Cast – Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Naomie Harris, Andy Serkis, Matthew Rhys, Freida Pinto & Rohan Chand

Director – Andy Serkis

Genre – Drama/Fantasy

Running Time – 1h 44m

If you haven’t latched on already, my excitement levels are on the ultimate high. I feel like all my movie watching life has been in preparation and building up to this movie, that’s an honest assessment. Hotly riding on its previous successes including the recent and epic Black Panther movie, Marvel is seemingly delivering the ultimate knock out punch with their latest offering coming in the shape of Infinity War. Word of advice, this is going to be one of my longest reviews as it should considering what it’s based on…so best be prepared.

Cast – Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Josh Brolin & Chris Pratt

Directors – Anthony & Joe Russo

Genre – Fantasy/Science fiction film

Running Time – 2h 40m

The movie Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1 was officially announced in October 2014 with the Russo brothers coming on board to direct it in April 2015. By May, Markus and McFeely signed on to write the script for the flick, which drew inspiration from Jim Starlin’s 1991 “The Infinity Gauntlet” comic and Jonathan Hickman’s 2013 “Infinity” comic. In July 2016, Marvel shortened the title to Avengers: Infinity War. Filming began in January 2017 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, and lasted until July 2017, shooting back-to-back with a direct sequel. Additional filming took place in Scotland, England, the Downtown Atlanta area and New York City.

The Plot

If you’ve been following the trilogy, like most of us, Infinity War picks up two years after the Avengers were torn apart during the events of Captain America: Civil War, Thanos (played by Josh Brolin who is also set to feature as Cable on the upcoming Deadpool movie) arrives on Earth to collect the Infinity Stones for a gauntlet that will allow him to bend reality to his will. The Avengers must join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy to stop him before his onslaught of destruction puts an end to half the universe.

With so many layers to the movie, it’s hard to determine where to start exactly analysing it. What I will say from the onset though is it lived up to the billing and more, Infinity War blew my socks off and I can safely confirm that it is now one of my favourite movies ever, bunched up there with the likes of Inception and The Dark Knight Rises. In my book it is one of the best movies made and definitely the best comic book and fantasy led movie at the moment.

From the beginning it’s apparent that Marvel weren’t messing about with this one with the opening scene getting straight to the point involving some of the Avengers team members, the larger than life Thanos and his team of generals. Larger than life because that’s exactly what he is, he is almost Godlike. Marvel did a fantastic job with the CGI created character villain who blew me away. I’ve always said one of the biggest things that make a movie work well is the villain and Thanos in this instance is a more than worthy instigator deserving of going up against our favourite heroes.

Most of the storyline revolves around the villain who is hellbent on accomplishing his main mission and causing all kinds of destruction in his wake whilst at it. A fantastic job Marvel made to have Brolin play him, talk about a perfect fit. What I especially like about Thanos is how his character is humanized with softer moments accompanied by pure power, madness, narcissism, charm and dominance.  

Considering the number of moving parts involved, it would have been easy for a story like this to go sideways quickly…Marvel in conjunction with the Russo brothers did a fantastic job of knitting it all together perfectly and giving just about every hero and scene enough attention and screen time. I’m blown away by how everything was done perfectly in under two and a half hours, nothing felt rushed or out of place.

The concept of also having our heroes fighting for the same cause in different universes and parts of the earth was brilliant. In addition, the fight scenes were everything and more giving us a taste of what our favourite heroes are best known for, from Doctor Strange and his mind bending magic tricks and sorcery to Thor’s pure resilience and power…this movie had it all! The added humour in parts also made this a joy to watch. I’m afraid I don’t have anything bad to say about it, it’s near perfection. The now famous ending of the movie should also have you speechless and sets up the sequel perfectly…I wish that was coming out today! Needless to say, stick around for the short end credit scene after the movie has ended.

Marvel have delivered another masterpiece and literally a massive knockout punch, without a doubt their best movie ever. Topping this is going to be tough even for them. In my book, Infinity War is already a classic. Filled with all kinds of emotions, great characters and a fantastic piece of storytelling, this movie is everything and more. After watching I can safely confirm that it is indeed the movie I’ve been preparing for all my life. I don’t mind watching this one over and over again, in fact I’m going to watch it again and again and again…that’s why it gets an out of this world 9 out of 10 rating from me.

As always, special thanks to Ster Kinekor & MNet Movies for hooking a brother up with another superb screening.

Only a few movies manage to get me all giddy and excited way before the chatter properly begins, Doctor Strange is one of those –  without a doubt. Combine an intriguing plot with breathtaking scenery and special effects then you have all the ingredients to produce something special. That’s exactly what Doctor Strange is…something special, not perfect but still…special. I usually don’t start my reviews with the conclusion but in this instance, I had to because that’s how impressive Marvel’s new offering is. They (Marvel) clearly have the edge and are miles ahead of their DC counterparts, they’re just untouchable.

As usual, I was first introduced to this flick through the official trailer which immediately captured my imagination. The special effects I saw reminded me of another brilliant classic movie, Inception with all the mind bending scenery and folding of buildings (yip, you read that correctly). Unlike the other Superhero movies in the Marvel universe, Doctor Strange brings a refreshing, different and another dimension to the overall make up…it’s also exciting to note that the character has been confirmed to appear in the upcoming Avengers Infinity War blockbuster. It’s going to be interesting to see how Strange is introduced and fits in with the whole Avengers make-up. Speaking of which, stick around for the end credits of the movie, like with all Marvel movies. The short snippet at the end shows Strange have an interesting chat with one of the Avengers which perfectly sets up the next (much anticipated) offering from Marvel. I don’t want to spoil it is so better go see and you’ll find out which one it is.

So, what’s this movie all about anyway?  

The plot is set around a disgraced former surgeon named Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) whose life changes after a car accident which ultimately robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he looks for healing, and hope, in a mysterious enclave. He quickly learns that the enclave is at the front line of a battle against unseen dark forces bent on destroying reality. Strange eventually becomes a powerful sorcerer under the tutelage of a mystic known as the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton). Before long, he is forced to choose between his life of fortune and status or leave it all behind to defend the world as the most powerful sorcerer in existence.

Several sequences can be found in this movie, though I would have liked to have seen more fight scenes and action – I think they could have added more especially since the movie isn’t that long of a watch. We don’t get to see enough of Strange’s bag of tricks which are quite impressive, maybe we will next time we see him, who knows.

At the start of this write up I mentioned that the movie is special but not perfect. For individuals who are not huge fans of having too much fiction (which this movie has bags and bags of) then this may not be for them, is it still worth seeing though? You bet your top dollar it is. I reckon you will be hard pressed to find another great superhero/comic book based movie than this one, both it and Captain America: Civil War (I reckon) are the best to have come out this year in that genre specifically.

Cast – Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt and Scott Adkins

Director – Scott Derrickson

Genre – Fantasy/Science fiction

Running Time – 1h 55m

Dr. Strange is a refreshing and welcome addition to Marvel’s universe and no doubt he’ll make a killer addition to The Avengers. The movie allows you to escape reality and be absorbed in its masterful scenery. Being a fan of such concepts personally I couldn’t help but be very impressed. It lived up to the hype and gets a magical 4 out of 5 rating from me.