Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Experimentation can often lead to powerfully triumphant results that no one expected to occur from the outset, while also leading towards results blowing up entirely in your face. All the effort in the world can’t prepare for those truly daring experiments, so sometimes you have to luck your to the end. That is what Rogue One: A Star Wars Story feels like on the whole. Something that took risks, gambled with a franchise bigger than sliced bread, and flew haphazardly by the seat of its pants towards an end result that is somewhat like an elegantly-crafted fork folded in on itself: beautiful to look at and appreciate, but with an ultimately wrong-ended point.

Rogue One takes place in the days leading up to the events of the original Star Wars film, A New Hope. A ragtag team of rebel spies and commandos band together to locate and steal the plans for the Empire’s newest, and painfully un-focus tested, superweapon: the Death Star. It’s an adventure that will span the underbelly of the Galaxy Far, Far Away and will have our new heroes test the limits of their morality, daring, and willingness to die for a desperate cause.

On the whole, director Gareth Edwards’s entry into the franchise hits all the beats any fan of the franchise wants hit. There are lots of little and large callbacks and connections to the original trilogy and the wider universe, every new concept and idea introduced adds to the franchise tapestry without taking any of it away, and there’s blue milk. Because there should always be blue milk. Sometimes this does become uncomfortable, such as when they begin to puppeteer the computer-generated corpse of Peter Cushing around like a dead rat marionette theater, but on the whole it’s all unobtrusive.

The central cast does its part to bring new dimension to this universe, but not that much depth. While a good sense of each character is gained, there isn’t enough time given to any one character to make them a truly fleshed-out individual. Each one does bring his or her own new concept to the table; like the morally-bankrupt rebel spy, the semi-Force sensitive martial artist, or even the put-upon Imperial middle manager, but not much is done to bring these roles to their full potential. We’re left with archetypes that have faint shadows of individuality.

The climax is therefore left lacking a strong emotional punch when your entire main cast consists of strangers you hardly know. But other than that, the final half of Rogue One, compared the first half’s slow burn, is phenomenal. Epic space battles and heated ground combat that rivals any other kind of combat in the genre. This climax does what it can to bring as much emotional catharsis as possible, but without those strong character connections, it doesn’t do much more than offer a parade of sensory spectacle. It’s fine, it all works within itself, but for what this story was trying to be I expected a lot more from it. The movie wanted me to care about these people and their plight, but it doesn't do all that much to make me connected to them as people.

Of course none of these pieces, for better or worse, work on their own. There’s so much left unexplained and cut off from view that it can do nothing but confuse anyone not at least somewhat familiar with lazer swords and the aforementioned blue milk. As a deep fan of this universe, Rogue One drifts uneasily between disappointment and mild enjoyment for me. I truly wanted to love this movie, but the execution just left a lot to be desired.

Score: C

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Harry Potter has become such a monolithic and divisive franchise at this point that it’s difficult for me to come to a solid conclusion on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I have been a fan of the books for most of my life, beginning when my teacher read them to my first grade class. “Nostalgic” doesn’t even begin to cover how I feel about this world. But despite that, I still believe Fantastic Beasts is a universally good movie, if a bit lopsided.

Taking place in 1926, the movie follows the misadventures of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), his non-magical acquaintance Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), disgraced magical cop Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), and her telepathic sister Queenie (Alison Sudol). Scamander is an eccentric, introverted magizoologist (like a regular zoologist, but for magical animals, obviously) from England recently arrived in New York with a mysterious enchanted suitcase and an even more mysterious agenda. He is quickly swept up in the local controversies, all revolving around recent attacks by a mysterious creature that threatens to put the magical and non-magical communities at war with one another, and must navigate the tense American magical landscape in order to save himself, his allies, the city of New York, and his animal companions from harm.

Now. If that sounds a little bit busy and unfocused to you, that’s because it is. Fantastic Beasts has a serious issue with structure. The entire first act consists of set-ups and leads that are so scattered, it’s difficult to piece together exactly why anything we’re seeing is important on any level. Act two and three manage to bring them closer and to a unified end, respectively, but that rocky start did not do the film any favors. Couple that with the fact that movie is unconcerned with explaining anything about this world (it assumes if you’re here, you’re already familiar with Harry Potter to a degree), and you get something that threatens to be nigh-incomprehensible.

There is, however, a key element that manages to save the film from its huge, glaring structural issue: the characters. This is a fun, well-rounded group of people that draw you in with completely relatable personal desires, as well as the brilliant subtleties the actors convey throughout. A stand-out performer is hard to pinpoint, but there are several candidates.

Starting from the top is Eddie Redmayne’s Newt Scamander. Redmayne’s quiet eccentricity is a refreshing change of pace for the usually boisterous eccentric hero we see in this sort of film. And that reserved energy lends itself to allow for a greater sharing of the spotlight. The non-magical Jacob Kowalski played by Dan Fogler threatens to steal every scene he’s in with his lovable nervous enthusiasm at everything magical going on around him. And Katharine Waterson and Alison Sudol both bring in equally enjoyable performances that nicely round out the leading quartet. This is much more of an ensemble piece and the movie benefits greatly from the sharing of character importance.

The effects are nicely implemented, if overdone at times. While you may not totally believe in the creatures themselves, you certainly believe Scamander’s connection to them. Emotional connection and chemistry are a vital part of this movie's DNA and it’s these strong factor that pulls everything together.

Fantastic Beasts may not have been as fantastic as I would have liked, but it still managed to wrap up admirably and provide solid entertainment throughout. Coming from a lifelong fan of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, I was reasonably pleased and patiently await the next chapter in this era of the saga. And I think anyone could be too, to an extent.

Score: B

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is a brave first step into a much stranger world for Marvel. These movies have, up until this point, been mostly concerned with the realm of super-science and only the occasional tangent into the fantastical. But now we have full-on, uncensored, uncut magic in this world and it is beyond wonder.

Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is one of the world’s most gifted neurosurgeons. Like most god-tier doctors, he’s arrogant, brash, and overly concerned with his own reputation. All that changes when he gets into a car crash (don’t text and drive, kids) and completely destroys the nerves in his hands, ending his career as a surgeon. Strange seeks out any remedy he can find, but Western medicine fails him. So he heads East in search of healing. Instead, he finds the ancient mystical temple of Kamar-Taj and becomes the student of an immortal sorcerer known only as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). While learning the ways of magic and re-learning everything he thinks about the world, he’ll team up with other powerful sorcerers (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong), combat agents of the extra-dimensional warlord Dormammu, and save the world from the forces of darkness. The doctor is in.

Seizing the imagination when it comes to magic can be a tricky act to pull-off, but Doctor Strange manages it in spades. Pulling inspiration from Steve Ditko’s original art from the comics, the visuals and world of Doctor Strange are mind-boggling. Space is warped and time becomes bendable as we accompany Strange on his journey through psychedelic dimensions and mirrored worlds. The colors and vibrant unreality challenges the mind not to understand, but to give up trying to understand. That is the true beauty of this movie.

From the get-go, we are told that this world of magic is not always going to make sense. And that’s perfectly fine. Science and natural world beg to be understood. But this is the unnatural world. Trying to understand it is like trying to understand the filmography of Nicholas Cage. There’s no point to it because at some point you’ll learn of a new element that breaks down everything you once knew about how the world should work. It is the perfect counter-point to the science of the MCU thus far.

The cast does an overall serviceable job in getting to the heart of this world. Benedict Cumberbatch brought his usual bold energy to the role of Strange and this proves to be one of the few times where ravenous, fan-driven casting succeeds.

Rachel McAdams as Strange’s hospital colleague was the weakest link in the chain, having very little to do in the film. Her role as his connection to humanity was firmly established and implemented well enough, but the added romantic element wasn’t necessary. I did appreciate where it was left off during their final encounter.

Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius managed to rise above the usual lackluster crop of villains seen in these movies, but just barely. For a movie like this, where the world and visual spectacle are the real stars, the role of the villain is secondary. Kaecilius is effective, nothing more, nothing less. And that’s all he has to be.

All in all, Doctor Strange is an above average entry into the Marvel canon with an astounding visual eye and enough likable characters to warrant multiple repeated viewings.

Score: B+

Voltron: Legendary Defender

For the uninitiated, Voltron: Defender of the Universe is a classic giant robot show from the 80's about five pilots who defend the universe (duh) from the evil space empire of King Zarkon. They fly giant color-coordinated robots lions that combine to form a cool, giant robot with a cool, giant sword; the titular Voltron.

The 80's Voltron cartoon was light, simple, and fun. It doesn't hold up nowadays, but the appeal can be seen. And given that Voltron is one of the grand-daddies of color-coordinated robot team shows, I wouldn't dream of besmirching its good name. There's been several continuations over the years; sequel series, comics, and the like, but none of it ever had the same sort of punch the original had in terms of dedication and semi-quality.

Voltron: Legendary Defender has changed that.

In the future, five pilots are gathered together by an ancient magic princess and the forces of destiny to save the universe from the evil empire of Zarkon. These pilots are Shiro, the leader fresh from an escape from alien captivity; Keith, a fierce and headstrong combat ace; Lance, a goofy self-styled ladies man; Hunk, a caring and motion sick engineer; and Pidge, the tech-savvy youngster of the group. Together, along with Princess Allura and her advisor Coran, they must overcome their personal struggles to rise and become the legendary defender of the universe: Voltron.

Legendary Defender is a Netflix exclusive and come to us from Lauren Montgomery, Joaquim Dos Santos, and Tim Hedrick who were all deeply involved in the production of animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel The Legend of Korra. Along with them comes Studio Mir, the Korean animation house that worked on both series. The quality and prestige of these talents shows in every level of production. This is a true successor to the Avatar legacy and worthy to be within the same animation family as both series.

The art design and animation are crisp and fluid, highly reminiscent of where's Korra ended up by the end of its run. Lighting and colors making the whole universe vibrant and exotic. The melding of 2D and 3D animation is masterful and doesn't detract from the world in the slightest. One would be hard-pressed to find a current better looking animated series on any platform.

Some shortcuts were taken, however. Certain scenes feel like bits are missing. It's nothing to ruin the overall flow. Often the narrative with take a leap which causes an occasional "okay, I guess we're here now," sort of jump. Attached to that is a noticeable ill-treatment of time. The viewer definitely has to take liberties with how fast each scene is moving in comparison to the others judging by how often they match-up in the most awkward of ways. However, these are only hiccups in an overall solid output.

Story-wise, the plots from episode-to-episode and even the overall narrative feel tired. If anyone's ever watched a sci-fi, fantasy, or drama show with some gray hair on it, these stories will feel all to familiar. They're well-told versions of these stories, but nothing new is done. The saving grace comes from character.

Even though we only get to see them for the span of a single hour-long special and ten normal-length episodes, this is a surprisingly well-realized  cast of characters. The production team has taken the basics of who these people are from the original series and truly remastered and fleshed them out. Certain new twists to certain characters are added that are pulled-off remarkably well. The character of Shiro has also been reworked entirely, given the original was a comedically over-the-top Norwegian stereotype and no I am not kidding that was an actual thing.

The cast, front-lined by of The Walking Dead's Steven Yuen, Adventure Time's Jeremy Shada, Kimberly Brooks, and Josh Keaton, all do a remarkable job and breathe palpable life into these people. From this short introduction, I definitely want to see more of these people and their adventures. This is only the first season, after all. Other shows don't get nearly this much done in the same amount of time. Even Korra didn't have this strong of a first season.

But if there is one huge, glaring fault, it's the ending. Legendary Defender ends on one of the most frustrating cliffhangers in recent memory, cutting off right in the middle of an action scene. There was a way for them to leave the story on a relatively stable note, and then save the set-up for the cliffhanger for the next (presumed) season, and it's difficult to understand why the production staff decided to take it in the direction they did. I suppose it does create a rabid froth for more Voltron. So a second season is guaranteed by fan reaction, but I don't think they had to stoop to that level for support.

On a final note, the music is incredible. It's reminiscent of 80's synth in the best possible way. Each scene is accented by its majesty and I desire that soundtrack greatly.

This type of show obviously isn't for everyone. Some will scoff at it from outset, which is fine by them. But there's real heart, dedication, and quality being put forth here. This is the show for all current competitors to attempt to beat as far as I'm concerned.

And it's a must-watch for fans of the Avatar shows. This will scratch that itch, trust me. It may not do it to the extent that you want it to, but it'll help alleviate the pain until something new comes from that world of the Four Nations.

As someone who has never cared about Voltron beyond that one breakdancing Robot Chicken parody, I'm glad to have another amazing realm of science-fiction to love. This a fun, crazy magical space opera with lovable characters, engaging action, and a plot with a great deal of future potential.

I look forward to what comes in the future.

Score: A-

X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse is fine. It's actually quite commendable just how fine it ends up being. At times it even revels in being just fine. Which is, of course, fine. If that's the bar you want to set for yourself, you can do a hell of a lot worse than fine. The fact that Apocalypse manages to be just fine is a godsend and the best anyone could hope for with Bryan Singer once again at the wheel.

The man isn't a bad director. In fact, he's perfectly fine. Which has been the problem with the entire X-Men franchise to this point. Even the ones we considered good way back in the dark days before the Marvel Cinematic Universe, those being the original X-Men and X2, just don't measure up to First Class or even Days of Future Past. And those only manage to be more than fine because Matthew Vaughn directed one and Singer picked up the sloppy seconds for the other. Now the influence of fresh blood has long since been squeezed out and we are once again back to the status quo of X-Men movies which are just fine. This is, as I said, perfectly fine, but the X-Men can be so much more than what Bryan Singer can manage.

At any rate: X-Men: Apocalypse. It's 1983 and all the returning cast members look like they've only aged about two years in an eleven year time-span since Days of Future Past (funny that). Charles Xavier has opened and established his School for Gifted Youngsters proper just in time for lazer-eyed Cyclops to enroll and meet telekinetic psychic extraordinaire Jean Grey, the super-smart super-strong Beast, the awkwardly adorable Nightcrawler, God Mode speedster Quicksilver, and Jennifer Lawrence who is trying her best to still care about being in an X-Men movie.

While the youngsters are meeting and greeting, Apocalypse, our big bad for the evening, has awoken from his ten thousand years of slumber. And now that he's free, it's time to conquer Earth. He gathers around him four Horsepeople (both men and women because even ancient Egyptian mutants respect gender equality) to guard him as he sets out to do all kinds of mean things. The Solid Gold Apocalypse Dancers includes Magneto (fresh from the deaths of his family and looking to vent all kinds of emotions), Storm (who is never actually called "Storm" therefore finally completing the circle of never actually being referred to by her proper name of Ororo Munroe, and now just doesn't have a name at all), Psylocke (somehow ending up as the most comics-accurate character in the entire film for some reason), and Angel (who is also in the movie). Now it's up to the mutant teenagers with attitude to put a stop to all the nasty world-conquering business.

The best thing Apocalypse has going for it is that it doesn't ruin anything and it never makes you glance at your watch. It's the point of being fine that I keep coming back to. All of the X-Men we know and love are depicted as they are supposed to be. There's nothing more to them, no substance, no defined arcs or depth, but they're fine. At no point did I ever think to myself "They've ruined him/her for all time!" But there's also no point I ever thought that they did anything of note with any of them. The worst off are Apocalypse's Horsepeople, who all look to have very interesting lives and personalities, but those aspects are snuffed out once they become a part of his goon squad. Except for Michael Fassbender's Magneto, but that's just Michael Fassbender. He makes everyone look far, FAR worse by comparison.

Notably the costumes the characters wear at the absolute end of the film are phenomenal, but for the majority we're stuck with civilian clothes are all-black pseudo-armor. I'll never understand Singer's fetish for this kind of gear, but hopefully this'll be the last we ever see of it.

Quicksilver is given another impressive slo-mo sequence, this one taking place during an explosion and getting their speedster bang for the speedster buck. But there's far too much jumping around making it less coherent and impressive than the one in Days of Future Past. Still nice and quirky, but it's been done better.

Also, Wolverine shows up. He's the best there is at what he does, and what he does is run around half-naked covered in stupid future tech looking very upset and stabs mall cops. There's nothing else to it and the sequence itself only exists to pad out the run time, but it's always good to see Hugh Jackman doing things. It's also especially good to see Wolverine get a little bloody for once.

Yet, nothing that happens is of any substance. There's just too many balls in the air. There's the young and familiar X-Men to establish, Mystique has to do her thing, Magneto has to do something because apparently he always has to be around even if he has NOTHING TO DO, Apocalypse has to be the villain, the Horsepeople have to do their things, and prom is, as always, tomorrow. Yet, just one month ago Captain America: Civil War managed to perform a similar juggling act and pulled it off magnificently so really the problem here is the direction.

Apocalypse strives to be something more, but ends up being fine. It does nothing, doesn't reveal a new dimension of these characters, and brings nothing new to the table of superhero cinema. But it also doesn't fail. Everything is by-the-books superhero fun, without anything to spice up the formula. Hopefully, for the next one, someone new is allowed to breath life into this franchise. I'm tired of mediocre X-Men films. They deserve so much better than this.

Score: C-

Overwatch

Blizzard was gracious enough to allow Battle.Net users free access to their newest IP Overwatch for a limited time last week, so I spent a whole lot of time playing it. However, I haven't had the best relationship with Blizzard as of late. Despite the impressive showings of Diablo III and StarCraft II, World of Warcraft only continues to disappoint me. I grew to love the series thanks to Wacraft III and I thought I liked WoW for the longest time. But then I came to the conclusion that I kind of hate WoW. It sterilizes the universe and the MMO formula just isn't for me.

Hearing about them making something new didn't really excite me. I didn't want to waste my time or risk falling in love with something that just going to be ruined down the line by a worthless MMO component. But then I started reading more about the world of Overwatch and then I got my filthy mitts on the game itself. Now I think I'm willing to open my heart to Blizzard again. Because apparently I'm the videogame audience equivalent of an abused spouse.

Overwatch is what you'd get if Marvel Comics and Street Fighter had a baby that was raised by Team Fortress 2. By that I mean its cast of playable heroes has the multi-cultural cartoon energy of the Street Fighter games, the down-home relatable attitude of the Marvel universe superheroes, and a more rewarding version of the Team Fortress 2 class-based shooter gameplay.

The world of Overwatch is one of advance technology. Robots are second-class citizens, people with cybernetic parts are common, and all kinds of wacky scientific experiments go on all the time. The central story that informs upon the game is about an international peacekeeping organization of what are essentially superheroes. A few years ago this peacekeeping force was disbanded due to an as-of-yet unexplained controversy. However, recent events involving terrorist attacks and assassinations have led many of these heroes to come out of their exile, band together, and defend the world once again. The game itself has nothing to do with this plot, but we'll get to that later.

Each character follows a classic archetype (the super soldier, the femme fatale, cyborg ninja, cowboy, ape scientist, etc.), but they have their own unique twist and backstory that builds a much more engaging universe to set the stage for these arena battles. Every single one of them is well-realized, designed, and unique. They're actual people with their own quirks and faults. More surprising is the fact that out of a cast of almost two dozen individuals, only one of them can be considered "evil," and even that's a stretch of the definition.

Take Tracer, the lovely young English lady pictured above, for example. She was a pilot until a test flight with an experimental jet went wrong (as they often do). Because it was an experimental teleporting jet and some of that time travel juice got onto her, Tracer is forced to wear that special blue chest piece to keep herself locked into the regular timeline or else she'll phase in and out of reality. But it also allows her to teleport a short distance and reverse her own timeline a few seconds. Tracer was the youngest member of Overwatch at the time it was disbanded and the first to sign back up when the bricks start to hit the fan. She's quick, energetic, and playful, but also annoying in that way Spider-Man constantly pesters his foes. Each cast member has a similarly well-rounded origin story and charcateritics that builds a world of endearing adventure.

The actual game of Overwatch takes these interesting people, and has them all murder each other in fast-paced, frantic team shooter madness. The player chooses one hero from the roster and in a team of five other players must accomplish an objective specific to each randomly selected map (either transporting a vehicle through a city or maintaining a hold on a specific area for a certain amount of time). The heroes each fulfill a role of offense, defense, support, and tank. Ideally, each team selects certain heroes from each category to beat the other team's selection of heroes and win the game. You're also allowed to switch to any hero you want during each match, allowing a great deal of freedom in strategizing your approach to whatever obstacles the other team throws your way. The result is something shockingly well-balanced and a hell of a lot of fun.

There's snipers for the impersonal types, damage-dealing bruisers for those who like the greet the day by punching it in the face, tricky mid-range fighters, healers if you just want to lend a helping hand, and even good old Tracer for the person who enjoys jumping deep into enemy territory, annoying the hell out of the opposing team, and jumping away. A game with this many variables shouldn't work, and yet it does. Blizzard has done as astounding job making sure every character has their own strengths and weaknesses to ensure a game that allows for endless excitement.

There were also other game, such as one you can personally tailor for matches against friends, against computer-controlled bots, and one where your hero is randomly selected for you. However, I wish there were more game types available for the main quickplay mode. Overwatch forgoes the standard team deathmatch so the game stays focused on strategy rather than mindless killing, but I still miss it. There is an option to allow for skirmishes while you're waiting to be placed in a game server, but it's just not the same. Plus it feels like there could be more game types than just "king of the hill" and "move the cart," but this was the beta. The final game will hopefully have more types at launch, or some time down the line.

A unique special touch that I enjoyed immensely is the play of the game. At the end of each match, the game with show you the most impressive player feat of the match (sometimes a kill streak or a bold resurrection of allies). Or at least it should. The algorithm Blizzard uses to detect just what counts as impressive isn't perfect and you'll occasionally get some plays that loosely define "impressive" at best, and curb-stomp that word into un-meaning at worst. But, once again, this is the beta, so hopefully the final game will have the ducks sorted into tighter rows.

Despite these shortcomings, Overwatch, even in its beta form, is very impressive. And with a forty dollar price tag for the most basic version, it's practically a steal. If you've never tried one of these kinds of shooters before, Overwatch is the one to get into. You'll never find a more unique, vibrant arena shooter experience. At least, just going by the beta anyway.

Even thought this was just the beta, I'm still going to score it. When the final game comes out, I'll revisit this article and decide if this score needs updating. Until then, consider this a tentative score.

Score: 8/10

Captain America: Civil War

The MCU Avengers Saga is quickly becoming my favorite story ever told. Star Wars will almost certainly always have it beat, but the adventures of Captain America and his band of merry heroes are threatening to rival it. And this is accomplished not through big ideas, big stakes, and big world-ending disasters, but through the personal struggles of the people who take it upon themselves to save the world.

In Civil War, no one is threatening to take over the world. Nobody is threatening to destroy it, reveal some dark secret to change it forever, or put it in a box and ship it to the warehouse at the end of Raiders. Civil War is about the Avengers. Those are the stake at play here. Granted whatever happens to them will have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world, but the direct concern is what do about the Avengers.

Their previous adventures have finally caught up with them. Ultron's destruction of the nation of Sokovia in Age of Ultron is placed squarely on their shoulders. And as Civil War kicks off, one of their operations goes awry and civilians are accidentally, but directly, killed by their actions. This leads to the United Nations demanding that they agree to oversight by a committee that would have to give the okay before they're sent into conflicts. Needless to say this has the Avengers split.

Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is of the opinion that "safest hands are still our own." Which is understandable. Seeing as how in the first Avengers movie, he learned not to trust Nick Fury when it turns out the Director of SHIELD was hiding Hydra weapons from him, and in The Winter Soldier, he learned not to trust SHIELD as a whole when it was revealed that the whole organization had been deeply infiltrated. People have agendas, those agendas can change, and the Avengers should be above all that. Separate, so they don't end up corrupted.

Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) disagrees, and wants oversight. His entire story thus far has been about taking responsibility for his actions, for the demons he's created and the innocent blood on his hands. Stark is a man desperate to sleep at night. HE found some solace at the end of Iron Man 3, but the events of Age of Ultron only brought furthering suffering as he now has all of Sokovia resting on his soul for creating Ultron. This is a man suffering and in deep crisis. Oversight from the UN is a way for him make good on taking responsibility for his mistakes and make a better road for heroes in the future.

Caught in the middle are figures like the Winter Solider/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the Black Panther/Prince T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) of the fictional African nation of Wakanda, and the rest of the Avengers. Barnes' struggle to flee capture and his place as the wold's most notorious assassin puts him dead center of this conflict as Captain America wants to protect him people who don't understand that he had been used his whole as a weapon, and Iron Man wants him because he's still a murderer and dangerous. The Black Panther's quest for revenge will have huge ramifications for the universe as a whole, and the rest of team factions off into the two camps for their own reasons. The tensions builds to a crescendo of action and confrontation that places Civil War as easily the most emotionally and thematically complex story in the entire franchise.

On the technical side of things, there isn't much to complain about. There's some dodgy fight editing at times, apparently they couldn't get enough of that shaky camera work this time around. Transitions between scenes are accompanied by giant location text on the screen and while it isn't a problem, it does divide Civil War from the rest of the movies that definitely don't do this. If that's what they wanted, then good for them. Like I said, not a problem, it's just odd and a little too in-your-face.

Finally, Spider-Man. Old Web-Head is finally in proper hands as is evident by Tom Holland's stellar performance. I'm not 100% on it yet, I think I'm still too jaded about Spider-Man in film to fully open my heart to it just yet, but I'm excited for Spider-Man: Homecoming all the same.

Score: A-

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice

I love superheroes. Not everyone does, but that's fine. The world is big enough for us to like our own stuff. I love superheroes because they embody the best of us. They inspire us with ourselves, making us want to be like them, and therefore more like what we strive to be as a species.Whether it be strong, fast, smart, or just really good with a bow and arrow, superheroes are the best we have to offer in a symbolic package that's fun and filled with adventure.

Superman is the living embodiment of absolute power not corrupting absolutely. He's a simple, small town guy given a lot of power. And he uses this power to help others in need, whether it be a cat stuck in a tree or a dark god from another world looking to destroy the universe. Through it all, he remains the same small town guy he's always been. Even when the Man of Steel has faced cancer, as he has in All-Star Superman, he does it with the same hope, spirit, and optimistic fortitude that defines the small town. He may be an alien, but he's a true-blooded citizen of the human race.

Batman is a lonely person. He has been ever since his parents were murdered in front of his eyes as a child. He's channeled this loneliness to use his vast resources to help better the world by facing off against monsters that threaten a city that's also very lonely. To make sure no one ever has to witness their parents murdered in front of them so they never have to feel as lonely as he does. Yet despite this loneliness, Batman builds himself a family. A father in Alfred, a partner in Catwoman, children and siblings in the various Robins and Batgirls. People grow up around him, around his strength. They flock to his side, not as an army, but as a family. Batman isn't fascism personified; he's community personified. Even if something precious is lost, it can be rebuilt again.

These two guys? They're the best of friends. Over the years, they've had their disagreements and rough spots. Every friendship does. But more-so than any other duo, these two understand one another. They're equals and there's a respect that exists between them. Even though Batman has no powers, his mental fortitude and unwillingness to surrender makes him every bit the even match against Superman. Even though Superman is more powerful than anyone else on the planet, Batman knows he is our greatest defender and noblest citizen. They see the value at each other's core. They're good people who share a love for good capes and doing good in the world.

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn't embody, represent, adapt, personify, or respect any of the things I have just mentioned. Superman and Batman are the world's greatest and most influential superheroes and movies are the most popular artform in the world. So that means Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be what defines the best of superheroes, and therefore the best of ourselves, as we spin onward into the future. That makes me more tired and sad than I should be at twenty-three years of life. I could go on, but I don't see the need. If you fail at understanding the basic tenants of these characters, then anything else that could be wrong is dwarfed in comparison.

I'm going to end on this quote from Man of Steel, written by David S. Goyer and delivered by Jor-El to his son Kal-El, the last son of Krypton and the greatest son of Earth:

You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders. 

I think it's time for a little sunshine, WB/DC/Zack Snyder. I think it's time for you to stop promising wonders and actually start accomplishing them. Please.

Score: D

Anomalisa

Charlie Kaufman might be too clever for his own good. The man is an astounding writer. He’s practically conquered his preferred arena of light pseudo-comedic, psychological drama with things like Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And yet I can’t help but think he’s some sort of con man, getting away with being brilliant in some unseen way. His films walk alongside a dangerous cliff edge, quite nearly falling into a gigantic pretentious precipice. Luckily his movies all manage to be real. They speak to real problems real people have in a very real way, even if his work does delve into the surreal quite a bit.

But now with the stop-motion animated Anomalisa, after getting his feet wet with 2008’s Synecdoche, New York, this is Kaufman’s full creative muscles at work. And the result is something that is truly Kaufman-esque, for better or worse.

The story is set in 2005 and deals with perpetual sad-sack self-help writer Michael Stone on a one day trip to Cincinnati to promote his newest book at a convention for customer-service professionals. Most of the movie takes place over the course of a single afternoon, night, and morning as Michael combats his crippling loneliness and psychological problems. Michael’s facing off against Fregoli delusions, a paranoid disorder in which a person believes that different people are the same person. The film conveys this by having famed character actor Tom Noonan voice every single other character besides Michael, who is voiced by David Thewlis (Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter films), and a young woman he meets named Lisa, voiced by Jennifer Jason Leigh (most recently Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight).

You really do start to feel sympathy for Michael as he struggles with having to listen to Tom Noonan’s effectively deadpan delivery come at him from every direction. However, a lot of sympathy burns into agitation as Michael also ends up being not a very likable person. My cold, unfeeling robot heart could only spare so much sympathy for this guy as he self-destructs. What was needed was a deeper focus in on his condition as a condition. At no point does this film ever come at Michael’s problems from a professional psychological standpoint and I feel like it was sorely needed to help build more sympathy. As it stands, Michael is just a crazy person breaking from reality.

You could be fooled into thinking that this was just about a guy going through a hefty mid-life crisis, only without the tacky car and haircut. If I didn’t mention it just now in this review, you’d have no idea what Fregoli delusions even are. I know I didn’t. At times Michael does come to realize there’s something wrong with him, but it just isn’t quite enough. As a character study it still works. Michael is a fascinating person, and his problems demonstrate the depths of which someone can be crushed by the pressures of society, but that’s been tackled by everyone, their grandmother, neighbor, dog, and coffee pot.

By not properly diagnosing his issues, Michael does come across as a sort of “everyman” figure. You know, just as long as every man is dissatisfied and unfulfilled in life to the point where everyone starts sounding like Tom Noonan. I assume if everyone sounds like Jeffrey Tambor or Fred Ward, you’re still in the clear. In that way, I suppose the lack of the psychological angle does work.

The animation is something that really helps get the point across. Fantastic execution of stop-motion aside, it helps build onto Michael’s long list of problems. The world and the people in it become even more unreal. But because it’s stop-motion, the world further slips into the uncanny valley. Like reality television, it is a realm of near-reality that unsettles the mind. All of the inhuman human beings Michael interacts with become further inhuman, and Lisa, the only other person with a voice all her own, becomes more of a real individual. So much character is given to her in such a short amount of time that the scenes with her become a saving grace from Michael’s constant moping.

But other than that, the animation goes to waste. There is one particularly note-worthy surreal sequence where it does come into prominence, but it’s short-lived and doesn’t go to the full extent of Kaufman weirdness. Animation, in part, helps free the artist from the confines of reality. Anomalisa stays rooted in a very real world where the stop-motion is only occasionally used to great effect. Granted the understated use of it is effective, and my issue is admittedly a nitpick, but I can’t help but feel like there could’ve been more done with it.

Compared to the other animated films released this year, Anomalisa is such a curveball it might as well be from another sport altogether. While it remains one of the most noteworthy animated films of the year, and it will probably go down in animation history alongside similar films like A Scanner Darkly, I can’t call it one of the best. I’m not going to throw this movie a parade of roses like other critics just because it has emotional depth and conveys it using stop-motion actors. Lost in Translation did what this movie was doing, only better, and it didn’t feel the need to make a Bill Murray puppet.

Anomalisa drags and I’m not impressed by its use of animation. I know Kaufman and company made this outside of the big studio system with Kickstarter, but that doesn’t excuse its complete lack of empathy towards its own artform. Now I’m not saying this somehow makes me smarter than other, professional critics—oh, wait, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Anomalisa is pretty good and it’s definitely worth seeing, but it isn’t worth bending over for it and shaking your butt in the air like a stray cat in heat.

Score: B-