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.
But the studio’s continued mishandling of these characters is just plain baffling at this point, Suicide Squad potentially even more of a disaster than Batman v Superman ended up proving to be. While that’s not entirely accurate, that doesn’t mean the movie is safe from condemnation, and as misfires go this is one comic book debacle Warner Bros and DC are going to have a hell of a time trying to recover from.
But the longer I think on Jason Bourne the more it starts to upset me.
While I can’t say I was as energized by The Purge: Election Year as much as I was the two stories that came before it, I’m still fairly enthused by what it is DeMonaco is doing here, this third chapter in the saga a politically astute meat grinder that’s worthy of a look.
Out of the Shadows is terrible, amazingly so, almost equaling 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze as far as levels of absurdly annoying awfulness are concerned.
X-Men: Apocalypse is the boldest, most audacious entry in this series to date, descending into places of despair, tragedy and chaos the likes of which are often spellbinding. Even if all of it doesn’t work, enough of it did to keep me engaged, everything building to a powerful conclusion of sacrifice and courage that speak to the larger themes at play nicely.
Captain America: Civil War is fun; it’s too well made, acted and scripted for it to be anything less. But it’s also much ado about nothing, the fact of which is annoying me more and more as time goes by.
As a movie, there’s plenty here to respect. As entertainment, however, this is tough one to enjoy, all of which makes Criminal (2016) a vexing spectacle that’s hard to watch all the way through to its end.