MOVIE - Avengers: Infinity War

PG-13 (2:36)

Wide release 4/27/18

Viewed 8/5/18, the last week on the big screen, at the cheap theater in Harrisburg (Colonial Four, I think)
IMBd:  

RT Critic:  83    Audience:  91
Critic's Consensus:  Avengers: Infinity War ably juggles a dizzying array of MCU heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that (mostly) realizes its gargantuan ambitions.

Cag:  4.5 It was really, really good

Directed by Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Walt Disney Pictures

Robert Downey, Jr; Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson; Benedict Cumberbash, Don Cheadle; Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Josh Brolin; Paul Bettany, Peter Dinklage

My comments:    A REALLY good movie, though I'm not sure how to take the ending.  What will come next?  What CAN come next?  So much humor, and of course a lot of action.  The special effects were quite amazing, and I loved seeing so many of the Marvel characters making an appearance (it must have cost a small fortune to make).  How do you make a movie like this?  The list of credits was incredible - I wonder how many people it took to create this?  Names just roll and roll.....and so much of the audience stays because they know there'll be some sort of scene at the very end of them.  And there was.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  The mad titan Thanos (Josh Brolin) begins his hunt for the most powerful objects in the universe, the Infinity Stones, in Marvel Studios' highly anticipated Avengers: Infinity War. With the Space Stone, given by Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and the Power Stone, Thanos sends (Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian to retrieve the Time Strone from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), sends Proxima Midnight, and Corvus Glaive) to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision (Paul Bettany). Meanwhile, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) meets up with Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and sorcerers Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong). With help from Peter Parker (Tom Holland), A.K.A. Spider-Man, Stark and Strange join forces together and agree to stop Thanos. In space, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) also joins forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the daughter of Thanos who warns Thor of his power. Thor travels away to defeat Thanos with Rocket and Groot while the other Guardians join forces with Stark, Strange, and Parker. In Wakanda, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and his team, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), War Machine (Don Cheadle), and Bruce Banner to protect Vision and the Mind Stone in his forehead. With protection given from King T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), A.K.A. Black Panther, and his Wakandan army, Thanos will come for everyone to destroy half the universe.

MOVIE - Spotlight

R (2:07)

Limited release 11/6/15

Viewed 122/10 at ElCon with Sheila

RT Critic:  98  Audience:  96
Critics Consensus: Spotlight gracefully handles the lurid details of its fact-based story while resisting the temptation to lionize its heroes, resulting in a drama that honors the audience as well as its real-life subjects.

Cag:  6  Wonderful movie, superbly done

Directed by Tom McCarthy (who also co-wrote)

Open Road Films

Based on the book by

Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Stanley Tucci, Rachel McAdams, Liev Schrieber, John Slattery,

My comments: I'm beginning to realize that my favorite movies are the ones that tell a true story.  Perhaps it's the actors that take on these stories?  Whatever the reason, this ensemble cast and clear, un-boring telling of how a huge coverup was detected was super-interesting from beginning to end.  The acting?  Superb!

RT Summary:  The true story of how the Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese, shaking the entire Catholic Church to its core.

MOVIE - Begin Again

R (1:41)
Limited Release 6/7-27/14
Viewed Sunday, 7/13/14 in Harrisburg at the Midtown Theater
RT Critic: 82  Audience: 87
cag:  4.5 I loved some of it and I liked some of it and I was disenchanted with a bit of it....
Directed by John Carney (who also wrote it0
The Weinstein Company

Keira Knightly, Mark Ruffalo, Adam Levine (who does a great job!! heart, heart....

My comments:  This was a wonderful movie.  The acting was great, the music was super, and watching these three actors was a complete delight.  I love the idea of an album of music being recorded on the streets on New York, and wonder if there is actually some sort of video or cd release that goes along with this. So what disenchanted me?  Although the ending was probably what might have happened in "real life," it just left me completely unsettled....especially what happened with Mark Ruffalo's character.....

RT Summary:  The latest film from writer-director John Carney (ONCE), BEGIN AGAIN is a soul-stirring comedy about what happens when lost souls meet and make beautiful music together. Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn forthe better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent. From this chance encounter emerges an enchanting portrait of a mutually transformative collaboration, set to the soundtrack of a summer in New York City.

MOVIE - Thanks for Sharing

R (1:52)

Limted release 9/20/2013 (TODAY!)  There were only 14 people at the 2:15 showing

RT Critic 52: Audience: 72

Cag:  5.5 - Gotta say that I really loved it

Directed by Stuart Blumberg

Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions

(Great music, too.)

Actors: Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Pink

Rotten Tomatoes Summary: On the surface Adam (Ruffalo), an over-achieving environmental consultant, Mike (Robbins), a long-married small-business owner, and Neil (Gad), a wisecracking emergency-room doctor, have little in common. But all are in different stages of dealing with addiction. Confident and successful in his career, Adam is afraid to allow love back into his life, even if that means losing a chance to start over with smart, beautiful and accomplished Phoebe (Paltrow); Mike's efforts to control his wife, Katie(Richardson), and son, Danny (Fugit), as tightly as he does his impulses are tearing the family apart; and Neil is still deeply in denial when befriended by Dede (Moore), who has just begun to take her own small steps back to health.. As they navigate the rocky shores of recovery, Adam, Mike and Neil become a family that encourages, infuriates and applauds each other on the journey toward a new life.

My comments:  This was really good and very moving.  An addiction is an addiction, and sometimes we just consider someone addicted to sex as a pervert.  If nothing else, this movie makes you think.  And think.  The actors were really, really good.  Pop singer Alecia Moore and Broadway star Josh Gad, both unknowns to me, were terrific and put the .5 after the 5 in my rating.

MOVIE - The Avengers

actually:  Marvel's The Avengers
Definitely an action-packed flick
Wider release May 4, 2012
Viewed Saturday, June 2, 2012 at El Con - by myself
PG-13 (2:22) The last half hour lasted a looooong time....
RT:  93 Critic, 96 Audience
cag:   Liked it/3
Director:  Josh Whedon
Walt Disney Studios

Bring together Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and head-of-the-world's-peace-keeping forces Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), pit them against evil, power-hungry Loki (terrifically acted by Tom Higglesworth) and you've got lots of brawn, plenty of brains, and quite a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor as well as a rollicking, action-packed adventure.Throw in Clark Gregg as non-super-hero-human Agent Coulson and even a one-minute comedic spot by Harry Dean Stanton as a security guard with Bruce Banner/The Hulk and you've got wonderful actors and pleasant surprises. The story builds really well, showing first the need for super-hero help, then building the Avengers team, trying this and that to thwart the bad guys, then the full-out battle.  I loved the first 3/4, found the last 1/4's fighting to be tedious, but that was, I guess, to be expected.  It was pure entertainment.  Robert Downey, Jr. continues to be my hero, and I was quite enthralled by the acting of Tom Higglesworth. His smurky, mocking grin was so right-on! (It also  didn't help the enjoyment of the end of the movie when the 100-oz. of liquid I'd consumed just prior to and during the first 3/4 of the flick was starting to become a bit excruciating.....)

MOVIE - The Brothers Bloom

A suspenseful romantic comedy with a "sweet" touch or two....
PG-13
1 hr. 49 min.
Released May 15, 2009
Dollar Tuesday at the Grand, alone
RT: 62% cag 92% (I really liked the acting/chemistry/characters of Brody and Weisz)
Directed by Rian Johnson
Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo

Brothers Stephen and "Bloom" Bloom were sent from foster home to foster home when they were young boys. Mischievous might be a way to describe them. But when they are 13 and 10, we discover Stephen's penchant for creating intricate "stories" that they act out, step by step, toward a reward of some kind. They are con men.

25 years later, Stephen is still writing the "stories", they are aided and abetted by an almost-silent female sidekick nicknamed Bang-Bang, and Bloom has had it. He wants out. He wants to live a "real" life, not a story. Stephen convinces him to pull one last con. By now they are international con men, playing for big stakes. This one will be tricking a peculiar heiress, played by Rachel Weisz. And now it starts getting really good, trying to figure out what's con (most of it), what's not, and watching the relationship grow between Bloom and Penelope. That was my favorite part, watching those two characters interact.

Great sets and scenery, this was filmed in four places - Serbia, the Czeck Republic, Romania and...darn, I can't remember.

Fun, fun, fun.