Directed by J.J. Abrams Starring Daisey Ridley, John Boyega, Harrison Ford, Adam Driver and Carrie Fisher PG-13, 136 minutes Is this all we have to look forward to? This sad, if not overly dramatic, thought occurs to me once the credits begin to roll, ending the new Star Wars movie. This is truly the best…
Directed by Brad Bird. Starring Britt Robertson, George Clooney, Raffey Cassidy, Kathryn Hahn, Keegan Michael-Key, Tim McGraw and Hugh Laurie. PG, 130 minutes. Even before we get the Disney logo, there’s a neat little animation sequence that kicks off Tomorrowland in intriguing fashion. In just a couple of minutes, we get the basic gist of…
Directed by George Miller. Starring Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough and Rosie Hungtington-Whitely. R, 120 minutes. I first saw The Road Warrior when I was eleven years old. On a steady diet of high-octane action movies even prior to this (mostly starring Arnold Schwarzenegger), I thought I had…
Written and Directed by Joss Whedon. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Cobie Smulders, Paul Bettany with Samuel L. Jackson and James Spader as Ultron. Rated PG-13, 141 minutes. The first Avengers movie was the successful consummation of a major gamble. Bringing various…
Directed by Joe & Anthony Russo. Starring Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Cobie Smulders with Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Redford. PG-13, 136 minutes. Now this is more like it. The two previous “Phase Two” entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were entertaining diversions that ultimately failed to bring anything new to…
Directed by Alan Taylor. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Eccleston, Jamie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins. PG-13, 112 minutes. Previously on Marvel Month… I find it difficult to do something similar with this write-up to what I did with Iron Man 3. I…
Directed by Shane Black. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley. PG-13, 131 minutes. Writer’s Note: In the last article, a review of The Avengers, I misprinted the year the movie came out as 2011, and not its actual release year of 2012. I…
Written for the screen & Directed by Joss Whedon. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner and Samuel L. Jackson. PG-13, 143 minutes. Previously on Marvel Month… Right at the time when all the superhero origin stories and sequels or reboots were threatening to grow stale,…
Directed by Joe Johnston. Starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Sebastian Stan, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci. PG-13, 124 minutes. Previously on Marvel Month… Captain America: The First Avenger opens with two prologue scenes before introducing us to its main character. The purpose of doing this is, one, to…
Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Jamie Alexander, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Colm Feore, Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins. PG-13, 115 minutes. Of all the characters to introduce in Marvel’s shared universe of superheroes, Thor is perhaps the most difficult. Sure, these are comic…
Directed by Jon Favreau. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell, Gary Shandling, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson. PG-13, 125 minutes. Previously on Marvel Month: The Incredible Hulk… The machine of industry that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe seems like such a sure thing now that it’s easy…
Directed by Louis Leterrier. Starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson and William Hurt. PG-13, 113 minutes. Previously on MARVEL MONTH: Iron Man. And now… Released in the very same summer as Iron Man, not to mention fellow comic-book juggernaut The Dark Knight, Marvel’s attempt at rebooting the Hulk kind of got lost…
