Sunset Boulevard (1950) directed by Billy Wilder

AFI Top 100: #16

I had to recently watch this film for a Dramatic Analysis class of mine, and going into it, I was terrified. I desperately want to love old, classic films, but I was scared that it would be another Citizen Kane, which turned me off from that time period of films for a long time. However, Sunset Boulevard was luckily nothing like that, as it was an exciting and engaging drama with some great performances, memorable lines, and absolutely gorgeous design.

The most interesting aspect of this film was the way Billy Wilder wrote and developed the characters. Joe Gillis (William Holden) was a struggling screenwriter who, after running away from the bank's repo men, ends up trapped in Norma Desmond's (Gloria Swanson) mansion. She hires him to edit her screenplay as he eventually becomes trapped as her sort of pet. The relationship between Norma and Joe was the most engaging part of the movie, as it teetered from business to sexual to friends, and how Joe reacted to the controlling demands of Norma was interesting to see. Norma, being a crazy, older actress who is still stuck in her glory days, was obsessed with Joe, and this led to some great conflicts throughout. Joe also had a relationship with a coworker of his, Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson), and his inner demons were really displayed when it came to choosing between whose demands he wanted to satisfy. When Joe first meets Norma, he finds out that she had a chimp as a pet who was recently deceased, and by the end of this film, Joe symbolically becomes her new pet. These characters would not have been so interesting, however, if it wasn't for the fantastic performances by both Holden and Swanson.

Writing and story are two other great elements that make this film a classic. The entire plot of the film took place near Hollywood and revolved around the lives of people in the film community. No matter how exaggerated it may have been, the story was very introspective as it provided a look into the world of filmmaking and how it will relentlessly take one down. This theme also gave the audience a lot of motifs throughout the film, including the pool that Joe ended up dead in and the focus on Norma's conceitedness. While this film is typically classified as a drama, there was a lot of well-written dark comedy in it as well. The writing also cleverly hid the twist at the end, as I quite literally was standing up in disbelief. When Norma chased Joe out of the house and shot him three times, it was only then that the pool motif kicked in my brain yet again. All of the narration came full-circle as it wrapped up the tragedy of Joe reporting his own death.

All of the technical parts of this film were very impressive too. There was many shots with amazing lighting, most notably the one where Norma stands into the light of the projector as she is making her desperate plea for more talented silent actors to return to Hollywood. The music in the film was utilized well too, as it was emphasized at just the right moments for heightened dramatic effect. One of the things that I find most dull about older films is how they linger on shots for very, very long. However, in this film, while the cinematography did just that, it surprisingly held my interest; most likely because of the story. The best technical piece of this movie, however, is the design. All of the costumes and all of the sets (including Paramount Studios, Norma's mansion, and Joe's apartment) were done so well. The gorgeous and haughty decoration of Norma's mansion contrasted the simplicity and cleanliness of Joe's apartment and provided for even more character development.

Sunset Boulevard is a very well-written and performed film that honestly surprised me with every piece of its filmmaking. This deserves to be higher on the AFI list, as it is an engaging and original story that will definitely prove the test of time. Also, I'm still a bit upset how dirty my girl Betty was done.

My Rating: ★★★★½

Ready Player One (2018) directed by Steven Spielberg

Straight from the pages of Ernest Cline's bestselling novel comes Ready Player One, the newest Spielberg joint chock-full of pop culture references and CGI nostalgia. While every trademark beat of a Spielberg film is easily seen throughout, this movie fails to bring anything new to the science-fiction genre. Despite a few memorable scenes and some colorful aesthetics, this film is just another fairly generic action/adventure romp.

The most prominent issues with this film are things that are unfortunately absent: a riveting story and deep characters. This film follows Wade (Tye Sheridan), a hometown kid who lost his parents at a young age and looks to the Oasis for escape from his own reality. The Oasis is a virtual video game-type world that almost everyone is logged on to and provides endless possibilities for who you can be and what you can make of yourself. A large, forgettable organization is trying to win the final challenge of the game, Wade stands up for the people, he gets the girl, bad guys are thrown in a police car, blah blah blah. This plot has been seen countless times, especially in action/adventure films, and has become a sort of trademark for Spielberg. While the film still brings its own aesthetic style to the table, there is nothing that surprised me about the writing. I was not upset though that I didn't see anything wildly original, because I was not expecting anything groundbreaking at all. I can sit through a recycled plot as long as the characters are interesting, which in this film's case, they were not. Sheridan's Wade was the most bland and unemotional character and in my opinion, should not have been the main protagonist. His lack of personality and development matched that of a supporting character at best. Frankly, I would prefer he do independent films and shed a tear or two in an up-close, Mukdeeprom-type shot in an A24 film. He definitely needs to work on his screen presence, especially being in a Spielberg blockbuster, for God's sake. This goes for the antagonist as well. Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) was the threatening force behind the IOI, which is the organization focused on winning the final challenge of the game and using the profits for their own good. While he was a decent villain throughout, there is nothing that really scared me about his actions. Along with his performance, the writing behind the character was a solid "meh."

The romantic relationship that was attempted in this film was also a visibly awkward issue. Wade's avatar Parzival and Samantha's (Olivia Cooke) avatar Art3mis were set up throughout to be the perfect digital couple, but there was no development into their relationship whatsoever. After meeting up and helping each other get the keys, Wade dropped a quick "I love you" and scared off Samantha for the majority of the film, rightfully so. However, after deciding to help him finish the game, they were suddenly all over each other by the end. There was no buildup to this, and Samantha was given no reason to bow down to the heroic actions of Wade. The obligatory final kiss scene was so unnecessary, along with the entirety of that relationship. Other characters that felt vastly underdeveloped were Aech (Lena Waithe), Sho (Philip Zhao), and Daito (Win Morisaki). While they indeed helped Wade throughout the movie, they were the only minorities and were not given much representation. 

I still relatively enjoyed this film, I just do not believe it was anything more than a generic blockbuster. There were many parts that I enjoyed, but felt could have used some improvement. The CGI used throughout the film was obviously very prominent, and because of that, the cinematography was quite useless. There was even an interview with the DP Janusz Kaminski, in which he said that he felt the art of the camera was going to waste, especially in films like these with so much of the work simply done by computers. This is the same issue with the hordes of characters that made cameos. The nostalgia was a great feeling, especially with the Iron Giant, the DeLorean, and some other memorable characters, but I can honestly say it got to be annoying trying to focus on the main characters when the hundreds of other pop culture references were getting in the way. My absolute favorite part of this film, however, was the entire The Shining sequence. When they stepped into the world of Stephen King and Stanley Kubrick's film adaptation, they used actual footage from the 1980 film and spliced in our heroes' actions. The whole scene with the evil twin girls and the blood rushing out the elevators was so visibly pleasing, especially with the characters' connections to the Overlook Hotel. This act proved to be very clever and definitely kept my attention when it was beginning to fade away.

Ready Player One is an entertaining but frankly empty film that I will most likely forget about in a few weeks. However, the massive slew of pop culture cameos along with a bit of impressive animation makes this movie worth a watch. Maybe two, to catch all the references.

My Rating: ★★★

Sorry to Bother You (2018) directed by Boots Riley

Sorry to Bother You has been called "wildly inventive" and "brilliantly outrageous" by critics in the past few months. I agree with both of those remarks, but not in the good way. I am so divided about whether I actually enjoy this film: it's either a ridiculous social comedy or a dark, satirical comment on American capitalism. Maybe it's both? Who knows. Unfortunately, I'm leaning more towards not liking it because of the film's main issue of failing to get its message across while providing an engaging story.

The first time I saw the trailer for this film, I was instantly hooked by the cast and premise alone. Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, and Armie Hammer are incredible in their roles of Cassius, Detroit, Squeeze, and Steve Lift, respectively. All of their performances were great (but not astounding) and they did make me really care about their characters. I especially loved Stanfield's Cassius Green. His character went through the most development in this film and accompanied with the writing, made him a fantastic lead. Armie Hammer was the other standout, as his antagonistic CEO provided a great contrast to our lead and his humor was utilized very well.

Doug Emmett's cinematography was decent as well, as it kept me very engaged. Some of my favorite shots included when Cassius was calling his customers and his desk "fell into" their homes. This was so clever and I appreciated the focus on visual storytelling. One of the most memorable aspects of this film, however, was the aesthetic and the design. I loved the mildly afrofuturistic yet Californian style that the director, Boots Riley, used in his first feature film. I can definitely see this style becoming a trademark of Riley's, but unfortunately, he seems to favor style over substance. I adored how the first hour or so of the film was going, with Cassius's new telemarketing job and the clear message of capitalism's destruction. There was some fantastic and original humor as the story was so cleverly written, but the third act threw me for the wildest loop that I did NOT see coming.

The biggest issue with this film was its inability to clearly express a strong message. The main metaphor throughout the entire movie was obviously capitalism, except it wasn't really a metaphor, more of a wake-up call. The writing had no problem with pounding this into the audience's heads and I feel like it could have been a lot more subtle. There were also other metaphors including racism and self-identity that were introduced, but these many messages did not blend well together. The pacing was also very poorly handled, because even though the movie was an hour and 45 minutes, it felt much longer than necessary. This also made me feel very uneasy during the entire film, but I assume that was the intended purpose.

If you thought that this film was an extremely smart take on capitalism, would you PLEASE explain to me why Riley thought the horse-human hybrids were a smart choice? I understand that this is an alternate Oakland where science-fiction madness is more understandable, but the entire horse plot was too over-the-top. I feel that there could have been a different device for displaying how ruthlessly cruel Lift was to his employees. The fact that he literally made his workers snort coke that transformed them into Bojack Horseman in order to increase productivity was ridiculous. I originally thought that after Cassius had snorted the coke and saw the horses, he would sober up and realize what he was doing was wrong and go back to the lower level telemarketing to turn his life around. But that wasn't the case, as even he eventually turned into one of the horses. This was in the last few shots of the film, and I honestly feel that they could have been left out. Cassius turning into one of the hybrids was so off-putting and abrupt, and did nothing for the overarching message. Tessa Thompson's Detroit also had some strange development through the movie. The writing did not make me care about her art show subplot in the slightest and I feel that her character could have been grown a bit more. Also, the romantic subplot between her and Squeeze was very predictable and nonchalant, which made no sense for their passionate characters.

Whatever your opinion on the handling of the messages is, there is no debate that this film will become a modern cult classic. Sorry to Bother You is indeed an original idea with boundless potential, but that was unfortunately wasted on an unclear premise. It was, however, still a wild ride that I recommend watching. And if you love it, awesome! If you're not as enthusiastic about it and have to take some Excedrin afterwards, then join the club.

My Rating: ★★★

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) directed by Peyton Reed

After the release of Avengers: Infinity War, it became clear that fans needed a nice breath of fresh air after that horrid ending. Luckily, Lang and the gang are here to provide just that. Ant-Man and the Wasp is a light, yet exciting Marvel film that solidifies these titular characters as some of the most enjoyable in the MCU. While it may not necessarily be groundbreaking, this film is a much-needed escape from the dark future of our favorite heroes.

Ant-Man and the Wasp takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War where Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is found under house arrest for his international crimes in Germany. Estranged from Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Scott and his former associates' paths meet up once again in order to reveal some secrets from their pasts. Meanwhile, a new threat known as Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) appears to threaten the heroes while they are on the run from the FBI.

The most exciting part of this film is the addition of the new characters and how their stories work together for the overall plot. Hope finally takes up the mantle of the Wasp and the arc with her father made for an interesting dynamic. While they are attempting to locate the whereabouts of Hope's mother, Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), they are forced to reunite with Scott to accomplish that goal. This all happens while the three are on the run from many different characters. The FBI, a vengeful gang leader named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins), and Ghost along with her mentor Bill Foster (Laurence Fishburne) are all trying to get their hands on Pym's technology and will stop at nothing until they do so. These storylines are blended very well together and kept the audience engaged all the way through.

Rudd and Lily, like the first installment, have the best performances of the whole cast. Rudd maintains Lang's sarcastic and fun-loving personality while showing that he is truly the best dad of the MCU. His daughter Cassie (Abby Ruder Fortson) provides his motivation throughout the film, as he is once again attempting to prove that he can be a great father regardless of his past. Lily was fantastic in her fiercely determine role as Hope, and it is refreshing to see the strong chemistry between her and Rudd. Thankfully, this film did not entirely dwell on or force any kind of romance until it was well-deserved.

The antagonists in this film, however, were very underwhelming and unfortunately forgettable. Even though Goggins' character worked well within the context of what was happening to Hope and Hank, he could have easily been cut from the story. John-Kamen's Ghost was also not as developed as she could have been. Her tragic backstory led to generic motivations as she tried to retrieve the technology to fix her deteriorating condition. This made for a very weak villain, but she did serve his basic purpose.

Humor is one of the strongest elements in this film and it is written very well. It is not over-the-top, but it fits the tone of the movie perfectly. Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (T.I.), and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) are honestly comparable to the Three Amigos and this trio brings some of the best laughs.

On the technical front, the effects and the choreography truly stood out. Visual effects supervisor Stephanie Ceretti, SFX supervisor Dan Sudick, and their respective teams helped to make this film absolutely gorgeous. In particular, every shot inside of the quantum realm was stunning to see and made the microscopic world seem enormous in comparison. George Cottle, the stunt coordinator, made the action sequences captivating, especially those with the Wasp. Her scenes were pure exhilaration and provided agile, action-packed entertainment.

While Ant-Man and the Wasp is quite dismissible in terms of world-building, it is as delightful as the first installment, if not more, and is one of the strongest summer blockbusters of the year. And of course - like every other Marvel film - don't forget to stick around until after the credits.

My Rating: ★★★½

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) directed by J.A. Bayona

Summer blockbuster season is in full swing, and you know what that means! Give me those unnecessary sequels, those forced romances, and those ridiculous plots that only someone who is looking to escape the heat and sit in air conditioning for two hours could bear to see! If this is what you want in a film, then Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was made just for you. This movie is quite a mess with only a few saving graces to make it worth a watch.

Most of the problems with this film stem from the often ridiculous plot and the acting. It is so utterly silly at many points that I began to wonder if any true effort was put into the writing. However, many of these ludicrous scenes happen to be some of the most important and "exciting" points throughout the film. Scenes such as the reveal of Maisie Lockwood being a clone of another version of herself that died in a car crash and trying to shoot a gun underwater honestly just made me laugh. In these life or death situations, the audience should be gripping their seats to find out what happens next, but I was definitely not part of said audience. Having an auction for the last remaining dinosaurs? Releasing those dinosaurs into the suburbs of what looks like Arizona? These small details, while they worked together for the plot just fine, are so ridiculous. But a small part of me still can't wait to see what the writers are going to do in the third installment to top it all off. I really hope the next film will be titled Jurassic World: Blue Goes to High School, and at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it was. There are also many plot points in this film that did not fit the story at all. When the hired army general just decided to leave Owen to die in the jungle, it did not make any sense whatsoever, besides the general being petty. And the scene with Claire and Owen refusing to open the gate to release the dinosaurs that they have spent three years trying to save also blew me away (not in a good way). These plot choices were very out-of-character and had no context behind them at all.

Other parts that did not sit well with me include the acting and the antagonist. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are both extraordinary artists with so much credit behind their names in other great projects. But no matter how hard they try, they simply do not have chemistry together. They were quite decent in scenes by themselves, but I personally do not think they have much compatibility. Which was especially apparent in their forced romance. That kiss towards the end was so unnecessary and easily could have been left out to make their characters build upon themselves and not rely on each other. I also could not tell you the name of the antagonist of the film, played by Rafe Spall. He was so "textbook villain" that it bored me beyond belief. There was no motivation behind his character other than getting millions of dollars from the sale of the dinosaurs. And he killed an old guy for it! However, despite these bad parts, I still do appreciate the writers making the plot a bit different than the typical "we created dinosaurs but can't control them" motif that has plagued this franchise.

For a summer blockbuster, I was surprised how colorful and visually exciting this movie was. I have noticed this trend of a minor increase in the focus on cinematography and I would really like for this trend to continue. In particular, I adored the shot of Isla Nublar being destroyed while Owen looks back at the lone, screeching brachiosaurus on the end of the pier. This shot alone got me emotionally invested and spoke so loudly. Every part of Owen's arc with finding and saving Blue was also of interest to me, as it provided a great flow from their story in the first film. The final piece that made this movie a bit reminiscent of the original Jurassic Park was the score. Michael Giacchino has been all over the place in film scores recently, and he is one name that I hope gets plenty of attention.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom provides a story just strange enough to keep me interested, but nothing worthy enough for any more of my money (I did use a free Harkins pass, after all). This is the perfect popcorn movie and I can honestly say that I was satisfied with it. But that's only because I had no expectations whatsoever.

My Rating: ★★½

Tag (2018) directed by Jeff Tomsic

Five grown men reunite every year to play a game of tag that has been recurring since their childhoods. If this sounds like a silly premise for a movie to you, then you're absolutely right. While there are some good parts and standout characters to pick from this film, Tag fails to deliver a memorable comedy, despite its incredibly talented cast.

There are many issues with this movie that make me want to (almost) get a refund. All of the characters throughout this film were very bland and when they did have any kind of development, it was severely archetypal. The divorced stoner, the dumb family man, the corporate big-shot, etc. were some of the types that were used, even though we've seen these types in comedies a million times already. And to make it worse, none of the performances were good at all. Even though I don't expect phenomenal acting in a comedy, I would have liked to seen a bit more effort put in by the whole cast, as they are all fantastic artists. Unfortunately, the overlying problem with this movie is the humor. All of it was so badly-written and lowbrow humor that merely got chuckles from me or the rest of the audience. I feel like to keep a crowd engaged with a comedy (because plot is never the biggest focus), the writing needs to actually be quick and clever. This movie had plenty of quick laughs, but nothing that I can distinctly remember. All of it was generic sarcasm, which, however, fit the uninteresting characters. I may not remember much of the jokes, but I do vividly recall two that were way overboard. The waterboarding scene and the miscarriage scene were honestly horrendous. Nowhere in the film do any of the guys portray violent tendencies, so using terrorist-level torture on the gym employee was completely unexpected. It did not fit the tone at all, and neither did the disgusting miscarriage joke. It was a good way to make the audience not like the bride, but good lord, there had to be some other way to do that besides joking about the death of an unborn child.

Other things that I did not enjoy were the inclusion of Ed Helms' character getting sick at the end and the treatment of the women characters. Even though this movie is based on a true story, I feel that it could have ended with a happier ending, rather than the reveal that Helms' character had been sick. I understand that it actually happened, but for the sake of this movie being a comedy, those scenes did not help the tone or pacing. I also did not enjoy how the female characters were treated in this movie. Along with every other character, they were very stereotypical: the aggressive wife, the bombshell crush, and the stern reporter. They did not have much substance besides those archetypes and even though they are not the main characters of the film, I did not appreciate their portrayals.

There are still some good parts of this film that make it worth a single watch, however. I loved how original the premise was and the fact that it is based on a true story made it even better. This did make way for a more heartfelt ending, because it truly showed how a simple, childish game could keep these lifelong friends together through the years. The greatest performances in this movie definitely came from Jon Hamm and Hannibal Buress. Buress' style of comedy is great, as expected, but I especially loved Hamm's take on humor. The typically drama actor has never done much comedy, but he was incredible in this movie. The last part of this film that was done very well were the actual chase scenes and choreography. They were very exciting to watch and made a simple game of tag hilarious. I also loved Jeremy Renner's Sherlock-level analysis during the tag sequences. It worked well for his character and added an extra level of fun detail.

Tag is a forgettable comedy, even though the true story behind it is so wildly entertaining. All of the different elements of this film did not work very well together, which made this movie dull at many points. I would recommend waiting until this comes out on Redbox to see it, as it provides enough laughs to keep the audience engaged, but not enough solid substance to make me want to see it a second time.

My Rating: ★★

Ocean's 8 (2018) directed by Gary Ross

In the newest addition to the Ocean's franchise, Sandra Bullock leads a powerhouse cast who once again prove that women are the key to revitalizing a franchise. Ocean's 8 is a solid heist film with an exciting plot and great characters, but the pacing and directing unfortunately held it back from becoming as memorable as it could have been.

This film succeeds in something that many others don't, and for that, I was pleasantly surprised. It succeeds in telling a group of characters' stories together fluently and showing off each actress's talents. Each character had their own individual skill that was showcased and worked well together for the overall plot. Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), Lou (Cate Blanchett), Amita (Mindy Kaling), Tammy (Sarah Paulson), Constance (Awkwafina), Rose Well (Helena Bonham Carter), Nine Ball (Rihanna), and Daphne (Anne Hathaway) were all outstanding in their roles. Their characters were written so well and they functioned as a team exceptionally. There were also some great cameos during the Gala scenes and amazing design with the dresses and fashion throughout the second act.

However well this cast worked together, there were obviously some characters that were valued over the others. Bullock's Debbie was the main protagonist, because without her relation to Danny Ocean (George Clooney), this would have nothing to do with the Ocean's universe. And the writing in the beginning definitely made sure that the audience knew who her brother was. The fact that Debbie was Danny's sister and that Danny was (suspiciously) dead was hammered in near the beginning and it was a bit much. I feel like this film could have respected the audience's intelligence more by letting us put together the fact that they were related and he was dead. But then again, all of the trailers made sure we knew that too. As for the tone of the film, it was a very generic take: a solid plot with a good mix of humor and drama. It was entertaining, but nothing extraordinarily re-watchable. Even though there was nothing particularly special about the cinematography or editing, I appreciated the use of the transitions. Although a bit cheesy, the "cross-stitching" effect worked well with the sly, criminal tone.

Pacing was definitely the biggest issue with this movie, and I don't feel like the director Gary Ross did as good of a job as he could have. This film started off very slowly and it took a long time to get the characters introduced. Like I mentioned before, the writing took way too much time to explain that Debbie was Danny's brother in order to connect this to the other Ocean's films. The second act was the most interesting part to watch, as the women planned and executed the heist at the Met Gala. After that, however, is when I expected it to wrap up, but then James Corden came in. I enjoy Corden in small amounts; I appreciate his energy and positivity in all of his roles, but his character John Frazier was not needed. The entire investigation arc with him did nothing for the overall plot, other than once again reinforce Debbie's connection to the other films. The last part I had an issue with was the reveal that Daphne was working with them the entire time, as it was very obviously predictable. This film is titled Ocean's 8, after all, and there were only seven of them up until the reveal (hmm).

Ocean's 8 is a decently fun film with a great cast and an entertaining story. Even though the pacing is a bit off and it lulls at many points, I would still recommend this movie for the incredible cast and its fresh take on the heist genre.

My Rating: ★★★½

Incredibles 2 (2018) directed by Brad Bird

Fourteen years after the release of the original, everyone's favorite super family (sorry, X-Men) returns in Incredibles 2. Audiences will absolutely enjoy this movie as much as its predecessor because of the many parts that make this film so... ahem... incredible. This is indeed a worthy sequel that our current superhero-ridden American film scene desperately needs.

Incredibles 2 picks up right where Pixar's beloved 2004 animated classic left off: with a villainous new threat to the city known as The Underminer. The Parrs and other superheroes are still seen as criminals, but when Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) is recruited by a pair of philanthropic siblings (Bob Odenkirk and Catherine Keener), they believe they will be able to change the public's perception for good. While Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) struggles to stay out of the spotlight and control the kids, a new threat arises known as Screenslaver who is determined to put an end to supers once and for all.

Like many others, I was initially upset when I found out that this movie occurred directly after the events of the first, but it thankfully provides a smooth transition into the next part of the Parrs' story. Even though the two films were released more than a decade apart, it seemed like no time had passed at all in this universe and the movie even contains more relevant social issues while keeping it entertaining for children - the main focus being Elastigirl, who is certainly the shining star of this film.

Hunter brings so much life to this character, as she is able to portray both the nurturing mother side and the ass-kicking heroine side excellently. Elastigirl's arc provides a great, original premise that is still reminiscent of the first movie yet is geared towards a new, more critical generation of moviegoers. This makes for a great dynamic between Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible, as the latter is constantly being forced to deal with his own masculinity. Having to take care of the kids while his wife is away saving the city was obviously tough for the macho man, but his development and acceptance throughout the course of this movie was progressively pleasant to watch.

Another character with interesting development was baby Jack-Jack (Eli Fucile). We were left on a bit of a cliffhanger from the original Incredibles movie that Jack-Jack had an abundance of peculiar powers, and in this film, those powers are explored even more. Along with the monster that he can turn into, shooting lasers from his eyes, and setting himself on fire, seeing Jack-Jack's naive infancy clash with his crazy abilities made him a hilarious scene-stealer.

The humble daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell) and the reckless son Dash (Huck Milner) unfortunately have less memorable roles in the film, but it's worth noting that the re-casting of Dash (originally voiced by Spencer Fox) was a smart move, though, as Milner has a much more child-like sense of wonder and confidence in his voice. Other fan-favorite characters making a return in the sequel include Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson) and Edna Mode (Brad Bird) and they still live up to their previous, legendary reputations.

For an animated feature, editing is never much of a specialty, but this film shatters that expectation. Some of the most comedic moments in the film were made so hilarious due to Stephen Schaffer's quick, efficient editing, which helps add to the overall excitement of the film as well. Brad Bird's (who also directed the film) script is excellent too, as the twisting reveal of the antagonist was hidden quite well. However, Screenslaver did not get as much physical screen time as the character deserved and, throughout the entirety of the film, the villain had a digitally eerie presence that could have been much more fleshed out, but there was still plenty of substance to make the character threatening.

One of the most memorable parts of the first film was its jazzy and high-energy score, which Michael Giacchino once again delivers in this second installment. The best new element of this sequel, though, was its more fluent choreography and action scenes. All of them involved Elastigirl (rightfully so), as her scenes were just purely exhilarating fun. As for the animation, it's just like any other Pixar movie we've seen in recent years: gorgeous.

Incredibles 2 succeeds expectations in almost every possible way, as Disney and Pixar once again prove that they can make a better superhero film than, well, many other studios out there from the past ten years. While sequels that come this late are usually hit or miss, this fantastic family film doesn't just hit but smashes. Oh, and for all of the '90s babies out there: get ready for the nostalgia to really kick in the moment the movie starts.

My Rating: ★★★★½

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) directed by James Gunn

At this point in time, I know just about every line and every shot of this film. Every line that brings out so much emotion while providing excellent character development and every shot that makes this film one of Marvel's most beautiful. Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite Disney/Marvel film and while some have issues with its peculiarity, its offbeat action and humor make it the most enjoyable for me. This film introduced the world to some of the weirdest characters in the galaxy, yet it still remains one of the most fun and rewatchable science-fiction films of the past decade.

This film is unforgettable because of its characters and remarkable use of a soundtrack to tell its story. Every character in this movie is beautifully written and has their own unique story that is told so well. Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot are all household names at this point and they develop so much over the course of this singular film. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, (the voices of) Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel were all perfect choices for their respective characters and have so much unbelievable chemistry together, which made their performances that much better. Even though this film does not escape the Marvel standard that had been set years before, it still manages to provide a better family dynamic than previous films. What makes this my favorite MCU film is the fact that it took the group dynamic that had been established in The Avengers but perfected it even more, making it more personal and relatable. Both groups of heroes had to get together to save the world, but in this movie, they actually learn to like each other towards the end, flawlessly setting up the characters for the rest of the trilogy. There might have been a few lines of cheesy dialogue here and there, but Guardians of the Galaxy still surpasses many superhero films when it comes to making the story charming while keeping the plot intact.

The other, most obvious part of this film that anyone can enjoy is its soundtrack. The compilation of classic soft rock with 60's and 70's love songs makes this film so much more than your average popcorn film, and it serves an actual purpose too. It's revealed that Peter Quill's mother made him the mixtape when he was young and this provides the driving force for his character through not just this movie, but the sequel and Infinity War as well. This mixtape was designed very carefully by director James Gunn and rightfully so. From the opening dance scene in the caves to the love scenes to the dance-off with Ronan in the end, every song in this film is beautifully chosen and fits every shot perfectly. Other parts of this film that I loved were the cinematography and the action. Up until this movie, there was never an emphasis on camera work in the MCU, but that definitely changed with this addition. It was also the most colorful and eye-popping movie until then, accompanied by fantastic action and awesome choreography. In particular, the scene on Nova where they all meet for the first time was so much fun and introduced their personalities very well too.

My only issue with this film was its main villain Ronan the Accuser. James Gunn delves deep into the history of the Guardians and absolutely does his source material research, but Ronan was still given the least amount of character development time. He was a very standard antagonist and there was nothing interesting about him in the slightest, other than his scary purple hammer. However, he served his basic purpose for the film and even introduces the Infinity Stones into the cinematic universe.

Accompanied by one of the best soundtracks in film history, Guardians of the Galaxy blends together every element that makes a space opera phenomenal. This film turned out to be one of Marvel's finest works, despite its irregular characters and story. I would strongly, strongly, strongly, recommend this movie to any fan of the space genre, since it stands on its own so well as a memorable and engaging action adventure.

My Rating: ★★★★★

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) directed by Ron Howard

For once in my life, I was excited for a Star Wars film. Even if it was just a prequel revolving around a supporting character, there was something about the premise that drew me in. Or perhaps it was Donald Glover appearing as a young Lando. That sounds more my speed. Besides that, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a solid entry into the franchise that helped solidify this legendary character's background before his entry into the rebellion.

Since I am not a Star Wars fan, I do not have very high expectations when I see another of these films. However, one of the elements of this one that I enjoyed so much was the fact that it felt more like a smaller, standalone, production than the massive films that built the world around it (even though this movie still has every money-making tactic of a blockbuster). Not being enthusiastic about this franchise makes me appreciate how much detail and quality filmmaking this movie actually contains. I feel that a large part of this is due to the incredible directing of Ron Howard, as this entire film is very smooth and paced well. It definitely did not feel like more than two hours and the story went along nicely. While I would have enjoyed a bit more exposition about Han's life towards the beginning, I was able to easily jump in and understand the events occurring. I also believe that Howard's expertise was needed to give this film a fresh feel from the rest of the franchise. He was able to make us care about (most of) the characters and provide an entertaining and original plot. One of my favorite relationships in the film was between Han and Chewbacca. Seeing how they met and developed their friendship was very sweet to see. And I'm sure it brought out a lot of nostalgia for hardcore Star Wars fans, given that, y'know... Han is dead and all. One last detail of this movie that I loved was the score and how much it reminded me of the original films' scores. John Powell and John Williams are once again getting that Disney money while still creating an excellent soundtrack for a memorable film.

My absolute favorite part of this film, and the main reason I was attracted to it, was Donald Glover's performance as a young Lando Calrissian. He was able to embody that charming and seductive personality that Billy Dee Williams did so very well decades ago. Glover honestly stole every scene that he was in and blended humor with his own minor subplot beautifully. A performance that I did not enjoy as much, however, was the titular character of Han Solo, played by Alden Ehrenreich. While he is a great actor and fit the look very well, he just simply did not have the same energy and charisma as Harrison Ford's portrayal. This was especially seen in Han's scenes with Qi'ra, his love interest played by Emilia Clarke. Clarke is another fantastic artist that handles her role very well, but the two did not have any chemistry between them in the slightest; their scenes together were painful to watch because of their lack of any decent emotion. Woody Harrelson, on the other hand, was great in his role as Tobias Beckett. Harrelson seems to play the same type of rugged but weird character in every movie, but there is no denying that he does it well, even though he was quite predictable in this film. Little things that also irked me in this movie included a writing detail and the introductory design. For the first thirty minutes or so, this movie looked quite disgusting. Even though it was set against the industrial backdrop of Corellia, the color grading was disgusting. It got better into the second and third act, but I was worried that this movie would be an eyesore. I also did not enjoy how they explained how Han got his last name Solo. Him being the "only one of his kind" and therefore calling him "Solo" was very lazy writing in my opinion.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is a great addition to the franchise and excellently builds the origin story of one of the most beloved characters in film history. While there is a lack of engaging characters and plot, the directing and movement of the film help to make it stand out from the rest. Die-hard fans of this franchise will either love or hate this movie, but I personally enjoyed it very much.

My Rating: ★★½

Downsizing (2017) directed by Alexander Payne

I am not entirely sure what I was expecting as I rented this film from Redbox. I love Matt Damon and the supporting cast who I knew were in this movie, but I was not certain what would come out of the actual story. Unfortunately, Downsizing turned out to be a jumbled, tone-deaf mess. Damon and his co-star Hong Chau were among some of the only positives of the film, but even then it was not nearly enough to make it worth the $1.50 rental.

This film is riddled with problems from the beginning. Throughout the whole movie, the pacing is very slow and uneven, which made it so difficult to watch. The movie is way too long, topping out at two hours and fifteen minutes and it dragged the story on forever. One of the introductory scenes where Damon's character Paul is actually undergoing the downsizing procedure took almost ten minutes to show and I nearly fell asleep. One might think that an Oscar-winning director could handle an awkward pacing issue, but apparently not. As for the story, the plot lines were so blurry and not able to blend together effectively. The first and second acts went well together, showing what Paul's new life was like at 5 inches tall and without his wife by his side. The third act, however, is where everything took a turn for the worse. It drastically altered in tone from a lighthearted sci-fi drama to an apocalyptic survival drama. The central theme of the film is saving the planet's ecosystem by shrinking yourself to produce less waste. This made sense for the film, but the introduction of methane gas coming from Antarctica and bringing upon the apocalypse was so sudden and not developed at all. Damon's Paul and Chau's Ngoc sailed to a new society where they had been preparing to escape this said apocalypse, but all of these new plot details came with no foreshadowing or development in the slightest. This entire third act did not remotely fit in with the story set before it and it was wildly far-fetched, even for a movie that's about shrinking people down (practically ripping off Honey, I Shrunk the Kids).

Characters in this film did not have any resolution at all, besides a half-attempted romance between Paul and Ngoc. These characters did not have any time to develop, probably because the writers were too focused on making the message of the film as incoherent as possible. Many concepts like global warming, over-population, and self-identity came up in the film, but none of them were fully explored. I feel that Alexander Payne, the director, had a message about Earth that he wanted to convey but was not sure how to do it. If the movie would have focused on one message, it would have been much clearer. The writing could have built up to the apocalypse or it could have focused on Paul's life changing as a miniature person. Either of these would have boded better for the story. The last small issue that I had was Hong Chau's character Ngoc. Even though she provided a lot of decent humor for the second and third act, her accent and mannerisms were very unnecessarily exaggerated. She had been living in the United States for a while after escaping as a refugee, but there is no reason why she had to have such a stereotypical, broken-English accent. One thing that I did like about the character of Ngoc was that the actress was actually Vietnamese. No whitewashing, which was pleasant, but there were still issues.

Matt Damon and Ngoc Chau were some of the only positives in this film as they did bring some nice light to their characters, no matter how broken the story was. I also enjoyed the small cameos by Jason Sudeikis, Neil Patrick Harris, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, and Christoph Waltz. I just wish their miniature (pun intended) roles would have been larger. The design and sets in this film were great to see too, as actual miniature neighborhoods and buildings were built for the establishing shots. This small aesthetic worked well for the movie.

Downsizing is not a great film by my standards, as the story was off-putting and the message unclear. It truly felt like an SNL skit that was turned into a full-length feature. But instead of going the comedy route, it desperately reached for any kind of dramatic premise. I would not recommend this extinction-of-the-human-race film unless you really, REALLY want to see Matt Damon in a fat suit.

My Rating: ★★

Deadpool 2 (2018) directed by David Leitch

Deadpool 2 took a complete turn from what I was expecting going in. Wildly different than the first, this film still manages to be a crude, offensive, and hard R-rated superhero blockbuster that is sure to please any fan of the genre. With another hilarious performance from Ryan Reynolds and some new characters that stole the spotlight, this is definitely the perfect "family" film.

The greatest piece of this film is also what makes it so different from the first: the wild cast of characters. While the initial installment in this franchise focused solely on Wade Wilson and his revenge on the man who screwed up his life, this "second coming" was utilized more as a team film. This was done excellently as the movie is not only held up by Reynolds, but by the entire supporting cast as well. Returning characters Weasel, Dopinder, Blind Al, Colossus, and Negasonic Teenage Warhead were still up to the same quality as before (and NTW is gay!). Their individual stories were given plenty of time to develop while new characters were introduced. The new characters were definitely the best parts of this film and rightfully stole it from Reynolds. Brolin played Cable, the hostile and robotic time-traveler who was seeking to prevent the deaths of thousands, including his wife and daughter. His performance was just as dark and frightening as one might imagine an angry Josh Brolin would be like. Except this time, he had to do a bit more work than just snapping his fingers. Zazie Beetz's Domino was also an exceptional addition to this team of heroes. She provided some of the best choreographed action shots in the film and her character was very lovable and optimistic. While these two characters were the greatest additions, I was still hoping for more screen-time for them. Then again, this film is a precursor to the inevitable X-Force film, so it makes sense for the story to focus a bit more on Wilson.

More parts of this film that I loved were the humor and action. The most obvious difference between both films is the amount of budget it was given. Since the success of the first in 2016, Twentieth Century Fox has definitely seen the potential that R-rated superhero films have, especially in how much money they can bring in. This is apparent in this film, as the action scenes and design were much better. This is also due to David Leitch directing, who is known for his work as a stunt choreographer and director of John Wick and Atomic Blonde. His specialty is stunt work and this worked well for this movie, as the action scenes were beautifully brutal. This movie was also much more drama-driven and emotional than the first, leaving less room for the humor. I believe that is what made this one that much better, because even though the humor is scarcer, it hits even harder. The best humor in this franchise stems from the subtle jabs and pokes at other works and makes the film that much more self-aware. The end credits scene in particular was absolutely hilarious, as Deadpool used Cable's watch to go back and erase his appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, as well as Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern role offer. There were also some great cameos in this film that surprised me, such as Terry Crews, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Bill Skarsgård (I was expecting a Pennywise the Clown joke, but we sadly didn't get that).

The only aspect of this movie that I did not enjoy as much as I wanted to was Julian Dennison's character Russell. He played the mutant child Firefist learning to control his anger and was the central piece of the story throughout the film. However, his character was not built as well as I thought he could have been. He is first made out to be a naive kid who is angry at the orphanage employees for abusing him, but he is unnecessarily volatile through the entire thing. Russell acts out in the prison in strange ways that did not make sense to who he was before. He wanted revenge on his previous captors, but was willing to burn and kill all of the other children in the orphanage along the way. This might seem like small details to some, but it irked me how underdeveloped Russell was.

Once again, Reynolds shines as the mercenary with a mouth in Deadpool 2. This film is quite a bit different from the first, but exceeded my expectations in many ways. I would strongly recommend this film, as it is yet another fun and action-packed experience with one of the crudest characters ever written.

My Rating: ★★★★

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) directed by Milos Forman

AFI Top 100: #33

It took me a while to finally see this film, but One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a wild and strange dramedy with incredible performances and a great story. However, I am not sure whether I absolutely love or wholeheartedly despise this classic film. It has some elements that make me uneasy and some parts that purposely make you question your own morals, but I think that is what makes this story so great. It can be interpreted different ways to fit what you believe to be the intended message.

The most interesting elements of this film are the performances and overall effect of the film. Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are absolutely the best parts of this film. Even though they both play characters that are wretched people, they are able to embody it very well to work with the decent story and cast. My biggest internal debate is whether I love or hate McMurphy, the main character played by Nicholson. I hate him for being an asshole rapist and the way he treats people. I hate him for selling his girlfriend for sex and abusing women the way he did. I hate him for being slightly racist towards all of the people of color in the film. But I love him for bringing the entire group of patients together in the end to help them form better and healthier relationships with each other. I love him for the satisfying ending that he brought upon himself, bringing the light to a lesser character. And I love him for helping to further the plot efficiently. McMurphy is a very complicated character and even though he is downright despicable in many scenes, there is no doubt that Nicholson was the right choice for this role. The writing, however, makes me not feel for McMurphy as a human being at all, which diverted my attention to some of the more minor characters. Which, one might assume, is what the screenwriters were trying to get the audience to do. In that case, it worked beautifully. I also loved the motif of meeting as a group for the therapy sessions. This was a great part that helped to further the story along nicely.

My issues with this movie include most of the elements of the plot and the way some of the characters were treated. The pacing was very slow in the beginning but thankfully picked up more towards the end when McMurphy was not the main character of interest anymore. This film also started as more of a comedy and could not figure out a distinct tone until the end when it was clear that it was written as a drama. It might be more of a personal preference, but I am not a fan of films that do not have a clear goal in mind for the story. Even though this movie provided plenty of character development, it was not understood that McMurphy was attempting to escape until halfway through. But by that time, I was more focused on the other patients' stories. Notable roles include Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd, as they were some of the most interesting characters in the film. Because of the lack of clear goal, the film was excruciatingly long and looking back, many scenes were unnecessary. I also did not appreciate how women were treated in this film. There were no female patients and the only women seen were either old, bitchy nurses or sex-crazed girlfriends with no substance. I am surprised, however, with how well the one Native-American character was treated, as he became the main character after McMurphy had died.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a peculiar but interesting story about the patients of a mental health hospital and the man who single-handedly changed their lives forever. While I don't much care for the main character or loose plot, this film contains some of the best performances and most shocking moments that you might ever see on screen.

My Rating: ★★★½

Kodachrome (2018) directed by Mark Raso

Kodachrome is a very interesting Netflix original film that is worth checking out. Jason Sudeikis plays a young record signer who learns his father, played by Ed Harris, is dying of cancer. They then have to reluctantly go on a trip together with his father's nurse in toll, played by Elizabeth Olsen, to get his father's last roll of kodachrome film developed. While it follows a generic idea, many of the plot devices and characters are great. The performances from the entire cast were fantastic and made this movie a decent watch.

The best parts of this film were the performances and some of the plot devices. Jason Sudeikis, Ed Harris, and Elizabeth Olsen are the main roles in this film and they have surprisingly excellent chemistry together. They all gave great - not amazing - performances and definitely brought life to their characters. This film definitely made me appreciate Sudeikis' acting abilities, as it shows that he can do more than just comedy. Even though his character was a bit comedic, he is able to effectively play a dramatic role and that was amazing to see. One of the best scenes in the entire movie, however, was between Harris and Sudeikis. The entire film, the father and son were bickering and arguing about different aspects of their lives growing up. The best scene comes in the end, when Harris' character Ben is lying on the hospital bed opening up to his son in a moving monologue. Harris is truly a great actor and was able to show much emotion during this scene, unlike the rest of the movie. While it did feel out of place for his character to suddenly change like that, it was a pleasantly positive ending for this character. I also enjoyed the original plot devices throughout the movie. There are not many "re-connection"-type films that give the grumpy old man a photography and arts career, but this one incorporated it well. I would have never expected Harris' character to be in that field of work, but the photography and music motifs seen in both him and his son were original and well-written.

My biggest issue with this movie was its extremely generic plot. A reluctant son takes his old, dying father on one last trip to relive his glory days. This plot has been used endlessly in hundreds of different movies and thus made this film very predictable. There was nothing fresh for the genre, other than the creative plot devices I mentioned above. The first act of this movie introduced us to everything very fluently, but the second and beginning of the third act were lagging very badly. The story seemed to progress at a snail's pace, and given that it was already predictable, became dull in many spots. My other issue with this film was the relationship between Matt and Zoe, Sudeikis and Olsen, respectively. Given this movie's familiar tone, it was obvious that they were going to end up together in one way or another. However, when they spent the night together the first time, their relationship was not developed well at all. They were simply drunk sharing a room together, but acted as if they had been flirting for weeks. The writing did not treat Zoe bad at all, as she had her fair amount of backstory, but there was no substance behind why she wanted to get with Matt. There was also a lack of decently imaginative cinematography, save for the very last shot. The shadowy backgrounds of Matt and Zoe reminiscing through Ben's photographs and clicking in and out of frame was typical, but it was cute and I still enjoyed it nonetheless.

This movie is a decently emotional ride that is absolutely suiting for a Netflix original. If you happen to stumble upon it, I would definitely recommend it as the cast is great and the story is effective. Don't expect an Oscar-worthy film but Kodachrome is a good entry into the father-son drama genre.

My Rating: ★★★

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Avengers: Infinity War is one of Marvel's best. Not only because of the impressive cast of characters but because of their ability to tell all of their stories fluently. Seeing all of these characters that I have grown up with finally come together was definitely one of the most surreal experiences I've ever had. And I'm sure that many others can agree. With a few standout performances and a mind-blowing ending, this movie has solidified itself in history as a remarkable achievement in filmmaking.

The best part about this film - which is the part I was most worried about - was its ability to effectively tell so many stories in a limited time span. I have been worried for months that with so many characters, the overall story would be imbalanced and too much emphasis would be put on a few characters. While that is slightly true, the Russo brothers did an amazing job of giving every single character their due screen time. Except Hawkeye and Ant-Man, which I am still very angry about. I mean seriously, Scott would have HANDLED that situation in Wakanda with his enormous stature. Anyways, I digress. The many character interactions in this film were great to finally see, especially the introductions of the spunky charisma of the Guardians and the mystical peculiarity of Doctor Strange to the rest of the Avengers. My only issue with having so many stories was that at times it still seemed a bit all-over-the-place. I had to put the previous pieces of the plot back together in my head before the next scene would start in order to understand which part of the universe we were heading to next. Overall, however, they all worked together very fluently for the ending. Which brings me to another praise. The pacing in this film was extremely smooth and was done expertly. This movie really draws you in the entire time and does not let you go until you are shaking (and probably crying) in your seat. It did not feel like two and a half hours, which was very impressive.

All of the characters' stories were balanced well with each other, but some just seemed to go on for a bit too long. The main offender being Thor. Thor has definitely proven himself to be one of the best-developed characters in the past year (thank you Taika Waititi) and has made his way to one of my favorite characters in this universe, but his plot in this movie dragged on forever. It was important for him, Rocket, and Groot to get his new weapon ready to kill Thanos, but his entire plot revolved around the creation of the weapon, which could have been told much quicker. However, the very first scene of the film involved Thor and the Asgardians and absolutely put the fear of everything into the audience's bones. Killing off Heimdall and Loki in the first ten minutes of the movie really put Thanos' power into terrifying perspective. Josh Brolin's portrayal of Thanos in this film is definitely one of Marvel's best villainous performances. He was given enough background to work with the story but Brolin made the character haunting as all hell. Along with his brilliant performance, the ending of this film really shook me and the rest of the theater. It was a complete 180 from what I (and many others) expected to happen. I feel like it's not a coincidence that all the original Avengers plus a few more were left alive, but I still have no idea how they are going to get themselves out of this one. Even though many beloved characters disappeared into the wind, the most emotional death for me was Spider-Man. When Peter simply said "Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good," I knew what was happening but I refused to accept it. That scene alone showcased Holland's incredible acting while reminding us that he's still a kid.

Even though this film contains one of the most emotional endings in any superhero film, some of that emotion was still taken away from me. In our current world of social media and constant communication, us fans know that a Black Panther sequel, Spider-Man sequel, and third Guardians films are already in the works. Simply logging on Twitter will let you know this information, and knowing all of this takes away from the impact for me. There is no possible way that they would permanently get rid of some of their biggest revenue-earners. Because of this, the ending was mostly shock value for me, even though it was indeed very bold of Marvel to wipe out more than half their characters. I feel if they would have shown cities around the world getting wiped out (don't forget that Thanos killed half the universe, not just our heroes), then it would have been a bit more jaw-dropping. Some of my other issues with this film are the extended sacrifice sequences and Captain America's underwhelming role. There were too many moments in this film where a certain character would have one of the stones and another would try to sacrifice themselves to Thanos instead of him getting the stones. This honestly became a motif in the movie and was overused a bit. The final part that annoys me was Captain America's dull role. He had maybe five or six lines in the entire film and I thought he was going to play a much bigger part. Cap may have his time in the light in the next film, though. We will have to wait and see.

A conglomeration of stories 10 years in the making, Avengers: Infinity War is a spectacle that is not to be missed. An impossibly large cast and an exciting story make this film the worthy blockbuster that it is. While it still has some problems, Marvel could not have delivered a better or more emotional film for the "end" of their universe.

My Rating: ★★★★