Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Score: 5 / 5

It's the Star Wars we've always wanted.

Stepping away from the Skywalker saga was a risky move on the franchise's part, and one that has more than paid off. We finally get a better understanding of galactic life away from the Jedi and the famous protagonists of the other films, an experience of war unlike any we've seen in the series. Of course, those of us who love the books have entertained these stories for years, but to see them in all their glory on the big screen is quite different. I suspect this film will also speak to fans of the video games, as it features violent action in a more grounded way than a cadre of Jedi with their lightsabers.

In every conceivable way, this is an improvement over The Force Awakens. Where the latter uses recycled plots, vague foreshadowing, sentiment and nostalgia, and ultimately nothing visually new, Rogue One features a totally fresh and inspired narrative, a contained standalone premise, intrigue and uncertainty, and constant new images, places, and sensations. From its first desolate scene, this picture revs up the energy and the novelty, and from there it keeps getting better. There is some shaky editing and pacing in the first half hour or so, as we jump from place to place and various characters with breakneck pace and bewildering connection, but it mellow out by the halfway point and brings the strands together in focused precision. By the time we reached the climactic battle on an idyllic beachfront, I was so overwhelmed with awe and excitement I was shaking in my seat.

A word of forewarning: you may want to reconsider taking your kids to this one. The film is about spies and impostors, paranoia and violence, and in case you weren't sure, war. There's a lot to admire in its female hero -- who doesn't succumb to a narrative of romance -- and its ragtag team of misfits who band together to bring down the Empire, a trope I expect we'll see a lot more of in the next four years of our political climate. And yet children may not appreciate or understand that our fabulous rebels are panicking, ruthless and desperate, and that their behaviors include targeting each other out of suspicion and self-interest; there's a lot of tension when the people you're working with will kill you at the slightest provocation, and when they're targeting the people you love. Similarly, while the film features little bloodshed (these are blasters and lightsabers, after all, not guns and machetes), it is first and foremost a war film. With its extended battle sequences, be prepared for some fatigue and the deaths of loved ones.

I might add that it's not all gloom and doom. It's a rousing story, one which surpasses its somber ending by sheer virtue of its ability to find light and hope in the darkness. This is achieved through an expert script, a fabulous score, and its little nods to the rest of the franchise. Keep your eyes open for Darth Vader, who is featured in a scene that will remind you of Halloween in its horror and violence; it reminds us why he is actually a bad guy. A few surprise visits from old faces such as Bail Organa, the thugs from the Mos Eisley cantina, our favorite robots, rebel senators and pilots, and of course our princess in white keep things interesting and fun. The most shocking (and apparently hotly debated) appearance comes from a digitally recreated Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. While some have criticized his appearance, I'd say he looks pretty good for being dead for 22 years. I don't think the filmmakers should have featured him as much as they did, considering they had an almost equivalent villain in Ben Mendelsohn's Director Krennic, but his presence was certainly enjoyable.

I might be blinded by my own enthusiasm, but this was for me one of the best pictures of the year. Timely and smart, risky and strong, it parades its spectacle out in arresting beauty and haunting import. Felicity Jones leads the adventure with intense command, and the visionary Gareth Edwards yet again shows his skills as a big-budget director with an eye not just for explosions but meaning. Make sure Rogue One is on your holiday list. You won't have a bad feeling about this.

IMDb: Rogue One

Moonlight (2016)

Score: 5 / 5

Moonlight is one of those films impossible to effectively describe, because any attempt at doing so lessens its importance, impact, and beauty. But obviously I'm going to try to do that here.

In a form befitting its theatrical origin, the film follows young Chiron through three stages of his life, each named after the labels and identifiers others place upon him. It's a calm, calculated, and precise film, focusing in on the character drama at play as we quickly fall in love with our main man. With intimate camerawork and lyrical style, the film engrosses our attention as it seduces our senses, enveloping us in a very specific world we almost never see on the big screen.

Director Barry Jenkins leads with intoxicating compassion, setting up the places and people in his picture and almost immediately subverting our expectations, shattering stereotypes and narrative tropes with deceptive tranquility. Most importantly, he unravels his complex themes -- notably questions of identity -- in such a way that long-silenced voices may be heard loud and clear. Despite the seemingly preachy nature of its themes, including family, poverty, sexuality, black masculinity, gay masculinity, crime, addiction, and adolescence, the film doesn't actually try to get a single message across; rather, it offers us a glimpse of a beautiful life on the edge, and we are left with impressions and emotions and understanding, to handle as we are able. Chiron (played alternately by Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and the incredible Trevante Rhodes) ventures through a world of isolation and a culture in which he seeks meaningful connection, and as we follow him we lose ourselves to him. His silence speaks volumes, and in an otherwise somber picture, his life shines through as a flame of hope.

It's like nothing I've ever seen on film before. If I had to, I'd compare it to Boyhood in sheer scope and emotional effect. But where that film proudly declares its importance, Moonlight quietly slides under your skin and shakes you to the core. Its unassuming, unpretentious style paradoxically heightens the film beyond a simple story of a young man coming of age and turns it into an iconic masterpiece. See it. It'll change your life.

IMDb: Moonlight

Miss Sloane (2016)

Score: 4 / 5

A political thriller of the highest caliber, Miss Sloane sears across the screen and into our eyeballs with ferocious wit and impeccable style. It is also in some ways the essence of why this Oscar season doesn't feel like an Oscar season.

Look at the recent releases in cinemas. Sure, big blockbusters can be more common as we leave summer and approach the holidays, but we've seen a surprising lack of real awards season contenders since October. Besides Arrival and Moonlight, can you even think of a real major Best Picture candidate? The last I would have guessed might have been Hell or High Water, but that was released almost half a year ago. I know we still have some major films coming up from Scorsese and Chazelle, among others, but it seems like this year's race is a last-minute hustle.

In Miss Sloane, we have a fierce screenplay that fizzles out at the end. We have a superstar performance from a leading woman that is ultimately overshadowed by unfocused direction. We have storytelling that is anything but original in design. Sound like other films we've been seeing all year? I don't want to get down on this particular movie, because it really is fabulous. But my anxieties have peaked with the looming of Golden Globe nominations tomorrow morning, and so I'm finally expressing my frustration at the lack of gold-worthy pictures this year.

That said, I loved this movie. I love political thrillers, courtroom dramas, feminist icons, high style, and sassy scripts, and this has all that and then some, and it's all here. Our titular hero is a lobbyist, formidable and vicious, famed and hated for her cunning and dubious means of achieving success (Does this sound timely to you??). Despite her gray-area ethics and debatable methods, Sloane cuts away the crap, reveling in her own sense of purpose and skill and thriving as she mows down her opponents. I felt invigorated and inspired as I watched her, but I would not be surprised if others felt alienated and even threatened by her (much like what people feel when they watch Frank Underwood do his thang on House of Cards). Jessica Chastain delivers a knockout performance in stunning costume, riding a tidal wave of seething emotion with grace and restraint. I'd argue that she is the only thing that keeps the film from a great big flop into obscurity.

While her performance is more than worth the viewing, the rest of the film suffers from less-inspired delivery. Perhaps it's our age of instant news and publicly shamed politics, perhaps it's the incessant white noise of crime procedurals and legal thrillers on television, but almost nothing about the story here feels urgent enough to deserve a feature-length production. It's like an episode of Damages or Scandal stretched over two hours' time with little melodramatic payoff and even less bloodshed. That doesn't mean the dialogue isn't heightened and sharp, even gasp-inducingly clever, it just means it all feels a little stale. And don't even get me started on the conceptually fabulous yet terribly executed ending. Thankfully, John Lithgow presides over the mess to keep things interesting.

So. Award-worthy? Maybe for Miss Chastain, but nobody else. Then again, who else really deserves an award anyway?

IMDb: Miss Sloane

Jane Got a Gun (2016)

Score: 2 / 5

For a run-of-the-mill Western, it's not bad. But in a genre all but dead, we definitely hope for something with a bit more kick.

Leading the otherwise traditional narrative is our female hero, Jane (Natalie Portman), whose skill with a gun is second only to her skill at emoting. While nursing her bullet-ridden hubby (Noah Emmerich), she prepares for the approach of a gang of outlaws, namely the "Bishop Boys" led by none other than Ewan McGregor with a black, triangular moustache and shiny prosthetic buck teeth. To aid her, she enlists her ex-lover Dan (Joel Edgerton) in booby-trapping her little home and fending off the raiders. As the climax approaches ever so sluggishly, we undergo flashbacks revealing the nature of the hatred between all parties involved, including the Civil War, lost letters, pregnancy, a boot in a river, and PG-rated prostitution.

Apart from its irritating title, Jane Got a Gun is a mess to watch. Thinly sketched characters, stock cinematography, and some of the worst pacing I've ever seen make viewing this movie a trip and a half, and that's before you've even broken out the whiskey. There's some nice set work, a nice performance from Portman, and occasionally nice visuals. But since when are Westerns "nice"? Poorly balancing between gritty action (when the movie succeeds) and sentimental melodrama (where the movie could succeed but notably fails), the picture teeters towards waste, forsaking the strengths of its lead talents in favor of shallow action and unfocused storytelling.

Even with its slim 90-some-minute running time, the film feels too long. There's no joy to be found in this world, unlike in Cowboys & Aliens, and even during what should feel like a rousing feminist climax and denouement, you really just pray it'll hurry up and finish. Conversely, if joy isn't your desire for Westerns, there's also only the shadow of darkness, no disturbing violence or moral compromises we have to endure like in The Hateful Eight or even parts of The Magnificent Seven (both of which arguably feature both joy and horror, seemingly perfect for the post-Western Western film).

It's worth a watch, if only for Portman, but only if you have nothing better to see.

IMDb: Jane Got a Gun

The Invitation (2016)

Score: 4 / 5

If you're looking for something dark and heavy to curl up with this winter, The Invitation awaits you right now on the Netflix. And while I usually don't care for spoiling plot points and climaxes for you, this time I'll refrain as much as possible. Not because this movie is a big mystery or unpredictable, but because the way in which it presents itself is so beautiful that summarizing it here would lessen the dramatic impact for you.

The film concerns a dinner party, one thrown in rural Hollywood Hills by Eden and her new husband David, who have been mysteriously absent from social life for the last two years. Invited are sundry past friends -- Tommy and his boyfriend Miguel, Clara, Ben, Gina, and Choi who is apparently running late -- and Eden's ex-husband Will and his new girlfriend Kira. Eden and Will had divorced while trying to cope with the sudden death of their young son, and each has dealt (or, rather, not) with that pain in vastly different ways. It's the first time this group has been together since that tragedy, and tensions run as high as their curiosities.

Most of the film is a riveting drama, focusing on the interactions of these individuals as they navigate the tough waters of maintaining social graces in awkward situations. Slow, calculated shots follow each of the players through their anxieties as the plot unfolds. There's something a little off about David and Eden, and once they reveal their whereabouts for the last two years, the thrills begin to mount. Careful writing and a gorgeous score work seamlessly together, heightening the already fabulous set and costume design, fashioning an elitist atmosphere of suspicion and paranoia.

Between the red herrings and devastating revelations, we as the audience are drawn into an acute awareness that these people are suffering not because of their current situation, but rather because of the polite constraints of their culture. Eden and David have seemingly sought out an answer for their pain and a means to escape the imprisoning niceties of society, and while the others are at times enamored or infuriated by it, none is more disturbed than Will, who slowly breaks down as he re-lives the tragedies of his past. Ultimately, of course, all hell breaks loose, and as their respective weapons are drawn, our cast neglects any form of decency and their baser instincts take control.

It's not really "horror", and if you're looking for action or wit, this isn't for you. As a keen observation of social graces and a piercing satire of the same, however, the film is a masterpiece, and one that requires a nice glass of wine and a darkened room to fully enjoy. Immersive and absorbing, the film offers a fairly unique vision that, while far from perfect, will stay with you for a long time after. Accept the Invitation, and see where it takes you.

IMDb: The Invitation

Moana (2016)

Score: 4.5 / 5

Another beautiful excursion in the era of Disney rebirth. From its opening short film, which sets up a narrative of self-discovery and infectious personal joy, Moana brings abundance of life to the big screen. While many parts feel derivative at best and downright racist at worst, ultimately the film keeps everything light, moving, and fun. To that end, the music by Mark Mancina, Opetaia Foa'i, and Lin-Manuel Miranda creates a fabulous sense of urgency and wonder, propelling us through the rich cultural world of Polynesia as we try to take it all in.

The story -- riding the wake of Frozen and Zootopia in the best possible ways -- brings together some of the strongest feminism and environmentalism we've seen from Disney yet. Moana, the chief's daughter, learns to lead her island while her heart calls her out to the sea (read: Pocahontas in the Pacific). Her pagan grandmother (Grandmother Willow, by extension), perceiving Moana's restlessness, reveals the history of the island and the nature of the troubles inflicting it. To save her people, Moana must journey across the seas to find the demigod Maui, who has stolen the heart of the life-goddess Te Fiti. Apparently only Maui can restore the heart, which will stop a terrible destructive darkness from consuming the world, but Maui is lost and in denial, having been overcome by the darkness he had unleashed.

Confused yet? Don't be. Apart from the occasionally confusing mythology (which is probably only confusing due to the rather white-appropriated vision we are presented with), the story is straightforward. Moana sets out across a beautifully realized seascape and some stunning visual effects with little but a raft/sailboat and a terribly stupid chicken sidekick. When she finds the selfish and proud demigod (who takes more than a little inspiration from Aladdin's Genie), she labors to convince him to help her, and ultimately understands that the quest is hers alone. Though the film repeatedly sets up Maui to be a reluctant hero, the climax features Moana as the true hero, braving impossible odds to make a stand against the vicious lava demon Te Ka and restore Te Fiti's heart.

You might have noticed the references the film makes. There are many more. Notably, and perhaps most obviously, there is a brief sequence that hilariously nods to Mad Max: Fury Road, but I won't spoil that for you. Still other moments hearken to The Little Mermaid, and one such holds off until after the credits, so stick around. Since there's such vocal online misunderstanding about this film and its supposed uniqueness in being culturally diverse, I would make a few points to that end. First, there is nothing groundbreaking here: We've never seen Polynesia quite like this before, but we have seen several Disneyfied indigenous films (Pocahontas, Brother Bear) as well as those with strong ethnic female protagonists (The Princess and the Frog, Mulan). Second, we will also notice that this film, like those, is directed by white men. Third, while the film may not get the nuances of culture correct (apparently there is some heated opposition from Pacific Islander culture), Disney almost never accurately portrays culture. Because it's animation. And a fantasy, at that. The characters aren't meant to be grounded and realistic, they are meant to be tropes and caricatures; if they weren't, it would be a live-action film, and probably a documentary. Does that make dangerous stereotyping and whitewashing okay? No, but it can inform our appreciation and discussion more than having people shout at each other on social media.

While some of this can get a little heavy, I don't mean to mislead you. The film is a rollicking adventure, one loaded with fierce energy and fabulous art design. It's a pretty conventional Disney tale done with anything but conventional style, and if it doesn't move you, Maui probably stole your heart too.

IMDb: Moana

Allied (2016)

Score: 4.5 / 5

Yet another example of poor marketing, Allied is one of those brilliant pictures that people aren't going to like because they have very specific expectations. Whether you go in wanting another Mr. & Mrs. Smith or some epic wartime romance, you will leave disappointed. If, however, you take it for what it is, it proves an intoxicatingly paranoid vision of marriage under extraordinary pressure. And while the film features several big-budget Robert Zemeckis trademark effects shots, his understanding of the relationships at its heart is made hauntingly clear.

In two knockout performances, Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard play two spies in French Morocco on a secret mission against the Nazi ambassador. While falling in love against their own better judgement, the Canadian Max and French Marianne successfully complete their mission and flee with their lives to London, where they marry and live happily ever after. The specter of war, as we know, did not leave London unscathed, however, and as the Blitz terrorizes the city, we learn from Max's commanders (Jared Harris and Simon McBurney) that Marianne is suspected of being a German spy. The mother of his child, he argues, is no such thing, but when the commander reveals suggestive information that their previous mission was not as it seemed, Max is ordered to lay a trap for his wife. The rest of the film follows the tortured Max as he alternately seeks the truth and denies the possibility that his wife is unfaithful to him and to country.

It's a slow-burner of the most excruciating kind. If you go in wanting smash-bang firefights, quick wit, and steamy sex, you may feel let down. If, however, you go in wanting damn impressive design work and period detail, a few thrilling moments of horror, and an unusually well-acted romance, this movie will stick with you for a long time. With the exception of a languid ending, predictable and almost ludicrously sentimental, the film keeps things taut and raw. Zemeckis perfects what he tried to do in What Lies Beneath. Grounded and only slightly stylized as only he can do, the director focuses our attention on the shaky balance between domesticity and what Freud called the unheimlich, that which is mysteriously familiar or uncanny.

Of course, we do have some fierce action scenes, notably during the Blitz. The last time I saw a terrifying Blitz sequence was in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and this one ranks with that. the assassination scene also doesn't disappoint, and its surprisingly violent execution sets up the brutality that we should expect in the climax. Unfortunately, that climax is nothing of the sort, and despite the awful writing during the last twenty minutes or so, Zemeckis does his best to keep things romantic and exciting. He only partially succeeds.

Hitchcockian in the best way, Allied will leave you hungry for another period thriller. I'd recommend, well, Hitchcock's Notorious, and argue that Marion Cotillard (in case you didn't already know) is basically the ultimate old-school leading lady. Every time we see her on screen, she gracefully steals the shot in gorgeous costumes and with a beguiling eye, an arresting presence and furious command of timing. It's the goddess in her element, and it's fabulous. Pitt, on the other hand, feels like he's gone back in time: Virile and strong, youthful and engaging, it feels like he hasn't aged at all, if you ignore the last seven years of his movies. Most important, he's still got it where it counts, and if you want some nice steam heat this winter, go on and check out this picture. The two of them lounging on a Casablanca rooftop or getting busy in their car amid a sandstorm certainly keep things hot in an otherwise chilly movie.

IMDb: Allied

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

Score: 4 / 5

Nervous as we all were about this new venture, Fantastic Beasts proves itself worthy of its notable talent and high expectations. Sure enough, this is no Harry Potter, and it has little in it worthy of much comparison. Whereas the Potter series thematically concerns itself with death, friendship, courage, love, and hope in its coming of age narrative, Newt Scamander's new series seems (at least from its initial installment) more interested in empowerment and autonomy, cleverness and kindness, multiculturalism and diversity, and just a dash of environmentalism. As you might be wondering, yes, this is about as timely as we could want.

It's also unabashedly fun. Eddie Redmayne's Newt is immediately lovable, sweet and quirky, lost in his own mind (and, often, briefcase). Apparently an ex-Hufflepuff, he finds himself quite alone in New York City in the early 1920s -- during the reign of terror of one Gellert Grindelwald -- having come to America to release one of his prize pets in its natural habitat, Newt knows precious little of the Jazz Age and American magical culture. We experience his awe at the detailed cityscape, replete with bobs and pinstripes, speakeasies and typically ignorant No-Majs (the unfortunately named Muggles this side of the pond). While Newt seems all too ready to reveal himself to a No-Maj named Jacob (the scene-stealing Dan Fogler), the ruling magical body MACUSA strictly enforces the secrecy and submission of its citizens. When Jacob inadvertently releases several magical creatures from Newt's care, an ex-Auror named Tina and her sister Queenie get involved. Together, they recapture the lost animals in lovely mini-adventures around the period city.

Of course, JK Rowling couldn't make the film so simple. So in addition to the mesmerizing period detail, she deftly sets up a dual plot, laying down only the skeletal tracks of the latter to, presumably, be fully realized in subsequent films. The second plot concerns young Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), an abused orphan whose adoptive mother (Samantha Morton) preaches publicly for witch hunts. Her bigotry and violence may seem a bit cheap to those of us familiar with the likes of Bellatrix Lestrange or Dolores Umbridge, but its blatant cruelty stand out in the otherwise buoyant film as impeccably timely.

The film's allegory for empowerment of suppressed culture is made perhaps most abundantly clear in young Credence, a character who is ultimately described as a Squib, but whose repression at the hands of his abusive mother has created a dark force of destructive power, the very force that has been wreaking havoc on the city. Percival Graves (played to perfection by Colin Farrell), a chief Auror, has secretly made Credence his informant through false promises and one of the most chemically intoxicating seductions of the year. Handsome, charming, and single-mindedly Machiavellian, Graves seems hellbent on discovering the violent spirit spreading chaos across the city, and when he does find it, his intentions for it become alarmingly clear only just before his disguise is stripped away.

Dressed in impeccable Colleen Atwood originals, Colin Farrell steals the whole movie away. He looks like a sort of Cruella deVille, and his presence onscreen is at once pleasing and fearsome. His only rival in show-stopping glory is Carmen Ejogo as Seraphina Picquery, President of MACUSA, though the film doesn't use her nearly enough.

What else can we say? The film moves almost too fast at times, and it will require multiple viewings to get all the references and Easter eggs. Watch out for news headlines, names bandied about, background creatures, and a certain symbolic necklace, to warn you about just a few. It's so packed with visual magic that, at times, the film feels anything but magical, and the action gets airy and inconsequential. The movie doesn't delve much into any backstories for the characters or even American culture, and it spends a fair amount of time setting up what will surely be the narrative trajectory of any subsequent films. While the film's obvious pandering to its target audience may cause us some irritation, there can be no doubt that seasoned director David Yates is fully in his element. His awareness of style and heart have few matches in modern big-budget cinema.

IMDb: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Arrival (2016)

Score: 5 / 5

Arrival, based on the fabulous "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, is the surprise of the year from visionary director Denis Villeneuve. By now, anything he does shouldn't be a surprise. Masquerading as a sci-fi blockbuster, the film is far more involved than you might expect. After several alien "shells" appear around the globe, the army enlists a linguist (Amy Adams) and a physicist (Jeremy Renner) to make contact with the occupants. In terms of plot, the film is straightforward: as the pair learns the alien language and attempts to discern their purpose on Earth, tensions around the globe escalate until violence breaks out. A breakthrough from the linguist prevents any carnage, however, and the aliens depart in peace.

Sound boring? Think again. The "breakthrough" in the alien language is more of a spiritual awakening in our linguist, wherein she glimpses the nature of the alien "Heptapods". Their language allows them to be in all times at once, rather than experiencing linear time. They reveal to her that, as she learns their language, she has begun to see the future, and that her free will may be exercised not by changing the future, but by adhering to it and learning from it. I can't say much more than that without spoiling the cinematic experience, but be aware that your tear ducts will get a full workout during the last twenty minutes.

Villeneuve, for all his subversive tendencies and cerebral wit, has outdone himself here. Taking the best parts of his previous work (the emotional heart of Prisoners, the dreamlike horrors and existential crisis of Enemy, and the climactic cinematography of Sicario), he fashions a startlingly cerebral film the likes of which I've not seen. I might compare it to a more beautiful version of Memento, in its non-linear structure and pacing. Actually, this film succeeds in every way that Interstellar failed, and if you saw that movie, you know exactly what I mean. There is no forced emotion here, and the nuances of Arrival are at least based in scientific and philosophic principles, whereas Interstellar goes for spectacle with little understanding of its own theoretical rules.

In his typically astonishing mastery of atmosphere, Villeneuve directs cinematographer Bradford Young (A Most Violent Year, Selma, Pawn Sacrifice) to the beautiful and strange, turning the plains of Montana into an ethereal vale of thick white fog. Long wideshots and graceful editing keep things grounded and picturesque, while moments of surrealism are accented by unweighted pans, not unlike in Gravity, that force us into a visual recognition of nonlinear storytelling. Notably, the scene when the humans enter the alien craft is the first time the camera becomes a character itself, and we watch in dizzying fashion as the scientists leap from their grounded lift to the walls of the vertical tunnel, and an artificial gravity anchors them. Much later, during the climax, our protagonist finds herself in the weightless, vertigo-inducing white mist where the Heptapods live, and the lack of distinguishable features forces us to similarly experience her ecstasy and enlightenment.

If you had told me my favorite movie of the fall would be about aliens, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and a strange hybrid of free will determinism, I would have laughed at you. But as we free-fall into Oscar season, I hope you take the time to see this one. It's solid sci-fi with minimal blockbuster crap, and a lot of heart to boot. Amy Adams perfectly plays as our haunted lead, and her usually Disneyfied princess smile is replaced with a tragic stare, and she shows us every subtlety in her character as she reclaims her past (her future? I don't know anymore) and declares her autonomous decision to continue living. What's better than smart, beautiful, feminist science fiction that sends your sensibilities on a postmodern trip while playing your heartstrings like a cello? Not much, my friends.

IMDb: Arrival

Doctor Strange (2016)

Score: 4.5 / 5

I shouldn't be surprised by what Marvel Studios produces anymore; with a budget that big, they can do just about anything and gt away with it. Yet Doctor Strange is not unlike Ant-Man in providing a suitable origin story for a new hero (who is unconventional and nauseatingly typical at once) while expanding our understanding of and appreciation for the world of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). Sure, it's got its dull, prideful hero who suffers a loss and spends the rest of the film seeking redemption. Sure, it's got its fake anti-hero villain with creepy eyes and accent who gets disintegrated at the end. Sure, it's got a potentially great female love-interest/sidekick who is woefully underwritten. But it's still a ton of fun.

If you can get past Benedict Cumberbatch's American inflections, he performs flawlessly as the doctor, showcasing his own intellect in a markedly different manner than we've seen before. He imbues some remarkably deadpan comedy to the wealthy, proud New Yorker, even when he has come to the end of his hope. He plays the character not unlike Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark in the first Iron Man, and his best moments are during his training in Kamar Taj and especially its library (his interactions with librarian Wong steal the movie).

Frankly, I was expecting a nightmare of visual effects, like in Ant-Man, as our hero bends reality and traverses  alternate dimensions. And while it is largely just that, the filmmakers have a couple of tricks up their sleeve. Most important is that everything feels weighted: great cinematography and sound mixing (and, yes, VFX) keep it all feeling substantial and grounded. While the images on screen begin to look like Inception run amok, director Scott Derrickson (Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose) keeps the action focused precisely and tightly on the actors. He also lets the background chaos order itself into impossible kaleidoscopic shapes; I wonder if the patterns that result are in fact easier for us to watch, allowing both Derrickson and the audience to peripherally absorb it without becoming too distracted.

Doctor Strange might host the best cast of any Marvel movie yet. Mads Mikkelsen plays Kaecilius, the baddie with glowing purple eyes and cracks in his face, and Chiwetel Ejiofor hammers out his Mordo with conviction and the promise of becoming a future anti-hero (stick around after the credits, guys!). Rachel McAdams is not as present as much as she should be, but she proves herself to be a capable and fully-functional heroine in her own right. Of course, the best parts of the film belong solely to Tilda Swinton, the Ancient One who teaches sorcerers in Kathmandu. Ethereal and surprisingly funny, she handles power and control of the film in a way Anthony Hopkins would have liked to in Thor. And then she made me cry at the end.

In context of the other films, this one fits nicely behind Ant-Man for the reasons I gave above. It feels a little disjointed after Civil War -- because dammit I want to know what happened to everybody! -- but it provides several pieces that will come into play later on down the franchise path. It reveals the Infinity Stone of Time and its power. It connects to the "multiverse", which we've heard of before in Thor and in Ant-Man. And it sets up (or, rather, teases) what we might expect in Ragnarok one year from now. The mid-credits scene (which I suspect comes from the third Thor, much like the Civil War scene we saw after Ant-Man was lifted from that film) shows Strange offering to help Thor and Loki find Odin. Which seems a bit, well, strange, since the last time we saw Odin and Loki was in The Dark World, when Thor thought Loki had sacrificed himself, but the latter was impersonating an apparently absent Odin. I guess we'll have to wait a while to find out what shenanigans are happening in Asgard.

One last note: the score in this movie is everything. Michael Giacchino is brilliant.

IMDb: Doctor Strange