Sniderman

Deadpool

Crit

I was so prepared to dislike this Spider-Man wannabe, especially after I read the piece in last weekend's Times about the character's creator, who is like Trump-level assholish.

But the Jerry Lee Lewis Principle is at work in this smart, funny, reflexive action-film-for-the-brain about a superhero made, not born, who gets to his gigs in a cab and is concerned with righting only the wrongs done to himself. An uglied-up Ryan Reynolds gets to take shots at his pretty-boy rep, and a distinctly not-uglied-up (what sort of budget would that take?) Morena Baccarin, whom we've loved in Firefly/Serenity and Homeland, again is more than just a pretty face, but did I mention how pretty her face is? And then: Leslie Uggams; I'll say no more.

Trailers

• Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates--I gather this is a sequel? Dumb and Dumber for Gen Y?
• The Purge: Election Year--I'm tempted to look at the box office numbers for previous entries in this franchise, but I fear it would be paralyzingly depressing.
• London Has Fallen--Huh! No filmmaker has ever put the U.S. president in peril of terrorists before!
• 10 Cloverfield Lane--Worst quartet of trailers ever?