In Retrospect: Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Please for the love of all that is magic, I better not have to wait another 6 years for the next Doctor Strange movie.




Not to say of course the wait wasn't worth it, I still very much enjoy Multiverse Of Madness but my opinion hasn't changed much since seeing it opening day. I think the movie has a solid plot that moves at a very good pace but I would have edited the sequence of scenes slightly different. Not really sure why there were so many fade to black moments like a made for TV movie but whatever, it doesn't hurt the film. What I did notice more this time around is, I would definitely say this is a movie that furthers the character arc of Stephen Strange. Obviously there was a big shift from the beginning to the end of the first film, but this movie progresses it even further with Stephen being more accepting of his emotions toward Christine, seeing other Doctor Strange's mistakes and learning from it, to be content with the life he has rather than substitute it for something "perfect". In fact the scene with Wong during the resolution I felt was immeasurably life affirming and something I'll take to my grave. Still feel completely apathetic to Wanda, hell more like I'm just over her shit and and have this contempt for her in all honesty. I'm sure I was supposed to see this as some horrible tragedy, that this character keeps losing and losing ones she cares about leading her to do some terrible shit but sorry (not really sorry at all though), she aggravates me. Which is beyond weird because my whole shtick is I'm a mark for villains, villains are infinitely more engaging and interesting than some goody two-shoed heroic ponce, but that is not so much the case for Marvel movies with ever so slight exception. But at the exact same time, I feel both this and Wandavision are more almost cautionary tales about living in denial when your reality faces a crushing blow and how you have to move on and better yourself, I understand that perfectly but woman.....GET OVER IT! Jesus H. jumping Christ on a fucking pogo stick! Elizabeth, may I call you Liz, you are acting your heart out here and performed amazingly, like strongest performance in this movie hands down! But oh my lord I cannot stand this character in any way. Awesome to see Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, though a small part it is I hope we get to see him again soon. As for other familiar faces, let's discuss that shall we? So, did Marvel create the Illuminati? Cause I might need to punch them in the face for doing so, fuck your conspiracy theories and fuck your secret societies even harder. Humans. Why am I stuck with humans? I'm sure this was a pants jizzingly big moment for Marvel fans and while it was pretty awesome to see Professor Xavier in the yellow dodgem transport thingy, I can't fully attest my amazement at the other members, they were just kinda there. I can understand the sentiment however of introducing so many fan favorite characters for them to be axed not 10 minutes later, I know in the grand scheme of multiverses and the MCU it really doesn't matter much but even I was kinda surprised and a touch disappointed at that turn of events. But I got way more positive things out of this than negatives for sure, from magic casting and dimension jumping to overall direction and character moments, it still stands firm and easily is one of my favorites of this franchise that I sense is significantly losing steam. It only took 15 goddamn years apparently. DC isn't holding much high ground either at this point, I'll be amazed if even Shazam 2 gets to theaters at this point. I'm pretty much turning my back on comic book movies these days, I'll stick with the older movies and call it quits. And on that disappointing bombshell it is time to end, very good movie that I still give a 7.5/10 to, and I will catch you tomorrow.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

Ha, and you thought I forgot!

I got the 1 in 14 million and whatever the hell it was, and finally got to see the new Doctor Strange. I was pretty happy with what I got, had some things that could definitely be improved but overall a very good and enjoyable film. Now as you will see through my history, I haven't reviewed a Marvel movie since Endgame so I have no clue what transpires for Peter Parker after Homecoming. With that in mind, let's continue. So we pick up some time after No Way Home as Stephen is more or less dropped into this plot of a young girl who can traverse the multiverse and has to keep her safe from evil forces wanting to take her power, now obviously with such a mindwarping thing as the multiverse there is clearly going to be more than that. Which is one aspect I highly applaud, it is a multiverse of madness, it goes apeshit and gets wild quick which is what I loved most about the world of Doctor Strange, it cannonballs into the deep end of fantastical, escapist, beautiful nonsense and easily were my favorite parts of the film. Now there is one instance where I absolutely can see people getting pissed off and agravated at, but at the same time this does deal with alternate realities so I can excuse the stuff that doesn't work because that is how that universe works, it works in the film's favor. However what did not work for me is Wanda. Yeah, we're walking down this street again. However. However, Elizabeth Olsen's acting in this...10/10! She nails it, she's spectacular, she is not f***ing about, and I feel I need to make this point clear with my reviews. I don't hold grudges or hatred toward actors unless they have done some shittastic things in life, when I have a severe problem with a character, I have an issue with exactly that. The character. I could have written Wanda clean out of this movie and you wouldn't miss much besides a very strong performance, in fact it kinda drags WandaVision down even further for me. I never hated the Scarlet Witch until recently, so those parts actually took me out of the movie. The cast do very good work, and I like seeing them all again even with our new characters. I have no idea why but I just really loved that Wong was Sorcerer Supreme instead of Strange, it just made me happy. It almost feels odd to have Strange in his own film all the way through, I think he contracted a heavy case of sidekick-neosis but they focus on him in the right way and it reminded me of why I was pumped to see this. But the best of the best, man let me tell you what, Sam Raimi. God to the hell damn yes, this visual style...mm, it's sublime! Visuals alone, not just effects which were ropey at times but ultimately strong, but direction, framing, cinematography, editing, is king of the hill where this movie is concerned. I got a healthy bit of Evil Dead style, some highly recognizable Spider-Man moments, and he utilized the visuals to the best potential. Well done sir. And this movie actually reinforced something I was thinking about on my way to see it, I was having a rough day where nothing seemed to be going as planned, really got me bummed out man but on my way to the theater I was very happy because I got out of work and it was a lovely day and I was finally able to do the thing I like doing the most. You can't stress about that shit, life goes on man. Bad days pass, trials and tribulations end, and you still get to move on and enjoy something. 3 stars, a high 7.5/10 close to an 8, but still a recommended movie. Whew, what a week. You Marvel fans are superhuman I swear.

What If...?

Thank God this was better.

After the tepid at best reception of WandaVision I was hoping for better and I got a pretty solid and dang good show. I mean it's such a simple premise that's been in comics for about 30+ years, tell an elseworlds story with familiar heroes in different situations and realities, and now go one step further to make an anthology animated series involving the MCU. It's super short too, only 9 episodes though it has a semi-standard runtime akin to most animated shows I was surprised how much it could do and even how easy it was to jump into. Granted you do kinda need to know your MCU movies in certain episodes, they don't hold your hand for anything, you either know or don't. I can't begrudge it too much on that factor cause you do have to be a fan of the Marvel stuff to even have any intention of watching it so it gets a pass on accesibility. The animation style is that odd Tron Uprising, Into The Spiderverse style of 2D but actually 3D animation, and while it did take a brief moment for me to get adjusted to it I found it to be very well done and captures the color and spectacle of those movies. Easily my favorite episodes were Agent Carter getting the supersoldier serum, T'Challa being a guardian, Doctor Strange turning evil is the crown jewel for me personally, and the final two episodes which cap it off nicely should this be the one and only season we get. But truth be told, I am 100% down to see more. I know, the guy who gave the majority of the MCU one gigantic ehhhh, actually has some interest and passion for What If. Will wonders never cease. I do actually appreciate how not every story ends happily, obviously with such a multitude of multiverses not all ends in a good way and there is some screwed up stuff that happens. Though that does make me wonder what the demographic is for this, I'd probably put it in the teens to adults category alone due to the zombies episode. I'll never fully grasp society's fascination with the zombie genre, let undead sleeping dogs lie for God's sake, it needs to end quick. Besides that small gripe with the entertainment industry, it's a very good series that while an experiment that has been tinkered with before still tells good stories with good production quality. I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10! Finally, a Marvel movie I have been waiting to see coming up next.

Avengers: Infinity War (Part 2)

Part twoooo, the reckoning.

But how does anybody outside of like Gamora and possibly Thor know what the Gauntlet is and what it does? Cause Bruce explains the whole importance of it and I'm just wondering how he knew. Actually tell you the truth, the Infinity Gauntlet doesn't make a lick of sense either. "The universe is finite, it's resources finite.", dude I saw you create a swarm of bats from an energy blast, you can do anything. Quadruple the resources! "Reality can be whatever I want.", okay so why do you need all 6 stones? And why does everything the Gauntlet do reverse when Thanos uses the Space Stone? Like when he turns Drax and Mantis into disproportionate shapes, after he leaves it all goes back to normal. Why? I doubt Thanos is the kinda guy who shows mercy on his enemies, so I guess you have to be right in front of the Infinity Gauntlet for it to have an effect, so the range sucks harder than an AT&T tower. We already know Thanos goes from planet to planet and wipes out half the population so what does the snap do? Reduce the half to a quarter? That's not very f***ing balanced at all now is it. Now if the Gauntlet was just this super mega ultra doomsday weapon then I could get behind it, but it's not. And for a movie called Infinity War, there wasn't much action beyond the Wakanda fight. I know it would have been impossible to surpass Return Of The King standards of action and war scenes, but give us something to go wow at. Infinity Battle would have been more appropriate, or hell just call it Avengers: The Infinity Gauntlet, then you name the next one Infinity War because I'm assuming the conflict in Endgame will dwarf this by a mile long. The more I think about this movie, the more I think less of it. The characters are fine, but that's because we've had all these movies beforehand to flesh them out and they remain constants, with little dynamic change to their personalities and overall characteristics which defies the purpose of putting them through these trials and tribulations. The action is serviceable but not worthy of the title of the movie as stated above. The story's pacing and tone needed considerable tweaking, the pacing was adequate but had too many strands to connect leading to a somewhat bloated story necessitating a longer runtime to better the progression and character moments, and the tone kind of just needed to go more serious and maybe a little deep to really hit home the final scene. And why was there an end credits scene? Did you really need that? Imagine if they did it this way: the snap, play out the scene as normal, content smile, darkness, and dead silence through almost the whole credits to let that sink in and have this disquieting silence fall over the audience, and no end credits scene. It would get people talking like mad as to what would happen next. But no. Gotta sell that next product, always have to advertise that next movie, couldn't just open Captain Marvel with that scene or just do Captain Marvel. Ugh, f*** me. The only saving grace was the villain, and while it is fun to quote Thanos, the words have purpose, and meaning, and most of all emotion to them that made them so memorable. Actually a quote that stuck with me for reasons unknown even to myself was when Thanos is about to reverse time to claim the soul stone, "Now is no time at all." it struck me as this metaphysical line where he could stop time with a motion of his hand and it could be kind of like that scene in Doctor Strange when the Ancient One and Strange are seeing time being dragged out making one moment last a lifetime, that this instant before having all the Infinity Stones is another time so distant it might as well be millenia ago. It's an odd one to be sure, but something about it kind of stuck with me. 2.5 stars, 6/10. Reality is often disappointing.

Avengers: Infinity War (Part 1)

I still don't get the fandom.

Infinity War was not bad by any stretch, there were several elements I greatly enjoyed, there was some stuff that made me quite aggrivated, but all in all it came down to being a good movie. Not a great movie or a perfect movie, nor a bad movie or cinematic trash. It's okay. And for those few who are still reading this, let's get going. I liked the story, it's a bit flawed and I would have done this differently, not much but just tweaks that would give the film more weight. So Thanos has finally entered the chat and is hunting down the Infinity Stones. Pause. I am not actually a fan of him literally grabbing these impossibly rare and extrememly powerful gems one right after the other in the span of a single day, I actually would have liked it if we slowly saw him get a stone every so few movies, to build that anticipation and intrigue as to what the final goal is and what the gauntlet does. Since there's 6 stones, I would have preferred if he got the last two in this movie, therefore creating more drama that, oh shit he's nearly got them all we gotta act fast or we're completely screwed. Resume. That's basically the plot, we're going gem hunting while the scattered forces of the Marvel heroes are desperately trying to form a defensive plan to take this guy out. That's fine, I think the movie severely lacks dramtic tension at times and if I'm being ruthlessly honest....kinda shoots itself in the foot. A lot. Case in point, Thanos snaps Loki's neck. Unfortunately I felt no resounding effect because I've seen the crafty bastard elude death more times than I can remember so why should this time be any more final? Steve and the renegade members of the Avengers get back into the story, but they kinda just pop out of nowhere to save Vision and Scarlett Witch when they never explain how they found them to begin with. They didn't track them, they couldn't track them, they pop up in a totally random place, I know it's just for that Cap reveal but sloppy writing is sloppy shitty writing. Which is odd because most of the weaving of all these different characters into a singular movie is quite honestly handled well, even if the pacing gets sidestepped because there's too damn many, but it's there to set up future stuff in the plot so whatever. Thanos has an entourage which immediately threw me right the f*** off because if there was ever a villain that did not need a sidekick, let alone 4 of them it would be Thanos. He even has this brown nosing little ponce who is also his hype man, I mean what in the actual shit is this? So much for that "I'll do it myself" if you send your Team Rocket lackeys to do the work for you, my God they were beyond pointless. Oh and Red Skull is here too and he has powers...now? How?? Why??? I don't know. But he's there. I was slightly shocked at the runtime, I assumed this was going to be the 3 hour finale but it came up 30 minutes short which I felt to be odd because this is the kind of movie that needs that amount of length, you could really set up this heavily foreboding atmosphere as each hero tries in their own way to prepare for the oncoming battle, to get more backstory to Thanos, to really sink in the seriousness of it all. But it just feels like the same old Marvel movies, there's nothing more to this movie than the others beside the ending. Now on one hand, I commend that. It lulls the audience into a false sense of security where the heroes will come out on top but then drops the anvil right on their heads in a very unexpected manner. Which is kinda what they did, but it doesn't have that serious, dramatic, finality punch to it that it so desperately needs. This should have been almost devoid of humor like if a person tried to make a joke it would either fall flat or be given the cold shoulder by other members of the group, with a lot more quiet intimate moments with our heroes where they face the possibility of dying and have to come to terms with it, and the tension and fear when Thanos is on screen should have been priority number one because we don't know anything about him. Sure comic fans know this guy backwards and forwards, and even knows the original reason why Thanos wanted the Infinity Gauntlet (spoiler alert he was a thirsty f***boi), but most audience members have no clue who he is. We've seen the briefest of appearances but essentially know precisely dick, and while the film does a very good job cementing his character, we kinda needed more or maybe I just wanted more. The film constantly kinda keeps breaking itself almost on a subconscious level, like with Doctor Strange. He has the time stone, he can manipulate time to an insane degree, and this is kinda where the movie falls apart, because even when Thanos has four out of six Infinity Stones, Strange could still reverse time maybe to oh I don't know, save Tony from getting stabbed, or to rewind time to stop Star Lord from literally f***ing over the entire universe (we'll get to him I promise), or to just pull the Dormammu trick again. Christ he even says the Time Stone is the best chance they have against Thanos! And he hands the thing over after Tony gets stabbed and begs to spare his life. Um....Doc, he doesn't have a hostage. He shanked Stark, he's dying, there is no bargain chip, hit the rewind button, do some trippy cosmic magic tricks, save him. Do you see the issue with the Time Stone? The heroes are kind of dumbasses in this movie, Strange was bad but Quill....this stupid motherf***ing shitlord. Okay, so the group has got Thanos, they are doing everything in their power to restrain him and get the gauntlet, and they are actually even surprisingly succeeding. Hurrah! Until Star Lord hears about Gamora and instead of waiting 10 seconds for them to get the gauntlet off and then pump him so full of goddamn holes it would give people trypophobia, he starts wailing on the guy which shock of all shocks, rapes the plan with a splintered broomstick and leads to devastating losses for the entire universe. Good job. Yes I'm blaming him. You know that whole 1 in 14,000,605 odds against them winning? Well if Peter pissed off for a minute, that 1 would have been the win. I'm just really not liking the Guardians at this point, Quill is a stupid asshole, Gamora is mostly bland and I could care less for her character even with her daddy issues, Rocket's schtick is dead to me, Groot is just there, pretty much Drax and Mantis are the only ones I really like. Even poor Josh Brolin who is doing damn amazing work in this role can't fully salvage the movie, which is a shame because he is singlehandedly the best part of the entire movie. You see the machinations in his mind, you see and feel that this terrible thing he is trying to do feels justified and even logical in his eyes, his performance is the best performance in Marvel not just on an acting standpoint but a character standpoint. People have made videos on this guy for years now and for good reason, he's a fascinating character study to undertake. Josh Brolin is great, harboring on perfect. I personally actually like how he defeats the Hulk, you'd think I would hate it because my boy just got his ass handed to him, but it shows Thanos cannot be subdued by a brawl and that he knows how to fight, meaning you have to find another way to beat him. But I just feel he's too good for this movie. Again, Infinity War is not a bad movie but it has flaws that hurt the film quite a bit. My main problem was the tone, I think my false sense of security for the audience idea was the intended effect that the director's were going for but it just doesn't feel that high stakes and it should! We are talking about the fate of countless worlds and people, a truly horrible person wielding unlimited powah, and it's the same old shit. If you're not going to treat this subject material seriously and make it as good as possible with hard, dark, possibly even deep moments then just stop. You don't get to skate around this on your same old tropes, do something with it! Make it like an epic tragedy, a proper war film where people die, where it's a constant struggle for these gemstones, treat it as if you are making one of the greatest and most powerful films ever made where Ingmar Bergmann or Akira Kurosawa would applaud it. But screw that, we gotta make it for the kids you little bastards, go buy our shit! Why make it an actual good film that will be talked about for decades for pushing the envelope of comic book movies? I assume you wanted to tell this story from almost the beginning, why else would you make 18 damn movies beforehand? So you feel the impact, so you give a shit, so you are invested in the story. Well congratulations you did that, now where's the movie worthy of that payoff? It's just another standard Marvel movie with a very strong ending. And let's talk about the snap heard 'round the world. It's impact didn't fully do it for me because well, I've waited two years to watch this movie. When the scene has practically become an iconic meme it loses that gravitas, I knew it was going to happen, when it was going to happen, who got dusted, and how the film ended. Do I still appreciate it? Very. The lack of music, the almost washed out colors, the unceremonious deaths of characters we've watched for years, it's an experly crafted scene....but that atmosphere and tone should have permeated the entire film. Oh my God, I have to split the review cause I'm still not done. So um, get ready for more of this!

1917

Well the first movie going experience of the new decade and the year. Shit.

I'm just gonna get this out of the way but, I totally jinxed myself today. I said not 6 hours before I walked into this movie, "I haven't had a bad theater experience in the 4 years of reviewing I've done.". Yeah the projection broke down twice. And it hurt the experience, the immersion, and the enjoyment of the film for me. I wasn't mad at the theater cause these things happen and very rarely too but with a film like 1917, you need that immersion. The whole movie is set up to be shot in one long take, very much like Birdman, but when the film stops and then literally has to rewind back a few minutes it does hurt the film. We had no hiccups after that and it started around the 30 minute mark but I couldn't fully enjoy the film afterwards because there was a nagging thought in the back of my head, the movie could break down again. That f***ing sucks man. My rating has been compromised because of the experience. Granted I very much liked the film, it was filmed absurdly well and I only counted a max of 5 cuts in this 2 hour movie. It has a strong story with two british soldiers tasked with crossing enemy territory to relay a message that will save 1,600 men. It does warrant the R rating with it's content, they don't shy away from anything, there's multiple instances of decomposed and grotesque corpses littered on the battlefield and environment. It does remind that war is worse than any hell ever created by a religion, but it has deeper themes of friendship, loyalty, comraderie, life, death, and beauty amongst ruins. The performances are all done very well with Dean Charles Chapman and more importantly George Mackay, they have to carry this film all the way through on their backs and they do succeed. But Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, and Benedict Cumberbatch though having bit parts do elevate the film. As I said Sam Mendes has done a great job with directing and each shot is excellent, never letting up that under the skin tension and anxiety for the audience. You just never know when someone is about to take a shot and you're as apprehensive and stressed as the main characters. It's a damn good film and if I saw it last year it would have made my top 10 list, probably would have put it at number 10 because while it is a technical marvel and a strong and powerful story, there was some stiff competition for last year that gave me a lot of enjoyment and love. So take my rating with a grain of salt, it could be way way better for you than it was for me. 1917 gets a solid 4 stars, 8.5/10. It does severely bum me out that the first movie experience of this year was less than spectacular but we must press on for better and new experiences.

Okay I've compiled a list of movies I own that I haven't done yet. It's a small list but there was one particular series that I'm all for revisiting, and I would like to do it 5 years in than much later. It's kind of a crime I haven't reviewed them before but that will be rectified starting next Sunday for a whole week. It will be a wild magical time for all.

In Retrospect: The Grinch

Still pretty dang good but I do have more things to say.

I still love the way they handled the story, it's not entirely How The Grinch Stole Christmas, it's a loose adaptation that covers it but still does it's own thing. It's great seeing the animation style of Illumination in a winter setting, they take full adavantage of landscape, color, and Christmas imagery and they do it mighty well especially with the brief quiet atmospheric shots. Not to say the movie is constantly moving, joking, and action, it takes time for slow moments and to focus on a character and how they are feeling which is greatly appreciated. I think the biggest part of the movie that I liked was the characters! And boy howdy did I have a serious issue concerning these characters, not because of the movie but more the reaction of the movie. Oh they ruined the Grinch, they made him less hateful and more relateable, they made his backstory sympathetic, blah blah blah! So? Get over yourself. Yeah they make him a bit modern but let me counterpoint this. "Well they made the Grinch less mean and made him more relateable!" And? You got 3 different versions of the character, you can move on I assure you. So what if he actually likes his dog? He's a dog person!! He can't exactly be all bad if he has a dog! And I think of it more in this movie as a Pinky & The Brain relationship, yeah he gets annoyed at Max and is still a grump but there's still that spark of love in some form. If Brain can shed tears over Pinky then the Grinch cannot be a total jerk to his dog. "Well they made his backstory sad and even relateable which goes against his character!" Yeah because the Jim Carrey version in NO WAY made his backstory sad and even a bit relateable and on top of that was a real poor reason why he hates Christmas but no please continue this symposium of the betrayal of a beloved literary character because this movie is where all the issues really come from!!

I'm gonna take a minute, that actually really pissed me off, that was pure anger. Just let me compose myself.

Ahem. But no seriously this movie really ruined the character above all other things because why would we like something new you fu-

Okay. I'm cool, I'm fine. I just get a little peeved when people can't accept a new take of a character that isn't....all...that...bad. Breathe. Breathe.

He's not a bad character! He's more of a non-social character and actually I do like the fact they did another Grinch special based around Halloween because it showed his love for Halloween and contempt for Christmas which is something I identify with completely, but there's nothing wrong with his characterization. It works for the movie, it's more about the redemption of the character than the character himself, like Scrooge you see him as a crumudgeon then you see the transition to a cheery fellow. And they did it very well. And I swear, and I'm just gonna say this, this is the best Cindy Lou we have ever got, I mean when you compare personality to just....a young girl, and an albeit good natured girl who's the only decent person in an entire town, this one really comes out on top. In fact all the kids are nice, and I am not a fan of kids in any fashion real life or media. So good job on all the characters, great job on the animation, the comedy was sort of for lack of a better word Tex Avery to me with chase scenes, humor straight out of a Roadrunner cartoon, and few jokes that made me roll my eyes and groan that will be dated in 5 years time. But honestly that's the most bad thing I can say about this movie, 2 gags aren't going to age well. They did something new yet familiar, and tried and succeeded in making a good movie. So...ffffffffffinally we get to see The Lego Movie 2 this Friday and I'm very excited about that. If you wonder why I'm only doing 2 reviews this week I got a reason, may not be a good reason but it's a reason which I will post on my Twitter tomorrow. You don't need to follow me, I never really post....anything on social media but if you really need to know, tune in!

The Grinch

This is the best comedy marketing ad I have seen in awhile. Not only do they release it 2 days after October but the fact that the poster says, it's never too early to hate the holidays. That is genius.

Thank God this movie did not suck, in fact it was great, and it's the perfect film for a certain holiday I hate. Enjoy that, it's the only rhyme I'm doing. So this film take it's own unique spin to the Dr. Seuss classic, done in spectacular animation with a small but really good cast. If they didn't say who voiced the Grinch you would never know it was Benedict Cumberbatch he does so well and brings his own personal flavor to a timeless character. It follows the book better than you would expect but still with new elements that are sure to impress, with comedy that works and visuals to dazzle all done with Illumination Studios usual style. (Whew, nearly dodged that one.) Does it top the original? Of course by no means, but it tells the story well and for that you should be pleased. The visuals are gorgeous especially the atmospheric shots, to the point where you can literally see the sparkling decoration lights reflected in someone's eyes. That...is incredible! The comedy is great almost to the point I feel I was having the most fun out of everybody in that theater. I've never identified more with the Grinch than in this movie, it's kinda scary how similar we are but what the heck I take that as a compliment. He was able to steal Christmas and that is something to be admired, though all I can do is try not to be tired of this looming Christmas nightmare. But I urge you to see this movie, there's something to love, something to like, all of which will make you smile bright. (Curses!) So that's all the time we have for today but with any luck I'll be back soon to look at another good video game movie.

In Retrospect: Doctor Strange

More magic filled movies, what's not to like?

Doctor Strange might well be my favorite Marvel movie of all time, I mean it's got Benedict Cumberbatch, Mads Mikkelsen, a great retelling of an origin story, outstanding effects, surprisingly philosophical and spiritual overtones, all done so well. It's a really good movie, and the one good thing I can say about most Marvel movies is the fact almost every movie is a standalone movie. You don't need to watch all the movies from Iron Man to Doctor Strange, you could just watch Doctor Strange! Skip the after credits scene, and voila! A solid superhero movie that stands alone. The story is very interesting, mainly just due to the fact of Stephen Strange's training in the mystic arts. Doctor Strange, the only superhero who got powers from reading books. All jokes aside, it is the best part of the story in my opinion, and yes while the rest of the story is fine, that was the part that still grabs me and pulls me into the movie. All the main actors do great jobs, and the comedy didn't actually grate on me that much this viewing around. Not sure why, maybe I just accepted it and moved past it, knowing damn well there is nothing I can do to change it, so why complain? The really bad part is, I looked up the full list of films in the Marvel cinematic universe, and there was only....3 I would watch, and only one in the future that I want to see. Now granted, I'm not much of a Marvel fan, I hardly know anything about characters or certain stories first hand, 99% of my knowledge stems from comic reviews and these movies. But I will admit I do want to read the Doctor Strange comics from the 60s just to see what it was all like. Beyond that, it's just another Marvel movie but a damn good one that I can safely say I will enjoy in the future.

Alright, that's enough In Retrospects for awhile and this Friday it will be a new movie in theaters. Until then, catch you later on down the trail.

Sherlock: Series 4

Late? Yes. Busy? Very. Any good? More than you would expect.

God, how do I talk about it? So many secrets and twists. Well...it didn't surpass series 3. Still very good, was very surprised and entertained but didn't wow me. But then again it took a second viewing of the last series to call it my favorite, so who knows? Has quite possibly, the best acting in the entire run of the show but in places. It gets very weird, even reality questioning at times, but the humor, intrigue, and cases still hold hard and true. It's quite interesting when you get down to it. I almost dare not reveal more. In a way, it delves into the very psychology of Sherlock, what made him who he is today. The only last thing I can truly say is, the final episode has reached new heights of danger for Sherlock and John than ever before, The Great Game, The Reichenbach Fall, His Last Vow, nothing compared to this. Nothing. It is bad.

Sherlock: Series 3

Okay, really surprising. It's my favorite series.

I thought it was impossible to surpass series 2. I was wrong. Which is odd, because the first time I watched it I thought it was just okay, nothing special or greater than the last series. But now that I have watched it for a second time, I can safely say it is my favorite, every episode is terrific, it focuses so much more on the relationship Sherlock and John have together, how Sherlock handles John being married to Mary, and it works so brilliantly well. The first episode really was all about Sherlock coming back, there wasn't even a case until well after the halfway point. The Sign Of Three is in my opinion, the absolute best episode of the entire show hands down, again really not much of a case but it is the most humorous, most emotional, and most perfectly well done episode, if there was an episode I could watch whenever I wanted this would be it. And finally, His Last Vow which gets really trippy and metaphysical but the twists, and the overall menace of our antagonist makes it damn good and it ended the way I wanted it to so very difficult to argue with the quality of this whole series. It has the best sum of episodes, it has my absolute favorite episode, touches on everything that I know and love about the show, introduces new characters, and by the by, Mary is....extraodinary. I simply adore her, if I ever knew her in real life the question "What am I going to do with you?" would spring up, and to be perfectly honest that is the highest compliment and viewing standard I could ever have for another person. Truly John is a lucky man. So anyway, the best series in my opinion. Not unless series 4 floors me beyond any form of comprehension....

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

Well that was certainly a trip. Quite brilliant fun but good lord do I feel bizzare now.

The Abominable Bride is the Sherlock Christmas special set in 1895, a true Sherlock in it's most basic form but not quite. It's Christmas in London and Holmes and Dr. Watson acquire a case of a suicidal bride returning from the dead and murdering her husband, the pair take up the case and I have to say it is a rather fun and very intelligent mystery, with the usual stamp of quality you would see in any other episode. I have to absolutely say to view this after watching series 3 as it contains MASSIVE spoilers of series 2 and 3, as it sets up the beginning of series 4 as well. So needless to say, there's a bit more to it than just a special one off episode set in the time period Arthur Conan Doyle wrote his stories. I am assured you can figure it out on your own, I take nothing but the best. But I had a blast with the whole experience of it all. Actually that sums this episode up perfectly, an experience. I'm very excited to go over series 3 tomorrow, I do hope you will join me. Come at once if convenient, if inconvenient come anyway.

Sherlock: Series 2

In some circumstances, this series surpasses the first and others...well, don't.

Now I love this series of Sherlock, quite possibly more than the first even though it has one of the most uneventful and dull episodes I have ever witnessed in my life AND is so far the worst episode of the whole show that I have seen so far, but even then it's not horrible. It has one of the best written, edited, and acted scenes in the entire show's run, and this episode is The Hound Of The Baskerville. You know what's really weird? Almost every example of Sherlock Holmes that I have seen in over 15 years has strangely been "The Hound Of The Baskerville", not any other story written by Doyle has ever been brought to my attention. Not "A Study In Pink", not "The Reichenbach Fall", not even "The Final Problem". Always "The Hound". How peculiar is that? But whatever disappointment that story gives me, is immediately rectified with The Reichenbach Fall. It surpasses tenfold whatever stakes were in previous episodes, it's still the best in my opinion. Also really strange how my favorite, and in my humble opinion, best episodes have Andrew Scott in them, he just entertains me so. Now every aspect of the previous series has improved, and it does the correct thing with building upon previous stories and still giving us plenty of fresh and new things we have not seen before. The acting, stories, editing, mysteries, and action have really stood high for me. True the first series was great, but just because of the final episode this is my favorite series of the show so far. Will series 3 surpass it, or will it just be another really good string of episodes? Well, I might be cheating a bit but since my school schedule is so jam packed tomorrow and there is no ample time to review a whole nother series, I will be looking at the Christmas special that premiered last year for the review of that day which air date wise came out after the end of series 3. So stay on the look out for that, and tell me if you figured out the solution to the final problem before Thursday. See you then.

Sherlock: Series 1

The game is on.

For those of you who have not watched the BBC series Sherlock, I....it's pure pity I feel for you. This show is amazing! You know the basic iconography of Sherlock Holmes, absurdly brilliant detective solves crimes the police cannot with his friend and colleague Dr. John Watson. Now take that concept out of Victorian England and put it into 21st century London. It works better than one might expect. Although I'm pretty sure every single episode, which is an hour and a half long by the way, goes exactly like the short stories Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. I watched all the series up to one point and then picked up one of the compilation Sherlock Holmes books which is the only way you can read them nowadays, and scene for scene, sometimes even line for line, follows the stories. And the casting could not ever, ever, ever be done any other way besides Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, and Martin Freeman as John Watson. They play it beyond perfection. I mean if you think about these characters, in modern day, they act perfectly how they would really behave in this day and age. I love it! The whole show harbors on these two actors, although supporting cast can never be excluded, they are quite lovely too especially Mrs. Hudson and Molly, they never cease to make me smile. But...I would almost argue Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty steals the whole first series and do you know how long he is on screen for? Maybe 5 minutes. In four and a half hours of total run time for the entire first series, it takes him 5 minutes to pull the rug out from under your feet and utterly wow you. He terrifies me and yet makes me giggle like a girl at the same time. Somehow. But anyway! I never once heard of this show until maybe either my second or third year of high school, it was recommended to me by a friend who said I reminded him too much of Sherlock, I eventually watched the series (At that point series 1 and 2 were on Netflix) and was really took by it. And I do hate it takes over a year for every new series to come out. I am so not even kidding you now. It really does take a year and a half for one series to come out. But fear not, just recently they released the fourth series on home video and I will cover each series this week. So stay tuned, enjoy, and I will see you tomorrow.

Black Mass

Well for a film about a public criminal I never heard of once, it certainly grabbed my attention.

Black Mass is more or less of a bio film about Jimmy "Whitey" Bulger, infamous Boston crime boss spanning several years of his criminal career as an informant for the FBI and the subsequent events in the years to follow. Now in terms of a crime movie, it is exceptionally well done with a good and accurate script, pretty great camera work, and an unapologetic approach to his crimes. As a biography in a sense, I think it worked very well, like I said I did not ever hear of this man so I was in the movie totally blind and yet could get a good feel of who this guy was, what he did, and why he did it so it's not like you need prior knowledge to view this movie. The real, true, without a shadow of a doubt star of the movie is Johnny Depp and I'll be damned if I said he didn't do a great job. He is truly terrifying in this role, to the point where you kinda forget it's Johnny Depp, and it just proves he can still act in very dark, very serious roles, and I can't wait to see the next movie he will star in. I would definitely say to go rent this movie, if you enjoy crime movies or biographies of criminals seriously check this out and also check out Public Enemies, it's a terrific movie about John Dillinger also starring Johnny Depp and directed by Michael Mann who you may know directed Heat, one of the best crime movies you ever would see in your life. Well that's pretty much it today, interesting side note though, Benedict Cumberbatch is in this movie which blew my mind because I didn't hear precisely anything about him being in the movie, it was always Johnny so it was a great surprise. Which just makes me want to revisit some particular work that made him world famous, wink wink nudge nudge, next week of reviews. So stay tuned for that.

The Desolation Of Smaug

Yeah, that....that's a way to end a movie.

The story continues in The Desolation Of Smaug as our travelling heroes inch closer and closer towards The Lonely Mountain and finally come face to face with the dragon Smaug. Meanwhile a much greater evil has been uncovered. To be truthful, I think this is my favorite of The Hobbit movies. The story progresses at a very good pace, never once do you get bored (And in some cases fixes problems of the book.), the characters are still fun and we get two new arrivals to the cast. An old friend from previous films, Legolas Greenleaf plus an entirely original character created for the movie, that's right a character not created by Tolkien is featured in the movie, Tauriel played by the absolutely stunning Evangeline Lilly who I have to say is a great welcome to this series. She doesn't feel out of place at all, she is an honorable and caring figure, and somehow is Arwen fully realized. Not many people know Arwen had much bigger roles planned in the films beyond horse riding and sexy crying, she was planned to be a warrior who fought at the battle of Helm's Deep but for some bizzare reason she got cut out, which sucks but now we got a true representation of an Elven warrior in full action, she is awesome. But not as awesome as something scaly, breathes fire, and flies. It's time to talk Benedict Cumberbatch people. Short version, best part of the entire movie. Long version, Jesus fish this is incredible! I mean what a casting choice, Ben really makes this creature leap off the screen, he is cunning, he is devious, he is everything you would want in a villain. After I saw the trailer for this movie, heard his voice, saw Smaug, it became very apparent I had to read the book. So I did, and you could bet millions of dollars when Smaug speaks in the book, Ben was heard in my head. The reveal of him in this movie is perfect, for those of you who just saw the trailer and said, oh I've seen the dragon now. No. You have seen hardly a thing. He is huge in this movie, and for the first half of his scenes you only see him with Bilbo (Insert Sherlock reference here.) which makes him look even bigger. If there was ever a single reason to see this movie, yeah it's Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug the dragon. And the ending...oh God, the ending. I saw this opening day, when that scene happened I was not very happy. Stupid cliffhangers right when I don't want it to stop. It still makes me mad, I want to watch the last movie right now. But I want to hold off until tomorrow so I can review it properly. I mean let's get down to brass tacks, if you stuck around to see the first movie then you will be hooked by the second if you haven't already. I know fantasy is still an underground film genre, but Lord Of The Rings really is what made it big and popular, so I understand if not many people can't get their heart into it like I have. And that's fine, opinions are never wrong but I always try new movies and tell people about them regardless because you never know if a movie will stick with you or not. But regardless, we have one more movie to wrap up so I will join you on the conclusion to this journey tomorrow.

Doctor Strange

Wow. Okay, first Marvel movie I have seen since Iron Man 2. Boy howdy was that different.

Doctor Strange, very good superhero movie based off of a lesser known Marvel character, how does it hold up? Well it's no secret the visuals in this movie are brilliant, with colors, and patterns, and psychedelics creating a truly mind bending experience. Casting was quite good, Benedict Cumberbatch is a no brainer in my head for a hero like Doctor Strange, although he's very Sherlock in places which makes me laugh that much more, Mads Mikkelsen was a treat to watch as always, dare I say those are the main reasons that I wanted to see this movie. It's not a big surprise that I am mainly a DC fan and not a Marvel fan, obviously I have been several years late to this cinematic universe, so I was trying to acclimate myself to this with mostly sound success. I sympathized with Stephen, was interested by the magic, blown away by the visuals, liked the mythos, but sometimes...the comedy just rubbed me the wrong way. Now I get it, Marvel is very lighthearted, it cracks jokes, I get that but there is a difference between comedic relief and shattering the mood. Several times I got thrown off, just by the excess humor during what should be a serious scene. Is that a thing in most Marvel movies nowadays? Cause...we might be having problems with that. I appreciate humor, I laughed several times, but they need to work on balancing humor and drama. I'm not saying it should be completely serious and dark, far from it, just tone it down a bit. Beyond that one little issue, I enjoyed the movie. It's not going to make me a Marvel fanboy, I barely stayed past the credits, I know, blasphemy!! Heretic! Don't care that much! The story was well put together following a very Cumberbatch surgeon (Is that a noun now? That should be a noun.) who following a brutal car crash, has lost the ability to use his hands. He seeks a man who has overcome an impossible medical disability who tells him to search for a temple. He travels there and slowly learns more about everything he knows about life is merely microscopic compared to the innerworkings of the multiverse. He learns spells, fights corrupt magic users, and even throws down with a multi-dimensional conqueror of worlds. It's pretty thrilling. Final sum up, go see this movie if you are interested. I know I was and am quite happy to have seen it, so I say go for it. You never know what you may learn...

Star Trek Into Darkness

Two words why this movie is better than the first: Benedict Cumberbatch.

If you liked the first new Star Trek movie, you will love this one. It seriously fixed every damn problem I had with the last movie and made everything else better. So the story of Star Trek Into Darkness has Kirk and crew on a manhunt for a fugitive who has attacked the Starfleet headquarters. And it kinda sorta may have several parallels to the greatest Star Trek movie ever, Wrath Of Khan. Which only makes it better. I mean the writing in Wrath Of Khan was practically Shakespearean with it's storytelling of death, revenge, old age, and the reclaiming of one's youth and this movie really does a good job with those elements in their own way. But the man who steals the show is Benedict Cumberbatch who is a genius badass, who really is the greatest threat the Enterprise crew has ever faced, and he is awesome! I would almost recommend this movie solely for Benedicts performance but there is so much more than that. The action is fantastic, the acting is amazing, the special effects are still spectacular, the dialogue is still very good, we see more evolution of the characters and that is always a good thing, and we just get to see more of the Star Trek universe so this movie is well worth your time and money, and if you have seen Wrath Of Khan you will enjoy it a little more. And honestly, I cannot wait for the next Star Trek movie. I hear it has Idris Elba in it which makes me ecstatic, and it still has everyone on board with it so you better believe I will be seeing that in theatres. Hopefully I might be able to go to the theatre tomorrow and review Mr. Holmes, so fingers crossed!