April and May Movie Reviews
Avengers: Infinity
War 4 ½ stars
The sheer scale of this movie is mind-blowing. The fact that
they were able to take so many characters, from totally different stories and
worlds, and were able to interweave them into a one film and hit all the
necessary plot points and action sequences, is amazing. If you’re Marvel movie
fan, this movie really pays off with great depictions of all your favorite
characters. Dr. Strange, Spiderman and the guardians were standouts for me.
It’s clear the Russo brothers really understand the different characters and
how to best use them.
My only criticism is that the film doesn’t have the same
emotional resolve as Captain America: Civil War. And I think Thanos wasn’t as
frightening or evil as previous films and the previews had portrayed him. I
didn’t mind the performance but it was different than what I was expecting. A
lot of how this film will be perceived depends on how Avengers 4 wraps up; but
it leaves me with even more anticipation for the next one.
Deadpool 2 4½ stars
Rampage 1½ stars
Will a movie based on a video game ever be good? Rampage
looked promising in a low expectations popcorn flick kind of way. Likable
action star, big monsters, some good smashing. But no, this is a bad movie. The
whole film seemed lazy, like the writers just gave up on logic and filling in
giant plotholes. It’s a shame because the relationship between the Rock and
George the albino gorilla is pretty great. Way more engaging than any of the
human interactions in the movie. It seemed like the writers had a simple task:
they need to get all the monster animals to “rampage” in a city in the big
third act finish. Godzilla (2014) had an identical task and while it’s a little
contrived, they at least followed through and constructed a story where the
situation led the monsters to their big fight in the city. In “Rampage,” one of
the characters mentions something about a beacon and that’s it. Also it had the
laziest “Easter Egg” I’ve seen in a recent movie. The producers just stuck a
full size “Rampage” game console in the office of the CEO siblings. It didn’t
fit the scenery and made no sense why it would be there. Also does the
“Rampage” video game exist in this universe? Did the evil CEO twins base their
billion dollar science experiments on a 80’s arcade game? Lazy, lazy writing.
Pacific Rim Uprising 2½
stars
Fine action sci-fi movie that has some good effects and
action but not much else. Some of the acting and dialogue was subpar and a few
of the plot points are repeated several times so that kids and foreign
audiences can easily follow along. But the robot designs were solid (they
learned the lesson from transformers and made them all look different) and it
had a few fun plot twists and it wasn’t overly long. Definitely not as good as
the first, but if you want to see some giant robots and monsters fight, it hits
the spot.
Tully 3½ stars
A clever dramady with a great performance by Charlize Theron
and provides some poignant commentary on modern motherhood. High recommend if
you hand/planning to have kids.
Disobedience 2½
stars
I mean it’s good in that Oscar-baity kind of way. The
Rachels are both on point and it provides a look into the world of orthodox
Judaism, but I found it too slow for me.
I Feel Pretty 3
stars
Cute and silly rom-com with a positive message. If you like
a toned down PG-13 Amy Schumer, this movie is very enjoyable.
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