The fifth film in the Hollywood Blockbuster movie series beginning with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl released in 2003, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is an entertaining swashbuckling fantasy that ultimately suffers from being basically a retread of the previous films and not as fun and innovative as the original. The highlight of every Pirates of the Caribbean is Johnny Depp’s character Captain Jack Sparrow who is both charismatic and a buffoon that keeps audiences entertained. This film follows Henry who is the son of Will Turner, previously played by Orlando Bloom, and the beautiful Elizabeth Swann, previously played by Keira Knightley, as he embarks on an adventure to release his father from a curse by finding the mythical Trident of Poseidon. He is faced with daunting obstacles, especially after encountering the villainous undead Spanish Captain Salazar and his equally cursed crew. Salazar, played by Oscar-winner Javier Bardem, is also trying to find the Trident to break his spell and leaves a path of shipwrecks to enact revenge. At the same time, a young woman named Carina is imprisoned for witchcraft and eventually meets up with Henry and Jack, and they all escape after Carina tells them of a way to find the Trident of Poseidon. Also, Captain Barbossa, played by Oscar-winner Geoffrey Rush, is searching for Jack while Salazar pursues him and destroys much of Barbossa’s fleet. After eventually making a deal with Salazar, Barbossa switches allegiance to Jack, Henry, and Carina in hopes of finding the Trident. All of the film’s constant, almost excessive compared to the other movies, swashbuckling and high-speed and often explosive maritime chases across the Caribbean finally lead all of the characters to an island and an epic fantastical CGI-enhanced sea battle. Overall, I found it to be your typical summer blockbuster sequel that was an unnecessary addition to the already bloated Pirates of the Caribbean franchise; the originality is lost at sea, and it feels like the same movie as the others, even with the new young characters Henry and Carina appearing as look-alikes of Will and Elizabeth. 

Part of a long line of films revolving around the classic monster King Kong who first appeared in 1933, Kong: Skull Island is a fun and stylish action-adventure flick that is unlike any other King Kong movie by being heavily influenced by the 1979 Vietnam-set film Apocalypse Now. John Goodman plays the director of a secretive government
organization investigating the supernatural who leads a group of researchers and Army personnel in 1973 to an unexplored island called Skull Island that may reveal unusual creatures. After their first encounter with King Kong, the expeditionary group gets
split up and must cross the mysteriously dangerous island to reach their helicopter rendezvous pickup point. The soldiers led by a gung-ho lieutenant colonel, played by Samuel L. Jackson, lean on their militaristic instincts and feel that Kong is a threat and must be eliminated with military force. On the other hand, the other group comprising of a mercenary and former officer in the British Special Air Service, played by Tom Hiddleston, and a young female photographer and pacifist, played by Oscar-winner Brie Larson, sympathize with Kong after realizing that he is the protector of the island and the human inhabitants that they encounter. The latter group are amazed to discover an American soldier, played by John C. Reilly, who has been stranded on the island since 1944 after crash landing his airplane towards the end of World War II. Similar to Marlon Brando’s elusive character who lives deep in the jungles of Vietnam with natives in Apocalypse Now, John C. Reilly’s character named Marlow has become the de facto leader
of the indigenous people and warns the newcomers of the dangers of Skull Island, particularly the sinister creatures known as the Skullcrawlers. Eventually, the militaristic group pull out all the stops, including napalm and other explosives, to try and kill Kong while the group that met up with Marlow try all their best to save Kong knowing his role as the island’s godlike protector. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable moviegoing experience that provided all the cheap thrills and excitement from a typical
action movie involving monsters but went one step further by capturing the mood of the 1970’s and the Vietnam War in its striking resemblance to the classic Apocalypse Now.

Yet another comic book-based installment in the seemingly endless Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Strange is a entertaining film that takes a refreshingly new approach to the superhero genre by telling a rather peculiar story in a visually stunning fashion. The movie starts out as a typical comic book origin story in which the audience is shown how the protagonist originally attains his superpowers. We first meet the brilliant yet arrogant neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange who goes along with his normal life until a fateful accident. Played by the talented British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange becomes desperate after losing most function in his hands so vital to being a surgeon and sacrifices practically everything in order to find a medical solution. Nowhere else to turn, he ends up in Kathmandu, Nepal where he meets a mystical teacher known as the Ancient One who says he can be healed through the spiritual realm. He is taught ways to tap into his mind to unleash hidden supernatural powers by reading ancient texts and being mentored by the Ancient One, portrayed by the otherworldly looking Tilda Swinton, and her followers. Eventually, he is thrust into protecting Earth from a mysteriously malevolent dark power. He must help battle a devotee of this evil force who used to be a disciple of the Ancient One, a character played by the brilliantly creepy Mads Mikkelsen. As a novice sorcerer endowed with mystical powers, Doctor Strange finds himself in mind-bending fight sequences that defy the laws of physics. The filmmaker does a terrific job of creating visually arresting scenes that feel straight from M.C. Escher, where any sense of up or down is jumbled together. With its deeply spiritual undercurrent and heavy use of spectacular visual effects, the movie very much reminded me of Christopher Nolan’s 2010 film Inception. As a result of its unusual qualities, it is a radical departure from any other Marvel adaptation, which tend to be formulaic and more of the same. However, there are a few hallmarks of the more traditional Marvel movie: it includes a crossover of characters from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the characters crack self-aware jokes. Overall, I found the film to be thoroughly enjoyable and filled with enough creativity for it to stand out from what has been expected in the innumerable superhero movies. There is no doubt that this will not be the last time we see Doctor Strange as the character’s strange storyline is ripe for a very lucrative movie franchise.

Based on the massively popular video game series first released in 1994, Warcraft follows in a long line of epic fantasy films popularized by The Lord of the Rings series. It is your fairly typical 3D CGI-heavy film that involves humans and fantastical creatures known as orcs fighting over a magical land known as Azeroth. Although it attempts to dumb down the esoteric details of the Warcraft universe, the film feels like it is catered to the millions of role-playing gamers engrossed by Warcraft. The film even at times feels like a video game, with the overhead views of massive battlefields controlled by magic and specialized weapons and ending with a final Boss Level-like fight sequence. While the special effects are well done with an obviously big budget and the story has original fantasy elements, the movie will entice Warcraft gamers but overall does not contribute much to the fantasy genre. Audiences have gotten used to stunning CGI and may feel let down when there already is great fantasy storytelling with The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones.