It was impossible not to laugh at that scene! 

This scene was magnificent as was every scene featuring the cloak!

The entire scene of Dr. Strange trying to borrow/stealing the books from the library was hilarious. Dialogue between him and Wong, his tricks when stealing, Wong actually listening to modern music... very funny.

The banter between Christine and Stephen had a nice humorous undercurrent too:

Somebody at our library must like Benedict Cumberbatch - yesterday I picked up Dr. Strange from the "new DVDs" shelf.

I found the movie surprisingly enjoyable (superheroes, sorcerers and "special effects looking for a film" are not my preferred genres) - keeping it short definitely helps. And for once I regret not seeing the movie in 3D - it must be spectacular that way !

Tilda Swinton was great - and I loved that Dr. Strange's lesson "forget everything you think you know" starts with The Ancient One being a woman, when he automatically assumed it would be a man ;) I would have like to have more of her backstory - and Kaecilius's - but then the movie wouldn't have been as nicely short as it was. And the point of Dr. Strange, was, after all, to bring a new hero into the Marvel Universe.

A point against the movie is that it felt that way at times - not a movie in its own right, but another super hero introduction. I'm not againt the introduction, about the only thing that interests me in the genre is the transformation from "normal" to "superhero" - but I felt that something was missing in the movie. Though I don't know what it was - maybe a more layered villain?

It was certainly not Benedict's performance - Dr. Strange was wonderful in all scenes and the main reason I enjoyed the movie. Though I would have had more sympathy for the Doctor if the accident hadn't been his own fault (loved the Lamborghini, though... But really, if you drive such a car you should take better care of it...). And when I saw Dr. Strange in his hospital bed and later, (not) recovering, I couldn't help but wonder what film we'd get if it wasn't a superhero film, but the story of a man who has to find a new sense in life within the limitations of reality as we know it - I'd love to see that movie!

The only thing that bothered me was the raising of the collar - I mean, really????

Oh, and is somebody familiar enough with the Marvelverse to be able explain how an entity that exists in the dark dimension "outside of time" can get stuck in a "Groundhog Day" time loop? To me that seems a contradiction. One that wasn't solved after watching it a second time...

Thankfully I don't find Sherlock and Strange too similar...and Benedict has played plenty of different characters.

And in Hawking, Imitation Game, when he is Assange, in Third Star, Stuart...Amazing Grace, Creation etc.

I haven't seen most of the tv movies, nor the smaller roles or the brand new things. I have seen Hawking, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Imitation Game, Dr. Strange and the trailer to The Fifth Estate and in all five movies BC's role is basically an arrogant genius arsehole. Which is okay for fictional Khan and Dr. Strange and possibly for Assange (judging by the guy's open letter on Wikileaks), but maybe not for Stephen Hawking (if I go by his portrayal by Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything) and Alan Turing, (judging by Hodges's book).

12 Years a Slave is indeed the one exception among the films I have seen, and I enjoyed BC's performance. But it's not a film I want to re-watch...

But as this is the Dr. Strange thread, let's get back on subject. The similarities I see between Dr. Strange and Sherlock are: Dr. Stephen Strange is the best in his field and he has no qualms about pissing off people by treating them as incompetent or useless - in other words, he is another version of the infamous Arrogant Arsehole (I love that The Ancient One doesn't take any shit from him!). He chooses to work only on cases that present an interesting challenge to him. He behaves completely irresponsibly without any regard for his safety or that of others (though this time there are consequences...)

Admittedly, the Cloak flies on Strange's shoulders with even more style than the Belstaff (the advantage of no sleeves...), but when Strange raised the collar I was torn between squeeling in delight and an "oh really?" eyeroll. 177A Bleeker Street also bears certain similarities to an address we all know...

Really, the biggest difference, apart from Dr. Strange having had a girlfriend, is that Dr. Strange has no qualms about memorizing "useless information" (like decades of pop charts) - and that's done so pointedly, and the scene has so little purpose in the movie, that I feel it's a conscious nod to Sherlock as well.

Now if I only knew if I enjoyed the movie despite or because of the similarities ;) And I still want to know what happened to the person/people in the other car...

It's true that BC usually plays very intelligent people, although he was capable of pulling off an extremely awkward Little Charlse in AOC. But what puzzles me is the equation (beloved by critics) genius = arrogant = always the same.
BC Hawking is not arrogant, for example, IMO. He knows he is extremely gifted, but still looking for his way and needing a guidance. Redmayne's portrayal of Hawking was very sanitized (not his fault - the script) and rather two-dimensional.
Assange is plagued by his obsessions and paranoias, Touring tormented by his homosexuality, Sherlock is an asshole all right, but partly because he chooses to be such, Strange needs to be "the best" in what he is doing, Khan well, he is genetically altered, isn't he?
It is true that with his face & voice & background B. may be better suited to play intelligent and educate people rather than, let's say, a jobless usher or Italian criminal but the only time I had a deja vu watching Benedict was in some episodes of 3rd season of Sherlock - some mannerisms and voice inflections were indeed very similar to the 2nd season.

 

He had Asperger's, he was what he was.
I loved him.