screen |skr_n| |skrin| |skri_n| noun • a blank, typically white or silver surface on which a photographic image is projected : the world's largest movie screen • movies or television; the motion-picture industry : she's a star of the stage as well as the screen. verb [ trans. ] • protect (someone) from something dangerous or unpleasant • evaluate or analyze (something) for its suitability for a particular purpose or application


Thursday, November 03, 2016

Doctor Strange

It’s kind of like The Matrix: A guy learns there are metaphysical netherworlds and he has to learn to navigate them. And the villain is determined to rule the world by dominating the metaphysical netherworlds. And then everybody fights.

Benedict Cumberbatch is really good here. He’s never reluctant or disbelieving of the metaphysical netherworlds, and gamely and humorously dives into them, at first for selfish reasons, but then for heroic ones. The visuals are fun and really trippy. The rules for metaphysical netherworlds are a bit fluid, as you can imagine, so creativity abounds.

More obviously than a lot of these comic book adaptations, this feels like an “act one.” The opening chapter. The odds aren’t greatly stacked against Doctor Strange and he has yet to be faced with tough choices. Danger will arrive in future episodes. (Stay for ALL of the end credits.) And you can’t really say this about a lot of movies these days: this must be seen in a theater. It won’t work on video.


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