Crawl, Midsommar, and Stuber Reviews (No Spoilers)

The 2-week span between Spider-Man: Far From Home and the Lion King sees the releases of little indie films trying to break out amongst the box-office behemoths.

I am going to try something unique for my next couple of reviews – not giving a score to a particular movie. I find that unnecessary comparisons tend to arise when I give a movie, for example, a 4/5 as opposed to a 3/5. In essence, everything boils down to a simple number which people are giving more stock to and I am starting to find that very disheartening. Instead, I will succinctly yet effectively convey my opinion in such a way that the reader will know my thoughts of something without necessarily reducing it to a number.

Crawl

The basic story of Crawl is simply this – Haley (played by Kaya Scodelario) tries to rescue her father during a Category 5 hurricane but soon realizes that the rising water/high winds are far from her biggest concern – it’s freaking alligators and they’ve got her family surrounded! When I first saw the trailer for Crawl, I became mildly interested. After all, the premise sounded simple and it didn’t really look as schlocky or campy as the “beloved” Sharknado or the Piranha films or Ghost Shark, etc. Color me surprised, this is easily the most surprisingly entertaining film of 2019.

The 1:27 run-time for Crawl was absolutely perfect and there weren’t many, if any, scenes that dragged the movie down. Albeit a little shallow (ha, puns!), the relationship between Haley and her dad is endearing and the 2 deliver solid performances. In addition, this movie has terrific visual effects (for a $13.5 million budgeted film). Not only do the alligators look real and absolutely terrifying, so does the hurricane. If you were concerned about the kind of movie this is, I can assure you that the VFX in Crawl aren’t like the ones in the Sharnado films. Note to Hollywood studios, Crawl demonstrates that you don’t need $100+ million for an effects-heavy film. The direction is top-notch and there isn’t much filler. The white-knuckle tension and suspense are absolutely palpable and there are sequences in Crawl that are downright, more scarier than any supernatural horror film this year.

Even though Crawl is certainly enjoyable, it isn’t without its problems.

Often times, the movie follows the tropes in the genre – characters making stupid decisions, which is definitely prevalent in this one as well. In addition, the 2 main characters are tussling with the gators numerous times but often get away with (fairly) minor injuries, as opposed to being dead. It seems as if the gators know that Haley and her dad are ‘unkillable’ till the third act. Crawl is also one of the examples of Murphy’s law. If some of you are unaware of the ‘Murphy’s Law,’ it means “whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.” Minor nitpick but, in the first 15-20 mins of the film, Haley is casually driving around the streets of Florida in a Category 5 hurricane!

Overall, I had a great time watching Crawl. The movie is extremely well-directed, has terrific visuals effects, and is easily the best horror/suspenseful film this year.

Midsommar

Ari Aster’s directorial debut, Hereditary, was such a fantastic film exploring the death of a family member, mental illnesses, etc. In Midsommar, a group of young adults goes to a once in a lifetime (every 90 years to be precise) festival in a remote part of Sweden. Initially, the local villagers seem open and nice but soon, they reveal their true, sinister intent.

Technical-ly speaking, this movie is a pure cinematic masterpiece. The cinematography, the editing, the shot-selection are all immaculate and this is simply a gorgeous film to look at. Even though multiple viewings are recommended, one can still catch a lot of little details in their first watch. At its core, this movie is about the tumultuous relationship between 2 individuals and their inevitable-but-not-yet break-up. The performances are pretty subdued for a huge chunk of the film and great, but it’s Will Poulter’s comedic timing that made me partly “enjoy” this film.

However, this is a poor follow-up to Hereditary for a melangè of reasons. Aster chooses to explain very little throughout the film and as a result, I was left scratching my head a number of times. Oh, and don’t get me started on the characters. They are quite idiotic and never seem to follow logic or common-sense. The pacing is also off, as the 2:27 run-time is quite tedious. In addition, this movie has some really twisted, weird scenes that had me laughing and not in a good way.

Midsommar is totally a movie I understand why most might love but it simply wasn’t for me. The snail-like pacing and the lack of details/explanation ultimately affected my enjoyment for the film.

Stuber

Stuber, starring Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) and Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers 3 and 4) is about a law-enforcement officer, Vic, who recently underwent Lasik surgery but also ends up finding a clue, regarding a killer he’s been tracking for years, on the same day. As a result of the surgery, Vic orders an Uber but little does Stu (the driver) realize that this isn’t is his regular rides.

Kumail Nanjiani and Dave Bautista have excellent chemistry and comedic timing. If it weren’t for these 2 carrying the bulk of the film, it would surely have faltered. Their back-and-forth is fun to watch. This movie explores the themes of toxic masculinity and is surprisingly endearing. Vic is the tough-cop, machismo character that has a hard time expressing emotions to his family, while Stu is basically the opposite. As a result, the duo has to learn to work alongside each other and change.

Unfortunately, Stuber has narrative issues and a couple of storylines that are allocated a lot of time, without necessarily having an impact. The movie also has really predictable story-beats. In addition, the reason for Stu to stay with Vic is pretty shallow. He’s after the much-coveted 5-star rating from his rides and is really hoping to not drop below a 4, which will lead to his termination. Speaking of Vic, the hard-edged cop does some pretty crazy shit, especially use excess police force on a bunch of Mexicans in one scene, but there aren’t any repercussions for that.

Overall, Stuber is a pretty enjoyable film with terrific comedic pairing in Nanjiani and Bautista. Most of the jokes land, the message is resonant, and the performances are solid.

Ranking the 23 MCU movies (Infinity Saga)

What Marvel Studios has done is extremely unprecedented. Because they didn’t own the rights to their most popular characters like X-Men or Spider-Man (at the time), they were forced to take their B/C- level characters in Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and make movies about them. However, they took the time to flesh out these characters and humanize them and eventually, made them household names. As a result, they are now the biggest franchise in the world.

Now that the final film (Far From Home) in the Infinity Saga is out, I want to take a moment and rank all the 23 MCU movies. As always, this is subjective and I’m sure I like/dislike some MCU movies more than you.

23. Iron Man 2 – IM2 is by no means an awful movie. RDJ is once again excellent as Tony Stark, who also has a great arc in the film. This is also our first introduction to Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow, who has a really kickass fight scene in the latter half. However, this movie felt like a set-up movie to The Avengers, and the SHIELD storyline simply existed to serve that purpose. In addition, this movie juggles with a lot of storylines without properly spending time on some of them. Not to mention, the villain is extremely sub-par. Even though there are definitely redeeming elements in this film and some enjoyable sequences, it remains the worst MCU movie.

22. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 – I know most people really like this movie but unfortunately, I am not one of them. The first movie had a great balance of humor and emotions, but this goes overboard with the humor. Drax, who is great in the first movie, becomes more of a caricature and a joke-machine, which left me massively dissatisfied. Not to mention, the plot is one of Marvel’s weakest and there are way too many villains in this one. That being said, the visuals are stunning, Peter-dad relationship is extremely poignant and Yondu’s death left me quite lachrymose. Overall, GOTG vol 2 is a massive step-down from the original.

21. Thor: The Dark World – Yes, Thor’s second outing has a lot of issues – terrible romance, the worst MCU villain-to date in Malekith, and an unfocused plot. However, it kinda works because the majority of the focus is on the relationship between Thor and Loki. Even though they are constantly bickering and trying to fight each other, deep down, they still love each other. This movie also has a good amount of humor, which sometimes does land in the cheesy territory. Despite entertaining action sequences and an emphasis on Thor-Loki sibling rivalry, the Dark World is one of Marvel’s weakest films.

20. Ant-Man & the Wasp (A&W) – After the universe-ending stakes of Infinity War, A&W was a really nice palette cleanser. This movie doubles down on the comedy, with some hilarious moments. The visual effects are also pretty solid, and I liked how the filmmakers utilize the characters’ abilities to shrink and grow. However, it’s lack of tie-in to Infinity War is also one of its shortcomings as it ends up being an okay yet forgettable film. The villain is pretty bland and the plot remains one of the weakest.

19. Iron Man 3 – One of the strengths of IM3 is that the filmmakers built the movie around Tony Stark, not Iron Man. After the harrowing events of the Avengers where he almost sacrificed his life, Tony starts dealing with PTSD which helps humanize him further. The action is also a big step up from the previous 2 Iron Man films, especially the sequence where Tony activates the House Party protocol and all his suits come to his assistance. Goosebumps!! However, the fake-Mandarin twist just ends up feeling like a cheap gimmick and the true villain, Aldrich Killian, ends up being another disposable villain.

18. The Incredible Hulk – The 2008 Hulk film has its fair share of detractors, but I like this one more than most. Even though Mark Ruffalo is clearly the best incarnation of the character, Ed Norton is decent as Bruce Banner. I also really enjoyed the action sequences between the Hulk and Abomination. But one thing this movie solidified is my belief that the Hulk works the best with an ensemble, not in a solo movie. There is only so much you can do with the character without getting stale and redundant and so far, his appearances in other people’s films have had a bigger impact on me than in his own films.

17. Doctor Strange – The movie boasts of a star-studded cast with the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Mads Mikkelsen, the lovely Rachel McAdams! The visuals are absolutely out-of-this-world and warrant at least one viewing in 3-D. In addition, Cumberbatch’s surgeon-turned-magician is a relatable character and his back-and-forth with Wong is fun to watch. Unfortunately, the 2 antagonists (Kaecillius and Dormammu) are pretty underwhelming (a trend in the MCU) and the humor often felt forced. Nonetheless, this is a solid, entertaining film and set the stage for Dr. Strange in Infinity War. PS – Don’t text and drive. Unlike Dr. Strange, you won’t get to become a magician.

16. Captain Marvel – If you saw my review for Captain Marvel, you know that I really like this film. It has one of the strongest plots in the MCU and with its focus on Carol Danvers and Nick Fury, it felt like a delightful, buddy-cop flick. In addition, the twists with the Skrulls being the “good guys” who are just seeking refuge makes this film a relevant film in our political climate today. However, Brie Larson’s mediocre performance, coupled with lackluster visuals puts this film slightly near the bottom. Again, this movie’s rank and my positive opinion of the film is a testament to how good most Marvel movies have been.

15. Black Panther – After a glorified cameo in the Civil War movie, Black Panther returns to take up the mantle as the king of Wakanda, an extremely advanced African nation. This movie has a lot of great world-building, solid performances (especially from Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger) and a wonderful score. Black Panther also has some of the strongest female characters in the MCU, with Shuri, Okoye, Nakia who all have very distinct personalities. More importantly, the movie’s political themes make this especially relevant today. However, this movie ranks pretty low on my list for a few reasons. Like Dr. Strange, the humor is hit-or-miss and the CGI, especially in the climactic battle, is poor. More importantly, Black Panther being in an indestructible suit drastically lowers the stakes. Yes, this movie won a lot of accolades (including Oscar wins and Best Picture nomination), but in my humble opinion, this is the most overrated MCU film.

14. Ant-Man – Sans Spider-Man, Ant-Man (the character and the movie) remains one of Marvel’s most charming additions to the universe. The movie has a well-rounded cast but Paul Rudd’s casting as Scott Lang is the big reason for this film being so enjoyable. Rudd is so dam likable in the role and his passion is infectious. Not to mention, it isn’t so focused on saving the world than it is to see Scott save one person, his daughter. It’s definitely a nice change of pace from ‘The world is at stake!” Lastly, Michael Peña’s Luis is one of the funniest Marvel characters and his story-telling abilities are so f*n funny. Yes, you have a rushed romance and a one-dimensional villain but the problematic elements are minuscule, just like the titular character.

13. Avengers: Age of Ultron – Most people enjoy the second adventure of the Earth’s mightiest heroes but it tends to rank lower on their MCU ranking lists. For me, this is one of Marvel’s best. This movie focuses a lot on the characters and their relationships (intimate in the case of Nat and Bruce) with each other, something people tend to overlook. Even with the amazing Hulk-Hulkbuster scene and the party scene, my favorite scene in this movie is the farmhouse scene and I will argue with anyone about the brilliance of this scene. The Avengers were truly broken (at least until Thanos’ snap) and seeing the conversation with Nat and Bruce about their inability to have kids is heartbreaking. Yes, it does shove a lot of storylines, relies way too much on jokes, and Quicksilver’s death scene is laughable. In addition, Ultron could have been a menacing villain but ends up another disposable villain. However, it’s still a character-driven film, despite the crazy visuals, and laid the seeds for Civil War.

12. Thor – Being one of the most “out-there” and cosmic characters, Thor’s introduction seemed challenging. He’s an arrogant, Norse god with immense powers and a hammer that is virtually indestructible. Thus, the filmmakers decide to take those weapons away and have him learn humility. The sibling rivalry and the relationship between Odin and his 2 sons are poignant and add a really different layer to a superhero movie. What differentiates Loki from other villains is that at his core, he simply yearns for and seeks the love and respect from his adopted father, Odin. The performances are great, the action is fun to watch and the fish-out-of-water comedy is perfect for the film.

11. Spider-Man: Far From Home – The newest entry in the MCU is also one of Marvel’s best. You can check my review here but I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Mysterio is another great addition to the villainous roster and the post-credit scenes have major implications for the next Spidey film and the future of the MCU.

10. Iron Man – The movie that started it all! Iron Man is arguably the most popular character in pop-culture today but people often forget, he was a ‘nobody’ in 2008. Marvel took a huge (financial) chance with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man with a then-box office poison in Robert Downey Jr. This is a wonderful movie, with terrific performances and slick production design. More importantly, this movie set the tone for the MCU and teased the Avengers with the post-credit scene where Nick Fury talks to Tony about the “Avengers initiative”

9. Captain America: Civil War – After 2 amazing predecessors, I was teeming with anticipation for the second Russos-helmed movie, which would be semi-inspired from the Civil War comic. This movie does a great job of explaining both sides without necessarily choosing sides. At its core, it’s about the clash of ideologies, something Batman v Superman failed at. Albeit enjoyable, the airport battle is really unnecessary and as I watched it, I was afraid of the film having a huge third-act battle. Instead, the Russos smartly decide to make it small-scale with a personal, emotion-fueled battle between Cap and Bucky against Iron Man. Civil War is also an obvious example of the character journeys of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. The former blindly followed protocol and order but grew to distrust the government. Tony, on the other hand, didn’t trust the established system but realized that reporting to a higher authority is essential. Zemo, the “villain” of the movie, is still one of Marvel’s best, most sympathetic villains. This was our first introduction to Black Panther and a new incarnation of Spider-~~Boy~~Man and both are utilized really well.

8. Captain America: The First Avenger – Captain America was never my favorite character from the comics. Pardon my phrase but he was too much of a “goody two shoes.” Even though this movie goes that route, Chris Evans’ performance makes this movie one of the best. His sincerity and earnestness to do the right thing, no matter the consequence, is extremely inspiring. The romance between Steve and Peggy is so earned, which is one reason for the dance scene in Endgame being so powerful. The First Avenger also has, hand’s down, the best quote in the MCU. Before the experiment, Dr. Erskine tells Steve, “The strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength and knows… compassion. Whatever happens tomorrow you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man.” Chills!!

7. Spider-Man Homecoming – When Sony/Marvel announced another Spider-Man movie, I admit I was a little fatigued and apprehensive. However, Homecoming turned out to be one of the biggest, pleasant surprises in the MCU. This movie is such a refreshing film, with hilarious characters and gut-wrenching laughs. Civil War did a great job, but Homecoming is the first Spider-Man film to truly understand the character. Yes, saving the world is important but so is the date with a girl you have a crush on. Tom Holland showcases his dramatic skills especially in the scene where he is stuck underneath the rubble. Oh, and Michael Keaton as the Vulture? Sign me up! Homecoming proved that nobody is more menacing (not even a CGI villain trying to destroy the world) than Keaton staring directly at Peter and speaking in a growly voice in a car. If that happened to me, I would definitely pee my pants. Jokes aside, Homecoming also nicely ties into the Avengers mythos and Tony essentially becomes the ‘Uncle Ben’ figure to Peter.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy – GOTG was one of the biggest risks Marvel had ever taken. Characters like Iron Man or Captain America were at least semi-familiar characters but the Guardians were unheard of, even amongst Marvel fans. Once again, Marvel surprised us. The characters of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot are such different characters, but you absolutely buy this band of misfits becoming a family. It is a gorgeous film to look at and has the best soundtrack of any MCU film to-date. Unfortunately, a poor villain and a ridiculous ending (the Guardians holding hands and absorbing the power of the infinity stone to beat the villain) preclude the film from joining the Top 5.

5. Thor Ragnarok – Ragnarok is the single funniest MCU movie to-date. The director Taika Watiti, who also plays Korg, exploits the comedic sensibilities of its lead Chris Hemsworth and literally takes the character to a new direction – a comedic, buddy-cop, space opera! The new additions like Korg, Valkriye, Hela are all great! Jeff Goldblum plays Jeff Goldblum, which is always charming! Aesthetically speaking, this movie has some of the best visuals in the MCU and the color palette is visual eye-candy. But don’t let the comedy fool you into thinking that this movie is inconsequential. Ragnarok is also one of Marvel’s darkest films, with Thor losing his hammer, eye, father, friends, Asgard, etc. Aside from a little too much emphasis on jokes undercutting some dramatic moments, Ragnarok absolutely deserves to be in the Top 5.

4. Avengers: Infinity War – Just looking at the sheer number of characters in the film is more than enough to scare any filmmaker. However, the Russo brothers somehow make this movie work. Each and every character gets a moment to shine but the focus is still kept on the film’s main characters – Thanos and Thor. Speaking of, after glorified cameos in the 2 previous Avengers movies and Guardians 1, Thanos finally got his due with this film and boy, he commands the screen. Thanks to Infinity War and Endgame, he’s now my all-time favorite villain. Infinity War contains a lot of fun character meet-ups and interactions, with Thor meeting the Guardians, Iron Man meeting Dr. Strange, etc. The (numerous) action sequences are some of the best in the MCU and the cliffhanger of an ending left everyone in the theatre in shock!

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier – When asked about their favorite MCU film, many often reply with the Winter Soldier and I can totally see why. This film completely changed the “goody two shoes” nature of Steve Rogers by putting him in the “real world” and addresses current issues of espionage, surveillance, etc. For the first time, Steve is forced to distrust the government and the system, and the movie does a good job building up to that. It’s a political thriller with some genuine twists I didn’t see coming. The hand-to-hand combat sequences are some of the best in the MCU, and we witness wonderful friendships between Steve, Nat, and Sam Wilson (Falcon). Honestly, this is the movie that made Captain America become my favorite character in the MCU. Minor complaints aside, this is easily the best, solo superhero film in the MCU and absolutely deserves a spot in the top 3.

Spoiler alert – My top 2 MCU films are 2 Avengers films. However, the reason they are so high on my list is because of the solid groundwork/set-ups and character-work laid in the solo films.

2. Avengers: Endgame – Like Captain America himself, I can talk about this film all day. Here is my full, in-depth review of Endgame. In summary, Endgame is such a satisfying conclusion and is all the more rewarding to those of us that have carefully seen the other films and been a part of the journey. There are so many call-backs, references to the other films but they serve a purpose in the story. The actors arguably deliver their best performances to date and the final third-act battle is everything the Marvel fan in me could have ever hoped for. Like all of you, I love this movie 3000.

1. The Avengers – Tied with Jurassic Park as my favorite movie(s) of all time, The Avengers is still the benchmark for all the comic book films. This is a movie that I never dreamed would ever happen and boy, it did! Joss Whedon understood these characters and smartly wrote his movie around them. The characters and their interactions with each other, the action, the humor, the story are all great and make for the best, the most enjoyable film in the MCU to-date. Not to mention, The Avengers is also endlessly quotable.

Ranking the Comic-book Movies of 2018 (SPOILERS)

Since forever ago, many folks have been predicting the demise of the superhero genre. Well, they were proven wrong yet again. Being the dominant genre in Hollywood, the combined worldwide gross of all the 8 comic-book movies (Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2, Ant man and the wasp, Teen Titans: Go to the movies, Venom, Spiderman: into the spider-verse and Aquaman) is well over 6 billion dollars, with Spiderman and Aquaman just having released in theatres. Now that I have seen them all, I can now rank the 8 comic-book movies from least favorite to my favorite. Spoiler warning.

#8. Venom – a Tom Hardy-led Venom movie with the director of Zombieland at the helm and a solid cast (including Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed), what could go wrong? Well, it seems like pretty much everything went wrong with this anti-hero flick. Venom has a terrible script, weak performances (sans Hardy), cringe dialogue, poor villains (both Drake and Riot) etc. The only reason I didn’t hate this movie is because of Hardy, who goes “all out” and delivers an entertaining-to-watch performance. Eddie and Venom’s relationship and back-and-forth is one of the film’s strengths and it was very enjoyable when the movie just focused on the two. While I personally didn’t like this movie, the general audiences kinda did and the movie had great legs and well over $850 million at the box office. This is by far the weakest comic-book movie of the year but here’s hoping that they make a better Venom sequel.

#7. Teen Titans – this was a movie I had absolutely zero interest in. Never seen a Teen Titans episode and the trailers were pretty bad and looked extremely childish. Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised. This is an extremely self-referential movie and has a pretty well-developed lead in the Robin. While this is definitely not a movie for everyone because of the juvenile nature of the movie, it has some great moments for the DC fan in me to ultimately have a good experience.

#6. Ant man and the Wasp – Like its predecessor, A&W is a good palette cleanser after the big Avengers movies. I love how our heroes use shrinking/growing and the visuals are really good! This is also a really funny movie with some good performances from Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly etc. Where this movie suffers is with the villains, especially the storyline with Sonny Burch. Also, Black Panther just opened our eyes to the incredible world of Wakanda and Infinity War was a large-scale epic movie, but A&W, unfortunately, is a pretty formulaic MCU movie .

#5. Deadpool 2 – Like most people, I loved the first Deadpool movie and was very excited for the sequel. After watching the movie, my initial reaction was “it’s good but no where as good as the first one” and this reaction mostly stands. I enjoyed this movie but this movie doesn’t have as good of a balance of humor and character work as the first one did. The pacing is off and some characters like Firefist are obnoxious. However, the emotional moments between Wade and Vanessa are powerful and this movie is arguably funnier than the first film, especially the X-force deaths sequence which had me cracking up. Not to forget, Cable and Domino are really interesting characters and I can’t wait to see them in X-force.

#4. Aquaman – Coming off of a string of divisive films (sans Wonder Woman), DC absolutely needed a win in Aquaman and they achieved it! Aquaman is the definition of a fun, popcorn movie. It has a ton of action, one-liners, comedy and decently fleshed-out characters. The effects on the underwater world are visually stunning and this movie does not hesitate to embrace its comicbook-iness. Not to mention, Aquaman has a good lead in Momoa! Where this movie suffers is in its script, emotional moments and weak villains (notice the trend?). However, a win’s a win and DC is on the right path again!

#3. Black Panther – Before I say anything, I just want to preface this by saying Black Panther is a really good movie. It has some of the best performances and an uber-talented ensemble cast in the MCU, strong female characters (Okoye, Shuri, Nakia) and is a very relevant movie in our society today. Having a predominantly black cast with a black director is remarkable and what Ryan Coogler did with Black Panther is incredible! This is also one of those movies where the beliefs/actions of the villain actually changes our protagonist and by the end of the movie, T’Challa opening up Wakanda to the rest of the world works. However, I don’t love this movie, like most people do, and really don’t believe that this movie deserves to get a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards. It is an important movie but that doesn’t make it an Oscar-calibre movie, in my humble opinion. This movie also has questionable CGI at times, messy fight scenes and a sudden villain turn. Killmonger makes some very good points about Wakanda not using its resources to help black people around the world, but he becomes a moustache-twirling villain by the end. Again, I really like this movie and do believe that it deserves technical awards nominations like “Best Costume,” “Best Sound Editing,” and “Best Sound Mixing” but just not more.

#2. Spiderman: into the spider-verse – This animated flick had a very difficult job – convincing us that a Spider-man movie with so many characters and villains can work. After all, neither Sony nor we have forgotten what happened with Spiderman 3 and Amazing Spiderman 2. I am very happy to say that this movie is amazing (no pun intended)! It had a lot of great character moments and the relationships between Miles and his dad, Miles and his uncle and Miles and Peter are heartwarming. There is a scene that takes place between Miles’ dad and Miles in a college dorm, which gives me chills just thinking about. The introduction of the secondary Spidey characters is super fun and infuses a lot of humor to the movie, especially from Spider-Noir (voiced by Nicholas Cage). This movie, at times, feels like a comic-book come to life with comic-book style panels and text on screen. If this movie does end up getting a ‘Best Picture’ nomination at the Oscars, which it very well may, I have no qualms about it as it is definitely deserving of any accolades.

#1. Avengers: Infinity War – Infinity War is the culmination of 10 years of storytelling and to celebrate this momentous occasion, Marvel essentially had “throw everything but the kitchen sink” mentality for this movie. It has basically every main character (sans Hawkeye and Ant Man) in the MCU facing off against the big baddie, Thanos and man, the Russos exceeded my already-high expectations. This is easily one of my favorite movies of the year and one particular reason for that is Thanos, who is now my favorite villain in cinematic history. He is such a complex, 3-dimensional character and even though you (hopefully) don’t agree with him, you totally understand where he is coming from. The action is incredible, the humor totally works and because of its scale, this really felt like the most epic movie of our generation. And of course, who can forget the ending? Our heroes turning to dust and Spiderman’s line “Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good.” Man, that is heartbreaking. Infinity War is easily my favorite superhero film of the year and I am (just a little) excited for Avengers: Endgame!

Now, what say you? Leave your rankings down below!