Strange and America Chavez travel the multiverse, trying to stop Scarlet Witch attaining a grimoire. Raimi brings superheroic and horror-comedy skillsets to bear on a confident slice of Marvel shenanigans: the format and aesthetics are as restricting as ever, but there’s gleeful moments nevertheless.
Here’s the trailer
A man with mental health issues finds that he is the current incarnation of an immortal, and that a war wages for Earth’s survival. Clumsy and often incoherent Highlander / The Matrix / The Old Guard wannabe for lovers of the later Fast and the Furious movies. No-one comes out of this with much dignity. Not great at all.
Here’s the trailer.
Aurora and Phillip are to be wed; but war between humans and fairy folk is threatened. Plodding sequel that substitutes mythos expansion for story. The chief fresh inspiration plundered here is Avatar, of all things. A decent cast does what it can with the material provided, but this is a franchise-killer.
Near-immortal warriors induct a new recruit, while being hunted for their DNA. Patchy superhero-ish flick from a graphic novel. The film can’t decide whose story this is, telling the veteran’s and the newbie’s, rather than focusing. The result is overlong and slow, but with strong moments, a badass declaration of love, and some solid action.
An embattled detective tries to work out how an unorthodox bank robbery became a hostage situation. Smart heist/siege movie that works as an intelligent genre piece and a sly political commentary on post-9/11 America. Lots to enjoy, with clever performances all around and plenty to think about. Recommended.
An astronaut is marooned alone on Mars; he develops a plan to survive. Smart, funny and upbeat space peril movie with winning ensemble performances, clean visuals, and a diligent script from the Andy Weir bestseller. A thoroughly professional and entertaining job all round.
A geological event threatens global disaster. Another of Emmerich’s gently-satirical throw-em-to-the-lions iconoclastic pictures, this time playing with Mayan prophecies and CG tectonic plates shifting. Fun if you go with it.
A vain medic discovers new powers after searching for a cure for lost surgical skills. Satisfactory origin story which suffers from having its source material plundered by other popcult properties, tho gets revenge by borrowing world-bending imagery from Inception.
Fancy a second opinion? Here’s Lemonsquirtle’s take.
255 Review 