THE OPTIMIST - MOVIE REVIEWS

      The highly anticipated follow up to the immensely popular Deadpool has arrived, and does so with all the pizazz you would expect. Deadpool changed the movie-making game in a lot of ways. As a character, he’s a bit unconventional with his fourth-wall breaking and acute awareness of his reality as a comic book character. However, with the ingenious pairing of Ryan Reynolds and the audacity of Marvel, Deadpool has become more than what he’s previously been. Instantly an icon, Deadpool has found his niche as the self-righteous barometer that pokes fun at the seriousness we give every other comic book movie. From the films to the marketing, this has become a franchise worth the price of admission. Those who have followed the marketing campaign for this film, in particular, have seen what a tremendous job they’ve done at amping things up to eleven this go-around. In the case of Deadpool 2 , the film doubles down on everything: the jokes, the fourth-wall breaking,...

     Okay. It’s been a week since the opening of Avengers: Infinity War . In that span of time I have seen the film three times, and every showing has been vital in the processing of the film. It has taken me a while to figure out how to approach a review for what is truly a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience. No other movie in history that I can think of has attempted to do what this movie has done. Marvel has practically serialized their cinematic universe, with interweaving story threads that almost give each individual movie an episodic feel. It’s as if the MCU is one giant TV show, and each movie serves as an epic episode, pushing the narrative towards a turning point that will shape that universe in the future. Infinity War is in every way the season finale. The genius of this movie, of its creators, and the crews that worked on it, will go down in history for playing such a huge narrative step forward within the lore of cinematic storytelling. I believe, as of...

     It is without question that Steven Spielberg is a living embodiment of a master filmmaker. As a kid of the 80s and 90s, I grew up on the adventures of Indiana Jones and the Goonies, I learned the importance of friendship with E.T. and experienced the characteristic whimsy of Hook and many others that helped to shape my love of movies and stories. Steven Spielberg has been behind some of the greatest films of all time, and even though his filmography over the last handful of years has been mediocre at best, his work will forever stand the test of time and continue to amaze and excite viewers young and old. His latest film Ready Player One , an adaptation of a beloved book by the same title, has been hailed as a return-to-form, a masterful epic, and a joyous time at the cinema. I stand here before you, having seen and experienced Ready Player One , as a witness that these claims are indeed true. People...this movie is straight up awesome!    ...