My Own Little World

Infinity War is the Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is a comparison made quite often – not just for this film, but for nearly every franchise. At some point, every gritty sequel will be likened to the practical perfection of Empire and its usurping of its predecessor’s formula. Whether this is deserved or not is a contentious subject with the fans of whatever franchise falls prey to the discussion. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though, Infinity War fits the mold perfectly. For the first time in these nineteen films, the stakes are real and not contrived by an incompetent villain. For the first time, the villain is a true psychopathic terror that gets true sympathy that can even approach empathy. For the first time (at least in an Avengers film), this group of god-like beings feels truly threatened by the antagonist, incapable of stopping them. There’s other parallels to be made for sure – like how both Infinity War and Empire split up ...

In closing the door on 2016, I realize that there are a lot of films that I have seen that unfortunately I was unable to review for one reason or another. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't want you guys to know what I think of most of these films, so just like the last couple of years I will be doing a few posts over the next month or so wrapping up all of the films I got a chance to see from this past year. First up, a trio of big blockbusters from early on in the year... Deadpool - Buy it, and eat some chimichangas while you're at it.  Deadpool is not your parents' superhero movie, and it also is one of the few superhero movies you wouldn't want to watch with your parents. Ryan Reynolds might have just saved his career with his witty delivery, and the way this film pokes fun at itself and other superhero movies is impeccable. The direction of these action sequences is also really solid, and the effects are done well too. It's a wild time an...

The Marvel movie machine is an unstoppable force that will earn its money whether or not they produce good films. Thankfully, they have a high standard for their films that makes them critically successful as well as commercially. However, that standard has been slipping as of late, with Iron Man 3  and Thor: The Dark World  drawing in some of the poorest reviews of the series. Does the second installment of the Captain's story bring Marvel back to its former heights? In short, yes. The Winter Soldier  succeeds where the recent Marvel films have not: the story. Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely make The Winter Soldier 's story suspenseful yet thematically rich at the same time. Like The Dark Knight trilogy, it mixes political undertones and themes prevalent in our world today with incredible action sequences and tense, chaotic moments, propelling the movie through its 150-minute running time quite quickly. It never lets up on its relentless pace, mak...