Deadpool 2 (2018)

[** stars / *****] 

A man lands his crotch on another man's face. Four parachuting heroes meet gruesome deaths. A man grabs another superhero's steel butt. Arms are ripped off, a body is torn to half, bullet holes, beheadings, explosions and every other bloody mess.   

Full of adult humor, numerous movie & pop culture references (you could miss many), bloody slashing violence, irreverent monologuing and superficial comic book plot, Deadpool 2 is mature audience fun while it lasts, a potato wafer-thin plot and without any takeaways. 

There is some pump when a wife dies and a superhero blows himself to bits, but the rest of it is at best bumpy and uneven. 

All things CGI are thrown at us, there is merciless brutal humor, and somehow Deadpool 2  stays afloat despite all the smash, nonsense, and sexual references. 

Deadpool 2 is still strictly for a diehard Marvel movie franchise fan. That soap bubble comic book plots don't make great cinema is proved right again. 

Not that the filmmakers are attempting to make a classic here. Marvel has gone for light entertainment and profited, art be damned! They are still counting up the Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther collections.    

For an adult superhero action comedy movie, Deadpool 2 has some great laughs, thanks to the performances of Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool/Wade Wilson), Josh Brolin (Cable), Zazie Beetz (Domino), T.J.Miller (Jack Hammer/Weasel) and Karan Soni (Dopinder!). 

The "film laughing at itself" tone also props up the movie. When the plot winks at itself too many times, it does get tiresome though.  

You may also see why we may not want to watch comic book movies all the time. For me, watching Deadpool 2 was like eating popcorn. You just like that familiar crunchiness and think no more. 
  

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

What Marvel Studios has got right in a decade-long procession of adapting their comic book heroes, starting with Ironman (2008) is the enjoyable replication of comic book fun, superb visual effect assisted action sequences,  crackling superhero team chemistry, and oodles of irrelevancy. 

Avengers: Infinity War has a simple good vs evil premise with mega epic possibilities. 

The gigantic purple-colored Thanos is searching for the six powerful infinity stones. Once he converges them all into his specially made gauntlet, he only has to snap his fingers and half the universe will cease to exist! Attempting to stop him are The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy and many rebel superheroes. 

Wanted: Tighter story

Packing in over two-dozen superheroes from all previous Marvel movies does not hinder the movie. There is crackling chemistry among all the characters, many funny one-liners that work smoothly with the impressive, well-detailed action sequences and VFX. 

Ending doesn't add up

The multiple threads of Avengers: Infinity War required a stronger, tighter story. 

The gigantic scale required convincing subplots, clearly missing here. That is why the shocker of a grim ending doesn't add up to the otherwise lively, funny, feather-light ambiance. 

Fear Not! There's always a sequel... 

Die-hard Marvel fans will find it hard to get over the mind-crumbing, heart-sinking ending. But do not be grim, there is always a sequel lurking around the corner.  

Avengers: Infinity War does set up a challenging premise for an "explain-it-all-off" sequel. As the post-credits sequence hints, Captain Marvel and possibly other new superheroes will soon make heroic grand entries. 

Despite the 160-min running time, Avengers: Infinity War is largely entertaining watch for superhero movie fans. Comic book fans should feel elevated. 

A Quiet Place (2018)

[***1/2 stars / *****] 

By 2020, most humans will be killed and eaten up by blind, extraterrestrial creatures with extremely sensitive hearing abilities to loud noises. With impenetrable armors, these creatures are literally indestructible. 

A couple and their three children survive in a countryside home in utter silence while stepping out at times for supplies. The film begins with one such food-seeking expedition and keeps us riveted all through the wisely concise 95-minute running time. 

A Quiet Place cleverly uses silence to impose prolonged tension on the audience, making this a fairly intelligent horror flick. 

Director John Krasinski, also starring as the husband is effective in keeping it simple yet tight, cutting out the loopholes from the concept. 

Krasinski's cast choices are great too, featuring his wife Emily Blunt as the wife, Noah Jupe as the younger son. A brilliant choice is Millicent Simmonds (who is actually deaf) who plays the deaf daughter withholding a biting guilt within.     

But for some release from breath-stopping tension in parts, A Quiet Place is a refreshingly original horror flick with a very convincing end. Totally worth catching on the big screen. 

P.S: You may actually hear a lot of people munching popcorn and slurping soft drinks in the theatre because of the dialogue-less hush.