Avengers: Infinity War

Whoever thought this many marvelous heroes could run the Gauntlet must’ve been Infinitely Stoned. But they somehow succeeded, so here’s 25 words, cuz Oh Snap!

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Franchise moves forward by taking a step back. Cleverly regresses to high school roots while advancing past origin story restrictions. Perfectly integrates comedy, heart, and plenty of tie-ins to the MCU while standing strong as friendly neighborhood film. Technological plot-holes are easily patched by a webbing of nostalgia and innovation.

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.

The Judge

Stark becomes a Lannister, with incest, odd siblings, and a principled but morally questionable patriarch.  Duvall delivers best performance in bleak and tedious character study that’s frequently distracted by irrelevant bench discussions.  Overwhelming burden of choosing genre crushes this Grisham reject resulting in a case that must appeal… to few.