MCU Rewind #12 - Ant Man - Review

MCU Rewind #12 - Ant-Man - Review

Release date (US): June 29th, 2015


Directed By: Peyton Reed

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, Corey Stoll, Judy Greer

MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned. 

Previous Rating: 8.4/10

Expectations/Background: Much like Avengers: Age of Ultron, this was a film that I purchased after the initial release and watched countless times. I saw this film at least 10 times after it came out on home video; I'm not quite sure why, but perhaps it was because I had fond memories of the theater experience. I can truly say that when I saw the movie, it was one of the most fun theater experiences that I had ever had. The humor, the novelty, and the story and heart had me hooked, and for a time, I thought that this film was better than Age of Ultron. However, much like Age of Ultron, it did get repetitive watching the film over and over again, and because of that, I had not seen the film in a long time. 

The Movie: This was another movie on the heels of Age of Ultron that completely shocked me, but for the completely opposite reason. This movie bored me. I doubt it was because the quality had somehow decreased in the time that I Had last seen it, because I was watching the same film, but the novelty completely wore off. I was watching the film and finding the cliches, tropes, and rehashes became very apparent. 

Positives: Paul Rudd carries this movie. From the beginning scenes you see that Paul Rudd is carrying this film on his shoulders. Because of the performance and the charisma that drips from his delivery, every single scene that features Paul Rudd as Scott Lang is pure gold. 

Additionally, supporting players Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lily work well as Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne. When Marvel announced that they had signed an A-list star to the caliber of a Michael Douglas, fans became excited because of the sheer amount of talent that he would bring. And while he doesn't deliver an Oscar-worthy performance, he does his part, serving as a very real, believable Hank Pym. While I had problems with the storyline and dialogue that they gave Lily, she played her character to the best of her ability. 

Another strong selling point of this film is the visual effects and the CGI. It's almost hard to believe that this film would be more reliant on visual effects than Age of Ultron was, but to its credit, Reed and his team pulled off the shrinking in a very believable way. The way that Scott shrunk throughout the film is very organic, and I especially enjoyed the sequence in the bathtub where Scott first tries on the suit.

Another huge selling point of the film was the humor, and for the most part the humor landed. This was a very different kind of comedy than say an Avengers film, relying more on physical comedy and Rudd's goofiness versus traditional Whedon banter. Luis especially (as many critics have pointed out already) is one of the highlights of the film as he tells his stories and delivers the best jokes throughout the entire film.

Also, one of the best scenes by far was the scene with Falcon. Though maybe it wasn't necessary to the plot of the movie, seeing another Avenger that could go toe to toe with Ant Man was so fun to see, especially the banter between the two. The fight choreography was especially great as the directors found new and exciting ways to take a typical action scene to the next level.

Negatives: However, while this film does hold up in a certain sense, it doesn't hold up nearly as well as I had hoped. Unlike Age of Ultron, which got better after I rewatched it, this film actually crumbles under its generic plot.

Here's the thing - while the tone and the concept is very unique, this film is built on a crumbling foundation - when you rewatch this film, at least for me, I began to realize how much this film in particular relies on the "Marvel Formula". And upon the first few viewings, this was fine and, in fact, made the film a very fun experience for me. But having seen 11 previous MCU films, the generic storyline stood out.

More on him later, but the villain was terrible - I don't know whether or not I prefer Yellowjacket or Malekith as one of the worst villains in the MCU (honors go to Whiplash) but regardless, any attempts of characterization are wasted as Yellowjacket falls completely and utterly flat. 

It's not that this movie didn't lack in concept, or lack in originality in terms of concept - it's just when it came to execute, underneath all the "cute" jokes and all the fun "Marvel" action, is a boring, bland film in my opinion. This is a great film on first viewing because of how different it is and how fresh it feels, but underneath, it's a whole lot of nothing.

The Villain(s): In the grand scheme of things, Darren Cross/Yellowjacket isn't the worst villain. He services the story well enough. But the fact of the matter si that Marvel has a villain problem and Yellowjacket is no exception. There is an attempted set up, talking about how the Pym particles are messing with Cross's mind and the whole "he wasn't the most stable guy to begin with", but that does nothing to his character in the end when he goes absolutely insane. 

The Verdict: When people say, "This isn't a bad movie," I wholeheartedly agree. This is nowhere close to a bad movie. But this movie takes awhile to get going, and what it ultimately culminates into is a cute, small-scale, and original climax that was built on a generic foundation that Marvel fans have been used to seeing. Letter Grade: B-. Number Score: 7.8/10

Should I Skip?: Not knowing what will happen in Ant-Man and the Wasp makes this hard, but I think as of now it is a very skippable film. There isn't much here that we haven't seen before. 

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film

It: Chapter 2 Close to Casting Leads

It: Chapter 2 Close to Casting Leads

With the massive success of the 2017 horror film, It, a sequel was announced shortly thereafter, and now it looks like the film is close to casting its two main male leads. With recent rumors of Jessica Chastain playing Beverely Marsh, Variety is now reporting that James McAvoy will play adult Bill Denbrough and Bill Hader will play an adult version of Richie Tozier, two of the main male leads in the first film. 

Weekend Box Office Report (April 6th - April 8th)

Weekend Box Office Report (April 6th - April 8th)

Disclaimer: Every Monday, I will post the top five movies that grossed the most money DOMESTICALLY (in the United States), with some brief thoughts about each film. 

1. A Quiet Place ($50.20 Million): Directed by well-known American actor John Krasinski, starring him and his wife Emily Blunt, this movie exceeded every single expectation that anyone could possibly have. The film has such a great positive word of mouth that it was rocketed almost 20 million dollars past expectations to land in the number one spot. However, as the summer movie season ramps up (yes, it's starting in April), we'll have to see how much better this does. Regardless, this movie is a huge win no matter what happens next.

2. Ready Player One ($24.62 Million): While I did not like this movie as much as many other critics in the industry, it is still here making money. While it didn't make a lot of money in its opening weekend, it took a small drop of around 35 percent, keeping it competitive and at number 2. Word of mouth is the story in this weekend as this movie is receiving generally positive feedback from audiences. 

3. Blockers ($20.56 Million): The R-rated comedy almost snatched the number 2 spot from Ready Player One as many thought, but just came short, landing still at a hefty 20 million. While that may not have been the total that the studios were looking for, this is still a large total for a movie in this genre, and the fact that it's led by John Cena and was relatively successful bodes well for it. 

4. Black Panther ($8.70 Million): 8 weeks in and it refuses to leave. Black Panther is almost at 1.3 billion dollars worldwide and is officially the number 3 film domestically of all time. Next weekend provides a challenge with Rampage, but I believe that Black Panther can steal squeak out in number 5 come April 13th.

5. Tyler Perry's Acrimony ($8.38 Million): Barely taking the number 5 spot, again, I don't know much about this film, but as there isn't much competition this weekend other than the top 4, this was a relatively easy pick to stay in the top 5. Look for it to drop out by next weekend. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story - Official Trailer Review

Solo: A Star Wars Story - Official Trailer Review

The second and trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story has arrived. Does it deliver? 

Thoughts: I really had no anticipation for this trailer at all. For most of these big trailers, I love the lead up to them because you're sitting there, saying, "It could be here any day." For this trailer, it just came on a random Sunday, and I really had no idea it was coming until today.

And when I watched, one of the effects of what I just mentioned was that I had absolutely zero expectations entering the trailer.

And you know what? I liked it. I really did. More than the last trailer for sure. 

What I really like about this trailer is the tone - it maybe isn't as "Star Wars" as most people would like, but the tone of a fun, adventure, heist movie seems so inviting. It seems like this film will just be a blast and a breeze from start to finish.

Let's talk really quickly about Alden Ehrenreich - I think for the most part, his delivery was average at best. I think that the 190 year old line and the line where he yells "Chewie!!" were really great and seemed very much like Han Solo without being Harrison Ford. The other lines seemed rather dull. 

But other than that, the cinematography (Roger Deakins) seemed awesome, and that's one of the things I'm most looking forward to. The supporting cast (Buckle up, baby - Lando) seemed superb as well, and overall, this movie just seems fun. When I was watching this trailer, all thoughts of "behind the scenes production drama" were out the window.

Did it Raise Excitement? It did, for sure. The first trailer wasn't bad, and I rather enjoyed it more than I thought, but seeing this trailer at face value, I liked this one quite a bit. I think even though this kid (Ehrenrecih) doesn't deliver as Han Solo, there will be plenty more memorable moments to make it an enjoyable movie. 

Trailer Rating: 8/10

MCU Rewind #11 - Avengers: Age of Ultron - Review

MCU Rewind #11 - Avengers: Age of Ultron - Review

Release date (US): May 1st, 2015

Directed By: Joss Whedon

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson, Claudia Kim, Paul Bettany, Andy Serkis, James Spader

MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned. 

Previous Rating: 8.0/10

Expectations/Background: First going into this highly anticipated sequel, I had such high expectations. And walking out of the first time seeing the film, I wasn't disappointed; I loved it. But since then, I rewatched it countless times, and to be honest, it got stale. Every subsequent time I saw the movie, I liked it less and less, and found myself enjoying it less and less. So form late 2016 through early 2018, I didn't see the film again in its entirety. I just didn't feel like dragging myself through what I remembered being a slog of a film. I knew it wasn't a bad movie for sure, but for whatever reason, I didn't like watching it at all. But...

The Movie: I was stunned. I was absolutely STUNNED. I loved this movie. Yes, I will acknowledge right off the bat that it's not close in quality to the first one, and yes I will acknowledge that there are some scenes that I think should be cut, and yes I will acknowledge that it's nowhere near a perfect movie. But after I went through the entire movie again, I loved it. 

Positives: What I found myself really enjoying this time around with the film were the characters. Perhaps since the last time I had seen the film I had grown to appreciate them even more because of the new films that have been released. But whatever the case is, whenever the Avengers were onscreen, I enjoyed it so thoroughly. They felt like a team this time around. What I thought was great was that they started out the movie as a team, midway through they splintered apart, but they set aside whatever differences they had and band together for an epic showdown.

Speaking of epic showdown, yes I understand that this film ends with a CGI army (more on that later), but let's not kid ourselves. The action sequences (and there are many) are awesome. I think that there are some scenes that are some of the best in the MCU in this movie, such as the Hulkbuster scene, or the fight scene in Korea. 

What Joss Whedon does so well, and subsequently the Russos as well, is taking these characters and using their fears against them. As much as seeing the physical dangers pummel the Avengers, what you also see is a team fractured from within, each member with their own insecurities.

The new additions are great as well. The accents of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver weren't great, and to this day I don't really like Olsen's accent in the film, but that's just a minor gripe that doesn't detract at all. Vision is instantly a fan favorite when he appears onscreen, with Bettany's subdued charisma as JARVIS transitioning over to this role. 

Let's talk about Hawkeye for a minute shall we. Whedon strongly urged Marvel to keep the farm scene in, which they obliged begrudgingly. Many people debate about whether or not it has a place in this already crowded film. And to his credit, I am one of the people that agrees with Whedon - I think humanizing Hakweye and giving him a family was one of the best things that they could have done. I think that not only does it help in this film where you see Hawkeye in a completely different way, but also in the next film he was in, Civil War, where he would make throwaway lines like, "Disappointing my kids" that would instantly add another layer to Clint Barton. (I also loved the "not a fan" of the mind control line).

The CGI in this film, for the most part, is fantastic. Hulkbuster looks like a formidable, tangible hulking (no pun intended) machine that can easily stand toe to toe with Hulk, who by the way, thanks to some help with Motion Capture genius Andy Serkis, looks better than he ever has before. Ultron's motion capture also looks great in most scenes, and is an intimidating force. 

And overall, the films moves forwards, it doesn't really drag, the one scene where it "drags" I happen to really like, and it rushes forward to a fun, epic conclusion. I just had so much fun with this movie.

Negatives: Much like other films, as much fun as I did have with this film, there are quite a number of things that could have been better. 

Going back to the CGI, while it looked absolutely fantastic in some scenes, there were a couple scenes where I thought that the Ultron character looked very fake and computer generated. 

And yes, there are a lot of unnecessary subplots in the movie, for sure. Thor's cave search, as many point out, is not needed at all and should have been cut (although it was the compromise for the farm scene). There are side visions of Ragnarok, there's the mind stone which turns into an Infinity Stone, there's a whole scene about vibranium. The film does feel very crowded at times, though thankfully, Whedon swoops in and brings a little levity and steers the ship right back on course.

Another thing that wasn't quite as annoying as it had been in previous viewings was the number of jokes and quips. What I really didn't like about the film the more I saw it before this viewing was that there was no real sense of stakes as the characters would make jokes when, apparently, their lives were on the line. And granted, this time I enjoyed it a lot more, but I will admit that it does lower the stakes quite a bit at certain points in the film.

And lastly, the end fight is again a jumble of CGI. I feel as though Whedon just wanted another group shot, and he got an epic group shot that looks so fantastic on its own. But unlike the last one from The Avengers, this one has no real purpose. It's just there for fan service. The other one really symbolized the Avengers banding together at last after Loki had split them apart and fighting the Chitauri as one unit. This one was just everyone showing off their powers against a giant, faceless CGI army.  

The Villain(s): Baron von Strucker is barely in it and is used as a gag. So that was a thing. Ulysses Klaw made his grand entrance in this movie, and I loved every scene that Serkis was in. He had a dripping level of charisma that he carried over into Black Panther, which absolutely made the film even better. And then there's Ultron. Say what you will about him, but I really think he's an interesting villain to watch. Is he very deep? No not really. Does he have motivations? Debatable. But he is one of those maniacal villains that makes you enjoy seeing him on screen. He has flair and personality, something Ronan, Malekith, and Aldrich Killian all sorely missed. James Spader makes this character fun to watch.

The Verdict: Again, I will reiterate how absolutely shocked I was to have liked this film this much. Is it as good as the first Avengers, absolutely not. But from start to finish, there is so much to take in and enjoy with this film, from the great characters, snappy dialogue, awesome moments, awesome action scenes, and satisfying conclusion. While not living up to many fan's expectations, this film is worthy of the Avengers title. Letter Grade: B. Number Score: 8.7/10

Should I Skip?: Seeing as this is an Avengers film and it introduces some great new returning characters (sorry Quicksilver) and an infinity stone, I would say no. See this one on your way to Infinity War, definitely. 

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film

Black Panther Shatters Yet Another Box Office Record

Black Panther Shatters Yet Another Box Office Record

Week in and week out, the smash hit cultural phenomenon Black Panther passed yet another box office record. With the recently calculated totals, Black Panther passed James Cameron's Titanic to insert its place in the top 3 all time domestic box office gross at $665,355,000. While it has made the top 3 all time domestic box office rankings, it's doubtful it will move up any further as the film above, Avatar, has nearly 30 million dollars more than Black Panther does right now. Regardless, no matter which way you look at this, this is an enormous win for Marvel and Disney as they gear up for Avengers: Infinity War. 

Ready Player One - Review (Non-Spoiler/Spoiler)

Ready Player One - Review (Non-Spoiler/Spoiler)

Release date (US): March 29th, 2018

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Simon Pegg, TJ Miller, Mark Rylance, Hannah John-Kamen

Expectations/Background: When I first heard of the next movie that visionary director Steve Spielberg was going to direct, I scratched my head. I confess that I had not heard much about the novel that this movie was to be based on, but regardless, I thought Spielberg had found his niche in Oscar-caliber movies and away from blockbuster type films (BFG). And to be quite frank, I had not heard much of this movie since the production began. Until the first trailer - and I confess that I did not like any of the trailers at all. Granted, a film cannot be judged on their marketing; a great trailer can produce a terrible film and vice versa. But if I had any interest in seeing this film, it dissipated immediately after seeing the first footage. The only reason in particular, come Easter, that I decided to give this film a shot was the positive word of mouth - most of the critics said that this film was awesome and worth a watch, and since there weren't many other films out, I gave it a shot. I went in completely dark, knowing nearly nothing about this movie, and what I got was... 

The Movie: A vast disappointment, in my opinion, by Spielberg standards. The visionary director, directing masterpieces such as Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park, and even The Post comes out and directs this film, which baffled me. To be quite fair to the illustrious career of the great Spielberg, this film was bad only as compared to his filmography. As a film, on its own, it's enjoyable. That's as much as I'm willing to give it - it's not great, it's barely good, but it certainly is enjoyable.  

Positives: For the most part, the performances in this movie were good. The characters felt real enough given the world that they were living in, and most of their interactions were fine. There are obviously certain characters that I enjoyed much more than others, but overall, the people that we as an audience want to focus on are fun enough to watch onscreen.

I will give the film this - at first, I thought the CGI in the video game parts of the movie was quite jarring; I understand that the film was meant to be a "video-game"-type film, but it was still rather jarring at first. But after awhile, it did become bearable (more on it later though). 

What this film has going for it is its fast-pace. Save for one scene, this film breezes by. The worst thing a film like this can do is drag; but luckily, Spielberg makes 2+ hours seem like much less because of how brisk the film is. There are certain MacGuffins that the characters that must go get, and what this film feels like is a hunt. It almost feels like a heist movie at some points. 

There's also plenty of fan-service. A major concern I had entering the film was whether or not the references would be distracting or not. We all knew when we saw the Iron Giant that this film would be full of fun surprises. And I am pleased to say that 99 percent of the references made in the movie are not distracting at all. I think that this is one of the strongest points of the movie - Spielberg is able to weave in so many different winks and nods into the story in a way that makes it rewarding to the eagle-eyed fan, and fun even for the casual moviegoer. Not only that, but a lot of the references play a huge part in the story. There's a particular extended reference/scene in the movie that delves deep into a movie, which I enjoyed immensely as a movie fan. I'm not quite sure how other casual film fans would react to deep cuts like that, but I thought that most of them were great. 

And finally, it's a feel good movie. The film's brisk pace and warm emotion that the film attempts to elicit does give the film some sense of closure. There aren't any real twists or turns in this movie, but that's alright, I suppose. This isn't a very deep film, but when you exit the theater, you don't feel awful, like you've been sitting in a dark room for 2 and a half hours. 

Negatives: Before I begin this section of the review, I would like to say - this section will be long and extensive. HOWEVER, that is not to say that I hated this film. I think there are so many things that Spielberg could have done better, and that's what I'm here to point out. But as pointed out earlier and as I will point out later in the Verdict section, I did enjoy this film. 

While I think that most of the characters were fun to watch, I think that there are a few characters that were awful, and almost absolutely useless. I understand that this film was adapted from a book, but I also know that this film took many, many liberties when it came to the adaptation, and I think that some of these characters should have been cut.

There are so many different plot conveniences as well. The way certain characters meet, the places they magically end up, it maddened me at certain points in the film. There's this one place that the characters constantly visit that was so incredibly convenient that I was amazed it was even there. Not only that, but the fact that the characters know EXACTLY what they want from this particular location without much thought confused me even more.

And here's one of the biggest flaws of this movie; the dialogue and how it was used. Let me start off by saying that, no joke, about 30-40 percent of this film's dialogue was conveyed through narration. I understand that there is a lot of dense material in this movie, but by the time the two hours was done, I had my fill with hearing voiceovers. It felt extremely lazy.

Alluding to earlier points that I made earlier, yes I did get used to the CGI. But not completely. I mentioned it in my Positives section because I believe that it won't necessarily detract from your enjoyment of the film. But, and again I understand what the source material was, watching video game-like characters for about 60 percent of the film was a little jarring and annoying. Perhaps this was my mistake, not knowing what I was getting into, but whenever the video game characters came back on the screen, it took me a couple minutes to get used to. Thankfully, near the second and third acts, the film transitions back to the real world a lot more often, but for the first hour, the CGI bogged the film down significantly.

I will talk about this more in my spoiler section, but as fast-paced as this film is, there is one 10-20 minute sequence in the film that I thought was almost completely unnecessary. There was exposition spit out like it was nothing; there is an attempted line of dialogue that tries to paint one of the main characters in a more vulnerable and human light, but it really just felt so lazy.

And lastly (more on the villains later), what I didn't like about this film was how video-game-like in nature it felt in terms of the story. Let me reiterate, I know EXACTLY what the source material is. But that isn't an excuse to make the STORY like a video game. What really turned me off of this film was that visually it looked like a video game, and structurally, it felt like a video game. It was very much, oh let's get here, checkpoint, let's get there, checkpoint, final boss, we're done. 

The Villain(s): Going into the movie, I really didn't have a clue who the villains were. I had heard mention of a couple of actors that were playing the villains, but I didn't know. What I will say about the main "bad guy" is that he did his part. The character that he was given was a complete stereotype, and there was a poor piece of dialogue that paints him as a maniacal figure, but he served his role. There were two other supporting villain characters that I thought were awful. I had no idea why they had such a huge role in the film, and I thought that they should have been cut. 

The Music/Score: Alan Silvestri composed the score for this particular film, and I thought he did a fine job. There wasn't much memorable about the score other than the opening video game-type opening score with the logo. And there was this one moment near the end of the film where he utilized the orchestra in a really cheesy way that made me laugh. But other than that, nothing memorable. 

**READER DISCRETION ADVISED - SPOILER ALERT - IF YOU WANT TO AVOID SPOILERS SKIP TO "VERDICT"**

Spoilers: While I did think the chemistry between Artemis and Parsival was good, both in-game and in the real world, the way they met, the way she found him in the real world, and the awful, clunky dialogue that they were given completely took me out of it. 

Also the aunt dying was a complete and total cheap shot; I had no idea why they did that and when it happened, I didn't care at all about her because they really didn't develop her character or her relationship with Wade. 

In reference to the scene I thought that should have been taken out, I'm referring to the night-club dance scene. I have absolutely no idea why it was there (I'm sure Spielberg could convince me if he wanted to) but it served no obvious or useful purpose in my mind. That was the one time where I found myself not enjoying the movie as "Staying Alive" was playing in the background. 

Nolan Serrento was fine, but the two characters that I think should have been taken out were F'Nale and i-Rok. While I understood their roles (though F'Nale, not as much), I had no idea why they were onscreen that much. They really didn't need to be there in the capacity that they were. 

SPOILER ALERT OVER

The Verdict:. To be quite honest, when I walked out of the film, I was in disbelief that Spielberg directed this movie. This seemed like a film directed by the likes of a JJ Abrams or someone like that. That being said, it's enjoyable enough that if you sit through it and watch it, you won't be bored for most of the film. The characters are fun enough to watch for the most part, the story moves along briskly enough, and it's never really dull. It's a good time at the movies, but at the same time, it's a vast disappointment.  Letter Grade: B-. Number Score: 6.8/10

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect to Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film

MCU Rewind #10 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

MCU Rewind #10 - Guardians of the Galaxy - Review

Release date (US): August 1st, 2014

Directed By: James Gunn

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bardley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Josh Brolin, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Karen Gillan

MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned. 

Previous Rating: 9.4/10

Expectations/Background: I had a very interesting relationship with this film preceding this rewatch. The first time I watched this movie, I thought it was fine. It was a fun action-comedy with character that were pretty entertaining, what is there not to love. But upon a second viewing, I found that I loved the film. When I was watching it for a second time, and this was about 2015, I realized what joys I had missed and found myself loving this movie immensely. So entering this rewatch, my expectations were lofty for sure. I had high hopes that this film would deliver on the promises of a fun ride with great humor.

The Movie: Perhaps it may have been best if I had just left it at a second viewing with my great memories of the second time watching it. I still immensely enjoyed the third viewing of this film, but not nearly as much as the second time I saw it, and even maybe less than the first time I saw it. Now granted, this film is still awesome, and I think it did something huge for the MCU in starting out with an ensemble feature and being able to introduce so many new, original, dynamic characters into one compelling movie. But agin, I just found that I didn't enjoy it as much as I had before. 

Positives: I believe that what this film does so brilliantly is the character development. That alone is commendable on the films part. If the story was mediocre, and that action was mediocre, this film would still have an ensemble of dynamic characters to rely on. Peter Quill (Pratt) is such a fun presence onscreen. Unlike the previous MCU heroes, like Tony, Steve, or Thor, Star-Lord's nonchalant, gung-ho attitude is something that is so fun to see. Perfectly balancing his character are Gamora (Saldana), Drax (Bautista), and Rocket and Groot (Cooper and Diesel, respectively). 

As alluded to earlier, Gunn deserves massive props for introducing 5 characters that can each hold their own, but didn't need their own solo film. Marvel took a huge risk in even doing an Avengers film, and they need 5 films beforehand to familiarize the audience with the heroes; but Gunn goes for it and shows us that it's possible to make a team-up film within the context of 2 hours. 

This is film is also very fast-paced; as much as the Winter Soldier was tense, this film just goes for it and is a blast form start to finish. It really doesn't let up until the very end. What I really like about it is that it starts off with some powerful emotion and ends off with a little emotional touch as well.

Speaking of emotions, one of the best openings to a Marvel film is this one; we knew fro the marketing and trailers that we were going to get a comedy of sorts, but the way that Gunn starts the film with something very dark and very serious adds a little levity to a film filled with jokes.

And the jokes, flying off the walls, work great. This film is banking on the comedic talent of its cast, and they deliver in leaps and bounds, from Rocket and Groot, to Star-Lord's great one-liners. Almost every single joke landed for me, and on a repeat viewing, they landed pretty well considering I knew that they were coming.

Really, when you have a comedy, the main purpose of the film is to make you laugh. If the film doesn't achieve this, then the film hasn't done its job. You can pardon some of the other sins of the film if it's enjoyable enough, and to me, that's exactly what Guardians is.

Negatives: However, what I found interesting is that although I did have a great time watching the film, and I really did, there were some weaknesses that didn't seem to bother me as much the last time. But they do now.

Having gone through 9 other MCU films, I can assert that for the most part, the dialogue in most of the films is snappy and well-delivered. And while most of the dialogue is delivered well in this movie, some of it is very clunky and very poor. I found myself, with this film in particular, getting close to cringing at some of the lines that were spoken. They weren't cringe-worthy, per se, but I did think that some of them could have easily been rewritten and redone.

Another thing is story - MCU movies before this have been very hit or miss when it comes to this. This is a film where the story is not so strong, in my opinion. Now granted, when you have a straight up comedy, the story doesn't need to be the greatest, which is why it doesn't bother me as much as it did in, say, Iron Man 2. But I noticed right away that the story seemed to meander a little. While the pace of the movie was fast, sharp, and brisk, and good on Gunn for that, the storyline itself seemed to wander at certain points as the storytellers tried to connect dots in odd ways.

There were some shots as well where I thought the CGI was a little off, and that mainly revolved around the scene with Thanos. As the movie went by and I anticipated the scene, I saw it and thought something was a little off. So later, I went online and rewatched it. What was jarring to me was how odd the skin of Thanos was as compared to the rest of him, as well as how odd the background looked in comparison to the rest of the characters. There are other scenes as well where it seems that the CGI wasn't exactly the greatest, especially in comparison to other MCU movies. 

These pointers may seem like nitpicks to some, but to me, when watching the film again, they bothered me significantly more than I was anticipating. 

The Villain(s): Ronan is an interesting case. After seeing the film each time, I didn't like him. I thought he was boring, generic, and over-the-top. Then something interesting happened - Marvel announced that he would be returning for Captain Marvel and I found myself getting excited at that notion - I'm not sure if it was I was happy Marvel was reintroducing old villains, or because I secretly didn't mind Ronan. Regardless, purely based on this film, I thought he was fine. He served his purpose, and that's all that he was there for, really. Thanos was barely in it at all. Nebula also was just there to serve her own purpose, and she got a bigger role in the next film, and seems to be getting an even bigger role in Infinity War. But overall, the villains were just there to drive the story along. 

The Verdict: Bottom line - this movie is fun, it's entertaining, it has great characters, and it has the laughs. I'm not sure if the experience I had with the film is something unique to me; because I do remember loving this movie. But at the very least, what you'll get is a comedic film with plenty of laughs to go around, as well as awesome characters who play off each other so incredibly well. The ensemble cast pays off in a big way, and this was the launchpad for James Gunn to really take the reigns of the cosmic side of the MCU.  Letter Grade: B+. Number Score: 8.9/10

Should I Skip?: For the intents and purposes of Infinity War, I would say no. The Guardians are going to play a part in the upcoming film, and I think that it's important to see both this one and the subsequent sequel just to have a better idea of what their place in the film would be. 

TLDR: I think I will be doing away with this portion of the review - if you wish to know the summary, go on Wikipedia; the summary will be essentially the same as what I would have written. 

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film

MCU Rewind #9 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Review

MCU Rewind #9 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Review

Release date (US): April 4th, 2014

Directed By: Joe and Anthony Russo

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Robert Redford, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Frank Grillo, Emil VanCamp, Anthony Mackie

MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned. 

Previous Rating: 9.3/10

Expectations/Background: I knew what I was expecting when going into this movie. I have seen this countless times, and for a reason. This was the first MCU movie I saw in theaters, and truly loved. LOVED. The first time I walked out of the theater for this movie, I knew that this movie was something special. And I've seen it countless times after that, and I knew that when entering this rewatch, I would love this movie. We need say no more. 

The Movie: What I realize after watching this movie again is how brilliant and how deep this movie is. Perhaps not deep in a way that it's philosophical, but deep in a way that the plot is so subversive and it takes beloved characters and completely flips them on their heads. It takes everything you think you know about Steve Rogers and subverts it. This film is brilliant.

Positives: There are so many great things about this movie, and I think the best place to start is the beginning. From the get-go, the dialogue is sharp, and you can tell. From the very beginning, with "on your left", you feel this sense of ease as you watch familiar characters interact with new favorites. The Russos, as well as Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus (the writers) do such a great job developing their characters and giving them great lines to say ("air conditioning is fully operational").

Also from the first few minutes, you notice how much sharper the action. In Captain America: The First Avenger, while it's not something that necessarily stands out and bothers you, the action isn't the best, especially with the slow-motion montage in the middle. Right away, you see how the Russos are able to take a simple circular shield and use it in so many different ways. Cap is more skilled, versatile, and agile in this film, and there's a heavier focus on the martial arts as you see with his fight with Batroc the Leaper. 

Let's talk about a weak point in the previous films that is a huge strength of this one; the story. The story in this film is brilliant, and to this day, may be the best through-line of any MCU film to date. The way the Russos go about this spy-espionage type of story, trying to constantly take your expectations and flip it on your head is masterful. From the beginning, they have you on your toes as you ask yourself, "Who can you trust?" That's the mark of great storytelling, when you're not sure, as an audience member, who you're supposed to trust. 

Supporting cast members are also amazing. I wasn't so high on Emily VanCamp's Agent 13, but she was fine. Anthony Mackie is one of the best new foils to Steve's character, and is an awesome addition to the Avengers. Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) is also amazing as well, adding new layers to a character that we have grown to love. Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders are great as well. And Sebastian Stan and Robert Redford are brilliant. 

And what I love most about this film is that it has consistency and it has heart. From the beginning, this is a story about Steve Rogers and his journey to discover what his place in the world really is, as the layers underneath his feet begin to crumble. His allegiance to SHIELD is put into question as he realizes HYDRA has compromised it. His best friend returns from the dead, but as the mercenary the Winter Soldier. I love the interaction between Steve and Sam where there standing on a bridge and Sam tells him straight up, "He's not there anymore. This is the type of person you fight.", but Steve responds with, "I can still bring him back." That's who Steve is at his core, and even though everything in this movie was taken away from him, he is still so purely Steve Rogers. 

There is real raw emotion too. I remember this was the first MCU film that I felt something truly emotional at the end. I love how the Russos always use lines said by characters in the past to their advantage. When Bucky is beating up Steve, you see that Bucky is so conflicted between his mission and his heart, and Steve, being Steve, lets Bucky beat him up. When he calls back to, "I'm with you til the end of the line," that was the crux of the film. Outside all the espionage and all the thriller aspects of the film, this is the story about Steve trying to get his friend back, and that line encapsulates it so perfectly and so wonderfully. 

Side note - while the score isn't as "memorable" per se, like a Star Wars score might be, I do enjoy the music quite a bit. It really embodies what the "spy theme" is of the film when Steve is doing battle. It has a tense, fast-paced feel, and while it's not quite memorable, it integrates itself into the film in a great way. 

Negatives: No film is perfect, and this film has a few things that I was a little puzzled at. These aren't quite major complaints, but rather "nit-picks", as I don't think there are many things inherently "wrong" with this film.

One of the things I don't quite like about this film, and I understand that this may be by design, so this might be a personal preference, is the color scheme of the film. The Russos, as is their trademark, like to use gray and dark colors that are rather bland. And when you watch the film, there really isn't any color ever. Everything seemed to be going through a gray filter, and the film lacks vibrancy. 

There are also a few things that bothered me plot-wise; for example, when Nick Fury is down underneath the car, they didn't establish the technology that he could cut through the ground and escape through a tunnel, but apparently he could. That I can get by - what did bother me was that Bucky didn't even remotely try to go after him. Another thing that rather bothered me was putting the file device in a vending machine. HYDRA could have easily gotten their hands on it, but even worse, a random person could have as well. That, to me, was never the best place to hide the film's biggest secret, but that's something you can bypass very easily.

And what sets this apart from other films like Civil War, is that there isn't really "THE SCENE". When you watch this movie, it's such a great movie through and through, and you're completely hooked throughout the film. But when you look at the film from a critical standpoint, there isn't that "one scene" where you go, "this is what defines this movie". 

But then again, maybe this movie doesn't need one. 

The Villain(s): Many people don't talk of Robert Redford's Alexander Pierce when talking about the best Marvel villains. But to me, he is one of the best, not because he is the most powerful, but because of how subtle his performance is. This is the first time they went out and got a major, major actor to play one of their characters (Subsequently, Kurt Russell, Michael Keaton, Michael Douglas, Cate Blanchett) and it pays off. The subtleness that he plays the character with is superb, and there isn't that one moment where he "goes insane". Bucky/the Winer Soldier works for what he's given, which isn't much. His role really is reduced to looking as evil as possible, and for the most part, he achieves that. And Frank Grillo's Brock Rumlow does his part too, just being there to oppose Steve and set up his role in future films. 

The Verdict: This was the first MCU movie that I knew was a slam dunk. This was everything you wanted out of an MCU film and a sequel - it took developed characters, taking your expectations and completely destroying them as Steve Rogers has his world turned upside down. The action is amazing, the heart is evident, and the storyline is awesome. For what The Avengers did to the genre, The Winter Soldier did as well, showing a different side of the superhero movie that we had never seen before.  Letter Grade: A. Number Score: 9.4/10

Should I Skip?: Simply for the quality of this film, not you should not. This is a film that is definitely worth seeing before continuing through the MCU as it establishes Cap as the hero we have come to love. 

TLDR: Captain America and Black Widow are running missions for SHIELD when a mysterious assassin "kills" Nick Fury. On the run, they discover that HYDRA has slowly been taking over SHIELD over the years. Steve also discovers that this assassin is his long lost friend, Bucky Barnes. HYDRA/SHIELD plans to kill off anyone who would be a threat to them, but Steve, Natasha, a new ally Falcon, and Nick, who was revealed to be alive, take down this plot. Steve confronts Bucky, who eventually saves his life and disappears. Steve and Sam go off and try to find him, leaving the door open for the future of the MCU. 

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film

MCU Rewind #8 - Thor: The Dark World - Review

MCU Rewind #8 - Thor: The Dark World - Review

Release date (US): November 8th, 2013

Directed By: Alan Taylor

Rating: PG-13

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom HIddleston, Idris Elba, Jamie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Christopher Eccleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Ene Russo

MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned. 

Previous Rating: 7.8/10

Expectations/Background: I remember back when this movie came out, I was really excited. And after watching it, I was satisfied. I think this was around the time though where I was able to critique a film for what it was without letting the hype completely get to me. And when I saw this film for the second time, I began to see the flaws in this film. I will admit, before this rewatch, I hadn't seen this film since a few months after its release. But everyone loves to hate on this film as the worst one in the MCU. And coming off of Thor, which I personally extremely dislike, I was wondering how much I would hate/like this film - couldn't be that bad right? 

The Movie: So I'm going to be straight up - I don't mind this film at all. For those people who say that this film is downright awful, I respect their opinions, but I will also respectfully disagree - I equate this film to an Incredible Hulk in that the plot is very bland, generic, and boring, but the difference between that movie and this movie is that this film is visually much, much more appealing, and we have characters that we love who are returning, and much like Iron Man 2, their chemistry saves this from entering the abyss of pure boredom. 

Positives: I think this was the film where Chris Hemsworth asserted himself as Thor. The previous two films were merely introductions - when we find Thor in this film, he's casually fighting Kronins and in general, being the god of thunder that we wanted to see. 

Of course, we have the wonderful Tom Hiddleston as the god of mischief, Loki. Despite the limited role that he is given, and the cheap arc (we'll get to that in the next section), he takes his character, which he established in The Avengers, and completely owned every single scene that he was in. Hiddleston took his character, he knew his strengths, and he just ran with it, which made watching him and Hemsworth's Thor together such a treat. 

This is a very safe film. When I write points in my "Positive" section, I want to write about things that I really liked about the given film, and to be quite honest, there's not much. That's not to say that I think that this is a bad film. This is a film where absolutely nothing stands out, but where nothing really goes horribly wrong. I think that Taylor played very safe with the characters and the story, and for the most part, it works. There are a couple moments where he attempts to go for the emotions, and I really appreciate that. I think that Thor took some time to establish emotion, but also took too much time with odd, fish-out-of water, humor. 

Speaking of humor, I don't mind Kat Dennings. Is she the best comic relief? No. But when critics say that she's one of the worst things that have ever happened to the MCU, I will again respectfully disagree. I won't defend her character with my life, but I didn't mind her at all. 

Negatives: I think that one of the "highlights" for many in the first Thor film was the chemistry between Thor and Jane. Natalie Portman is a world-class actress, but unfortunately, she wasn't given the best character arc throughout the film (mostly sleeping and fainting) and she didn't do the best with the character either. The romance this time around was ham-fisted, in your face, and it wasn't earned either. 

The villains (more on them later) are weak. I would not want them to come back again in the MCU, but then again, they're not laughably bad like a Whiplash. They're just not good in any way. 

I also think that, like I alluded to in the "positive" section, there is nothing memorable about this film. From beginning to end, you watch the movie but there isn't any one moment which you can define the film from (except for Loki as Captain America, that was pure gold). 

And even though this film wasn't as disjointed, in my opinion, as the first film, I still feel there are many inconsistencies throughout the films. There are scenes with Jane talking to little kids with floating trucks, and then it transitions to scenes in Asgard with Thor and Loki. I'm not talking about the scenes themselves, I think that together they work fine - but I feel that when watching the film, when watching the two different storylines, it's almost as if you're watching two different movies.

What can I say about this movie? There's nothing really memorable. Nothing awful, nothing great. Overall, this film felt like an "introduce an infinity stone" film, not a Thor film. 

The Villain(s): Again, Malekith isn't anywhere near as bad as Whiplash (the worst MCU villain in my opinion). But you could look up the word generic in the dictionary and find his picture. His motivation is generic, his dialogue is so boring and generic, and he himself is boring. And in the end he starts making random portals? I have no idea what his character was, and by the time the film was over and they killed his character off, I felt absolutely nothing. Also Kurse is there, and he looks cool. But he's just the muscle, and he's just there to look cool. 

The Verdict: I know I'm in the vast minority when I say that I vastly prefer watching this film over Thor. I think that while there isn't anything memorable about this movie, I think that as compared to the first film, I didn't feel a sense of dislike while watching it. When Loki is on screen, he eats it up, and those scenes are the best. Chris Hemsworth establishes himself as Thor, but overall other than the great recurring characters, this movie is a whole lot of nothing.  Letter Grade: C+. Number Score: 7.2/10

Should I Skip?: Here's the interesting thing. While this film is not good, not by any stretch of the imagination, do not skip this movie. Because the work that it does setting up the rest of the MCU is vital. It sets up moments in Ragnarok so well, which pay off great. And additionally, this is the second Infinity Stone, and while we haven't seen Infinity War, I'm sure the Aether will play a huge part. And again, this film isn't the worst out of all of them, so I think that it's worth watching. 

TLDR: Loki returns to Asgard and is imprisoned for his crimes. Thor is off fighting various enemies when the Aether resurfaces and manifests itself in Jane Foster. With the Aether, Malekith awakens, and attempts to extract the Aether from Jane. Loki is "killed", and Thor confronts Malekith in Greenwich, England, and defeats him, preventing catastrophe. Jane and Thor reunite on Earth, and it is revealed that Loki is sitting on the throne of Asgard masquerading as Odin. In the credits, we see Sif and Volstagg (Thor's comrades) visiting the Collector and delivering the Aether to him, where it is revealed that it is an Infinity Stone. 

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.

A- to A+: Amazing

B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed

C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed

D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws

F: A Failure of a Film

9-10: Nearly Perfect

8-9: Very Good

7-8: Good

6-7: Okay

5-6: Average/Mediocre

4-5: Apparently Flawed

3-4: Heavily Flawed

2-3: A complete and utter mess

0-2: A Failure of a Film