Avengers: Endgame

Year of Release:  2019
Directors: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
Screenplay:  Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, based on the comic book The Avengers created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Starring:  Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johnasson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurai, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin
Running Time:  181 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, action, superhero

This film is the 22nd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series, which began with Iron Man (2008) and is pretty much the culmination of the whole series, and more directly concludes the story that began in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).  Note:  In reviewing this there will be spoilers for Infinity War, so consider yourself warned.  I would also definitely advise that you see Infinity War before you see this.

Alien superbeing Thanos (Brolin) has wiped out half of all life in the universe.  When he is confronted by the surviving Avengers, Thanos reveals that he has destroyed the Infinity Stones, which were key to the genocide, and the only things that could undo what he had done.  Five years later, Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, (Rudd) escapes after being trapped in the Quantum Realm for five years.  He believes that the Quantum Realm could be used to travel in time.  The Avengers decide to travel to various points in time and space and retrieve the Infinity Stones, before Thanos can get his massive purple paws on them.

This is a truly epic film, epic in scale and in length, with a large cast of characters, that takes in almost all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It's funny, exciting, spectacular and surprisingly emotional.  It's a fitting conclusion to this incredible eleven year project.  It's easy to dismiss and be pretty cynical about the Marvel films, due to their immense popularity, as well as how many of them there have been, but it is an amazing achievement and one of the few really successful shared universes in cinema, tying in so many disparate characters and storylines.  This film manages to balance a huge cast, and multiple plotlines, working in numerous fan-pleasing references.  For the most part it works well, even if the final battle feels a little confusing due to the sheer number of characters in play.  The performances are good, with each of the main cast having their time to shine, and Josh Brolin managing to find depths to Thanos beneath the prosthetics and CGI.   If you have never seen any of the Marvel films before, this is not the one to start with, and, of course, if your a fan already you wont need me to recommend it to you.

The Avengers assemble for the Endgame       

          

Captain Marvel

Year of Release:  2019
Directors:  Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck
Screenplay:  Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dwort, story by Nicole Perlman, Meg Lefeuvre, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dwort, and based on a character created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gene Colan and Roy Thomas
Starring:  Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimou Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, Jude Law
Running Time: 124 minutes
Genre: Science-fiction, action, adventure, superhero

In the year 1995, on the planet Hala, homeworld of the Kree Empire, Vers (Larson) is training to be a warrior, but is haunted by nightmares of a past on Earth that she does not consciously remember.  The Kree are at war with the shape-shifting Skrulls.  When a mission to extract a Kree spy turns out to be a Skrull trap, Vers is captured and her mind is probed, revealing that she is a human from Earth.  Vers escapes to Earth and soon learns that she is a test pilot named Carol Danvers.  Teaming up with spy Nick Fury (Jackson) Carol fights to stop the Skrull infiltrating Earth, as well as trying to discover the secret of her past and powers.

This is the latest entry in the seemingly endless MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) franchise based on Marvel comicbooks.  At this late stage, the MCU is like a well-oiled machine, churning out well-made, entertaining films at a rate of two or three a year, so it really isn't a surprise that this is a good, fun film.  Here we are introduced to Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, and the usual superhero origin story film tends to be:  The hero is introduced as a normal person, they get their powers somehow, they learn how to use their powers and finally fight with a villain for the rest of the film.  Here Carol already has powers, and her origin story is a mystery that is revealed slowly throughout the film.  The film is funny, well-paced, with some genuinely exciting action scenes (even if, as is almost inevitable with these movies, it feels like a special effects showcase towards the end), and there is fun 1990s nostalgia.  The script is well-written, with regular twists and surprises, and a surprisingly contemporary relevance.  Brie Larson is a great actress, and she is perfectly cast as Carol Danvers, making for an engaging, kickass new hero, and she has real chemistry with a youthed down Samuel L. Jackson as a young Nick Fury, and it's fun to see Fury take his first steps into the superhero universe.  There is a fun cameo from the late Stan Lee riffing on his cameo in Mallrats (1995).  While there are many references to other MCU movies this can be enjoyed even if you've somehow avoided the others.  The ending sets up sequels and, to be honest, I am more looking forward to them than I am to the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. 
A quick note: As always with MCU films there are additional scenes during the end credits, here there are two, one in the middle of the credits and one at the very end, so make sure to stick around.   

Brie Larson leads the charge in Captain Marvel