Once More Unto the Breach — Hades

I’m not much of a fan of Greek mythology. I mean, I liked the Ancient Greece unit in middle school history class, and at one point I could name all of the major gods and their origin stories, but by high school, I had started to grow out of them. What I liked wasn’t really…

Break the Engine – Snowpiercer

Dystopian science fiction has an uncanny ability to come up with entertaining concepts that can contain far more narrative space than they ought to have. Such is the case with Snowpiercer, a 2013 film that I remember touted as a bit of an indie production by Bong Joon-ho that few in the U.S. saw when…

Lessons in Adaptation: The Umbrella Academy

Season Two is on its way, and you know what that means! That's right, this entire essay will be obsolete in a few weeks. Time to make the most of it. I had a blast writing the episodic reviews of The Umbrella Academy when the first season of the show came out, and given that…

Splash – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Some things need no introduction.   3P Reviews Series: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse   Spoilers: Yes. I also talk a lot about the Sam Rami Spider-Man movies for some reason. Audience Assumptions: None   Part One: Arachnophoria This is the best superhero movie ever made. I try to avoid definitive hyperbole, but I’ve run through…

Seep – Gris

Animation is one of those mercurial arts that, unless you have tried your hand at it, it seems simultaneously so easy and also impossible. Draw pictures in a way that simulates movement? What magic is this? To animate requires a thorough understanding of not only how an object looks, but how it always looks, how…

3P Reviews: The Umbrella Academy, Season One, Episode Five

Breakdown Rating: Characters and Character Development: 8 Aesthetics and Style: 6 Creativity: 6 Overall Plot: 5 Subplots: 7 Sum: 32/50 Spoilers: Yes. Also minor spoilers for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Game of Thrones, and Sky High. I swear that will make more sense when you get to it. Audience Assumptions: None   The…