Initially, while making this list for Marvel Super Heroes, I was worried. The monocolored cards were rough pickings for top ten options. Lots of characters I like, but all but a few cards were unimpressive for Standard play. When I went over it all, I only had half a list. But with the multicolored cards, the list rounded itself out easily.
I don’t have that much to say about StuGo. Some cartoons are made with an adult audience as possible viewers, weaving in more intense plots for fandoms to form. You know them by name, if not by experience. Avatar: The Last Airbender. The Owl House. Gravity Falls. This show is not that, at least not within the first three episodes.
I watched Iron Lung at an odd time. Within the last few months, I’ve seen both Project Hail Mary and Ash, and in a way Iron Lung could be described as a combination of both those movies, taking the cosmic horror from one, and the lone person trying to help investigate an apocalyptic problem from the other.
Widow’s Bay is a horror sitcom. I watched the first three episodes, and I was struck by how it’s a perfect encapsulation of both genres. Each episode starts with a sitcom plotline and then, by the end, has become a horror scenario. And the most impressive part is that it’s good at being both. I laughed often and was spooked out.
Project Hail Mary is a technical wonder. The movie will stick in the mind of its viewers (me included) because of its emotional buddy-duo adventure section, but it cannot be understated how impressive this movie is from both a movie-making technical level (meaning sets and camera work) and from a writing perspective.
Pluribus is a fascinating science fiction show with one of the most intriguing premises I’ve seen in years. For those that love the genre’s propensity for posing interesting, mind-expanding questions, this is it.
The Hunger Games trilogy is important to me. I read the series right before the craze hit. To this day, it may be the first fandom I was on the ground floor for. I recall seeing every movie quickly after they came out.
Let it be known that any and all praise I have for Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen is negated if it turns out that the main couple was dead all along.
Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is so good it’s actually a little difficult to review. I can recall when the first Clone Wars animated series came out, and to see the constant evolution since then has been stunning. Even the much more recent Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld cannot match Maul’s excellence.
I’ll admit—though it’s not exactly a secret—that I sometimes like doing negative reviews. I don’t typically seek out movies/shows because I think they’ll be bad, but I’m not unhappy when it happens.
Thank God for Secrets of Strixhaven. Standard needed a shakeup, and I needed an Izzet (fine, Prismari) deck to play that actually focuses on casting lots of spells and drawing lots of cards.
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is an odd movie. Full of so many very deliberate choices. I cannot confirm this, but I couldn’t help but feel the creators were going for a very specific homage, or were perhaps trying to replicate a distinct director’s style.
