Black Panther Two- Wakanda Forever

Wakanda Forever started with a nice little introduction honoring Chadwick Bosman. When they usually play the opening Marvel theme and show highlights of all the superheroes, they just showed images of him with silence. That was one of my favorite parts of the movie. That doesn't necessarily mean it went down hill from there. I actually liked it a little more than I expected I would.

This sequel features the upheaval and problems Wakanda experiences as Black Panther has just died and world powers are beginning to plot against their country in order to obtain vibranium. During this time, a new adversary from the ocean is introduced who gives Wakanda an ultimatum that they can assist him to attack the rest of the world as an ally or be destroyed. 

Other things happened but I really don't want to write a book report about this movie. Proceed to last paragraph for summary.

I was afraid Marvel/Disney would mess with this movie sequel like they did with the most recent Thor installment. There were plenty of plot holes and problems with the movie, but it was not that bad.  Black Panther 2 was alright. I give it 6.9 stars.

Black Adam

When I saw the trailer for Black Adam I was not very excited. I've been conditioned not expect too much from DC comics movies over time (aside from the Batman movies.) I have to say I was pleasantly surprised and liked it more than I thought I would. 

I'm not a comic book nerd so I had never heard of any of the characters, which was kind of nice because I didn't have expectations or preconceived notions about this movie. Black Adam is basically an anti-hero who doesn't want to cooperate with the other superheroes who are policing the world against their enemies. There are many action scenes and just the right amount of humor.

There were plenty of predictable moments and shortcomings in this movie but I found it entertaining enough give it 6.8 stars. I also enjoyed Pierce Brosnan's performance
as Dr. Fate.

RRR

Last month I watched RRR on Netflix which stands for Rise, Roar, Revolt. I wasn't sure what to expect from this Indian action movie but was pleasantly surprised. The first several scenes of the movie got me hooked mostly from the beautiful cinematography and special effects. A few minutes into the movie I realized that this movie was not going to be bogged down by the laws of physics. Much of the action was incredibly fake but it looked so amazing I didn't even mind.

This movie takes place in India in the 1920's. A young Indian girl is kidnapped from her village by a cruel British governor. A warrior is dispatched from her people to go and find her and bring her back. At the same time, an elite Indian soldier serving in the British military is sent out to locate and stop this man. They meet one another unaware of each other's true identities or intentions and quickly become good friends. There are some plot twists and surprises as the film progresses but I won't spoil them here.

All the British people in this movie except for one woman are portrayed as heartless, sadistic colonizers. The near three hour movie features a bromance among the two main characters that crosses the entire spectrum of intense emotions. There is plenty of crazy, unrealistic CGI, but because it was so beautiful and entertaining I could not really hold it against the movie. Since this was an action movie, I was unprepared for the two or three traditional Bollywood musical/dance numbers it featured. It felt kind of like watching Indian Jones and then having it morph into the Sound of Music.

After seeing many mediocre superhero movies over the last few years, I felt this was a breath of fresh air and very entertaining even though it is a little long. I give it 7.7 stars.

4 Big Summer Movies

I recently saw four movies that are currently in theaters. I'm ranking my reviews in the order that I enjoyed them from best to worst.

Top Gun: Maverick- I wasn't a huge fan of the original Top Gun when I saw it as a teenager. It's crazy that someone could do a sequel nearly 35 years after the original movie and it could be so successful. This movie has been postponed since 2020 because of Covid so I think people were ready to see it when it finally made it to theaters. I liked this sequel. I especially enjoyed the fighter scenes. They were so intense that I found myself clinching my muscles in the theater so I wouldn't pass out with the excessive G force. I hope Hollywood takes note at how successful this pro- America, toxic masculinity movie was and realizes not every film has to be politically correct and push a woke agenda. It was like going to the movies in the 80's again. I give it 7.8 stars.

The Gray Man- I only heard of this movie a week ago. I noticed it was playing in theaters but then realized it was also on Netflix so I watched it from home. This movie is extremely fake and predictable but I still liked it. There was more globe trotting around Europe than most James Bond movies. The action was non-stop and it was fun to see Chris Evans as the villain. I was thoroughly entertained and surprised at what had to be a huge budget for a Netflix movie. I give it 7.3 stars.

Dr. Strange In The Multitude of Madness- At least they named it accurately. The last Spider Man movie set a high bar for confusing plots spanning multiple universes and realities, and this movie tried to keep that concept going or even surpass it. I have not seen the WandaVision series on Disney so I'm sure I was missing something about her backstory which didn't help. It was interesting and action packed but I felt it was too busy and jumbled. I also didn't care for the new America Chavez character that much. It was ok but I only give it 6.8 stars.

Thor: Love and Thunder- There have been too many movies and spin off series from the Marvel Universe over the last 4 years. I feel they really hit their peak with End Game and have just been pumping out mediocre stuff since then. I liked Thor Ragnarok and appreciated the light hearted and humorous style. Korg was funny in that movie but is starting to turn into Jar Jar Binks the more we see him. Christian Bale was a great in his role and I wish he had more screen time. Some of the special effects were amazing but others, not so much. I usually like most stuff from Taika Waititi but some parts of this movie just bothered me. An example of this is Thor giving the kidnapped kids a big group hug and each of them shooting lighting out of their fingers and stuffed animals to kill the monsters. It's hard to take a superhero movie seriously when it's so whimsical and keeps changing gears. Also, it appears that Chris Hemsworth hogged all the budget for personal training, gear, and nutrition. He looked incredible, but he should have shared some of his secrets with Russell Crowe. I give Thor: Love and Thunder 6.4 stars. 

Last 5 Movies Scene Ranked

Here are some of the movies I've seen over the last couple months. As usual you are lucky to get more than two sentences from me on these. I've ranked them in order by how much I enjoyed them.

The Batman- I saw this movie twice and actually liked it a little bit more after the second viewing. This version of Batman is a little more goth, broody, and withdrawn, but I thought Pattinson did a decent job. The film  was very dark, in fact during some scenes I was wondering why the police and forensic workers didn't bother turning on any lights to look for evidence. I enjoyed it and am glad to see DC produce a better super hero movie. I give it 7.9 stars.

Death On The Nile- I've been waiting for 3 years for this movie to finally come out in theaters. I may be in the minority here, but I really liked it. Having re-watched the original recently, I was concerned there would not be any surprises but this remake took some liberties by modifying original characters, creating some interesting back stories, and still keeping some twists and surprises for viewers who may think they already know how it will turn out. I really like Kenneth Branagh and he moved up the ranks as one of my favorite actor/directors with this. I give it 7.7 stars.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife- This was a nice sequel. My kids were unfamiliar with the original Ghostbusters movies so I had to get them up to speed about the plots of the prior movies and certain details like the stay puff marshmallow man.  I liked seeing the second generation's experience with Ghostbusting and I thought it had a touching tribute to Harold Ramis and the original cast in the end. I give it 7.1 stars.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings- Not a fan of the long title and maybe I'm a little burnt out on Marvel super heroes, because I've had a hard time getting excited for one since Infinity War had such a nice conclusion but I guess Disney will continue to pump out sequels, prequels, alternate universe movies, etc. Overall, I liked it, but it's not one of my favorites. I give it 6.9 stars.

The Lost City- I was not expecting anything more than a silly romantic comedy and that's what I got. I thought it was a fun movie and it didn't take itself too seriously and that always makes it easier to overlook movie flaws. I think it makes a great date movie. I give it 6.7 stars. 

Spider Man: No Way Home

I recently saw Spider-Man: No Way Home and I really liked it. I'd rank it as one of the best Marvel Movies. I didn't think Marvel could outdo Infinity War with complicated plots and multiple characters from different movies interacting with each other but they did a great job doing so with the entire Spider Man franchise. I give the writers, researchers, and comic book geeks who contributed to the story a lot of credit for a job well done of using the Metaverse concept and having a complicated yet entertaining plot.

I've enjoyed Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland in the role of Spider Man, but Holland is probably my favorite. It was fun to see all three of them working together at the end of the movie and to see the things each of their characters had in common despite their differences. It was also a nice touch to let Garfield Save MJ from the fall in this movie since he was unable to in his own universe.

I think all the performances were good but Willem Dafoe stole the show. He was even better as the Green Goblin in this film than he was in the original. The other villains paled in comparison to him. The only thing that could make it better would be if Bully Maguire also made an appearance.

Anyway, I thought this was a fun movie and I give it 8.1 stars.