pstevens-17076

I'll keep this short.

Avengers: Infinity War is amazing and is a must see. It stands the second best superhero film right behind The Dark Knight. It is intense, sad, and Thanos is one of the best villains I have ever seen on the silver screen.

In short, go see it.

This hilarious gonzo comedy has a sharp script, clever direction, and an excellent cast. In Game Night, writer Mark Perez and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have crafted a tightly structured story with little visual tricks that turn out to be significant. That said, the movie really lives and dies by its cast, and this is a top-notch ensemble. Morris -- dependably funny on TV's New Girl -- gets laughs from his bubbling jealousy and dead-on Denzel Washington impersonation, clicking well with Bunbury. Horgan drily delivers as someone who's far too smart for her date; you'll likely wish there was more of her in the film. Magnussen is spectacularly idiotic as Ryan, which is a gift. Open-hearted blockheads are always welcome in comedies such as this, and Magnussen -- who's shown his dramatic chops in the likes of Birth of the Dragon -- hits it out of the park. Plemons' dead-eyed Gary generates big laughs by doing as little as possible. His stony "I see you" face and monotone delivery steal every scene he's in. (At one point, he happily invites the group into his house ... and, with a frozen smile, slowly backs into the darkness.)

And as Max and Annie, Bateman and McAdams have great chemistry. Their timing together, their small reactions to each other; they really read as a couple who love each other, have a lot in common, and accept each other's quirks. Oh, and they're really funny. Bateman, as usual, is an effective straight man with subdued wit. McAdams gets to be a little wackier than usual and has some superb reaction moments. They're an appealing pair, and we're happy to follow them through this gleefully bloody comedy with a fair amount of twists and genuine laughs.

Alex Garland's second directorial outing after the excellent Ex Machina, this brainy, metaphysical sci-fi is even more ambitious and more amazing. But its challenging conclusion could be a hard sell. Based on Jeff VanderMeer's novel, Annihilation slightly resembles Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979), a highly artistic masterpiece from a much braver time, when audiences were less likely to balk at ambiguity. Like Ridley Scott did in Blade Runner 2049, Garland combines unusual, imaginative visuals, ideas, and sounds with more traditional audience-aimed thrills -- but he does so far more seamlessly than Scott. The film is less focused on climactic battles, instead heading toward a far more poetic, surreal ending. The shape of Annihilation is nothing short of brilliant, with a linear, minimalist starting point that consists of simple, straightforward images (like a lighthouse). It then opens up like a strange, exotic flower, following different offshoots to new, unexpected points in its unpredictable world. The movie is admirable for featuring five women (and no men) as the characters who embark on the journey; Portman's performance especially makes it an emotional one. But given that the movie is sometimes creepy and perhaps even unsettling, it sets itself up as being more of a cult favorite -- it's closer to 2001: A Space Odyssey than to Star Wars -- than a mainstream hit. Still, if you prefer your sci-fi deep, then you're in for a treat.