Avengers: Endgame

MY RATING: 7 of 10

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 26 April 2019

Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Director:Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Writer:Christopher Markus
Running Time: 3 hours and 1 minute

Staring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner,  Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly. I can keep going! Who's NOT in this movie!

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? NO

STORYLINE

After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos's actions and undo the chaos to the universe, no matter what consequences may be in store, and no matter who they face...

MY REVIEW

I say this at the beginning of almost all of the Marvel Universe reviews.. Not a big Marvel fan. However, this was a fun movie, be it depressing and nonsensical in spots, but the story was good. I was nervous about the 3 hour timeline and got a seat at the end of a row to make sure I could escape to pee and at times it did feel like the longest movie on the planet.

I left the movie thinking that it was a 9 and by the time I sat down to write this, I got close to giving it a 6 and landed on a 7. Here's why..

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• One word. THOR. I don't want to get into the specifics, but the THING that is going on with Thor is quite possibly the mot relatable thing that I have seen in any of the Marvel movies so far. It's humanizing and brings such a realism into the idea of what would happen if the poles shifted for some people. Some people just need to be needed. I love this piece. Well done.
• Ant-Man. Paul Rudd has had my heart since he was Josh in Clueless.
• Set and Costume Design
• CGI- A lot of money went into the CGI and it was a triumphant success. I hate it when the CGI pulls you out of a movie for being so badly done!
• I really enjoyed the way this movie brought all of the other Marvel movies together.  
• Last scene with Captain America made my cold heart pitter patter. Love!!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Editing- To be honest, the pacing could have been better. The first act seemed to drag unnecessarily and expended a lot of effort to show our heroes in emotional turmoil. The second and third acts did speed consecutively ending in a 45 minute action frenzy. ( I did like that)  
• Hipster Hulk
• With the epic list of people in this movie, that is indeed an issue. With that many A list actors, it's hard to give them all the screen time that they need or deserve. I think Hawkeye was given too much screen time.
• Brie Larsen was better, but still not great. 

What QUESTIONS do I now have?

• I have a serious issue with the idea of the timeline they try to alter. They say multiple times that changing the timelines is CHANGING another timeline. So, Tony Stark snaps his fingers and ends Thanos in THIS universe but what about the others? Is that really the end? If he sent Thanos et al back, how does he know not to send Gamora back from 2023? Does that mean 2014 Peter Quill never meets Gamora? Does that timeline still exist? How does Captain America know which lake to sit by? I want answers!!
• Thanos is really just a Eco-Warrior. He saw that there are too many people in the world and we could not sustain the numbers with the current levels of food, water and housing so he basically provided a plague to give those who are left a chance. I kind of appreciate that and in some regards, I don't think he's that bad for just trying to give us a hand. 

On a more personal note..... 

Did you guys know that I love my cats!? So much that I wear cat shirts and take selfies on SnapChat with cat ears! :)  

Avengers: Infinity War

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 27 April 2018
    12 August 2018

Director:Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Writer:Christopher Markus
Running Time:  2 Hours and 29 Min

Staring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland and like 42K other people.

Rating? PG-13

SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.6 of 10

MY RATING: 6

STORYLINE

The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.

MY REVIEW

I didn't hate it. I also didn't love it. I am not a big Marvel fan, except for IronMan and Captain America. The best way that I can describe this movie is chaotic. Its an overwhelming blend of many plots and stories that are all jammed up into one. It has elements that bind, but it's just soooo much to take in. I had a hard time with the plot the most.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• It was a fun movie. I liked the fight scenes.
• IronMan and Cap. :) Big hearts there!

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Plot- Seriously? What the literal hell? This was the most strung out plot that was paper thin to relate the unhinged stories together.. Should really have been more than one movie.
• Thanos- Yes, he's a pretty bad dude, but his backstory and plan almost make him relatable for me. I mean, I kind of identify with him the most in the movie. Maybe I am a bad guy. I can get with that! The writers failed to consistently take the plot that was provided and extend to the movie. I mean at one point in Guardians of the Galaxy, they defined the strength of the Infinity Stones and in this one  when Thanos has 4 of the 5 he can be held down by IronMan and a few others? Seems unlikely.
• More Bad Guys- So there are like a lot of new bad guys that are on screen (Black Order, random boneless guy, Blue chick with horns, Rock dude with a goatee and a pointy-axe wielding guy who we are never really appropriately introduced to.  Like I said, I am not a huge Marvel fan so as a non comic reader, i have no idea who these people are!~

On a more personal note..... 

I added a new piece to the collection. I did a piece in chalk pastels and I have to say, I think it turned out pretty stellar! I just might hang this one up in the house! Took a selfie with curly hair! Rocket really wanted to try a banana.

Spotlight

GENERAL INFORMATION

Release Info: 25 November 2016
      Netflix 12 September 2016

Director: Tom McCarthy
Writer: Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy
Running Time: 128 Minutes

Staring:  Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schreiber, Stanley Tucci and John Slattery

Rating? R

SPOILERS? YES, but it's not really a deal breaker.

REVIEWS

IMDB: 8.1 of 10

MY RATING: 8

STORYLINE

When the Boston Globe's tenacious "Spotlight" team of reporters delves into allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church, their year-long investigation uncovers a decades-long cover-up at the highest levels of Boston's religious, legal, and government establishment, touching off a wave of revelations around the world.

MY REVIEW

Director Tom McCarthy you may know from appearances Pixels, 2012, The Lovely Bones, and The Little Fockers. His directorial history is much shorter. This is a grand slam for him in my eyes. He did an amazing job telling the story along with the co-writer John Singer. This was a daunting story to tell and needed to be told.

What I DID LIKE about this movie:

• This is a haunting movie. It stays with you for hours after the movie is over. There is no doubt in my mind why this movie won Best Picture. This unnerving and makes one question so many things about life in general.
• This is direction and writing done to the best of their abilities. This story is told in cinematic brilliance.  
• Whoever casted this ensemble did something that I never thought could be done. Batman, Leiv Schreiber, the girl from the Notebook and The grey haired guy from Mad Men.. I would have never thought that this group would be put into the same movie, much less create a cast that REALLY WORKED! They were amazing together. A true group of characters that were believable and true to form.

What I DID NOT LIKE about this movie:

• Could have used a little more Boston accents! :)

On a more personal note..... I had SOO much fun today with some of the girls from my last job! Me, Taylor, Chris and Ami went to a place called Breakout. It's a situational game where they lock you in a room with clues and a ton of locked doors, cases, drawers, etc and you have to connect the clues and figure out how to ESCAPE! The thing is, you only have 60 minutes to get out. WE DID IT!! With 5 minutes to spare! Baby Dexter Morgan helped me with some drawings this afternoon. I finished one that I was working on with the Moai of Easter Island. It's one of the places that I would love to go to someday!!

Avengers: Age of Ultron

GENERAL INFORMATION
Release Info: 1 May 2015
Running Time: 141 Minutes
Staring:  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner and many more.
Rating? R
SPOILERS? NO

REVIEWS
IMDB: 7.9 of 10
Rotten Tomatoes: Critics: 74% Audience: 87%
MY RATING: 6 of 10. Above Average

MY REVIEW:
I am not a comic book fan girl, or even a comic book reader in general. I will wholeheartedly admit to going to see this movie because it was my husbands turn to select the Friday night entertainment. I was not really thrilled that this was his choice, but I am a good sport and played along, and with a smile I might add!

I thought it was pretty good. There was a decent story line and a few unexpected plot points that seemed to further the story line and even clear up a few things for me from the other Avengers movies. (Yes, I saw those too and yes, they were likely my husbands night to choose the movie!)

The script seems a little lacking to me. There seemed to be some missing points. I would think that there would be some sense of stand-alone movie pieces for a movie such as this, but I literally had questions about who people were, why they were bad/good and a general whatever face during the whole of the movie.

There was a little too much predictable humor. Generally, that's not bad, but this was an action movie. Too many one-liners for me.