Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Given how much I loved the first Doctor Strange outing, it would take an extraordinary misfire for his next eponymous feature not to be worth my while. This one is only moderately popular, probably below average for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (that term seems inadequate now), but hey, that didn't stop me from liking X-Men: Apocalypse.

Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been having a glum but quiet time in New York when he and Wong (Benedict Wong) suddenly have to fight a giant demon targeting teen America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), who can open portals between alternate universes but manages to do so only when terrified. Noting signs that a witch summoned the demon, Strange seeks support from his old comrade-in-arms, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), now finally going by "the Scarlet Witch." Alas, she's the summoner. She wants to absorb Chavez's power through a method that would kill Chavez, just to try to be happy in a more promising universe with the option of moving again as needed. Strange can't abide that, but Maximoff is too powerful for him to take on alone. The answer may lie in another universe....

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

Yeah, that's two consecutive theater viewings of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. And sadly, I've had only a dozen theater viewings in the nearly 2.5 years since the last Spider-Man movie. But a friend had an extra ticket and invited me mere hours in advance, so how could I put this off?

The action begins right where Far from Home leaves off: Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) has posthumously outed Peter Parker (Tom Holland) as Spider-Man -- and framed him for Mysterio's crimes and death. There is not enough evidence for a trial, but the public is divided on whom to believe. The bad publicity causes trouble for Peter's friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) and tentative girlfriend MJ (Zendaya) by association. Peter asks Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to cast a widespread amnesia spell, but by belatedly requesting exceptions, he distracts Strange to the point that the spell becomes too dangerous and Strange traps the workings in a container -- too late for it to have no effect whatsoever. Not only will everyone remember, but people from alternate universes who know Spider-Man's identity cross over, including five villains from the first two Spider-Man silver-screen series: the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), the Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), the Lizard (Rhys Ifans), and Electro (Jamie Foxx). Guess it would've been tough to fit the rest in.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Yes, I've been watching comic book movies at an unusual frequency lately. But I wanted to watch another movie in a theater for the first time in months, this one was on at an acceptable time, and I'm pretty sure my dad was willing to pass on it.

The last two words of the title refer to either an East Asian terrorist gang or the magical artifacts worn by its leader, Xu Wenwu (Tony Leung). Xu Shang-Chi (Simu Liu), son of Wenwu, was trained to be an assassin but ran away to San Francisco, where he serves as irresponsible valet Shaun. His long-time friend and co-worker Katy (Awkwafina) has no idea of his background until, after a decade, Wenwu's men come to steal the jade pendant Shang-Chi got from his late mother, Ying Li (Fala Chen). Certain that they'll go after his estranged sister, Xialing (Meng'er Zhang), for her pendant, Shang-Chi heads for Macau, and Katy insists on joining him to learn more. He doesn't know what his dad's up to, but it can't be good.

Raya and the Last Dragon (2021)

This has not received much mention in my social circles, but it gets moderately high ratings. After seeing its icon on Disney Plus enough times, I decided to give it a go. If nothing else, I'd see a dragon animation and a new effort from Big Hero Six director Don Hall.

The setting is an alternate version of Southeast Asia in centuries past, with humans and monkeys the only real species around. Known civilization consists of five hostile tribes, each named after a dragon body part. They had been in harmony 500 years ago, when dragons provided rain and other great benefits to them, but demons called the Druun turned all the dragons to stone, except one Sisu (Awkwafina), who disappeared after dispelling the Druun. Things get a lot worse when the tribes squabble over Sisu's gem and break it in five, reducing its power to keep the Druun from petrifying more beings. Six years later, Raya (Kelly Marie Tran), 18-year-old daughter of Chief Benja (Daniel Dae Kim) of the Heart tribe, is on a quest to find Sisu and unite her with all the gem shards, if only to unpetrify Benja.

Doctor Strange (2016)

Due to participation in NaNoWriMo, my viewing has dropped sharply, hence the scarcity of my reviews this month. But as some of you know, I'm a sucker for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There seemed no better way to take a break from writing a novel.

I was not previously familiar with the character of Dr. Stephen Strange (yes, that's his "real" last name -- not to be confused with Dr. Hugo Strange of DC Comics). He starts out as an arrogant surgeon, not far off from Dr. House. Leave it to Benedict Cumberbatch, actor of Sherlock Holmes and Alan Turing, to play yet another insufferable genius, even with an American accent for a change. You thought Tony Stark obnoxious at the start of Iron Man? You'd seen nothing yet. It's kind of painful to watch his interactions with co-worker and ex-girlfriend Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams, who incidentally played a love interest for a different Sherlock Holmes).

Then an accident damages the nerves in his fingers, killing his career. His search for a cure leads him to a secret location in Nepal, where the self-described Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) teaches people to unlock the powers of their own bodies -- and the multiverse. She is reluctant to teach him because of his similar character to a former student who went dangerously rogue, Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen), but student Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) talks her into it. Strange learns that the true purpose of the sorcerer training is to combat enemies, including, yes, Kaecilius, on a plane the Avengers don't frequent.

The Martian (2015)

Thanks to my vacation and time catching up on other things, I have a lot of movies to review. For once, I won't review them in the order in which I viewed them, because it doesn't matter and I'd rather give priority to the more widely interesting ones. In particular, I'd like to review the Oscar nominees before the ceremony on Sunday.

Set at some unspecified but probably near-future date, the action begins on Mars -- and I do mean action, within the first five minutes. A massive dust storm jeopardizes a small crew of astronauts. When Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets knocked out of visible range and his suit stops sending signals, the mission commander (Jessica Chastain) reluctantly decides that they are better off presuming him dead and leaving the planet early. (Sounds familiar, but Watney doesn't blame them.) Having miraculously survived the onslaught, Watney uses his relevant knowledge, especially as a botanist, to extend his food supply, enhance his transportation capacity, and eventually establish communications with Earth. But no matter what solution the best minds in science can devise, any rescue effort will be a close shave. Manned flights to Mars take years, after all.