Logan

It is rare that I long for a movie to come out. I watched every trailer and waited for Logan to come out. I even got pre-clearance to see it on opening night. To put this into more context, I also have not seen an X-Men movie since Last Stand and the first attempt at a Wolverine stand-alone movie.
However, I loved Wolverine when I was a teenager. He was the only comic book hero who actually viscerally understood that he participated in violence and that it had a cost. He was broken in ways that others were not, and still found away to be a hero. Violence has a price and he paid it.
The trailers led me to believe that this would be a movie that got Wolverine and would show him and the costs of a life of violence.
I was not let down. The Logan in the movie is broken in ways that cannot be fixed. The years of fighting have worn him down. The adamantium that makes him unbreakable is killing him. He just wants to live out his remaining days in peace. Unfortunately, his peace is disturbed by caring for a mentally unstable Charles Xavier whose brain can randomly unleash devastating mental blasts that may, or may not have killed his students and Logan's only friends. Into the mix is tossed an orphan girl who is cloned from Logan's DNA and is being hunted down by a band of corporate killers who want their property back.
It sounds bleak, and it is. This is not an Avengers movie where there is a big, colorful set piece every fifteen minutes. There are long stretches of the movie where not much happens except people talking to each other about the stuff of life. It is more road trip movie than super-hero movie.
This is not to say the movie is without big fight scenes. It is rated R and it earns it in spades. The fight scenes are big and bloody. People get hurt, badly and obviously hurt.
Even the ending is perfect for a Wolverine movie. Bleak, broken, and yet hopeful. Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart picked a great project for a swan song.

Trolls

Bug really wanted to see Trolls for movie night, so I begrudgingly gave in. I had no interest in seeing what looked like a glitter bomb of epic corporate greed that could only suck.
I was pleasantly surprised. It was not great, but it was good. The story was upbeat and had a good message. The soundtrack was kicking. I'm glad I only paid the $5 rental fee to see it, but it was better than some of the other kids movies I've seen recently.

Kubo and the Two Strings

I loved this movie. The story was dark, but not so dark that a six year old couldn't handle it. It ended sadly, but hopeful. The animation was lush. There was nothing about the movie that I did not like.
The thing I liked the best was Kobo and his relationship with Monkey. It is warm and complicated. The relationship with Beetle is simpler, but still loving.
So, I love the movie and think everyone should see it.

Sing

I loved this movie. Sure it was a winter vacation, star studded, money grab, but it had soul.
The characters were great. I particularly liked how complicated the theater owner was. Bug really took to Meena the Elephant.
The message was upbeat and the plot, while predictable, moved along nicely. The humor was flexible enough to entertain young and old.
The music was pretty great as a bonus.

Rouge One

As the first stand alone Star Wars movie, and a prequel of sorts, Rouge One had a heavy burden. It was also saddled with persistent rumors of trouble and large scale reshooting.
It did always have one thing going for: Gareth Edwards. I have been a big fan of his previous outings and knew he could put together a good film.
Rouge One proved once again that he is a director with a bright future.
While not a great film, it was a very good film. It's plot drove the movie forward at a good pace and the action scenes were everything one would hope for in a Star Wars movie.
Its greatest strength, the plot, was also its greatness weakness. Because the plot moved so quickly, there was very little time for character development. It wasn't that the characters were overly thin, unsympathetic, or unbelievable. They just left you wanting a bit more back story. In some ways, it is the exact opposite of the Skywalker Star Wars movies where there is almost too much back story for fairly uninteresting characters.
The film also felt like it was in a duel with itself at times. I could feel the darker version trying to break through the Disney sheen. I will be very interested to see if Rouge One ever gets a directors cut. I think Edwards original vision was a few shades darker and less morally clear.
Anyway, it was enjoyable in the form that was released to the theaters. It was a fun ride with good characters. It also adds some depth to the rebellion.

Civil War

The Marvel Movie machine can be counted on for good movies. Some are better than others, but that is true of the comics as well. I always liked Iron Man more than I liked Thor. One comic I never got into too much was Captain America; he always seemed too good. It was the same issue I had with Superman, Spider-Man, etc. I was always more of a Wolverine/Batman fan.
Despite my meh attitude to the Captain America comic book character, I find that Marvel's best movies are the Captain America ones. Steve Rodgers is still to good, but in his current movie version that is what makes him compelling. He is an uncompromising Boy Scout, but instead of making him bland, it makes him more complex. He knows he is a man out of time, and some times out of step with the morality of the now, but he is willing to take it to the mat for good old fashion loyalty and the belief in the basic goodness of individuals.
In each of the three solo Captain America movies, we see Rodgers fighting against a corrupt, or at least, poorly working system and proving that one man can make a difference. He is truth to power.
In Winter Soldier we saw how systems can be corrupted. In Civil War we see Rodger's resistance to allowing that to happen again. The question is never as simple as "should enhanced soldiers answer to a centralized power". Of course they need to be accountable; the question is can a centralized power be trusted to do the right thing. It is a question that should haunt the halls of power in any free democracy. It is the founding principle of America's bizarre tri-power structure. Organizations can be corrupted or ineffective.
Anyway, This was by far the best of the Marvel movies that I have seen. It has all of the big, smashing fights, but also provides the audience something to think about.

The Dark Knight Returns

I am very late on catching up on the Nolan Batman series. I finally got the DVD out of the library and watched The Dark Knight Returns.
It was a fine finish to a fine series of movies that proved comic book characters can make for serious films and still be fun. It is a little ironic that Nolan paved the way for the success of the Marvel Universe using one of DC's Crown Jewels and DC hasn't been able to recreate the magic.
The film is not perfect. I think they took the decrepit Bruce Wayne thing a little too far in the beginning and I think the Wayne's recovery in the pit was a little too fast for belief. I cannot see Bane as leading an army of devoted followers.
Beyond that it was pretty great. The acting was good overall. I could feel the depth of conflict Commissioner Gordon was suffering. I never saw the twist about who was pulling Bane's strings coming. I even thought the chemistry between Batman and Catwoman was good.
The movie, as the one before it, also showed some ambition towards social commentary. It showed the worst and best of humanity and how sometimes they can co-exist in the same people.
At the end of the movie, I was saddened that DC has decided to go a different way with the future Batman movies. The last appearance of the Bat was sad and I have little hope that Justice League will be much better. Here's to hoping Ben can bring a good solo Bat to the screen before the decade runs out.