Tag Archives: Doctor Strange

Benedict Cumberbatch’s 10 Best Movies

Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch, in addition to being one the finest actors working today, possesses THE most English of English names ever to be bestowed upon an Englishman.  In case you doubted it was his real name, it’s actually shortened.  His full name is Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch.  He has, however, endeared himself to geeks and non-geeks alike by already indelibly visiting the worlds of Tolkien (Smaug and the Necromancer), Star Trek (nobody blames Into Darkness on him), and the MCU (where he is the resident Sorcerer Supreme: Dr. Stephen Strange).  Cumberbatch, with his distinctive, mesmerizing voice and talent for squeezing his narrow frame into giant characters both fictional and real (Julian Assange, William Pitt, Alan Turing), has already made a lasting mark on the big screen and small, where he has achieved an impossible feat with Stephan Moffat and Martin Freeman in updating Sherlock Holmes for contemporary times, while still maintaining the spirit of Conan Doyle’s master detective better than any adaptation in my lifetime (if not period).
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My Favorite Scene: Thor Ragnarok (2017) “Thor vs. Hulk”

As the MCU rolls into its 19th film, the franchise has gotten to the point where it is able to do one of the things that made Marvel Comics so successful when they first debuted in the 1960s.  You have a feeling that any character can now show up in any movie at any time, and having built strong characters with deep foundations, you can have a ton of fun playing with new combinations.  The third Thor film does this with both the Hulk and Doctor Strange (mostly Hulk), and even though I loved the first two Thor films a lot more than most, there’s not doubt that Ragnarok is the strongest of the three had the most impact on the overall MCU.


Planet Hulk is a storyline that fans have been clamoring for a film adaptation of for years, but Disney and Universal are bogged down in a lawsuit as to who actually owns the rights to make solo Hulk films.  So Disney just went ahead and backdoored Planet Hulk into a Thor film.  Watching the two most powerful Avengers have a knockdown drag-out fight is epic, and I’ve always been a fan of Gladiator Hulk.  Both in the fight and in the almost-as-awesome sequence with Doctor Strange, you really have to admire Chris Hemsworth’s groove with Thor.  The character was always the most troublesome of the original group to solo (he has a magic hammer, wears a winged helmet, speaks like a Shakespearean character, and lives in a magic realm with rainbow bridge….it wasn’t irrational to be worried).  Hemsworth has managed to make the character noble and increasingly mature but also infuse him with a comedic goofiness about his self-importance and in his relationships with the other Avengers, that I can’t imagine anyone else being able to pull off.

Who knows what will happen to Thor over Avengers 3 and 4, but I’m hoping King Thor gets a chance to relocate Asgard when all is said and done on the other side.  I think there are still more stories to tell with the character now that Ragnarok completely changed his entire character and supporting cast.


Rachel McAdams’s 10 Best Movies

Rachel McAdams

Rachel McAdams will probably spend the rest of her career trying to shed The Notebook, but she’s doing a pretty good job.  The film that made her a star also gave her a slight reputation as a serious actress; the kind the gets consigned to rom coms for the rest of their career (Meg Ryan Syndrome).  McAdams has bucked hard against that preconception of her, turning in excellent dramatic work in State of Play, True Detective, and her Oscar-nominated turn in Spotlight.  She’s a gifted comedienne and extremely likable in films like Game Night and Morning Glory.  Those dual gifts are on full display i my favorite film of her’s (Spotlight is better, but you don’t really watch it on a lark): the very underrated About Time.  She’s also joined Doctor Strange’s corner of the MCU and Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes franchises in recurring roles. Continue reading Rachel McAdams’s 10 Best Movies

Thor: Ragnarok Blu Ray Release Date and Special Features

Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo in Thor: Ragnarok

Disney and Marvel have officially announced that they will release on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray Taika Waititi’s blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok (2017), starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, and Jeff Goldblum. The two releases will be available for purchase on March 6.

In Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Ragnarok,” Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok – the destruction of his home world and the end of Asgardian civilization – at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela (Cate Blanchett). But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger – the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) – and grapple with his silver-tongued adopted brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the fierce warrior Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) and the eccentric Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum). Continue reading Thor: Ragnarok Blu Ray Release Date and Special Features

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Complete Achievement List (XBOX, PS4, PC – 2017)


LEGO Marvel Super Heroes was a gigantic game with so much to do that I never approached finishing anything other than the campaign.  So the sequel, naturally, is even bigger with several huge hub worlds, a campaign through time and space, and over 200 Marvel characters to find and add to your army of plastic heroes and villains.  Kang is the big bad in this game, and I am going to spare you the bare minimum five paragraph explanation on who he is….but he’s a big bad.  The emphasis is on Guardians and alternate versions of our heroes, but the traditional Avengers are still there.  Get to building.  This one is already out.  Achievements below courtesy of xboxachievements.com. Continue reading LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 Complete Achievement List (XBOX, PS4, PC – 2017)