Reader critics go soft for summer?

“No Aunt May, no Spider-Man,” says my brother, and I know what he means. Without that frail and innocent soul that quietly cries out for protection and sacrifice on its behalf, Spider-Man loses a chunk of his heroic character. But the current onscreen iteration of May Parker is played by unfrail actress Marisa Tomei, and she is caring more than cared for.

So when Spider-Man: Homecoming plunders perhaps the most famous moment in Spider-Man comics history, the film has to re-purpose it, shift the focus away from sick old Aunt May and toward something more...well, I won’t spoil it. But I’m pretty sure my brother will be sad. (What I’m less sure of is how my friend the Bocaccio fan will feel about the Decameron-based romp The Little Hours.)

Me, I liked Homecoming. It was fun, and thrilling, and smart about its villain. And besides, I got plenty of redemptive struggle and suffering from the artist biopic Maudie.

Meanwhile, Scott enjoyed the road drama The Journey, making this a week without a bad review. I hardly recognize us anymore.