A Review With No Spoilers..."Avengers: Infinity War"

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Rated PG-13

Starring Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Everyone Else! :)

Directed by The Russo Brothers

The Story:

Thanos (Brolin) is on his quest to unite the 6 Infinity Stones and wipe away half of the universe. Can the combined forces of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy stop him?

The answer may surprise you!

Buckle up true believers for the 19th installment in a 10 year ride that is the biggest emotional roller coaster of them all.

It comes out of the gate swinging and doesn't let up until the screen goes dark and the house lights int he theater come up.

You'll laugh.

You'll cry.

You'll repeat as necessary.

When it's over you'll want to see it again, and you'll also feel like the wait to get to Infinity War was nothing compared to the wait to see what happens next. 

As fans, we have invested 10 years of our lives in these characters.

So too have the actors invested nearly as long in portraying them on the screen.

We've been lucky to have them, and however this all ends, I'm glad to have had the chance to see all of these films with my kids.

I said at the start of the year that barring some surprise, I would be penciling in Avengers: Infinity War as my favorite movie of 2018.

I think we can put the pencil down, and grab the big black Sharpie.

Don't miss this one.

Final Grade: A+

"Doctor Strange" Is Not Covered By Your Affordable Healthcare Plan

Doctor Strange (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen,

Directed by Scott Derrickson

The Story:

Doctor Strange (Cumberbatch) is an extremely accomplished neurosurgeon who is as brilliant as his ego suggests he is. In an instant, his world comes crashing down, and he loses everything. In a last-ditch effort to regain the full use of his hands, he heads east in the hopes of healing, and winds up learning ancient mystic arts. Of course, when another former pupil is trying to learn a dark spell that will wind up destroying the earth, it will fall upon Strange's shoulders to see if he's learned enough to stop the threat.

Full disclosure, I never really cared for Doctor Strange when I was growing up. Aside from guest starring in the books that I read, I never sought his own comic out to read.

Just a character I never truly cared for.

However, much like Daredevil, give him to the right hands, and I might find myself really digging the character.

When I saw the trailer(s) for Doctor Strange, I was also less than overwhelmed.

They did nothing to alleviate my fears, unlike the killer trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy that made me realize THAT movie is going to be amazing, and I MUST see it in theaters.

Nope, this looked like one I could probably miss in theaters and catch on DVD, much like I did with Age of Ultron.

However, I wound up at the theater with one of my kids Friday afternoon, and we sat down to watch.

Neither of us hoping for much, other than to not be let down.

Part of me wonders why we even worry about anything Marvel touches anymore.

: )

In short, it exceeded any and every expectation that we had.

There was great characterizations, there was fun, Marvel dialogue.

The special effects are nothing short of amazing, and they keep the fight sequences fresh and visually stunning.

I've seen handfuls of reviews, both professional and not that actually recommend this one be seen in 3-D if possible.

I can only imagine how crazy that's got to look!

The final "boss battle" in the movie is really good, and keeps within the character that Doctor Strange has been and becomes as the movie progresses.

What else?

Doctor Strange sounds an awful lot like Dr. House. Apparently that is the default voice for grumpy brilliant doctors. : )

And if the Academy ever decides to create a Best Supporting Prop category, I nominate the Cloak of Levitation.

: )

Go see it.

You'll be glad you did.

Final Grade: A-

Truth Is More Boring Than Fiction..."Black Mass"

Black Mass (2015)

Rated R

Starring Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott,

Directed by Scott Cooper

The Story:

Based on the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp), this drama attempts to show how devious he was by ensnaring FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) into making him an informant for the FBI which then gave him carte blanche to do as he pleased in the criminal underworld of Boston. Meanwhile his brother Billy (Cumberbatch) was a respected politician that helped his brother enough, but not to the point of being in the same spotlight with him.

Here you have a 2 hour drama that felt like 12 hours of your life slipped by.

Excruciatingly dull, this is a mafia drama with really, very little drama.

All we see are members of Bulger's gang confessing to this that or the other via flashbacks.

It turns out that Bulger's informant status may very have been completely fabricated by John Connolly. Bulger never ratted on anyone, a fact he holds very strongly too today. Connolly simply used testimony from other snitches to create Bulger's file.

The cast itself is a remarkable assemblage of talent. The sad part is, they are given very little to do.

Cumberbatch seems wasted in what is essentially a glorified cameo. That part could have been given to just about anyone and carried the same gravitas to the role.

Kevin Bacon seems to give the most passionate performance, too bad his screen time is likely 5 minutes or less.

I may have mocked Depp in the past for only playing the same character (Captain Jack) for the last 15 years or so, but when given a role like this...

Perhaps Captain Jack is him actually acting and doing a pretty good job, because he is stale, wooden and rather boring in this role. Of course, I have to go all the way back to Edward Scissorhands to find a Johnny Depp role I did like, so take it with a grain of salt.

:)

There is little passion, energy or excitement throughout the movie. There doesn't feel like escalating tension that Bulger is just getting away with things or people are becoming suspicious that Connolly may be helping Bulger out.

I'll give this one a "D" for disappointment.

Final Grade: D+

This Movie Series Is Dragon On And On... Get It? "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

Rated PG-13 for violence

Starring:  Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lilly, Benedict Cumberbatch, Luke Evans

Directed by Peter Jackson

The Story:

Bilbo (Freeman), Gandalf (McKellen) and the Dwarves continue their push back to the Dwarf homelands, defeat Smaug (Cumberbatch) and reclaim their lost treasure and kingdom.  By the end of the movie, the Dragon is angry and about to go on a rampage at the nearby village.

I can't help but think if they would have trimmed  some of the first and added parts of this one into the first Hobbit, they could have made this a pretty good trilogy.

But at this point, pushing for a 4th movie is just plain greedy, and it feels like padding.

So I take it on this installment, that otherwise was more action oriented than the previous installment.

The cast beefs up with the arrival of an old friend, Legolas (Bloom) who you must remember we are seeing for the first time... and female elven warrior Tauriel (Lilly) whose crush on Legolas is about to go out the window before this film is over.

Luke Evans comes aboard as a mysterious entity in the human outpost of Laketown.  It seems like he is fated to make up for a family mistake of not killing Smaug when they had the chance.

Really, like killing dragons is easy.

Finally, I must commend them for the barrel riding sequence for being a great action chase scene with quite a bit of humor interspersed with all of the action.

Good stuff.

So complaints of padding aside, I'll still sign up to see the next installment on DVD when it comes out.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor - I didn't feel the same charm as the first part of The Hobbit with this one.  While heavier on the action, at closing in on 3 hours, these films become a labor to watch on repeated viewings.

Blockbuster Weekend Part One: "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

To boldly go where we've already gone before...

For the first time!

The Story:

Kirk (Chris Pine) and the rest of his crew are in trouble for not following standard protocol.  Kirk is removed from his captaincy, just as a Star Fleet officer (Benedict Cumberbatch) goes rogue, causing a terrorist attack.  Kirk demands to hunt this traitor to the far reaches of the galaxy and is reinstated as the Enterprise's commander.  He reassembles his crew and prepares to bring vengeance to the villain.  Ah, but not everything is as it seems, and there are still some twists coming for the members of the Enterprise.

I'm sure everyone has seen this film by now that wanted to, so I won't spoil anything else.

As for me? 

I enjoyed this film.

I've seen/heard all the negativity, but come on folks, it's just a movie.

Spoken like a true non-Trekkie.

Yes, I grew up watching reruns of Star Trek in syndication, but otherwise, never bothered with most of the movies or the various television series that followed.

I've had no problems with the reboot/relaunch of an alternate universe Star Trek.

It was the smartest thing they could've done.

If you want to keep the franchise going into the 21st Century, why not reboot everything?  And they did it in such a clever way, it seemed that you could have the best of both worlds.  Everything that had come before was still there... and now a new crew with some old names was being given their chance to shine.

And they took to their parts really well.

Zachary Quinto continues to grow nicely into his role as Spock, but for me the scene stealer is Karl Urban as Bones McCoy.  He's not around a lot, which is a shame, but everytime he delivered his cranky lines, I laughed.

The guy fills the role perfectly.  I hope to see more of him the next go round.

Hopefully, and assuming there is a next film, the storyline might be original, and concentrate on the main portion of the crew.

Let's see how this 5 year journey works out for the new crew.

I'm game for a return if they are.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'd watch it again, and wouldn't mind adding it to the collection with the first one.  Making 2 Star Trek movies in my library as the sum total  of my Trekkiness.