Tag: 4 star

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Posted April 28, 2018

When Marvel filmed Avengers: Infinity War, they had no way of knowing how successful Black Panther would be. They probably guessed it would be successful enough. Because all of the Marvel movies have been. But 3rd highest domestic gross and and 5th biggest opening weekend. Beyond the money, it was a cultural phenomena that made so many different people feel their voice heard in new and undeniable ways. It also inspired Disney to share a little bit of the wealth to support youth STEM programs. Which means they will unequivocally make a sequel. They did know, when filming Infinity War, […]

Dr. Strange

Dr. Strange

Posted November 5, 2016

tldr: It’s Inception meets The Matrix in super hero form. Which, how has no one done Inception meets The Matrix before? They fit too perfectly together. While I knew a bit about Dr. Strange going in, like the character’s name and his look and that he messed with reality, I didn’t really know his history or the mythology around him. So, it was quite refreshing to not know what was coming for this character as the story progressed. And it progressed a bit slowly. A bit of too close detail on medical tools in the beginning. A bit of meandering […]

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War

Posted May 8, 2016

When a movie does so many things well, it’s hard to find the words. It’s a lot easier to point out flaws, to identify where it could have been better and what they should have done. But Captain America: Civil War is a solid movie; probably my favorite Captain America movie and easily up in the top 5 Marvel movies overall. I liked the plot a lot better than Winter Soldier. I like that it didn’t use montages like The First Avenger. Plus, is really funny. It’s witty and it’s true to the characters and the timing was spot on […]

X-Men Days of Future Past

X-Men Days of Future Past

Posted June 16, 2014

I did not expect to love Days of Future Past the way I did. The concept was complicated and convoluted. There were stories from the set about the script changing or this or that going wrong. I didn’t love any of the earlier films in the franchise, even though X-Men was always my favorite cast of comic characters growing up. I actually feel like a lot of the franchise was really mishandled prior to this film. But that’s the cool thing about Days of Future Past – it’s this remarkable reset button. And it’s actually an X-Men movie done well. […]

Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World

Posted November 9, 2013

I was expecting this movie to be good. I liked the first one a lot (with only a few qualifications) and I liked the character even more in The Avengers. So, yes, I pretty much expected The Dark World to be good. And even then, I was impressed. Because this is one of those movies that’s the ideal in the tentpole-blockbuster-extravaganza films because it’s a character movie first and all of those other things second. The relationship with Thor and Jane Foster is better than the first movie. Even though I still don’t think they have much chemistry we got […]

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3

Posted May 4, 2013

Marvel’s Phase Two shows obvious signs of being post-Avengers. And not just in the characters and the ramifications they have to deal with (Tony Stark, perhaps most of all) but in the studio and writers and directors who have seen what a Joss Whedon superhero movie is and now have to be that good.

Looper

Looper

Posted October 6, 2012

There are so many things I want to say about Looper I don’t even know where to start.

The thing about good movies is that you can analyze them inside and out. You can draw out narrative parallels that maybe were or were not actually intended. You can talk in circles about

The Avengers

The Avengers

Posted May 5, 2012

I love Joss Whedon.

Here’s the thing, he has been loved by a small percentage of the population for over a decade. He’s an incredibly talented

Real Steel

Real Steel

Posted October 18, 2011

The thing I like about Real Steel is, it’s not a movie you need to make allowances for.

With most action movies, you make allowances for the story or the performances or the characters

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Posted July 16, 2011

It’s a luxury to make a movie like this because all of the emotional resonance and significance has been created in the prior seven films. The characters are already strong because they’ve