DISCLAIMERS–SPOILERS AHEAD!!!                                                                    

Just want to make this super clear, THIS IS A SPOILER REVIEW!!! If you haven’t seen Doctor Strange, go check it out, it’s a great movie, and you can read my SPOILER-FREE review right here!

Now, Doctor Strange: there are a LOT of things I love about this movie; after watching it a second time, besides the slightly familiar formula, there’s not much wrong with it. Doctor Strange hits the spot on all fronts, and following the formula even helps it, as it makes it a surefire box office, and at least moderate critical, success. Let’s talk about why…

This movie, above all, is just a lot of fun. Let’s start with the opening sequence. You open to a shot of Kamar-Taj, and the movie wastes no time getting to the (AWESOME) fight between the Ancient One and Kaecilius. Right off the bat, the movie establishes what the next two hours are going to be like, mind-bending, action-packed, fun. The fight also does a great job of showing the villain and his power and conflict with the Ancient One. Also, it carries those amazing special effects in that it uses the Inception-esqué city bending…technique, which we see later as well.

We cut to arrogant neurosurgeon Stephen Strange, and the scenes of him in the hospital show off his arrogance and brilliance simultaneously, which leads up to the visually pleasing car crash sequence. This is one of those times that sound actually matters in a movie. As soon as the Lamborghini hits another car, I still jump a little in my seat as the car topples of the highway at high-speed and crashes.

When Strange arrives in Kamar-Taj, we come across one of the sequence that makes this movie live up to its name. As soon as the Ancient One touches his forehead, we witness what makes this movie live up to its title as Strange travels through multiple kaleidoscopic dimensions, and one particularly entertaining one is the hands sprouting out of hands dimension. For eagle-eyed viewers, you see glimpses of Dormammu, which pays off later in the movie. Strange’s subsequent training sequence/second act is also fun, and boasts some humor as well (Yes, I’m talking about that Beyonce moment with Wong).

After the training sequence, the movie becomes more and more action-packed. The New York Sanctum battle is great, and the Cloak of Levitation proves itself as one of this movie’s best characters. Strange’s action and banter with Kaecilius is entertaining, and when Kaecilius describes the benefits of the Dark Realm, you see Strange (partially) convinced, which just proves Benedict Cumberbatch’s great acting. Then, his fight with one of Kaecilius’s zealots (played by Scott Adkins) is a lot of fun, with their movements affecting small things in the real world.

The New York battle truly shows off the Inception-inspired effects, but it improves…a lot. The fight in the Mirror Realm is REALLY cool, and the Ancient One coming in only improves it.

We then get an amazing, actually touching moment from the Ancient One that truly makes her an amazing character. She had already had some good, even funny moments with Strange earlier, but this one tops all. Tilda Swinton gives her all in this performance, and her chemistry with Cumberbatch is great. Her explaining of what she sees for Strange and how she saw her death earlier is one of the most touching scenes from a Marvel movie, which normally doesn’t happen.

Then, the SPECTACULAR Hong Kong battle. Strange’s use of the Eye of Agamotto is just…really cool, and it utilizes some great special effects. The way they incorporate action into that is even cooler. Watching Strange and Kaecilius fight stuck in time is definitely a lot of fun. Then, the same thing happens with Dormammu in probably my favorite scene. The defeat of Dormammu through a time loop is clever, to say the least, and shows that Strange uses his brains, rather than fighting. Also, it’s pretty funny to see Strange’s smug smile and Dormammu’s frustration at the time loop.

Benedict Cumberbatch, as I said in my spoiler-free review, is great, and his character is both well-developed and entertaining. He has wonderful chemistry with all of the cast members, leading up to some pretty funny parts. Chiwetel Ejiofor is also good as Mordo, as Benedict Wong is with Wong. Rachel McAdams’s character also delivers some fun scenes with Strange both early on and around the middle of the movie.

Overall, Doctor Strange is a truly amazing movie, and one of Marvel’s best, and it delivers on all fronts.

DISCLAIMER-Spoilers for BvS ahead

Batman v Superman just came on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, so I decided to rewatch it. In rewatching it, I noticed some positive aspects I hadn’t pointed out in my original review. First off, I didn’t point out that the movie’s opening, Batman watching Superman destroy half of Metropolis in trying to fight Zod is amazing. It shows Man of Steel from Batman’s perspective, and just makes his motivations so clear–everything he built was destroyed by Superman’s immense power. It really points out just how much potential destruction Superman could cause with his powers.

Secondly, I said that the movie lacked a sense of humor and fun, and while the first part may be true, the movie is still fun. The fight scenes and overall plot is enjoyable, and the movie still has fun, just not as much humor.

Thirdly, I didn’t mention the warehouse scene. The warehouse scene, in which Batman rescues Martha Kent from Luthor’s henchmen, is amazing. Although I dislike the fact that Batman kills in this representation, this fight is simply awesome. It shows how Batman isn’t in his early years, and is experienced. The action is well-choreographed, and might be my favorite scene from the movie.

Next, I must clear up my reception of Jesse Eisenberg’s performance as Lex Luthor. Although it’s not fitting toward the character (the comic book Lex is more assertive) his performance is cool. I dislike it because it’s more of a mini-Joker or mini-Riddler. Also, he offers more philosophical ideas than you watch the movie for–you’re watching it to see Batman and Superman fight! The performances by Amy Adams and Jeremy Irons as Lois Lane and Alfred, respectively, are also pretty good.

Another issue with BvS is the actual fight you want to watch the movie for–it’s only 8 minutes long! The fight, for the time it lasts, is cool, but the reason for the fight prevents you from enjoying it. Superman and Batman are only fighting because Luthor manipulated Batman and he’s holding Martha unless Superman kills Batman. You know Superman won’t actually put up a fight because he would never kill Batman even if someone was controlling him. This prevented me from truly enjoying the fight, and even made me dislike Batman a little bit.

The death of Superman is both a positive and negative aspect of the movie. Although it is sad, his death is very well-handled and really shows how much Superman is willing to do for Earth. It shows that he accepts it as his planet, and that he is willing to sacrifice himself for it. What I dislike about his death is that He‘s. Not.  Actually. Dead. This issue has come up time and again in superhero movies. It happened with Bucky in Captain America: The First Avenger. It happened with Loki in Thor. It happened with Phil Coulson in The Avengers. I can keep going. Deaths in superhero movies have no effect anymore. You know that whoever dies is going to be brought back. Therefore, Superman’s death had no weight whatsoever. First off, they don’t even give you the benefit of the doubt–they literally show that he’s gonna be brought back by showing the dirt on his grave flying. Second of all, you know studios would never pass up on the option of having another character to sell merch with. So deaths in movies have become empty and have no impact. <sigh>

Finally, I will mention the amazing soundtrack in Batman v Superman, which I didn’t talk about in my review. The soundtrack, composed by Hans Zimmer, actually added a lot to the movie, especially Wonder Woman’s theme. Normally I don’t notice the soundtrack in movies, but Batman v Superman made me notice. The other movie I had seen where I noticed Zimmer’s score was Inception, and I absolutely loved that soundtrack. I think that overall Zimmer’s work on soundtracks is great, and definitely improved Batman v Superman.

That was my spoiler-filled, 2nd discussion of Batman v Superman. Is there anything I missed or you disagree with? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

The Oscar nominations for 2016 are finally here! Check out the full list of nominations here!

The Martian received 7 nominations, including Best Picture, Visual Effects, and more! Star Wars: The Force Awakens received 5 nominations, including Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and more. I think that The Martian deserves to win Best Picture, as it was an entertaining, funny, and thrilling sci-fi movie. For Visual Effects, I think that Star Wars: The Force Awakens should win, for it had amazing special effects, shown a lot through large-scale space battles. Finally, I believe that Inside Out should win Animated Feature Film because it was a funny, touching film, one of the best animated movies of the year. Which movies do you think will win in these categories? Leave your opinion in the comments.