Zoe Saldana

Avatar: The Way of Water

  • Title: Avatar: The Way of Water
  • IMDb: link

2009’s Avatar made its way into my list of that year’s best films by delivering an unique and wholly immersive cinematic experience quite unlike anything released in theaters in years. 13 years later, the return to Pandora feels a bit more well-trodden than I’d like. Not learning from the mistakes of The Matrix sequels, writer/director James Cameron chooses to resurrect the same villain despite having an entire world in which to discover newer (and far more interesting) ideas and conflicts.

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Avatar

  • Title: Avatar
  • IMDb: link

James Cameron‘s Avatar hit theaters a week before Christmas of 2009 and quickly claimed a spot on my list of best films of that year. With the first of its long-overdue sequels finally making its way to theaters this winter, Avatar returns to theaters in hopes of rekindling the magic movie goers discovered more than a dozen years ago. While it wasn’t the best film that year, it’s one of the most watchable, and I’ve returned to Avatar multiple times over the years always being entertained.

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The Adam Project

  • Title: The Adam Project
  • IMDb: link

Ryan Reynolds stars in this convoluted story of a time-traveler looking for a disruption in the timeline who travels back from 2050 to 2022 and is forced to work with his preteen self (Walker Scobell) to avoid other time travelers following him. The premise allows for an older and younger version of the same character on-screen, a very Disney Channel kind of tale, although the lengths the story goes to to explain and support this get unnecessarily complicated for the kind of film The Adam Project is in its willingness to both change time in very important ways and at the same time avoid other changes that its writers just decide shouldn’t be messed with.

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Missing Link

  • Title: Missing Link
  • IMDb: link

Missing Link DVD reviewMissing Link is one of two animated films focused on returning a mythical creature home this year. While it lacks the heart of Abominable, the latest movie from LAIKA is a fun romp.

The story centers around self-absorbed adventurer Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) who discovers a Sasquatch (Zach Galifianakis) in the Pacific Northwest and agrees to see it to the Himalays, dressed-up as Frost’s assistant, where its distant cousins live. The villains of the peace are the members of and exclusive club that has barred Frost from entry for his ridiculous beliefs (which he hasn’t been able to prove… until now). Along for the ride is Frost’s ex-girlfriend (Zoe Saldana).

Available on Blu-ray and DVD, extras include commentary by writer/director Chris Butler, the film’s trailer, a photo gallery, and various short featurettes on the making of the film. You can certainly do better than Missing Link but there’s fun to be had on Frost’s adventure across the world.

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Avengers: Infinity War

  • Title: Avengers: Infinity War
  • IMDb: link

Avengers: Infinity War movie review2012’s The Avengers brought together all the elements from the planned Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It was a payoff movie, and one that was executed brilliantly by Joss Whedon. It also gave us the first on-screen appearance of Thanos (now played by Josh Brolin) whose foreshadowed war on the universe would be put on hold for several years. Until now. Since The Avengers, too many of the Marvel movies have been forced into world building while telling their story. For the first time in years, there is no horizon which frees sreenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and directors the Russo Brothers to simply tie the elements together as Whedon did six years ago and tell one hell of a story. And you know what? They do a damn good job.

With some notable exceptions (Natalie Portman, Jeremy Renner, Paul Rudd, and Marvel is still completely ignoring their television properties) everyone is on hand to deal with the threat of Thanos who finally gets around to collecting the Infinity Stones which will allow him to complete his life-long quest of killing off half the lives across the universe with the snap of his fingers.

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