The Last Jedi did not feel as focused as the Force Awakens to me.
I felt the pacing was off and some of the transitions between scenes were rather sharp.
The story gets darker than the first, but ends on a note of hope.
I’m conflicted about the final fate of some characters. Some we learn nothing about (guessing it is being held back for a Tales movie) and others almost felt like clearing the board for the new class.
Starring: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran
While Justice League comes nowhere near Wonder Woman, it is loads better than Batman V Superman.
We learn that Parademons have been sighted across the world, abducting people associated with Star Labs. After an attack on the Amazons by Steppenwolf, Diana approaches Bruce and they begin getting the team together.
As with a typical intro team-up, it does not come together the first time. We get snippets of backstory for the new characters to the DCEU: Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg. Just enough to give us a hint of where their solo movies may go.
Part of the plot is bringing Superman back after the League fights Steppenwolf, but cannot stop him. Superman’s inclusion does bring everything together.
The plot is decent, but does feel rushed. You can tell DC/Warner Bros are playing catch-up to the Marvel movies. But it is still a fun movie.
The CGI was … not great. The very first scene of the movie opens with Superman and a CGIed out mustache. The main villain is all CGI as well. Poor CGI.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Henry Cavill, Jeremy Irons, Ciarán Hinds, JK Simmons, Connie Nielsen, Joe Morton, Amber Heard, Diane Lane, Amy Adams
Thor: Ragnarok is the best Thor movie to date, in my opinion. We get some good comedy and action along with dire consequences.
Thor: Ragnarok combines several storylines from the comics (Contest of Champions, Planet Hulk, Ragnarok) and gives us one of the funniest Marvel movies.
I was excited to see what Taika Waititi would do with this franchise. I loved What We Do in the Shadows.
Thor:Ragnarok does a nice job of clearing the field and leaves the Asgardians with almost a reset.
Thor begins by defeating Surtur and returning to Asgard. Where he sees a nice little play about the death of Loki. He quickly reveals that Loki has been impersonating Odin and they head to Earth to pick up Odin.
We get a little cameo from Dr. Strange. Odin tells the brothers of their unknown, older sister, Hela and she makes her appearance. Thor and Loki attempt to fight Hela, but she crushes Mjolnir and throws them both out of the Rainbow Bridge.
Thor falls out of a portal onto the GrandMaster’s planet and is forced to fight. He comes across the Hulk and a couple of Asgardians. They plan to return to Asgard to fight Hela. In the meantime, Hela has invaded Asgard and slaughtered a good portion of the population.
I do not want to go any further into the plot. But this does lead into Avengers: Infinity War.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban, Taika Waititi
Jigsaw is the latest entry in the Saw series. A movie series that practically defines torture porn. The first Saw is still my favorite in the series. But Jigsaw was a fun romp in October.
We all know the plot. A group of people who are guilty of something are gathered and forced to play a game. Death, maiming and cussing follow. We have the authorities working to identify the killer as this is set after Jon Cramer’s “death”
You’ll get you 3rd act twists and turns. And an open end that will easily allow the series to continue.
And as much as I was not a fan of the latter sequels in the series, I want there to be a Saw movie every October (or every other). We need a horror franchise out there hitting theaters regularly. We had that with Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and more recently the Paranormal Activity series.
Starring: Matt Passmore, Tobin Bell, Callum Keith Rennie, Hannah Emily Anderson, Clé Bennett, Laura Vandervoort, Paul Braunstein, Mandela Van Peebles, Brittany Allen, Josiah Black
I was not sure what to expect from the Babysitter. It popped up on Netfix and some podcasts I listen to were reviewing it in upcoming episodes.
It has a slow open, but then it hits the fan.
Cole is a 12-year old with a babysitter. He is also picked on. a lot. He has 2 bright sides, he is friends with the cute girl across the street, Melanie, and his babysitter, Bee, treats him like a person.
Melanie goads Cole into staying up and seeing if Bee sneaks her boyfriend over after he goes to bed. According to her, that’s what all babysitters do.
Not Bee.
At first, Cole is looking at the beginnings of a promising game of spin-the-bottle. Right up until one of the participants is killed and has his blood collected.
The rest of the movie is a horror version of Home Alone as Cole is hunted by the party-goers.
The Babysitter is a Netflix original.
Starring: Judah Lewis, Samara Weaving, Robbie Amell, Hana Mae Lee, Bella Thorne, Emily Alyn Lind, Andrew Bachelor, Doug Haley, Leslie Bibb, Ken Marino
