X-Men (2000)

"We are the future, Charles, not them! They no longer matter!"

Despite being one of the biggest comic publishers in the industry with some of the most iconic heroes, Marvel long struggled to successfully bring those same characters to the big screen. They had a few hits on TV with The Incredible Hulk and some animated series, but its movies were routinely terrible, low budget embarrassments like Captain America, The Punisher, Howard the Duck, and the Fantastic Four movie that Roger Corman made for tuppence just to hold onto the screen rights and never released. But then one movie changed all that, gave Marvel the critical and commercial hit it had long craved and set them on the path towards becoming a giant of the industry.

And that film was... Blade.

Oh, and a few years later X-Men came out and did okay.

Shark Warning!

"We can't have a fishing tournament without any fish, and there are plenty of them just outside the dam."

I really wasn’t expecting a lot here. Any movie that has punctuation in its title is worthy of skepticism, especially if the punctuation is an exclamation mark.

But this was a surprisingly fun time.

Mobland: Season One Review

Mobland is a Guy Ritchie-produced gangster soap opera set in London starring Tom Hardy. Sadly, it is not quite A Tom Hardy Show. Mobland is bingeable, mildly forgettable, and worth watching if you’re already subscribed to Paramount+ for something else.

Mad Max: Fury Road

"WITNESS ME!"

This souped-up monster truck of a movie recently had its ten year anniversary, and I happened to notice we do not have a review for it. I'd like to fix that.

Doctor Who: The Reality War

"Well, now you're going too far."

OK, that was a lot. And then a second helping of 'a lot.' With 'a lot' sprinkles on top.

You just know there's about to be a spoiler manatee.

Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett (Discworld 10)

"The whole of life is just like watching a film. Only it's as though you always get in ten minutes after the big picture has started, and no-one will tell you the plot, so you have to work it out all yourself from the clues."

The tenth book of the Discworld novels is considered to be a part of the Unseen University (UU) arc, but it also feels like its own thing as it addresses what happens when movies are made on the Disc, and the consequences of those Holy Wood* dreams.

Mini Comic Reviews: June, 2025

This month I'll be taking a look at Saga, The Department of Truth, Absolute Green Lantern, JLA/Avengers, and X-Men comics past and present.

Dexter Original Sin: Blood Drive

"This was not the blood drive I was hoping for."

A penultimate cliffhangery episode that left us in the lurch. Typical Dexter.

Resident Alien: The Weight

You took someone's life. Doesn't matter if doing it saved the lives of 100 people. It's supposed to feel bad. It means you have compassion and empathy. You still have your soul.

Episode description: "Asta tells Dan about the shooting while Harry learns what it takes to be a good friend."

Faust Eric by Terry Pratchett (Discworld 9)

“Come on. Let's run away."
"Where to?"
Rincewind sighed. He'd tried to make his basic philosophy clear time and again, and people never got the message.
"Don't you worry about to," he said. "In my experience that always takes care of itself. The important word is away."

The ninth book of Discworld! The title varies between Faust Eric and simply Eric, but it is largely a parody of Faust, who sold his soul for knowledge and pleasure. But it also brings back a main character on the way.

No Way Up

"Sorry about that little incident. We hit some birds, but all is fine. I hope it didn't cause too many goose bumps."

We get a more modern movie this week. I had actually planned on reviewing it last summer, but couldn’t find it anywhere to stream. The premise had intrigued me, but I also doubted that it would be exploited to its fullest potential.

Summer Double Features

Memorial Day is behind us, temperatures are starting to rise, and the humidity levels around here are already on their way to "bring a snorkel to go outside". We still have a few weeks before the official start of summer, but it's never too early to line up some summer movies to watch or re-watch.

This started out as a list of "favorite" or "best" summer movies, but do you really need someone else telling you to watch Jaws again?* Instead, I've lined up some double-features for an imaginary drive-in where we pair a classic summer blockbuster (about which I will say no more, because you already know that you're gonna need a bigger boat) with a lesser-known gem.