MOVIE REVIEW: Doctor Strange

Now in its third phase, Marvel continues to take C-level and D-list comic book characters and titles, breath cinematic life into them with top-notch talent in front of and behind the camera, and turn the obscure in newly minted household names and merchandising windfalls. "Doctor Strange" continues the studio's blueprint of Midas Touch success while jubilantly kicking down the door for magic and mysticism in the MCU. You may not know him yet, but Stephen Strange is a major player and huge addition to an already-loaded heroic panorama.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Triple 9

The latest film from director John Hilllcoat is a deadly game of cops and robbers. The rub in "Triple 9" is that the cops are the robbers. Painted with thick coat of fictional grit capable of kicking in our audience doors, the director's sixth feature aims to be a new "Heat" for this era. Boasting a stellar top-shelf cast of dedicated, yet mismatched parts, "Triple 9" does its best to battle treacherous flaws.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Martian

Simply put, "The Martian" from director Ridley Scott and headlining star Matt Damon, is a great survival film. It strikes all of those aforementioned chords of survival essence and entertainment. Giving it the easy labels of "Castaway in Space," "Robinson Crusoe: Astronaut," "Interstellar without Nolanism," "Apollo 13 on Mars," or "The Next Gravity" sells it too short. "The Martian" doesn't need to borrow anything from those five notable survival film stories and can stand confidently aside, or even above them, as an exemplar all its own in the genre. Meet what is sure to go down as one of 2015's best films.

MOVIE REVIEW: Z for Zachariah

Playing concurrently in limited theatrical release and on Video On Demand outlets after debuting at January's Sundance Film Festival, "Z for Zachariah" is based on Robert C. O'Brien's 1974 novel of the same name. Written in the form of a diary during the paranoid peak of the 1970's, the post-apocalyptic novel reverberated with tension and clashes of survival. Even with a trio of talented actors that turn heads, you would never know such crackle existed from the resulting film that falls flat at every turn.

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2014: The male acting awards

It's time to make my formal predictions. In this sixth post, we are deep into the major award categories. Here are my picks for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor. Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool. Let's go!

EVERY MOVIE HAS A LESSON

by Don Shanahan

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