Captain Marvel (2019)

Although it took Marvel more than a decade to make a movie about a heroine —and they probably made it only because they needed her in End Game— and the web filled with negative reviews earlier this week, I'm a Marvel ho and I love Brie Larson and I'm also a woman so of course I went seeing Captain Marvel. And I had pretty high expectations about it, even though I was said to lower them. 

Set in 1995, the story begins on the planet Hala with Vers (Brie Larson) training with her mentor, Yon-Rogg (Jude Law). They soon go on a mission to rescue an undercover Kree operative who infiltrated a group of Skrulls, shapeshifting aliens who have been fighting with Krees for centuries, but it turns out it was an ambush, Skrulls leader Talos (Ben Mendelsohn) captures Vers and tries to extract information. Instead, he revives some of her memories, she manages to escape and crashlands on planet Earth, where she joins forces with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to discover who she really is and to stop the Skrulls from getting an experimental engine designed by Dr. Wendy Lawson (Annette Benning).

After a pretty bad start —I don't know if it was just me, but the beginning was so tedious and uninteresting—, and despite the many plot holes and the fact that there's simply too much going on to fit in a two-hour film and because of it, it often feels clumsy and rushed, the story eventually becomes interesting and engaging and the major twist, while slightly predictable, is nicely pulled off.

As for the main character, there's something about Vers/Carol Danvers that didn't work for me. While I liked the way the filmmakers introduced her past —and I loved that she is just as clueless about it as us, the audience— and I adored Brie Larson's sassy and charming performance, I just didn't feel an emotional attachment to her. I rooted for her because I liked her, despite the character's striking arrogance, but when the film finished it felt like I still didn't know her. Also, her relationship with some of the supporting characters just didn't feel right —the friendship between Carol and Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch) doesn't feel real; the relationship between Carol and Maria's daughter, Monica (Akira Akbar), on the other hand, feels way more genuine and warm.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The supporting characters, on the other hand, are quite interesting, specifically the twist they put on Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury. He is not the serious man we saw in the previous MCU movies, he is more relaxed, trusting, and has this sarcastic attitude that fits Jackson like a glove. The Skrulls, despite their lack of everything really as they have no character, they are fun and Ben Mendelsohn is terrific as Talos and manages to give the character that complexity the script denied him.

While I wasn't a fan of the editing which at times reminded me of a Best Editing winner I do not want to mention, the special effects are great, for the most —the de-aging is really impressive and you would never notice it if you didn't know the cast—, the soundtrack is great, and the action scenes are quite good —I don't know whether it was intentional or not, but I liked that 90s spy movie vibe they have. Not to mention how hilarious the film is —there wasn't a lot of people at my 2:45pm screening, but it sounded like everyone was having a really nice time, adults and kids alike.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

I'm not going to lie, I was not interested in seeing Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse at all after seeing the trailer, it just didn't click with me. Then the movie hit theatres everywhere but my country, people were loving it and I decided I'd give it a chance. Too bad my city had screenings only on Christmas and Boxing Day, I was busy with family and stuff, and I missed it. 

This umpteenth movie about your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man follows Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), a teen from Brooklyn struggling with school and friends. One night he sneaks out of his dorm room to visit his uncle, Aron (Mahershala Ali), who brings him to paint graffiti in an abandoned subway station. Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and Spider-Man. There's already a Spider-Man (voiced by Chris Pine) but he's killed by Kingpin (voiced by Liev Schreiber). Luckily, Kingpin's dimension-crossing super-collider brings in Spider-Man from other universes, and Miles must team up with them to stop Kingpin. 

After countless Spider-Man origin movies —okay, there's three of them, but I feel like there's two too much— Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse offers a fresh, compelling take on the Spider-Man origin story with a compelling, fun and engaging plot that takes some interesting and unexpected turns and doesn't waste time with useless subplots —i.e. romance.

That said, the best part about the film is the characters and the way they and their diversities are handled. Every version of Spider-Man, whether it's Miles or Spider-Woman or Spider-Man noir, is fun, likeable and interesting as they all have their own personality that makes each one of them stand out. Mixing the character from different universes is handled so well and the interaction between characters are fun and entertaining. The villain, on the other hand, has the typical Marvel issue, he lacks depth and characterization. All we learn about Kingpin is that he is an enormous evil man. We learn something, very little, about his family, and that's it. Kingpin is such a menacing man and deserves better than this.

The voice cast does a really good job the highlights being Shameik Moore who embodies very well the personality of Miles, Hailee Steinfeld who is simply delightful as Gwen/Spider-Woman, and Mahershala Ali who is perfect as Uncle Aron —and damn his voice is sexy.

Sony Pictures Releasing

 As for the animation, it's gorgeous —it feels like watching a comic book come to life, literally, and it's awesome. It's the styling animation every movie based on a comic book should have. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse also has plenty of humour; however, while it works wonderfully in the first part, as the story moves forward and become more serious, the humour doesn't work as well. Also, the emotional scenes didn't really work for me.

Marvel Update: GOTG3, CAPTAIN MARVEL, SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME and AVENGERS 4!!

Drax may be invisible by being motionless, but Marvel isn't! Lots of Marvel updates today for you!

Let's start with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3 which Kevin Feige recently updated Christina Radish over at Collider:

“[Writer/director] James [Gunn] has delivered a draft and we begin official pre-production on that very, very soon. It’ll be shooting early next year. Captain Marvel finishes in about two weeks, Spider-Man starts in about two weeks, and then Guardians 3 will start early next year.”

Awesome but also kind of bittersweet as Gunn has said in the past that he is wrapping up GOTG with this third iteration (at least this version of GOTG). And of course, there is some bitterness with the demise of Gamora in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR. Is she truly gone?

Also, you can see from the quote above that CAPTAIN MARVEL is just about finished production and will transition to post in ~2 weeks. It's uncertain at this point if there will be a CM presence of some sort at Comic-con (Marvel is NOT in Hall H this year) but it makes sense that they could show the clips of what was shown at CineEurope recently.

Moving on to SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 or as it is now known as SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME after Tom Holland (Peter Parker) instagramed (by accident?) the new name:

Sorry for no announcements, but I love you guys ♥️

A post shared by ✌️ (@tomholland2013) on Jun 23, 2018 at 5:39pm PDT

..And speaking of movie titles, AVENGERS 4 still does not have a name. What I'm hearing is that we won't have that information until at least a CAPTAIN MARVEL teaser is released. So it could be a while. Months even. I think it's all a self-imposed gag order to restrict any leaking of spoiler-ish information. Makes sense. AVENGERS 4 will be a game changer and has EXTREMELY high stakes involved for Marvel and Disney.

CAPTAIN MARVEL opens on March 8, 2019. AVENGERS 4 opens May 3, 2019. SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME opens July 5, 2019. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 3 does not have a release date yet, but it is anticipated that it will take the "Untitled Marvel Movie" slot of May 1, 2020. 

Captain Marvel Confirmed As The Face Of MCU? Also AVENGERS 4 Spoiler Alert!

So apparently some fans from CineEurope are leaking some info about what they saw regarding Captain Marvel recently. Namely that Brie Larson's character will indeed be the lead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Who said it? Don't know.

But apparently, the content shown to audiences also displayed Captain Marvel's powers and her dominance. Larson told E! recently (See video below): "She’s so strong - she can move planets. So for me, it was like - how far can I go with this strength?"

Man, I'm excited to see what she brings. And for me, Brie Larson is perfectly cast.

Question for you guys: Do you think that the content is referring to CM taking a temporary lead of the MCU franchise? Or permanent? In other words, do you think some of the characters killed off in AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR will make an eventual return to the land of the living?

** AVENGERS 4 SPOILER ALERT **
DO NOT READ FURTHER UNLESS YOU WANT POTENTIAL SPOILERS

After all, Nick Fury himself, Samuel L. Jackson told Vulture while filming AVENGERS 4: "Who’s really dead, and who’s really in the flaky wind of Marvel dust, I don’t know, but I do know there’s a solution that they didn’t even have to tell me, just because I know who Captain Marvel is and what all that means."

Jackson also went further saying Captain Marvel is "the most powerful character" in the MCU - heroes and villains too. She's the key guys.

CAPTAIN MARVEL is slated for a March 2019 release.

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Two years ago Deadpool completely changed the way we look at superhero movies, mainly because of its unique, hilarious and, yes, vulgar, approach to the genre. I'm one of those who loved it and yet I wasn't really looking forward to seeing Deadpool 2 because we all know how sequels go, especially when the first film is such a success. Luckily, Deadpool 2 is another hit. 

Wade Wilson aka Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) is still a mercenary who takes out the bad guys, and he still is in a relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin). When his life takes a terrible turn, he tries to find a new purpose with the help of the X-Men, but things take a turn for the worst when he sets out to protect a mutant kid, Russell (Julian Dennison), as the kid is hunted down by a time-traveller mutant named Cable (Josh Brolin).

The plot somehow manages to be even more simple than Deadpool's, it's rather disjointed and doesn't make a lot of sense --it kinda feels like the three writers, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds, never met nor bothered working together, and each wrote a piece of story-- and yet it is engaging and a tiny bit more unpredictable. Also, unlike its predecessor's where it was all about revenge, Deadpool 2's plot even has some morals. 

The messy and unfocused plot though doesn't leave a lot of room for character development, which leaves us with many one-dimensional characters it's difficult to care about. Also, the characters from the first film return but their screen time is cut down to make room for the new characters, most of which --the mutants Deadpool assembles-- are forgettable, not to mention the non-existent villain. On the other hand, Deadpool is given the opportunity to grow as a person, and some of the new characters are pretty awesome, especially Domino, the mutant whose superpower is being lucky, as she adds a lot of excitement to the film. 

20th Century Fox

As for the cast, Reynolds does not disappoint and gives another brilliant, humorous performance as the titular anti-hero; Josh Brolin is a blast as Cable, and the fact that he also plays Thanos makes him the perfect cast for the role; Zazie Beets gives a sassy and sarcastic performance as Domino that will easily win you over. The other actors also do a good job, and the chemistry between them is impressive.

The sense of humour is the same of the first film, still crude, with plenty of pop culture references ranging from The Passion of Christ to Batman vs. Superman to other Marvel superheroes, and slapstick, and it works just as well. Deadpool 2 is indeed pretty hilarious. 

The action sequences are beautifully choreographed --one of the guys who killed John Wick's dog directed this film, after all-- and exciting. And at last, the soundtrack, still very 1980s, is awesome and each song fits its scene. 

MUST WATCH: Official Trailer for Marvel's INFINITY WAR

Wow. So the big question is who dies in this thing. There are a few hints dropped in this trailer but actually I'm not convinced that anyone dies in the first of these two Infinity Wars movies. I think that will certainly happen in the second though. We'll see.

Loving the interaction between the Guardians and Tony Stark! That's perfect Peter Quill if you ask me. With all these characters butting heads in this thing, who are you most looking forward to seeing interacting?

So check out this trailer! After all these years it all comes down to this. Seriously, Marvel already has an amazing stable of outstanding movies - well written and played out. They have had all this time to nail down exactly what needs to happen and to add the meat to the bones - this is all the marbles. These movies are going to blow us away I'm sure!

Marvel's AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR opens on April 27.

THOR: RAGNAROK Is Hilariously Well Done... Except For The 3D

Well as they say, I have good news and bad news. The good news is THOR: RAGNAROK is absolutely hilarious and I love what they've done to bring in those laughs. No spoilers in this review by the way. 

There were some very imaginative jokes and gags in the movie - and I simply loved Jeff Goldblum in this!! Perfectly cast if you ask me.

HOWEVER (and it's in all caps) the bad news is the 3D conversion is quite poor at times, frankly. Mind you, the digital visual effects are all superb in 3D as they are rendered natively in 3D - but of course they don't rely upon post-conversion. But the converted optics? *Sigh* Put it to you this way, in the scene with Odin on the cliff fields, the grass is so lazily or cheaply converted that there are clumps of flat grass mixed in with the usual dimensional depth of the location. It was HORRIBLE. It was so bad that it took me out of the movie. These are errors that anybody can see and complain about, not more mundane aspects that I can pick out, or an stereographer.

Marvel, Disney and Stereo D / Legend 3D know better (they both contributed to post conversion). I don't know which conversion company looked after that one particular scene, but something is amiss here. Usually Stereo D / Legend 3D do an outstanding job with post conversion, but something happened - whether they ran out of time or budget. The grass issue was glaring, but there were other issues too, like miniaturization (Hulk in the arena from bird's eye view looked... puny). Ugh.

So, I find it hard to believe Marvel would skimp on budget for a movie they know will rack in the cash. I also find it hard to believe that Stereo D or Legend 3D would sacrifice quality either. So the only real thing left is that everyone just ran out of time. I can't explain it any other way. There mustn't have been enough time to complete all the conversion shots, and some things had to be compromised to hit the release.

If someone knows anything more on what happened, please let me know. This sort of thing doesn't belong in modern 3D movie making. Poor conversions belong with CLASH OF THE TITANS and certainly not with a new Marvel or Disney production. Clean this up.

Final verdict? GO SEE IT!! The movie itself was brilliantly done and one of the funniest Marvel movies ever made. If you can stand the glaring 3D errors (nothing headache inducing mind you!), then I still recommend a 3D screening because of the outstanding VFX shots.
 

Thor: Ragnarok Movie Review

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Watch the Thor: Ragnarok Trailer
Written by: Eric Pearson and Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost (written by), Stan Lee & Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby (based on the comics by)
Directed by: Taika Waititi
Starring:  Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins, Benedict Cumberbatch, Taika Waititi
Rated: PG-13

Plot
Thor must fight his way out of a lethal gladiatorial contest on a distant planet and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization.

Verdict
This is much more comedic and fun than the bulk of the Marvel movies. It's more Guardians of the Galaxy. It's a welcome change of pace. That's okay because Marvel can't churn out the same type of movie every time. Though I don't expect the tone of the movie to continue even in future Thor movies.
This has some great visuals, though if you've see the trailer a big moment in the movie will be spoiled. Even the premise posted in some places will spoil that moment. Despite the comedic bent, I really liked the story. It credibly set up a nearly invincible villain and came up with a believable out that had some consequences and brought the movie full circle. Even characters or scenes that are typically one off comedic relief play a part in the larger story. It's surprisingly well plotted for a super hero movie. Combine that with the humor and you've got something entertaining.
Watch it.

Review
This is a lot of fun, more comedy than super hero action movie. From the very first scene, this lets us know what this is when Thor is trapped in a cage talking to a skeleton. He soon finds himself hanging from a chain talking to a huge beast. As he's twisting on the chain, he interrupts the beast asking him to wait until he slowly spins back around to face the monster.
Some jokes are funny but stick around too much. The "Devil's Anus" sticks around a bit too much.

There's a lot of comedic timing humor, quirkiness, and awkward humor throughout. Some of that awkwardness originates from Thor when he's around "Scrapper-142" (Tessa Thompson). I like that the movie doesn't try to make her a love interest or attempt to pay that off. While you get the idea he likes her, that interest turns to admiration as he learns her background. The other two Thor movies were all too eager to give Thor a love interest. I'm glad this one doesn't.

The trailer spoils Thor's big gladiator fight, and even that, right as the intensity reaches a peak, has Thor make a joke. The movie pivots again to make this fight intense.

Cate Blanchett plays the villain and does a great job. Jeff Goldblum plays Grandmaster, an incredible weird and quirky guy that is perfectly cast. Director Taika Waititi plays Korg, a made of stone gladiator that is pure comic relief, but will be a beloved side character. Korg steals every scene he's in, and even he plays a larger role in the overall plot.

There are some changes to Thor's appearance that I wonder how they will carry over to future movies.

While the first scene seemed like a one off to set the tone, it comes right back at the end. I was surprised at how well plotted the story is. Super hero movies often have the hero winning despite all odds. This movie still falls into the hero winning, but it has a big impact, a cost we don't usually see. Despite how powerful the villain is, the defeat doesn't feel like a cop out. I figure this movie would have Thor and friends team up, and through their collective might triumph, it doesn't go that way. The heroes actually sacrifice.

While I'm not a die-hard Marvel superhero movie fan, this movie did a great job of holding my interest and making me curious to see Thor in future movies. While Loki has always been a fun character, I didn't like him as much this movie. He was more just a prop for Thor. Korg stole the show, and he needs to be in more movies.

Both GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Movies Shown Back To Back in 3D!!

Guys - here's some news sent to me that you might want to take advantage of - AND - get some cool collectibles. Enjoy GOTG2 - I know I'll be first in line!

REALD CREATES EXCLUSIVE 3D DOUBLE FEATURE FAN EVENT ALLOWING MOVIEGOERS A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME CHANCE TO SEE MARVEL STUDIOS’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 ALONG WITH THE ORIGINAL GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY AT SELECT THEATERS ON THURSDAY, MAY 4 NATIONWIDE

Los Angeles, CA – May 2, 2017- RealD, the world’s biggest 3D company has joined forces with some of the nation’s largest theater chains to offer a once-in-a-lifetime 3D double feature of Marvel Studios’ original Guardians of the Galaxy as well as the brand-new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, exclusively at RealD 3D-equipped theaters. The special double feature screenings will be offered on Thursday afternoon May 4 nationwide at more than 550 locations only in RealD, it was announced today by Travis Reid, President of Worldwide Cinema and Chief Operating Officer for RealD.

Guests who participate in the special fan event will receive an exclusive mini poster and a set of souvenir collectible buttons while supplies last. Participating exhibitors include some of the nation’s largest theater circuits, among them AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Cineplex, National Amusements, and Regal Cinemas. For a list of theaters playing the 3D double feature, visit http://reald.com/#/movies/gotgdoublefeature

“The visuals in the Guardians of the Galaxy universe are stunning and the movies are even more spectacular in RealD 3D. We wanted to create a fan experience as epic as the movies and we can’t think of a better way to get fans excited for the new film than to offer an exclusive double feature event and a chance to experience both Guardians of the Galaxy films back-to-back in 3D,” said Reid.

As the world’s leading 3D cinema system, no company has been more instrumental in perfecting, promoting or providing premium quality 3D experiences to audiences worldwide than RealD.


ABOUT REALD INC.
Globally recognized as the world’s visual technology leader, RealD pioneered digital 3D cinema and today has the world's largest 3D cinema platform. RealD’s dominant market share is comprised of a network of theatres that include more than 29,000 installed screens with a backlog of 3,000 additional contracted installations in 72 countries with over 1,200 exhibition partners. RealD is the world’s preeminent 3D brand, with well over 2 billion people having experienced a movie in RealD 3D.

ABOUT MARVEL STUDIOS’ GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2
Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel Studios’ “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” is written and directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Baby Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock, with Sylvester Stallone, and Kurt Russell. Kevin Feige is producing, and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jonathan Schwartz, Nikolas Korda and Stan Lee are the executive producers. Marvel Studios’

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” blasts into theaters on May 5, 2017.

Fantastic Week At The Advanced Imaging Society and VR Society Lumiere Awards!

Dignitaries on the red carpet, including Jim Chabin, Ed Bedley Jr., Ivan Reitman, Jon Favreau and Roy Taylor

The Advanced Imaging Society and VR Society held their 8th annual Lumiere awards last week and year after year they always seem to one up the previous! This year was no exception at the completely filled venue at the Stephen J. Ross Theater on the Warner Bros. Studios' backlot.

I was blown away by the VR (virtual reality) demonstrations that were set up for attendees to try. Simply amazing content and we've only just begun in the space! Trust me, if you haven't seen some of these cinematic VR experiences - do it. And the Google Tilt Brush was the icing on the cake. Again - you have to experience VR to appreciate it. No amount of hype or traditional media will probably prepare you for it. You just have to try it!

Native 3D Wizards Ben Gervais and Demetri Portelli

On the Advanced Imaging Side of things, I have to make special mention of Ang Lee's BILLY LYNN'S LONG HALFTIME WALK. The native 3D team of Demetri Portelli and Ben Gervais continues to lead the world by example with their superlative work in native 3D (shot optically - not converted in post). It is a technological first for cinema with its first ever use of combined 3D, 4K, 120fps framerate, but more importantly - it works. Another masterpiece for Ang Lee. A Lumiere well earned for Demetri and Ben!

Further, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the stellar 3D conversion and visual effects in Marvel's DOCTOR STRANGE. You know what I mean don't you? That astral plane projection scene - or the folding city scenes? Jaw dropping! Congratulations to Marvel Studios on your Lumiere.

I'm proud to be a recipient of Lumiere for last year's 40 BELOW AND FALLING (with an amazing crew and team) and honored to vote for this year's group of hopefuls. Let's take a look at the category nominees and winners:

3D Feature – Live Action
Assassin’s Creed – 20th Century Fox
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Warner Bros.
WINNER: Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Sony Pictures Entertainment
Captain America: Civil War – Marvel Studios
Doctor Strange – Marvel Studios
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Warner Bros.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – 20th Century Fox
Rogue One – Walt Disney Studios
Star Trek Beyond – Paramount Pictures
Suicide Squad – Warner Bros.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Paramount Pictures
The BFG – Walt Disney Studios
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.

Stereography – Live Action
Assassin’s Creed – 20th Century Fox
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Warner Bros.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Sony Pictures Entertainment
Captain America: Civil War – Marvel Studios
WINNER: Doctor Strange – Marvel Studios
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Warner Bros.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – 20th Century Fox
Rogue One – Walt Disney Studios
Star Trek Beyond – Paramount Pictures
Suicide Squad – Warner Bros.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Paramount Pictures
The BFG – Walt Disney Studios
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.

Packed house at the 2017 Lumieres - Jon Favreau seated at left; Ed Begley Jr. seated at right (Photo credit unknown)

3D Feature – Animated
Finding Dory – Pixar
Ice Age: Collision Course – 20th Century Fox
Kubo and the Two Strings – Focus Features
Kung Fu Panda 3 – DreamWorks Animation
Moana – Walt Disney Studios
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – Sony Pictures
Sing – Universal Pictures
Storks – Warner Bros.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Paramount
The Angry Birds Movie – Sony Pictures
The Great Wall – Universal Pictures
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.
The Secret Life of Pets – Universal Pictures
Trolls – DreamWorks Animation
WINNER: Zootopia – Walt Disney Studios

Stereography – Animated
Finding Dory – Pixar
Ice Age: Collision Course – 20th Century Fox
WINNER: Kubo and the Two Strings – Focus Features
Kung Fu Panda 3 – DreamWorks Animation
Moana – Walt Disney Studios
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – Sony Pictures
Sing – Universal Pictures
Storks – Warner Bros.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Paramount Pictures
The Angry Birds Movie – Sony Pictures
The Great Wall – Universal Pictures
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.
The Secret Life of Pets – Universal Pictures
Trolls – DreamWorks Animation
Zootopia – Walt Disney Studios

Outstanding Use of 2D to 3D Conversion
Assassin’s Creed – 20th Century Fox
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Warner Bros.
Captain America: Civil War – Marvel Studios
Doctor Strange – Marvel Studios
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Warner Bros.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – 20th Century Fox
WINNER: Rogue One – Walt Disney Studios
Star Trek Beyond – Paramount Pictures
Suicide Squad – Warner Bros.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Paramount Pictures
The BFG – Walt Disney Studios
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.

3D Short
Panda Paws – DreamWorks Animation
Piper – Pixar
The Early Hatchling Gets the Worm – Rovio Entertainment
WINNER: Inner Workings – Walt Disney Animation Studios

High Dynamic Range – Live Action
10 Cloverfield Lane – Paramount Pictures
13 Hours – The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi – Paramount Pictures
Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass – Walt Disney Pictures
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – Warner Bros.
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Sony Pictures Entertainment
Captain America: Civil War – Marvel Studios & Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Deadpool – 20th Century Fox
Deepwater Horizon – Lionsgate
Doctor Strange – Walt Disney Studios
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Warner Bros.
For A Few Bullets – Wanda Pictures
Force 2 – Viacom 18
Hardcore Henry – STX
Independence Day: Resurgence – 20th Century Fox
Inferno – Sony Pictures Entertainment
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back – Paramount
L.O.R.D (Legend of Ravaging Dynasties) – LeVision
La La Land – Lionsgate
WINNER: Live By Night – Warner Bros.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – 20th Century Fox
Now You see Me 2 – Lionsgate
Pete’s Dragon – Walt Disney Studios
Star Trek 3: Beyond – Paramount
Suicide Squad – Warner Bros.
The BFG – Walt Disney Studios
The Divergent Series: Allegiant PT.1 – Lionsgate
The Jungle Book – Walt Disney Pictures
The Legend of Tarzan – Warner Bros.
Warcraft – Legendary Pictures & Universal Pictures
X-Men Apocalypse – 20th Century Fox

High Dynamic Range – Animated
WINNER: Finding Dory – Walt Disney Studios
Ice Age Collision Course – 20th Century Fox
Kubo and the Two Strings – Universal Studios
Moana – Walt Disney Studios
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of The Shadows – Paramount
Zootopia – Walt Disney Studios

Virtual Reality Categories

VR – Gaming
A Chair in the Room: Greenwater – Wolf & Wood
Accounting – Squanchtendo with Crows Crows Crows
Batman: Arkham VR – Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Battlezone – Rebellion Developments
Chronos – Gunfire Games
Eve: Valkyrie – CCP Games
WINNER: Job Simulator – Owlchemy Labs
Raw Data – Survios
Space Pirate Trainer – I-Illusions
Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One X-Wing VR Mission – DICE & Criterion Games
The Gallery – Episode 1 Call of the Starseed – Cloudhead Games
The Lab – Valve Corporation

VR – Film Experience
Fantastic Beasts – Warner Bros., Google, Framestore VR Studio
WINNER: Ghostbusters VR Experience – Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Void
Star Wars: Trial on Tatooine – ILMxLAB
Suicide Squad: Special Ops VR – Warner Bros., Mob Scene & Atlas Entertainment, MPC VR & Legend 3D
The Jungle Book – Through Mowgli’s Eyes Part 1: Trust in Me – Walt Disney Studios & Tangerine Apps
The Martian VR Experience – 20th Century Fox, Fox Innovation Lab, RSA Films, The Virtual Reality Company

VR – Animation & CGI
Allumette – Penrose Studios
Apollo 11 VR Experience – Immersive VR Education
WINNER: Dear Angelica – Oculus Story Studio
Gnomes and Goblins – Jon Favreau, Wevr, Reality One
Grace – MacInnes Scott
Home: A VR Spacewalk – BBC & REWIND
Pearl – Google Spotlight Series
The Night Cafe: A VR Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh – Borrowed Light Studios
The Starry Night – Shanghai Media Group
theBlu – Wevr
Volt: Chain City – Vive Studios
Wide Awake President Trump VR Experience – MacInnes Scott

VR – Live Action
A Challenge – Brigantine Films
Cirque du Soleil, KÀ – Felix & Paul Studios
Knives – Adam Cosco
My Brother’s Keeper – PBS Digital Studios
WINNER: Nomads: Sea Gypsies – Felix & Paul Studios
Perspective Ch. 2: The Misdemeanor – Specular Theory & Rose Troche
The Harvest – Chapman University & AMD
The Mule – Dark Corner Studios
Through the Ages: President Obama Celebrates Americas National Parks – Felix & Paul Studios
VR Noir: A Day Before the Night – StartVR

VR – Episodic Content
Gone – Wevr & Skybound
Halcyon – Syfy (produced by Secret Location)
WINNER: Invisible – Doug Liman, 30 Ninjas, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), Jaunt VR, Samsung

Winner, VR - Documentary: THE CLICK EFFECT

VR – Documentary
A History of Cuban Dance – Lucy Walker
David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef – Atlantic Productions & Alchemy VR
Defying the Nazis VR – LIFE VR
Rhinos on the Move – Discovery VR
WINNER: The Click Effect – Annapurna Pictures & Here Be Dragons
The Edge of Space – KonceptVR

VR – Journalism
Calais: The Jungle – Sky News
Chernobyl 30 Years Later – ABC News VR
Defying the Beast – World Vision & Koncept VR
Great Performers: L.A. Noir – New York Times VR
Out of Exile: Daniel’s Story – Nonny de la Peńa & Emblematic Group
Remembering Pearl Harbor – LIFE VR
Struggle for Survival in the Devastated City of Aleppo – CNN
WINNER: Take Flight – New York Times 
“Toxic Tour” 360 – Oil Exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon – Huffington Post RYOT
Valen’s Reef – Vice

VR – Sports
360 Rio 2016 Olympics VR – BBC Sport
Closer (featuring David Beckham) – Sky VR & Sky Sports
Experience the Rio Olympics in Virtual Reality – NBC Olympics & Samsung
WINNER: Follow My Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals – Oculus & m ss ng p eces
NFL Immersed – Episode 1: Eagles Defensive Line – NFL Immersed & Two Bit Circus
NFL Immersed – Episode 4: Melvin Gordon & the Chargers Game Day Prep – NFL Immersed & Two Bit Circus

VR – Music
WINNER: Joshua Bell VR Experience – Sony PlayStation
Kygo: “Carry Me – The VR Experience” – Sony Music
OneRepublic: “Kids” – MPC Creative
Pentatonix: “Up on the Housetop” – Sony Music
TheWave – TheWaveVR
Waves – Wevr (with Reggie Watts)

VR – Branded
WINNER: 360 VR Tour of the Shinola Factory with Luke Wilson – Reel FX
Absolut Deadmau5 – Absolut
Audi’s VR Car Showroom Experience – Zero Light
Formula E “Leap of Faith” – REWIND
Jack Daniel’s 360 VR Distillery Experience – Jack Daniel’s & The Mill
Jaguar: I-PACE – REWIND (for Imagination & Jaguar Land Rover)
Reimagine, VR Film by Etihad Airways with Nicole Kidman – The Barbarian Group
Stan Lee’s Cosmic Crusaders – The Hollywood Reporter, GBI, POW, Legend VR
The Field Trip to Mars – McCann (for Lockheed Martin) & Framestore
The Nature Conservancy: This is Our Future – MPC Creative

Yours Truly and the amazing Jon Favreau

The 2017 recipient of the annual Harold Lloyd Award for Filmmaking goes to Jon Favreau! And deservedly so. His artful storytelling married to eye opening filmmaking technology has thrilled audiences time and time again. My favorite Favreau film (FavFavFilm?) is definitely CHEF although the original IRON MAN comes very, very close. It was wonderful chatting with him for the first time at the Lumieres!

I want to deeply thank Jim Chabin and his AIS team for their tireless work in pulling off these shows every year. It is an absolute pleasure to attend and cover them! Thank you Jim!!

Looking forward to what 2017 has in store for us in Advanced Imaging and VR! Stay tuned. As MarketSaw enters our 11th year of life, we're going to be making some awesome changes!

I'll leave you now with some poster shots of the cinematic VR content we were able to experience!

IT'S HERE!!! First Trailer For GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

Oh man have I been waiting for this one and it delivers. I won't spoil it, but really it's the characters that I have been wanting to see engage each other again, and engage they do!

What do you think? Are you excited about what James Gunn has in store this time around?

Marvel’s GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Chris Sullivan, Sean Gunn, Tommy Flanagan, Laura Haddock and Kurt Russell. Kevin Feige is producing, and Louis D’Esposito, Jonathan Schwartz, Victoria Alonso, Nik Korda and Stan Lee are the executive producers. The screenplay is by James Gunn.



GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is coming in May 2017.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Scott Derrickson

Country

USA

Cast

Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Chris Hemsworth, Stan Lee

Storyline

After a tragic car accident, Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) embarks on a journey of healing that eventually draws him into the world of the mystic arts.

Opinion

So far 2016 has been quite a disappointment on the superhero genre - mediocre DC Comics films, awful X-Men but good Captain America - so I was worried. The source material wasn't easy to work with either. But then I thought about a few years ago when Marvel brought to the screen something odd, "Guardians of the Galaxy", which turned out to be the best Marvel film ever.

What about "Doctor Strange"? Well, while it certainly isn't the best superhero flick ever made, it is an incredible, impressive, witty and fun film.

The thing I was worried the most was the story. I wasn't sure how they would have presented the character, and I was worried they were going to rush on the origins of Strange. But that didn't happen. Actually, the origin story of Doctor Strange is told in a quite glamorous way and it's easily the best part of the film. Plot speaking. Overall, the story is quite solid.

And now the characters. I believe he is one of the most interesting and fascinating characters from the Marvel Universe, and I was thrilled to see him on screen. And I really liked what they did with him. First of all the cast of an actor such as Benedict Cumberbatch was the best thing that could have happened to the character. He indeed gives a great, humour performance. Second, I liked how they balanced the humour and seriousness in the character.

The supporting characters aren't as good as I hoped - even though I loved Wong, both the character and the actor -, but the problem is another one. Unfortunately the film suffers from a problem that affects most of the Marvel films, the lack of a strong villain. Delivered with a great performance by the amazing Mads Mikkelsen, Caecilius is underdeveloped, lacks character and dialogue. And just like most of Marvel's villains, he lacks a motivation.

To make up for that big flaw there are a beautiful, mind-blowing cinematography, great visual effects - I watched it in 2D - and a great score.

Fantastic Four (2015)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Josh Trank

Country

USA

Cast

Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson, Dan Castellaneta, Tim Heidecker

Storyline

Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe which alters their physical form in shocking ways. The four must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend (Toby Kebbell) turned enemy.

Opinion

How many attempts does it take before making a film worth of the Fantastic Four, one of Marvel's best superheroes team ever? Apparently two isn't the magic number as "Fantastic Four" turned out to be another huge misfire that does not do justice to the team.

10 years after the mediocre "Fantastic Four", someone had the brilliant idea to re-imagine the origins of the team in a modern way. And to be honest choosing to make a reboot mostly focused on the adolescence of the future superheroes and villain was a great idea, the chance to make something similar to "X-Men: Days of Future Past". The filmmakers indeed dramatically expanded the relationship between Reed and Ben Grimm, but the script is so poorly written that the character's backstory still is incomprehensible, and the more the film progresses the more confusion is made.

The protagonists are nothing but spots on the screen, and instead of being the reason one would watch the film for, are just another boring component of the film. And don't let me start on the villain, he probably is the worst villain brought to screen ever!

The two most important factors in an action/sci-fi movie are a complete disaster as well. The special effects are very poor, especially The Thing that looks like he came straight out of a PS2 videogame. The action is almost non-existent, and utterly unengaging, and the final battle against Dr. Doom lasts something like 5 minutes.

The acting isn't better. I did love Miles Teller in "Whiplash", and he does put efforts in this film as well, but there is nothing he can do with the poor material he has been given. I was intrigued to see Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch but he's completely wasted. Same goes with his adopted sister Susan Storm played by Kate Mara.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Bryan Singer

Country

USA

Cast

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Lucas Till, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Josh Helman, Ben Hardy, Lana Condor, Hugh Jackman, Stan Lee

Storyline

Upon awakening after thousands of years, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

Opinion

Even though "X-Men: The Last Stand" screwed up the original trilogy, I didn't think, not even for a moment, that the ending chapter of the prequels trilogy could have been a disappointment. I mean, Bryan Singer is still directing and every single X-Men flick he has done so far turned out more than just fine. After Wednesday night I don't know what to believe in anymore.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" is a poor X-Men installment that fails to live up to its name, and once again proves that the third is always quite considerably the worst film of a trilogy.

The writing is a real mess and the biggest problem of the film. The story feels flat and too many times focuses on the wrong thing. Ravel, for example, gets tons of screen time and most of the time her story isn't very interesting or meaningful. The dialogue is quite awful for the whole running time, and sometimes it gets very cheesy and dull. The character development is basically non-existent, and some of the younger mutants are treated like garbage almost like they were thrown in the story because they were short on mutants - why are Storm and Psylocke even here? Just to cast two good looking women? Same goes with Wolverine and Moira MacTaggert, I guess they wanted two big names in the film.

And the villain. Oh my god the villain. What have they done to Apocalypse? Not only he is one of the most powerful mutants, but he also has an interesting and complex story and I was very intrigued to see him on screen. And you know what they did to him? They turned him into just another bad guy that wants to rule the world. He is dull, not that menacing and he is "dismissed" quickly in a confused and not very engaging final battle.

However the film wasn't a complete waste of time and money. Magneto, which once again I repeat is my favourite mutant and villain, is treated a little bit better than the others. He gets some quality screen time and Michael Fassbender's performance is rock solid, but Singer eventually screws up.

One of the things I was excited about was Quicksilver. I am not a huge fan of him, but I love, absolutely love the way Evan Peters portrayed him in the past. I'm super happy to say that he was amazing. He easily stole the show with his slow-motion scene, a scene that was so amazing that topped that slow-motion sequence of him in "X-Men: Days of Future Past". And he brings some humour which is exactly what the film needed.

Sure, the special effects are great and so is the action, and I have to say that Oscar Isaac did a pretty good job as Apocalypse considering the poor script he had to work with, but this is not enough, especially if the film is a sequel to two great films.

Movie Review - CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR - 9.1 Stars! Spoiler Free!!

I managed to see CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR in Real D at the local Ultra AVX premium large screen format Cineplex last night and I was not disappointed.

If you are a fan of the Marvel universe and especially the Avenger movies then you'll love CW. The humor - oh THE HUMOR is back. There's nothing quite like Marvel's brand of laughter out there and for that reason alone I recommend you go see it.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR is cerebral and comedic just when it needs to be. A beautiful accomplishment!

I won't spoil the movie for you but I will let you know a few things you can expect. The 3D was on par with everything else from Marvel except for just a few lazy areas which I thought should have been tighter - nothing to worry about though, most will miss them. The 3D conversion was done by StereoD as lead and Prime Focus as secondary. Also I felt some depth should have been dialed up for some key scenes that were not. Still, a good job. I gave it a ranking of 92%. I definitely wish that Marvel had gone with native 3D (DC for that matter - would have been a great differentiator), but it's too late to continue complaining I suppose.

Visual effects were jaw dropping of course including some new technology that was used for some up close scenes - you'll know when you see it. I can't comment on it or it will spoil the surprise!

I thought the visual effects, directing and score were the best accomplished tactical aspects of the movie, but really for me the comedy was gold. Again.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Captain America movies are generally more cerebral than the others in the universe and you can really isolate that juxtaposition when you see the other heroes mixed in and working together. Take Ant-Man for example - you'll know what I'm talking about when you see them together.

Yes, I missed the other Avengers that weren't included in the movie, but just seeing Spider-Man on the same screen is AMAZING.

Here's the movie's storyline:
Marvel’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.

Marvel’s CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd and Frank Grillo, with William Hurt and Daniel Brühl.

Anthony and Joe Russo are directing with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Patricia Whitcher, Nate Moore and Stan Lee are the executive producers. The screenplay is by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Get ready to pick a side and join the nonstop action playing out on two fronts when Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” opens in U.S. and Canadian theaters on May 6, 2016.

Go see this as soon as possible because if you're like me you're going to want to see it again very, very soon! Oh and I saw the trailer for DOCTOR STRANGE in 3D pre-rolling before CW - and WOW. Can't wait for that one! Cumberbatch looks perfect in the role.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Directors

Anthony Russo | Joe Russo

Country

USA

Cast

Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Tom Holland, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl, John Slattery, Kerry Condon, Martin Freeman, John Kani, Marisa Tomei, Hope Davis, Stan Lee

Storyline

After another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, the government decides to push for the Anti-Hero Registration Act, a law that limits heroes actions. This results in a division in The Avengers. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) stands with this Act, claiming that their actions must be kept in check otherwise cities will continue to be destroyed, but Captain America (Chris Evans) feels that saving the world is daring enough and that they cannot rely on the government to protect the world.

Opinion

Captain America movies have always been my favourites of the Marvel Cinematic Universe because they always manage to be a notch above the others, and the Russo brothers did it again with "Captain America: Civil War", a solid superhero flick as well as a complex, intelligent film that provides food for thoughts.

The story is simple but well constructed and keeps going smoothly until the end, there are no dead moments and the two and a half hours fly by. What I loved more about it is that the story isn't about the villain, but about the conflict between the two superheros factions: on one side we have Captain America, who believe they should be able to do their best to save the world and they should not reply on the government; on the other side we have Iron Man, who instead believes superheroes' actions should be controlled by the government to prevent more cities from being destroyed, and more people from dying. This is the beating heart of the film, and I was surprised by how well they managed to handle this matter, and by how the conflict is - or not - resolved (I won't spoil anything).

The film isn't by any mean perfect though. There are a lot of characters involved in this film it seems more like an Avenger movie than a sequel to "The Winter Soldier". Having said that, while each character has his duty and finds a place in the story - I was very excited to see Black Panther, a great Chadwick Boseman, for the first time and the new Spider-Man played by Tom Holland (I missed Andrew Garfield to be honest) -, there are just too many of them and there isn't enough time to develop them all.

Since the film mostly focused on the conflict, the villains are also kind of weak. While it gives him a good motivation and an ingenious plan, the screenplay doesn't leave much room for Baron Zemo, which is, by the way, wonderfully portrayed by Daniel Brühl - he even manages to make you sympathise with him. The second disappointment in the villains area is Crossbones. He is nothing more than a plot device and I was really hoping to see more of him.

And now the action. Just let me tell you this, if you are an action lover, you're going to love it. The action is arguably the best in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the much anticipated airport scene is spectacular.

The familiar faces on the cast do as usual, but two deserves to be mentioned because they really stepped up their game: Chris Evans and especially Robert Downey Jr. who gives a great perfomrance as a guilt ridden Tony Stark.

And at last but not least the inevitable comparison with Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". If you read my review, you know I liked the film, but like this one had some issues. Therefore I was worried about very quick reconciliations and one of the teams being portrayed as the wrong side, but thank god that didn't happen.

Deadpool (2016)

Genre

Action | Comedy | Romance | Sci-Fi

Director

Tim Miller

Country

USA | Canada

Cast

Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, T. J. Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapičić, Leslie Uggams, Jed Rees, Karan Soni, Stan Lee

Storyline

Subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, mercenary Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) adopts the alter ego Deadpool and hunts down the man (Ed Skrein) who nearly destroyed his life.

Opinion

Remember that "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" version Ryan Reynolds played in 2009? Bloody awful, wasn't it? We can finally forget about that pathetic attempt now, thank you Marvel!

Dirty, hilarious, romantic, very rude and violent, "Deadpool" is an excellent piece of entertainment as well as a total game changer for superhero movies.

First things first, thank god Fox has the rights. Just imagine how normal and probably boring this film would have been if Disney made it? Before this, I didn't see the need for an R rated Marvel film, but I was proved wrong. Sure, there's profanity everywhere, gratuitous nudity - I gotta admit it was kinda awkward when my mother asked me about the Stan Lee's cameo -, sex, a masturbation scene and Deadpool giving a handjob to a unicorn in the credits, but it wouldn't have worked the same without all of this.

The plot is simple: revenge. But the minimalist plot works perfectly here, because Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick - the great minds behind "Zombieland" - created a wonderful screenplay, full of humour, humorous moments and acrobatic, slapstick, and violent action scenes. 

The humour. To be honest I wasn't expecting the kind of juvenile humour this film has to offer for 108 minutes, but it works surprisingly well. Not every line or joke is great, but they don't really need to when you have a character like Deadpool. What else can I say about a film that had me laughing in the opening credits? And teases (not only) the audience in the post-credits scene? Just brilliant. 

The action is just beautiful. Every sequence is creative and infused with Deadpool's humour, the rallenty also works well, the fights choreography is great, and even though some CGI has been used, I'm sure lot of the credits goes to the impressive stunt work.

There's also a super '80s soundtrack. I haven't loved a soundtrack so much since "Guardians of the Galaxy".

Ryan Reynold plays Deadpool again after 7 years, but this guy is completely different from the other one. He fits the role of Deadpool wonderfully; he is hilarious and charismatic, and nails the role. He also has a great chemistry with Morena Baccarin who plays Vanessa, Deadpool love interest. Gotta give him the credits for the making of this film as well, because he started fighting for this film back in 2004 when "Blade: Trinity" was released. Ed Skrein gives quite a fantastic comedic performance as that British villain aka Francis aka Ajax. The supporting cast also does a good job.

In summary, don't bring your kids to see this. And I'd like to apologize for saying this is a superhero film, because it's not.