Author: Joshua Ryan

Movie ReviewsReviewsStellar Picks

‘Eternity’ Delivers a Powerful, Heart-Crushing Meditation on Love Beyond Life

A24’s Eternity is a story about the journey rather than the destination. The question of whether an afterlife exists and what it consists of has been a topic of debate since the beginning of time. Since the advent of film, filmmakers have endeavored to explore this concept. Eternity presents an afterlife where the newly deceased must choose a destination to spend their

Read More
ReviewsTV & Streaming Series Reviews

‘Marvel Zombies’ is Undead and Underwhelming

Twenty years ago, the limited run of Marvel Zombies hit comic stands. Now, the story of our favorite heroes turned flesh-hungry undead horde is brought to life through the colorfully vibrant animation style of Marvel’s What If…? series. The idea was first explored in the fifth episode of the first season of What If…?, and was hinted at even earlier when the zombified

Read More
ReviewsTV & Streaming Series Reviews

‘Ironheart’: Small-Scale, Big Impact

Ironheart made her MCU debut in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the 2022 follow-up to the original Black Panther. While I love the sequel, the absence of Chadwick Boseman and T’Challa made the continuation of Wakanda’s story difficult, and the character of Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne, Judas and the Black Messiah) didn’t stand out in the action-packed battle against Namor. In her

Read More
Movie ReviewsReviews

‘Predator: Killer of Killers’: A Fresh Take on a Killer Franchise

Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the height of his action star persona, went toe-to-toe with an advanced, trophy-hunting alien species and won. As Dutch in John McTiernan’s Predator, Schwarzenegger embodied the muscled-up masculinity of 80s action cinema. For decades, the franchise existed as an exercise in machismo, featuring strong-minded, big-biceped men in combat against the physically superior species of hunter. That all shifted

Read More
Movie ReviewsReviews

‘The Penguin Lessons’ is a Wholesome Yet Conventional Story About a Man and His Penguin

People love animals, and the charms and cuteness of animals have acted as the driving force behind heartfelt and wholesome stories for decades. The Penguin Lessons follows in the footsteps of movies like Beethoven, with a curmudgeonly middle-aged man who reluctantly takes in a pet, only to form a bond with the animal that changes his outlook on life. It all feels very

Read More
Movie ReviewsReviews

‘Disfluency’: A Heartfelt Coming-of-Age Drama That Falls Short

Disfluency tackles the coming-of-age genre with a fresh sense of honesty that helps to carry an otherwise weak and didactic script. There are lessons to take away from this story, and writer/director Anna Baumgarten wants to make certain that those messages are received. Still, it’s a film that feels relevant, relatable and important for the time. Not every generation is blessed with

Read More