Reviews: Dr. Strange and Trolls

Doctor Strange follows the story of extremely skilled neurosurgeon, Doctor Stephen Strange, who is put in a tight spot after a tragic car accident. He must put his ego aside and his life becomes altered after he steps foot into a hidden world of mystic and alternate dimensions. Doctor Strange must act quickly to determine between real and the in between, with a vast array of abilities and artifacts to protect, he will become this big pictures next big hero.

Doctor Strange will have superhero fans leaving the theatre with a new take on this classic comic book. With moments of destruction and awesome fight scenes, the pages come alive with accurate depiction of the original. Marvel comic book junkies are on cloud nine when it came to showing off the superhero with the help of the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch.

Writer of Common Sense Media, Jeffrey M. Anderson said, “Marvel’s 14th Cinematic Universe movie has all the usual action and explosions, but it also has a different type of main character — one whose magical and appealingly flawed but willing to change.”

There are some familiar faces that you might recognize, such as Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor  from 12 Years a Slave as Mordo and Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer. The production has already been praised at the Hollywood Film Awards for Visual Effects of the Year and nominated for the Hollywood Music in Media Awards for Best Original Score of a Sci Fi/ Fantasy Film. Bringing in about $85 million opening weekend in the states, this movie not only made a name for itself but for the main role as well. Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the most impressive British actors of this generation, is not only some movie star or Marvel superhero, but truly an actor to keep an eye on.

With reviews from Rotten Tomato giving it a 90%, IMDb giving it a solid 8 out of 10 and Common Sense Media giving it a 4 out of 5, it has people and critics talking about its success.

“Trolls,” is based on Thomas Dam’s dolls. This smart, funny, inventive animated comedy was created by the ingenious minds who created “Shrek,” Directors Walt Dohrn and Mike Mitchell. It takes a new spin off the troll dolls describing the story of this wondrous and colorful world of the happy-go-lucky trolls. “Trolls” has already won an award and been nominated for five more including the Hollywood Film Award for the Song of the Year, Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA), Teen Choice Award for Choice AnTEENcipated Movie and Choice Music: Song from a Movie or TV Show.

The movie brings a fresh take on the 1960’s troll dolls connecting with young and old audiences alike. These lovable singing and dancing trolls will have you leaving the theatre with a cheerful outlook on life and awesome tunes dancing in your head. This show lifts the spirits of young and old with songs like “True Colors” and “Can’t Stop The Feeling.”

Betsy Bozdech of Common Sense Media says, “Make no mistake: Kids are going to love this movie.”

You might hear some familiar voices in this movie. For example, Anna Kendrick from Pitch Perfect voices the character named Poppy, Justin Timberlake voices the character named Branch and Zooey Deschanel voices Bridget. Christopher Mintz-Plasse from Superbad and How to Train Your Dragon voices King Gristle, Christine Baranski from How the Grinch Stole Christmas voices Chef and Gwen Stefani enacts DJ Suki.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 74% rating, Common Sense Media awarded it a 4 out of 5, and IMDb gave it a 6.7 out of 10 with comments from Common Sense, Variety and New York Daily News.

Morgan Boyd
mnboyd@vwc.edu