Category: Action

Action Blockbuster Drama

“Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”

By Brett_G on

8.1

Part Batman. Part Bruce Lee’s “Game of Death.” Part Black Panther… this was much better than expected for an MCU installment about a hero I had never heard of. The eastern influence on this story, from the journey of our main character to assume his family’s crest and a curse to the soundtrack, it’s a welcomed change of pace for Marvel. The action is off the charts good. The fighting is even somewhat original. This was a breath of fresh air in this stage of the maturing Marvel Cinematic Universe. The set pieces in this one reminded me of the best of “Avatar.”

Ignore the CGI cluster that is the Marvel third act, and enjoy this strong entry into the post-infinity Marvel saga.

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Action Blockbuster

“The 355”

By Brett_G on

7.2

Do you like spy thrillers? Did you enjoy “The Expendables” but wish it had more girl power? Well, do I have the movie for you!

I don’t understand the hatred for this movie among the viewing public and critics. It was much better than I expected, having read some reviews and heard some negative word of mouth.

First off, I’ll watch anything that includes Jessica Chastain. The fact that the rest of the cast was equally badass was just the icing on the cake. The only knock I had on this movie was how the action was filmed. It was beautifully choreographed but shot in such a schizophrenic fashion that it almost gave me motion sickness. There don’t need to be that many jump cuts and shaky cam. Other than that, I’m all-in on this Tom Clancy novel mixed with Charlie’s Angels.

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Action Blockbuster Comedy

“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”

By Brett_G on

8.4

Mckenna Grace and Paul Rudd make this movie.

Did they carbon copy the story from parts one and two? Yeah… kinda. Did it work like a charm because they changed it just enough to make it interesting? Also yes. This was an incredibly fun and well-done film. It had the nerdy factor that made the first two seem genuine instead of cheesy, the character depth to make it interesting, and the perfect callbacks to pay homage to the originals, including some really well-done cameos by the original busters. This one doesn’t go overboard or overcorrect like “Answer the Call” did once upon a time. Turns out that not EVERYONE on screen has to play the comic relief. You can be silly and fun without losing the plot. Bravo to the team on this one. It is deserving of the canon.

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Action Blockbuster

“Spiderman: No Way Home”

By Brett_G on

8.9

An incredibly depth-filled Marvel movie with *gasp* actual stakes involved!

The Spidermen not only reenact the three Spidermen pointing at each other meme but all get the closure that Sony had thus far denied them in their respective franchise reboots. All three shine in their own ways and have lovely chemistry while sharing the big screen. I was impressed with how balanced this movie felt, given the sheer amount of content filling the runtime. There’s so much that this movie accomplishes before the credits roll, which left me feeling successfully satisfied and hopeful for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s not the perfect happy ending that has come to be the hallmark of so many of Marvel’s entries to the MCU, but it leaves room for and builds a strong foundation for the films to come.

“Eternals” notwithstanding, I say this a lot with new MCU movies, and again find myself shrugging my shoulders as I declare, “Marvel did it again.”

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Action Drama

“The Green Knight”

By Brett_G on

6.8

Well, that was… something.

Clearly based on a fable from the days of old, this film embraces A24’s “what the hell did I just watch?” method of filmmaking. You may not fully understand what it is that you just watched, but I can assure you that you will leave absolutely fascinated by it. Also, maybe a little disturbed. If I had to come up with a motto for this film, it would be “drunk decisions often lead to the best adventures.”

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