2016 has truly been the year of the superhero and I am glad that I have been able to share this year with all of you on here. That is why I am happy to share the last superhero film of 2016 with all of you. Ever since the announcement of Doctor Strange to the big screen, I could wait to see it and now it’s today’s film. Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) could be considered one of the best surgeons in the world and he definitely knows it. One day while on his way to accept an award, he ends up getting in a car accident and he loses the ability to fully use his hands. After exhausting every option possible, he heads out to Kathmandu to learn to heal himself through magic thanks to the teachings of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Not to far into the future, his teachings are put to the test when an old protege Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen) comes back to destroy the world we know to allow a more sinister being in. The film also stars Rachel McAdams (Spotlight) as Christine Palmer, Chiwetelu Ejiofor (American Gangster) as Mordo, Benedict Wong (Moon) as Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg (Boardwalk Empire) as Dr. Nicodemus West, Benjamin Bratt (Traffic) as Jonathan Pangborn, and the film was directed by Scott Derrickson (Sinister).
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. I think that when Marvel/Disney tries something new that maybe not everyone in the world knows about, it becomes a hit. I definitely feel that it’s going to certainly be the case for this film which was just absolutely amazing from beginning to end. I saw somebody described the film like looking through a Kaleidoscope and that is partly true with the buildings bending and turning like gears in a machine right before your very eyes. The film is absolutely visually stunning and captivating as you watch in awe with what the cinematographer and the editors of the film gave you. It’s a trip into a zone that Marvel has never been on before and I love it and want more of it. Benedict Cumberbatch is just absolutely amazing, funny, and witty in the film and I cannot wait for more films with him in it. Mads Mikkelsen does an amazing job playing a villain who is so obsessed with the idea of immortality that he sold out his own realm for it. One of the coolest sequences in the film that is off the hook is when Doctor Strange is trying to turn back time so he travels into the dark dimension to visit Dormammu. What happens next is just visual Ecstasy and you have to just soak it in. The film has everything you would want from a Marvel movie, it’s visually stunning, it has a great story, it has those funny moments we love, and it has some kick ass action. What are you waiting for? Go out and see it already! I think this film gives Deadpool a serious shot at the number one spot in my book cause it gets an A+ for a final grade.
There are stories in the world that truly capture the imagination when you hear them and sometimes it’s so incredible its hard to believe. Then there are miracles that happen in the world that you just want to know the incredible story behind them. That was definitely the case with US Airways Flight 1549 which was a flight that left New York’s LaGuardia Airport and landed in the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 which is explored in the new film Sully. Tom Hanks (Bridge Of Spies) plays former US Airways pilot Chesley Sullenberger a.k.a Sully, a pilot who had to make a snap decision after losing both his engines due to birds flying into them on that faithful day. The film explores the aftermath of the event and all of the questioning he faced afterwards as to whether it was the right choice to make. The film also stars Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) as Jeff Skiles, Valerie Mahaffey (Senior Trip) as Diane Higgins, Mike O’Malley (R.I.P.D.) as Charles Porter, Jamey Sheridan (Spotlight) as Ben Edwards, Anna Gunn (Red State) as Elizabeth Davis, Holt McCallany (Fight Club) as Mike Cleary, Laura Linney (Mystic River) as Lorraine Sullenberger, Molly Hagan (Election) as Doreen Welsh, Ann Cusack (Stigmata) as Donna Dent, and the film was directed by Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby).
Spoiler Alert: There may be information contained in this Article that could potentially spoil the plot of the film so continue with caution or do not read any further if you do not want to know. I have always thought that the story is absolutely incredible and one that should be told for the ages. The film at first focused more on the aftermath of the whole event as it focused on Sully struggling with what happened and the committee not believing Sully. The issue with them not believing Sully is because of simulations saying that they could’ve made it back to either LaGuardia or the airport in Newark. So, the film is Sully’s hunt to prove that he wasn’t wrong and that he made the right choice. They eventually show you what happened on the plane twice which means two different points of view. One showing of the event starts with Sully and co. but then it switches to what the air traffic controller hears the whole time. Then when they are in a meeting, it goes from the point of view of everyone involved inside the plane, but more importantly through Sully. The man was a hero for what he did and the committee was literally treating him like he may have gone senile or had a nervous breakdown. I thought that the film was very good, but not great. It felt like it was just cruising along for the most part and I felt that the landing should have been the focus point of the beginning of the film rather than starting with the investigation. If you never knew about the event, you might have been confused about the beginning of the film. Nonetheless, as I said it was a very good film, but if you plan on flying you may not want to watch this till afterwards. I am going to give the film a grade somewhere between an B+/A- because the acting was great and the story was good.
There are some stories in life that you hear about and you just can’t imagine that these stories could be true. That is how powerful these kinds of stories can be and they can be real game changers. That was certainly the case with today’s film Spotlight which highlights the child molestation scandal in the City of Boston. Spotlight was an investigative team that worked at the Boston Globe that took on stories that they felt the public needed to know about. In the year 2000 or 2001, a new man in charge at the Globe by the name of Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) came in and suggested a story to his Spotlight team that involved the catholic church covering up the child molestation cases in Boston. The film follows the team as they expose the truth as they became the voice of the voiceless. The film stars Michael Keaton (Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)) as Walter Robinson, Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher) as Mike Rezendes, Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) as Sacha Pfeiffer, John Slattery (Iron Man 2) as Ben Bradlee, Jr., Stanley Tucci (The Terminal) as Mitchell Garabedian, Billy Crudup (Watchmen) as Eric Macleish, Neal Huff (Big Daddy) as Phil Saviano, Jamey Sheridan (The Ice Station) as Jim Sullivan, and the film was directed by Tom McCarthy (The Cobbler).
If you’re expecting a film with a lot of action, then this isn’t the film for you because there’s a lot of investigative research involved in the film. The other side to it is that you see the struggle these guys went through to try and unlock the story. You see all of the red tape and you see all the people involved that just bury the story. You end up learning what they could do and what they had to do to try and get viable sources. The film is just absolutely shocking and you can see why the Catholic church took such a hit after this case was exposed by the Globe. One of the biggest elements of these types of films is the acting and the story. Those are the key essentials for these types of films to survive and be great. I am here to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the acting especially from Mark Ruffalo who after a while just stole the show. Rachel McAdams also did a phenomenal job in the film which leads to my next statement. I am not surprised that Rachel and Mark were nominated for Oscars because they were amazing. The story as you can tell from what I wrote was also amazing and it had to be. It’s a story driven film as I said before. If you love films that are based on true stories then you should check this one out. I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.
365moviesin365dayschallenge 