I don’t think either Guardians of the Galaxy films are particularly great, but they are a heck of a lot of fun, Vol. 2 so overflowing in passionate imagination taking my eyes off of it for even a single second proved to be impossible. Gunn’s vision continues to be the most inspired of any director currently working inside of Marvel’s universe, and like a dancing Baby Groot I’m pretty sure at this point I’d jive right along to any beat he chooses to lay down next.
The Fate of the Furious will appease longtime fans of the series, the sequel just well made enough that the fact this franchise’s tank is starting to get perilously close to empty doesn’t feel as big a problem as it honestly should. Personally, I am getting a little tired of it all, and while I appreciated and thrilled to a number of moments, and while I’d honestly love to see a spin-off adventure featuring Johnson and Statham and no one else, I just as genuinely am not so certain I’m up for two more of these films.
But there are so many boneheaded creative mistakes watching them smack one into the other with such ghastly consistency frankly boggles the mind. Ghost in the Shell is a stupefying failure that’s close to unforgivable, its apparent inability to understand what it gets wrong and why a perplexing mystery even Major herself wouldn’t be able to solve.
As ludicrous and as unfocused as it all might be, Kong: Skull Island kept me amused for practically every second of its two-hour running time. While not a great movie, it’s still an awfully fun one, and as big budget, visually resplendent monster mashes go I’m somewhat eager to give it another look relatively soon.
Logan isn’t just a great comic book movie, isn’t just a superb X-Men adventure, it’s a fantastic motion picture, period, and Mangold, Jackman and everyone else involved with its creation should be more than proud of what it is they’ve accomplished.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter is easily the most entertaining of the sequels, and while not as consistently engaging as Anderson’s first film, still the best video game to film adaptation to ever see the light of day, that doesn’t make the portions here that do work any less fun.
I got a kick out of Underworld: Blood Wars. It’s a step up from the last entry in a lot of major ways, Foerster showcasing solid directorial chops that helps give this fifth chapter an added infusion of energy and excitement I wasn’t anticipating…If there is a final chapter, I’ll be there to see it opening night, happily paying for a ticket alongside other fans eager to see how Selene’s story comes to its end.
I almost can’t wait to see this master of the mystic arts return for another adventure, and not just alongside the Avengers, Doctor Stephen Strange a mysteriously fascinating firebrand of courage and curiosity deserving of future solo outings into the unknown sooner rather than later.
Not only is Kubo and the Two Strings an original tale, it is one that is both culturally sensitive to its Japanese origins as well as universally accessible to viewers the world over. It is a movie that works beginning to end, practically every piece one worthy of cherishing as events work their way towards their heroic conclusion.