🏆 The 1st Annual Superhero Oscars 🏆

And the winner is...all of us! The past year is absolutely amazing quality of the superhero movies from Marvel, DC, X-Men, and Star Wars. The Nominees [View in Browser]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Celebrating the latest batch of superhero and science fiction films, the (first) Annual Superhero Oscars celebrates artistic achievements in a flurry of films featuring the finest fellows in cape-sporting spandex! [Vote for your favorite superhero movie »]( [Large image.]( Directed by Gareth Edwards, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was the very first Star Wars anthology film occurring outside of the latest, Skywalker-focused trilogy. So, was the tragic procuring of sensitive schematics -- a story casually referenced in Episode IV -- truly the stuff of a major motion picture? Hell, and yes. Felicity Jones plays a dogged Jyn Erso who, along with the hastily formed Rogue One Squadron, accepts the unenviable task of snagging those Death Star plans from a galaxy-spanning empire. Do they succeed? Yes, but it hurts. It really, really hurts. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Creating a cohesive DC Film universe and continuing the narrative from 2013’s Man of Steel, Batman v Superman introduces us to a brand-new, moderately murderous Batman (Ben Affleck) who seems unimpressed with the caped, human-shaped wrecking ball laying waste to Bruce Wayne’s commercial holdings. Although the critical response was less than favorable, BvS was a beautifully filmed piece of cinema featuring awe-inspiring action, and a heavy morbidity that weighted you firmly to the theatre seat. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( It’s a world without heroes, X-Men, dental hygiene, green grass, and common courtesy. Struggling to survive its succession of death-throws is a meandering, meek LOGAN, formerly the ferocious, occasionally psychotic Wolverine. In Hugh Jackman’s final performance, he portrays the beaten, beloved X-character as he cares for an ailing Professor X and deals with a terrified young girl suffering at the hands of a resurgent Weapon X program. (The Academy favors Jackman’s performance as the surprisingly vulnerable, X-Men-sanctioned murder machine.) [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Should superheroes – walking, talking, appropriately named ‘persons of mass destruction’ -- be allowed to dole out protection/ justice based on personal, arguably moral whims? The United States, and a collection of other nations, collectively answered “no.” With the Winter Soldier’s terroristic act, and Cap’s immediate dismissal of the Sokovia Accords to protect his wanted, mindwiped friend, Tony Stark tries to wrangle Cap’s band of disapproving rogues in this emotional, action-packed drama testing the bonds of brotherhood, and the ethics of morality when considering accountability. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Benedict Cumberbatch shines in a spinning, phasing swirl of psychedelic chewing gum as the fantastic, live-action iteration of Marvel Comics’ Sorcerer Supreme. Steven Strange, a self-obsessed neuro-surgeon, has the world by – and thanks to – his hands. Until a near-fatal car accident mangles his money makers, forcing him to seek out mystical healers in the mostly rumored mountain village of Kamar-Taj. Rediscovering self-mastery upon magic’s infinite canvas, Doctor Strange’s spellbinding special effects accent a story of tragedy-induced self-discovery. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Another DC Film suffering through its own bout of critical disfavor, DC Films’ Suicide Squad focuses on a government sanctioned grouping of DC’s most notorious villains. Forced by their handler Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) to carry out missions until completion -- and under threat of a remotely detonated cranium -- the Suicide Squad faces an almost laughable threat in the form of volatile former member, the Enchantress. Starting off strong but plummeting off a creative cliff at about the half-way mark, Suicide Squad still manages to thrill regardless of tripping all over itself in in the closing hour. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Much like his comic book counterpart, Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) is here to dutifully destroy humanity due to their disdainful treatment of ‘Mutanity!’ How is he going to do it? With the accumulated power of thousands of mutants over thousands of years, and with the help of his newly appointed Four Horseman. The cast of First Class reunites to battle the first and ultimate Mutant in this poorly plotted but attention-grabbing actioner. And yeah, a new ‘take charge’ Mystique played by a barely-there Jennifer Lawrence pretty much killed the whole thing for us. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( This perfect, fourth-wall mangling, pseudo indie film perfectly captures Deadpool’s atrocious antics as we join him mid-story and, along with cab driver Dopinder, revel in his genuinely tear-inducing origin. Rated-R for the level of combustible violence befitting the character, and coupled with a note-perfect performance by Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool is the cinematic equivalent of a Crocs™-wearing unicorn farting plastic, rainbow colored vampire teeth all over a triple-layer, chocolate fudge, catalytic converter cake. Uh…. yeah. [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( [Large image.]( Email Preference Center: [Unsubscribe or Manage Your Preferences](