With Rogue One, Edwards doesn’t attempt to redo what has come before, isn’t interested in any already established template. He and his team have crafted a film that exists inside a known universe yet still manage to plant their own idiosyncratic stamp upon it. This is a marvelous piece of entertainment, as wondrous as anything I’ve seen in 2016.

Disney’s latest CG animated marvel Moana is gorgeous. It is colorfully imaginative, showcasing its Pacific Island and ancient Polynesian landscapes with eye-popping majesty.

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.

I’m just about done giving them a chance, and the next time this gaggle of crazy critters ambles back on-screen I think I’ll choose to stay home.

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.

To their credit, the filmmakers match the tone of Collins’ book more or less all the way through (save for a subtle – yet important – change during the closing seconds), attempting to craft a war-torn parable that has more in common with Platoon or Apocalypse Now than it does to Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Filled with stellar visuals courtesy of cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (The Walk), production designer Arthur Max (The Counselor) and a passel of exceedingly talented special effects technicians, centered around a funny, personable and altogether human performance from Damon ranking as one of his all-time best, [The Martian’s] 141 minutes breeze by in the blink of an eye, building to a confidently rousing finale that’s simply out of this world.

Avengers: Age of Ultron isn’t anything more than what it initially appears to be, and for most viewers I imagine that’s going to be, not just fine, but positively super.