Day: April 27, 2019

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: a Visual Delight

The review:

(L to R) Scott Pilgrim (MICHAEL CERA), Ramona Flowers (MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD), Young Neil (JOHNNY SIMMONS), Knives Chau (ELLEN WONG), Kim Pine (ALISON PILL) and Stephen Stills (MARK WEBBER) in the amazing story of one romantic slacker’s quest to power up with love: the action-comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Not having got enough of some of the Avengers, I re-watched Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to see Brie Larson and Chris Evans before they were Captains Marvel and America and also because I fell asleep when I watched this in 2010.* While I still did drift off in a few places, I loved the visual styling of this movie and I think what Edgar Wright does well is cast leads whose quirks let them really lean in to their performances.** The quick cuts and fast pace are great, and it’s fun to see so many actors who have gone on to other great roles.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

More sentences:

*It was the movie that taught me that I can no longer watch movies that start at 10 p.m.
**This movie capitalizes on all the Michael Cera things, and Wright later does the same with Ansel Elgort in Baby Driver.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World movie review 3SMReviews

Avengers: Endgame Has All the Feels

Avengers: Endgame movie review 3SMReviews

The review:

There are 21 reasons I happily sat through a three-hour finale of Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame; at this point, this endeavor is more of a new-generation serial* than a movie. As my movie-going companion pointed out, this is almost like three separate movies: a drama, a heist, and then an action movie. I loved so much about this movie: the callbacks to the previous films; the assembly of so many characters I know and love;** the amount of gravitas; the humor; and the way everything wrapped up.

The verdict:

Recommended, assuming you’ve seen the majority of the 21 previous movies. If not, might I recommend you begin with 2008’s Iron Man?

Cost: $10.50
Where watched: Baghdad Theater with a crowd who clapped multiple times.

Additional sentences:

*You know like those short films that used to be before the main picture way before my time? That’s what this is, a serial told over a decade and in much bigger chunks.
**That said Marvel, in the future, I’d prefer more movies with female superheroes in starring roles,*** rather than just gathering them together at a(n admittedly tear-inducing) specific point in a big battle.
***I feel cheated out of Black Widow’s full story.

Avengers: Endgame movie review 3SMReviews

We watched a movie today. So did half the country.

The Baghdad Theater was a great place to watch this movie. A big theater with lots of audience reaction, makes an eagerly anticipated movie that much sweeter.

What did I think? I’ve got a review here.

Plus, this movie got me to thinking about just how many superhero movies the two of us had watched in the course of our relationship. And then I wrote a blog post which can be found here.