Movie Talk - Avengers: Endgame

Well, we’re right on the eve of a new year. Before the year ends, I want to get back to the superhero genre for a minute. I finally re-watched Avengers: Endgame yesterday. I needed something to be playing while I was doing some work in quarantine, and it was time to revisit it. I’ve been kinda mum on Marvel this year here, so why not end it with the conclusion to Infinity War?

Avengers: Endgame was released during April of 2019. It was the long-awaited sequel to Avengers: Infinity War where Thanos basically wrecked the universe. I saw it solo since I knew Liz wasn’t going to sit through 3 hours at a movie theatre. Thankfully, I wasn’t there alone since pretty much everyone was out to see this movie. The theatre was pack to the teeth, and I almost didn’t find a seat. Since I knew that the movies were loosely following the comics, I didn’t know what to expect, but I did end up seeing a couple of spoilers online.

Favorites - 17 Favorite Superhero Costumes in Live-Action

While I get the interest in talking about some Digimon, some Assassin’s Creed, and the “greatest Batman Story Evar”, I thought I’d go to another subject. We’ve had a lot of good superhero costumes come across the screens for years, haven’t we? You don’t even have to start with Christopher Reeve’s Superman costume either. George Reeves and Kirk Alyn even had some well-rendered suits. Yeah, we’ve gotten some lackluster costumes over the years. I can look at 90’s comic movies, the Arrowverse, Smallville (love the show, but some costumes… eh), and even the MCU for some bad ones. Oh yeah, who remembers Shaq’s costume from Steel? Quite horrid, I say!

So, here are some of my favorite superhero costumes in live-action. Yeah, I’m going all over the board with this one. To even make this harder on me, I’m going to only include one superhero for this list, so no doubles like Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton for Batman. It’s also not in exact order, but I’ll have my favorite superheroes up top. I considered including villains on here, but that’ll wait for now.

Movie Talk - Ant-Man and the Wasp/Captain Marvel

Well, we got four days until Avengers: Endgame is released. Now that I’ve looked at Infinity War, it’s time for the other two that’s come out. When it comes to Ant-Man and the Wasp, I actually skipped that one for the theatres. I’m not a fan of the character, so I thought I’d save watching it for Netflix. As for Captain Marvel, I just saw this one last Saturday. I was a few minutes late (missed the trailers and Carol’s training session with Yon-Rogg), but I got there right in time.

Ant Man and the Wasp

Ant-Man and the Wasp was released during of July of 2018. Instead of the movie taking place after Infinity War, it takes place sometime before those events. In the movie, we catch up with Scott Lang, Henry Pym, and Hope van Dyne after the events of Civil War. Scott’s been on house arrest while Henry and Hope have been on the run. They reluctantly recruit Scott on a mission to see if they can find Janet van Dyne (the original Wasp) in the Quantum Realm. Unfortunately, they have to deal with a few threats. The FBI is looking for them, some lame crook wants their technology, and a former SHIELD agent called Ghost wants their tech for herself.

Movie Talk - Avengers: Infinity War

Well, we’re on the precipice of a big event… the release of Ma starring Olivia Spencer. I don’t know where this movie’s gonna go but—oh yeah, there’s that independent movie featuring the Avengers and Grimace’s evil cousin, Thanos, being released on April 26th. That’s the one I might not be able to see that day because I haven’t gotten my ticket yet. I don’t think Liz would even  be into a possibly 3-hour movie either. Anyway, we’re definitely in the endgame now. Before I get there, I wanted to look at the other Marvel movies I haven’t talked about here. So, it’s Avengers: Infinity War for this post. The other two will get their own post.

 I saw Infinity War last year when it was released at Pulaski’s theatre. I also recently re-watched it on Netflix. I did plan on talking about it last year, but I never got the chance to. It’s pretty much what the MCU has been building up to over the last 6 years. Here, Thanos and his Black Order start to form the Infinity Gauntlet, a device made up of six powerful stones. When put together, the wearer has the ability to rewrite reality. Since this is a major threat to the whole universe, the Avengers aren’t the only heroes on deck for this one. We got Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Black Panther, and Spider-Man to thwart this threat. Would it be enough to stop Thanos and his reign of terror? Well, since Avengers: Endgame is about to be released, you can kind of guess that unfortunate answer.

Random Thoughts #52 - "I Can Hear the Rain! All 12 Inches of It!"

Well, it’s been a minute since I’ve been here. I’ve been dealing with work which has been good. I’ve been setting up a new blog on Wordpress (Comic Crossover Central). Then, there’s the fact that my girlfriend’s birthday is around Valentine’s Day. That took a while to plan. Then, there’s just the fact that February (and March) tend to be break periods for me. There’s also the fact that this PS4 contraption’s been taking my time. Either way, I’m back for a bit. So, it’s time to get to some Random Thoughts.

“Space, The Final Frontier!”

Back in February, we went to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville for my girlfriend’s birthday. In all the time I’ve gone to Huntsville to visit family, I’ve never been there. I think the closest I got to it was a job fair that was being held in that vicinity. Anyway, we saw some good sites and got to spend some quality time together learning about the space program. I didn’t take too many pics for some reason, but I did get some nice ones. It was just a good day in general.

“Rain? What Rain?”

"This was fun," I mentally sarcastically said. 

Man, Tennessee’s been getting hit with rain. It’s like God said, “You know, I think I’ll hit y’all with something other than snow this time!” I ain’t complaining too much, but when you’re being reminded of the floods Tennessee had from 2010, it’s a little worrying. While Nashville got hit as usual, most of TN got it hard. I know Giles County especially around Elk River was looking scary. Me and my dad even had to fish out a couple of our tarps from a stream. It was nuts. Maybe we’ll get with that snow in March, but you never know these days.

Random Thoughts On... How the X-Men could be handled in the MCU

So, what is going on with the MCU lately? Avengers: Infinity War was just released digitally, so that’s nice. I’ll touch on it here soon. There’s that whole situation involving James Gunn (the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies) that I won’t touch upon that here. I think Twitter’s ran the gamut on that whole, weird topic anyway. Has something else happened recently that involves Disney making some big purchase with 20^th Century Fox-- Oh. Yeah. That did just happen.

On July 27^th, 2018, it was announced that Disney would be purchasing movie and tv assets from 20^th Century Fox. For those who don’t know, Fox has had the film rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four properties for years. This means that we may get those heroes and villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe soon. This was something that left folk pretty happy and a few folk kind of disappointed. As for me, I’m a little mixed since I mostly liked what Fox was doing with the X-Men franchise… mostly, mind you. I haven’t forgotten what happened in 2006 and 2009. You can also throw the FF movies in that lot since they weren’t that good either.

Folk have been constantly theorizing on how the X-Men and FF would fit in the MCU. Would they be fully integrated or left off on the side somewhere? Would Marvel continue what was laid out with Fox or would it be a straight-up reboot? I wasn’t thinking about that stuff too much myself, but my mind did lay out some possibilities. While I was walking in Kroger a couple of nights back, I was wondering how this could work if they did a full-on reboot with the X-Men. So, here are six things that I hope the creators take into account.

Movie Talk - Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther

Well, I got two more movies left before I go see Avengers: Infinity War. Since I'm not really into sitting in movie screens today (finally got new glasses), I'll be seeing it this weekend. Anyway, I was able to see Black Panther with my family the weekend it was released. It was pretty cool since we don't do that much. I think the last movie we saw together in theaters was Ghostbusters. What sucks is that I kinda called off a date... hey, I tried to invite her at least, but her job got in the way. Thor: Ragnarok is actually one I didn't see until last weekend at home. I just felt like holding off for this one. So, how were these two vastly different movies?

Movie Talk - Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming

Welcome to part two of this whole MCU review. It's two movies (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man Homecoming) instead of three today. Like with the last batch, I saw these movies in the theatres. Seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming was memorable not because of the movie but because that day was busy in a good way. I drove in rain, I worked at church, I ate at a going away party, I ate again on a date, and then saw the movie. We almost left at the post-credit scene. I was able to re-watch these either on Netflix or the Redbox.

Movie Talk - Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, and Doctor Strange

Since Avengers: Infinity War is finally hitting theaters in April (I’m glad they moved it up so I can use that weekend for other things), it’s finally time to look at the other movies in the MCU. Right before Avengers: Age of Ultron was released, I pretty much went through every MCU movie released at that time. While I’ve given a little opinion on these movies in other posts, it’s time to revisit some of them. I was trying to get this out but one, "little" movie kept holding me up.

Since I got seven movies (Infinity War will be its own post), I’m splitting this up. Today, it’s Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, and Doctor Strange. I pretty much saw all of these movies in theaters. I was able to re-watch Civil War and Dr. Strange on Netflix somewhat recently. As for Ant Man, I had to look for that elsewhere.

Movie Talk - The Avengers and Avengers: Age of Ultron

Well, it’s finally time to have to talk about Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. I don’t want to get these movies mixed up with that one Avengers movie that had Uma Thurman and Sean Connery in it. I never saw that one. Also, if you’re wondering why this is in Sci-Fi Month, that answer is simple. We got aliens, evil A.I., mutants (sort of), super soldiers, a guy in a mech suit, and the Hulk. I think that answers it.

Anyway, I first saw The Avengers when it was released in theatres. I saw it with the same friend I saw the first Captain America movie with. I have seen it once since then by renting it. As for Avengers: Age of Ultron, I saw it a couple of weeks ago after church. I was getting tired of avoiding spoilers on the Internet, so I did a solo run. I was planning on going to see it again with a friend but she actually got free tickets to Mad Max: Fury Road (a really fun movie). Besides, I got enough from the first viewing to talk about it.

Movie Talk - Iron Man in the MCU

Next up on the list is Iron Man. Now, I have to admit that I’m not that much of a fan of Tony Stark. I really wasn’t that exposed to the character in my youth. I did see the animated series from the 90’s but some of that show wasn’t really good. I will say that the show’s theme in the second season rocked. Since the movies have come out, I’ve gotten around to somewhat like the character.

I actually saw Iron Man through some unconventional means (it was bootlegged and I didn’t buy the bootleg either) back in 2008. I actually got to see both sequels through the usual conventional means when they were released in 2010 and 2013, respectively. I know I’ve seen Iron Man on TV somewhere. I know I saw Iron Man 3 again in the barbershop. Since I haven’t seen the movies recently, I decided to re-watch them… through conventional means. Kids, don’t pirate.

Movie Talk - Thor in the MCU and Guardians of the Galaxy

Today, I’ll be looking at the Thor movies. Since Thor’s world is also in that cosmic place with this universe, I’m also including Guardians of the Galaxy since I don’t want it to be all by its lonesome. While Thor isn’t one of my favorite heroes, I still wanted to see the movie. I went to see it with a group of friends back in 2011 in Murfreesboro. As for the sequel, I decided to wait for it to come to Blu-Ray since I really wasn’t jazzed about it. I was in the same boat with GOTG. Since I didn’t know much about the characters, I just decided to wait to see it on Blu-Ray as well. Since I hadn’t see Thor since 2011, I was able to re-watch it online.

Movie Talk - Captain America in the MCU

Since the Avengers are popping up in theatres next month, I think it’s finally time to look at all of the Marvel Cinematic movies. The only ones I won’t touch are The Incredible Hulk and The Avengers. I went into depth with TIH last month and I might as well save The Avengers for the eventual look at the new movie. Today, it’ll be Captain America’s movies.

I’ve got to say that I’ve started to gain a fondness for Captain America over the last few years. He’s pretty much the essential part of the Avengers. Without him, it doesn’t feel right. The movies have definitely helped in that growing fondness. I saw Captain America: The First Avenger with a friend in Smyrna. It was also the first time I went to Panda Express. As for the sequel, I really wanted to see this one in theatres and was able to do so. I also made these movies a part of my re-watch.

The Battle of the Hulk Movies - Part 2

So, this is post #401... wow. I didn't know I would go that far with this. Maybe I can make it to 500. Anyway, here is Part 2 of "The Battle of the Hulk Movies." So, I might as well start off with a man who tends to have a good mustache... no, I'm not talking about Thomas Magnum.

General Thunderbolt Ross

Next up is the battle of the ‘staches as Sam Elliot faces William Hurt. Ross’s role in the films is similar but different. While he wants to keep his daughter away from Bruce, Ross’s motivations are a little different. In Hulk, he knew that Dr. David Banner killed his wife and performed some unsanctioned experiments. That experience plus Bruce’s occupation gives Ross a reason to not like the guy. As for Ross in The Incredible Hulk, he is actually after the Hulk to see if the military could use the Hulk to create super-soldiers. In the MCU, Ross reactivated the Super-Solder program and had Bruce unknowingly doing experiments when the accident happened.

While I consider Ross to be more antagonistic (he’s actually trying to stop the Hulk’s rampages) than villainous, that doesn’t mean he’s a nice guy. I think Marty McFly would have three words to describe him. I will say his douchiness is increased in the 2008 movie. I do think both men were good in the role but one was just better. Ultimately, I have to give this point to Sam Elliott. He just ruled the role in my opinion. It also helped that he actually has an authentic mustache. I liked the fractured relationship between he and Betty and I just liked his no-nonsense attitude.

Hulk (2003) – 2

The Incredible Hulk (2008) – 1

The Battle of the Hulk Movies - Part 1

Welcome to… actually, I don’t know what to call these. I’ll eventually come up with a title for these match-ups, but for now I’ll call this “The Battle of the Hulk Movies.” When I came up with the idea of doing these comparisons, this one was somewhere in my mind. Since the Hulk is coming back to theatres in Avengers: Age of Ultron, I think it’s finally time to see which Hulk movie is truly “incredible.” Today, it’s Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003) vs. Louis Letterrier’s The Incredible Hulk (2008).

I first saw Hulk at my uncle’s house in 2003. It was either Thanksgiving or Christmas, I don’t remember which. I remember that we saw X2: X-Men United before it and I still think X2’s a better movie. It’s got Nightcrawler in it for cryin’ out loud! It was a few years before I decided to rent it at Movie Gallery and watch it again. I think I remember it being better the second time around, I’m not sure. As for The Incredible Hulk, I rented it from Movie Gallery when it came out. Man, I miss Movie Gallery. Anyway, I don’t think I’ve seen it until recently. I might have seen it on FX or something.

For this little project, I decided to re-watch both movies in order to get a better opinion. I have to admit that they aren’t the best of the genre but they aren’t the worst either. They are good movies in their own right. I’ll be looking the heroes, the villains, the supporting characters, the action, and the story. I really won’t touch on the effects all that much. A movie from 2008 is probably going to look better than one from 2003. Still, there are a few things I’ll touch on effects-wise.