Movie Review: Doctor Strange (Marvel, 2016)

Of all of the characters in the MCU, Dr. Strange is possibly the one I knew the least about going in. I knew that he was a doctor that screwed up his hands and became a magician. that's about it. In general, I wasn't wrong. Truly, though, there was much more to it.

Stephen Strange is a brilliant surgeon. He has an amazing track record, but mostly because he filters out any possible failures. He's successful, self-centered, arrogant as hell and just a big giant asshole to everyone around him. He's not really likeable in the least. Upon taking a phone call in the rain while speeding through a twisting highway, Strange goes off the road and down a mountainside. In the process, he destroys his hands. After multiple surgeries to repair the damage, Strange has tremors that he can't steady, rendering him useless as a surgeon. After months of desperately looking for a medical way to heal, he turns to other methods.

Movie Review: The Zero Theorem (2013)

Qohen Leth(Christoph Waltz) is a talented computer operator in a futuristic world.  Qohen lives a very isolated life and it's due to his faith that he will be receiving a phone call.  He doesn't know when, so he has centered his life around working and waiting for the phone call.

Qohen is put on a project by Management(Matt Damon) to prove the Zero Theorem.  Proof that at if the universe ends, there truly is nothing.  The film explores the faith of people and what drives them.  It is explored wonderfully as you see Qohen giving up on experiences that would make him a happier person, but he needs to know what that phone call is.

The visuals in director Terry Gilliam's film help push the faith drive.  Qohen lives in an abandoned church with eyes on him at all time, much how people feel with religion.  The biggest visual metaphor would be the giant crucifix with Jesus' head removed and replaced with a camera.

The pace of the movie wasn't the fastest but overall I didn't get bored watching, especially with Christoph Waltz in the lead role.  Watching him deal with love, friendship, trying new foods and the like felt very organic.  Melanie Thierry as Bainsley was a delight to watch as well as her relationship with Qohen was played out incredibly well.  Lucas Hedges as Bob started off as someone I really did not like, but he turned out to be the most reasonable voice of the film.