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.

Second Viewing: Doctor Strange

Not my second viewing, but I couldn't think of a better title.

I can't believe how well this works as a standalone movie. Let's set the wayback machine to 4 years ago, I've seen two MCU movies, Iron Man and Iron Man 2, I hear tale of a movie with Benedict Cumberbatch and Mads Mikkelsen two of my favorite actors. The film is called Doctor Strange and the Marvel movies are barely on my radar, but I seek out the movie anyway and review it opening day, my opinions have not changed since then. This is still a high favorite of mine in the MCU, but going back to it after I've digested all this knowledge and inner continuity between films it works incredibly well as a standalone film. Sure Thor pops up at the end but the story and events are pretty disconnected from the other movies so perhaps it was just good fortune that this was the movie I watched above all others. And I felt it would be wrong not to talk about every film in this series even if I have done reviews on it before, and the same will go for Black Panther when we reach that. But Doctor Strange is still a very good movie, it's one of the most interesting, original, and entertaining movies of the series and one of only 2 Marvel movies I own on video. So obviously that out of the blue desire to see it left an impression. And what a perfect catalyst for me as a viewer, almost placed in Stephen Strange's shoes, a normal guy who gets thrust into this impossibly and infinitely large universe as he learns his way about it, now that holds even more meaning now that I've been viewing every one of these movies. Boy did my reaction mirror his when the term Infinity Stone was brought up, that could not have went more over my head if you shot it past the moon. This is a great beginner film for anybody wanting to get into these movies, maybe even more so than the very early films like Iron Man or The Incredible Hulk, I mean hell all you gotta do is turn it off when credits roll and boom, perfect cold opening. I like the villains, the visual style is mesmerizing at times, it doesn't rush things, the characters are easily understandable and have good writing to them, screw it I'm gonna say it. Despite my strong feelings towards certain entries, Doctor Strange upon rewatch is my favorite of the Marvel movies. Is it due to change? Quite possibly! We still have 9 movies left before the end, so it is entirely feasible that this could be toppled. I've written plenty about this movie so for my extended thoughts I have two seperate entries for you to read up on, but the bottom line is this is a very good movie, one of the best in the series (so far), and always a treat to watch again. 4 stars, 8/10! The Guardians Of The Galaxy returns tomorrow so let's see what wild shenanigans it has in store for us.

Game Night

Well it finally happened. It broke me.

That's it! It's over! So um...tune in next time for a new show, I guess. Game Night made me walk out. First time ever that's happened! Until recently, if I saw a movie and didn't like it, I had to deal with that shit! There was no walking out for however many hours and minutes, because I would be even more bored sitting in the lobby! Urgh, I was in a bad mood and let me tell you, those trailers didn't help, and the dumbasses in the back yucking it up at these stupid f***ing trailers, just....God! I don't even know where to start. It's bad. Like...really bad. I didn't walk out on Transformers, any of the Pirates movies past At World's End, or even Twilight. At least with Twilight you could poke fun, you could riff, this movie is so vapid and inane I had to get up and just pace up and down the hallway leading to the theater. I made it...about an hour in then I had my fill. The plot is stupid. It takes Rough Night, Clue, and Horrible Bosses 2 and it...really does not work. I'm sure the cast was trying there best but the script just flails on the floor, and trust me I can say without a doubt comedy movies are the absolute hardest films to make. Jokes are like art, it is subjective. The other people were loving it, I was rolling my eyes and losing my damn patience. So the cast tried, my favorite character was that creepy deranged cop, like that dude had me rolling because I was expecting him to just snap and shoot everybody. Would have been a better movie if they did that! And why were there scare moments? You know the ones. Music fades out, ominous droning, camera zooms in on an object, and for what? Bullshit, that's what! I can't take it. Thank God I bought alcohol this week, cause I need every drop! Oh Jesus H. Christ, this movie just pissed me off with reckless abandon. Go see Black Panther again, don't go see this. I cannot...CANNOT believe this is the movie that broke me and made me quit. It doesn't sound half bad, you know.....until you're watching it. Don't pay to see it under any circumstances. If it turns up on HBO and you need to punish yourself for something, go right ahead. I'd rather eat broken glass than do this again. I'm done. Whatever. Screw it.

Sherlock Holmes

Best way to start December!

Yes, I liked reviewing a Sherlock Holmes movie so much in December I am doing it again. I have always greatly enjoyed this movie and I couldn't think of anyone better as playing the world famous detective than Robert Downey Jr. he is just brilliant as him! Okay story time, our partners in crime solving Sherlock and Watson are hip deep in a case that arised from quite peculiar circumstances, a grand mystery with no clear answers in sight until the very end involving conspiracies, cults, and a much bigger plot behind it all. But of course we all know who's behind it. If you have a passing knowledge of Sherlock Holmes you know who orchestrated this whole scheme. Major brownie points for the setting, fitting the time period the books were written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I mean spot on. The cast is wonderful in our three main characters, and quite decent in supporting. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law have excellent chemistry together as friends, just their witty banter between each other never fails to amuse me. Rachel McAdams is an interesting choice as Irene Adler, but she gets the character down very well although I don't recall Irene being very open with how much she loved Sherlock. It also has pretty terrific music, I just can't explain it any other way than being well...Sherlockian, I hear it and I immediately think Sherlock Holmes. With one exception, just had a great and intense scene, Irene nearly escaped death, Watson runs out and Holmes follows, tripwire goes off, Watson yells Holmes' name, film goes slow-mo, big chain of explosions going off everywhere, and what do I hear? Bizzare, dischordant violin music. I don't hate the music, it fits in the world potrayed perfectly, but not that scene. Would have been way more effective if you barely heard anything, perhaps ever so faint sound effects of explosions or just dead silence! It would have created a better scene. And I really hate to say this but, you don't know what all has transpired until 30 minutes before the film ends. You constantly see things, ever so subtle hints, clues, minute details but never any explanation of it. Half the fun of a mystery movie is trying to piece it together yourself. This never happens in this movie. You're just left to wait until all is explained, now some people can argue that is a good thing, only Holmes can pick up on these things and no one else so it makes sense. Other people like me can argue it never hurts to actually leave clues for the audience to pick up on. Participation in movies is rare, this is where the mystery genre comes in. It encourages you to become part of the movie, not an observer but a actor. I love the exanation, taking what seems to be pure malicious magic into hard scientific facts. That is awesome. Now beyond all that, I still like the movie, I would definitely recommend it to people, and I think it would be sort of a fun competition to see how much people can pick up on throughout the film. Give it a watch and put those detective skills to work.

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...