Spider-Man: Homecoming counts as a clean slate for Peter Parker’s web-slinger. Now nestled into the established Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland is a true teenage Spider-Man, one that was never successfully conveyed by two previous franchises and their over-aged actors. Aiming to please and bursting with effervescent zest at every flip, swing, and turn, John Watts’ Spider-Man: Homecoming succeeds as a brand new jumping off point for a character that badly needed course correction.

2017, 4 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 29, 2017AMC River East 212017, 2017 Summer Movies, Marvel Films, Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony Pictures, Sony Entertainment, Dolby, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, Tom Holland, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Iron Man, Avengers, The Avengers, John Watts, Cop Car, Michael Keaton, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Kurt Russell, Batman, Beetlejuice, Donald Glover, Bokeem Woodbine, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Chernus, Hannibal Buress, Martin Starr, Mac Gargan, Kenneth Choi, Michael Giacchino, Steve Ditko, Deadpool, John Hughes, Captain America, Captain America: Civil War, Marvel Studios, Christopher Ford, Horrible Bosses, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, The LEGO Movie, Jacob Batalan, Tony Revolori, Zendaya, Laura Harrier, Aunt May, Vulture, Shocker, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, comic book movie, comic book films, Comic Book Guy, comic book movies, film franchises, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Jon WattsComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Logan

With stunning brush strokes soaked in pathos and blood, "Logan" taps into a cask of comic book scotch that been reserved to reach maturity. This is, by a country mile, not only the best film of the “X-Men” franchise, but the best of 20th Century Fox’s entire catalog of Marvel Films. Presented as an analogy, “Logan” is to comic book films what “Unforgiven” was to westerns.

2017, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanFebruary 20, 2017Kerasotes ShowPlace ICON X2017, 2017 Winter Movies, Logan, Wolverine, The Wolverine, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men franchise, X-Men, Marvel Films, Marvel, Marvel Comics, Fox Marvel Universe, Hugh Jackman, James Howlett, Patrick Stewart, Professor X, Charles Xavier, Unforgiven, Old Man Logan, X-23, X-23: Innocence Lost, Stephen Merchant, Caliban, Dafne Keen, Laura Kinney, Richard E. Grant, Boyd Holbrook, Marco Beltrami, Deadpool, James Mangold, Cop Land, Girl Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Shane, Alan Ladd, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, comic book films, comic book movie, western themes, life lessons, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Life lessons from movies, Life lessons, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

COLUMN: The 10 Best Films of 2016

I’ll have you know that this is the latest this website has ever posted a “10 Best” list in its six-plus year history. I want to say that 2016 exhausted me, but it didn’t. “Every Movie Has a Lesson” published a personal-best 114 film reviews in 2016. Even after a record year, there is part of me that sits here and knows there was room for more. The to-do list of recommended films and overdue titles is never empty.

COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry in 2017

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too. Annually, including this sixth edition, this is my absolute favorite editorial to write every year. I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change. I'm sarcastic, but I'm not the guy to take it to the false internet courage level of some Twitter troll. This will be as forward as I get all year.

2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanDecember 31, 2016New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry, New Year's Resolutions, Column, Editorial, 2016, 2017, New Year's Eve, Adam Sandler, Seth McFarlane, Michael Phillips, MTV, Donald Trump, Felicity Jones, Natalie Portman, Jessica Chastain, Jackie, Miss Sloane, Emma Stone, La La Land, #OscarsSoWhite, Moonlight, Fences, Hidden Figures, Mahershala Ali, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Naomie Harris, Octavia Spencer, Ava DuVernay, 13th, The Birth of a Nation, Southside with You, The Fits, Kicks, LGBT, Disney/Marvel, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Sony Entertainment, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, X-Men: Apocalypse, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Geoff Johns, Denis Villeneuve, Dwayne Johnson, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Ridley Scott, Alien: Covenant, Jumanji, Baywatch, Kicking the Seat, Pixar, Pixar Punch, Sing, The Secret Life of Pets, The Angry Birds Movie, The Emoji Movie, Pete's Dragon, Mark Wahlberg, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, Transformers: The Last Knight, Jason Statham, Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters, Damien ChazelleComment

EDITORIAL: The Best of 2016 (so far)

Many of my personal most-anticipated picks and my crystal ball Oscar prognostications are still coming, but I have been lucky enough to see over 50 film films in the first half of 2016. Since it's only been a half-year, I'll split a year-end "10 Best" list into a Top 5. True to this website's theme, I present you my picks for the "Best of 2016 (so far)" coupled with their best life lesson from my full reviews.

2016, Editorial, Best Films, 10 Best, Column, SPECIALDon ShanahanJune 30, 2016most anticipated movies, Lo and Behold, Everybody Wants Some, Best Movies of 2016, Deadpool, 2017 Oscar Predictions, Louder than Bombs, Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Life Animated, 2016 films, 2017 Oscars, Oscar contenders, 10 Best, Top 5 list, Column, Coming Through the Rye, most anticipated films, Race, Oscar hopefuls, Born to Be Blue, Best of 2016 (so far), 2016, Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World, Elvis & Nixon, High-Rise, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, SXSW Film Festival, Kung Fu Panda 3, Sundance Film Festival, In a Valley of Violence, Tribeca Film Festival, Cannes, 10 Best Films of 2016, Hail Caesar!, Midnight Special, Editorial, Best Films of 2016, Captain America: Civil War, Cannes Film Festival, La Belle et la Bete, Beauty and the Beast, Top 10 list, Best of 2016, List, The Invitation, The American SideComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Deadpool

If you are not a die-hard geek or comic book fan, there's a chance you've never heard of "Deadpool." After this Presidents' Day/Valentine's Day holiday weekend, you will never forget him. Take all of the pathos, mythology, gravitas, nobility, and world-rescuing heroism have you come to expect from a superhero film, throw them out the window, and light them on fire. "Deadpool" is the most red-faced and side-splitting movie of the comic genre to date.

2016, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanFebruary 6, 2016ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2016, 2016 Winter Movie Preview, 2016 Winter Movie Calendar, 2016 Winter Movie Checklist, 2016 Winter Movies, Deadpool, Marvel Comics, Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Films, Wade Wilson, Ryan Reynolds, Van Wilder, Weasel, T.J. Miller, Morena Baccarin, Ajax, Ed Skrein, Tim Miller, Leslie Uggams, Stefan Kapicic, Colossus, Angel Dust, Gina Carano, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Brianna Hildebrand, Stan Lee, Green Lantern, X-Men Or, Woman in Gold, Self/less, Francis Freeman, X-Men, Superhero movies, Superhero films, comic book movie, comic book films, film review, film commentary, Movie review, movie commentary, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, life lessons from film, life lessons, Life lessons, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

EDITORIAL: My 16 most anticipated films for 2016

2016 looks decidedly less spectacular that 2015 on paper. I think there is still plenty to love, but I don't think we'll get another pair of $500 million-plus earners like "Jurassic World" (over $600 million) and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In an annual tradition, here are the sixteen movies I'm most looking forward to for 2016. I'm a ranker kind of guy, so let the first countdown begin. Enjoy!

COLUMN: 2016 Winter Movie Preview

More often than not, the movies that land in the months of January and February were either not good enough for qualifying for Oscars by the December 31st deadline or not chipper enough for the spring season. Sometimes, there are those two things and worse. See what you can circle and look forward to in this preview of the 2016 Winter Movie season.

CHECKLIST: 2016 Winter Movie Calendar

Here is your lineup of upcoming films for the slowest annual season of the year, the post-holiday hangover before the arrival of spring. Pick through this list and find a few winners. Add these to your calendar or print and slip this list on the fridge. As always, release dates shift all of the time, so be aware. My full seasonal preview will be coming soon! Enjoy!

MOVIE REVIEW: Self/less

WARNING: The following picture attached this website's review is an actual image from the film "Self/less" but it may indicate what your own facial expression will look like either live while watching "Self/less" or after seeing the film in its entirety. The timing and severity of this effect will vary among each audience member, but, make no mistake, this is the end result.

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