Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) review

Former neurosurgeon-turned-magician Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) learns from a young girl with mystical powers named America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) that there are actually multiple universes out there ... and that the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) wants to capture her and live out the rest of her life as a full-time Mommy (I'm not joking: that's the plot).  It's more of the same-old from Marvel Studios (if you aren't fully exhausted by now): mechanically jumping around various elaborate set-pieces, casually tossing in side characters (didn't expect cameos from both Patrick Stewart as Professor X or John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic) and, most egregiously, rug pulling the audience by constantly changing up the plot dynamics whenever it feels convenient (what a cheap trick for a writer to have at his or her disposal).  I can't help but chuckle at what these comic book movies consider "philosophy" to be - when it asks the hypothetical "if you could live in a timeline where you are happy would you go there?" the only genuine response is "all we have is the nowness of now."