Arrogance

The Marvel cinematic universe has grown considerably since “Iron Man”. What began with standard superhero fare, has matured into a complex and fascinating cinematic universe. Not afraid to shy away from a standard formula, Marvel studios began to tell stories within different genres. Now, the MCU is dipping their toes into the supernatural with Doctor Strange. Can they successfully continue this storytelling trend? Is Doctor Strange Marvel's first failure or not? Let's take a look.

Despair

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a “Rock star” neurosurgeon. The only thing bigger than his brilliance is his ego. A car accident puts a stop to his career, and he travels the globe for a way to heal his crippled hands. After conventional surgery fails him, he desperately seeks an alternative method. With the help of a mysterious woman called “The ancient one” (Tilda Swinton) he finds answers. As he learns of the mystic arts, he unwittingly is pulled into an ancient battle against an evil entity. Strange, must choose to use his powers that can restore him to his former glory or use his powers to protect the earth.

Hope

Every time I think I've seen it all, along comes a director that ups the bar. The visual effects of Doctor Strange are on a different level. Director, Scott Derrickson and ILM, make Steve Ditko's, psychedelic artwork come to life. The action and fight scenes are beautifully choreographed and lean toward the incredible action of Hong Kong Cinema. Both the effects and action set pieces are fast, furious and is absolutely gorgeous. 

Choices

While the script may be a bit thin it is definitely one of the better superhero origin stories. Not to say that “Doctor Strange” is without depth. It definitely has some deeper moments and a poignant message about humility. This however would not hit home without the masterful performances of this cast. Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange is a revelation. Cumberbatch loses himself completely in the role and humanizes him. His arc from arrogant to unlikely hero is handled expertly. Unfortunately, just like other marvel villains of the MCU, Mads Mikkelsen's, Kaecilius is the weak link. Mikkelsen's performance is excellent but his character is just underdeveloped and lacks screen time.

Villain...

Despite the casting controversy, the big surprise and the heart of the movie is Tilda Swinton as the Ancient one. She exudes a certain tenderness, wit and strength. She does a lot with her eyes and facial expressions. By giving less she achieves maximum results. Michael Giacchino's music is brilliant. It supports and enriches the images on screen. With a strong and a recognizable main theme this is quite possibly Marvel's best music score to date.

...Or Hero?

Not afraid to take chances, Marvel has another winner on their hands. With remarkable visual effects, performances and important story themes, this film definitely belongs up there with Iron man and Captain America: Winter Soldier. Even if you do not like 3D, it is advised to see this on the biggest screen possible in 3D. You will sell yourself short if you do not. Do stay during and after the end credits. A game changer, beautiful and innovative. Go see it!

“Can it be done?” That was pretty much the question on everyones mind back in 2012. Josh Whedon's “The Avengers” hit theaters and against all odds he delivered a little miracle. Of course as they say, the rest is history. The question now is “Can he do it again?” Is this sequel, “Age of Ultron” just as fresh and surprising as its predecessor? Is this second Avengers movie another little miracle or is the formula losing a bit of its power? Let's put on our suits and masks and fly right into the review. 

Hydra is exposed! The remnants of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers crackdown on the last of their strongholds. After successfully ending the mission, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) aka Iron Man finds a power source that could possibly fuel his Ultron (James Spader) project. Not realizing what he is meddling with, Stark unknowingly creates an artificial intelligence bent on the extinction of mankind. Now, as Ultron grows more powerful, The Avengers have to travel the globe and find a way to stop him before he can implement his “final solution”.

It's incredible to see how the Marvel cinematic universe has grown and matured. Where does “Age of Ultron” fit into all of this? Well, if this were a TV show, one might say it was a so called filler episode, or better yet a bridge because it's clear from little pieces of dialog, situations and events that they are setting things up for very big things to come. Without this film there would be no natural way to go into the stories of “Civil War” and “The infinity War”.

While this film is bigger in scope than its predecessor, It feels smaller, more intimate. We get to spend more time with the Avengers during their downtime. Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye is fleshed out considerably and he's definitely the heart of this movie. The rest of the cast is humanized as well. Just as the big action scenes are amazing, it is just as thrilling to see the cast in pain, struggling with their inner demons and the first hints of division between Captain America (Chris Evans) and Stark will be evident. Surprisingly enough it is James Spader and his portrayal of Ultron gives the film some levity. Not that he's a jokester but Spader performs his role with so much menace and sleaze that whenever he's on screen you can't help but smile. At first I had my hesitations about Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) and Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Quicksilver) but they got into their roles as the movie progressed. Paul Bettany (Vision) is a thing of beauty though and I can't wait to see how his character will be fleshed out.

Yes, this movie has some great characterization but this is The Avengers and not Downton Abby. The action set-pieces and visual effects are jaw dropping beautiful! It is almost unnecessary to discuss this but this one thing has to be said; If you think they hit their visual ceiling in the last Avengers movie, think again. There are some action scenes in Age of Ultron that will blow your mind! Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman's music score is great. Expanding on Alan Silvestri's main theme they create a fresh and epic sounding piece of work. If you listen carefully you can hear some familiar themes from earlier Marvel movies. Great cinematography too. It feels more grounded in reality this time around. This is so far the best looking and sounding Marvel movie to date.

On paper these Avengers movies shouldn't even work! Yet somehow Whedon and Co. always find the perfect balance between over the top action and character development. Does “Age of Ultron” offer anything new? No, not really. It misses that element of surprise that the first one gave us. That doesn't matter though. It gives us the time to get into the action and meat of the story without having to introduce us to these characters. “Age of Ultron” is a fine film! In some ways much better than it's predecessor. It doesn't only expand The Avengers but the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. See this one on a very big screen! Go see it now! Oh, and stay for the mid credits sequence.

Let me get right to the point, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is not at all the train wreck I expected it to be. Is it a good movie then? Well, let's crawl our way into the review and find out; as I keep this one short and sweet.

Life is good for Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield). He's graduating high school, has a wonderful girlfriend and he's very comfortable being the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Something is eating away at his conscience though, The promise he made to Gwen's Father. The promise not to get her involved in anything having to do with his alter-ego. He decides to break off the relationship. Meanwhile his old friend Harry Osborne (Dane DeHaan) shows up back in town and desperately needs Parker's help. Peter also solves some of the mystery of his parents death and an energetic fellow that calls himself Electro (Jamie Foxx) has a bone to pick with Spider-Man. While all of this is going on he tries to save his relationship with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and makes some choices which will have devastating consequences.

This film is surprisingly light on an actual plot. It mostly consists of moments out of Parker's life, the choices he makes and all of it is wrapped around some action scenes. While these moments are well written, it has to be said that the script is all over the place. At one moment Spider-Man is acting all zany and fun and literally a minute later he's teary eyed and brooding. The whole tone of the film is like this. At times it even reaches Sam Raimi-like silliness and eye rolling moments of drama or forced romantics. As with the first movie, the weakest link are the villains. When it comes to their characterization, all logic is thrown out the window. Their fall from grace is comparable to that of Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. It's so abrupt. The actual reasons for them becoming evil is almost insulting to the intelligence.

Bad writing aside, the performances are stellar. With what little the actors have to work with, they get the maximum out of it. I was worried most about Jamie Foxx and Dane DeHaan. Foxx, sadly is not much in the film but when he´s on, he nails it. His Electro is somewhat of a tragic figure. While his motives for becoming evil are very simplistic, you can´t help but feel for him. DeHaan´s Green Goblin was the toughest sell. The first promotional images did not instill much hope but it turned out a lot better then I could have hoped for. DeHaan actually pulled it off. I have to admit seeing Spider-Man fight against The Green Goblin and one of comic book´s iconic moments play out on the big screen was quite exhilarating. When it comes to the VFX and action scenes, I have no problems with this movie. It´s a visual treat.

So, yes. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a good movie but if Sony wants their own (cinematic) comic book universe to survive, they can´t make these movies like this anymore. This would have worked in the late 90´s or early 2000´s. In this day and age of “The Dark Knight” and more recently “Captain America – The Winter Soldier” audiences expect more than pretty visuals alone. Those movies proof that you can have fantastical characters and situations and still tell an engaging and intelligent story. While this was good, they simply have to do better than this.