Captain America: Civil War

Two guys shy of an Avengers flick, Captain vs. Iron: Dawn of Cinema deals with identical themes of dreadful DC doppelganger but beautifully bolsters battles with empathetic characters, meaningful motivations, and plot logic. Even cinematic universe building blocks feel like more than just superfluous strands to expand Marvel’s dark web.   

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Hawkeye’s housewife and Widow’s green envy only distract from endless avenging.  Spader’s voice and Bettany’s vision add solid sci-fi elements while Johnson and Olsen just wish dey had zese powers when ze Godzilla attacked.  Satisfies audience expectations of another fun fight fest but Ultron’s age proves to be… very young.

Iron Man 3

Freaky scientist becomes bad Guy after upgrading from explosive plants to explosive people.  The one-size-fits-all super-suit gets passed around while Stark struggles with feelings of Ironic inadequacy following up Avengers.  Concludes with surprise Love Guru, a presidential piñata, an asbestos bra, and a Guy’s Flamer’s vs. Tony’s Toys Quidditch match.

Flight

Washington soars as he crashes and crashes as he soars in alarmingly and ironically sobering performance.  Passage of lengthy airtime is assisted by countless character actors in mini-bar sized and equally potent parts.  Smooth landing not quite managed following turbulent comedic transition into alcoholism sermon.  Pro-cocaine and anti-left wing (literally).

The Guard

The other McDonagh borrows his brothers cast and expertly inserts them into The Layer Cake Aquatic. Gleeson adds a subtle depth to an unconventional character, while Cheadle proves that he can master any accent. Feels like a well-made student film experimenting with film conventions and succeeding two-thirds of the time.

Boogie Nights

Compelling look at veritable porn family and even more compelling looks at RollerGraham and most of Moore. Brilliant long shots, great performances, and resurrection of Reynolds lend to nearly perfect ensemble film. Wahlberg accurately predicts ‘big stardom’ despite odd car scene with his ten dollar 13-inch-long. Cast reappears in Magnolia.

Reign Over Me

Sandler delivers an incredible portrayal of grief and distress. Cheadle is good but can’t compare to Sandler and Burrows as they step far outside their comfort zones. One of the only films without a number in its title (93, 25) to handle this subject matter appropriately. Sandler should stay serious.

Crash (2004)

Candy coated look at the intersecting lives of several hundred people in Los Angeles. Melodramatic and carefully constructed to remind to the viewer that racism is terrible. Lives intersect repeatedly, and so on occasion to brilliant editing, performance, and music to form several powerful tear-jerk moments. Better title: Hate Actually.

Iron Man 2

RDJ wrestles with Rourke and a bit of Batman-esque gloom and despair in this solid sequel. Inverts its predecessor with weak first half but strong second, excluding the actual super-villain showdown which still feels a bit quick. SJ & SJ make welcome additions to the team, but Rockwell, well… rocks.