adamgehrke.com

Safe Safe, No spoilers! Safe, Avengers: Infinity War centers around Thanos (Josh Brolin), the interstellar and powerful warrior dead set on destroying half of the Universe; that is, unless the Avengers and allies high and low can do something, anything, to stop him, but will that even be possible? Directed by revered fans of the genre Anthony and Joe Russo and written by a bajillion writers this pinnacle of the Marvel Cinematic Universe cleverly bridges the gap of multiple storylines in a larger than life roll call to the big screen. An ensemble piece that allows well established characters to do exactly what we’ve come to expect from them over the years, kick some ass and take some punches, no surprises there. Well developed CGI, and thought out sequencing successfully paired with a hefty amount of handheld camera work and editing brings the action up close and personal this go round, but, not so close that one loses total track of the big picture. Furthermore, peppered with Marvel’s signature humor, Infinity War navigates the often controversial and hostile ground of comedy/action with deft precision allowing the story to glide from genre to genre without color shifting in a tonally challenged way. And, marrying the musical soundscapes of the Marvel Universe, Alan Silvestri’s commanding work induces armrest grip strength tests of unmatched power, well done! Worthy of your cinematic dollar for all two hours and twenty nine minutes of runtime, yes, stay through the credits (but you knew that), great things happen and great things are yet to come. It’s films like this that make the theatre going experience really worth while. Avengers: Infinity War is rated PG-13.

Relegated to a life of insecurity and feeling ashamed of her body, basement office worker Renee (Amy Schumer), finds herself with a new boost of confidence and the gusto to seize the world on her own terms. And, to her credit, the new confident Renee is a successful woman, climbing the corporate ladder at Lily LeClaire makeup. But, failure is just one slip away, and, if she falls will Renee learn the important lesson– she’s had the power all along? Written and Directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein this message movie about empowerment and love thy self appears to have all the best intentions but lacks subtlety in its delivery to really check all the boxes of quality. Schumer herself is a perfect foil for this comedic Oz-like tale, and, support from Michelle Williams and Lauren Hutton fit their required caricatures nicely. Still, the overall camp factor remains high throughout this thoroughly telegraphed screenplay. Clocking in with an hour and fifty minutes of run-time, welcomes are overstayed by at least few minutes, which frankly, comes as no surprise given the overall kitchen sink approach to the storytelling. Perhaps still worthy as a matinee with the intention as a moderate chuckle inducer or as a conversation starter between parents and tweens, I Feel Pretty is rated PG-13.

Primatologist and former military badass Davis Okoye (Dwayne Johnson) finds himself torn between his friendship with George, a highly intelligent albino gorilla, and the powers that be as George is exposed to a chemical agent that seems to be altering his DNA. As it turns out, George is actually one of several fearsome creatures to be altered by a mysterious gene editing company run by the brother sister duo, the Wydens (Jake Lacy and Malin Akerman). Before long George is of Kong size and hungry to smash things, it’ll take all of Davis’s training and might (physical and mental) to protect his friend, and what of this mysterious government man Harvey Russell (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)? Directed by Brad Peyton and written by a whole host of folks, because the world needed another mediocre video game from the 80’s turned into a movie. But seriously, no, Rampage seems to suffer from a tonal dis-morphia; snapping between semi decent action sequences and hideously bad Snidely Whiplash villains juxtaposed a ridiculous premise altogether– you can’t take this film seriously. But, you kind of knew that didn’t you, and yet, you’re here, wondering if it’s a waste of your time or not. Short answer, it’s exactly what you already know it’s going to be, a corn syrup sweetened pastry loaded with preservatives and empty calories, it’s junk food, but sometimes we eat it anyway…you know the drill, just get ready to burn off the extra calories later. Rampage is miraculously only rated PG-13, crash boom bang!