Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Avengers: Endgame is the serviceable capstone on a decade's worth of serviceable movies worth billions of dollars. There are millions of superfans all around the world. And this is for them. This movie is 100% fan service. One last hurrah for the old guard of Avengers. I'm unfortunately not one of those superfans. I think I missed a lot of the references to the older films. I think they didn't have as much of an emotional impact for me because I am not attached to the characters and I don't recall the details of the old movies. The explanation of time travel from The Hulk is brushed over really quickly and I didn't catch it. But I think there are some significant plot holes that I'm willing to overlook. The movie runs way too long. There are a lot of subplots they could have cut out that serve only to prolong the movie. And to top it off, I fell asleep during the climactic battle scene. We can blame jet lag, but also, I have a tendency to fall asleep during battles.

Isle of Dogs (2018)

I love Wes Anderson's quirky style and evidently so do a lot of big name Hollywood actors, as he has attracted a star-studded voice cast for his second stop-motion feature. The visuals are stunning. Anderson's attention to detail in his fully controlled animated world far surpasses what he is able to do in a live-action environment. The oddity of this world is charmingly hilarious. And Anderson's witty humor is just brilliant. It's not for everyone, but I can't help but smile at how fun this is. The music by Alexandre Desplat is exciting and beautifully features taiko drums.

The big directorial choice Anderson made was to linguistically divide the dogs from the humans. The humans speak Japanese and are not subtitled. We, like the dogs, do not understand them. We rely on interpreters to give translation sometimes. Sometimes, we are just left in the dark. The dogs speak English, or rather their barks are voice-translated in real-time. There is a language disclaimer right in the beginning. I understand the separation he tries to make, putting the audience firmly in the dog world. That being said, I was not crazy about the bilingual foreign exchange student saving the day. A student movement rightfully has its place in the movie, but it doesn't have to be led by a white student. She serves as a convenient means of translation, but Anderson is clever enough to have figured that out. They could've diagrammed their plans, for example.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

This movie does not exist in a vacuum. If you didn't see the previous Marvel films, you're not going to get this one. Even if you did see all the other ones, you might not follow this one. The focus is on the infinity gems, which have made appearances in the previous movies but totally escaped my notice. There are so many characters in this movie who each have a history we are assumed to be familiar with. There are so many things going on; it's almost nonstop action, and it gets repetitive.

There is one thing the movie does very well in the beginning half while juggling the many character introductions. The Marvel movies have each developed a distinct style that this movie manages to retain and mix. Notably, the Guardians of the Galaxy introduction is distinct with the 80s soundtrack and the ridiculous jokes. Amidst all the action there are many jokes, and I think comedy has always been Marvel's strength.

There are a number of deaths, but as this is Marvel, we know that death may not be permanent. So what should be poignant does not always come off as so, because we know they probably don't really mean it. Also, we only got Wakanda a few months ago and already they've ruined black utopia. We can't have nice things...

The Jungle Book (2016)

I feel like this film is the next era in computer graphics. Disney did it in 1946 bringing the animated characters in Song of the South to the live-action world. Here, they place Mowgli in a computer-generated jungle full of computer-generated animals and wonders. Nothing else in this movie is real, but you wouldn't be able to tell. In that respect, The Jungle Book is very impressive.

Favreau creates his own enthralling world such that he doesn't need to hearken back to the original. It is all his own, though he sometimes tries to remind us. This Jungle Book is a lot scarier and less fun than the one I remember. And Mowgli is a lot more annoying than I remember, too. I kind of couldn't get over it. The iconic Bare Necessities sequence was strange to put it plainly with Bill Murray as Baloo. Actually, his portrayal of Baloo and his relationship with Mowgli reminded me of St. Vincent. Don't think that was intentional, but Murray sort of plays it the same way.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

I saw this movie a couple of months ago. I guess the fact that I can't really remember anything about it is a testament to its mediocrity. I'm getting kind of sick of these Marvel Avengers movies. They are all more or less the same--this one is 2.5 hours of the same. There are just too many superheroes in this movie. It's kind of difficult to care about any one of them when they are so numerous. They introduced a couple characters without any explanation. I'm sure the comic book geeks understood their presence no problem, but I was looking for some introduction. And quite frankly, I don't remember the previous films well enough to follow all of the other story lines either. It's all a big fight. Some cool special effects I guess. I know I had more to say about it two months ago, but I just can't remember anymore.

Hail, Caesar! (2016)

In short, I didn't really like this movie. I fell asleep. It has its funny moments. There are some great scenes, like the one in which the religious leaders discuss the accuracy of the movie. There just aren't enough of them.  It really feels like a Coen Brothers movie. The humor is unusual and dry but fast and witty. But I just couldn't really get into it. The movie is loving depiction of Hollywood and the movie-making business. 

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

The Avengers seems to get more and more confusing with each film in the series. This is mostly because they keep adding more characters. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The movies are trying to get closer to the source material comic books, which are quite convoluted. There are so many characters in the Marvel universe, and by that standard, the movies actually only feature a small fraction of them. And Gwyneth Paltrow and Natalie Portman weren't even in this one.

The Avengers has always been about action first and comedy second.  Compare that to last year's Guardians of the Galaxy which is just one long joke.  The Avengers does have its comedic moments. The best is Hawkeye acknowledging his uselessness.  That is a brilliant moment of self awareness, and the joke is ongoing.

The central plot of Age of Ultron revolves around artificial intelligence.  Artificial intelligence is interesting because it isn't just a technology/engineering feat, but there are philosophical and ethical issues that are addressed as well.  Avengers doesn't dive very deep into these debates, but it is an interesting plot point that provides for a formidable foe for the Avengers.

Chef (2014)

It's delectable. This is simply a faultless feel-good comedy.  You can't go wrong with a movie about food!  Rachel Ray is always talking about a future in which there exists the smell-evision.  This film left me also wanting taste-evision.  Not only does it look like it tastes good, but the food genuinely looks good. Points for plating.

Jon Favreau leads a star studded cast.  I particularly enjoyed the supporting cast, especially John Leguizamo. Along with the Latin jazz soundtrack and Miami setting, he adds to the fun, Latin atmosphere of the film.

This is a very modern film.  Food trucks are the latest craze and the movie also highlights the power of social media.  Because of this, the film feels fresh even though the idea is not so original (man loses job, reinvents himself).