TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

Even though this admits my guilt to my mind wandering a little, I realized that while watching Civil War this was the Marvel Cinematic Universe's thirteenth film. Besides Bond and probably those awful Transformers movies because audiences keep feeding Michael Bay's ego, how many franchises can say that? Additionally, how many can say that just about all of the films in their franchise have been well received? Most people cite the second Iron Man film as the worst, (and personally I think Iron Man 3 was a poorly executed film), but there isn't really a stinker in there. They're all fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, they all made obscene amounts of money...it's pretty impressive. Some have noted how the Marvel films are all fairly similar, at least in tone and the formula that follows a TV episode of thwarting the bad guy at the end of it. That's why they bring in directors to genre bend. Sometimes it works, when the Russo brothers (who directed this edition) make a 70s...

Here's the first thing I can tell you about Jon Favreau's sixth directorial effort: consume it on a full stomach. Maybe let this be your family's post-Thanksgiving meal, because regardless of whether or not you dig Chef , I assure you that you will want to strap on an apron and try being Paula Deen for the next few days. Favreau had food truck owner Roy Choi (the creator of Korean BBQ, which I've tried and enjoyed!) prep him on all aspects of the movie's culinary creations, and it more than pays off. Stick around for the end of the credits and you'll see Choi school Favreau on how to make the perfect grilled cheese! Besides leaving me physically famished, Chef also left me hungry for more. Or, perhaps, a little less. Everyone knows Favreau's got the chops to make big special effect movies: Zathura and the first couple Iron Man 's. What I really dug was the meta-plot of the film. Favreau's Chef Carl Casper has been working at a high-class restaurant...

Let me completely preface this with a review with the fact that, despite my low-ranking social status in high school, I never have been a nerd about much except for movies.  Film provides an escape for me, which is really why I got into it. So before I get into my thrashing of this movie, I want to make it clear I've seen all of the Marvel Phase 1 movies in theaters only ONCE. I do not re-watch them, I do not read the comic books they're based off of or ever desire to, I'm purely interested in the cinematic adaptation.  The strongest I've ever felt connected to a superhero is Spider-Man, who was a pasty nerd like myself. (And the Hulk to some extent, I was an angry kid.) And I fully realize I'm in the minority when I say I didn't enjoy "Iron Man 3," a sputtering, one-line firing disappointment of a trilogy finale. There's obviously a way of doing them right, take my #2 favorite film of last year, "The Dark Knight Rises," a dark, gritty ...

A good writer must always be willing to realize he made a mistake, and I've realized one has occurred.  In my review of "The Hunger Games" I stated that it was the most buzzed about movie of the year.  I was wrong.  It is obviously "The Avengers." Realistically it'll probably be "The Dark Knight Rises" coming out in a few months, but at the moment, "The Avengers" is the only thing people want to talk about, the only thing they want to see, the only thing they want to think about.  I haven't seen my peers, fellow critics, and others more excited about a superhero movie since the original "Dark Knight."  To say my hopes weren't at an all time high for this is an insult to my hopes. That said, (I feel terrible, writing about the film this late, but I was told people were sitting on theater steps during it's gargantuan opening weekend, so I didn't even attempt) the buzz is 100% accurate, but I can't call it t...