Marvel – Spinning Platters

Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Dazzling, vibrant fun with a classy set list

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to the surprise superhero blockbuster from Marvel Studios, opens with a credit sequence set to Baby Groot dancing around a space station platform while the rest of the gang fight an intergalactic squid monster. Of course, Baby Groot is dancing to the late ’70s jolly tune “Mr. Blue Sky” by Electric Light Orchestra. If that isn’t a welcome return to the colorful, soundtrack-propelled, fun tone of the Guardians franchise, then I don’t know what is. From the first moments to the very end of the closing credits, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a fun ride with all the elements that made the first such a glowing success, and, even if it doesn’t feel quite as fresh and employs a few unorthodox plot maneuvers, it still delivers a ton of laughs and top notch visuals.

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Film Review: Logan

Dark and gritty and a proper sendoff for Jackman and Stewart.

Jackman is jacked up one last time…for now.

Logan will be Hugh Jackman’s ninth (and final) appearance as the comic hero, Wolverine. Nine. Films. <<pause for effect>> In. Seventeen. Years. That’s two more movies than either Sean Connery or Roger Moore played James Bond. That’s two more than there are live action Star Wars movies, and one more than in the Fast and the Furious franchise. You know which movie won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2000 when Jackman first starred as Wolverine in X-Men? American Beauty won! Feel old yet? Yeah, me too. First, let’s give Mr. Jackman a round of applause. <<applause>> Next, let’s begin to consider Jackman for a potential Best Actor nomination come next Oscar season, as his performance in Logan transcends the casual superhero action movie performance — it is staggering, transformative, emotional and tragic. Finally, let’s admire Logan for the amazing piece of storytelling, acting, and cinema that it is. Logan is not only the darkest and grittiest X-Men movie to date, it’s also one of the most dramatic and near-perfect superhero movies, ever.

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Film Review: Doctor Strange

It takes an amazing cast to make goofy material work, and this movie has both.

doctor-strange-spell-cumberbatch-584x3501

Marvel movies have been around so long, they’ve transitioned from feeling like momentous events to being like episodes of a very expensively made television series. We see the same characters interacting with each other in different ways, with plot threads being left open for the next film to pick up on. The newest movie from the series, Doctor Strange, breaks this pattern and creates an entirely new set of characters set in both the universe we’ve seen and ones we haven’t yet seen. Continue reading “Film Review: Doctor Strange”

Film Review: Captain America: Civil War

You want the most action-packed, entertaining, thought-provoking Marvel movie to date? Aye aye, Captain!!

Remember Batman v. Superman? If you don’t, then congrats. If you do, rest assured that Captain America: Civil War will wash the bad taste from your mouth. The new movie has a remarkably similar plot to BvS but every bit is a million times superior. In fact, it’s so much better that you won’t even recognize the similarities upon first viewing. The benefits of watching Captain America: Civil War don’t end there — the third Captain America film is probably the best Marvel movie yet! A bold statement, you may think. Well, there is nary a moment in CA:CW that isn’t entertaining or driving the story forward. It explores thought-provoking themes of social class, abuse of power, government regulations, and sacrifice, all while delivering high levels of fun. What’s most impressive about Captain America: Civil War is its ability to utilize what we already know about each character to fuel the story we’re seeing, meanwhile teasing us with stories to come. It’s like the Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that’s just about the highest compliment I can give it.

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Film Review: Deadpool

The Mad Libs of comic book movies. This one’s for the fans.

Ryan Reynolds in costume as Deadpool. No feet. Apparently this is important.

The journey to theaters for Deadpool has been a long one. Ryan Reynolds played the titular character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as a silent but deadly killer, which misses the entire thrust of the character. This character is a wisecracking, violent character known as “The Merc With a Mouth.” After the utter failure of Green Lantern, a Deadpool movie with Ryan Reynolds seemed as far from reality as possible, but some test footage of a possible movie “leaked,” became a viral hit, and the movie was greenlit. Would this movie be the crass, irreverent, R-rated film that the fans want?

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Film Review: Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four is short and to the point, but pointless.

Four horsemen of the apocalypse, without the horses, and with one woman.

If you were clamoring for a reboot of the Fantastic Four movie franchise ever since 2007’s Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, you can probably assume that you’re in a small minority. I can safely say that not many people were interested in a new Fantastic Four movie, nevermind watching an attempt to relaunch the franchise in a more dark, gritty, and “character driven” storyline, a la X-Men: First Class and just about every superhero movie these days. Not all super hero movies need to follow the same exact formula again and again and again. It’s getting tiresome. The new Fantastic Four is no different. Even considering its weak editing and laughable story structure, it still manages to fall victim to comic book adaptation formula. I will concede one small victory to it—a reasonably short running time of 1 hour 45 minutes. It was nice to see a comic book film stay under 2 hours, though it was quite apparent that the F4 editors had no idea how to keep the pace and plotline efficient within that timeframe. In the end, Fantastic Four is not strong enough to stand on its own few merits, nor is it able to push a disappointing franchise forward.

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Film Review: Avengers Age of Ultron

Not so much a movie as it is an issue of a comic book series drawn by a great artist.

Just one of the impressive splash pages from Age of Ultron

You’ve already decided if you’re seeing Avengers Age of Ultron. You are. Of course you are. Everybody who sees movies on a regular basis is seeing this movie, and you’re not making a bad decision. You’ll see things on screen that can only exist in the world of modern big budget comic book cinema. This means you’ll get the good with the bad. You’ll get some action scenes that are truly fun to look at, displaying true artistry from the stunt team, choreographers, and effects house. What you won’t get are the stakes that will make you truly feel these scenes.

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Film Review: Big Hero 6

I dare you not to buy an action figure or stuffed toy within the next 48 hours after seeing this film.

Before saying what Big Hero 6 is, let’s start with what it’s not. It’s not the 6th movie in a series; it’s the beginning of a new one. It’s not a Pixar movie, but John Lasseter’s involvement in it is evident from both the quality of animation and the thought put into the characters. It’s not a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even though it’s based — loosely — on a Marvel comic book. It’s not necessarily a kids’ movie, although the ready-for-the-toy-store robot BayMax is going to appeal to kids … of all ages. Finally, it doesn’t take place in San Francisco; rather, in San Fransokyo. What’s that, you say?

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Film Review: Amazing Spider-Man 2

The attempt to add meaning to a meaningless story drags down what could have been a fun movie.

The Amazing Spider-Man explains to Jamie Foxx that his character is a one-note waste of time.

When you make a summer movie, the one thing you don’t want to do is find the middle ground between mindless popcorn flick and a well-scripted quality film. This is what Mark Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 does, and because of this, it’s a complete bore with a couple of good bits thrown in.

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Film Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America is in a post-Avengers world.

The surprise 2011 hit, Captain America: The First Avenger, succeeded because the iconic yet campy superhero received a modern injection of cinematic energy and solid storytelling. The main reason for the Captain’s successful re-emergence into mainstream pop culture was the charisma and multi-generational appeal of actor Chris Evans. Evans returns in his third stint as the star-spangled rescuer in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a film with another solid plot extracted from the Marvel universe, a fantastic grip on character arcs and relationships, and an epic sense of scale that, obviously, takes place in a post-Avengers universe.

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