Showing posts with label spiderman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spiderman. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The Marvel Cinematic Universe... RANKED!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is 9 years old! I know that I have my favorites and some I see as missed opportunities over the years. I think we all have that. One or more of these films stood out above the rest where others probably fell short of our expectations, assuming we had an expectation at all. With each year, my list evolved as more movies were released celebrating these iconic characters from Marvel lore. Now that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2" is about to be released in theaters May 5th, I thought I'd revisit the world of Marvel on the big screen. From the very first "Iron Man" film by Jon Favreau (released in 2008) to Scott Derrickson's "Doctor Strange" released in 2016, here's where these movies rank for yours truly.


***In Order of Most Enjoyed***

Captain America Winter Soldier (2014)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Captain America Civil War (2016)

Thor (2011)

Avengers (2012)

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Ant-Man (2015)

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man (2008)

Captain America The First Avenger (2011)

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Thor The Dark World (2013)

Avengers Age of Ultron (2015)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

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Friday, May 20, 2016

(Spoiler Free) Captain America Civil War - Box Office Review

Captain America: Civil War” is the third film in the franchise. Marvel has been using the Captain America films to move their cinematic universe forward as well. After each of the films we see the next phase of films moving in a new direction. So let’s jump in and take a look at my thoughts on “Captain America: Civil War” by Marvel Studios and Disney…

I’m not sure how it’s possible but each film in this franchise gets better. This is not the normal routine for films. You typically see a great first film that spawns sequels that get more money and worse stories. There are exceptions, but in general, we don’t see growth with trilogies we see decline. The Captain America trilogy is the exception. The characters become more three dimensional, more developed and more relatable in all senses. 

There were many people, myself included, who called this film “Avengers 2.5” because of how many characters it has. I’m happy to announce it is but it’s also a Captain America movie at its core. I’ll explain as I’m hoping you expected. The story involves several characters but the heart of the film beats because of Captain America. His actions are what drive the plot forward and by the end of the film completely shake the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, the actions of the other characters in this film matter, but it’s the choices that Captain America makes that progress the franchise and the larger cinematic universe. 

Spiderman! Spiderman! I don’t care as much as some. I was excited to see Spiderman make his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but that’s because I trust the creative team at Marvel. I love the Spiderman character, don’t get me wrong, but I was more excited at the possibilities the creative folks at Marvel can deliver on. Spiderman was great in this film and his character was really true to some of the older silver age comic versions of Peter Parker/Spiderman. Plus the film was able to poke fun at itself with how attractive Aunt May is. 


Black Panther. I have been looking forward to seeing his character brought to life on the big screen. I was not disappointed. I was having a text discussion with my brother about his character and I mentioned how Black Panther was literally like the NFL’s best running back. He just pushed his way through every single superhero on his way to achieve his goal… well, almost every superhero. It is a Captain America movie at the end of the day. His character in the comics was brought to life in this film so wonderfully. I loved the wisdom in his character but also the passion, determination and strength. He easily stole the movie for me. The end scene where he is with Zemo and he realizes the path he was on must alter because of the circumstance now knowing the villain.. powerful. 

Zemo. Ok, in the comics he’s a purple leotard wearing, swashbuckling nemesis to the Avengers and Captain America. Marvel decided that they were going to go another route this time around and create a villain that was more criminal mastermind with a personal vendetta. I loved it. The puppet master curiously pulling the strings behind the scenes only to try and… well, I won’t spoil it. I thought his character was one of the best villains in a Marvel movie so far and I’m happy they seem to be figuring out how to create villains. Let’s continue to be honest, Marvel has work to do on creating villains but they did well in this film. 




“Captain America: Civil War” is in theaters now! Go… See… This… Film!! I have seen it twice so far and it only gets better. There’s so many great scenes in this film and the characters are all fantastic. Could it have felt overcrowded? Absolutely. But the characters are all so unique and have their own personality that is so developed you don’t even notice. You only get to appreciate the film and all it delivers on. This is a definite big screen viewing!


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Sunday, April 10, 2016

Spiderman Joins the MCU: Villains included

It's no secret that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is introducing us to the all new, all different "Spiderman" that Sony Pictures has agreed to share. Rumors indicate this partnership is worked so that other Marvel owned characters can also appear in the Sony "Spiderman" film that is directly connected to the existing universe we are quite fond of. So with that in mind, the possibilities are endless. We could speculate and debate for days which heroes and villains could and should share screen time with our favorite neighborhood wall crawler. I won't in this blog entry but feel free to comment below and start a conversation in the section for comments. Instead, let's look at this new version of Spidey and consider what we know and how that could determine who our hero might square off against.

We know that Spiderman is High School age in this cinematic universe. We are also under the impression that his heroics haven't been all too public and only a select few know of his existence and his shenanigans. So presuming he's new to the scene and not the masked hero that is hated by the Daily Bugle, let's look at 10 villains I'd personally like seeing on the big screen. In no particular order...

1: Mysterio:


First appearing in 1964, Mysterio has been one of our hero's main villains. I particularly enjoy the idea of an illusionist/hypnotist carrying some degree of trouble for Spidey. Plus, we can already hear the quips about the fact he wears a fishbowl as a mask.

2: Shocker & Scorpion


I enjoy the idea of these two fighting along side each other to stop Spiderman more than either one of them separately fighting the wall crawler. Also, having two members of the infamous "Sinister 6" would be nice foreshadowing on possible story lines to come. In my head I imagine Spiderman stopping these two from robbing a bank during a flashback while Peter Parker is attempting to explain to his teacher why he's late to class. I don't know, the idea tickles me and I'd love to see them on screen together. 

3: Morbius


We've discussed before on the podcast how Morbius would be a great addition. Now, adding a vampire to the MCU could be a bit dark for Marvel presently, but, it could also add depth to the overall universe. We're already getting ready for the freak fest, brain twisting, alternate dimensions/realities of Doctor Strange. Why not a vampire? It's crazy. It's maniacal. It's madness. It could be awesome. 

4: Jack O' Lantern


We're already set to see the Marvel Cinematic Universe be torn in two parts with Civil War. Who's to say that someone working with the government won't be shamed and kicked out? Sure, this villain was ex-CIA but we can change that for film to make it work into the overall story these films share.  Plus, seeing an ex military elite flying around with his head on fire lobbing bombs at people would look pretty dope in IMAX. 

5: Hobgoblin


Now, before the continuity fans freak out and scream and holler about how the Hobgoblin follows the Green Goblin please realize I don't care. We've seen the Green Goblin already on screen and I'd prefer the Hobgoblin. We could tie in a possible Kingpin storyline to this and really make things interesting. I'm all for expanding the existing universe and the number of characters who have played this villain in the comics could do just that.

6: Black Cat


Here's an opportunity for a redemption story. We start with Black Cat as the villain and then she turns to help our web slinging hero by the end of the film. Is it cliche'? Is it predictable? Sure, but it could add an interesting love triangle to this franchise. I see this as an opportunity to also ground the film a bit more in realism if they chose to go that route. Bank robbers are easier to film than, say, villains who shoot electricity and whose heads are on fire.

7: Hammerhead


If there's no plans to currently utilize the Maggia in a Netflix series this villain could add a nice grounded feel to the franchise. We see Spiderman fighting organized crime and this would open up the door for other villains who operated for this crime boss. Maybe he's not the main antagonist but he could certainly work behind the scenes, pulling strings. He's not a flashy villain but he's dangerous and with the Kingpin working so well on Netflix why not use this mob boss as a cinematic king pin'esque character. 

8: The Chameleon


One of Spiderman's oldest rogue villains we could enjoy the Chameleon causing spider to really use his brain and spider senses to figure out this baddie. Plus, with everyone wanting a Kraven storyline having this character appear first could help establish the fact Spiderman is a worthy adversary for the great hunter down the road. Also, having a character like this helps keep the audience guessing on who is and is not the bad guy. I like the idea of a mystery style spiderman movie. I don't think it's been done yet, so why not now?

9: The Jackal


The Jackal works better for me than The Lizard and that's because we've already seen the Lizard on screen. Plus, the fact this character starts off as a professor helps build on the intelligence side of Peter Parker. Similar to the Lizard storyline we could instead utilize the Jackal and get something we haven't yet seen. Something fresh for the big screen and this could even help open up the death of Gwen Stacy storyline. 

10: Morlun


A dimension traveling slayer of spidermen (yes plural). A newer villain in the sense he was created in 2001 he could still help establish the importance of Spiderman to Peter Parker. Peter Parker is informed that the spider bite was no accident and he was destined to be Spiderman and that is why he is being hunted by this villain. This could build on a few different levels of story telling and it could solidify early on in this franchise that Peter Parker is Spiderman for a reason and we don't need the cliche' hero trying to figure himself out. 1 movie, it's explained and we get to see a dimension/reality traveling assassin trying to kill the hero. Awesome. 


Comment below and share your take on these villain choices. Who would you like to see Spiderman battle on the big screen? Comment below and let us know!

Thanks for reading and sharing!

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