The winter holiday saw a slew of feature-length films hit screens both big and small. Of the films that were on the tips of everyone’s tongues this break, the three films that stood out were the superhero films ‘Aquaman‘ and ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ as well as the Netflix original, ‘Bird Box.’

James Wan’s ‘Aquaman’ was one of the most visually stimulating films in recent memory. Characterized by vibrant and stunning visual effects, the movie excellently displayed the grandeur of DC’s underwater metropolis of Atlantis.

The film saw a tremendous reception at the Worldwide Box Office, eclipsing $1 billion in revenue. Sophomore Zac Rhone liked the movie despite some tonal inconsistency, calling the film “good, but a little lengthy… trying to advance too many plots at once.”

Bird Box was quite possibly the most debated movie of the winter holiday. Starring Academy-Award-winning actress Sandra Bullock, the film garnered nearly 45 million viewers in its opening week, and spawned a wave of memes that took the film to extraordinary heights. Its success exemplifies the new trend of feature-length films being made by and for streaming services.

Senior Ethan Nguyen enjoyed the film up until the end, saying that the pacing was odd and left the viewer feeling flat.

Lastly, the Sony Animated film,  ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,’ hit theaters over the holidays and received rave reviews from fans and critics alike. Touting a 97% critic score and a 94% fan score on Rotten Tomatoes, the film grossed nearly $300 million worldwide as of the end of January.

Seniors Cindy Tran and Caroline Dinh both said they thoroughly enjoyed the film, praising its stellar animation, phenomenal soundtrack and diversity of characters on screen.

Joshua Higginbotham, classical language and philosophy teacher, especially enjoyed the film for its inversion of the concept of “The Hero with a Thousand Faces.” On screen, the iconic “face” of Spider-Man is worn by many different heroes in the multiple universes in which the movie takes place.

Higginbotham marveled at how the use of animation allowed for an unparalleled level of authenticity, saying “I think all superhero movies should be made in animation.” He also praised the new web-slinger flick, calling it “the best superhero movie I’ve ever seen.”