Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
Tiresome as these origin-story movies have become, Doctor Strange -- arrogant surgeon Stephen Strange (a perfectly-cast Benedict Cumberbatch) delves into the mystic arts after an accident causes nerve damage -- works very well, in large part because of tightly-structured plotting and unusual action sequences. Rather than explosions and laser beams, most of the action involves manipulation of time and space using effects ripped from Inception.
There's a genuinely clever climax, introduced with just the right amount of foreshadowing to be both unexpected and obvious.
If the plotting is perfect, however, the pacing is a little off, particularly the contrast between the languid introduction and the final act. There's something particularly off about the time given early in the film to relationship between Strange and love interest Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) and its total absence from the finale.