July 2026 [20-26]
The Mummy, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Hades Town: The Musical, The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- The Mummy [1999] - 62
A longtime family favorite and one I haven’t seen since I was in high-school, Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy isn’t a movie I think most anyone would call “great” in any sort of cinematic sense… But I think that same group of “anyone” would be equally hard pressed to say it isn’t a damn good time. Regardless of how you feel once the credits roll, The Mummy is an undeniably interesting time capsule in terms of where movies have gone both narratively and socially since. I expected to walk away from this with a healthy load of nostalgic fun [which I absolutely did], but I was genuinely surprised to come away with this lesson on how both different, and the same, cinema has become. Overall an excellent “baby’s first adventure movie” with some surprisingly strong visual fx, The Mummy might just be fun enough to bring your rotting soul back from the dead.
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania [2023] - 58
Ah yes, another post-Endgame sequel to an already mediocre line of films… Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is one of those arcs that takes something rare, dangerous, or difficult from an earlier part of the franchise [the “Quantum Realm” in this case] and completely eschews all purpose that thing had. This isn’t always bad — videogames sometimes do this by turning former boss-monsters into regular enemies to signify your power gains — but it is fragile, and the way Quantumania handles it is both uninteresting and bereft of purpose. Instead of the gang [there’s three of them now because you have to have wanted three since this is the third movie… Thright???] miniaturizing inside a briefcase or on a wooden train set, now they’re just… Small and/or large inside an atom, thus losing any interesting sense of relativity their powers usually carry. While the film does feature a handful of good vfx [particularly one character that splatters people like paint], it’s also a 2-hour advertisement for Kang the Conqueror… Who won’t even be part of the MCU anymore. So, this movie whose plot is already entirely manufactured simply for the sake of the next film, quickly becomes a meaningless stretch of time, because its core goal isn’t even going to be coming to fruition. *Yawns in Spy Kids.
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 [2023] - 76
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 might be my favorite example of two things I think the MCU seriously suffers from. First, I think it was designed as two films. Simply from the way it shoves Adam Warlock into the opening act and then does nothing with him in favor of the film’s other purpose [telling Rocket’s backstory], it’s really clear that there was a lot more of this adventure left behind, and everyone gets to suffer a weird half-plot because of it. Second [and this is not just an MCU issue], it is horrendously exploitative; Taking the interesting, moving, and already well executed story of Rocket, and unnecessarily tightening our nipple-clamps by making its little fuckoid-creatures so adorable and sweet that you’d be crushed even if you didn’t like the plot itself. While effective, it’s a cheap trick that didn’t need to be used here: Let your story speak for itself… And let creators tell the stories they want to, in the time they want to tell it. Though it could have been so much more, James Gunn’s impeccable styling continues to be the standout aesthetic of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. R.I.P. in piece Guardians, you’ll never be the same.
- The Marvels [2023] - 67
A movie sequel to a show I didn’t watch or even know about, 2023’s third MCU release, The Marvels is… Fun? Effectively serving as Captain Marvel 2, The Marvels is the superior version of both Multiverse of Madness and Quantumania in terms of showcasing wacky things in the wider multiverse, and having a gaggle of sillies do superhero stuff. That said… A superior version of those movies doesn’t take much, and The Marvels doesn’t have a ton to give. While it does have strengths — a very succinct runtime of 105-minutes being one, and a genuinely pretty funny use of “Moonlight” from Cats as another — The Marvels ultimately comes off as a desperate grasp at a new audience in a very “How do you do, fellow kids?” kind of way. It’s… Fine, and I’ll probably watch the show to get some more context, but it does have a very Scooby-Doo veneer that works for its runtime, but would get really old if it was any longer.
- Deadpool & Wolverine [2024] - 80
Now, this was one I expected to dislike for a whole host of probably obvious reasons… But I clearly didn’t. I waffle with the rating here because, on one hand, there’s a certain level of cynicism present in the whole Deadpool aesthetic that is very funny… But, on the other, is also very annoying because, if Disney can see that it does the things Deadpool lampoons and 4th-walls… Why doesn’t it change them? Like Guardians 1 and No Way Home, I had to give this a rating that could be reversed based on how irritating I found this aspect at any given time… And when I don’t find it irritating, this movie is goddamn silly and really really fun. I was genuinely surprised at how good of a time I had watching this and found it not only self aware in the way that Deadpool is as a character, but in the way that it sends off Hugh Jackman with all the brazen comedy, gore, violence, and sweetness that he and his cadre of original X-Men deserve. While certainly not the only catalysts, without those films back in the ancient year of two-thousand-and-nothing, we [for better and worse] don’t have any of the MCU that we have today. Thanks for the ride, bub.
- Captain America: Brave New World [2025] - 54
Well, Anthony Mackie gets his first shot at being the Captain… And he’s great, but the movie is uh… Not. Not particularly well told or scripted, Captain America: Brave New World is another “nothing waffle” of a movie in the post-Endgame junk-drawer that the MCU finds itself spiraling into. A recast that’s confusing because the character being replaced was minor [I think last appearing in 2021’s Black Widow] and insignificant [because the franchise refuses to engage with the Sokovia Accords], a story that inarticulately dabbles in the “those in power have to make powerful sacrifices” trope, and a side character who perfectly embodies the worst of Marvel’s comic relief nonsense, Captain America: Brave New World is effectively a greatest hits album of all the wrong lessons the MCU has taught filmmakers over the years.
- Thunderbolts* [2025] - 88
The absolute opposite of Brave New World, 2025’s second of three releases, Thunderbolts*, took everything the franchise has taught us and created its best outing yet. This movie is funny in a clever, authentic, and entirely non-cynical way. It is moving and smart, using not only incredibly cool sound and visual fx, but by being willing to throw hands other films here have pulled to tell a deeper, more important story… But it still can’t totally escape the Disney grasp by throwing away an entire character who got 0 time in the light, and also condensing what should have been two films into one. Those things aside though, Thunderbolts* is truly the best of the MCU, and the only thing besides Shang-Chi to come out after Endgame that seems to have any sense of identity or purpose. While I do really wish this story had been given a touch more patience to truly flourish, this is a great film on its own, and an immaculate one when viewed from outside the vivarium in which it exists.
- Hadestown: The Musical [2026] - 76
Briefly switching gears, Hades Town: The Musical is a filmed stage production of a play oft raved about by a friend of mine and, with the girlfriend out of town, I figured I’d pop out to the theater and check it out. Following the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, Hadestown is a jazzy, bluesy hoot of a musical doesn’t sound quite like anything else I’m familiar with, and is non-musicaly enough that I think even people who generally dislike the genre would find many of its tunes engaging and fun. That said, I think the story and songs themselves are fairly lacking in umph or development. 15-20 minutes shorter than the likes of Hamilton or Les Misérables, and only ~5 shorter than Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Hadestown is relatively flighty in duration, but equally bereft of weight or nuance. Yes, a couple songs stand out as particularly interesting, but none carry like “One Last Time”, “I Dreamed A Dream”, or “Come What May”, and the story is a beast of its parts, rather than having individually meaningful pieces to its whole. It’s still good, it just doesn’t quite tip over into “great”.
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps [2025] - 59
Similar to Thunderbolts* and all the Guardians content, this is my second time watching The Fantastic Four: First Steps within a year’s timespan [almost exactly a year actually, as my first watch was July 25, 2025, this time being on the 26th… An anniversary I will not be repeating]… And it’s still just “OK”. Again… This is a film that feels like it should have been two movies — one about the Silver Surfer, and one about Galactus — and would have been significantly stronger had it been split up. As is, this is a movie that makes bawically no sense in terms of plot justifications, and features a lot of events that happen simply so the next ones are allowed to, very similar to the beginning of Spider-Man: No Way Home… What this movie lacks, however, is the powerful middle that has, thus leaving this just kind of a meaningless [albeit fun-enough] mess that doesn’t hold up when actually examined. Certainly not “offensive” in any way, it’s just incredibly bland and kind of dumb.
