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Sam Raimi

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Sam Raimi (2022)

I watched this Marvel ill-prepared. I was going to watch something else and decided to switch the last minute and this one was in the watch-list.

It is by and far the weakest Marvel that I saw so far. The movie is more of a Harry Potter type magical fantasy, but more pompous. Dr. Strange is some sorcerer who encounters a girl being chased by a monster. There appears to be another sorcerer in the neighborhood and the two take the girl to their temple of sorcerers.

Dr. Strange goes to consult his ex-wife who proves to be the most mighty of black magicians and she is after the girl’s powers. The girl has the ability to jump between different universes and so there is an “Inception” like chase through “the multiverse of madness”. This of course leads to a visual spectacle which is quite unimpressing.

Had I prepared myself a little better, I would have known that there have been Dr. Strange movies since the 1970’ies and this one is not even the first Marvel. There are almost no references to the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, What is somewhat amusing is that Lashana Lynch appears as Captain Marvel, while in the “Captain Marvel” film she is Maria Rambeau. For a minute I thought she was also in the Wakanda films, but she is actually in “Woman King“. Also Sheila Atim from “Woman King” appears in this Doctor Strange.

The Quick and the Dead – Sam Raimi (1995)

A Western classic with a very young Leonardo diCaprio, a pretty young Russel Crowe and a young and sexy Sharon Stone. Her trying to look tough does not work out too well though. Gene Hackman as the bad guy is fun though.

Stone’s character Ellen drives to a remote village where an annual dueling event takes place. The little town is ran by scumbag Herod (Hackman) and every year people can sign up for shooting duels. The winner wins a massive amount of money, but of course, Herod lets nobody win but himself.

Ellen does not just go to that town for the money, but because Herod is responsible for the death of her father, who used to the be sheriff of the town when she was a girl.

So we have a town full of self-confident people who think that they are the best and fastest shooters. The event itself is quite brutal and the end result not a surprise, but “The Quick and the Dead” is an alright watch.

A Simple Plan – Sam Raimi (1999)

  • crime

This film is a lot like “Fargo” (1996), it only lacks the black humor of that classic.

In a snowy, small community, three people pick up a stupid plan that can only go wrong. Improvising they turn to violence and greed puts stress on their relation. From the beginning it is clear that they are going to have a run-in with organised crime. As in “Fargo” the naivety is stunning.

“A Simple Plan” is by far not as good as the Coen film. It is but a somewhat enjoyable film.