“Good” and “bad” are certainly relative terms when it comes to Ruben Fleischer’s Marvel-based film, which focuses on an evil alien life form known as a “symbiote” that was originally conceived back in 1984 as an adversary for Spider-Man…
Read moreDeadpool 2 Review
Perfection is a tough thing to follow. But by more than one metric, that's what Deadpool 2 had to do. Ryan Reynolds makes for the perfect Wade Wilson, Deadpool was the perfect way to introduce the character on the big screen properly (we're still trying to forget X-Men: Origins - Wolverine) and the movie was a total crowd-pleaser that absolutely dominated at the box office. Maybe Deadpool isn't perfect by every measure of scrutiny, but it was the perfect thing for the character. Deadpool 2 had the ridiculous task of living up to those expectations and I'm here to tell you, against all odds, they totally pulled it off. Deadpool 2 is totally awesome and, while it certainly isn't a movie without flaws, it's arguably the perfect sequel…
Read moreAvengers: Infinity War
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has consistently proven to be an unprecedented blockbuster experiment in many ways over the last decade, but the long-teased arrival of Thanos has unquestionably been one of its most ambitious and risky maneuvers. Not only have fans waited for him through six years and 12 movies since his first on-screen appearance in Joss Whedon's The Avengers, but it has been repeatedly said by filmmakers that the ultra-villain's spotlight moment would be the adventure that every previous Marvel Studios film has been leading towards (a total of 18 features over 10 years). That's an unreasonable amount of pressure and hype to put on any single project -- and it's only multiplied by the insane popularity of the franchise.
The real crazy thing, though, is that they actually succeeded…
Read moreGuardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2. Review
Writer/director James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy is indeed a stunning film. It is full of brilliant creative energy and spirit, but there is one specific reason it continues to stand out in audiences' minds and continues to be my favorite of the marvel universe films after three years… the characters. More than just falling in love with the Guardians of the Galaxy blockbuster, moviegoers and myself fell in love with the Guardians of the Galaxy team -- connecting with this group of loveable ridiculous misfits who manage to find each other and become a dysfunctional family. It's Gunn's perfect understanding of this that clearly helped mold Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which smartly scales down plot in favor of personality -- and while the sequel doesn't pack the full punch of the original, it's a wonderful, beautiful follow-up that is richly dense in detail and features a parade of thrilling and fun surprises...
Read moreDoctor Strange Review (spoiler free)
In a year that sees Disney sitting atop the box office charts with the four highest-grossing films worldwide of the year, with one more likely waiting in the wings (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), and with more than $4.7 billion in global receipts so far (with another likely $3.433 bigllllion to come), the studio’s next potential blockbuster franchise is just around the corner. Marvel’s Phase 3 kicked off this summer with the release of Captain America: Civil War, taking $1.15 billion at the box office, and now the MCU’s next entry arrives November 4th when Doctor Strange hits theaters. With a mix of popular superhero and fantasy elements plus the seemingly invincible Marvel branding...
Read moreX-Men Apocalypse: AKA How To "KILL" A Franchise
smh
At the beginning of this movie is a scene in the 80’s set X-Men: Apocalypse where a young Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) and Scott Summers (Tye Sheridan) exit a showing of Return of the Jedi and argue the merits of the various Star Wars films. The participants discuss “Empire Strikes Back was better” versus “Star Wars started it all” before coming to a consensus that the third films always stink. It’s intended as a jab at X-Men: The Last Stand, but it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy...
Read moreCaptain America: Civil War Review (spoiler free)
Functioning as both a sequel to Captain America: The Winter Solider andThe Avengers: Age of Ultron, the film is the most comprehensive Marvel Cinematic Universe chapter to date, and while that put a great deal on the plate of writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the movie soars because the challenge is accepted and responded to in brilliant and entertaining fashion. Bringing together tremendous character dynamics; bold structure; an emotional narrative earned after years of story work; and spellbinding, fun action sequences, it’s everything a blockbuster should be.
Read moreDeadpool Movie Review
I said something similar to last year when Fury Road came out, which after seeing this movie begs repeating: “The fact that this movie even exists is a triumph.” Not to get lost in the history of the project, but I’m very confident some of you may not even remember the fact that Ryan Reynolds has played the foul-mouthed, psychotic, Marvel comics mercenary Wade Wilson/Deadpool before - in 2009’s X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE. The main problem there was that the geniuses behind that film took a character whose most evil weapon is his mouth and literally sewed it shut… Then poor Reynolds had another shot at superhero stardom a couple years later with GREEN LANTERN, and the less said about that the better. (Yes, he acknowledges both of those movies in Deadpool.)...
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