Capsule Review (Minimal Spoilers):

Deadpool 2 is the followup film to the highly successful Deadpool movie from 2016. It easily earns its R rating for graphic violence, as well as for some of the humor, and is a worthy successor to the original.

It’s a story of loss and possible redemption that holds together, all held together with  Deadpool’s wise-cracking, never-serious, sensibilities. Highly recommended, and may require repeated viewings to get all the jokes and jabs.

There is a set of mid-credits scenes that put a hilarious cap to many of the things from the movie, and others.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

Thanks to a miscalculation on his part, Deadpool’s (Ryan Reynolds) life is turned upside down. In a twist of fate, he gets recruited by the X-men, as a trainee.  It does not go well, and he is sent to a special prison, where mutants are kept, without their powers, thanks to a special collar they are all forced to wear. Fortunately, a prison break appears when a mutant appears, Cable (Josh Brolin), with a personal vendetta. It’s all a big mess that is unwittingly caused by Deadpool.

When I was younger, I was never really aware of Deadpool, or what he was all about. I saw many Deadpool cosplayers at comic cons, but still didn’t get it until I saw the first film. He’s silly, irreverent, and breaks the fourth wall with such impunity that it makes him more endearing than he should be. After all, superhero films are rather ridiculous, so why not make fun of them, relentlessly? Deadpool has become one of my favourite superheroes to date.

No target is safe from Deadpool. Most of the jabs are directed to things within the Marvel Universe, but many are not. For example, the opening credits are thing of beauty, in that they start after a major event occurs, and they don’t reference anyone by name. Instead, some of them refer to the events that just happened, and you’ll agree with the sentiment. I’ll stop short of being specific, because they’re entertaining on their own. If you recall, the opening credits of the first movie did something similar. Very “out of the box” thinking.

The stunts are fitting, the jokes are crazy, but inspired, and story ends up being a lot better than I expected. What’s not to love, here?

Let me repeat – it’s Highly recommended because it NEVER takes itself seriously. It’s probably the best superhero movie I’ll see all year.

There is no post-credits sequence.

Capsule Review (Minimal Spoilers):

Solo: A Star Wars Story  is an expansion of the Star Wars Universe, telling the tale of how Han Solo got his start. It’s a long story that establishes him as a smuggler and a scoundrel, and in quite an entertaining way.

It’s a tale of twists and turns, with a bunch of ties to the Star Wars you know and love. It’s a bit unpredictable in spots, and somewhat predictable in others.

This film is well worth your time if you are a fan of Star Wars, and does NOT “ruin” your childhood, as some people claim for episodes The Force Awakens (VII) and The Last Jedi (VIII). You will be entertained. Note that there is some violence.

Recommended. Runtime is 2 Hours 15 minutes.

Standard Review (with minor plot spoilers):

Han Solo ( Alden Ehrenreich) has a rough start to his life. He is forced into a life of child/slave labor, but has bigger dreams, dreams that involve escaping, going to a place where the Empire doesn’t exist. With the help of a friend, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), he gets away, but the plans go bad right from the start. She is captured, and he vows to return for her. His only way out is to sign up for service in the Empire. Cut to a few years later, things haven’t worked out for Han, but things are about to change.

While it was being shot, the producers of the film had issues with the approach that the original directors (Phil Lord and Chris Miller) were taking, and had them removed. At the present time, reports indicate “Creative Differences”, but the rumors hint they were taking a risk on the story. Time will tell, but we shouldn’t judge the film by what they may or may not have done.

In the end, Ron Howard was selected, who’s done a few decent movies of his own. He’s created a caper movie that works on its own, even if it didn’t take place in the Star Wars universe. Han’s trying to score enough money to get a ship, so he can return home and get the girl, BUT, as with many things, it’s never that simple.  Some of the things we know about Han and Chewbacca are squeezed into the story, but they seem more natural  than simply happening because they’re supposed to.

The story gets convoluted, but not overly so. There are many good characters that come and go in this story, both sentient and artificial. There is a bunch of humor, and more than a few nods to tropes we know from all the films that came before this one.

I rather enjoyed my time with the movie, and I sincerely doubt people will complain  about how they’ve ruined Star Wars yet again. I do recommend it. Enjoy!

Capsule Review (minimal spoilers):

Avengers: Infinity War is the culmination of most of the Marvel Comic Universe (MCU)’s collection of superhero films. There are dozens of heroes in the film.

The villain, Thanos (Josh Brolin) is on a quest. He wants to take ownership of the Infinity Stones. According to the Marvel Wikia site, each of the stones possess unique capabilities that have been enhanced and altered by various alien civilizations for millennia.

These stones were separated, and have been spread out across the galaxy. When they are collected, they give their owner godlike powers. You’ve seen several of these stones in previous Marvel movies, most notably in the first Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanos is well on his way towards getting the full set, but the Avengers and others stand in their way.

This is an intense movie, and many things happen, both good and bad. To describe them would be to spoil them, so I will not do a more comprehensive review.

It suffices to say that they handle most of the superheroes well, and give each of the main ones enough screen time to satisfy most people. There are some bad special effects in the latter part of the film, but I suspect this is due to last minute changes, where they didn’t have enough time to properly integrate the CGI work to everyone’s satisfaction. They aren’t too noticeable, but they’re apparent if you look for them.

I definitely recommend the film.

Catch a trailer for the film here (as if you haven’t seen it far too many times already).

Capsule Summary *minimal spoilers):

RBG is a documentary by Julie Cohen and Betsy West, about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

This is a wonderful documentary about her. You get her background and her life’s story, which I barely. She’s a great voice on the court, and it touches upon all aspects of her life, right through current times. There are many interviews included in the film from a number of politicians and other spokespeople, some of which were surprising.

Rather than providing a dry lofty portrayal, it gets into various things that most people didn’t know about. She talks frankly about her struggles, and there’s a bit of the fandom that precedes her, and a bit about her fan base.

I wholeheartedly recommend this documentary, which has opened in NYC on May 4th. This movie will definitely be on my top ten list for 2018.

Catch a trailer for the film on imdb.com

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Love, Cecil is a documentary from Lisa Immordino Vreeland  of the life and times of Cecil Beaton, a reknowned photographer and Oscar-winning costume designer, for My Fair Lady and Gigi. This is a tale of his life, using portions of his diaries, collections of his photography, and art. There are celebrity interviews as well, including a fashion designer or two. He was somewhat of a misanthrope at times, but what person is without their flaws?

It’s narrated by Rupert Everett, who sounds remarkably like him compared to the interviews they used. It’s an engaging story.

I do recommend it.

You can view the trailer on YouTube

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

The ArtHouse Film Festival recently aired Godard Mon Amour, which tells the story of the relationship between filmmaker Jean Luc Godard and Anne Wiazemsky.  In 1966, Anne was 18 when she made her movie debut in one of his films. They married in 1967, and this story covers their time together, when Godard was in a transitional phase in his movie career.

It’s in French, with subtitles, and very slightly reminiscent of Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories, as it’s a slice of life for the couple when they’re not making movies. It is absurdist, funny, and also sad, often at the same time.

If that’s the sort of movie you appreciate, this one is for you. I enjoyed it, and recommend it for those that like such things.

You may watch the trailer on YouTube.

Main Review:

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not too familiar with Godard’s work, but that didn’t prevent me from liking this movie. There were some artistic choices that made me like it even more than I expected.

The film starts while they are filming  La Chinoise, a film on Communism that Godard believes will be groundbreaking. However, the Chinese embassy rejects the film as not being representative of their ideals. This puts Godard into a funk, but he decides to become more involved in the Communist movement, which is growing in popularity in France. They reject him too, claiming he’s too ingrained in populist culture. Throughout this, he and Anne try to document what’s going on, while remaining under the radar of the police. The people who do recognize him compliment his earlier work, which annoys him to no end.

There are several things that make the film entertaining. Some encounters with fans go awry, and other scenes that are just patently absurd, but fun to watch. There were a few stylistic choices made here, and most of them work well. The tension grows between Anne and Jean Luc, but there isn’t a satisfying conclusion. Regardless, I liked the movie.

The movie itself is based on a book written by Wiazemsky, and shopped around until she agreed to give the rights to one director, who was, apparently, the only one who asked her how funny she made it.

The film was originally called Le Redoutable, which refers to a French nuclear powered submarine. Why?  Well, see the movie and find out.

Capsule Summary (minimal spoilers):

Julia (Clea Duvall), an L.A. Photographer, is invited to go along with some hapless adventurers to create her next photo book, up above the Arctic Circle. She is ill-prepared for the trip, and is rescued by some locals. Heaven’s Floor is a semi-biographical story, written and directed by Lori Stoll, who experienced it firsthand.

The ArtHouse Film Festival group presented the movie. It’s a low key story, but very charming one about life and redemption. I was surprised to hear that the film, made in 2016, has not gotten a distributor. It’s well worth the time, so if it’s available, please do see it.

A trailer for the film can be seen on YouTube.