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Wolf Warrior 2

Fun action movie.

I first heard about this movie on the Trick or Treat Radio podcast. I jumped onto this one without seeing the first entry in the series. I will probably catch the first one (streaming on Netflix as of Dec 2017).

You have the main character from the first movie, Leng Feng, heading to Africa after leaving the military. Some rebels attempt to take over the country he is currently in and Action Movie ™ ensues. We get enough plot to keep Leng Feng in the midst of the action.

The stunts and gun play were amazing. The CGI blood less so. Two words. Improvised Crossbow.

Starring: Jing Wu, Frank Grillo, Celina Jade, Gang Wu, Hans Zhang, Qian Yu, Nan Yu, Shanshan Chunyu, Haifeng Ding, Oleg Prudius, Heidi Moneymaker, Aaron Ly

Vía Letterboxd – AngryTownsman

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a nice simple popcorn movie to cap 2017.

It is not a deep thinking movie, but it is entertaining. I saw this movie and the theater was filled with groups of teens. It was nice hearing how much they enjoyed this movie. Probably made me like it more.

I can honestly say that if I am watching a movie with an audience that is having fun, it does make me like the movie more.

I would recommend you go see this. Especially if you have MoviePass.

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Rhys Darby, Bobby Cannavale, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner

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Star Wars: The Last Jedi

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

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Justice League

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

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Thor: Ragnarok

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

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