By Jonathan Decker (Clinical Director, LMFT) WHAT’S AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR ABOUT? The Avengers team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to battle Thanos and his quest to balance the universe through genocide. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A-) Manage your expectations. Not about the film’s quality, mind you; it’s very good. In fact, given the sheer number of characters to juggle, itR ...[Read More]
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Family Movie Review
BLACK PANTHER Family Movie Review
By Lindsi Neilson WHAT’S BLACK PANTHER ABOUT? After his father’s death, T’Challa returns home to Wakanda to be crowned king. When a previously unknown enemy appears and threatens T’Challa’s nation and the world, he must figure out what kind of king he is before the destruction of everything he and his family stand for. Rent or buy it here. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A) Let’s start things off by talki ...[Read More]
THOR: RAGNAROK Family Movie Review
By Justin Lozada WHAT’S THOR: RAGNAROK ABOUT? The God of Thunder is back on the big screen in his third solo outing, but he’s definitely not alone. Joining him on his latest adventure are his mischievous brother, Loki, the beautiful but formidable Valkyrie, and the big green guy himself, the Incredible Hulk. Thor faces his greatest challenge yet as he squares off against a new foe with superior p ...[Read More]
SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING ABOUT? With the blessing of Tony Stark (Iron Man), Peter Parker tries to prove himself a hero while juggling a social and academic life. (Buy it here and get the previous five Spidey films here). IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A) One would think rebooting Spider-Man for the third time in 15 years would lead to a stale, unins ...[Read More]
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 ABOUT? Marvel’s intergalactic antiheroes battle new enemies (and old) when a being (Kurt Russell) introduces himself as Peter’s father. (PRE-ORDER IT HERE AND BUY THE ORIGINAL FROM OUR STORE) IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A-) Everything a sequel should be, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 builds on n ...[Read More]
DOCTOR STRANGE Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S DOCTOR STRANGE ABOUT? A brilliant-but-arrogant surgeon takes a journey that will transform him into a time-and-space-bending superhero. Rent or buy it here. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: B+) Utterly unique in the Marvel movie universe, Doctor Strange presents a metaphysical adventure with dazzling kaleidoscope imagery. Benedict Cumb ...[Read More]
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR ABOUT? When the United Nations wants to assume authority over the Avengers, the heroes are divided over whether to comply. The ideological divide, coupled with a villain’s machinations, eventually pit the super-friends against one another. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: A+) Getting right everything Batman v. ...[Read More]
FANTASTIC FOUR Family Movie Review
By Jonathan Decker (Family therapist, film critic) WHAT’S FANTASTIC FOUR ABOUT? Exposure to energy from another dimension leaves a group of young adults with a variety of superpowers. IS IT ANY GOOD? (GRADE: D) To be clear, this is a film about Marvel characters, but it is not a Marvel Studios film. Fox owns the rights, and while the studio gave us the occasionally-brilliant X-Men franchise, ...[Read More]
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Family Movie Review
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN REVIEW (GRADE: B+) A more dramatically mature take on the character than the bubblegum fun of Sam Raimi’s trilogy, The Amazing Spider-Man will appeal more to teens and adults, despite targeting merchandise at children. This is due largely to Marc Webb’s less fanciful direction and the performances he gets from his actors. Andrew Garfield is much less of a sweet-h ...[Read More]
SPIDER-MAN Revisited: The Original Trilogy
By Jonathan Decker (Clinical Director, LMFT) With the franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, getting good buzz and arriving in theaters next week, I thought it time to take a retrospective look at Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, which arguably kicked the current superhero craze into high gear. While it’s true that Bryan Singer’s X-Men (2000) got the ball rolling, it was the en ...[Read More]