Leslie Uggams

Both the filmmakers and the characters on-screen are so pleased with themselves that this might just be the smuggest movie ever made. Thankfully, it's also very funny. It's a passion project for actor-producer Ryan Reynolds, who throws himself fully into his role as a snarky mercenary who becomes an indestructible superhero with nothing to lose. And in addition to a constant stream of irreverent humour, he underscores the film's snarkiness with some real emotion.

Reynolds plays Wade, a thug for hire who works out of a bar run by his comical pal Weasel (T.J. Miller), and when he meets fellow mercenary Vanessa (Morena Baccarin), it's love at first sight. The feisty pair match each other with sharp tongues and brutal physicality, but their romance is shaken when Wade is secretly diagnosed with end-stage cancer. His only hope lies in a shady treatment from the ropey Ajax (Ed Skrein) and his sidekick Angel Dust (Gina Carano), which turns out to literally be torture. Sure, it cures his cancer and sparks his innate mutant healing power, but it leaves him hideously scarred. As he sets out to get revenge, two young X-Men (Brianna Hildebrand's Negasonic Teenage Warhead and Stefan Kapcic's Colossus) try to recruit him to their cause. And Wade, now known as Deadpool, tries to work up the nerve to show Vanessa what's left of him.

All of this is revealed early on, as Wade's back-story is recounted in a series of flashbacks in the middle of a massive opening action sequence. And once we're caught up, the story heads into a succession of massive climactic action sequences. Fortunately, there are some quieter moments in between that are both hilarious and involving. Reynolds effortlessly bridges the film's wild mood swings. His sassy attitude and feisty physicality feed cleverly into his riveting chemistry with Baccarin, whose character starts off strongly before dissolving into the standard hackneyed girlfriend role.

Continue reading: Deadpool Review

Roots begins with Kunta Kinte, emerging from childhood and undergoing warrior training in his tribal homeland. The slavers arrive soon enough, and after a harrowing three-month ride back across the Atlantic, Kunta is sold, becomes Toby under his new master, attempts repeated escapes, and eventually accepts his fate as he settles down with a wife and child. The Revolutionary War comes and goes, and Toby's daughter Kizzy is sold, becoming the mother of her new master's son, known as Chicken George. Chicken George in turn is sent to England to pay off a gambling debt. When he returns home after 14 years, he is a free man. The Civil War arrives, and the rest of the slaves are freed. Soon enough the family faces the perils of vehement racism and the KKK, and Chicken George finally leads his family to safety in a new settlement.

Continue reading: Roots Review