#2,308: Dr. Strange

Hush - ★★★★☆
Solid! The characters make mistakes you can criticize them for, but let's see you do better. It's really fun that Maddy's deafness is always a kind of weapon against her tormentor - she can always ignore him.

The backstory of a ma-and-pop indie production is neat too.

Piper - ★★★☆☆
Of course it's pretty. 

Denial - ★★★★☆
I liked this a lot. All that high flying lawyering! There's just something great about watching people who are excellent at their jobs using their skills effectively in a struggle, instead of the skills themselves being the subject of the struggle. I guess I'm advocating for 'Man v. Man' over 'Man v. Self,' but it's why I like this movie better than last year's version, Woman in Gold.

Doctor Strange - ★★★½☆
Certainly a movie that deserves to be seen on the big screen. Really terrific VFX work in this. I'm also happy with how this movie both advanced the plot of the overarching MCU and stood almost entirely alone from the other films. It's an origin story, fine, whatever, but it's not about a man bumbling, because this Strange's real power isn't magic, it's his ambition to learn. Being good at learning, optimizing, is a terrific skill all on its own. Here's hoping the sequel isn't just going to be about losing all of that to a well-placed punch.