Tag: Robert Downey Jr

Movie Review: AVENGERS: ENDGAME – impressive, emotional end to the Avengers saga, but where can the studio possibly go from here?

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews1 Comment

Just about a year after Avengers: Infinity War was released, the second part of the story, Avengers: Endgame has descended upon the Earth, much like the kind of invading alien force audiences are all too familiar with, ironically, because of movies just like this.  I write this on Saturday, April 7 – opening weekend – and the movie is projected to have an opening weekend gross in excess of $1 billion, and that’s in addition to other cinematic records it is crushing.  Of course, the age-old question asks: is it any good?  My reaction is similar to that of Infinity War: it’s really good, and I really liked it, but it doesn’t get 5 stars, and left me with questions about the future of the entire Marvel franchise.

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Movie Review: AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR – a technically impressive achievement, but I didn’t quite love it.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews1 Comment

So the headline describes this movie perfectly for me.  Marvel’s 19th movie in its cinematic franchise is a hugely impressive piece of movie making, given the sheer scope.  I’m not just referring to the visuals, since this is generally the part of a CGI fest I find the least impressive.  No, the technical aspect I’m talking about are all the behind-the camera stuff, from script to production and everything in between (the legal department must have worked overtime for weeks on just the contracts).  Avengers: Infinity War is finally the main event that the franchise has been building toward since 2012’s Avengers, arguably 2011’s Captain America.

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Movie Review: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING – not the greatest title, but this latest version of the character is a BIG step up from both Maguire and Garfield’s.

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews3 Comments

Since I watched Spider Man: Homecoming, The Amazing Spider Man 2 has been on heavy rotation on TBS, and I’ve caught a few sequences over the past few days – enough to remind me how mediocre it was – indeed, some parts just descend into outright awfulness.  I was never a fan of Andrew Garfield’s two movies – the first one was serviceable, but I joined the naysayers because of the rebooted origin.  If there’s anyone alive who knows the character, they already have the origin story down.  Dressing it up a little differently and adding a veneer or familial mystery didn’t disguise the fact it was a stupid idea to essentially reboot the character as if the Raimi movies never happened.  At the very least, this is what Spider Man: Homecoming gets right.

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Movie Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

On By ANDREW HOPEIn Movie Reviews4 Comments

Civil War

Captain America: Civil War bears almost no resemblance to the comic book by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven from about 10 years ago, and when I heard about a cinematic attempt to do even a light adaptation of the book, I was dubious. On one hand, the Russos did tremendous work with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that movie had almost nothing to do with any of those arcs either, but then I heard the increasing cast count for this one, and got more than just a little wary. The sign that a superhero movie like this is going to hit the skids is when the cast begins to overwhelm the archplot – but when you are ostensibly making even a light adaptation of a character-dense, universe-changing plot like Civil War, you can’t avoid a giant cast. Continue reading “Movie Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR” →

Movie Review: THE JUDGE – Big names, but the movie still feels like a made-for-TV drama

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The Judge

On the surface, The Judge seemed like an old school can’t-lose star vehicle. In the 70s/80s, it would have been Newman, Pacino, Hoffman or Redford in the main role and probably would have done quite well critically and commercially at the the time. Fast forward a few decades later, and we have Robert Downey Jr in his current “rich prick” persona, strolling through each scene with the same kind of mannerisms and suave condescending, know-it-all attitude that has been his acting method since his 2008 resurrection. Continue reading “Movie Review: THE JUDGE – Big names, but the movie still feels like a made-for-TV drama” →