Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Posted on July 28, 2026 at 4:43 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and some language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book action and violence, characters injured and reference to sad deaths
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	July 31, 2026

We’ve been warned even more than ususal not to allow any spoilers in our reviews, so this is the best I can do while leaving the best surprises in “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” for you to discover.

I can remind you that in the last episode, “No Way Home” Peter’s beloved Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) was killed by the Green Goblin and to protect the rest of the people he loved he caused them to lose all memories of him.

We’re brought up to date with a terrific montage of Spidey capturing one villain after another, including Scorpion (Michael Mando). Headlines congratulate him for just about eliminating crime from the city.

Now, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is an adult and dealing with being utterly alone by spending every waking moment fighting crime and pretending he is not being crushed by loneliness. He brings flowers to Aunt May’s grave. He misses his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon) and the love of his life, MJ (Zendaya) and watches their Instagram posts about their time at MIT. His only real human contact is with an appreciative Detective Jean DeWolff (Liza Colón-Zayas).

The strain takes a toll. “Sometimes Spider-Man does the right thing even if it breaks Peter Parker’s heart.” Being full-time Spider-Man without any time for Peter may be a factor in some changes that are occuring in his spider-powers. We will see other characters struggle with the duality of their super-ness and their humanness, a theme of the film.

And then a new villian seems impossible to find, much less stop. Someone is able to “jump” into the minds of just about anyone, and breaks the Scorpion out of prison. The government Damage Control department led by Bill Metzger (Tramell Tillman of “Severance”), which adapts bad-guy technoloy for good-guy purposes, asks him to track the mystery villain down. With some guidance by three familiar characters from the MCU, he gets a little closer.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton handles the drama and the action well, especially a great fight with The Hand, evil, red-cloaked ninja assassins.

Spider-Man and Tom Holland have come a long way. Peter Parker was just 14 when we first saw Holland play a small role in “Captain America: Civil War” and 15 as lead in “Spider-Man: Homecoming.” He was gone a few years in the Snap, but came back as a 16-year-old. Both he and Zendaya have gracefully grown with their older but wiser characters and their performances are thoughtful and as grounded in a way that balances the heightened tone of any story that involves a person swinging on spider-webs can be. It is sweet to see chemistry of the real-life newlyweds and impressive to compare their performances (and one other actor’s) to what they did a couple of weeks ago in “The Odyssey.” Clearly, they not only treat both with seriousness and commitment, but they also give each genre and its fans the respect it deserves.

Now, who’s ready for “Avengers: Doomsday!”

Parents should know that this is a comic book movie with extensive peril and action. Characters are badly injured and dealing with two very sad, off-camera deaths. There is also some strong language.

Family discussion: Did you catch the Gandolf reference? How do you know what is a big potato and what is a small potato? Do you agree with Spider-Man’s decision about who to help? Which character’s powers would you most like to have, and how would you balance your superhero (or supervillain) life with your human life?

If you like this, try: ALL of the Spider-Man movies, so you can compare the Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland versions.

Supergirl

Posted on June 25, 2026 at 6:08 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for for sequences of strong violence, action, language, and smoking
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking and drunkenness, cigar smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book violence, graphic and disturbing images, parents killed, home destroyed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	June 26, 2026

Last year, “Superman” gave us David Corenswet as an optimistic, trusting, honorable Boy Scout of a superhero, one who said that that was the real punk rock. And in a scene in the credits, we saw that his cousin Kara/Supergirl (Milly Alcock) is a complete mess and also very attached to superdog Krypto.

Now, in “Supergirl,” that is where we start, with Kara celebrating her 23rd birthday with an inter-planetary pub crawl. Every night is a different planet and a different bar and every morning is the same hangover. Throughout this film, Superman will try to get in touch with Kara and encourage her to come “home.” But she does not see Earth as home. We will learn more about her grief and the source of her trauma later. Unlike Superman, who was sent from the exploding Krypton as a baby and found a loving home on Earth, Kara was a teenager when she lost her home and parents and has severe PTSD.

Those who know the backstory of the refugees from Krypton will remember that one of the sources of their superpowers on earth is our yellow sun, instead of the red sun on Krypton. So when we see that she is getting drunk on a planet with a red sun we know that she does not have the super-strength, invulnerability, or laser vision she has on Earth or any other yellow sun planet. But, we will learn, she likes to drink on yellow sun planets because without superpowers she is more susceptible to the effects of alcohol.

I always say that superhero movies, and really most action movies, depend more on the bad guys than the good guys, and in this case our bad guy is the genuinely terrifying Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) an inter-planetary brigand with a face covered with studs who specializes in senseless violence, not so much because he enjoys it but because it is meaningless. We see him kill a modest man who is a legendary crafter of swords, along with his wife and son, even though they made no effort to keep him from stealing their cache of weapons. The young daughter, Ruthye (Eve Ridley) hides and sees it all. She is determined to kill Krem, so “True Grit”-style she goes to a bar full of rowdy, cut-throat outlaws to find someone to help her. This is not “Planet Hail Mary” so no one cares about details like whether the gravity and oxygen and language/communication and technology on other planets are all as easy to reach as the next stop on the subway and pretty much the same, aside from some “Star Wars” cantina-style creatures in the bar scenes.) Also, like Mattie in “True Grit,” she has an oddly formal, old-fashioned way of speaking, plus, for some reason, a British accent.

One of the bar creatures steals Ruthye’s sword, and Kara, drunk, without her powers, but perhaps identifying a little with the girl goes after the thief. It’s always good to see a fight scene that has a little extra zhuzh to it, and seeing Kara fight a gigantic, scary-looking guy without her powers and with impaired judgment adds interest. There’s nice zhuzh in some of the the other fights, another one with Kara impaired and especially when Kara fights three maurading women who have technology that enables them to disappear briefly and re-appear in another nearby location.

Even though Kara keeps telling Ruthye she will not help her, circumstances keep pushing them together. Krem takes Kara’s ship and shoots Krypto with a poison that takes three days to kill. This gives her a mission and a deadline. They also meet up with cigar-chompin’, motorcycle-ridin’, now it’s a party all-purpose ruffian Lobo (Jason Momoa) who shows up now and then, not to rescue Kara or Ruthye, just to join in.

It’s a little messy. But so is Kara, and her path to being a bit less messy by the end is worth watching.

NOTE: You do NOT need to stay to the end of the credits. No exta scenes.

Parents should know that this is a superhero film with constant comic-book-style action, peril and violence with many characters injured and killed and some graphic and disturbing images. Two young women lose their families. Young women are kidnapped with the intent to rape and impregnate them. Characters use strong language and Supergirl/Kara drinks to get drunk and numb her pain.

Family discussion: How did Ruthie change Kara’s ideas about herself? What is the difference between being nice and being good. What is the meaning of the moment when Kara decides to wear the uniform Superman gave her? Why is it SuperMAN and SuperGIRL?

If you like this try: “Superman” and the “Supergirl” television series.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Posted on July 22, 2025 at 12:19 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for action/violence and some language
Profanity:	Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, some graphic images
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	July 25, 2025

Four seems to be the magic number. After three unsatisfactory tries at getting Marvel’s cosmic ray-enhanced superheroes on screen, Marvel Studios got it right, gorgeously produced, well cast, gracefully relegating the origin story to a few “archival” clips, and putting our quartet and us right in the middle of the action.

It is set in a fantasy version of the 1960s, inspired by the visual style, not the history or pop culture. In the first scene, Reed is looking for iodine, the painful antiseptic used for minor cuts in the 50s, and Sue Storm uses something that was not invented in our reality until the 1980s. There is a Calder mobile in their headquarters living room and the men we see in the outdoor scenes all wear hats, so handsome this movie just might bring back the fedora. The production design from “Loki’s” Kasra Farahani is dazzling and endlessly inviting, a heightened version of a mid-century concept of the future. The cerulean blue and white accents of the retro F4 uniforms designed by Alexandra Byrne (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) place us in a time and a world that is like but not the same as ours.

The Four are Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), a brilliant scientist whose body stretches, his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby) who has the power of invisibility, including creating invisible shields, Sue’s impetuous and very single brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn), who can burst into flames and fly, and Ben Grimm, known as The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who looks like he is made from mountain rock and is very, very strong.

As the movie begins, the world is celebrating them as heroes and protectors. It has been four years since the space expedition exposed them to the cosmic rays, they have defeated or, in the case of the subterranean Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), negotiated a peace agreement, and established a United Nations-type organization called the Future Foundation.

The superheroes and the people they protect believe F4 and their adorable robot, Herbie, will always keep them safe. And then they face their biggest and most terrifying challenge. Sue is pregnant. While Reed and Sue know that the molecular changes from the cosmic rays may affect the baby, they believe, with some reassurance from Sue’s ability to make her abdomen invisible so they can see the fetus, the baby will be fine.

Big and terrifying challenge #2: the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrives to announce that Earth is about to be consumed by Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a planet devourer. F4 tracks the Silver Surfer to find Galactus, confident they can defeat him. And this leads to the first Marvel action sequence that features a very pregnant superhero. Galactus offers them a terrible choice, and when they refuse, the people on earth quickly go from fans to haters.

The film moves briskly, with one of the shortest run times in the MCU, under two hours. But it creates a fully-realized world, with small details like the Mole Man’s dad jokes, Ben Grimm’s “beard” and copy of 50s classic child care bible Dr. Spock, and a sweet brief appearance by Natasha Lyonne as the teacher of students who are big fans of The Thing. Fans will enjoy some glimpses of popular villains from the comic books. Director Matt Shakman (the similarly retro fantasies “Game of Thrones” and “Wandavision” and “The Great”) understands that the action scenes and the family dynamic are central to the storyline and he has fun with scale when Galactus arrives. While the stakes are dire, he stays away from gratuitous carnage. The film has good-natured humor, impressive special effects, some tender moments, and even a light gloss of commentary on what we expect from our heroes, and how we approach moral dilemmas and life-threatening challenges. I’m iffy about one twist, but overall, this is a film that respects comic book characters and what we love about them.

Parents should know that this movie features extended comic book/action-style peril and violence, with some scary creatures and disturbing and graphic images. There are mild references to reproductive biology and a woman goes into labor (discreetly filmed). Characters use some mild language.

Family discussion: Philosopher Jeremy Bentham argued that all decisions should be based on the greatest good for the largest number of people. How does that idea appear in this film and do you agree? What do you think will happen to Franklin? What is the law of levers and how do you see it around you?

If you like this, try: “Superman,” The Fantastic Four comics, and maybe just for fun watch the earlier films so you can compare them.

NOTE: Stay through the credits for one extra scene indicating where the story is going and, at the very end, a nostalgic moment.

Superman

Posted on July 8, 2025 at 3:23 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for for violence, action and language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Extended comic book-style peril and violence, cruel murder, monster, characters injured and killed, disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	July 11, 2025

James Gunn’s new “Superman” movie does not waste any time. We are quickly updated to learn that Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman arrived from Krypton 30 years ago, he first appeared as Superman 3 years ago, he stopped an invasion 3 weeks ago, and he lost a battle for the first time 3 minutes ago.

And then we see Superman ( gallant, tender-hearted David Corenswet), bruised and bleeding. Superman comics are where I first learned the word “invulnerable,” conjuring up infinitely wondrous possibilities. But this Superman is hurt. Badly. He can barely summon the breath to whistle for Krypto.

That is not the only change that is going to rattle some of the fans. And I admit there was one change from the canon I consider unforgivable. Overall, however, I liked this version. In it, Superman is still feeling his way to who he is and what he has to give to the world. While it is (thankfully) not an origin story in the traditional sense, it is a story about a man from another place whose sense of himself is tied to his ideas about his origin, and the ideas of those around him as well. Is it right for him to interfere in world affairs? From his perspective, by stopping Boravia’s invasion of Jurhanpur he saved lives. But the invaders thought of themselves as rescuers, Can we turn over that decision to someone who has not been elected by anyone?

After Krypto gets Superman back to the Fortress of Solitude, he is healed with the help of some friendly robots and the power of the sun (fans will remember that Krypton has a red sun and it is the yellow sun that is the source of some of Superman’s powers). He watches the glitchy recording of his biological parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper!) and Lara (Angela Sarafyan), tenderly telling him how much they love him and urging him to do good for his new world.

Gunn wisely bypasses the whole “keeping the secret from Lois” storyline. Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) and Clark Kent are dating, and she knows he is Superman. They have a lovely chemistry, even when they are struggling with the challenges of the relationship. This gives rise to more interesting issues about their relationship but Gunn never forgets that this movie knows we’re here to see a superhero movie.

So there is a lot of action including a massive fault line headed toward a city, a gigantic dinosaur-ish monster, a guy who can turn himself into kryptonite, a mysterious adversary who can predict and thus block or outmaneuver every one of Superman’s moves. Superman is so tender-hearted he wants to save the monster’s life so it can go to some sort of zoo or be studied by scientists. There are soldiers attacking civilians, plus the equally pernicious social media misinformation and fake news.

There are also some other metahumans, people with superpowers who have formed something they are at least temporarily calling the Justice Gang (what is it with temporary names for superhero teams this year?). Nathan Fillion in a truly dreadful haircut plays Guy Gardner, not THE Green Lantern but A Green Lantern. Isabela Merced is Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi lives up to his title as Mr. Terrific, a super-genius who uses small, drone-like floating spheres that include holographic projection, hacking into other machines, and generating energy bursts. Anthony Carrigan appears as Metamorpho, who can transform his body into any element. We do not get to spend a lot of time with these, or with Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisando), or Ma and Pa Kent (Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince), but each makes a strong impression and lays the foundation for more in sequels and spin-offs.

Gunn, who wrote and directed as the kick-off to the new DC Studios, is not shy about who the bad guys are. Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is a selfish, bitter, bigoted billionaire who wants to control everything and hates immigrants, including those from other planets. He operates a brutal private prison in a “pocket universe” not subject to Constitutional protections from cruel and unusual punishment and due process. The vital importance of independent, fact-checked journalism is a core element of the storyline.

So is optimism, honor, and what we owe to each other. At one point, Lois tells Clark/Superman that they are very different. She says she is punk rock. “I question everything and everyone. you trust everyone you’ve ever met.” He says, “Maybe that’s the real punk rock.” He’s clearly speaking for Gunn, and for some of us as well.

NOTE: Stay through the credits for a mid-credit scene and another brief one ALL the way at the end

Parents should know that this is a comic book movie with extended peril and violence including torture and murder of an innocent man and a military attack on a civilian population. There are some disturbing images. Characters use strong language (s-word), and there is some kissing and a sexual reference.

Family discussion: Can you both question and trust at the same time? How do we decide what is trustworthy on social media and the news? Was Superman right to intervene in other countries?

If you like this, try: the Superman movies with Christopher Reeves and the comic books, and read up on the story of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the teenagers who invented Superman in 1938.

Thunderbolts*

Posted on May 1, 2025 at 2:06 pm

B +

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for strong violence, language, thematic elements, and some suggestive and drug references
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drug references
Violence/ Scariness:	Non-stop action-style peril and violence, child is killed, automatic weapons, military weapons, chases, explosions, characters injured and killed
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters, mental illness sympathetically portrayed
Date Released to Theaters:	May 2, 2025

I liked “Thunderbolts* (note the asterisk) a lot, but it will be divisive. Some people don’t want to delve into the mental health struggles of anyone, including a superhero or supervillain. They’re just there for the punches, powers, explosions, and special effects. But as I watched the film, I thought about how many superheroes experienced devastating trauma before gaining their powers and/or dedication to saving the world. Bruce Wayne saw his parents killed by a mugger when he was a child. Superman lost his family and his whole planet. Spidey was living with his aunt and uncle, so had already lost his parents before Uncle Ben was killed. Tony Stark had dad issues. Black Widow was trained to be a child assassin.

“Thunderbolts*” is a “Suicide Squad”/”Guardians of the Galaxy”-style superhero story about a group of damaged, distrustful loners with superpowers who have to do more than just band together for all the punching and explosions. They have to begin to heal themselves. And I am completely here for it, plus for finding out the meaning of the asterisk, which I enjoyed very much. And yes, you do need to stay all the way through the credits for a final scene that teases what’s coming next.

Before I get to the superheroes, I want to talk about the villain(s). I always say that it is the villains more than the heroes that matter most in a comic book movie (and in some other places as well, as Milton showed us in Paradise Lost). Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of the all-time great villains as Valentina, the ultra-wealthy corporate CEO turned Director of the CIA (though with current Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s streak of silver hair, just a coincidence, I’m sure). Some villains have great evil smiles. Louis-Dreyfus has a great social smile exuding the supreme confidence and power of the .001% while all-but-hiding the voracious all-consuming drive for power and utter disregard of the rights or value of anyone in her way.

We first see Yelena (Florence Pugh), still in mourning for her sister, Natasha (The Black Widow) and almost by rote working as an operative for Valentina. She is numb and lonely and lacks purpose. She tells Valentina she wants out, but agrees to one last job, in a remote lab where Valentina’s company once performed experiments, trying to find a formula to give superpowers to her subjects.

She ends up fighting Captain America (Wyatt Russell as John Walker), Ava Starr/Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), and another super-character who doesn’t last long, before they figure out that they are all there for the same reason, to die, because they have become problems for Valentina. At this point, a guy who seems to be the opposite of super in any way wanders in wearing pajamas, with no memory of pretty much anything except his name. He is Bob (Lewis Pullman, in his second “just Bob” role after “Top Gun: Maverick”).

Yelena, John, and Ava do not trust each other, but the only way to stay alive is to work together. The escape works well in moving the plot and character development forward as well as being fun to watch. And that’s pretty much the vibe for the rest of the film.

Valentina thought her program to turn humans into supers failed, meaning they all died. But somehow Bob survived and that changes her plan. And the people she describes as “defective losers, anti-social tragedy in human form” may not have the cool powers and (mostly) good manners of the Avengers, but they are all struggling toward being something better. That means dealing with sad and scary feelings like loss and trauma, with the characters catapulted into immersive re-creations of their most painful moments. Will they finally find a way to become, a, what’s the word, team? The good news is that by the end of the film, we hope so.

NOTE: Stay through the credits for a mid-credit scene and a teaser at the end for what’s coming next.

Parents should know that this is a superhero movie with non-stop peril and action-style violence including automatic weapons and fantasy powers. Characters are injured and killed, including a child. Mental health and trauma are themes of the film. Characters use some strong language and there are drug references and alcohol.

Family discussion: What is the best way to discover your purpose? How did the childhood experiences of Yelena and Bob affect the way they saw themselves? How is Valentina different from other villains in superhero movies?

If you like this, try: “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the Avengers movies