DOCTOR STRANGE

So I guess this is a relatively standard storyline for a Marvel film. It's basically everything we have come to expect from the franchise - but if you think I am disappointed, think again! I walked out of 'Doctor Strange' feeling satisfied in being delivered what I had expected… and then some! For the most part, these films are just so. Damn. Reliable.

And I love it.

The performances are wonderful, even if Benedict Cumberbatch's American accent is slightly jarring. His voice and British accent are so easily recognisable it's takes a moment to let yourself adjust. Tilda Swinton, in my opinion, can literally play anything and I'd be interested.

Even a lamp.

I would watch that movie again and again.

I keep finding myself thinking about the Marvel Universe as a child that is growing up. In the beginning, it was just making solid representations of the comic books (its "mirror stage”, if you'll forgive my Lacan). As it ages, much like us, it is becoming increasingly more self-aware. This self-awareness is, to me, one of the most charming features of what is becoming a genre in itself. This defining feature allows the movies to not take themselves too seriously and they understand how much they are asking us to believe - agreeing how ridiculous it is themselves.

Magic. A movie doesn't need much more than that to drag me in. But after seeing 'Doctor Strange' and with the help of some good friends who have recently introduced me to the world of physical comics (which wasn't a hard sell), I think I have found my new favourite character. Not to mention as someone who is learning Auslan (Australian Sign Language), magic made up of a series of hand gestures is right up my alley. With so many things going for it, it was hard not to be put under the spell of 'Doctor Strange’.