In Theaters: April 27, 2017

There can be only one.

Avengers: Infinity War

That's right, ladies and gents.  Infinity War is here.

By the way, I didn't bother with the blog last week for two reasons.

1) I wasn't feeling it

2) There was nothing coming out that looked any good

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Almost ten years ago to the day the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off pretty quietly.  Sure, Iron Man was a big hit, but nobody expected it to be.  And even after it was a bona fide hit, I myself had no idea they were serious about that "Avengers initiative" line after the credits.  And when I heard two years later that they were actually gonna go for an Avengers movie, I scoffed.  I did not believe.  I've never been so wrong about anything movie-related in my life.

Anyway, you know the story.  First came Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008, Iron Man 2 in 2010, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011, and Marvel's The Avengers in 2012, which really shook things up.  Somewhere in that first phase, Disney bought Marvel, and that has worked out pretty well.  Phase two started with Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World in 2013, then came Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, followed by Avengers: Age of Ultron, and then Ant-Man, closing out phase two in 2015.  I'm still confused about why Ant-Man is the official last movie of phase two, but it is.  2016 brought us Captain America: Civil War, and Doctor Strange, and in 2017 they made the switch to three movies a year with Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok.  2018 will also have three.  We already got Black Panther.  And now Infinity War.

In ten years it's already become the most profitable franchise ever, and the second most prolific.  And it all comes down to this.

JUST KIDDING

There is an untitled fourth Avengers film that will come out next summer.  That is the true end of the current MCU as we know it.  They say the title itself is a spoiler, which is why it hasn't been revealed yet.  So brace yourself for some probable cliffhangers.  Big ones.  At the end of Infinity War.

Still, this is a big event movie.  If I had to guess, I'd say it's the second biggest event movie of anyone's life that was born after May 1977.  The first being the untitled movie slated for next summer.

Avengers: Infinity War is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, language and some crude references.

I had the chance to talk with someone who has seen the movie.  I only asked him one question:

Does it deliver?

He said yes.

In Theaters: April 13, 2018

There are four wide releases this weekend.

Beirut (Wednesday Release)

All signs point to forgettable.

Beirut is about a negotiator who has to broker a deal with terrorists.  They kidnapped his friend, and in exchange for his safe return they want the release of another terrorist.

Beirut is rated R for language, some violence and a brief nude image.

Rampage

The Poster says April 20 because the poster was put out before Infinity War changed its release date from May 4th to April 27th.  When that happened, everybody else backed up to make room!

Rampage is an old arcade game from the 90's.  Literally all it was is the player controls giant animals (gorilla, lizard, wolf, etc) and you climb buildings and destroy them.  That's it.  That's all.  No story.  Now there's a movie!

I guess in the movie some secret government project gets out to make normal animals giant.  One of the animals is a gorilla that Dwayne Johnson's character takes care of in some zoo or something.  So he gets mad when his gorilla gets giant and he gets involved with these giant animals.  I dunno what they're going for here.

Rampage is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, action and destruction, brief language, and crude gestures.

Sgt Stubby: An American Hero

So it's a second rate family animated film about a dog that has something to do with the first world war.  It looks completely dreadful.

Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero is rated PG for war action and some thematic elements.

Truth or Dare

I fear this is the beginning of the end for Blumhouse.

Blumhouse, for those of you who don't know, is new school horror.  They came around with James Wan and Insidious, and they've been on a hot streak ever since.

Truth or Dare looks TERRIBLE.  So bad.  Basically the game is "real" (since it wasn't before?) and when you play you go all possessed and if you refuse to take part you die.

Truth or Dare is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing content, alcohol abuse, some sexuality, language and thematic material.

Big Shot Critic

In Theaters: April 6, 2018

There are four wide releases this weekend.

Blockers

Just so we're clear, a cock blocker is someone who disrupts or interrupts someone's romantic efforts with another person.  This disruption can be intentional or not.

Blockers is about three separate parents who find out their high school age children are intent on being poorly behaved on Prom night.  They band together to be "Blockers".

Blockers is rated R for crude and sexual content, and language throughout, drug content, teen partying, and some graphic nudity.

Chappaquiddick

Chappaquiddick is the name of a small island in Massachusetts.  There was an incident there in 1969 involving Senator Ted Kennedy and criminal negligence resulting in the death of a twenty eight year old woman.  This was obviously a giant political mess for the Kennedy family.

This could make for a very interesting movie.  Jason Clarke has the skills (he plays Ted Kennedy).  Or it could be dreadfully boring, hard to tell.

Chappaquiddick is rated PG-13 for thematic material, disturbing images, some strong language, and historical smoking.

The Miracle Season

A women's high school volleyball team wins state titles two years in a row and then their star player dies in a car wreck.  Can they come together, find inspiration, find the drive, and win again?

P.S. It's a true story.

I'll be honest, I think this one looks kinda half-baked.

The Miracle Season is rated PG for some thematic elements.

A Quiet Place

I think this horror movie could be the best in decades.  No, you don't need to adjust your television, America.  Big Shot Critic did just endorse a horror movie.

A Quiet Place caught everybody's attention with an irresistible premise: silence is survival.  There are monsters that hunt by sound.  As long as you're quiet you're safe.  Needless to say, this has A TON of potential for some real high tension.  I'm excited.

It looks solid, and the early reviews are saying it's really something special.  One for the ages, even.  It's also John Krasinski's directorial debut, as he stars alongside his real life wife, Emily Blunt.

A Quiet Place is rated PG-13 for terror and some bloody images.

      Big Shot Critic