The countdown reaches the most divisive Avengers title. Adam makes the case that Avengers: Age of Ultron isn't a bad movie so much as a conflicted one, the first Marvel tentpole that put serving the wider universe ahead of being its own thing. Along the way: the tonal whiplash that kills every death scene, the Whedon dialogue problem, and a deep dive into how the Agents of SHIELD and Inhumans experiment, a Perlmutter mandate born of X-Men envy, was the original dry run for the "homework" problem that would later sink the Multiverse Saga. A solid but bottom-of-the-Avengers 4 out of 5. Next week: Civil War.

Two stories, one episode. First let's revisit Toy Story 4 seven years on, the weakest and least memorable entry in the series, and argue its real significance is strategic rather than narrative: this is the film where Pixar figured out it could mandate a sequel and have it work, the opening move in the inoffensive Pixar hit era. Then we turn to this week's box office, where an A24 horror movie made for ten million beat a four-billion-dollar Star Wars brand, Mandalorian and Grogu cratered seventy percent in its second weekend, and Masters of the Universe opened soft. I break down why creator-driven IP is eating corporate IP transplants alive, what the coming rush on YouTube properties will get wrong, and why the superhero movie is on life support rather than dead.

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Another month down, another slot in the Best of the Year Tournament to be awarded. Who is going to take the spot? The Devil Wears Prada 2 or The Mandalorian and Grogu?