The Marvels, the latest big screen foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been the subject of harsh criticism by the League of Armchair Critics who trashed it without the benefit of actually seeing it. They will tell you the all-female superheroine cast was “too woke” and that the story was too … [Read More...]
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The Sanctum Sangiacomo: We Named the Sequel Dial of Destiny!
Now THAT is how to end a movie series! Indiana Jones rides triumphantly into the sunset with Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a movie so good that we can now pretend 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull never happened. Dial of Destiny is everything fans could want in an … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: FLASH! He’ll Save Every One of Us!
The Flash, a long-anticipated movie bereft with problems and controversy, is an ambitious undertaking which fluctuates wildly from brilliant to pedestrian, succeeding more often than it fails. The plot, pulled right from the comics, is intriguing. Overcome by sorrow, the Flash (Ezra Miller) ignores the … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse!
The animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may be the most significant Marvel movie since the last Avengers movie. The writing is brilliant, the animation is the best I've ever seen (though they still too often use the boring, blocky triangle body shape for men), and there are more than enough Easter … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Guard On, Ye Guardians!
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 may be the best film of the trilogy, with tons of action, pathos, and casual humor sprinkled perfectly throughout. It’s one thing to create a silly comedy (see Spaceballs) and another to insert actual funny lines and sequences that do not detract from the overall seriousness of a … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Wakanda Forever. Like Forever Ever? Yes, Please!
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a chick flick, but not in the way you’d expect. This time around the women are the warriors and they run the show following the tragic (real life) death of Chadwick Boseman and the mysterious death of the Black Panther. I don’t know how they could do it, but we really … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Black Adam Takes Superhero Movies, Shines Them Up, Turns Them Sideways, and….
Black Adam scores a much-needed hit for the DC Comics movie universe thanks to a strong cast led by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and a comic book inspired script. This is a film that non-comic book fans will be able to understand and follow, but will make comic enthusiasts flip their capes. There are Easter … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Love, Lightning, Laughter, and Something for the Ladies!
The new Thor film movie Thor: Love and Thunder could have just as easily been called Lightning and Laughter. Either way, it would be a hit. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role as the Norse God of Thunder, trying to figure out his place in a universe which has become increasingly complicated. He … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Doctor, Heal Thyselves!
Remember reading those early adventures of Dr. Strange and wishing you could see artist Steve Ditko’s crazy reality-tearing images on the big screen? Turns out, you can. Using the universes created by the late Ditko as a canvas, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens the door to the next phase of … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Doctor, Why Are You Looking at Me That Way?
Morbius is much better than you may have been led to believe. It’s solid 104 minutes of action, angst, and special effects that are effective, but not overwhelming. In a world where special effects are outrageous (and cost a fortune), Morbius followed a budget. That’s not a bad thing, since it allows the … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: That’s THE Batman to You!
The latest cinematic excursion into the Batman franchise is a rather overlong dip into the past, featuring a youthful Bruce Wayne in his second year as the caped crusader. It ignores all previous Batman films and sets up a new, and welcome, Batman universe. His primary adversary in this rather convoluted … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: The Matrix Re-Matrixed!
The Matrix Resurrections is exhausting. There are many worlds within worlds within worlds that Keanu Reeves and friends move through at a dizzying pace. They change appearances and locales along the way until it all becomes quite confusing. Fans of the original trilogy will likely enjoy it, but folks … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: No Way Home? We’re All Already There!
Spider-Man: No Way Home is the movie that Spider-Man fans have been dying to see: 2 ½ hours of craziness and cross-movie pollination that reconciles all those other Spidey films. Tom Holland pulls his weight as the latest actor to wear the Spidey suit on a world where he is the only Spider-Man. But … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Why Are We Pretending We Don’t Know Who We’re Going to Call?
Simplest review ever: Ghostbusters: Afterlife is as good as 2016’s Ghostbusters reboot was bad. That was easy. Everything about the latest incarnation of the original Ghostbusters saga is perfect. The writing and directing by Jason Reitman, son of the original film’s director, Ivan Reitman, is fresh, … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: The Eternals!
The Eternals ranks with the best of Marvel Universe movies and ushers in a new era of films. There was some concern about a new film that introduces so many new characters into the already crowded Marvel universe, but the fears are unrealized. The Eternals, based on Jack Kirby’s 1976 comic series, takes … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Like Grains of Sand through the Hours and Hours Glass….
The latest interpretation of the massive Frank Herbert novel, Dune, is a sprawling epic about greed, ambition and the cruelty of destiny. While the film is beautiful and the acting impeccable, it is hampered by a ponderous first act that weighs down the entire film. Director Denis Villeneuve … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Let There Be Carne Asada! I mean, Carnage!
Venom: Let There Be Carnage has everything a comic-loving moviegoer could ask for in a sequel: a logical story, well-placed humor, excellent acting, and brilliant special effects. In a nutshell, it’s as good as the first movie, Venom, was bad. Sony Pictures, clinging to its tiny piece of the Marvel movie … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Shang-Chiacomo: Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting and Other Cool Stuff!
Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is Marvel’s latest foray into the new cinematic cycle without powerhouse actors like Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans – and it is a masterpiece. Shang Chi, a stalwart hero from Marvel Comics since his introduction in 1973, has been through many … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Suicide Squad!
It took a Marvel Studios director to show DC/Warner Brothers how to make a superhero movie. Fans can thank James Gunn (who directed Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy) for writing and directing a DC comic film that can stand up to Marvel’s. Solid characterization, a faithfulness to the original comic … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: From One Kajillionaire to Another
Kajillionaire is an interesting, little art house movie that examines a man and woman and their adult daughter who live in a world of lies, theft and deceit – and a complete lack of emotion. Robert (Richard Jenkins) and Theresa (Debra Winger) are borderline insane, living by their wits on the edge of … [Read More...]
Thirteen Ways, Part VI: Wishes, Careful and Not
Editor’s note: In the series, we've asked 13 interesting people to consider a work of comic art and tell us what it means to them. They can focus on the character, the history, the artist, the context, how it makes them feel…heck, even how it doesn’t make them feel. For this installment, we asked comic … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: It’s an Event! An Actual Event!
Now we’re talking! This is the kind of new comics week we have been dreaming about since the shutdown in March. Marvel’s Empyre saga is unfolding nicely and the long-awaited Batman Joker War is starting off with a bang. Either of these multi-issue crossovers could tank (remember Atlantis Attacks?) or end … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: This Week and Last Week
While last week, whether by design or coincidence, was a huge one for independent comics, because neither DC nor Marvel released any books. Well, the mainstream comics are back in force this week. DC released many more than Marvel, but Marvel’s got a big one coming next week, and it’s free. In a … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: 2-for-1 Special Edition!
Irresistible, one of the first post-quarantine films of the year, is an unconventional rom-com disguised as a political movie – or vice versa.Former late night talk show host Jon Stewart wrote and directed this film starring his buddy, Steve Carell, as Gary Zimmer, a disillusioned Democratic political advisor … [Read More...]
Thirteen Ways, Part 5: A Very Clever Hat Thief
Editor’s note: In the series, we ask 13 interesting people to consider a work of comic art and tell us what it means to them. They can focus on the the character, the history, the artist, the context, how it makes them feel…heck, even how it doesn’t make them feel. For our fifth installment, we welcome the … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Finally!
After months of being denied fresh fantasies, the NEW comics have returned. Finally! Like many of you, I have been re-reading tons of old trade paperbacks and various collected editions of my favorite characters: Avengers, Justice League, Superman, X-Men and, of course, the Metal Men. Yes, the Metal … [Read More...]
Thirteen Ways, Part 4: Tales of Wordiness!
Editor’s note: In the series, we ask 13 interesting people to consider a work of comic art and tell us what it means to them. They can focus on the the character, the history, the artist, the context, how it makes them feel…heck, even how it doesn’t make them feel. For our fourth installment, we welcome … [Read More...]
Thirteen Ways, Part III: Desire and the Man Who Helps
Jacques Lacan talks about the necessity for an incredulity towards our fantasies. Our goals and dreams play an essential role in moving us through daily life and getting us out of bed in the morning. We strive towards reaching those goals; writing that book, finding a meaningful human connection, … [Read More...]
Thirteen Ways, Part II: The Glass, the Bottle, But Not the Blue
Editor's note: In the series, we ask 13 interesting people to consider a work of comic art and tell us what it means to them. They can focus on the the character, the history, the artist, the context, how it makes them feel…heck, even how it doesn’t make them feel. For our second installment, we welcome the … [Read More...]
13 Ways: The First Way
Editor's Note: In my past life, I used to spend some time talking about poetry in classrooms. One of my favorite poems to offer classes was "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" by Wallace Stevens. In that poem, Stevens basically writes thirteen mini-poems, all ostensibly--you guessed it--about … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Trade Secrets! Let’s Get Graphic! PUNS!
This is a fine time to up and abandon us. For some crazy reason, comics have been relegated non-essential during our tine of viral crisis! Seriously? Non-essential? Clearly, the people responsible for that decision never read comics. The latest news is Diamond Comic Distributors has announced that … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Bloodshot Is a Spondaic Word!
Bloodshot is a far better movie than you would expect it to be. Director David Wilson took writers Jeff Wadlow and Eric Heisserer’s interpretation of a middling 1992 Valiant Comics hero and turned it around with some clever, unexpected twists. The movie gets the basics down. Just as the character was … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Of Things Unseen, Seen
The Invisible Man strikes a new genre in film – superhero-horror. Actually, it’s more like supervillain-horror movie, since the brilliant scientist who creates an invisibility suit is an evil sadist. It is his live-in girlfriend, Cecilia, played to perfection by Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), who is … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Airboy!
YES! Airboy is back in comics for the third time in 75 years and it is the book that we fans longed for. Even better, the guy who wrote the entire 50-issue 1980s run for Eclipse Comics, Chuck Dixon, has returned and picked up exactly where he left off in 1989. And while I don’t agree with Dixon’s politics … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: DC’s 5G! Can You Hear Me Now?
It looks like there are some big changes coming in comics at DC, changes which we have seen coming incrementally for some time. And, as a reader for a long time, a very long time, I am not unhappy about new versions of old characters getting to shine -- as long as the original versions stick around. I’m … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Underwhatever
Take a pinch of Alien, a dash of Creature From The Black Lagoon, a page or two from the Cthulhu story of your choice, and some vague references to humans destroying the environment, mix it all with an attractive cast and voila: Underwater. It looks like the critical community is split almost exactly down … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo’s Holiday Guide for Giving Gifts to Comic Geeks
By Michael Sangiacomo Comic fans would be the first to admit that we are a picky bunch, especially at Christmas. Spouses and family members think we will be easy to buy gifts for, but that is not the case. The reason is simple, it takes a comic fan to know what another comic fan wants. Should they … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: The Rise of Skywalker!
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is a brilliant tale of redemption, rebellion and resurrection, as the original Star Wars story cycle comes to a satisfying conclusion with this ninth installment. Rise, which opens Friday, is a bit long at 2.22 hours, but director and co-writer J.J. Abrams creates a welcome … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: He Wrote THAT, too?
To most comic readers, the writers of the books they love are faceless and formless. This is fine; the writer’s works should stand alone. In the case of J. Michael Straczynski, it turns out that the challenge that is his life is the most riveting story of all. Becoming Superman is the frightening real … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Ad Astra, Ad Patrem
Ad Astra may span light years of space and time, but the bottom line is that the movie is a story about a world-destroying mystery and a hero … [Read More...]
Sanctum Sangiacomo: Places, Everyone
SPOILER ALERT! Read the latest Justice League and Superman books if you want to be surprised. Otherwise, read on. No, seriously. … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: “Ready or Not” Isn’t Child’s Play
Ready or not, movie-goers! Ready or Not successfully marries horror with a slight tinge of humor, just enough to take the edge off a really violent film that rates about 5 on the Quentin Tarantino Blood Splatter … [Read More...]
Sanctum Sangiacomo: Of Gods and Other Gods
With the plethora of great comic related movies out this year many of us, including me, missed the Superman-ish film Brightburn. I was discouraged from seeing it when I learned that the studio, Sony/Screen Gems, … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Whatever Happened to the Men of Yesterday?
Sanctum Sangiacomo I recently visited the Cleveland History Center of the Western Reserve Historical Society and marveled at the huge collection of old cars, planes and historical artifacts that told the … [Read More...]
The Sanctum Sangiacomo: Mike Gets Nostalgic Again.
One of the joys of a comic shop is looking through the boxes of cheapie comics, the ones that won’t sell for full price because they are beat up or just not popular. The last thing I need to buy in addition to my … [Read More...]