DOCTOR STRANGE (Rated PG-13)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is entering a new dimension with “Doctor Strange,” the story of the brilliant, egomaniacal Doctor Stephen Strange, a world-famous neurosurgeon turned from science into the Master of the Mystic Arts.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange is introduced as the medical genius with a gifted brain and steady hands, while his character is that of an arrogant, skeptical, and materialistic man of great hubris, resulting in a batch of flaws that could be his undoing.

The doctor’s life changes forever after a horrific automobile accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing and hope in the unlikely place of Kathmandu, Nepal.

Not even his fellow surgeon and sometime love interest Dr. Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams) can save him either medically or mentally.

Their love story, stilted as it is, seems only slightly more believable than if John Hinckley had once been on a date with Jodie Foster.

Dr. Strange finds salvation in a distant land where he meets the mystical Ancient One (Tilda Swinton, the right actor to embody an otherworldly quality).

The Ancient One is called upon to guide Dr. Strange into a supernatural world where he must embrace magic and mysticism.

The Ancient One is very persuasive, while also being aided to a significant degree by her apprentice Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who also learned the mystic arts and the paths of alternative dimensions that are keys to the action.

“Doctor Strange” deals with parallel dimensions, astral planes, alternative dimensions, mirror dimensions and a bunch of other distorted realities in the space-time continuum that may prove either baffling or dazzling and maybe a lot of both.

Of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe requires a villain that would become the supreme antagonist to Dr. Strange’s newfound superhero status.

That role falls to Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius, a former disciple in Nepal who turned his back on the Ancient One.

Mikkelsen’s deft kung fu warrior carries an incredible amount of sinister gravitas, leading him to be a remarkable adversary, in mind and body, to the mystical powers that have now been absorbed by Dr. Strange.    

Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange has some nice quips and sarcastic one-liners that add the right touch of humor. Of course, he’s not even close to the scabrous wit of Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, the fast-talking mercenary with a morbid sense of humor in his own Marvel film.

The special effects are worth noting in the battle scenes in New York, London and Hong Kong. The shifting, twisting landscapes of buildings are reminiscent of “Inception,” only more interesting and less intrusive into the overall storytelling.

To no one’s surprise, Doctor Strange will return in another installment because a superhero with magical powers in the Marvel world is not to be denied.  

TV Corner: 'Timeless' on NBC network

The possibility of time travel, which on its face is a silly notion, has an inherent appeal to many. If I could, I would take a trip to circa 1955 to see the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field and also visit a few other iconic ballparks that are now defunct.

For the NBC fall season, “Timeless” is a new series about time travel that wants to take itself seriously, but is in reality almost as ridiculous and impractical as my own dream to search for vintage baseball nirvana.

While NBC has already aired several episodes of “Timeless” and the series returns to the schedule in mid-November, you can do your own time traveling to catch up with episodes on Video on Demand or NBC’s Web site.

History buffs may enjoy the playful and yet deadly earnest intent of “Timeless” to capture significant historical events, where a villain on the loose seeks to alter the past to affect the future.

The mysterious criminal mastermind Garcia Flynn (Goran Visnjic) has stolen a state-of-the-art time machine from Mason Industries. Fortunately, he wasn’t aware that the machine’s prototype is fully functional.

The only hope to stop the bad guy from destroying America from within rests with the unlikely trio of a history professor, former soldier and a Mason Industries scientist who can actually pilot the orb-like spacecraft.

The most compelling member of the trio is Lucy (Abigail Spencer), the professor with encyclopedic knowledge of events such that the date of April 14, 1865, is immediately known to her as the assassination of Abe Lincoln.

Rufus, the scientist/pilot, is an African American having troublesome encounters with police officers during the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 New Jersey or with fellow black Civil War soldiers on the side of the Union.

“Timeless” goes to great effort to recreate history with detailed production values. Traveling to 1962 Las Vegas where the Rat Pack and President Kennedy converge at the Sands Hotel is stunning in its sense of nostalgia and dread.

The trick of “Timeless” is that the heroes must make every effort not to affect the past themselves, but even the most inconsequential happenings command the attention of the audience because they could alter history nonetheless. 

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake Count News.