Doctor Strange and The Multiverse of Madness (PG-13): I was very much anticipating Doctor Strange, mainly because I was excited to see Doctor Strange and Wanda meeting on screen and the world-building by introducing more about the multiverse in the films. What I wasn't prepared for was the mastery of cinematography on display courtesy of the film's director Sam Raimi. One of the coolest examples is when Strange and America go through several multiverses in quick succession and the camera pans around them. Yes, I watched and love Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy but I never saw any of his horror movies like Evil Dead, since I am not a horror fan. But I heard that this cinematography work is in all of those films and is done in the same interesting way. After seeing this movie I can only hope that he comes back for another Marvel movie.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (PG): The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie on paper shouldn't have worked but somehow it was very charming and fun to watch. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 amps it up by adding an even better story with equal parts fun and nostalgic. I have a small gripe about the movie and that is the human characters. To me, they aren't interesting minus Robotnik. So when a small chunk of the film was dedicated to them and I felt like it slowed the movie down a bit. I know that they are trying to add something for the adults, but as an adult, I was more interested in Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles' stories. Again this is only a small grip for an awesome movie. Let's hope that The Super Mario Bros. Movie can continue the streak of good video game adaptations.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Stroy (TV-14): While I can't claim to be a hardcore fan of Weird Al, I love a lot of his music and appearances that I have seen him over the years. Appearances like hearing him riff on Jurassic Park with Mike Nelson for Rifftrax or playing the lead role in Milo Murphy's Law. I also love how weird and funny his movie UHF was. So when I heard he was making a biopic about his life and that Daniel Radcliffe was playing him I knew I had to see this movie. This impulse was only solidified by the trailer that dropped earlier in the year. I am happy to say that, that impulse was a good one because this is definitely one of my favorite movies of the year. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much watching a movie or watching a parody movie this good. Yes, this is a parody movie it loves to take all of the tropes that we are used to seeing with all the other bio-pics and making fun of everything. From making fun of the parents who don't understand me at the beginning of the movie, to a star's rise and fall, or to them fighting a notorious drug lord. It's all in here and it's all funny. It is free to watch too so you have no excuse to miss it, so check it out already.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (PG-13): I think everyone knows this but just in case you don't, this movie is emotionally heavy. With the untimely passing of star Chadwick Boseman, I knew going into this movie that it was going to be very emotional so I was prepared. What impressed me the most was how they took a character like Namor and made him both ruthless and relatable all at the same time. This is mainly thanks to Tenoch Huerta who plays him brilliantly, he definitely plays a different king than T'Challa. I feel the break-out character was Shuri played by Letitia Wright. Though she stole the show with her acting when she first showed up in the first Black Panther movie and all subsequent appearances, here she really gets the ability to show what she can do as an actress. The emotional journey her character goes on through the whole movie I can only imagine is a difficult one to convey but she does it beautifully. I also want to say how much really enjoyed Dominique Thorne as Riri Williams. They could have easily made her Tony Stark Jr. but they gave her a fun and different personality and it gets me excited to see her Disney+ show so we learn more about her. While this isn't a perfect movie, there are many people pointing to plot holes online which I won't do here, it was done well and was a fitting ending for phase four.
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