We Don't Need Two Metaphors

Its status as an ever present competitor in this year's awards season has perhaps caused the momentum behind Spotlight  to dwindle as the race reaches its end, which means it will likely lose to the much showier (and gruntier/more grunty/?) The Revenant .  That's a shame, not only because Spotlight  is one of the year's very best, but because it's a magnificent testimonial to the shrinking practice of long term journalism and a fascinating exploration of how the deep rooted influence of an institution such as the Catholic Church can directly and indirectly affect the people of Boston.

Age of Ultron is a lot of movie (mostly in a good way), overstuffed with too much of everything. I’m not surprised that Joss Whedon is exhausted after making it, but it is to his credit that this latest Marvel behemoth doesn’t come crashing down like… well… like a giant flying thingymbob in the finale of a Marvel film. After seemingly taking out the last remaining HYDRA hideout and retrieving Loki’s staff, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) attempt to use the power of the staff’s stone to unlock the secrets of artificial intelligence. Their experiments unwittingly lead to the creation of Ultron (voiced by James Spader) who believes that the fastest track to peace on Earth is to eliminate the Avengers.