Review – Movie – xXx (2002)

Review – Movie – xXx (2002)

Around the same era that Vin Diesel started making his mark as a tough guy Street Racer in The Fast and the Furious, he starred in a similar movie called xXx, or Triple X.  It's similar in that Vin Diesel plays the same sort of underground tough guy bad ass character and both films are sort of designed for the X-treme audience.  xXx take this whole concept to the X-treme level though. Aside from general tone and Vin Diesel's character, xXx and Fast and the Furious don't share a whole lot else in common.  At it's core, xXx is essentially…
Review – MCU – Iron Man (2008)

Review – MCU – Iron Man (2008)

05.02.2008

Way back in 2008, you kind of have to wonder just how much was really planned for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU.  It seems like there was at least a general idea for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and Hulk to get movies, then team up for The Avengers.  How much farther did it go?  Did they have plans for Ant-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy or Jessica Jones?  Did they know they would want Paul Bettany to become an onscreen character eventually in Vision when they cast him as Jarvis?

Regardless of the ultimate plan, Iron Man marks the official start of what would eventually become known as the MCU, as well as a new start to how Super Hero movies would be conducted.  Super hero movies aren’t anything new, but they tended to embrace their comic book origin whole hog and go for the super fantastical designs and effects.  The MCU, especially at the begging started off with at least some level of explanation behind everything, even if it was just a made up explanation, it would be one that worked in universe as explained.

There was also so much that just worked with Iron Man as well.  Robert Downey Junior very much fits the style and look for genius playboy Tony Stark.  The special effects are exceptionally well done, with care taken to lighting and little extra bits like shrapnel and general background visuals.  Even right out of the gate we get some hint at what’s to come and how these movies will be #ItsAllConnected with SHIELD showing up briefly trying to recruit Tony.  Iron Man is also one of the highlights of the MCU, and it holds up well with time.  It’s a basic origin story of course but it doesn’t linger and drag with the origin part which is a trap many comic movies fall into.  The best part is that the Origin itself ties in with the over arching plot across this movie and even across the entire Iron Man trilogy to some extent.

Anyway, going forward is the Spoiler filled synopsis section, so if you’re behind on your viewing, feel free to stop here.

Review – Star Wars – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Review – Star Wars – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I'm going to cut to the chase here a bit.  I enjoyed it.  I have been more excited for this movie than I am for Episode 8, especially after how patronizingly fanservicy Episode 7 ended up being.  There are some dodgy bits, especially during the middle act, but it's decent overall. What Rogue One does the best, is being a good movie set in the Star Wars Universe.  Ok, sure, that's what it is.  I get that.  What I mean though is, it's not part of the "Main Saga".  It's a side story, like other classics such as The Ewok…
Review – MCU – Doctor Strange (2016)

Review – MCU – Doctor Strange (2016)

Marvel’s latest blockbuster is Doctor Strange, the story of a brilliant surgeon turned mystical world bending sorcerer. Unlike a lot of Marvel’s recent outings, I had almost no idea who Doctor strange was or exactly what he did before seeing this movie. My knowledge essentially amounted to something something magic, something something founded the Defenders, he seems to have a regular bad guy who is a flaming head demon guy. Also, why is he called Doctor Strange?

Turns out that wasn’t super off, he’s a Doctor because he is literally a Medical Doctor, and his big villain is the flaming skull guy, though the villain doesn’t really take that form in this outing. Short spoiler free verdict, it’s a crazy special effects fest to be sure, even better, the story is nice and straight forward, no complicated conspiracies or convoluted twists, it’s just what it is. Benedict Cumberbatch is much better as Strange than I expected coming into this, I’m not really a fan of his, though that seems to be opposite of the norm.

Basically, Marvel has another nice hit on their hands and a fine entry in the MCU.

Now on to the spoilers and detailed thoughts!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 Site Banner

Review – Movie – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

I am not going to do a review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.  There isn’t any point, this si the 8th movie in a connected overall story and it’s the final chapter.  Even if it were total garbage, people who want to see it will see it.  Instead I will give some thoughts on the movie and the story and the series here in lieu of a true review.  If you want a review, here it is, this movie is pretty much everything you’re probably expecting.  If you’re read the book there will not be any…