“Spiderman: Homecoming” on IMDB
Comedy/Adventure/Drama, 133 Minutes, 2017
This is an incredibly fun movie. Tom Holland [IMDB] is perfectly cast and Michael Keaton [IMDB] is always on his game. There’s thrills, chills and spills. The character’s integration into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe is clean and elegant. It’s absolutely worth your time and money.
And yet…
Drama/Action/Sci-fi, 137 Minutes, 2017
Before we begin, we must recognize the true hero of this story: Chatty-guy-behind-us. When the movie was sneakily attempting to foreshadow something or self-indulgently tried to build a moment, Chatty-guy was there for us! He heroically defused the tension from key scenes and selflessly, loudly kept us informed of events happening directly in front of us on a giant screen.
That boy deserves a medal. A god-damned medal.
Action/Adventure, 123 Minutes, 2016
This is the third film in the contiguous DC cinematic universe. It follows Man of Steel [My Review] and Batman v. Superman [My Review]. I enjoyed the first for its careful initial character development, but recognized its many flaws. I bemoaned the fact that character development was forgotten in the vapid, overwrought follow-up. Both left fans wanting more and Suicide Squad with every chance to be the first truly great entry in the series.
Comunacho’s entry. Used respectfully, but without permission.
I’m a big fan of Cracked.com’s special brand of fact-based listicle’s. Their regular feature, Photoplasty, takes reader submissions on a variety of topics. One from last year, “23 Movie & TV Subplots That Were A Total Waste Of Your Time” surfaced recently on my Facebook feed and the entry to the left caught my eye.
“Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice” on IMDB
Action/Adventure, 151 Minutes, 2016
DC Comics has, sadly, doubled down on their loud, dark reimagining of their flagship heroes. While I truly enjoyed 2013’s “Man of Steel” [My Review], it was the soulful examination of a young Clark Kent that sold me. The brash deluge of destruction porn that ended the movie only worked as a counterpoint to that.
Soulful character development or special effects: guess which one they tossed for sequel?
The Man of Steel gave us some timely advice 70 years ago. Although it’s unclear who colorized it, the image was released in 1949 as a book cover. Read more about it at Snopes.
You know the old saying: those that fail to learn from history are doomed to get a fucking lecture from Superman.
Adventure/Action, 108 Minutes, 2016
Let’s get right to it: Deadpool is great fun. It’s earned $500 million worldwide (on its $38 million budget) in its first two weeks of release, so chances are good that you’ve already seen it and decided it was great fun. Sure, there are always curmudgeons, contrarians and those who thought that they were taking their eight year-olds to see “Spiderman”, but the world, as a consensus, is in sweaty-monkey-love with Deadpool.
Drama, 98 Minutes, 2013
In the 50’s and 60’s the Irish Catholic Church declared war on unwed mothers; debauched sinners, unfit to raise children. Philomena Lee, pregnant and unwed at 18, was sent by her pious father to a convent where she was forced to sign a contract relinquishing all rights to her child. She, and thousands like her, spent three years caring for their children while working without pay to reimburse the church.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” on IMDB
Action/Adventure, 141 Minutes, 2015
The tent pole of the Marvel cinematic universe is back with a vengeance after the massively successful 2012 “The Avengers” [My Review]. The entire main cast returns joined by many smaller characters from the various individual films. Joss Whedon [IMDB] is also back at the helm; rumors have it, for the last time.
As fans know, the Marvel cinematic universe is split across multiple production companies; the result of a coordinated sell-off to stave off bankruptcy years ago. This is why you won’t see an X-Man helping out an Avenger or Spider-man chatting with The Fantastic Four even though they live a few blocks from one another. It’s worked out well enough for all involved, but it does create some friction.
“Deadpool” on IMDB
“Philomena” on IMDB
