So only hours really until my most anticipated movie of the year opens. I thought I’d do a final predictions list. I was going to make a Bingo Card but I am just not graphically inclined.
I did do a theories post a while back.
I have managed to stay unspoiled save for the shows announced on the new Disney streaming service. Which I wasn’t even happy about that. So no spoilers just plain old guesses below.
Well I’m still playing catch-up and everyone’s reviews of Captain Marvel were so great I don’t feel like I can add anything save some very important Goose questions that have been bugging me.
So here are the ten things I learned from Marvel’s latest blockbuster.
Spoilers!
Daredevil Season3
Grade: A
Daredevil Season Three will likely go down as the quickest I’ve ever binge watched anything. Four days. I couldn’t stop. It was, for me, the very definition of addictive.
Continue reading “Daredevil vs. Kingpin”
Avengers Infinity War
Directed By: The Russo Brothers
Grade: A-
Thanos has finally gotten his butt into gear and no one is ready for him.
WARNING: This review has SPOILERS so please if you don’t want to read SPOILERS stop reading here! Because I generally can’t talk about this one without the SPOILERS!
Last Warning!
Doctor Strange
Directed By: Scott Derrikson
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Mads Mikkelson, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Doctor Strange tells the origin story of one Stephen Strange a successful and brilliant surgeon who suffers seemingly irreversible damage to his hands after an accident. Desperate he travels around the world and winds up studying mystic arts with the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and generally on his way to superhero land.
The Vision: Little Worse Than A Man
Grade: A
Vision, the Ultron created being from the Avengers, decides he wants to be a normal guy. So he creates himself a wife and two teenagers and they all move out to the suburbs in what has to be the creepiest, saddest and probably deepest Marvel comic I’ve read yet. This is only volume one but things don’t go well and they don’t even try to hide the fact that it’s going to get worse.
I cannot wait for the next one to see if they can keep this up.
Agent Carter Season 2
Starring: Hayley Atwell, James D’Arcy, Dominic Cooper, Reggie Austin…
Grade: B
I was so in love with the first season of this show. I’m still in love with all of the actors but there was something about this season that just felt… off. Like some of the magic had been lost.
Peggy came to Los Angeles to investigate the strange death of a woman found in ice on one of the hottest days of the year. She wound up embroiled in a mystery concerning “Zero Matter” and some strange secret society that I’m still not really clear on. I know it seems strange to complain about the hooky science in a Marvel production but I did feel like it got in the way.
DEADFALL
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein
Grade: A+
Funniest movie I’ve seen in theatres in quite a while.
Ryan Reynolds plays Wade, an ex-special forces soldier about to start a new life with the love of his life when he’s diagnosed with cancer. Taking a chance on a form of treatment that goes very, very wrong he’s turned into a mutant complete with super healing powers and a messed up face.
Oh, an he really, really wants revenge upon the dudes that did this to him. Which seems reasonable. Luckily through all this Wade never loses his sense of humor and that and Reynolds is what makes this movie work.
Honestly, I didn’t know if I’d like this so much. There’s fourth wall breaking and acknowledgement that this is a movie like crazy and two of the lesser known X-Men. But it works. I was laughing in the opening credits and Reynolds kept it going throughout. I would say if there was one weak part in the movie that would be the villains (not unusual for Marvel) but then I thought about it…
Because this movie is R-rated and you can get into the nitty gritty of what they do to him that did give the villains and the revenge quest a bit more heft.
Personally I was also pretty happy with what they did with the Vanessa character.
The fight scenes were also very well done again the fact that you could actual see consequences made them more realistic to me.
I will say that I was a little surprised there were some really young kids at this showing with their folks. To each his own and all but this movie does earn it’s R-rating in my opinion and most of the jokes are going to fly right over the head of a young kid. Not only does the violence get gory and graphic in some instances, the language is constant and well, as an adult I thought the sex scenes were actually fairly tame but it’s not something I’d want to watch with my ten year old, you know?
Recommend: Yes. This also might be my favorite Valentine’s Day/date movie ever!
the unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Authors: North/Henderson
Genre: Superhero
Grade: A-
Well, this one is adorable. Doreen is a lovable girl with squirrel superpowers, the agility, the speed, the ability to talk to them and a love of nuts. She knows the Avengers and has fought some of the biggest villains in the universe and now she’s just trying to go to college (computer sciences) and live a somewhat normal life.
Doreen also has an adorable squirrel friend, a roommate who writes Thor Cat Fan Fiction and a loose definition of the meaning of personal property. Especially if it belongs to Tony Stark.
I would love to see a movie version of Squirrel Girl. With Tony forever looking for his stuff. Loki makes a cute appearance in volume 2 but I won’t give away what he does.
This is a super cute one with a great hero and great supporting cast. I liked every single person honestly and I liked the cameos. Doreen comes with a great message that I rarely felt I was being hit over the head with an amongst other things she doesn’t always fight. Some times she uses her wit takes stock of the situation and goes from there even if it means talking it out-which I thought was awesome!
The one thing I kind of nitpicked was the drawing of Doreen in the “origin” type stories. Regularly she’s drawn really well. But for some reason in the last story at the back of the first volume she was supposed to be even younger and I couldn’t help but think she looked like she was in her forties or fifties and kind of creepy with teh eye make-up. It was off-putting.
Seriously, I thought the first time she appeared it was going to be Doreen’s mother. But other than that Squirrel Girl was entertaining as anything and I’m definitely going to keep reading.
Recommend: Yes. This was a fun one and good for all ages. I’ve said it before but I really wish Marvel was willing to be as adventurous with characters like Doreen in the cinema as they are in books and on television.
Thor: The Goddess of Thunder & Who Holds the Hammer?
(Volume 1 & 2)
Genre: Superhero/ Comic
Grade: A!
Okay I have to be honest even within the Marvel canon I’m not really big on Thor. He’s probably like at the bottom rung of superhero love and I don’t think I’ve ever read a straight Thor comic (if I did I don’t remember) but I really wanted to give this one a try. Also I was spoiled as to the new Thor but I’m going to try really hard not to give that away here. My being spoiled didn’t ruin it for me in the least.
Thor is no longer able to wield his hammer which is a big old problem. That problem is settled when a strange woman answers the call and becomes the Goddess of Thunder. There’s also the Dark Elves and a mining corporation that I wasn’t familiar with (seriously, I only watch the movies) and Odin is really, really unhappy about the whole Thor not being worthy thing. But the main part was definitely the new Thor.
This story was so enjoyable! I really loved how they wrote it. The Goddess of Thunder reveal- you can see how it’s going to bring the drama and the pain down the line and Thor, he doesn’t lose anything by losing the hammer. The story doesn’t belittle him in anyway. It doesn’t shuffle him off to the side and I loved his reactions. I’ve only read these two volumes but I’m definitely going to keep going.
Downsides? Yes, I found the art of the violence and the fights to be a lot like the movies actually. It all kind of runs together and I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that part. Speaking of Odin, maybe he’s always like this in the comics but what an ass! He was just so over the top. I have to wonder if he’s going to be the final big bad of this particular story. Dial him back a bit.
Bonus: There’s an add on story at the back of Volume 2 that I had never heard of before (I’m behind in Marvel comic lore) but it was Jane Foster getting the hammer set near the beginning of Thor and oh, dear. In the end she has to give the hammer back to the worthy male but hey, at least another God was willing to marry her. Seriously, I was rolling my eyes so hard but at the same time it was strangely enjoyable in and of itself as like a flashback.
Recommend: Yes! Obviously I loved this story which was a huge surprise to me. I definitely hope they keep it going. And if Marvel happens to be listening I’d love to see a movie version of this! With the right female lead and a bigger helping of Loki.
