Avengers: Endgame

This is going to be a very vague and short review, because I want to keep this spoiler-free, and that's hard to do, because there are so many amazing scenes in this movie.

This is everything I wanted in a finale and more. Every character gets their perfect ending. The 3 hour runtime is not an issue, because it flies by like that. If you thought "Infinity War" was epic, you haven't seen anything yet. That film pales in comparison to this one. It's a shame this film is so epic, because it's the first movie of the summer 2019 season, and I don't think any film coming out this summer can match this. I cried so many tears of joy, because I was so overwhelmed by the epicness that is this movie! It's fanservice galore! My throat still hurts from how much cheering I did. This has the most epic final battle of any Marvel movie. It's the perfect way to put a lid on 11 years and more than 20 movies. This film is a nerd's dream come true! This movie redefines the word "epic"!
Grade: A+     10/10       5/5 stars

Shazam

DC has finally figured out that superhero movies are supposed to be fun escapism. This movie was delightful. For the most part, it didn't take itself too seriously (except for when it needed to), and was almost parody, but not quite. Zachary Levi hams it up in every scene, and is by far the highlight of the movie. The color scheme is also bright (which has been lacking from the latest DC movies). The villains' motivation could have been better (He feels like Syndrome from "The Incredibles"), and the stakes could have been a bit higher, but overall, it's an enjoyable film. The film does suffer from some tone issues, however. One minute it's trying to be a kids' movie, but then will have some kind of inappropriate jokes, and some kind of dark moments. It wasn't really clear what this film was trying to be. The film does have a lot of heart, and is very sweet. I'm hoping DC learns, and cracks the formula for making great (not just "good") superhero movies.

Grade: A-    9/10    4/5 stars

Dumbo (2019)

So far, with the exception of Pete's Dragon, I have liked every Disney live-action remake, and in most cases thought they actually improved on the original. This is not the case here. This movie is very inconsistent.  It tries to bring a new narrative, while at the same time, trying to be the original. I know the original is only an hour long, so they needed a new story, but that story is a mess. One minute it's saying "Hey, remember that scene you liked in the original? Here it is again in live-action." and then goes off the rails to become a completely different film. I wouldn't be surprised if they just greenlit the first draft of the script and called it a day. I was expecting more from Tim Burton. Burton has a certain style, and that style, is sadly not recognized here. If I was channel surfing and saw "Beetlejuice" or "1989 Batman" I would recognize it as a Tim Burton film. With this...anyone could have made it. In addition to plot and tone inconsistencies, the dialogue is also very clunky and stilted. Both the writing, and the delivery could have been drastically improved. It is a visual spectacular, the CGI is pretty impressive, but other than the visuals and Danny Elfman's score, there isn't much to appreciate here. "Dumbo" gets ready for liftoff, but never quite makes it all the way off the ground.

Grade: C      7/10     2.5/5 stars

Captive State

The first disappointing movie of 2019.  It's not horrible, and there is some effort put into it, but it's a narrative mess of a film. As soon as I got home I had to Google what this movie was actually about, because I was lost about 20 minutes in. John Goodman is good in this movie, and there are some exciting moments, but most of the time I was just confused as to what the story actually was. Bottom line: It's about aliens invading and taking over....and that's really all I'd be able to tell you. Obviously the goal of the film is to take back the planet from the aliens, but this goal is never really met, and the film spent too much time attempting to be a "clever" commentary on politics (?...) There is potential for a great movie in this story, but it's poorly executed here. It's disappointing, since the director's previous film "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was fantastic. This would have been better as a short film, and it also needed more thrills. It was just...bland.

Grade: C     6.5/10   2.5/5 stars

Mortal Engines

This is a mess of a film. The story is generic, the two leads have no chemistry, and the narrative jumps too quickly from one thing to the next. The only good things about this movie are Hugo Weaving, and the visual effects. The trailers made it seem like this was going to be similar to "Mad Max" with  technology/vehicle battle sequences. It was like that for the first 20 minutes, and then it goes in a whole other direction, and from that point loses steam. This seems like it was a case of poor editing, since the story jumps from plotline to plotline, while at the same time not being clear enough. 30 minutes in, I was still not sure who the main protagonist was, what the goal in the story was, or what the stakes were. That all becomes clear towards almost the end of the 2nd act. It was a case of "too little, too late." The visual effects are impressive, though. The machines are creative, and the robot villain was terrifying and had such realistic motion capture. But impressive visual effects alone, do not a good movie make. I did not feel any sort of connection with any of the main characters, and I was confused about the goals and stakes for 85% of the movie.  Now I know why this went to my local discount theater after only 2 weeks, and didn't even survive there, since it was gone from even there 1 week later.
Grade: D       4/10      1/5 stars

Captain Marvel

This is a perfect example of horrible marketing for a good movie. I wasn't too impressed with the trailers. They were kind of bland. I went into this with my expectations checked at the door, and this movie was above average. It wasn't as boring and uninteresting as the trailers led me to believe, but it still has faults. For an MCU movie, it's average, and for a movie it's above average. The main problem was it tried to hard to be another 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie, but without the risks. "Guardians" was a gamble. (A movie about a talking raccoon and a tree?! Marvel has lost their minds!). It tries to capture the wonder of a sci-fi movie, but plays it too safe. There were many factors that I felt didn't go as far as they could have. The plot is pretty paint-by-numbers as well. This movie 'borrows' too much from other films. It didn't feel enough like it's own thing.  There were some amusing moments, and one in particular that got a huge laugh out of me, but the film played it too safe. The CGI is pretty impressive. I couldn't tell that the aliens in the movie were CGI. However, when there are scenes of characters flying, it definitely looks CGI, and cheap CGI at that. (Think "video game trailer.") Larson's acting is not as wooden as the trailers would lead you to believe (most of the time anyway), nor is the character of Captain Marvel as narcissistic and rude as the trailers made her seem. She's nowhere close to my favorite MCU character, but I wouldn't mind seeing her return. I don't know what most of Hollywood has against Ben Mendelssohn's natural accent. Mendelssohn is a terrific actor, but in movies like "Ready Player One" and this one where they make him do an American accent, it sounds fake, and is distracting. And no, this movie is not a 2 hour lecture on feminism. Contrary to the marketing, Captain Marvel doesn't put down the male characters (at least not unprovoked.) This movie actually can be enjoyed by anyone. Marvel needs to re-evaluate their marketing team. 

Grade: B      8/10       3.5/5 stars

Robin Hood (2018)

I thought this was a fun movie! I don't understand why the critics and general audiences didn't like it. The main complaint with everyone seems to be the "historical inaccuracy", but yet these are the same people that are fine with the Disney cartoon where he's a fox. Go figure. Everyone in this movie did a great job. Ben Mendhelson as the villain is always fun. This does have the lately overused trope of ''This isn't the story of (legend/fairy tale/etc.) you think you know. No. This is the real story", which is getting tired and old. This feels so much like the first season of "Arrow" that this is probably the closest thing to a Green Arrow movie we're going to get for a while. I don't mind that, though. It had fun action scenes, some witty dialogue, and a stand-out cast. (Though Jamie Foxx's inconsistency with his 3 different accents was distracting). I was thoroughly entertained. I just wish it had ended where it ended. Because after it fades to black there's the "This isn't the end, here's our set up for a sequel!" which I'm tired of, because 90% of the time that happens there isn't a sequel, and considering this movie bombed with both critics and audiences, I'll be very surprised if it gets one. I'm glad I saw this movie. It was massively entertaining.
Grade: B      8/10      3.5/5 stars