Comic-Con is just around the corner. To celebrate the pop culture convention we are convening a Midday Movies edition to highlight a few of our favorite superhero movies.
To begin, Moviewalla's Yazdi Pithavala and I agree that "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" is beyond amazing.
This is the sequel to "Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse" and it continues with the bold originality of that film to deliver a second film that is equally as good. Miles is my favorite Marvel superhero and these films are overflowing with action, humor and emotion. Plus the animation is spectacular. It’s breathtakingly innovative and cinematic but also deeply indebted to the comic book form. There are times when the screen splits into panels like a comic book to not only let us see multiple perspectives on a scene but also to remind us where this story comes from and the beauty of sequential art.
Here are our other picks for some companion viewing for Comic-Con.
My picks
"Superman" (1978) - If only for Christopher Reeve's performance as the Man of Steel.
"Blade" (1998) - Not part of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe but it ushered in the blockbuster superhero film and offered a Black superhero in an R-rated comic book movie.
Best comic book performance: Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight."
Yazdi's picks
"Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" (2021) - For Tony Leung's performance as a complex villain and for local-filmmaker-makes-good Destin Daniel Cretton.
"Unbreakable" (2000) - An unconventional comic book and superhero movie by M. Night Shyamalan.
Best comic book performance: Hugh Jackman as the title character in "Logan."