Comic Book Movies Thread

[Mod City]

Got home a bit ago from Spider Man: No Way Home and figured I’d better get just a few thoughts down before it gets too late. I don’t post around here much because my personal laptop is an iPad and it’s the worst thing for typing in history. Despite my efforts to touch nothing work related this weekend, I need to do this, so I’m using the million-times better, and cheaper, Dell work laptop.

Long story short: I loved it. Probably my favorite of all Spider Man outings on film, though the second Raimi movie may be better for what it accomplished in its time (some of that flick looks incredible even today). Either way, I have a lot more appreciation for what Spider Man is than for its entertainment value. I kind of got burned out on him since jumping on the 90s comic book bandwagon, but Tom Holland and the MCU/Sony crew have done a super job of weaving the character back among his Marvel cohorts.

Anyway, the last six years or whatever have been fun, and the Spider Man world has been a place worth visiting. Zendaya was an unknown to me in Homecoming, and I thought she was good, but man has she grown on me over three movies. MJ stands out to me among the supporting characters, but they’ve all been good. Ned, Happy, May. Tony when he was around. Heck, Vulture is one of the better MCU villains. It’s a fun world with some occasional really high stakes mixed in.

For No Way Home, it comes together pretty nicely. Peter matures and grows considerably over the course of 2.5 hours, and we’re left with a stunningly satisfying, and sad, ending. Impressive.

OK, can’t blow my whole Sunday evening on this, so just to add a few points:

SPOILER: Click to show

* Tobey Mcguire and Andrew Garfield return. This was even more fun than I thought it would be. The three Spider Men actors all have really good chemistry, and it was fun to listen to them talk about differences, ask questions, all that.

* I liked all three of those guys, but a bit of revelation for me was Garfield. He’s the one with which I’m least familiar (I’ve seen ASM and ASM2 maybe once each, and both years ago). He ended up being kind of the bridge for me between Mcguire and Holland. Great comic timing, good charisma. And his moment saving MJ was poignant and, really, beautiful, even if it seems everyone saw it coming. I’ll have to go back and watch his movies again.

* It’s hard to avoid spoilers, but I was hoping I was just hearing noise when the clues that May died bubbled up. It wasn’t noise, and they even faked me out thinking she was going to be alright. Not a peep out of the theater audience. Dead quiet. Heavy scene, and it was performed beautifully. Marisa Tomei broke my heart. And giving her the “with great power…” line that went to Ben in the first two series. Wonderful choice. Especially when you see Mcguire and Garfield’s reaction.

* Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe are both excellent, also better than I thought. It makes you grateful to see just how many talented actors they can get into, or back into, these movies. What a treat. And I loved how, by golly, Spider Man/Men saved them all. I’m assuming we’ll never see these guys again, and I was so happy to have the two big ones back that I was hoping for some non-death closure of some kind. They did it in a surprisingly heartwarming style.

* Doctor Strange is a great “sidekick” to Spider Man, or at least he has been in the film iterations. Cumberbatch still has the presence and the commanding authority to bring both groundedness and humor. Per the recommendation from Torgo , I hung out for the final credits bonus - the Multiverse of Madness teaser. So cool and worth sticking around for. Didn’t think of this until right now, but the flying magic saw blade kind of reminds me of Green Lantern (which I actually liked, by the way). I’m down for more of the good doctor, of course.

* Also, Torgo and I had this discussion once upon a time, but I was wondering when we’d finally get a new Sorcerer Supreme. I remember commenting that I thought bestowing someone with that title would get some actual screen time, but nope! Wong is the Sorcerer Supreme! That makes perfect sense, as I figure, by the movies anyway, that Wong probably would have been the top candidate if it weren’t for Strange, who had really only shown an incredible natural talent for the mystic arts instead of years of study. I laughed when I heard it, and loved Strange being a little jealous. I love it. All hail Wong, Sorcerer Supreme!

* I do wonder if Strange still knows who Peter Parker is. The first time he was casting the spell, he specifically said he would no longer remember Spider-Man’s identity, either. He doesn’t do that with the final spell, though his choice of words before Peter leaves sure seems like that was the case again. I have no reason to think that Strange is not as oblivious as everyone else, making that last exchange between him and Peter hit hard.

* Watched Hawkeye, thought it was awesome. The Kingpin! And now there’s Daredevil as Peter’s lawyer! Love both appearances, and it made me realize one thing - finally time to watch Daredevil. Yes, I know. No, I’m not proud. But at least I get to watch it for the first time! Gonna stretch it out, too. Hope it’s good

* Oh, and Spider Tom hugging the other two Spider guys. Actually felt like an earned moment.

I’m glad I took the time out to go see this in the theater. The MCU is about the only thing that can get me out into the theater anymore, with an occasional exception. Caught Shang-Chi and thought it was fantastic, but I missed Eternals in the theater. Sometimes I hate living in a place where the nearest movie theater is 50 minutes away, minimum. Makes it hard to get there, but I always seem to have a good time. And really, it wasn’t the greatest Christmas, so I need this.

On to the next one.

[Torgo]

I thought of you when they named dropped the Sorcerer Supreme too.

Though it does have me wondering...

SPOILER: Click to show

Was Strange Sorcerer Supreme in Infinity War and they just never said outright?

[Mod City]

Ah, Torgo , you old dog, I thought of you too

SPOILER: Click to show

My only complaint - I hope this doesn’t lead to the loss of Wong to pave the way for Strange to become Sorcerer Supreme. But now that Wong has the title, I’m not sure there’s a smooth way to take it from him to give it to Strange, not without killing him or somehow revealing that he’s not worthy or not as talented as Strange or something like that. Wong has been such a great character, he deserves some time as the Sorcerer Supreme.

The Sorcerer Supreme reveal also explains why Strange doesn’t seem to be in charge in the No Way Home trailers. Wong seems to be bossing him around a bit when he told Strange to not cast that memory spell (a line that was slightly different in the movie than in the trailer, if memory serves).

The Suicide Squad

Caught this on VUDU the other night. There are quite a few things to like about this movie, but I honestly don’t think it improves a ton on the original Suicide Squad, to be honest. It’s more colorful, lighter in humor and can be downright silly sometimes.

That sets it apart from the first movie, but I just don’t think it was organized that well. They clearly gave James Gunn a blank check to do what he wanted to do, and frankly, letting Gunn run wild with his own ideas can be his downfall. Take the scene where Harley kills the president of that country (whoever or whatever his title was). To me, that subplot stopped the movie dead in its tracks. Maybe because, gasp, I don’t like Harley Quinn. I like Margot Robbie, but I don’t like Harley Quinn. Maybe if someone came up with a good idea for her (I haven’t seen Birds of Prey, so I have more homework to do).

Also - Polka Dot Man was good stuff, but the whole thing with his mother? I just didn’t find it funny, other than his comment about what happened to those freedom fighters.

Then again, other parts were genuinely great. One of the best gags in the movie is Peacemaker and Deadshot taking out that entire village by themselves, trying to one-up each other. The bit where Peacemaker just walks by that sleeping guy and stabs him like six times was genuinely funny. I had heard Peacemaker was a great character, and he was, but I thought he could have been used even better. Having his own TV show might help that, and heck, if I can find a way to watch that without taking on yet another streaming service I might just check it out. John Cena has some comedic chops, to be sure.

Star-O was actually a better villain than I expected, and one of the better ones ever employed by the DCEU. Different.

When I look at it, with Gunn’s approach, I laughed and I enjoyed myself, but I’m not sure once that I cared when members of this Suicide Squad died. And a lot of them do die. But I couldn’t bring myself to care. I actually liked Diablo in the first movie, and I was disappointed when he bit it. I empathized with him and wanted more of that guy. I can’t say the same for any character from The Suicide Squad that died. Or lived, for that matter.

SPOILER: Click to show

One exception: Rick Flagg. His death surprised me and I didn’t want Peacemaker to be the one who killed him. Credit where credit is due, that was an impactful scene. And as far as I’m concerned, they could have killed Quinn. Maybe then I’d have some emotional connection to her and not just be annoyed by that god-awful overwrought Brooklyn accent she puts on.

For all his faults, and they are myriad, Joss Whedon might be the best director to direct a Suicide Squad movie. He is adept at introducing major characters, endearing them to you before killing them (even if it’s over the course of one movie), doing it gracefully and damn if he doesn’t surprise me almost every time despite the fact I know it’s coming somewhere. These deaths just feel like they were feeding a larger joke, which is fine, but it’s not what I’ve come to want from these kinds of movies.

I’m glad I checked it out, but I could watch Ayer’s Suicide Squad and be just as entertained. Makes me appreciate just how well the Guardians of the Galaxy movies have turned out, and they’re still the only Gunn movies I really like.

[Torgo]

It's here. We start off 2022's comic book movie slate with the most hotly anticipated film on it. That movie is of course Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. Based off a seven issue webcomic, the film chronicles a broken hearted JLo onstage at her showstopping wedding having just found out her husband-to-be was cheating on her. In a moment of impulse, she picks Owen Wilson out of the crowd and marries him instead, sending both of their lives into a spin as celebrity clashes with the mundane.

This movie is cute and I'm a little interested in the premise, because not only does is a lady-targeted high concept premise of romance it also doubles as a wish fulfillment fantasy for men, who would wish to believe they could just be pointed at by a pop star and say "Lets get hitched." I'd have a hard time turning Lopez down myself. I do wish the movie pushed the complications of its premise a bit more, because it seems like there are some complexities to the idea that the movie doesn't try to consider and it instead employs a lot of safe tropes. It's fine but it also could have been a bit richer.

At the very least I'm sure it's a better comic book movie than Morbius will be, which is the next comic flick on the slate. Other than a Batman movie, but we've already had enough of those and nobody cares.

SPOILER: Click to show

Okay fine, I'll talk about the Batman movie. Some spoiler warning, nothing major, I don't think though.

I have not been strongly anticipating this movie for several reasons. Firstly, I very much think that Batman needs to move away from the downward spiral into "even DARKER" that Warner has been doing. Tim Burton made Batman and was all "I'm gonna reinvent Batman by making him dark n gritty." Christopher Nolan made Batman and was all "I'm gonna reinvent Batman by making him dark n gritty AND real." Matt Reeves made Batman and was all "I'm gonna reinvent Batman by making him dark n gritty n real AND depressing." I'm getting to the point where I'm getting bored with it. I'm not saying Schumacher was right but...he wasn't wrong. I feel like Batman should start to get a bit more ostentatious, maybe fling it back a bit to what Burton was doing but actually have good scripts this time. Let him fight R'as al Ghul and let him be immortal, for gods sake. Maybe even throw Killer Croc and Man-Bat in there. Like Michael Keaton said, "Let's get nuts." I wanna get a little bit nuts.

The second reason is I do not respond well to films directed by Matt Reeves. He's a filmmaker that makes things look visually nice but internally dull. Cloverfield, Let Me In, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes were all movies with cardboard characters trying to drive a plot that I couldn't care less about. The only film from Reeves I responded positively to was War for the Planet of the Apes, which might have been low expectations more than anything (or it was actually working from a decent script). I generally don't respond to style over substance movies unless that style is more for charismatic comedic effect. That's probably why I like Schumacher's movies more than Burton's, honestly.

But I am a Batman fan. I've said it before, if I suddenly tire of superhero filmmaking, the three franchises that will likely still push me into buying a ticket are Batman, Spider-Man, and the Ninja Turtles. They all hold that special place in my heart. Though Ninja Turtles did push me to my limit with that terrible Johnathan Liebsman movie, but that's a whole different rant.

So yes, I saw The Batman. Bearing those paragraphs above this one, the I think you should believe me when I say that this movie I didn't want is good. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate-watch it.

Matt Reeves' approach to the Batman mythos does add something that Batman movies usually overlook: It allows him to be a detective. The Burton/Schumacher era usually just showed Bruce typing at a computer to represent detective work, but no actual mystery was being unraveled in the films themselves. The Nolan films did a little better with plots that had more intrigue, though Batman's detective work usually was reduced to interrogations and beating people up. Reeve's Batman is like a detective noir thriller with Batman in the role of the cynical loner PI, complete with narrative voice over. He combines this with the style of David Fincher's serial killer thrillers like Seven, Zodiac, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. This is a good idea, I just wish it didn't come at a time where I very much didn't want an angry Batman movie.

Reeves does push this a bit too far, I think. I like that he used the Riddler for a noir detective story because the Riddler is custom made for such, and it's something Batman Forever certainly wasn't bright enough to try and do with Jim Carrey. That being said, they go down the road of reinterpreting the character to the point where it's really hard to see him as the Riddler anymore. He seems more based on serial killer sidemissions in the Arkham games where you follow mutilated corpses to the culprit (I think I'm mainly thinking of Arkham Knight because that's the freshest one in my memory). I've never really thought of Riddler as a brutal serial killer but a chess player who wants to out-think everyone in the room, so this take didn't entirely work for me. You could have replaced him with Professor Pyg and the movie wouldn't have been much different other than there would have been no riddles. And as easy as some of the riddles are, they might as well have. Seriously, I suck at riddles and I figured most of these out almost instantly. And they just kind of give up on them as the movie goes on. "What's black and blue and DEAD ALL OVER?" Ugh.

But I did like the cast. Robert Pattinson certainly looks good in the suit, let me tell you. The one problem I have with this take on Batman however is a creative choice that he rides out for the writers and director, which is that his Bruce Wayne might as well not exist. Pattinson spends most of the movie in the cowl because that's what the filmmakers are more interested in, and when he's out of the costume his performance relates that he'd rather be in it. What this take on Batman's alter ego gets wrong is that there is no public persona. When Bruce is around people he is broody and secluded. He acts like Batman even when he's around people, making it hard to believe nobody can figure out that this damaged guy who has faded eye makeup around his eyes isn't Batman. If you're going to take Batman this seriously then Batman needs to take his public mask seriously too, because this is underthought.

The movie is nearly three hours long but I wouldn't sweat it. It's fairly intricate and just about every scene is relevant to the film so it's never inert. If you're looking for superhero action, this movie is light on it. It's more story driven mystery. There is a chase sequence between Batman and the Penguin halfway through that I'm sure is supposed to look spectacular and have film bros gushing about topping The Dark Knight's car chase or whatever they're on, but the cinematography is so tight on the vehicles and characters in that scene that I was having trouble keeping tabs on most of it. The movie also struggles to figure out how to conclude the film, figuring it should probably end on an action setpiece but is unsure how to create one for what is very much a non-action movie. They compromise by just having Batman beat up some dudes with guns in a bunch of rafters. It's almost like the movie threw up its hands and said "Good enough!"

But I will say I liked the character journey ending where Batman realizes that being a symbol of terror and vengeance might be the wrong message he wants to send Gotham. That was clever. I liked the ending imagery of Batman rescuing people from rubble in the daylight. That was refreshing. I didn't like the Joker tease at the end, for various reasons. First of all, it feels like copying Batman Begins to give that audience chill of "You know HE'S coming." Secondly, I don't think a bulldozer like the Joker necessarily works for the type of mystery vibe that Reeves is playing with in this film and using him in a sequel would make it less interesting. Thirdly, there are, what, three Jokers now? Which one should I care about? Piss off, Warner.

There's half a movie I really liked here and half a movie that is bogged down by bullpoopie and half-baked decisions. It is better than what Zack Snyder was doing with the character, though it's hard not to be curious what Ben Affleck's solo Batman movie would have been like what with Deathstroke as the baddie and whatnot. But Affleck stood down for his mental health and I gotta respect that. I guess I'll see a sequel. I liked the movie but I still can't get enthusiastic about the franchise future. Maybe if they gave Andy Serkis something to do as Alfred, because he is seriously wasted here.

1. The Dark Knight
2. Batman Begins
3. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
4. The Lego Movie
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. The Lego Movie 2: The Second One
7. Batman Forever
8. Batman (1966)
9. The Lego Batman Movie
10. The Batman
11. Batman (1989)
12. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
13. Justice League
14. Batman & Robin
15. That bullpoopie Snyder cut
16. Batman Returns

[Torgo]

Yes, I've seen Morbius.

F*** Off Sony Cinematic Universe Ranking
1. Venom: Let There Be Carnage
2. Venom
3. Morbius

[Torgo]

It is Mod City's Christmas. After nearly six years, Doctor Strange finally has a sequel and not just a cameo in a Thor or Spider-Man movie. Also it's my Christmas because twenty years after Spider-Man, fifteen years after Spider-Man 3, and over nine years after that Oz movie, Sam Raimi finally has another movie, and it's based on another Marvel comic co-created by Steve Ditko! What are the odds!

There is a lot of talk over whether or not Multiverse of Madness is going to polarize audiences or not. It probably will, because it is an outside the box MCU movie that is a bit of a convoluted road to tell a simple story. But my whole thing is...

Don't care.

Loved it.

I thought long and hard about whether or not I liked this movie more than the original Doctor Strange movie. That first movie is fun, but it's pure formula. This second one is also fun and it's off the wall in ways only Doctor Strange can be, sometimes to a breaking point. The conclusion I came to was that even if the first Doctor Strange is formulaic, structurally it's a more sound movie than Multiverse of Madness, which is lovably bonkers but feels fragmented. But if you're fully on board for the ride, there is a hot chance you'll love this movie more. I also had some debate about whether or not I liked it more than Spider-Man: No Way Home, because that film had stronger power moments and I felt its cameos hit harder than Multiverse of Madness's did. But the fact that Multiverse of Madness didn't lag as hard in the center as No Way Home did is what put it over the top for me. As it stands right now, Multiverse of Madness is my favorite Phase 4 film, but it's tight.

If Multiverse of Madness has a crack in its armor, it's the pacing, which is breakneck and moves at a clip. For some this might be a virtue, though I was feeling at several points that the movie needed more time to breathe so certain ramifications would resonate with the viewer. When the movie finally does slow down, it comes in the form of a scene where all those promised cameos come in full force and all at once, mostly to deliver exposition. Cameos include:

SPOILER: Click to show

Patrick Stewart as Professor X
Haley Atwell as Captain Peggy Carter
Anson Mount as Blackbolt (which is probably the cameo nobody wanted because nobody wants to remember Inhumans happened)
Lashana Lynch as Maria Rambeau/Captain Marvel
John Krasinski as Reed Richards (whether this means he has been cast for the Fantastic Four movie remains to be seen, as this could just be a wink at the fan casting and they might go in a different direction)

The cameos are cute, but No Way Home worked its cameos into the plot of the movie while in Multiverse of Madness all these people are there just to be present. These are fun nods but ultimately they amount to nothing and the movie soon tears them up and tosses them aside. Spider-Man did it better.

Since the cameos don't matter at all, this is really just the Benedict Cumberbatch and Elizabeth Olsen show, and they carry the movie capably. The film does hinge quite a bit on WandaVision, but most of what you need to know about those events is that Wanda is longing for the connection and love of family. The one downside to this is that the film seemingly discards the themes of grief and living in the aftermath of loss that WandaVision provided just to have Wanda fall into darkness. Olsen is pretty great here, as she capably plays both the Wanda we know and love and switching deftly into the much colder and menacing Scarlet Witch persona. Cumberbatch's arc also deals with loss, notably letting go of Christine, who he spends most of the movie wrestling with his own feelings for as she gets married to someone else. Aside from the two leads, a fun presence is had with Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, who for better or worse acts as the film's MacGuffin, but keeps the film spunky as everyone chases after her.

But probably the big hype in film circles is that Sam Raimi is directing these movies. "At last! A true auteur behind a Marvel film! Unless the studio silences him." But, you know, the whole "Marvel suppresses artists" idea is rather nonsense, honestly. Thor: Ragnarok is unmistakably a Taika Watiti film, Eternals is unmistakably a Chloe Zhao film, Guardians of the Galaxy is unmistakably James Gunn from beginning to end, and even things like Avengers and Iron Man 3 have Joss Whedon and Shane Black written all over them. That's just a crap take based on filmmakers like the Russos, Payten Reed, and Jon Watts, who are all capable directors that have no distinct style but work well in the Marvel machine because they work well in collaboration to make efficient movies. When Marvel hires a filmmaker with a voice, they do let that voice through. It's just naysayers don't care. But the question lingers...

How Raimi is this film?

Let me count the ways:

SPOILER: Click to show

A giant eyeball is gouged out.
People drown in puddles.
Evil Dead zooms on slamming doors.
Wanda crawls out of a book like friggin' Sadako.
THAT ENTIRE FALLING THROUGH THE MULTIVERSE SCENE!
Bruce Campbell punches himself in the face repeatedly.
Wanda jump scares out of nowhere looking like a Deadite and snaps Professor X's neck.
Doctor Strange spends the climax in a corpse of one of his deceased alternate selves and fights Wanda like that.

This is very Sam Raimi.

God, I missed you, Sam.

Danny Elfman did the score for this film, replacing Michael Giacchino from the first film. I'll admit that I don't think Elfman had unique personal themes that matched Giacchino's work in the first film, there is something very interesting about Elfman's work here. Elfman does have a sound that's suited to Doctor Strange as a character, and some of the stuff here is exceptional. I won't spoil anything specific, but there is a fight late in the film that actually finds a way to blend Elfman's score into it in a brilliant way and I was personally floored by it.

One final thought: Marvel's getting less teasing foreplay and more audacious with their post credit scenes. Back when Far from Home did that whole "Oh by the way, this is a plot point for No Way Home" scene at the end, it feels like they're just dropping scenes for proposed sequels into their end credits without context, notably like both end credit scenes to Eternals. The mid-credit scene to Multiverse of Madness has a scene that features a character that is going to mean a lot to those who know Doctor Strange lore, but will leave the audience lost as they just watched a character pop up and propose "Doctor Strange 3?" I'm not entirely sure how seriously I should take this credit scene, since the first Doctor Strange had that scene with Mordo and Benjamin Bratt at the end that this film doesn't touch upon at all. That being said, I loved both Strange movies so far, and I'm definitely game for Stephen's next adventure.

While I had some issues with the film's pacing and structure, what Multiverse of Madness boils down to is that the minute I sat down I was having fun and I didn't want it to be over. I'll definitely be seeing this again, probably in IMAX, ScreenX...maybe not 4DX, because that might just violent shaking nonstop. But I do want to get on this rollercoaster again.

MCU Ranking
1. Black Panther
2. Captain America: Civil War
3. Thor
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Avengers: Infinity War
7. Doctor Strange
8. Iron Man
9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
10. Spider-Man: No Way Home
11. Black Widow
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
13. Captain America: The First Avenger
14. Avengers: Endgame
15. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
16. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
17. Thor: The Dark World
18. Iron Man Three
19. The Avengers
20. Guardians of the Galaxy
21. Spider-Man: Homecoming
22. Captain Marvel
23. Ant-Man
24. Spider-Man: Far from Home
25. Ant-Man and the Wasp
26. Eternals
27. Thor: Ragnarok
28. Iron Man 2

[Mod City]

Saw it today. Loved it. I must elaborate but my laptop keyboard malfunctions so bad I refuse to type much on it. Gonna have to put it together on the work laptop when I get a chance

Awesome rundown as usual, Torgo. I'll circle back.

[Mod City]

I’m going to squeeze just a little bit about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness while I’m thinking about it. Thanks work laptop!

I really, really loved the first Doctor Strange. A lot of that is because I’d never expected I’d actually see a Doctor Strange movie in the modern era. I wasn’t aware of the television movie with Peter Hooten until after the MCU film was announced, and that’s probably a good thing. Haven’t seen that one yet but I do have a morbid curiosity. It was also the first movie that really, for the first time in 20 plus years, got me into going back to the movie theater. Since then I’ve made it to most of the releases in theaters, and it’s been fun.

I like Sam Raimi, even though I wasn’t gaga over the Evil Dead films. They were cool enough, but I wasn’t a fanatic or anything. I did really like Darkman when that came out, and of the modern stuff that I can recall seeing (besides the Spider-Man franchise) I thought The Quick and the Dead was fantastic. I didn’t like seeing Scott Derrickson leave the production, but I did like the idea of Raimi coming in to cover it - I loved the first two SM movies like everyone else. He has as much style as Tarantino, just different.

This film, at the very least, looked great. I’m going to a Century theater about an hour from home after the AMC plex about 40 minutes from home closed down. I’m glad I made the switch. The AMC theater screens were horrendously dark, something I later learned theaters sometimes do to save electricity costs. No such problem with Century. And really, matinee prices are great, I think I paid maybe $6? I mean, wow.

The story is, as I expected, anyway, a bit of a mess. There’s a lot to get in here, and as much as I agree with Torgo that I think Marvel does try to let directors do what they do, their very structure insists that some of the story is going to be decided before anyone puts the first word down on a new script. And that’s fine, so far they’ve managed to make it work pretty well. But it’s also the same thing that would happen in the comics after a while. Eventually, the whole thing gets reset, and that’s annoying.


Raimi and crew handle it all pretty well. Olsen in particular is wonderful. She’s been so good in the MCU, even back when the best work she could hope to do with her part was to look cool gesturing while using her powers - and even that was fantastic. For someone who’s said she doesn’t really have an emotional connection to her work with Marvel, her work doesn’t show it. She’s a real pro.

Everyone else is good, too. Was glad to see Dr. West return, and McAdams is wonderful and lovely, and had a bigger role than I expected, which was great. Cumberbatch had a lot going on this flick too, obviously, but he juggled it well. I’m glad he’s the one with the Strange reigns, he’s also been good since the start.

I’ve tried to introduce a good friend to the MCU. He wasn’t wild about Iron Man, but when I showed him the first Doctor Strange on a whim, he loved it. It would be nice to share this one with him, too, but jeez, there’s no way you get the proper enjoyment out of it unless you’ve seen Strange’s appearances in a half-dozen movies without his name in the title, let alone WandaVision.

Coming back to Olsen really quick - she is a fantastic villain, really. Few characters have suffered even close to what Wanda has in the MCU, and you actually feel her motivation. With such strong motherhood themes going on in this movie, it’s interesting I happened to see it on Mothers Day. My mom has been gone since 2007, and when me and my brother were little she was always the one to take us to the movies on a Sunday afternoon. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back, E.T., Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Of course the theater has reserved seating, and I had my spot in the middle of my row. My row was filled completely except for a seat on either side of me (I was the first ticket purchased in that row). Room for mom. I didn’t really think about it much until I got home, but that was a nice coincidence that made the experience even nicer.

Thanks mom. Miss you.



So happy Mothers Day to everyone out there

I’m down for the next round of Doctor Strange, and Wanda too! MCU for life.

[Torgo]

It's that time again. Time to check in with our favorite MCU characters. And Thor too, I guess. But mostly it's a reminder that I need to watch MoonKnight and Ms. Marvel. I started MoonKnight months ago, but then I got sick and I just kinda trailed off and watched Strange New Worlds instead. And I refuse to watch Ms. Marvel until I finish MoonKnight, so it's a slippery slope.

Thor is back, son! And for those of you who loved Ragnarok it's just as Taika Watiti as last time! I did not love Ragnarok though. I thought it was visually striking, but narrative chaos that was never the sum of its parts. I wonder if most of that film's disjointed script came from Marvel already having a story set for the film being disrupted by Taika Watiti wanting to tell an entirely different story resulting in a whirlwind of color and noise. In the back of my head I wanted to see what Watiti would do with a film he had mapped out from the beginning before I were to be too harsh of a judge on him. After all, he directed JoJo Rabbit, which was one of the best movies of 2019.

I had a better time with Thor: Love and Thunder than I did with Thor: Ragnarok, which I largely attribute to it having a more solidified story. That being said, I'm not surprised the reception to the film is muted in comparison to Ragnarok. It's less ostentatiously unexpected, so the surprise of a Taika Watiti Thor movie is no longer there. It's also a more relaxed film with a casual pace, rather than breakneck urgency. It's also very clumsy. But at least it's not careless, which was what really got to me about Ragnarok.

So yeah, Jane Foster is back and now she's the Mighty Thor. How is she wielding Mjolnir after it was broken into tiny pieces? She just is. The narrative doesn't really care about why, though it's alluded it's based in a promise Thor made on his hammer to protect her. After years of speculation, it can be laid to rest that Jane's cancer storyline is intact in the film, and she seeks out Mjolnir in New Asgard because it begins calling to her. Mjolnir bestows the power of Thor upon Jane and now she is a new God of Thunder for New Asgard. Meanwhile OG Thor gets back into shape as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy but decides to part ways with them as he receives a distress call from Sif, who warns him of Gorr the God Butcher, who has kidnapped the Asgardian children to lure Thor out into the open. Thor, Mighty Thor, and King Valkyrie seek out help from other gods to save the children and all of gods.

Thor: Love and Thunder is almost stylized as a coming of age film, as it is mostly about him finding himself and what kind of man he needs to be. The conclusion to this is a bit of a mixed bag, because while finds a direction, it doesn't quite feel like the direction. And like just about all coming of age films, the journey also involves the awkwardness of finding a connection with someone, which is where Jane comes into play. Jane unfortunately doesn't have much of a storyline by comparison. She's dying and she likes the hammer because it makes her feel like she's not. That's it. It's hard to not feel bad for Natalie Portman in these movies, because she was regulated to generic love interest for two films and in this one she gets to play the hero, but she isn't really given much to do except have Thor faun over her. But she does look good swinging that hammer, so there's that.

I liked Christian Bale as Gorr. He's can get a bit one-note, I think the prologue that gives him backstory is really good and makes him one of the more memorable Thor villains. Russell Crowe has a memorable role as the Greek god Zeus, though one could argue his sequence is a bit too long and slows down the film. That's one of the things about this movie is that it can get a bit ponderous as it wants the audience to soak in its setpieces, but it offsets the pacing in doing so. There is a cool bit where the Thors and Valkyrie enter the Shadow Realm and everything turns to black and white except the glow of their weapons, which reflect color off of what meets the light. It's a cook sequence, but it feels too long.

And of course, you have to expect Taika Watiti brand humor. If you've seen any of his films, let alone Ragnarok, you already know what to expect. When it hits, it's a big laugh. When it's bad, you'll cringe so hard it hurts. But if you thought Ragnarok was a laugh riot, you'll likely do well here.

Love and Thunder is almost an accidental allegory for love itself in a way it surely didn't intend. It's frustrating and messy and it makes you want to scream (and there are times where it's screaming at you...quite literally). But what keeps you going is concentrating on the best of it and wonderful it works when it does. Sure, this movie doesn't clean up after itself, but the sex is great.

MCU Ranking
1. Black Panther
2. Captain America: Civil War
3. Thor
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. Avengers: Infinity War
7. Doctor Strange
8. Iron Man
9. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
10. Spider-Man: No Way Home
11. Black Widow
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron
13. Captain America: The First Avenger
14. Avengers: Endgame
15. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
16. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
17. Thor: The Dark World
18. Iron Man Three
19. The Avengers
20. Guardians of the Galaxy
21. Spider-Man: Homecoming
22. Captain Marvel
23. Ant-Man
24. Thor: Love and Thunder
25. Spider-Man: Far from Home
26. Ant-Man and the Wasp
27. Eternals
28. Thor: Ragnarok
29. Iron Man 2

[Mighty Jack]

Looks like another bloated Marvel movie, another bloated Watiti Thor movie, where you have too many storylines crashing against one another, and you do justice to neither of them (and really F-up Hela)

Here you combine the Jane Foster tale and the God Butcher story... which is one of the greatest Thor stories very told in comics. Jane wasn't even in that one, so you're trying to merge two epic, important stories into one, why? Plus, the humor, Jesus the previews piss me off. Gorr's tale was brutal, heart wrenching, somber - and Janes story too is about someone with

SPOILER: Click to show

cancer

, again, not a freaking comedy.

I know I sound like a comic book geek, and yes, I know, books are books and movie are movie, and I have to watch it before judging, but I'm already unhappy with what I've seen and heard of it, so far.

[Torgo]

Snyder Cut Shenanigans:

www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/justice-league-the-snyder-cut-bots-fans-1384231/

[Torgo]

SDCC MCU News:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever closes Phase 4. Not covered by the timelines they used at the con is the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which I believe is still coming in December.

Phase 5 slate announced in full:

Feature Films
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3
The Marvels
Blade
Captain America: New World Order
Thunderbolts

Disney+ Shows
Secret Invasion
Echo
Loki (Season 2)
Ironheart
Agatha: Coven of Chaos
Daredevil: Born Again

(Not covered: Werewolf By Night, which is going to be next year's Halloween special)

They also touched upon Phase 6, but only announced three films. The first was Fantastic Four, which they gave a November 2024 release date. They also announced that Phase 6 will close out with two Avengers movies in 2025, released six months apart: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars.

Phase 4 through 6 is now being dubbed The Multivese Saga.

Stuff we know is in the works that hasn't been announced:

Deadpool 3 (Shawn Levi was hired to direct recently)
Shang-Chi 2 (probably still in planning stages, but I believe the director of the first is on board)
X-Men (announcement was heavily rumored, especially after Ms. Marvel's mutant reveal, but not a peep)
Armor Wars (could be cancelled, but who knows)
Spider-Man 4 (depends on Sony and Disney working out another contract, but another Holland Spider-Man seems likely even if it's only Sony producing it)
There are also potential second seasons to Hawkeye, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk, but we never hear anything concrete other than they're interested in potentially doing them. They also mention Daredevil will be an ongoing series.

Not Rumored, but likely eyed:
Thor 5
Doctor Strange 3

Not Rumored, but likely on the fence:
Eternals 2

[Torgo]

Interesting Avengers update: Avengers:
The Kang Dynasty just hired a director, Shang-Chi's Destin Daniel Cretton.

We did know that they weren't bringing back the Russos, despite all reports saying they had a solid working relationship with Marvel. Joss Whedon was also likely not coming back after the Justice League fallout. Cretton seems like an excellent choice, but my one issue with this is that I was kinda hoping one of the unannounced Phase 6 films was Shang-Chi 2, so it looks like we're waiting a while on that. Shang-Chi will likely be an Avenger anyway, so it's not that big of a deal.

(Also I was fantasizing about them handing the Avengers keys to Sam Raimi, but I won't take this W away from Cretton to whine about that)

Apparently he has only signed on for Kang Dynasty, while Secret Wars is still without a director. Since the two films are released six months apart, one would think they'd have a single production schedule. But maybe this is a new line of thinking, having the Secret Wars pre-production taking place while Kang Dynasty is in production and then have the cast switch just as they wrap while Cretton finishes his film. Just a thought.

www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1232345-avengers-the-kang-dynasty-director

[Torgo]

CAPTAIN AMERICA FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-