Venom is one of the more popular Spider-Man villains, so him getting his own movie isn’t surprising. Unfortunately, “Venom” can’t decide what kind of a movie it is, and never really comes together as a fun ride or a gritty exploration of body horror and coming to terms with the monster within. Venom fans and Tom Hardy fans will want to see this, but everyone else will probably be unimpressed.
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Every major protagonist from all previous Marvel films
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.
If you’re a fan of the Marvel Studios movies, you have probably already seen “Avengers: Infinity War.” For casual fans, curious non-fans, and general folks who are still deciding: this is not a good introduction to this universe, and it’s not a typical Marvel Studios movie, either. It’s amazing on multiple levels, but it’s also full of more torture and death than the other Marvel movies combined.
Directed by: David Ayer Starring: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jay Hernandez, Joel Kinnaman, Jared Leto Rated: PG – 13 for sequences of violence and action throughout, disturbing behavior, suggestive content and language Where Marvel Comics landed square into their standard tone with “Iron Man,” DC Comics seems to be casting about. After a handful of increasingly gritty films, we’re now presented with “Suicide Squad,” which tries very hard to be both gritty and funny. That’s probably a necessity, in some ways – if you’re going to have a handful of supervillains as your protagonists, you need some humor or nobody’s going to empathize with them. “Suicide Squad” succeeds on some levels, but not on others, and whether someone likes it or not is largely dependent on which elements are most important to them. The squad of the title is the brainchild of Amanda Waller (Viola Davis). Her plan: the US government uses imprisoned
“Deadpool” is one of those rare comic book adaptations that works for both the long-time fan and the newcomer. For those of us who’ve been longing for a feature film about the merc with the mouth, this is the movie we wanted. For folks who don’t even know who the heck Deadpool is, if you like black-as-sin comedy, gloriously over-the-top violence, and fourth-wall-breaking meta-commentary, this is the movie you want, too. There’s a reason this film broke all kinds of opening-weekend box office records.
Iron Man is back, this time in his own movie – but in an unusual move for an action flick, the events of his previous film (the record-setting “The Avengers”) are not only mentioned but having negative consequences for his mental health. He doesn’t have time to sit around and deal with his issues, though – there’s a new villain on the scene, and he makes things personal for Tony very, very quickly.
Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman trilogy launched seven years ago with “Batman Begins,” and now it wraps up with “The Dark Knight Rises.” This is a solid conclusion for a film franchise that has been nominated for over 100 awards and earned the love of millions of fans. The final film doesn’t reach the mind-blowing heights of “The Dark Knight,” but it provides a satisfying conclusion to Nolan’s trilogy.
Once again, the Spider-Man story has been rebooted. Toby Maguire and the rest of the previous cast are gone, replaced by Andrew Garfield (aka the other guy from the Facebook movie) and a new crop of actors. It’s easy to approach this film with resentment — after all, why retell the Spider-Man origin story yet again, only ten years after the last time?
Thankfully, the team behind “The Amazing Spider-Man” seems to have gone all the way back to the drawing board, and started fresh.
“The Avengers” has been a long time coming. Starting with the post-credits scene in 2008’s “Iron Man” and through the four following movies (“The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” and “Captain America”), expectations around this film have been building slowly but surely. There was a lot riding on this, and it does not disappoint.
It’s still summer, and “Captain America” is a summer superhero movie if there ever was one. It takes us to a 1940s America where the little guy can achieve beyond his wildest dreams, and where good people can destroy evil with tenacity, luck, and a strong jawline.