BONUS: The Black Phone

Ooookayyy. Creepy.

So yeah, pretty effective I'd say. I knew it was gonna be one of those weird movies that if nothing else would be interesting, and I'm happy to report it's pretty good. Set in 1978 a rash of child abductions has plagued a small town in Colorado, police are more reacting than acting, parents post missing pictures everywhere, and a 13 year old boy named Phin is the next unfortunate victim. Locked in a bare basement, with bars on the window, a rickety bed, and no clue as to exactly what will happen next tries to plan his next move, while the unhooked phone keeps ringing. I mean it's a pretty terrifying and horrific story before it goes weird, almost a prolonged The Lovely Bones before the girl gets murdered and it plays it's cards well. Very very few jumpscares from Blumhouse, focusing more on the tension and how to get out of this situation from a smart but still entirely young boy. They sure nailed the 70s aesthetic down though, from horror movies playing on TV which I of course knew was The Tingler from 1959 directed by William Castle and starring Vincent Price because I'm a nerd (though I think they screwed up with Texas Chainsaw Massacre which was released in 74' not 78'), to the owl embroidered nightgown so aces across the board in terms of sets, clothing, and media. It even has some brief moments where the film gets grainier than a grindhouse flick, and the colors saturate almost to the point it's hard to discern the environment. The director did very well setting up this atmosphere and world we step into, not to mention bringing out strong material from his actors. Man, these kids were damn good. Mason Thames gives it his all and truthfully doesn't seem like he has to do much acting, thinking logically but still has moments where he breaks down. Same goes for his sister played by Madeliene McGraw, now I know you're not supposed to laugh when kids cuss but Jesus, this girl was on another level. She is not here for this nonsense and is awesome. I am happy they didn't do my guy Jeremy Davies dirty, cause I liked him a great deal in Hannibal, and at first he seems like this abusive piece of shit to the kids but they make him more than one note. He lost his wife to her commiting suicide, he drinks too much, and crosses the line between a whoopin' and child batterment, but he has moments where you see he actually cares about his daughter and son and wants them to have a better life. That's good writing, well done. But now we get to talk about Ethan Hawke, holy crap. I didn't think this word was possible in this day and age but he is eerie in this movie. He doesn't even really do anything to the kid until the tail end, and you have f*** all what his motives or intention is, just that he's this creepy dude with a panel van wearing a few masks that can only be described as kabuki tengu/samurai face masks and wants your kids buried in a shallow grave. God damn. Like, I despise the fact that I live in a world where you just can't let your kids go out alone and play. That upsets me a great deal, cause I lived in a small enough town in a slightly secluded neighborhood with trees on every side and it was the late 90s/early 2000s so it wasn't an issue. But when I was in like maybe 5th grade my momma told me to always carry a cell phone for emergency purposes when I went out. It's just sad man, we got a ways to go before things are actually better. And on that depressing bombshell it is time to end, thank you so much for joining me, see you next week.

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.

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.

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...