Justin Roca – Google

Trademark page turner by Grisham, but it seemed a bit rushed to me, despite the nicely detailed backstory in the first 1/4. I also feel the characters were not really fleshed out properly, and the dialog was oddly stilted and robotic. The man knows how to spin a yarn, but i feel he could have filled in the detail a bit more to make it more satisfying. As it is I felt almost nothing for these characters by the end, despite what I guess is supposed to be a dramatic conclusion, as they were mere approximations of what complex humans should be. Almost like he was simply going through the motions. No disrespect to JG though, he is one of the masters of his craft for good reason.

I didn't like Infinity War that much. While I appreciated the effort it must have taken to tie all those disparate characters, tones and story lines together, I found it a bit pompous, a bit bloated - I didn't like the soundtrack and while I loved Thanos in general, i thought he monologued too much, and the emotional beats didn't really hit home for me (except Spidey at the end of course). It was boring. Endgame is a whole different beast. It's mind-blowing in every way. If IW laid the foundation, Endgame built the house, and then some. It was simply one of the most incredible feats of movie making I've ever seen. I can't imagine a better send-off for the last 10 years of MCU world building; all the characters, old and new, prominent and obscure, are treated reverently. It is a very clever walk down memory lane for the whole MCU, neatly tying bows around years old stories. If Infinity War disappointed me, IW has restored my faith in the Russo brothers, if not quite the MCU as a whole, which I believe might be headed down an irrational social justice path, if the antics around Captain Marvel are anything to go by.

Wasn't planning on watching this, but my wife bought tickets so off we went. And I can honestly say, the political issues surrounding Brie Larson aside, that this is not a good movie. It seemed very uninspired, Larson indeed seemed very wooden like a lot of the reviewers are saying, and almost completely devoid of personality or charisma. There were long stretches when we were both quite bored and when the action did kick in, it wasn't convincing. The movie as a whole seemed like it was trying too hard - and failing. The jokes fell flat; they seemed forced and too obvious. I haven't seen any of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's other work, and I've always respected Marvels ability to choose directors who haven't necessarily had big blockbuster experience but do have good artistic instincts...but in this case it didn't work. They should not be let near another marvel film, or any other big budget blockbuster probably. As for the woke factor, while it was never very overtly crammed down your throat, I did still get the sense that this was targeted at a certain audience, young girls in particular. So Maybe Larson was right after all - middle aged white dudes need not attend.

This barely notches up 3 stars. It's not that I mind character dramas. I just don't like uninteresting, unoriginal character dramas dressed up as science fiction. You keep waiting for something to happen, for something more to be revealed about what's actually going on, but by the end of the 3rd episode you realise that's not going to happen. You get glimpses, that's it, but it never builds up to anything. If you watch the first scene of the first episode, that's about as exciting as it gets, and you can switch it off safe in the knowledge you're not missing out.

Netflix has a habit of spending masses of money to make a flashy show, but not bothering with little things like story, character development, plot, etc, or taking a property with great potential and making it look and feel cheap and poorly made. This is somewhere in between. Tho a slow grind at times, as with practically all of Netflix shows, I did enjoy it and found most of the actors engaging in their performances, and the set pieces and cgi mostly good. If they'd just tighten up the scenes and made them less boring it would have worked in its favour. And for god's sake WHY can't TV superhero shows put their heroes in costumes that don't look like they've been bought from the bottom of the bargain bin in mid November. It's the worst thing about the whole series!

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Sorry this movie is a mess. It's a joyous mess, but a mess nonetheless. It lurches between action, exposition and flashbacks, attempting to tie it all together with a rather absurd and perforated plot. One minute everyone is mortal enemies, the next they're BFF's and it never really seems to find momentum or rhythm. It's a very Stop-Start affair that lacks cohesion and clarity. There are some fun bits to be sure and the performances are pretty good. But it's trying too hard. It reaches, but doesn't grasp. I suppose the next generation of Marvel movies has a lot to live up to, but that doesn't mean every outing has to be as bombastic and outrageous as possible in a bid to outdo what came before. Rather, it should strive to be what made the first few phases so successful: authentic.