'Thunderbolts*' Mini Review, Marvel Movie Rankings, and What I’m Hearing About Kevin Feige’s New MCU Strategy

Happy Tuesday morning, folks!

It must’ve been a slow news day on Monday, as way too many outlets freaked out about Armie Hammer tweeting a fake movie poster. Y’know, not everything these “disgraced” Hollywood figures do merits an article, and I don’t know anyone with a brain in their head who thought that poster was real.

Outlets should either ignore his cries for attention next time or look inward and be mad at their own gullibility, not Hammer’s perfectly understandable desire to retrieve his once-promising career.

I promise to write about President Trump’s proposed tariffs soon — I think everything has been overblown (surprise, surprise) — but in the meantime, I’ll recommend a pair of movies.

Tonight, I saw Andrew DeYoung’s A24 comedy Friendship starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd, and while you very much have to be on Robinson’s wavelength, I laughed a fair amount, especially during the film’s first half. I’d like to see what Robinson could do with a big studio comedy, though I suspect it would go as well as his brief stint on SNL.

I suspect that Robinson isn’t really someone who can or should adapt for the mainstream. Instead, he may be better off playing in the weirdo sandbox he has created for himself, which is where he thrives. There’s certainly a sizable audience for that sandbox, based on the sold-out shows at the Grove tonight.

I also liked Josh Hartnett’s wild action movie Fight or Flight, an effective B-movie that’s full of gleeful mayhem and felt a lot more fun than the recent spate of ‘prestige’ action movies. I always feel guilty calling a movie a “guilty pleasure,” as my pal Drew McWeeny once explained to me why he hates that phrase, but what can I say? Both the movie and the phrase itself are guilty pleasures…

This morning, I offer my latest Marvel movie rankings (haven’t done those in a while, but the timing felt right) as well as a mini review of Thunderbolts*, plus my thoughts on Kevin Feige’s latest strategy for the MCU.

There are also items about Robert De Niro teaming up with Jenna Ortega, Shia LaBeouf riding bulls in prison, Chris Pine being hunted by the Dutch mob, an update on The Toxic Avenger, a non-update on Horizon: Chapter 2, and a look at Spike Lee’s Cannes-bound kidnapping thriller Highest 2 Lowest starring Denzel Washington.

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