[Reviews] Movie Review: Captain America – Civil War

The Marvel universe develops itself and its characters in this riveting blend of action and morality

dracosummoner @May 13th, 2016 | Categories: Comics, Entertainment, Featured Posts, Film | 6 Comments »

Before I’d ever heard of the Marvel comic event that would eventually beget this film, I had a vision of a superhero story where collateral damage is used as an excuse to discredit superheroes and to call for their arrest or cessation. Captain America: Civil War more or less is that story, and its often […]

[Reviews] Movie Review: Ratchet and Clank

It feels like the games that spawned it--so much so that you may as well just play those.

dracosummoner @April 29th, 2016 | Categories: Entertainment, Featured Posts, Film | 2 Comments »

Movies based on video games rarely receive warm welcomes, but Ratchet & Clank’s earnest treatment of a well-worn heroic journey is best described as forgettable but not awful: many of the jokes and action scenes feel like they’re working against their own film, but the whole production stays focused and makes too many acceptable design decisions […]

[Reviews] Dedicated Movie Review: Wolf Children

dracosummoner @January 7th, 2016 | Categories: Anime, Cartoons, Entertainment, Featured Posts, Film, review, SideArc | 4 Comments »

This review is dedicated to my longtime best friend–a lover of wolves, a conservationist, and an anime fan. And, very recently, the birthday girl! Director and co-writer Mamoru Hosoda delivers in Wolf Children a gem of an ode to the heartrending challenges and unimaginable joys of parenthood. Hana is a university student who falls in […]

[Reviews] Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens

A classic series' latest installment is a classic all its own and has gained new life under its new management.

dracosummoner @December 19th, 2015 | Categories: Entertainment, Featured Posts, Film, SideArc | 1 Comment »

Director J.J. Abrams once said that as a youth he enjoyed Star Wars more than the Star Trek franchise he’s dabbled in, and the high-energy antics he brought to the latter franchise find the warmest of welcomes in George Lucas’ time-honored saga. The Force Awakens feels reverent of its venerable legacy even to an arguable […]

[Reviews] Movie Review: Sicario

This drug-war narrative in Mexico brings a conscience without alienating thrill-seekers

dracosummoner @December 18th, 2015 | Categories: Entertainment, Film | No Comments »

(It feels so good to finally make time to finish a post I’d been too busy to work on for two months.) After FBI agent Kate Macer gets drawn into a conflict south of the Tex-Mex border, she learns that the war on drugs is much more complicated, and much more tragic, than any one […]

[Movie Reviews] Dedicated Post: The Wind Rises

A legendary director's cinematic bow could use more detail but honors his legacy well

dracosummoner @October 3rd, 2015 | Categories: Anime, Cartoons, Entertainment, Film | 5 Comments »

(The Sidearc edition of this post is dedicated to a user and friend, @panamapunk, without whom I don’t know I would have ever been motivated to see this film. It was worth it, and hence he is in part to thank for this review and the experiences that built it.) There is more to be […]