There’s a sense of paternalism running through most action films that feel the need to superficially give their female characters a “fair shake.” Too often are they either matched up against a weaker antagonist of the same sex, or over-powered to deliver the sort of power blows that fail to convince you at 100 lb. Anne Hathaway could try to sucker punch one of the superpowered villains of Gotham City, but it reeks of weak storytelling, the kind of false obstacles and weak solutions that force mostly male storytellers to take shortcuts in order to find a way to represent the fairer sex. It’s the sort of compromise we have allowed filmmakers to make for ages; perhaps after Paul Feig’s The Heat, this will no longer be a crutch that others accept as gospel.
The Heat finds Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy matched in an odd-couple pairing, the type usually reserved for a straight man and a slovenly manchild partner. Here, Bullock is Sarah Ashburn, the straight-laced FBI agent hunting a promotion embedded in a drug-running scandal that stretches throughout the East Coast. Sent to Boston to launch a full-scale investigation, her efforts find her clashing with fiery local beat cop Sharon Mullins (McCarthy). The professional tension is predictable, even if the chemistry is not.
After a rough start to 2025 with Brave New World, Marvel hopes to strike back with Thunderbolts. Featuring a ragtag group of misfits from previous MCU movies and a new character that’s insanely powerful, Thunderbolts tells the story of damaged people overcoming their trauma to become heroes. RPadTV host Raymond Padilla is joined by videogame industry veterans Paul Semel and Marcus Beer to discuss the movie and see if it lives up to its comic-book tagline of “Justice, Like Lightning.”
The three will discuss what they liked and didn’t like about Thunderbolts, including their favorite performances and scenes, as well as what could have been improved. Early reviews of the movie have been strong and RPadTV’s version of Thunderbolts (The Sparklers?!?) can’t wait to talk about the latest MCU movie with you.
Deeply disappointed that no one yelled, "Thunder! Thunder! Thunderbolts, ho!"
Good conversation otherwise, though.
The director of the new Evil Dead film wants to leave audiences physically exhausted.
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I think Melissa McCarthy is a terrible actress; she's not remotely funny, imo.
This movie looks hilarious how could u say that it even kinda looks funnier than identity thief and that movie was great so rethink ur thoughts next time