The Greatest Showman movie review.

I will never not be excited for a movie musical. As one of my favorite film genres, it just seems to have all the ingredients for a great movie, relying on fabulous spectacle, physicality both in voice and movement, but most importantly for their heavenly tunes and elegant storytelling through lovely melodies. Even if the finished product comes out a turkey, I'll still be ecstatic to see one make its way to the screen, and with the recent success of La La Land, and Disney churning out more of the old-fashioned musicals they always excelled at, we seem to be experiencing a new wave of musical spectacles.

But even rarer is to see an *original* musical, one not based on any Broadway shows or pre-existing properties, make its way to the screen. 2017 alone has yielded two epic results, Pixar's Coco, and this Christmas season's release of The Greatest Showman, inspired by the Prince of Humbug P.T. Barnum. I guess Barnum was right, and I'm that sucker born to indulge in unabashed romps like this one. So how did this one stack up?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie review.

It only feels like yesterday when The Force Awakens made such a big splash, reinvigorating the long misused and tainted Star Wars brand, and introducing those grandeur space battles to a whole new generation. The Force Awakens did precisely what it needed to, and then some, by negating the damaging impact of the prequels, and restoring the good will and old-fashioned adventurism the series had become classic for. The results were outstanding to say the least, even if viewers felt some disappointment that the film (understandably) heeded so closely to the structure of A New Hope.

And while this wasn't enough to take away from what a great time it was, it was still clearly a first step into a much bigger and greater sandbox. Now freed from the shackles of nostalgic expectations, and able to more carefully craft its blank slate, and a time-waster spin-off inbetween to tide us over, the adventures of Rey and company can continue down darker, more complex, more unexpected routes in the follow-up film, The Last Jedi. And if falling short of the same standards set by The Force Awakens, is only slightly so. The fact still remains that this is one thoroughly satisfying and awe-inspiring film.

Reviewer's note: This review will have minor spoilers for The Last Jedi, as well as spoilers for The Force Awakens. Read at your own risk.

(Not so) Brief thoughts on Justice League.

As much I think DC's Extended Universe has had some middling returns, I'm not one to indulge in the "Marvel v DC" debate. Both are perfectly capable of co-existing with each other. The problem is that whereas Marvel has taken careful time to slowly build their universe, DC's universe has always felt like a Frankenfranchise of numerous cooks throwing their eggs into one basket, and then try to compensate for their dour moods and numerous missteps with badly judged course corrections, Suicide Squad being a particularly embarrassing shipwreck.

Clearly they still haven't learned from their mistakes, because the recut and retooled Justice League finally sees those sins come back to haunt them. What should have been an event the scale of The Avengers or The Force Awakens, instead feels like any other blockbuster out there, opening to a comparatively pathetic $93 million opening weekend. And... it really isn't that bad.