Avengers: Infinity War - 9 stars out of 10

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 9 stars out of 10

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most impressive undertakings in cinema history.  The scope of this project that totals 11 years can only be compared to Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood.”  It has all built up to this moment: “Infinity War.”  But don’t assume that the series’ climactic film will give you a resolution.  First, I feel a bit hypocritical in enjoying this film because I have been so vocal about my frustrations with Marvel oversaturating every film with too many superheroes.  I believe that every film should work as a standalone film (even if it is a sequel) and this series is the antithesis of that.  Black Panther should not be introduced before his own feature film was even produced, Tony Stark should not take a predominant role in Spider-Man, and a Captain America film shouldn’t bear his name just because he gets to kick more butt than the other dozen featured superheroes in the film.  However, “Infinity War” allows us to view the previous EIGHTEEN FILMS as a series of chapters in a long book instead of a book of short stories.  It is amazing how 11 years of interconnected stories and mid-credit scenes have culminated in the complex relationships and story elements that drive this epic.  The most frustrating part of the film is that its cliffhanger ending robs us of the opportunity to either start OR end the film with a sense of stability.  It is literally open-ended.  I find it to be similar in nature to “The Empire Strikes Back” but Empire’s predecessor didn’t feel like it was the culmination of a series.  With all of the preparation required of audience members for this film to make sense, they needed stability on one end or the other.  As far as the characters are concerned, the writers’ handling of literally dozens of superheroes and the largest all-star cast of all time is admirable.  The storytelling is reminiscent of Star Wars, moving back and forth between various missions across the galaxy until all of the characters come together in an epic battle sequence.  Captain America is probably the least represented character and I was surprised at how vital of a role Dr. Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy played, thus confirming that there isn’t much that can be skipped if you want to understand the film.  Especially when characters like Black Widow, Vision, and Scarlet Witch randomly appear in other characters’ films without receiving their own backstory.  Jeremy Renner was noticeably absent from the film and credits even though he filmed scenes for both “Infinity War” and the sequel.  I’ll be interested to see how they’ll incorporate him back in after cutting him completely.  With so many all-stars in the cast, the acting is at a very high level.  Josh Brolin brings the necessary amount of evil to Thanos and all of our returning heroes successfully deliver the expected Marvel brand of comedy to ease the tension throughout the film.  They also know when to ramp up the emotions, giving the story a constantly oscillating contrast between laughing and crying.  The film delivers all of the realistic action sequences, emotional moments, and special effects that we have come to expect from Marvel.  It is amazing to see this complex story play out.  I was worried that “Avengers: Infinity War” could never live up to the hype and anticipation surrounding it but its success is evident in the heightened emotions of every Marvel fan.  The story did what was necessary to provide a big payoff; after all, the most important battle in the history of the universe comes at a price.

[Pictured: It is surreal to see so many superheroes onscreen at once]

Red Lights (2012) - 3 stars out of 10

Red Lights (2012) - 3 stars out of 10

“Red Lights” has a lot of star power but not a lot of script power.  Sigourney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, and Robert De Niro team up for a psychic thriller.  The script caters to each actors trademark personality (Weaver as a strong-willed skeptic, Murphy as an emotionally-driven hero, and De Niro as an arrogant jerk), but the story doesn’t flow.  The idea of trying to disprove a money-grabbing psychic has great potential and the film gets off to a good start.  The real issue lies in spending enough time with each character to help us connect to them and properly pacing each character’s piece of the story with the others.  The characters come off as static in spite of the great actors who play them.  My favorite part of the story was the media machine behind De Niro's success.  This was another missed opportunity where they could have strengthened De Niro's role as the villain by fleshing out some additional characters and exploring this aspect of the story.  The single reason to watch this film is the twist at the end.  I saw the first twist coming a mile away but the second twist was very clever; unfortunately, the presentation of the latter twist was clunky and ineffective, ruining the effect of the big reveal.  I like all of the actors in “Red Lights” but its script issues make this another easily forgettable thriller.

[Pictured: "Red Lights" has the concept and actors that typically results in a great film, but the script got in the way]

Chicken Little - 4 stars out of 10

Chicken Little - 4 stars out of 10

“Chicken Little” is all in the eye of the beholder.  If we view the film through the lens of Dreamworks or one of Don Bluth’s ventures, it doesn’t look too bad.  The quality of the animation is very good, the main character is likeable, and there is a large appeal for kids.  However, if we hold this film to Disney standards, it is easily one of their weaker releases.  My main issue with this film is the story.  Unlike the sweeping epic of “The Lion King” or the tender love story of “Lady and the Tramp,” this story offers... a baseball-playing chicken that encounters aliens.  How can these films even come from the same company?  I found that the film lacked a strong moral or theme to tie the events of the story together.  The half-hearted theme of family sticking together (which typically makes me cry without much effort) was completely underused in favor of a pig fighting a vending machine and a brief, awkward romance between two friends.  I didn’t feel anything at the end of this film except for sensing that the film focused on 3D animation and not a cohesive, meaningful story.  This may not be fair, but compare “Chicken Little” to Disney’s Oscar-winning “Zootopia” that would premiere 11 years later.  This film, also featuring a society of anthropomorphic animals, creates an amazing allegory of racism and privilege while developing a poignant story of friendship.  Its humor is clever, it will remain relevant forever because it doesn’t rely on pop culture references, its characters are relatable, and its heavy themes cause you to walk away as a changed person.  “Chicken Little” is the opposite with an overuse of slapstick humor, pop culture references to The Spice Girls that are already irrelevant, goofball characters that we don’t connect with, and a silly story whose moral doesn’t really stick.  I’m not trying to hate on the film – I honestly laughed a lot at the puns and one-liner jokes.  But when I hold it to the standards of Disney, it isn’t worthy of being listed alongside the majority of Disney’s animated catalogue.  It is a shame because the film has a great cast of voice actors who really shine.  Joan Cusack’s voice is perfect for a teenage ugly duckling, Don Knotts is hilarious as an unintelligent turkey, they paired together Fred Willard and Catherine O’Hara in an homage to Christopher Guest‘s mockumentaries, Patrick Warburton gets a cameo, and Adam West is the reason that the ending situation works so well.  They had all of the right puzzle pieces but the screenwriters assembled them in the wrong order.  “Chicken Little” is an interesting modern take on a fable but Disney should stick to what it does best: classics and original modern tales that feel like classics.  It is doable for family movie night and is better than what a lot of other animation studios create; still, share the rest of the Disney canon with your children before settling for this one.

[Pictured: "Chicken Little" does a lot right when it comes to character design but it does a lot wrong when it comes to storytelling and oversaturation of pop culture references]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) - 7 stars out of 10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) - 7 stars out of 10

The turtles are back in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” and there is just as much nostalgia in this one as Michael Bay’s first installment.  They go all out with incorporating classic TMNT characters into the story with Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman, Krang, and most importantly our favorite boneheads Bebop and Rocksteady.  The latter two provide great comedy throughout the film while Krang is significantly more disturbing (in a good way) than in the cartoons.  I appreciate the character development given to Casey Jones and the Turtles’ struggle to be accepted by humans is an interesting theme that makes this more than an episodic adventure.  The script still has a lot of cheesy dialogue and some of the acting is questionable but it is good for what it is.  Besides, we finally get a glimpse of the technodrome!  I truly believe that the writers wanted to create a movie for the childhood turtle fans, allowing us to see all of our favorite parts of the cartoon in live-action.  I liked Stephen Amell as Casey Jones, Will Arnett’s personality fits well with the newly imagined Vern, Megan Fox is an excellent April O’Neil, and Laura Linney was a nice addition to the cast.  I’d be interested to see what these actors could do it a better script, though the story as a whole does a good job of cohesively incorporating the turtles into their real-world surroundings.  “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” isn’t going to win any Oscars and non-lifetime-fans probably won’t understand why we love it, but who cares because this film is a fitting tribute to every piece of Turtles fandom from our childhood.

[Pictured: Bebop and Rocksteady are reason enough to watch this movie]

The Conjuring - 10 stars out of 10

The Conjuring - 10 stars out of 10

I hate to broadcast this, but “The Conjuring” is one of the best scary movies that I have seen in a long time.  The reason that I am reluctant to admit it is because you need to exercise extreme caution before watching this film.  It is not for the faint of heart.  The content of this true-ish story about demon possession is as realistic as it is disturbing with a story that seamlessly weaves together several elements of great scary movies.  First, it builds suspense by placing us into the shoes of the characters.  There is a progression from hearing noises to seeing what causes the noises, then understanding where these spirits came from before they wage war on this family.  The pacing is matched by the visual presentation.  None of the imagery is completely original (birds flying into windows, doors slowly opening on their own, a creepy music box, ghostly faces appearing in a mirror, levitating bodies) but the visuals are consistently well done.  The use of practical effects instead of CGI also ramps the realism up a notch.  Interestingly, the Annabelle doll is probably the creepiest aspect of the film but only plays a small role in the story as an introduction to the Warrens.  The writers did an amazing job of reincorporating her toward the end of the Perron’s story (almost like a cameo) and it works because we already know her history.  As we later learned, this doll doesn’t have enough star power to carry an entire spinoff movie but she works perfectly as one element in a larger story.  The thread that weaves the scary elements together is quality acting.  Horror films often suffer from a lack of acting talent but this cast is the perfect selection of veteran Hollywood actors that aren’t readily associated with a particular role.  Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts would not work in this film but Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson easily blend into their roles without that constant thought of “That’s the guy from…”  Ron Livingston did well even though this was a very different role for him and the child actors gave vividly heart-wrenching performances.  One of the toughest parts of this film is watching their helpless terror.  All of that being said, Lili Taylor steals the spotlight.  Her portrayal of Bathsheba’s attempt to take over Carolyn’s body is so disturbing that you will believe it.  When the story reaches its fever pitch toward the end, I found myself unexpectedly emotional from the impassioned delivery of her lines.  Horror films can certainly heighten our emotions but this was different.  My experience at the climactic moment of this film was more like watching a great Oscar-winning drama than a horror film.  “The Conjuring” is a lot more than another scary movie.  It is almost artistic in its storytelling as we experience this demonic activity alongside the characters of the film.  There are many things in this film that cannot be unseen and I recommend really thinking about it before allowing these images to enter your memory.

[Pictured: This seemingly innocent scene is one of the reasons that you won’t be able to sleep after watching “The Conjuring.”  I have a pit in my stomach just thinking about it]

Masterminds (2016) - 5 stars out of 10

Masterminds (2016) - 5 stars out of 10

“Masterminds” is the inexplicably true story of a group of idiots who successfully pull off a $17 million heist and continually evade the authorities despite their greed and lack of common sense.  The film assembles actors Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, Jason Sudeikis, and Kristen Wiig with a script that creates some decent comedic chemistry.  The result is a combination of interesting-story-meets-dumb-humor (imagine “The Hangover,” only with a heist storyline).  Despite a few well-executed moments that will have you laughing out loud, the silly tone of the film makes it difficult to put it on par with quality, intelligible comedies.  I found it to be rather average and forgettable  The story kept my interest because I wanted to know what happened in the end but the journey to get there wasn’t anything special.  “Masterminds” didn’t win any awards and certainly won’t be remembered as a classic.  It is a decent comedy if it happens to be on while you are passing the time on a weekend afternoon (or if one of the leads is your favorite actor), but there are hundreds of movies that deserve your attention before you spend any time on this one

[Pictured: The acting is good but the jokes just aren't funny enough to match the story's silly tone]

Thor: Ragnarok - 8 stars out of 10

Thor: Ragnarok - 8 stars out of 10

“Thor: Ragnarok” is great because it doesn’t try to be something that it is not.  My issue with the first Thor film is that there was a major disconnect between the mythical, fantasy appearance of Asgard and the realism of Earth.  This was especially apparent in the costumes.  Thor is completely out of place on Earth and every time that the story shifted back to Asgard, it felt fake.  “Ragnarok” takes a different approach.  Rather than intermingling gods and scientists, this story is set completely in the mythical world (save one scene with Dr. Strange).  This eliminates the disconnect and allows us to accept the setting as realistic fantasy.  The incorporation of Norse mythology into the film is clever as it transports Thor to the realm of fire and cleverly brings the legendary Valkyries into the mix.  The most important part of the film is its tone.  The dark realism of “Batman Begins” does not fit well with this realm of fantasy, which caused issues when the first Thor took itself too seriously.  It is not that the film needs to make fun of its fantasy elements, but its light-hearted tone creates fewer jarring moments that remind us that it is clearly not real.  Director Taika Waititi embraces this idea and approaches the film as a straight-up comedy.  The soft-spoken rock monster is hilarious, the Hulk fandom on Sakaar is a great way to celebrate one of the less popular Avengers, and Jeff Goldblum’s post-credits scene may be the best part of the entire film.  They even throw Matt Damon in with an obvious cameo just because we all love him.  I also found this to be the best-acted of the Thor movies, with Chris Hemsworth giving my favorite portrayal of Thor after playing him many times in Marvel Cinematic Universe films.  Tom Hiddleston gives his best Loki performances and Cate Blanchett steals the show with her turn as Hela.  The story works well as both a standalone film and a preparation for “Avengers: Infinity War.”  It was also interesting to see the opposing personalities of Thor and Hulk paired together.  Hulk's inclusion is the one thing that seems out of place if you haven't been following along with all of the MCU films but it works because everybody recognizes the character, regardless of their experience with this film series.  I would definitely recommend “Thor: Ragnarok” as a standalone film if you enjoy superhero films and it is a must if you want to be well-informed for “Infinity War.”  I’m glad that Disney finally learned their lesson that Norse gods aren’t meant to intermingle with humans in the first few films, and this lighthearted film within their own realm makes for a riveting story.

[Pictured: Thor with short hair is my favorite version of the character yet!]