Showing posts with label Benedict Cumberbatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benedict Cumberbatch. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Trailer - Review/Reaction

benedict cumberbatch dr strange multiverse of madness poster

Got to hand it to Kevin Feige. Ever since the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was launched Iron Man in 2008, there has been no looking back. If Spider-Man: No Way Home (NWH) brought all three Spider Man actors together, now Feige has finally made every MCU/Marvel fan's dream come true: bring the X-Men (and possibly The Fantastic Four) into the MCU.
 
Check out the trailer:

 
The Multiverse is upon us and Dr Strange is brought to trial for his actions in NWH. And guess who is there on the panel - Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) himself. If that does not get you excited, it is highly possible that John Krasinski will debut as Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic. Plus, it looks like Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (or one of her variants) will be the bad gal this time.
 
There is so much to love about this trailer. Sam Raimi's trademark shots. Especially that shot of Shuma-Gorath looks fabulous. I also liked the shot of Dr Strange in a prehistoric looking place. It might be “Savage Land from the X-Men lore. Not to mention the multiple variants of Doctor Strange himself.

And it is always good to see Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams). 
 
Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Truenorth Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
 
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Saturday, February 5, 2022

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - Review

spiderman green gobin no way home poster

Spiderman/Peter Parker just cannot get a break. He finally came to terms with being a superhero and even disclosed his secret to MJ (Zendaya). That is when the multiverse warriorQuentin Beck/Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal)  revealed Parker's secret to the entire world.
 
Peter finds himself the target of intense media scrutiny. By extension, MJ and Ned's MIT applications get rejected. Desperate for a solution, he turns to Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who proposes to use his powers to make everyone forget about Spiderman's secret identity.
 
Peter interrupts the spell many times, resulting in people from other multiverses popping up in this reality. Multiple supervillains show up, including Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church) from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire trilogy. We also have Electro (Jamie Foxx) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans) from the Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield movies.

dr strange spiderman no way home movie poster
 
Dr Strange and Spidey manage to capture the supervillains one by one. It seems the villains were pulled in from their respective realities, just before they were about to die during their confrontation with the Friendly Neighborhood Webslinger. Dr Strange proposes to send them back to their respective universes, but Spiderman disagrees and traps the Sorcerer Supreme in the Mirror Dimension. 
 
Spiderman wants to cure the villains and succeeds with Doc Ock but his good intentions backfire when the Green Goblin persona takes over Norman Osborn and kills Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). A distraught Peter goes into self-exile. Ned uses Dr Strange's sling ring to find his friend. Guess who turns up instead  - Tobey Maguire (Peter 2) and Andrew Garfield (Peter 3) from their respective realities.

The rest of the movie is about how the three Spidermen work together to cure the remaining baddies with support from the now reformed Doc Ock. And yes, Dr Strange escapes from the Mirror Dimension and performs one final spells that makes every one forget the real identity of Tom Holland's Spiderman (Peter 1). He also sends back the other two Spidermen and others back.

Peter 1 continues to fight crime as Spiderman but decides not to reintroduce himself to Ned or MJ.

doc ock spiderman no way home poster wallpaper screensaver image picture

The movie works for the most part, mainly due to the return of actors from previous Spiderman movies and Benedict Cumberbatch's Dr Stephen Strange. Speaking of the former, like the movies themselves the actors also continue to leave similar impressions this time too. Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina continue to deliver stellar performances, even if it is almost two decades since the last time. Especially Willem Dafoe - he exudes innocence and menace as Norman Osborn and Green Goblin respectively. The transformation scene and the subsequent fight scene leading to Aunt May's death has to be seen to be believed. He is a gifted actor and has portrayed both heroic (Aquaman's mentor Nuidis Vulko) and villainous characters with ease. 

Same is true of Tobey and Alfred. They have a great reunion in the movie and the scene that is set to Danny Elfman's memorable soundtrack, should bring a smile to fans of the Sam Raimi movies. Additionally, all three of them get to repeat some of their memorable lines from the previous movies.
 
Tobey's Peter 1 is the mature one in the team and he imparts wisdom to Andrew's Peter 2, who suffers from inferiority complex. The conversation featuring the 3 Spideys is another great scene from the movie. Peter 2 and 3's responses to Peter 1's remark that he is part of The Avengers was gold.

Andrew's Spiderman finally gets some closure after rescuing Zendaya's MJ. Jamie Foxx is clearly channeling his Bats character from Baby Driver. Both Rhys Ifans and Thomas Haden Church make their appearance in the climax, as they are in their transformed personas for the remaining of the movie.
 
benedict cumberbatch spiderman no way home poster wallpaper screensaver picture image

And now coming to my favorite part of the movie - Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Stephen Strange. I think this is his best performance in the MCU so far; yes even better than his own standalone origin movie or Avengers: Infinity War. He did have a brief cameo in Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Endgame, but those were too brief. For the first time, Dr Strange shows his sense of humor and that made the big difference. Dr Strange is clearly the next big thing in the MCU after Iron Man's exit and Benedict is settling well into the role.
 
 
His battle with Spidey is the best sequence in the movie and Michael Giacchino's background score lifts the scene to a different level. Interestingly, Michael will not be scoring for the next MCU movie: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Since Sam Raimi replaced Scott Derrickson, his favorite Danny Elfman has been brought on board for the composing duties. Let us see if they can recreate the magic of the Spiderman trilogy.
 
PS: Michael Giacchino has scored the soundtrack for the next Batman movie. He joins both Elfman and Zimmer as the composers who have worked on both Batman and Spiderman movies.
 

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Image Sources: Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Sherlock Special "The Abominable Bride" - Recap and Review

sherlock holmes john watson train carriage abominable bride wallpaper screensaver poster

As worldwide fans of the hit show know and love, the BBC show took the most famous fictional detective and his universe to the modern day and remains the best modern update of the classic Victorian stories and novels from the inimitable Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Abominable Bride is a tribute to the Sherlock Holmes Canon as much as it an attempt by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat to finally take their show back to its original setting.
 
The episode begins with a quick recap of the first three seasons. Then we are presented with an alternate version that might have happened in the 19th century.

Similar to the opening scenes in S1E1 A Study in Pink, Dr John Watson (Martin Freeman) is injured and discharged from fighting in the Afghan War.

He makes his way to London and runs into one of his acquaintances, Mike Stamford (David Nellist). And then comes the meeting with one Mr Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) that proves to be an life altering event for Dr Watson.
              
 
They share an apartment at 221 B Baker Street with the landlady Mrs Hudson (Una Stubbs) and are solving crimes together. This lifestyle forces both the men to go on long trips - something that Mrs Hudson and especially Mrs Mary Watson (Amanda Abbington) do not like. Mary even has to take the extreme step of pretending to be a client just to meet her erratic husband. 
 
The latest case comes through the trusted and dependable source - Scotland Yard Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves). Emilia Ricoletti (Natasha O'Keeffe) commits suicide by shooting herself through her mouth on the day of her marriage anniversary. A few hours later, Emilia's husband Thomas Ricoletti (Gerald Kyd) is shot dead by the ghost of his dead wife.
 
Holmes loses track of the case, but is pulled back in based on the recommendation from Mycroft Holmes (Mark Gatiss). Mycroft has referred Lady Carmichael (Catherine McCormack) to his younger brother.
 
Her husband, Sir Eustace Carmichael (Tim McInnerny), has received orange pips in an envelope. Right away, he shows signs of extreme fear and further is haunted by the ghost of the aforementioned Amelia Ricoletti.
 
The rest of the episode weaves back and forth between 19th century and current day. Gatiss and Moffat have peppered the episode with their usual bag of Canonical References and in addition, provide a running commentary on the Canon.
 
We have Mrs Hudson complaining about her role in the stories (I am your landlady, not a plot device) and Sherlock tries his best to rectify that. Mary pulls Watson's feet by noting that all he does is run around taking notes. Not to be outdone, Moriarty (Andrew Scott) asks Holmes if he poses for the illustrator while solving crimes. 
 
                           
 
Watson also takes a shot at the illustrators (Sidney Paget being the most popular of them) by commenting that he is not able to move around without the moustache. This is a reference to the fact that it was Sidney Paget who created the image of Deerstalker and Inverness Cape for Holmes and not Doyle himself.

My personal favorite is the running gag about features of interest” that Holmes tirelessly refutes to own up to. Speaking of which, the scenes at Diogenes Club are a hoot.

The episode successfully combines the gothic ghost story with women's rights movement which Arthur Conan Doyle strongly supported. Women crossdressing as men and men's anti-feminist attitudes (Watson saying Mary will be cooking, Watson ignoring his maid Jane and taunting Hooper, Sir Eustace Carmichael taunting his wife, Lestrade believing the killer to be a man). Men do get their comeuppances (including Dr Watson).

benedict cumberbatch sherlock holmes abominable bride wallpaper screensaver poster
 
Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed fictional character, but few actors can claim to have played both Canonical and Modern versions. To the best of my knowledge, only the late Basil Rathbone is the only actor other than Benedict Cumberbatch to accomplish this.
 
And Benedict is magnificent as Victorian Holmes. He clearly loves the character and his portrayal should delight any fan of the original stories and novels. I have seen very few actors who enjoy themselves in the role and yet not make it an extension of their real life personalities. Good examples would be RDJ and Rathbone himself. Both these actors clearly relish the role, but may be they are enjoying just a bit too much. Then there are the actors who appear distracted/miscast either due to production issues or personal issues. Douglas Wilmer and Peter Cushing fall in the former category while Jeremy Brett in the latter.
 
Cumberbatch and Livanov are two actors, whom I personally think have done a great job bringing the detective to life in a way that stays loyal to the Canon and at the same time remains enjoyable. I have written about Livanov here.

Right from his introduction in S1E1, Cumberbatch has maintained a consistent and professional approach to the role and it shows. This is one of the best casting choices not only in Sherlock Holmes universe, but in TV shows overall. Some of the other actors who have left such an impression include the late Peter Falk (as Columbo), Billy Bob Thornton (as Lorne Malvo in Fargo), Steve Carell (as Michael Scott in The Office), Michael C Hall (as Dexter), Viggo Mortensen  (as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings), Arnold Schwarzenegger (as The Terminator), the late Christopher Reeve (as Superman) and Christian Bale (as Batman).

 
All of these actors appear to be born to play their respective roles. While Livanov is my favorite Canonical Holmes, Cumberbatch remains the definitive modern version. This time, he gets to don the Inverness Cape and Deerstalker to play the detective as he was envisioned by Sidney Paget. And he looks right at home playing the Victorian version.

As readers of the Canon are aware, Sherlock Holmes possesses a dry sense of humor. And Cumberbatch gets to display this facet many times: unsavory companion of dubious morals, how breathtakingly prescient of her!”, enthusiasm for stating the obvious which borders on mania”, Pass me your revolver. I have a sudden need to use it .
 
Back in 2010, when the first episode debuted, many eyebrows were raised over the fact that a classic and beloved Victorian character is being modernized. As much as the show has been amazing (for the most part), this episode should lay any such doubts to rest.
 
The cast and crew have given us one of the best episodes in the show in terms of performances, Canonical Nods and for showcasing Benedict's take on Victorian Holmes.
 
There are a few more aspects about this episode that I will be going over in another post.

Click here to read all my posts about BBC Sherlock

Image Sources: Hartswood Films,  BBC One, Masterpiece Theatre

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Sunday, January 9, 2022

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) Teaser - Review/Reaction

doctor strange the multiverse of madness poster

The much awaited first teaser for this year's first MCU movie has arrived and has Benedict Cumberbatch returning as the Sorcerer Supreme along with the supporting cast (Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Stuhlbarg).
 
Check out the trailer:




Against Wong's advice, Dr Strange has used an incantation that has opened up the Multiverse. No wonder that we are introduced to an alternate version of our titular character who is not as benevolent as the one we are familiar with. The Sorcerer Supreme reaches out to Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) for fighting this new threat.
 
Genre veteran Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy with Tobey Maguire), replaces Scott Derrickson as the director. Astute movie fans would remember this reference to Dr Strange in Spider-Man 2:
 

Another nod was the fact that Peter Parker's workplace (Joe's Pizza) was located on Bleecker Street - Dr Strange's Sanctum Santorum is situated at 177A Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. Now the circle is complete with Sam helming this movie. Hopefully, he will repeat his magic again. Speaking of Scott Derrickson, it seems he was interested in bringing Namor in the sequel. Perhaps, this was the reason he left the project due to creative differences. Nevertheless the Sinister auteur has been replaced by one of the legends in the genre and we are getting our first Horror movie from MCU.
 
As I had mentioned in another post, Benedict Cumberbatch seems a bit off in his role as the Sorcerer Supreme. The fire and passion that he brought to the screen as Sherlock is missing here. We get a brief glimpse of Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer in wedding gown. The teaser promises a lot of action set pieces as can be expected from a MCU movie. I do look forward to the teaming up of Scarlet Witch and Dr Strange. Wanda almost singlehandedly defeated Thanos and was one of the few Avengers who have accomplished this. Wanda and Stephen working together would make for a very powerful combo.
 

Plus, I am interested to see what other surprises the Multiverse throws at us - may be introduce us to couple of X-Men....

Trivia
  • The Octopus like creature that Dr Strange is battling is Shuma-Gorath.
  • The movie also marks the live action debut of America Chavez. The superheroine is played by Xochitl Gomez.

Click here to read all my posts about Marvel Comics.

Image Sources: Marvel Studios, Truenorth Productions, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Thursday, November 18, 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Trailer - Review/Reaction

spider man no way home poster
 
The latest trailer for the webslinger's latest movie outing is out. And it promises to be the mother of all cross overs, even by MCU standards.

Peter Parker/Spider-Man has taken Doctor Strange's help to solve his identity crisis and the outcomes are far worser than anything he could have expected.

Check out the trailer:




As readers would know from the previous trailer, characters from parallel universe/multiverse have descended on Peter Parker's reality.
 
This includes Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), J Jonah Jameson (J K Simmons) and Sandman from the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire movies. We have Lizard and Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) from Marc Webb/Andrew Garfield movies. 
 
I am personally excited by the return of Green Goblin as Willem Dafoe is a terrific actor. Another noteworthy point is the comic book faithful depiction of Electro's costume this time. Alfred Molina seems to be genuinely enjoying his return to Spidey's Universe.

There are some aspects of the trailer that also raised my concern. Benedict Cumberbatch looks a bit bored in his role as the Sorcerer Supreme. There is a clear difference between this performance and what we have seen him do as the Sherlock in the BBC series.

Plus, most of the jokes fell flat (at least for me). Hope the other jokes in the movie are funnier.
 
Obviously, like most other fans, I am also eagerly anticipating the return of Tobey Maguire to his arguably most famous role. Did not enjoy Andrew's performance and would not care either way for his appearance.
 
Doc Ock seems to be on Spidey's side this time. It would be fun to watch the 3 Spider-Men/Doctor Strange/Doc Ock take on Green Goblin/Lizard/Sand-Man/Electro alliance.
 
And, let us not forget about a certain alien symbiote and a living vampire who should also pop up in Spidey's timeline soon...
 
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Image Sources: Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)

Sunday, August 29, 2021

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) Trailer - Reaction/Review

spider man no way home poster wallpaper screensaver image picture

This is the third film in the series, following Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far from Home. Joining our friendly neighborhood superhero is Dr Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who uses his powers to separate Peter Parker from Spidey. Peter is having issues from the secret identity disclosure (courtesy of Mysterio) in the previous movie and Sorcerer Supreme tries to help his fellow Avenger, against Wong's advice.

Seems Wong is right. The third movie in the MCU's Spider-Man franchise promises to be a true crossover - we see Doctor “Doc Ock” Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) return to harass Peter. Electro/Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx) also is listed in the IMDB credits.

The only question that remains is: Will Andrew Garfield have a cameo as well. I am sure/hoping that Tobey Maguire will be back.

Check out the trailer:
 

The trailer was ok. I found it to be mildly interesting. The only parts that piqued my interest was Willem Dafoe's return as Green Goblin. I am more excited for his return than for Doc Ock, even though we only heard Dafoe's voice. Dafoe did a great job as Aquaman's mentor and I cannot wait to see him menace Spidey once again. 
 
For the rest of the cast, the regulars are ok. Tobey Maguire's incarnation and his fellow cast continue to be my favorites and while I enjoy the ongoing MCU series, the tone is a bit off for my taste. Nevertheless, Cumberbatch is having fun and having JK Simmons and Dafoe makes the movie a must watch.
 
Fun Fact: Sam Raimi, who directed the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy, is directing the Doctor Strange sequel: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

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Image Sources: Pascal Pictures, Marvel Studios, Columbia Pictures