X-Men: Apocalypse

Man, this summer has been a really weird one for blockbuster movies. Not only have the critics and fans been at odds for many of them, but reviews have been coming out weeks before the film's actual release. Case in point, I heard about the lackluster reception of X-Men: Apocalypse weeks ago. While that was certainly disappointing to hear, the recent trend of allowing critics access to these movies so far in advance has killed a little of my anticipation for them. I therefore had a surprisingly difficult time getting excited for this film, even though it was one of my top 5 anticipated films of the year. However, I was such a fan of 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, that I had enough faith in director Bryan Singer and the stellar cast to produce something enjoyable.

Captain America: Civil War

After weeks of having to avoid spoilers from critics who saw the movie weeks before the rest of us had a chance to see it, I finally watched Captain America: Civil War! I actually saw this two weeks ago when it was first released, but I've been out of town and was unable to write this review until now. I've been looking forward to this film for a long time, really ever since I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier and heard that the Russo brothers were returning to direct the sequel two years later. As that was probably my favorite Marvel film to date, I had some high expectations for this film, let alone the hype coming from the online community prior to its release. It took a lot of self control to try to manage my expectations so that I wouldn't be disappointed, regardless of how good it was. I'll keep this spoiler-free, as I know a lot of people still haven't had a chance to see this movie, but let me begin with a brief plot introduction.

The Jungle Book

Lately Disney has been releasing their movies to critics so far in advance, that it's impossible to avoid the critical buzz entirely. It's particularly annoying with next month's Captain America: Civil War, which I am dying to see, but the overwhelmingly positive response still may have had a slightly negative impact on my opinion of The Jungle Book. I've been fairly hyped for this film for a while now, with the early claims that this is perhaps the most technologically-advanced movie ever made. With a director whom I generally like in Jon Favreau (known primarily for Iron Man), and a voice cast overflowing with talent, I had a feeling Disney's retelling of the 1967 classic cartoon could be something truly special. The only thing I wasn't sure about was how they would tell the story. So with that, let's get into the plot.