Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo

Screenplay written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson

Caution for potential spoilers ahead!

11 years ago, Marvel released the first Iron Man movie, and nothing has been the same since. Every year since then, Marvel has released movie after movie introducing us to more and more amazing superheroes to fall in love with, and more villains to root against. Every year I kept thinking how could they top themselves, then they released last years Avengers: Infinity War which merged many Marvel superheroes including The Avengers, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and more. After that movie ended with such a cliffhanger, myself and every other Marvel fan have been eagerly awaiting Endgame-- dare I say, the glorious, bittersweet end to the past 11 years. 

The movie begins just a short amount of time after the tragic events at the end of Infinity War. The remaining Avengers; Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) and Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) are joined by Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and together they plan to track down Thanos (Josh Brolin) and steal the infinity stones to reverse the actions they caused. After Thanos reveals that he already destroyed the stones, Thor kills him. The movie then picks up 5 years later, with Scott Lang aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), returning from the Quantum Realm and proposing that they travel back in time through the Quantum Realm to stop Thanos from ever getting the 6 infinity stones. 

This movie is an amazing way to reward all the loyal Marvel fans who have been following these heroes for more than a decade on screen. Everything that happens in this movie is so incredibly satisfying for someone who has seen all the movies. The time traveling aspect may seem a little corny at first, but it is actually the perfect way to bring in some characters from all the other movies one last time, and to give some characters the happy ending they deserve. The merging between the different movies in Endgame is even better than in Infinity War-- as this time we get to see some characters from Thor, Doctor Strange, Captain America and even the latest lady hero, Captain Marvel. 

For those who maybe haven't seen every Marvel movie from the past 11 years, you will still thoroughly enjoy this movie you may just miss some references, or you may not cry so hard with nostalgia like the rest of us!  

The Marvel movies have always had a lot of comic relief thrown in with the action, but this one seemed to hit harder with the comedy. It seemed to hit harder with all the emotions actually. Thor brings a lot of comedy, since he is now an alcoholic with a beer gut and no more chizzled abs. His character has gone through tremendous loss and is experiencing a lot of guilt from not killing Thanos, so he is in rough shape in the beginning of the movie. But, his condition does give for some big laughs. Even though this film has less of the characters we know and love, it adds a few of the older ones we didn't get to see in Infinity War like Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Ant-Man. 

As fas as acting performances go, Chris Hemsworth wins the gold with his new version of chubby and sad Thor. Robert Downey Jr. brings some real change to Tony this time around, while he's no longer the arrogant and selfish man he has been in the past. Paul Rudd is fantastically hilarious again as Ant-Man, Mark Ruffalo brings a new level of acceptance for being The Hulk, Scarlett Johansson brings a lot of emotion this time around to Black Widow, Brie Larson is a bad-ass as Carol Danvers, saving the day more than once.  The whole cast does an amazing job. I was so happy with the smaller cameos from people like; Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie), Rene Russo (Frigga), Evangeline Lilly (The Wasp), Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter), John Slattery (Howard Stark) and Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One). 

The 3 hour run time may seem a little daunting at first, but it flies by with all the non-stop excitement. It pays homage to not only the Avengers but the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so brilliantly it will give you goosebumps, make you laugh and undoubtedly cry. There is a scene of the Marvel women all together that did all three for me actually, I thought I would combust. 

10/10

Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

Directed by David O. Russell

Screenplay written by David O. Russell 

Based on the novel written by Matthew Quick

Starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver

Silver Linings Playbook will always be one of those movies I come back to periodically because of the outstanding acting performances. The satirical take on mental health that Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper display is so entertaining, and the story between them is hilarious and charming. One of David O. Russell's best. 

After a brief stint at a mental hospital, Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) is released and sent to live back in Philadelphia with his parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver). After beating up the lover of his ex-wife Nicky, which is ultimately what led Pat to the psych ward with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, he is set on a new path of healthy living and silver linings, and he is determined to win back Nicky. Along the way, Pat meets the mysterious and sexy, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence) and things are never the same after that.

This film is heavily driven by the acting performances. The former Hunger Games heroine Jennifer Lawrence, delivers the role of a lifetime. She's foulmouthed, sexy, rude, blunt, sensitive, vulnerable and a little slutty but she likes that part of herself (not a judgment, just a reference from the movie). Lawrence somehow portrays all these emotions in every scene, sometimes in every sentence Tiffany speaks. This was one of the most deserved Oscar wins of all time. Cooper plays a damaged guy suffering from bipolar who is largely driven by his lust for love and forgiveness from his ex-wife. His performance is raw and funny, but Lawrence steals the show. De Niro and Weaver deliver strong supporting performances as Pat's parents.

Only in Hollywood can mental illness be cured by the depths of this endearing romance between two broken souls. Russell sets a new bar for romantic comedies to rise to with this flick.

9/10

Joy (2015)

Directed by David O. Russell 

Screenplay written by David O. Russell 

Story by David O. Russell and Annie Mumolo

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Edgar Ramirez 

I have to start this review off with a brief disclaimer that I am extremely bias to anything starring Jennifer Lawrence, as she is one of my favorite actresses. Normally I wouldn't be drawn to a movie about a woman and the mop she invented-- but with Lawrence in the starring role, a supporting role from De Niro and David O. Russell in the directors chair again, what could go wrong? 

Joy is the real like story of Joy Mangano (although her last name is never actually mentioned in the movie). Joy (Jennifer Lawrence) is a mother of two, striving to make ends meet and keep her family together. She lives in a crowded house with her Mimi who has always encouraged the creative side of her; her mother (played by Virginia Madsen) who lies in bed all day watching soap operas; her ex-husband Tony (Edgar Ramirez) who is an aspiring Latino singer living in her basement; and their two kids. Add to the mix her father Rudy (Robert De Niro) who runs a failing garage with Joy's half sister Peggy. A garage in which Joy also runs the books for. With all the challenges in her life, Joy decides to follow her dreams and be the powerful matriarch and inventor that her grandmother always knew she would be-- by inventing a revolutionary new mop. 

The story of Joy rising to become this powerful business women and QVC Queen is very endearing to watch. Some people may criticize that the script focuses way too heavily on this dysfunctional family dynamic and less on the growth of Joy's business. While the dynamic of this chaotic family may overshadow the story of her entrepreneurship-- that's what makes the movie so entertaining. Would the audience really be as engaged if Russell had eliminated scenes with the constant one-upmanship between Joy and her sister and replaced them with more scenes with Bradley Cooper's one-dimensional character, in a board room or something? It's necessary to include the dysfunctional family scenes because it is what ultimately plunged Joy to success and made for more entertainment for the movie-goer. 

This film is dominated by Jennifer Lawrence's acting, and that is not just personal bias (okay, maybe a little). She gives a very strong performance as this business tycoon and matriarchal bad-ass. I will always like Robert De Niro and I would never speak ill of his performance, but I felt some deja vu with his character in Joy.  I don't know if its just in Russell's films or in general but I feel like I have seen him play this character before.  Bradley Cooper plays some sort of business guy who is high-up in QVC and ultimately holds Joy's fate in his hands on wether or not her product gets sold on the show. His character though is pretty lifeless in this movie. After the Lawrence/Cooper combo in movies like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, I think we were all excited for a resurgence of the pair. This time around though, it was all Lawrence and no Cooper contributing to the acting performances.

Joy may not be the best work we've seen from David O. Russell, but it had a heartwarming story to tell during a Christmas release which is the perfect mood and timing of year for this movie. If Joy had been released earlier in the awards season-- say October-- then it would have been easily forgotten. 

7/10

A Star Is Born (2018)

Directed by Bradley Cooper 

Screenplay written by Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper and Will Fetters 

Based on the 1954 screenplay written by Moss Hart and the 1976 screenplay written by John Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion and Frank Pierson

Starring Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga and Sam Elliott

          A Star Is Born is arguably the best film of 2018, hands down! I went into this movie a bit hesitant with Cooper's first time directing and Lady Gaga's first big acting gig outside of American Horror Story- but I can now say that my pre-screening worries were shattered after the first 15 minutes of the movie. 

     Jackson Maines (Bradley Cooper) is fresh off his most recent concert when the alcoholic rock-star stumbles into the closest bar to get his next drink. This bar happens to be a drag bar where Ally (Lady Gaga) is performing a sultry cover of "La Vie En Rose." After being moved to tears over the amazing voice behind this mystery girl, the two spend the night getting to know each other, where Ally discloses to him her struggles in becoming a musician. The next day, Jackson invites her to join him at his next gig, where she reluctantly gets on stage with him and performs everyones favorite, "Shallow." From there, the two go on tour together and their love story unfolds with many things trying to get in the way like drug addiction, alcoholism, jealously and one career sky rocketing as the other faces its downfall. 

     If I could pick a new tagline for this film it would be, "Who knew Bradley Cooper could direct and Lady Gaga could act?" I mean, we all had a feeling after her AHS days that she had the chops, but that was a very different project then this. Gaga did a fantastic job portraying this budding musician starving for fame turned mega pop-star. The most remarkable part is that Ally is nothing like Lady Gaga herself. A challenge you run into with an actual mega pop star playing a pop star on camera, is that the two are too similar. But Ally's music and overall look is different from that of Lady Gaga's actual music career and persona. Cooper not only does a fantastic job directing, but also playing an addict country/rock star. Who knew he was a decent singer? Sam Elliott deserves an honorable mention, as he plays Jackson's older brother/manager, Bobby. All three stars got acting nods at the Academy Awards while Gaga deservedly so took home the little gold man for best original song for "Shallow." 

     9/10