Dr. Strange

Just watched this again last night.  Below are my thoughts with all of the *warning* spoilery spoilers included.

Pluses:

They actually put a really good Dr. Strange movie on the big screen.  Dr. Strange was one of the few titles that I used to read frequently when I was younger, but I never thought he'd have his own movie.  Spiderman?  X-Men?  Avengers?  I was actually a little surprised when I first saw quality movies from these franchises, but I never even dreamed they give Dr. Strange a movie with a big budget like this.  That alone makes this movie awesome.

The trippy visuals in this movie are awesome, probably the best part.  The part where the ancient one first sends strange hurtling through the multiverse is the type of scene you can watch over and over again.  The Escher-like mirror dimension and the end stuff with the time stone are also really cool.  I first saw this movie in 3D.  Usually I think 3D is a stupid gimmick, but in this movie it's totally worth every penny.  I saw this in 2D last night, and everything still looks really cool.  Just thinking about these trippy scenes makes me want to go watch the movie again.

There are several great characters here.  Cumberbatch does an awesome job with Dr. Strange, because he's so true to the comic book.  He's such an arrogant ass.  I love it!  Although Tilda Swinton gives the most stand out performance as the Ancient One.  She's tough and sensitive and otherworldly, in other words, a perfect Ancient One.  I also love Dormammu and the scene between him and Strange.  He's such a powerful being, but Dr. Strange finds a way to outwit him, which is the sort of thing I expect in a Dr. Strange story.

Love, love, love the Cloak of Levitation.  I really felt he became Dr. Strange once he put the cloak on.  Also I think it's great that they made the cloak sentient.  It just seems like the sort of item a wizard should have.  I thought the Eye of Agamotto was cool too.  Even though it's nothing like the comics, the time stone is probably the most interesting infinity stone that has shown up.  The power, mind and space stones are fairly straightforward, while the aether is still not explained very well IMO.  But the time reversal stuff was a cool twist that made this movie very interesting.

Minuses:

Kaecilious is not terrible as villains go, but he's not great either.  He seems a little inconsistent to me too.  Sometimes he seems like an ultra-serious cult leader, but he throws in a witty quip every so often.  Those two things just don't seem to go together to me.  


In conclusion, Dr. Strange is a must see for both movie lovers and comic book lovers.  It's a visually unique movie about magic in a world of super heroes.


8/10

Luke Cage was a strong follow-up to Jessica Jones, and while it does not hit the same highs as that series, it still remains enjoyable and action-packed enough to warrant the slot right behind that series as the second best of the Netflix/Marvel miniverse. Infused with an indelible soundtrack (both incidental and lyrical), this series relocates from Hell’s Kitchen to Harlem as Luke Cage continues his journey that he started in Jessica Jones.

One thing I cannot stress enough about these Netflix series, is how the actual production locations enhance them. I liked SHIELD and Agent Carter, but the backlot exteriors were always obvious and even the sets would sometimes feel low budget. Not so here, as Luke spends just as much time out on the city streets as he does on sets. The series embraces Harlem’s history and culture from the outset as Luke and his nemeses battle for its soul.

The cast is again top notch with particular standout going to Simone Missick as Misty Knight, a sexy and determined detective who succombs to Luke’s charms at the beginning but would find them on opposite sides of the law as the series went on. The villains, as embodied by Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth and Alfre Woodard as Mariah, have their own opposition going. They both seek power, Cottonmouth through illegal activity and control of the streets through strength and Mariah through political office and community outreach. One of the is series’ high points is the deconstruction of those positions as they both confront their inner demons and their lust for more power. Ali oozes both style and sleaze as the club owner who arranges arms deals on the side. Woodard is all smiles for the camera, but belies an inner strength that slowly unleashes over the series. The mid-season shakeup is both gripping and shocking.

Luke Cage is highly recommended. Unlike Jessica Jones, which does not require Daredevil to understand it, I would strongly recommend watching at least Jessica Jones first (as Luke is introduced on that series and had a recurring role), and possibly even Daredevil for the introduction of Rosario Dawson’s Claire Tempe (who has so far appeared in every Netflix series aside from The Punisher). Claire’s story and arc develops most strongly here as she flees to Harlem following the events of Daredevil season 2. Like most Netflix series, it suffers from some padding and the antagonist in the second half of the season is a bit of a letdown. But this is one series that is worth watching.

I'm caught up in regards to the OP, and will be watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 this weekend. 

My apologies for the delay in score updates. I was traveling this Easter weekend to visit the family. Will be done by end of day!

Ok scores updated.

I'm going to try to do Civil War and Doctor Strange this week.

you are in for a treat! even better upon repeat viewing with some freshly updated perspective! 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

My thoughts with spoilers are below.


Pluses:

It's more of what you've come to love from Guardians 1.  The same great cast is back.  There's another great soundtrack.  There are more people for the Guardians to make fun of who take themselves way too seriously.  More development of the family theme.  If you're looking to get another "fix" of Guardians then this is a great way to get it.

This movie really develop's Yondu's character a lot to the point where you really just have to love Yondu by the end of the movie.  I also like how they develop the relationship between Nebula and Gamora.


Minuses:

This movie is good, but it just doesn't seem to be as well made as the first Guardians.  There are good jokes, but they don't land as often.  The middle third of the movie is kind of slow paced and drags.  They don't have as many good "heartwarming/family" moments like when Peter sees his mom say "grab my hand" in the first movie.  Guardians 1 was so good, that it is really hard for Guardians 2 to live up to the same standards.

I originally came in to this movie hoping there would be more about Thanos and/or the Infinity Stones, and I came away disappointed.


In conclusion Guardians Vol. 2 is a really fun and enjoyable movie for fans of the first one, but it also fails to totally live up to the greatness of the first movie too.


6/10

Been away for a bit where we up to?

Still not had the chance to see Ant-Man again so won't mark it yet, keeping and eye on it.

Cap A: Civil War

Tell me... how do you do 'Civil War' without 95% of the cast? No Pym, no FF, no mutants. You splice it into a Cap story. If you take out the Civil War crap and take the cap side of things and friend against friend, thing it still works. Zemo's motivations are not quite there, he's like gotta get revenge by making them angry at each other. Good job. But his inclusion or this version of his was a nice touch, it kept the film around Captain America instead of being Cap A film featuring Iron Man.

Spider-man was pointless in this. Tony might talk a bit game but think of this, he was concerned over putting people in harms way, his idea if to make it so they don't have to do this stuff (mentioned in Ultron and this film), right? And yet he is fine, after finding out Spider-man is a 16 year old kid taking him into battle with hardened soldiers who don't know his capabilities.

Eitherway, I enjoyed the film. Black Panther was better in this than his own film. :P

8/10

Dr Strange

They really have to stop being so scared of saying 'magic'. Wanda was basically turned into Jean Grey instead of hex-magic and probability and here is Dr Strange who used 'devices' to do things for him with special light shows, very few incantations but I guess he's learning.

The film was very good though, entertaining, well made, looked amazing at times. Sadly it feels like a 'filler', "We need to establish another gem." film, bogging it down with that stuff.

Also, both Ancient One's and Mordo's characters were quite departed from their original designs. Yet people only had an issue with the former, apparently. Found this strange.

7/10

Between Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was the premiere of the black sheep of the Marvel/Netflix miniverse - Iron Fist. I actually liked it in beginning probably due to low expectations but felt it got more convoluted as it went on. I won’t say I “may” rewatch the pilot since at this point I know it’s gonna happen. But I will do Doctor Strange first, probably tomorrow

Heh, you can give your review of Guardians 2 anytime you want, right?