Review: 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness'

by Nathaniel R

In the recent What If? series on Disney+, which is based on the comic book series of the same name, Marvel's writers could fashion any kind of variation on traditional heroes (and villains) and storylines without any actual consequences for the large familiar canon. Zombie avengers? Sure! Peggy Carter as Captain America? Why not! The What If? series of the 1970s was not quite the beginning of the Multiverse in comics but it was close enough. These thought experiments were always pitched as alternate realities (as opposed to pure fiction) though it took awhile before the effects were felt. The multiverse essentially became a shortcut to any type of retconning any storyteller wanted to do; Contrary to all that dialogue in Loki, Marvel has no "sacred" timeline given all the reversals, resurrections, reboots, and switcheroos. The multiverse virus was even more of an epidemic in DC comics, Marvel's top competitor.

Unfortunately if What If is essentially fan-fiction without the fans, then Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is arguably stingers without a movie. The latest MCU movie is positively awash in cameos and teases for future installments, resulting in a film that feels very much like an incoherent feature-length mid-credits scene... 

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Review: Season 1 of 'Pachinko'

by Lynn Lee

from 'Pachinko's opening credits. © Apple TV+

Can a country truly be your home if it never fully accepts you?  Can a country still be your homeland if you left behind your life there and have never gone back?  

These questions haunt the lush, sweeping AppleTV+ period drama series Pachinko, which recently concluded its first season.  So far, so universal: the yearning for roots, for a sense of belonging, should resonate with anyone who’s ever been displaced or separated from their family or place of origin.  At the same time, the show – based on the best-selling novel by Min Jin Lee – focuses on a very specific chapter of history that isn’t well known outside of Korea and Japan, yet in many ways echoes the frictions, tensions, and injustices underpinning the history of race and immigration in other countries...

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Review: No fun to be had in 'Morbius'

By Ben Miller 

Too silly to take seriously, but too serious to be any fun, Daniel Espinosa's Morbius suffers from a lack of vision and commitment from its stars and filmmakers. Jared Leto stars as Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant scientist suffering from a rare blood disease that has been wrecking his body since childhood. Dr. Morbius is supported by his colleague Dr. Martin Bancroft (Adria Arjona) and his best friend Milo (Matt Smith), who also suffers from the same blood disease.

Morbius attempts to cure himself by using the genetic mapping of vampire bats to compliment his own DNA. You can guess that the experiments go array giving Morbius a form of vampirism...

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Review: The Girl From Plainville (Hulu)

By Christopher James

Elle Fanning tackles the role of Michelle Carter, the teen who convinced her boyfriend to take his own life, in "The Girl From Plainville."The trend of documentaries getting turned into narrative miniseries continues with The Girl from Plainview on Hulu. The case of The Commonwealth vs. Michelle Carter has been widely reported on through documentary and deep dive articles. The story touches on so many hot button items: teenage suicide, social media, bullying in relationships and whether one can prosecute someone over texts. 

So does the new Hulu series have more to say on the topic that has already been said?

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Linker by the Dozen

• NYT Governors Awards. Kyle Buchanan reports on the Honorary Oscars Friday night. Such a pity these aren't televised
• /Film Paramount+ has its highest watched premiere for the new series Halo
• AV Club Lin-Manuel Miranda has to skip the Oscars this year. His wife has tested positive for COVID
• Vulture Joe Reid ranks every Oscar nominee. This is lots of fun and a quick read given the 53 films

More after the jump including Parker Posey, snarky Oscar commentary, animated short, Everything Everywhere All At Once and recent reviews...

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