hey, it’s our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man back on the big screen! Or maybe, that should be our friendly neighborhood Spider … Men? (Hey, wasn’t there another recent movie that asked that same question? With so many years of comic book history to draw upon, you can be multi-universal in multiple ways.)
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October 23, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clementine, Chang Chen, Charlotte Rampling, Dave Bautista, David Dastmalchian, Denis Villeneuve, Dune, Dune 2021, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Stellan Skarsgård, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya
Dune (CREDIT: Warner Bros. Pictures/Screenshot)
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Chang Chen, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Babs Olusanmokun, Benjamin Clementine
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Running Time: 156 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 22, 2021 (Theaters and HBO Max)
I was fully asleep for about the last third of Dune. I thought I was just nodding off, but next thing I know, Timothée Chalamet was heading off into the desert with Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson as the credits started to roll, and it sure didn’t feel like two and a half hours had passed.
If this sort of thing happened back when I used to work at a movie theater, I would just peek in the next day while working to catch what I missed. Luckily, HBO Max can now serve that purpose for WB flicks, so that’s what I did in this case. Also of note in terms of what happened the day after: I attended an event at my church during which a priest talked about how he’s fine with people nodding off during mass because that means they’re just quietly meditating. Ergo, I was just quietly meditating during the journey on Arrakis.
I don’t think Dune put me to sleep because it was boring. It wasn’t. Rather, it was just so dark and overwhelming. Those spaceships were HUGE! That all contrasts heavily with the protagonist, who’s awfully skinny and named simply Paul. I have an uncle named Paul, and he’s not traversing planets in a quest for the most valuable item in the universe. This is all to say, what we have here is a mix of accessible and gigantic.
Grade: Sure, I’ll Take Another Go-Round in the Desert
July 26, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Anthony Davis, Bob Bergen, Bugs Bunny, Candi Milo, Cedric Joe, Ceyair J. Wright, Damian Lillard, Diana Taurasi, Don Cheadle, Eric Bauza, Ernie Johnson, Gabriel Iglesias, Harper Leigh Alexander, Jeff Bergman, Khris Davis, Klay Thompson, LeBron James, Lil Rel Howery, Looney Tunes, Malcolm D. Lee, Nneka Ogwumike, Sarah Silverman, Sonequa Martin-Green, Space Jam, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Steven Yeun, Zendaya
Cartoon LeBron (CREDIT:
Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube Screenshot)
Starring: LeBron James, Bugs Bunny, Don Cheadle, Sonequa Martin-Green, Cedric Joe, Khris Davis, Ceyair J. Wright, Harper Leigh Alexander, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Lola Bunny (Zendaya), Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, Tweety Bird, Granny, Speedy Gonzales, Tasmanian Devil, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza, Bob Bergen, Candi Milo, Gabriel Iglesias, Anthony Davis, Diana Taurasi, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, Nneka Ogwumike, Ernie Johnson, Lil Rel Howery, Sarah Silverman, Steven Yeun, Harry Potter, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, King Kong, Ilsa Lund, Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, The Iron Giant
Director: Malcolm D. Lee
Running Time: 115 Minutes
Rating: PG
Release Date: July 16, 2021 (Theaters and HBO Max)
The first Space Jam was unhinged; the second Space Jam is also unhinged, but it could be more unique. Or, it could be more committed to its own singular vision. What reality is it tethered to? Are these the same Looney Tunes from 25 years ago? When we get any sense of continuity, I’m intrigued. As for that journey through the Warner Bros “Server-verse”? Why not just fully commit to it and have Tony Soprano play point guard while the Droogs take up the frontcourt? Look, Al-G Rhythm’s plan makes no sense, LeBron’s conflict with his son makes no sense, the scoring system makes no sense, why not take that nonsense to the nth degree? I believe they could’ve flown blind.
Grade: Where’s the Basketball?* (*Said like the “Where’s the Beef?” Lady)
February 5, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
A Glitch in the Matrix, Bliss, FLOWERS for VASES / descansos, Foo Fighters, Hayley Williams, John Carpenter, John David Washington, Lost Themes III: Alive After Death, Malcolm & Marie, Medicine at Midnight, Owen Wilson, Puppy Bowl, Rodney Ascher, Salma Hayek, Super Bowl, The Snoopy Show, Zendaya
Malcolm & Marie (CREDIT: Netflix)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bliss (February 5 on Amazon) – Owen Wilson and Salma Hayek are living in a simulation
–A Glitch in the Matrix (Theaters and On Demand) – The latest documentary from Rodney Ascher is living in a simulation.
–Malcolm & Marie (Streaming on Netflix) – As played by John David and Zendaya.
TV
–The Snoopy Show (February 5 on Apple TV+)
-Puppy Bowl XVII (February 7 on Animal Planet)
-Super Bowl LV (February 7 on CBS)
Music
-John Carpenter, Lost Themes III: Alive After Death
-Foo Fighters, Medicine at Midnight
-Hayley Williams, FLOWERS for VASES / descansos
June 27, 2019
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Angourie Rice, Cobie Smulders, J.B. Smoove, Jacob Batalon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jon Favreau, Jon Watts, Marisa Tomei, Martin Starr, Marvel Cinematic Universe, MCU, Remy Hii, Samuel L. Jackson, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Tom Holland, Tony Revolori, Zendaya
CREDIT: Sony Pictures/YouTube
Starring: Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Zendaya, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Angourie Rice, Martin Starr, J.B. Smoove, Marisa Tomei, Tony Revolori, Remy Hii
Director: Jon Watts
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Nicks and Bruises from Webslinging Around and Awkward Situations That Teenager Somehow Stumble Into
Release Date: July 2, 2019
The name of the game is the ol’ switcheroo, the bait-and-switch, the smoke-and-mirrors routine … yeah, that’s the ticket. It’s only been a couple of months since the release of Avengers: Endgame, but despite all that seeming finality, the MCU must continue. And the first arrival in this new status quo is Spider-Man: Far From Home, which means we’re going to kick things off with an in memoriam montage that features Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You,” Comic Sans lettering, and a Getty Images-watermarked photo. But there are also some baddies to defeat, although Peter Parker (Tom Holland) would much rather focus on his school’s European class trip and taking things to a more romantic realm with his friend MJ (Zendaya). You get the sense that this cinematic iteration of Spider-Man would also like to just focus on the high school ecosystem. But superhero movie requirements beckon, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers’ script does a fun enough job of incorporating Peter and his pals’ shenanigans into the CGI blowout.
The topsy-turvy hook begins with the fallout from the fact that the people who were snapped away in Infinity War and then returned in Endgame (referred to here as “the Blip”) have not aged the five years that everyone who remained did. Adding to all the pandemonium is the appearance of Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), a caped-and-suited fellow who claims to be from a parallel Earth and is here to help fight some monsters that have escaped from his world. But not all is as it seems, as characters may not be who they say they are, relationships have sudden accelerations and decelerations, and it really isn’t what it looks like when a classmate discovers Peter taking his pants off next to a much older woman.
That sense of the wool being pulled over and off and back on everyone’s eyes lasts all the way through to the end of the credits, with the extra scenes turning out to be surprisingly essential in clarifying what just happened. Peter’s efforts to puncture his way into what’s really going on have a satisfying vibe of getting past the bullshit. However, that level of satisfaction is not met with any corresponding visual panache, as Far From Home plays it way too safe in the standard-issue Marvel CGI department. If this is the post-Endgame status quo, at least it won’t be so stressful.
Spider-Man: Far From Home is Recommended If You Like: Spider-Man: Homecoming, High Quality Character-Centric Jokewriting
Grade: I don’t know how to grade these Marvel movies anymore. I could give it a 4 out of 5 for Fun, but I also want to downgrade it to 3.5 out of 5 for (Lack of) Originality, and then I also want to downgrade it to Less Than 3.5 out of 5 for Frustration about this being yet another good-but-not great Marvel movie. So my overall grade is all of that somehow mixed together.
September 28, 2018
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Abominable Snowman, Channing Tatum, Common, Danny DeVito, Gina Rodriguez, James Corden, Karey Kirkpatrick, LeBron James, Smallfoot, Yara Shahidi, Yeti, Zendaya
CREDIT: Warner Bros. Animation
This review was originally publshed on News Cult in September 2018.
Starring: Channing Tatum, James Corden, Zendaya, Common, LeBron James, Gina Rodriguez, Danny DeVito, Yara Shahidi
Director: Karey Kirkpatrick
Running Time: 96 Minutes
Rating: PG for Falling Thousands of Feet with Few Lasting Consequences
Release Date: September 28, 2018
A surefire formula in storytelling is the whole ol’ switcheroo. Taking a timeworn trope and turning its perspective inside out has proven to be valuable on many occasions. Smallfoot runs with that idea, getting a lot of mileage out of reversing its approach to a common myth. It does not just presuppose a world in which Yeti do exist, but one in which there is an entire race of them with their own advanced society. Furthermore, to the Yeti, the existence of humans is the stuff of legends, thus the moniker of the mythical “Smallfoot.” It’s not the most profound premise, but it’s delightful enough to tickle those in the mood for wonder.
It all comes down to, as so many of these animated jaunts do, an interspecies friendship. Migo (Channing Tatum) is a Yeti on the verge of taking on some adult Yeti responsibility when his world rocked by the appearance of a creature with a less-than-gigantic footprint. He proceeds to venture down below the clouds to find the truth behind this encounter, which is when his path crosses with Percy Patterson (James Corden), a nature TV host desperate to restore his popularity. Both man and beast can speak intelligently, but Migo’s words sound like growls to Percy, and Percy’s sound like squeaks to Migo. Yet somehow a connection is forged, and the repartee is quite charming from Tatum and Corden, as well as Zendaya as a fellow Yeti who is especially enthusiastic about the existence of Smallfoots. Providing the ominous (but also unnervingly wise) counterpoint is Common as the Stonekeeper, a Yeti elder who knows the reality of Yeti-human history but propagates an elaborate mythology designed to prevent the truth from being exposed.
As you might guess based on its genre and some of its cast members, Smallfoot is a musical, which I found to be a tad exhausting. To be fair, that is my typical reaction to musicals, what with their inherently overly dramatic manipulation of emotions, and Smallfoot‘s songs do not do much to change my mind. But there is one number rapped by Common that wonderfully reveals the foundation of Yeti society and serves as the crux of the film. The tension driving the best moments of Smallfoot are all about being lost (or not quite lost) in translation. The fear and anticipation mixed up by this inherent confusion leads to a bunch of hijinks and a lot of intrigue and ultimately an attempt at peace and integration that offers hope that this motley world can make it with all of its mixed-up parts working together.
Smallfoot is Recommended If You Like: The search for Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman, Happy Feet, Storks
Grade: 3 out of 5 Footprints
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