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Cake (2019)
A few bright spots, but a lot of junk
In particular, the Quarter Life Poetry portion of the show is really excellent (albeit brief), while the Oh Jerome No portion is also good. I wish they were separated from the rest of the below average fluff and rather ugly animation that may very rarely be decent, but is usually pretty bad.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
A Worthy End to a Groundbreaking Era of Superhero Movies
Endgame is everything one could have wanted from an MCU movie and more: fantastic characters, epic moments, and a plot that keeps you on your feet for all three acts. The action, cinematography, comedy, and climax are truly awesome and the final hour of the film left me almost unable to stop smiling in awe and wonder. To cap it all off, the movie has insane re-watchability, an uncommon trait in most MCU movies, meaning I'll probably be buying this movie on home media as well. While the massive 3 hour runtime could have been cut/streamlined slightly (namely in the first act) and the logic of an important part of the plot is a bit confusing (no spoilers), Endgame absolutely makes up for it by providing one of the most epic, powerful, and fun cinema experiences I've ever had.
Captain Marvel (2019)
About as Dull as Marvel Gets
Politics aside, Captain Marvel is about as cookie-cutter as Marvel has gotten and feels almost dated. The trailers didn't provide any additional hype for me going into this movie, but I was still interested in meeting this character before Endgame. It's easier to talk about this movie by breaking it down piece-by-piece.
Pros:
1. The entire supporting cast. Sam L Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Lashana Lynch, and even the cat, named Goose, are the best part of this movie as they definitely give great performances.
2. The 90s nostalgia. Being a 90s guy, I was obviously happy seeing all the 90s references and feeling once again.
3. Danvers and Fury's chemistry. Some of the best moments of the film come from solely seeing these two play off each other.
Cons:
1. Action. It's pretty lifeless and doesn't have any of the excitement usually found in MCU movies, especially coming off the clever fight scenes in both Infinity War and Ant-Man & The Wasp.
2. Brie Larson's Captain Marvel. I can see what the production team and Brie were going for in this performance, but in all honest it didn't work. She came off as frustratingly cocky at some points and robotic at others. However, I do feel with better direction and writing in Endgame, her character can be redeemed as this somewhat feels like a writing problem and Brie's lack of experience as a comedic actress. The end credits scene showed promise in Larson's Captain Marvel character.
3. Plot. The plot feels eerily like a Phase 1 Marvel movie, in a bad, dated way. It has a feeling like Captain America: The First Avenger, arguably the worst of the origin stories in Phase 1. The jumpy, amnesia structure doesn't really do anything for me either.
4. Lack of MCU charm. Even with a fun Nick Fury, Larson's performance, an insanely inept explanation we never needed (I will not spoil it) that rivals how Han Solo got his name, and the overall feeling of "fluff" make this film feel wildly unnecessary other than simply introducing the character.
Overall, Captain Marvel showed promise at points, but definitely ranks near the bottom of the MCU hierarchy, probably only ahead of Thor: The Dark World and The Incredible Hulk thanks to Mendelsohn's villainous performance. Hopefully, this character can be redeemed come Endgame.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
A Revelation for American Animation and the Superhero Genre
For those who are saying either American CG animated films are beginning to look stale in appearance or that the superhero movie genre is getting redundant/safe (like me), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is huge a breath of fresh air.
First, I understand the animation may not be for everyone, but for me I thought it was great in its uniqueness and style. Nothing has ever looked like this film before. If you compare characters from different animation studios, some people can't tell the difference between a Dreamworks character model and a Pixar character model. This looks nothing like anything from any animated movie before and it looks even better in the context that this is a comic book movie with many comic book references spread throughout. To put it bluntly, Phil Lord and Chris Miller are at the forefront of innovation in US-based animation, with this and The Lego Movie revolutionizing modern animation as we know it.
Second, no story like this has ever been attempted in a superhero flick before, with the closest thing being time travel in X-Men: Days of Future Past back in 2014 (another fantastic superhero movie). All of the characters in the spider-verse are amazingly unique in their fighting styles, animation, and personalities. They actually feel like wildly different characters from the main character, Miles Morales.
Third, Miles Morales' journey as Spider-Man is wildly different in its development, from the development of his personality, charm, and his relationships with everyone he meets. It flips the spider-man story on its head, putting a kind of meta focus more on having to become truly different spider-man from his spider-verse counterparts.
On top of all of this, I loved the humor (especially meta-humor), the voice actors, and the overall adventure is engaging as all hell. My only downside is the villain not being terribly fleshed out and the kingpin not being a very interesting villain in terms of appearance (which they certainly try) or powers. Overall, I was thrilled seeing this movie and I really hope they build on this success even further.
Carol (2015)
A Slow Paced, Run-of-the-mill Oscar Bait Movie
Having seen Carol in pre-screenings, I can say that it is a typical film that's only purpose is to win awards. It did not entertain me very much, especially because of its very slow pace.
However, the film does well when it comes to the acting. Kate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are both fantastic, but that doesn't make up for the other lackluster aspects of the film. The story could have been done better and, again, part of this is due to its slow pacing.
Additionally, Carol, unfortunately, tries to "pull a boyhood" by promoting its 11 year development period, which, in turn, will increase a critical response as it will look as if more effort were put into the film.
Don't trust the critics, Carol isn't that special. Many other films currently out, like Steve Jobs and Inside Out should be given more love than this movie.