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Showing posts from 2016

Review - Doctor Strange (IMAX 3D)

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Doctor Strange (2016), PG-13, 115 minutes - It's been over six months since my last post here on the blog.  At the time I had little notion as to just how much free time a part time job on the side would take up.  I won't bore you with specifics, but I am no longer working two jobs.   Hopefully, this will allow me to get back to somewhat regular blog updates (around catching up on the good old 'honey do' list of course).  Before I get to my thoughts on Doctor Strange, I would like to say that I am very fortunate and thankful to have been put in the position that I have been, allowing me to no longer have to work the second job.  I also have much greater respect and appreciation for those who juggle multiple jobs, whether that be out of necessity or by choice. Last Saturday was my last day on the second job, so Sunday morning I wasted little time in making my way to a theater to see the recently released Doctor Strange, which is a film that I've been pretty stok

Quick Update

I realized this morning, as the calendar turned to May, that it has been over a month since my last posted review.  Some of you may already know that I have picked up a part-time job.  This has cut into my free time substantially.  I haven't been to a theater in a few weeks, which is abnormal for me.  Granted, not all of that time was due to the part-time, some was due to there not being much out that I was interested in.  In any event, with what free time I have had, I haven't had the energy to work on any reviews.  The last film I saw was Allegiant (the third installment of the Divergent series), and as you can see, I have yet to get a review written for it. I just wanted to let those who check in regularly know that I do plan on continuing to post in this space, it just won't be nearly as frequent as it has been in the past.  Right now I'm trying to determine when I might be able to find time to check out Captain America: Civil War next week as that's the next

Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), PG-13, 151 minutes - In preparation for this film, I revisited 2013's Man of Steel last week. I remember having enjoyed that film for the most part, but I had not re-watched it since I saw it in theaters three years ago. As I gave it a second viewing, I realized that what I was watching wasn't the Christopher Reeve Superman that I grew up with, or even the Superman man that I knew from the comics. This Superman, while having saved people here and there, had been avoiding the public eye and didn't fully grasp the extent of his powers or have full control of them. As he was battling Zod, he was thrown into the fire and had to mature on the field of battle.  Realizing that, the destruction of Smallville and Metropolis in the film was still devastating but was more understandable and not as out of character as I had originally believed it to have been. That's not to say that there weren't other issues with the film, but

Review - Daredevil (Netflix), Season 2

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Daredevil (2015), Season 2, TV-MA, 13 Episodes - I feel that this should go without saying but just to be safe: if you have not seen Season 1 of Daredevil stop reading right now.  While this is as spoiler free as I can be in regards to Season 2, the discussion does reveal some spoilers for Season 1.  Seriously.  I love that you came to my blog, but leave now and watch Season 1 (at the very least) before reading any further. When Marvel unleashed a grittier, rougher, tougher corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) via Daredevil on Netflix last year I (a long standing Daredevil fan) was beyond pleased with the outcome.  Within days, it was announced that the show had been so successful (and critically acclaimed for that matter) that a second season had already been green-lit.  The only thing that caused me the slightest bit of trepidation was the fact that Season 1 showrunner Steven S. DeKnight would be unavailable for Season 2 due to previously scheduled projects.  Would

The 88th Annual Academy Awards: 2016 Oscar Picks

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This year marks the ninth year that I've made picks in one form or another for the Academy Awards.  Over those nine years, I have tweaked my process and presentation here and there, always with the goal of making informed picks in as many categories as possible.  In an effort to continue down that path, this year I have listed all twenty four categories being presented during tonight's ceremony, but I will only be sharing my personal pick for nineteen of them.  This is a smaller selection of categories for me than in recent years, but only because I have chosen to exclude categories from which I did not see any  nominees.  I figure that there's no point in wasting anyone's time with completely uninformed shots in the dark!  I have also decided to present my picks this year as though I were one of the people special enough to submit an official ballot.  So the picks that you see below are for the films that I would personally vote for if that were the case.  This differs

Rental Review - The Danish Girl

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The Danish Girl (2015), R, 119 minutes - My plans for this past week were to have an Academy Awards cram session and knock off the remaining major Oscar nominees that I had not yet seen.  Things ended up being a bit busier than I had originally planned (I really should just come to expect that), and I was only able to get through two:  Room and this film, a kinda-sorta-but not really biographical drama based on the lives of Danish painters Einer and Gerda Wegener.  I know that sounds a little whacky, but apparently the film is based on David Ebershoff's 2000 novel of the same name, which from what I've read on the web is actually a work of fiction that was loosely inspired by the lives of the artistic couple.   This film from director Tom Hooper is a representation of Einer and Gerda's lives from a young, happily married couple, through Einer's discovery of his more feminine side (which came to be known as Lili), to his embracing Lili as his identity of choice and

Rental Review - Room

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Room (2015), R, 118 minutes - This week turned out to be a bit more busy than I had originally thought, resulting in my only having the opportunity to sneak in just one of this year's Oscar nominated films that I had yet to see: Room, based on Emma Donoghue's novel of the same name from 2010 (which I have not read). Not to be confused with The Room (2003) , which is widely regarded as one of the worst films of all time (I have not seen it myself), Room tells a story that is a bit difficult to describe.  The subject matter, beginning with abduction and neglect is dark and depressing.  On the other hand, later portions of the film are inspiring and depict a wonderful sense of innocence and wonder. Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his mother Joy (Brie Larson) live in a small space they refer to as 'room', which is locked from the outside at all hours by their captor Old Nick (Sean Bridgers).  They are provided with the bare necessities: a bed, a sink, a bathtub, a table wi