28) Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

(3.5 's out of 5)

"This is Thanos we're talking about. He's the toughest there is." 

Directors
Anthony Russo
Joe Russo

Cast

Robert Downey Jr. - Tony Stark/ Ironman
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/ Hulk
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/ Captain America
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/ Hawkeye
Don Cheadle - James Rhodes/ War Machine
Josh Brolin - Thanos

The stakes are higher in this third Avengers movie - the 19th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It feels like this Avengers thread of movies within the broader MCU is finally narrowing in on a worthwhile and entertaining story. Plus, the heroes that make up the Avengers, played by the same actors as before, are up against their greatest threat, Thanos (Josh Brolin). 

"Avengers: Infinity War" tries to out-Avenger the previous Avengers. And being the grand spectacle that it works so hard to be, I'd say it succeeds in outperforming the other movies at least as far as the entertainment factor goes. It feels more focused than the previous movies, and it seems to know where it wants to go. 

In this movie, the evil alien warlord, Thanos (Josh Brolin), continues his efforts to acquire the infinity stones - six gems that when brought together give the possessor power over existence. Once he acquires all six stones, Thanos plans on using them to erase half of all life in the universe. All it will take for him to do that once he has all six stones is the snap of his fingers - literally. 

Each of the infinity stones control some specific part of existence - space, the mind, the soul, reality, power (as vague as that sounds) and time. Personally, I would think control over reality would, ipso facto, mean control over the other parts of existence. I guess that cynical mindset is why I don't write movies. 

Josh Brolin as Thanos in 'Avengers: Infinity War.'

Thanos has just got his hands on the power stone when he intercepts a ship carrying survivors from Asgard's destruction. That's where Thor is from for those wondering where Thor is from. 

He and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) clash, and Thanos gets the upper-hand. He then takes the space stone from the Tesseract which I've mentioned in my previous Avengers reviews. 

Thanos kills Loki and Thor's Asgardian pal, Heimdall who while dying sends Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) down to Earth. 

When Hulk/ Bruce Banner hits Earth, he crashes into Sanctum Sanctorum in New York City where Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is residing. He warns Strange about what Thanos has planned. 

Bruce and Strange get Tony Stark/ Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) to help stop Thanos from destroying half the universe. 

Peter Parker/ Spider-Man (Tom Holland) also joins the effort as do none other than the Guardians of the Galaxy. That part got me excited as "The Guardians of the Galaxy" vols. I and II are my favorite flicks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So, I was all in with their inclusion. 

Anyways, more Marvel superheroes assemble to keep Thanos from fulfilling his evil plan. 

When they all fail and Thanos ends up destroying half of all life in the universe including several members on the Avengers and other important superhero characters, the stakes are raised to a level with seemingly no solution. 

As far as the Avengers are concerned, there is no solution. What's done is done.

Dr. Strange jumps around other universes, called multi-verses, to see how the Avengers could have prevented Thanos from destroying everyone he did.  

Out of the millions of ways this event could have gone, only one of those ways has the Avengers defeating Thanos and preventing the snap from occurring. Getting to that solution is impossible, though. Stay tuned for "Avengers: Endgame." 

To me, this is where the Marvel movies reach their Zenith (continued onto the next movie, "Avengers: End Game.") The rest just can't climb that high, or it would look like Marvel is trying to make lightning strike twice. Everything after this and the next Avengers movie doesn't seem as monumental or exciting enough to have to run out and seen it. 

"Avengers: Infinity War" carries an intensity that increases as the story progresses. It keeps the audience more and more invested. 

What's impressive about the movie is how many characters are packed into the story, yet it's easy to recall what each character is doing while the story transitions from character to character, from one scene to another. The story is taking place in various locations. It other words, it's not hard to follow nor is it confusing. 

Thankfully, to the movie's credit, every character has something worthwhile to do that's neither forced nor superfluous. It's all necessary for the plot. And it's entertaining for the audience. That certainly deserves praise.

The story balances all the plot points carefully for the sake of the audience's attention. 

This movie has really big ambitions and makes it a priority not to strain the audience, nor burden them with such interwoven plot points and storylines. It's impressive. 

This is Marvel's equivalent of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" minus the comedy. The story packs in a lot!

But as the story ends on a major cliffhanger after two and a half hours of so many superheroes fighting and doing superhero things, only to pick up again with the even longer "Avengers: Endgame" it feels like an excessively drawn-out pretentious flick. Maybe that's why producers tossed the word "infinity" into the title? 

I'm being generous with that half a star..or half a Thanos... up there. I want to give this movie three Thanoses, but it's better than the last two movies. So, three and a half Thanoses it is. 

For the number of characters and the interwoven subplots making up the entire story is quite an accomplishment. It manages to be entertaining and very well assembled. Still, there's truckloads of action, split into two movies, just so some good guys can take down one bad guy! "Avenger: Infinity War" certainly takes itself too seriously. 

Spaceballs 2 - My trailer reaction...

 A "Spaceballs 2 - official announcement teaser" dropped June 12 for the truly shameless sequel money grab to 1987's Mel Brooks "Star Wars" spoof, "Spaceballs." It's a sequel 40 years in the making that people wanted, but didn't know they wanted, or maybe they did know but why bother saying anything because everyone figured it would never happen. 

I guess "Spaceballs 2" is a thing...officially. Or, will be a thing next year as mentioned in the announcement. 

Though the trailer is one long word scrawl in the spirit of "Star Wars" satirization which is on point with the comedy style of "Spaceballs," it got laughs out of me. Even my wife laughed though she's not much of a "Spaceballs" fan.  

I keep seeing articles and other posts on social media mentioning that not only is 98-year old comedian Mel Brooks, who wrote and directed the first "Spaceballs" (I can't believe I'm using the word "first" in the same sentence as "Spaceballs") and plays various roles in the movie, returning to this upcoming sequel, so is Bill Pullman who plays Han Solo spoof, "Lone Starr." I also saw an article that his son, Lewis Pullman, will appear alongside his dad in this movie. 

I think the biggest news surrounding the cast is the return of actor Rick Moranis who stars as "Dark Helmet" in the first. 

Moranis has been very selective in the last several years about what roles and venues he takes. Fans were hopeful to see him take on the role of Louis Tully once again in the last two "Ghostbuster" sequels, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" (2021) and "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" (2024). Sadly, that didn't happen. 

Moranis did however return as the voice of Dark Helmet in an episode of "The Goldbergs'" back in 2018. So, as I said, he is certainly very selective about roles and such. I don't know if I'm more excited to see a sequel to one of the best satirical films "Spaceballs" or to see Rick Moranis appear on screen again. 

Based on his filmography, Moranis's last on-screen appearance was in the 1997 direct-to-video movie "Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves." He has done some voice work after that, including the Disney animated movies "Brother Bear" (2003) and "Brother Bear 2" (2006). 

Daphne Zuniga, who plays Princess Vespa in "Spaceballs" is returning as "Queen Vespa" in the sequel according to her filmography. And I'm glad! Glad! Glad! Glad! Glad! Glad! 

The last I saw Zuniga pop up on screen was on an episode of "Masked Singer" back in 2023. (I watch it with my wife.) So, she's still ever popular. 

In the Spaceballs universe, she and Lone Starr, who got married in "Spaceballs" will have children. Que Lewis Pullman. That's my prediction. 

Actress and singer, Keke Palmer is also set to star in this new movie. She has been in a number of movies, including Jordan Peeles' 2022 sci-fi horror flick, "Nope." Curious to see who her character will be. My guess is she'll take on the role of C3PO spoof, Dot Matrix, previously played by the late, great Joan Rivers.

I love satire as I've mentioned a few times in previous movie reviews. "Spaceballs" is one the best satirical movies, with quotable lines still quoted today. It's one of few comedies that still make me laugh pretty hard even though I already know the joke. "Ludicrous speed." "This is now, now. Everything that's happening now, is happening now." "Spaceballs, the flame thrower. The kids love this one."  Even after 40 years, whenever I do something stupid, like try to exit a car without first unbuckling my seatbelt, I'll throw out the exclamation, "That's gonna leave a mark!" It's also among one of the best movies from Mel Brooks, up among his top five movies along side "Young Frankenstein," "Blazing Saddles," "History of the World, Part I," and "The Producers." I'd also thrown in his slightly underrated comedy, "Silent Movie" among his best stuff. Brooks as pretty much lampooned every genre of movie. 

I, like probably so many other fans, will miss the presence of the late, great John Candy. His hilarious and highly popular performance as Chewbacca satire "Barf" (a mawg who's half man-half dog) is ingrained in pop-culture. It's certainly one of the more well-known Candy performances that really established his comedic talent. 

I'm curious to see how John Candy's character will be referenced in this new movie. I'm just as curious to see what the updated humor will be like this time around, what has happened in the Spaceballs universe since 1987, how the merchandising business has gone for Yogurt all this time, what happened to Lone Starr and everyone, and how it'll all be thrown in to tell a story 40-years after the first movie. I just have to see this.  

No doubt it'll lampoon the "Star Wars" films and spin-offs that have since come out. And I bet the trend of reboots and remakes to long-past movies will be kicked around. 

I was really disappointed with Mel Brook's 2023 "History of the World, Part II" - the sequel to his 1981 movie "History of the World, Part I."  The jokes were lousy. The writing was lousy. I hope the writers for "History of the World, Part II" haven't been anywhere near the writing table for "Spaceballs 2." Brian Grazer, Jeb Brody, Josh Gad and Josh Greenbaum are producing this thing, along with Kevin Salter, Adam Merims, Benji Samit and Dan Hernandez working as executive producers. So, fingers crossed. I don't know anything about them, honestly. 

Speaking of Josh Gad, I don't see the movie listed in his filmography. If he does have a role in the movie, maybe he'll play offspring or a relative of some kind to "Barf." Maybe Barf hooked up with a lady mawg and they had a litter of mawg puppies? And one of those mawgs is set to continue in the legacy of Barf. The legacy of Barf? That doesn't sound good.   

Regardless, after 40 years, and with Mel Brooks being 98, now is the time to carry on that search for more money. The schwartz awakens...from its nap, I guess. 

Also, Michael Winslow - please come back! 

 

27) Forbidden Planet (1956)

(4's out of 5)

"Another one of them new worlds. No beer, no women, no pool parlors, nothing. Nothing to do but throw rocks at tin cans, and we got to bring our own tin cans."

Director
Fred M. Wilcox

Cast

Walter Pidgeon - Dr. Edward Morbius
Leslie Nielsen - Commander John J. Adams
Anne Francis - Altaira Morbius
Warren Stevens - Lt. Ostrow
Jack Kelly - Lt. Jerry Farman
Richard Anderson - Chief Quinn
Earl Holliman - Cook
George Wallace - Bosun

The 1956 sci-fi action film "Forbidden Planet" holds a lofty spot as a foundational film in the sci-fi genre. While watching this movie for the first time, it left me with some wonderment about its place among other well loved and highly popular science fiction movies. 

I think this movie has left a trail of theories about its meaning and what its saying about society at the time among audiences since its premiere in 1956. It has left a cultural impact. That's for sure.
The story takes place centuries from now. The all-man crew (the best kind of crew to have) of the United Planets starship C-57D have been travelling well over a year through space on a mission to investigate what happened to another ship called the Bellerophon. That ship took off 20 years ago on its way to the planet Altair IV. Whatever happened to the ship has been a mystery. 

The C-57D crew reach Altair IV. Before landing, scientist Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) who was onboard the Bellerophon warns them from the planet's surface via radio communication that they better not land for the sake of their safety. 

However, the ship's commander, John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) ignores the warning and lands anyways. 

Once on the surface of Altair IV, Adams and his crewmen meet a robot calling itself Robby (voiced by Marvin Miller) who transports them to Dr. Morbius's house. 

When they arrive and have a chance to meet and greet, Dr. Morbius fills them in on what happened to all the other crew members of the Bellerophon. Basically, they're all dead. 

He says each of them was killed by an unseen planetary force. This force was so forceful that it completely vaporized the entire ship in a truly forceful manner beyond their own forces. 

Thankfully for Dr. Morbius, he and his wife survived. However, his wife has since passed away, but their gorgeous young daughter, Altaira (Anne Francis), is still alive. 

So, Morbius and Altaira have been living a secluded life in a futuristic house that's as futuristic as the late 1950s can conjure up. 

Morbius cordially offers to send the Adams and his crew back to Earth. 

However, this all-male crew haven't seen a girl in over a year. So, a few of them would love nothing more than have a few minutes alone with Altaira. For instance, Adams finds one of his crewmen, Farman (Jack Kelly) trying to "teach" Altaira how to kiss. Being alone on the planet with no one else but her father has kept her pretty naive.  

Adams not only chastises Farman for his behavior, but he also barks at Altaira for her choice of revealing clothing. It's worth mentioning that Adams and Altaira fall in love by the end of the movie. 

During his isolation on Altair IV, Morbius has been studying artifacts from the planet's ancient civilization called the Krell, who were highly advanced, but not advanced enough as they mysteriously disappeared over night (literally) thousands of years ago. So, how did that happen? 

One of the Krell artifacts Morbius now has is a device that increases human intellect. Morbius previously used on himself. Though it nearly killed him, he's now a lot smarter than before. 

The last thing he wants to do, despite Adams adamant insistence, is share these advanced Krell technologies with Earth.  

Shortly after, an invisible and destructive living force is discovered. Adams creates an invisible force field to protect his crew, but this invisible monstrous creature breaks through it and kills Adams' Chief Engineer. 

Morbius has some kind of premonition that this creature will return with it a lot more destruction and death. 

Not only does "Forbidden Planet" have a grand production design, a decent cast, a lovable robot named Robby that's still iconic nearly 70 years later, and animated effects by animator Joshua Meador who was on loan to MGM from the Walt Disney Studios, "Forbidden Planet" also has quite a legacy. 

A large handful of science fiction space adventure franchises take inspiration from "Forbidden Planet." While watching the movie, I can see where Gene Roddenberry's "Star Trek" and George Lucas's "Star Wars" are derivative of "Forbidden Planet." 

And some of the wide-angle scenes and space-scapes surely gave George Lucas ideas when making "Star Wars." There's a lot of wide-angle shots to really make sure audiences take in the futuristic other-planetary atmosphere and space setting. 

Plus, Robby the Robot is something of the original droid. Similar to one protocol droid from "Star Wars" we all know and love, Robby can speak 187 languages other than English. He can also do something other droids haven't yet seemed to master. Robby can make a pot of coffee and brew hard alcohol when requested to do so! "Would 60 gallons be sufficient?" 

By the way, for those that don't know, Robby has a cameo in the 1984 movie "Gremlins." 

The word "iconic" is used a lot by movie buffs, myself included. But Leslie Nielson's performance predating his more well know comedic roles is truly that. Iconic!  

I think this is another movie I ought to watch again as I have a feeling I missed some important things the first time around. There's some intellectual depth to the story involving the dark side of the human mind and human behavior. 

When moral restrictions, the moral code written on the heart of every man, and the dictates of our conscience are removed, where does that leave a fallen people?

For instance, the idea of incestuous feelings is hinted at though nothing blatant is depicted, glorified, or stated. It's very subtle and vaguely left to the audience to speculate. This idea pops up when Dr. Morbius is evidently jealous as his daughter falls in love with Adams, which he's clearly against.

Also, the story is based on Shakespeare's "The Tempest." Basically, there's a taste of how the corruption of humanity, which the Christian world calls original sin, destroys the order of reason over the desires of the flesh. This notion comes up when Adams finds Farman taking advantage of Altaira by "teaching" her the stimulating nature of kissing

Adams not only rebukes Farman for his behavior but chastises Altaira for wearing such a scanty outfit in the midst of a male space crew who haven't been around a woman in 378 days. 

For a movie from 1956, "Forbidden Planet" has a daring and bold nature to it. It rises above the usual campy sci-fi flicks of this atomic era of science fiction/ horror. 

My one problem with the movie is that it does feel like it drags on. It takes its time getting to the climax. It has action and some intensity here and there, but I sat through a few dialogue-heavy scenes waiting for something to happen. That's not to say I was bored watching "Forbidden Planet." I was certainly invested. 

If any movie lover wants a real taste of the best films from the atomic age of sci-fi/ horror of the 1950s and 1960s, "Forbidden Planet" is definitely among the top picks of the period to watch. The set design is impressive and reminds me of something my mind would conjure up reading vintage-y dime-store science fiction novels. The special effects, though certainly of their period, are just as impressive as I'm sure they were back in '56. Yeah, they've aged but still deserve great appreciation. 

This is a movie I definitely plan to watch again. There's substance to this sci-fi action film that I'm sure I didn't pick up on completely the first time around. 

26) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

(3's out of 5)

"I once had strings, but now I'm free."

Director
Joss Whedon

Cast
Robert Downey Jr. - Tony Stark/ Ironman
Chris Hemsworth - Thor
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner/ Hulk
Chris Evans - Steve Rogers/ Captain America
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow
Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton/ Hawkeye
Don Cheadle - James Rhodes/ War Machine
Aaron Taylor-Johnson - Pietro Maximoff
Elizabeth Olsen - Wanda Maximoff

Paul Bettany - J.A.R.V.I.S

James Spader - Ultron

The stakes are greater, and the fight is certainly narrowed down in "Avengers: Age of Ultron," the sequel to "The Avengers" and the second movie in the Avengers line-up from Marvel. My thoughts and feelings about this movie are scattered.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" is a slightly more entertaining film than the previous movie. It's packed in with as much Marvel-ly stuff as it can hold. It also feels like it's making the plot up as it goes along. 

The movie begins as the Avengers- Iron Man, Hulk, Capt. America, Black Widow and Hawkeye- attack a Hydra facility headed up by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker. The Baron had previously been conducting experiments on people with Loki's staff from the first movie. 

While raiding the joint, the Avengers find two of Wolfgang's subjects - Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), who are twins. It turns out Pietro has the ability to travel at superhuman speed. Wanda, as those who tuned into the Marvel series "WandaVision" know, possesses telekinesis. So, they're quite the brother and sister duo. 

Loki's staff contains a gem that possesses an intelligent power. Ironman/ Tony Stark (Robert Downy, Jr.) and the Hulk/ Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) use this gem to enhance Stark's global defense program named "Ultron." 

Ultron, voiced by James Spader, in "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Well, as one would expect in a superhero movie, Ultron (James Spader) becomes self-aware and sentient, and all evil and stuff. By "evil" I mean he starts to think that he needs to eradicate all of humanity to save the earth. 

He sets his crosshairs on Tony Stark's personal AI system "J.A.R.V.I.S." So, to get to J.A.R.V.I.S. Ultron attacks the Avengers' headquarters. 

He also consistently upgrades himself while doing all this. 

J.A.R.V.I.S, meanwhile, is hiding somewhere in the deep corners of cyberspace (does anyone still call it that anymore?). 

Stark and Banner manage to secretly transfer J.A.R.V.I.S. into a synthetic body (Paul Bettany) and use that gem from Loki's staff to animate J.A.R.V.I.S.'s body. 

Somewhere around this time, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to help his fellow Avengers save Earth after he has a vision that the gem inserted onto J.A.R.V.I.S.'s forehead is one of the six infinity stones.

So, the Avengers square off with Ultron for the sake of humanity's existence. 

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" is an improvement from the first movie. There's so much packed into it that the movie doesn't waste a moment. There's certainly less in-between scenes with a lot more dialogue than anything else. Afterall, "Age of Ultron" isn't trying, or trying as much as the first, to set things up like the first film did. 

There's more substance in this sequel. That is, there's more action and, basically, stuff other than dialogue happening. 

While the movie manages to entertain, and despite how lofty a production it is with a major stellar cast returning, it's still a lot of the same as the other Marvel movies. Nothing much stands out.  

Regardless, I was much more involved and interested in this story than I was in the first movie. 

It plays out much better than before. My investment into the film didn't quite fade. 

There's some character insight as well, particularly with Hawkeye. The introduction of the Maximoff's and their turmoil with Tony Stark was also an intriguing plot point. They, along with Hawkeye, convey the most emotion and personality compared to the rest of the characters who are pretty much just as dry as they were in the first movie. Otherwise, the movie just pushes ahead. 

Aside from that, there's not much room from much character development among anyone else. 

I guess character insight was dealt with in each of the superhero's respective stand-alone movies. It's up to audiences to watch them and figure it all out themselves. 

Watching this second installment made me realize that Ultron is a much less interesting villain compared to Loki. Ultron turns out to be just another out-of-control intelligent robot that isn't intimidating nor possessing much, if any, personality. Give one point to part one for having a better villain. 

As for the overall plot, though it kept me interested, it seems like everything that happens is made up as the movie progresses. It's as though the producers were desperate to make this experience better than before and careful not to forget all the typical Marvel comic tropes. Nothing, if anything, about the movie feels fresh. There's hardly anything eye-popping. 

The fight scenes were entertaining, though. I wouldn't call it exciting, though. The movie is a service to fan as it strives to meet audience's expectations before the next movie, "Avengers: Infinity Wars" was to come out. All in all, "Age of Ultron" builds upon what the previous movie setup and manages to tell a story, leaving all the set-up to "The Avengers." That's about all this movie has going for it. It's not great, but at least it's not part one. 

25) The McPherson Tape - aka UFO Abduction (1989)

(2 out of 5)

Director
Dean Alioto

Cast
Tommy Giavocchini - Eric Van Heese
Patrick Kelley - Jason Van Heese
Shirly McCalla - Mom
Stacey Shulman - Renee Reynolds
Christine Staples - Jamie Van Heese
Laura Tomas - Michelle Van Heese 
Dean Alioto - Michael Van Heese

When it comes to the "found footage" horror subgenre, I find that the ones I've seen are great at building up only to end too abruptly. 

"Found footage" refers to a filming technique which presents the story as a home movie recording, made by a character or characters in the movie. It gives the impression that the movie is actually raw footage that was found and wasn't really intended for general audiences. 

The 1961 movie "The Connection" is often referred to as the first movie shot in this format.

When it comes to this found footage genre, three movies come to my mind. The first is "The Blair Witch Project." "Cloverfield" is another. And the alien abduction movie, "The McPherson Tape" which is also known as "UFO Abduction," is the third.  

The footage takes place on the night of Oct. 3, 1983. The McPherson family, who live somewhere in the Connecticut mountains, gather to celebrate Michelle Van Heese's (Laura Tomas) fifth birthday party. Her grandmother (Shirly McCalla) along with her children Eric (Tommy Giavocchini) who's Michelle's dad, Jason (Patrick Kelley), and Michael (Dean Alioto) are all there. 

Michael is the one working the family camcorder. Also, Michelle's mom, Jamie (Christine Staples) is of course there, too. Also, Jason's girlfriend Renee (Stacey Shulman) is joining everyone.

Everything starts off jovial enough. The scene is a typical family having a small get-together for young Michelle. 

For the first 20 minutes or so, the audience gets nothing but home video footage of this birthday. Nothing at all interesting happens as the movie forces us to sit and watch and wait for something interesting to happen.

They turn off the lights so Michelle can blow out her candles, but they can't turn them back on. 

Michael, Eric and Jason go outside to check out the breaker box. While doing so, some red lights from a UFO pass overhead. 

They decide to follow it as mysterious spacecraft appears to land not too far from their location. 

While they walk to the landing sight, they talk about how their mother has become an alcoholic since the death of their dad. 

The three guys finally come across the UFO on their neighbor's property. Alien beings are wandering outside this ship, investigating the surrounding wooded area. 

After one of these aliens sees their flashlights, the guys run back to the house. 

The guys lock the family inside and grab some shotguns all while hysterically shouting about what they just witnessed. Naturally, they freak everyone out. 

More red UFO lights shine in through the windows as a spacecraft flies overhead. They all think the spacecraft flew off and all the creatures they witnessed are now gone. 

Where the movie gets a little silly, if it isn't already, happens right about here. The guys find one of Michelle's drawings of an alien which looks just like the aliens they saw. 

Still, everyone calms down a bit. Some of them try to leave. However, the aliens are standing outside their house. 

Everyone rushes back into the house, clueless about what to do. 

Eric then shoots one of these aliens. Thinking he killed it, Eric brings it into the house. Who knows why? 

Well, once the supposedly dead alien is brought inside, it's clear where the story is going to go. 

The movie is good enough to keep me invested all the way to the end. I wouldn't call it an "edge-of-your-seat" sci-fi thriller. Still, it manages to be effective. 

But this found footage subgenre needs to be really good, and depict a really effective topic, otherwise it ends up underwhelming or not as satisfying as the producers surely want it to be. These kind of movies often miss more than they hit. 

What makes them unsatisfying is that the audience is generally left with no climax. "The McPherson Tape" ends just as the aliens enter the home. The family doesn't even see them enter, though the audience does. Their reaction, and whatever happens next is left to the audience's mind. Otherwise, it ends just when it gets really good. 

All the found footage movies I've seen follows this pattern. Just when sparks are going to fly, the credit start rolling. Yeah...yeah. I know. What happens next is left to the audience's imagination. Big wow! Am I supposed to call that great writing or magical movie making? 

"The McPherson Tape" tries to be serious, and it does a decent enough job in appearing authentic (for the most part). The aliens ruin it for me. They look like kids in black spandex and rubber alien masks. Otherwise, it's a respectable attempt at a "found footage" movie. 

Dean Alioto and Paul Chitlik remade this movie in 1998 titled, "Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County." I'm curious enough to look for it and see if it's any sort of improvement. 

24) The Avengers (2012)

(2.5's out of 5)

"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves; we're sort of like a team. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type thing."

Director
Joss Whedon

Cast

Robert Downey, Jr. - Tony Stark 

Chris Evans - Steve Rogers
Scarlett Johansson - Natasha Romanoff

Jeremy Renner - Clint Barton
Mark Ruffalo - Bruce Banner
Chris Hemsworth - Thor 
Tom Hiddleston - Loki

Samuel L. Jackson - Nick Fury
Stellan Skarsgård - Selvig
Gwyneth Paltrow - Pepper Potts 

I decided to put on Marvel's bar-raising and 5th highest grossing movie (according to ScreenRant.com), "Avengers." 

I haven't watched it since its release back in 2012 and I don't recall what I thought about it back then. I probably enjoyed it. I mean, I don't recall having any negative thoughts about it, though it was 13 years ago. Watching it now, it fails to impress. In fact, it's boring! 

Honestly, I lost interest in these Marvel movies ever since the fourth and final Avengers movie (so far), "Avengers: Endgame" came out in 2019. 

I mean, "Endgame" is the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Too much of a good thing isn't good. I have what the kids call "comic book movie fatigue." For me, "Endgame" was the climax of this whole MCU. 

Occasionally, a new Marvel movie pops up that makes me curious enough to watch it when it's released on DVD. Otherwise, the spark is gone for me. 

When it comes to comic book-based movies, which "Avengers" is for those who have no idea what Hollywood has been producing in the last 20-plus years or so, after Tim Burton's 1989 movie, "Batman," comic book movies took a more serious, gritty turn. And to some degree, that tone still exists in some of these movies. But I think Marvel brought back some color and a bit more light-heartedness to this genre. Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" movies come to mind. I'm sure comic-book connoisseur would scream at me when I say that movies like Raimi's "Spider-Man" along with various other MCU films have a modern style and tone reminiscent of Richard Donner's "Superman" and Richard Lester's "Superman II."  "The Guardians of the Galaxy" vols. 1 and 2 along with the "Ant-Man" movies come to mind in that regard.

"The Avengers" is the first of four Avengers movies in the MCU, which several previous superhero movies focused on specific characters build up to. This movie picks up after those movies. 

In "Avengers," Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor's adoptive brother, meets a representative of an alien species called the Chitauri, who is referred to as "the Other" (Alexis Denisof). 
The Other wants Loki to get his hands on an energy source called a tesseract. If Loki can find and grab this tesseract, the Other will give him an alien army strong enough to conquer the Earth. So, Loki comes to Earth and begins his quest to find the tesseract and rule over the world.

So, where is it? 

This tesseract is located at a secret facility where Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and a team he's leading is studying what it's capable of. 

Of course, Selvig and his team somehow activate the tesseract which opens a portal. And Loki meanders through it. That was easy! 

He snatches the tesseract and uses his magic-y staff to enslave Selvig and everyone in the lab including Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), also known as Hawkeye- one of the Avengers in case someone out there didn't know that.

So, while that's going on, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), who previously brought the Avengers together, calls them to keep Loki from getting his hands on the tesseract and enslaving the Earth. 

To begin things, Agent Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) heads to Kolkata to get Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to locate this tesseract through gamma radiation. 

As the Avengers hunt down Loki, inner turmoil ensues as they argue how to approach and deal with him. The top covert agency, S.H.E.I.L.D., wants to use the tesseract as a way to create weapons of mass destruction against the threat of any invading aliens. I'm trying to simplify the plot. 

Eventually, these alien invaders arrive at Earth, and it's up to the Avengers to stop them. 

There's a lot of talking in this movie, interrupted by fighting scenes, followed by more talking scenes. 

Throughout the movie, the word "tesseract" is used again and again...and again. 

Chris Evans, Robert Downey, Jr., and Samuel L. Jackson.

"We have to find Loki and the Tesseract." "Keep working on finding Loki and the Tesseract." "Have we located Loki and the Tesseract?" "Where's Loki and also the Tesseract?" "Once we have Loki, we'll have the Tesseract." "Keep looking for Loki and the Tesseract." 

For all the talking this movie has, the dialogue feels dull and repetitive. You know... dull feelings that feel repetitive. 

All the characters, outside of their superhero costumes and persona, lack personality. I only find them interesting when they're fighting and battling and doing what superheroes are expected to do. Everything else is dialogue, pseudoscience, and more dialogue.

Robert Downey Jr's character Tony Stark/ Iron Man has some personality but outside of his being a pretentious, filthy rich, and ingenious character, that's about all we get in the personality column. 

He's a dry character, and he seems to intentionally be that way. The rest of the cast don't have much of anything other than looks and some fighting scenes to keep audiences invested. For a movie with so many characters to be as boring as it is, is kind of remarkable.  

"Avengers" is certainly proud of itself for being what it is, or at least what it perceives itself to be - a super, superhero movie. It is an ambitious project inclusive of a bunch of superheroes played by big name actors. Thankfully, keeping track of all the motives behind each character is easy to remember 

Otherwise, it's boring until the final battle in which something exciting actually happens. The movie takes itself way too seriously. It's enough to make even my roll my eyes. 

The movie is one big load of setting up for later stuff, though the individual superhero movies before "Avengers" which focus on one member of the team at a time, seems to do that, too. 

The movie kept me waiting for the action to begin or continue. It felt like a new experience when watching it on screen back in 2012. Now, I hear a fifth Avengers movie, "Avengers: Doomsday" is set to be released in May of 2026. Regardless, the novelty and sheen of these huge comic book movie mega-productions have since worn off almost completely, if not completely-completely, sometime between then and now. 

23) Ready Player One (2018)

(3.5 's out of 5)

"I'm not crazy about reality, but it's still the only place to get a decent meal." - Groucho Marx

Director
Steven Spielberg

Cast
Tye Sheridan - Wade Watts/Parzival
Olivia Cooke - Samantha Cook/Art3mis
Mark Rylance - James Halliday/Anorak
Ben Mendelsohn - Nolan Sorrento
Lena Waithe - Aech
Win Morisaki - Toshiro Yoshiaki/Daito
Philip Zhao - Sho
Simon Pegg - Ogden Morrow
T.J. Miller - i-R0k

The 2018 sci-fi action movie. "Ready Player One," based on Ernest Cline's novel of the same name and directed by Steven Spielberg, is one long eye-popping pop-culture fest. 

I enjoyed the book very much, and the movie is just as loaded...saturated even...with all things pop culture from the last 50 years. So many characters and properties are crawling throughout this story that it'll take a lot of viewings to catch half of them, especially characters who have a second or less of screen time. 

Otherwise, "Ready Player One" is high energy entertainment. It doesn't waste any time. 

The takes place in the year 2045. All of society has grown immensely despondent, and everyone collectively escapes from reality by immersing themselves in a virtual reality world called the OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). Every participant takes the form of an avatar and conduct themselves in all manners of entertainment, commerce, education, etc. It was created by programmers James Halliday (Mark Rylance) and Ogden Morrow (Simon Pegg) both of whom founded the fictional company Gregarious Games. 

Users can choose their own avatar, which are often characters from various movies, television shows, music groups. or video games. They can also purchase or acquire various power-ups or accessories also taken from various properties. So. the OASIS is jammed with just about every pop culture reference you can think of. 

As Halliday has since passed away, his avatar known as Anorak, previously announced to all the world that Gregarious Games and the entire OASIS will be handed over to one single lucky winner of an on-going contest taking place inside the OASIS. All the lucky winner has to do is be the first player to find an Easter egg hidden somewhere in the artificial world. The egg is locked away and can only be obtained with the use of three separate keys that also need to be found. 

To achieve the keys, players need to accomplish three separate challenges which aren't easy to win. 

OASIS avatars Parzival (left) and Art3mis in "Ready Player One."

Any egg hunter looking for these keys are referred to as "gunters." 

One of these gunters happens to be Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn), the corrupt millionaire CEO of Innovative Online Industries, or IOI for short. 

Sorrento utilizes both IOI employees and indentured servants to work around the clock digging through all of Halliday's interests life events which may serve as clues as to where he hid this egg so IOI can own Gregarious Games and control the OASIS. These workers of his are known within the OASIS as "sixers."

Meanwhile, one random teenager named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) not only immerses himself in the OASIS as frequently as anyone else, he's also a dedicated gunter. 

Inside, he goes by the avatar "Parcival" and is friends with a few other gunters called Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Aech (Lena Waithe), Daito (Win Morisaki) and Sho (Philip Zhao). 

Wade studies the life and interests of James Halliday closely as records of Halliday's life, interests, writings, likes, dislikes, life events, achievements and failures, and other works and points of interest are all recorded in an archive database. 

After Wade figures out how to win the first challenge - a race that no one has yet won - and becomes the first gunter to win and score the first key, he works tirelessly with Art3mis, whom he has a crush on, and his other friends to find the remaining keys and be the one who scores the egg.

Wade becomes the first played to find the first of the three keys, which grabs the attention of Sorrento. He's willing to do anything to make sure he finds the egg before Wade does. 

It's comical to watch a corporate type wrack his brain and spend hours upon hours trying to figure out rather insignificant things (well, to most people) such as how to maneuver through now obsolete Atari 2600 games such as "Adventure" for clues alongside memorizing the importance of retro junk as it all pertained to one dude, Halliday. And he puts himself up against one teenager who's smarter than he is. It certainly says a lot about greed - corporate greed, which is certainly a plot point of the story. 

The whole thing feels satirical. So much energy, importance, life and death, over a giant virtual reality system. Of course, the prize is immense. It's like a modern day, or futuristic, action packed, geek version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."  

There has to be hundreds of pop culture references dating between the 1970s to the mid-2000s jammed in here. Unless you watch "Ready Player One" which has a run time of 140 minutes, one frame at a time, or you have the attention and eyesight of a falcon, or just have nothing better to do on a Friday night and are desperate to accomplish at least one thing in your life, there's otherwise no way to catch them all. 

The Iron Giant attacks Mechagodzilla in the OASIS.

Most of the ones that are catchable have less than a second of screen time. Nevertheless, the movie depends so much on all the pop culture jampacked into the story that it seems the movie forgot to add some much-needed depth and development to the characters. 

They're too stale. It's not necessarily bad to focus on what Wade and the other characters are trying to accomplish. The movie feels completely full. There's a lot happening at every inch of the story, which alternates between the OASIS, Sorrento, and Wade's activities. Yet, the one thing that's missing is any insight into the characters. There's some insight, but not nearly enough. That's really the only initial problem I have with "Ready Player One." 

There's a fortune at steak, but it's hilarious watching everyone treating the OASIS like an absolute necessity. I'm sure there's some social commentary in that as far as modern society's dependence on technology and its addiction to constant visual gratification. That's on top of the commentary of corporate greed. All these references to other movies and such brings to mind those "member berries" from "South Park." Remember that? Remember? Oh, sure - I remember that!

Anyways, Spielberg knows how to wow an audience with eye-popping visuals and can tell a story that completely immerses the audience's attention. The pacing is great, and the story is entertaining. Weirdly enough, its audience is broad yet specific. Pop culture fanatics, geeks and nerds probably get the most out of this movie. There's enough pop culture and video game culture to feed the movie's intended audience of Gen X'rs, Millennials, and maybe some Gen Z'rs which spans more than 50 years. 

I read the book before the movie's release, and I enjoyed it. I also read the sequel, "Ready Player Two" as well, also by Ernest Cline. It felt slower and not as thrilling as the first book. 

Anyways, I like this movie for two reasons. The first being its dedication to irreplaceable reality (believe it or not), and that reality is where we all need to really need to spend most, if not all of our time. And two - the notion that we need to work for our success no matter what amount of success we achieve. No one's entitled to anything. Halliday makes each player use their brains to find his ultimate Easter egg. The entire experience comes down to its entertainment factor, and it is entertaining!