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   

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Year:  2011
Director:  Guy Ritchie
Screenplay:  Kieran Mulroney and Michelle Mulroney, based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Starring:  Robert Downey, Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams
Running Time:  129 minutes
Genre:  Mystery, crime, adventure, period

This film is the sequel to the blockbuster 2009 film Sherlock Holmes.  The film is very loosely based on the legendary detective stories created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, most particularly the 1893 story The Final Problem.  However the plot of the film is by and large original.  In 1891, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey, Jr.) becomes convinced that a series of bombings in France and Germany are the work of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty (Harris).  However, the difficulty is that there is no evidence to connect the respected professor to any wrongdoing.  After enlisting the aid of his recently engaged best friend, Doctor John Watson (Law), Holmes soon realises that he has put Watson, and his bride to be (Reilly), at risk of lethal retaliation from Moriarty's men.  With the help of Holmes' well-connected brother, Mycroft (Fry), and a tough gypsy woman, Simza (Rapace), whose brother is working with Moriarty, Holmes and Watson set off on a journey across Europe, on the trail of one of the world's most powerful and dangerous criminals.

This is a hugely entertaining mix of globe-trotting adventure, explosive action and humour.  Robert Downey, Jr. is perfectly cast as Holmes and Jude Law makes for an engaging Doctor Watson, and there is great banter and chemistry between the two leads, with Watson refreshingly being portrayed as more than a match for Holmes in many places.  It will doubtless infuriate Conan Doyle purists, but for anyone else it is a fun period adventure.  The action scenes are well handled and the film provides more than enough spectacle.  As Moriarty, Jared Harris makes for a great, slippery villain, and he shares a number of great scenes with Robert Downey, Jr..  Stephen Fry is entertainingly arch as Mycroft Holmes (the scene where he turns up in the nude and happily chats away to Kelly Reilly, oblivious to her shock, is a comedy highlight).  Noomi Rapace is also impressive, lending gravitas to a fairly underwritten role.  The movie lacks any real surprises, the suspense in the film coming not so much from discovering who the villain is, because it is made clear right from the outset, but instead from how Holmes and Watson will unravel the criminal plot in time.  It also tends to meander at times, but mostly succeeds in being an entertaining, light-hearted, adventure romp, which will doubtless please fans of the original. 

Robert Downey, Jr., Noomi Rapace and Jude Law in Sherlock Holmes:  A Game of Shadows