2023 April
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuk77TjvfmE
Okay, I know the MCU films haven't been super good lately, but this trailer and the GOTG3 ones have been quite good, so I'm hoping for some good ones!
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First time rewatching this in a long while, mostly because I've been reading the old Thor comics and couldn't remember what the Warriors Three looked like in the MCU. Volstagg is nowhere near as voluminous as he was in the comics!
I think the film holds up reasonably well, though it's nowhere as good as say, Iron Man. Does a reasonable job of introducing the Asgard mythos and the Asgard set pieces still look pretty good.
2023 February
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Watched this yesterday. Spoiler-free review:
I enjoyed the film, but that might be because I'm a comics fan anyway and I don't care too much about CGI detail (a lot of people seem hung up on that). I liked the humor and the references, I liked the bad guy's costume design, was pleasantly surprised by some actors' being there and was honestly a bit giddy when a certain acronym was first mentioned.
That being said, I can understand all the complaints about the film. Character development is definitely not great and some of the returning cast don't have a lot to do. The ending is kind of a big missed opportunity and the first post-credits scene felt really silly. (Second post-credits scene will mean nothing to anyone who hasn't seen a particular TV series!) My brother (who I watched with) complained that the bad guy's background / origin story should have been more fleshed out. Apparently the writer for this film once wrote for Rick and Morty and that influence is certainly felt, which a lot of people might not enjoy.
I watched in IMAX and it was fine, though probably not necessary. Though I did enjoy seeing the Guardians 3 trailer in IMAX.
The plot felt very Star Wars. In fact, there's a specific scene in the third act that reminds me of a specific scene in the third act of Rise of Skywalker.
-0.5 stars for not having Luis, even as a cameo. My favorite performance here is by Michael Douglas, whose Hank Pym seems to be having the least stressful time in all 3 movies.
#mcu
2022 November
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Wakanda Forever is the final MCU phase 4 film I think? No spoiler-free reviews for this one. This post will have a lot of unmarked spoilers. The big question was how they were going to address Chadwick's passing. I thought the treatment was both very respectful and the worst they could do given the terrible circumstances. I mean, I was kind of worried they would have him cameo via CGI or such (like Tarkin or Leia in Star Wars), which would have felt cheap and disrespectful. Most of the movie was pretty good. Some great fight scenes especially early on
2022 October
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I recently published a long-ish blog plost about the Hulk and New Mutants comics. And also I haven't watched any new movies lately, so I took the opportunity to knock a couple of related items off my "poorly-reviewed comic book movies" list. Hulk (2003) I wonder [what] Ang Lee [was thinking when he made a] Hulk [film]. "Ah, yes. I, critically acclaimed serious director Ang Lee, have something to say about the Hulk." a friend Eric Bana and Ang Lee's Hulk film honestly wasn't even that bad, though there are certainly some poor choices made in the film. I think
2022 July
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Continuing the MCU phase 4 things. I don't have spoiler-free reviews for these ones. This post will have unmarked spoilers. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) I watched this with my brother last Monday right after my long trip. IDK if it was the trip exhaustion, but I wasn't super impressed. My brother felt it was better than Ragnarok, I think it was maybe a bit worse. The movie felt a lot goofier than Ragnarok, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was funnier. Most of Korg's narration jokes were so-so, and I'm not a fan of Thor himself being exceptionally goofy
2022 May
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I've been putting my media reviews in the weeknotes but I felt like these two reviews would be long enough to justify a separate post. I posted spoiler-free reviews the other day. This post will have unmarked spoilers. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (2022) (Click photos to view full-size) Watched this with some friends last Wednesday, only my 3rd film seen in the theaters since the pandemic, and the first time I went with friends outside of immediate family. I usually try to avoid watching all except the earliest trailers for MCU film to minimize spoilers, but after -
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness:
- fun, trippy and very "comic book" movie
- better if you have seen Wandavision
- don't bring kids, they might get scared
Moon Knight:
- some beautiful shots of varied locations
- great performances
- plot was ok, episode 5 was weird but probably the best one
- ending a bit weak
- probably enjoy it more if you're into the comics
2022 February
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After much delay, I was finally able to watch Spider-Man: No Way Home last weekend. The film came out last December so it's a 2021 movie, but only became available for showing locally in the first week of January in my country. Unfortunately, that's right when our omicron surge kicked in! I opted to wait and finally decided that this weekend was safe enough as the surge was in decline. The film was well-received and has earned a lot of money. However, I have mixed feelings. First, a spoiler-free review: it's the kind of adventure where things just keep escalating
2022 January
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I know the basic premise behind Moon Knight, but I haven't read a lot of comics about him and I have no idea who Ethan Hawke is playing here. Still looking forward to this! #mcu #trailers
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Finally got to watch Eternals since it was already got a streaming release. (Sadly still unable to go out and watch films in the theater.) This film had mixed reviews, and I can see why. For me, the main problem is that the film tries to do too many different things, and doesn't execute any of them particularly well. This is largely an offshoot of having such a large ensemble cast (there are TEN main characters!), each of whom are new to the MCU and thus are in need of backgrounds, personalities and character arcs. The problems are complicated by
2021 November
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Shang-Chi finally came out on BR/D+, so I got to watch it at last. Traditional spoiler-free review (despite not being able to watch day one in the cinema), then spoilery bits follow: Fun kung fu movie. The plot is a bit meh and there's some pacing issues in the middle, but the action is great. The fight scenes are pretty good, although this makes me sad for the lost potential of the Iron Fist Netflix series. Fight scenes felt kinda dragonball-y towards the end though. So many MCU cameos, fun for the MCU fan I found it hard to take
2021 July
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Warning: Spoilers for the just-ended season of Loki at the end of this. I have a spoiler-free review of that if you'd like. The World Is Not Enough (1999) Bond film no. 19 and Brosnan's third. Pretty sure I saw this in the theaters when it came out, but for the life of me could not recall any of the plot details at all. Turns out it was because the plot was a bit unnecessarily convoluted. It's easy to tell straight away that Sophie Marceau is on the bad guy side, given her henchmen, so that was no surprise. Renard
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We finally return to the MCU films, a full two years after the last film was released! Breaking a decade-long tradition, I am unable to watch it in theaters this time (and probably won't get to watch any of the others this year in theaters either), but at least we are moving forward now, onto the next phase! Spoiler-free review first, then spoilery bits follow afterwards. incredibly good as an action movie, great fight sequences and set pieces and chases etc. Felt like I was watching something from Mission Impossible or James Bond fairly stand-alone, though some knowledge of what
2021 March
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#WandaVision spoiler-free review: Overall, I really liked it, and I think they did well with the one-episode-per-week format. The show certainly would not have been this hyped if it all came in one drop Really difficult to not spoil. If you have somehow avoid being spoiled by the internet until it all dropped, good for you! A very emotional story of Wanda dealing with the aftermath of Infinity War/Endgame good usage of the sitcom tropes fantastic performance by Elisabeth Olsen lots of fan service for comic book fans to dig into. Maybe too much even; don't overthink or overhype it
2019 July
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the best thing about the upcoming Eternals and Shang-chi movies is that I know next to nothing about these characters so I have no idea what to expect
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I know I already made a whole post about the MCU after Endgame came out, but after the MCU Phase 4 announcements this past weekend at SDCC I was a bit hyped. I thought it would be fun to look back at the past 10 years of MCU Phase 1-3 and see what I wrote about the movies. Iron Man (2008) Surprisingly, I had written nothing about watching this film at all, and I don't remember going to the cinema to watch it. The movie came out between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, so my hype was undeniably towards
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First, the spoiler-free review, then more spoilery stuff afterwards. I watched Far From Home while I was... far from home. great movie, lots of fun, and the stakes are a lot higher than the Vulture just stealing some tech off Tony Stark basically a story of Peter Parker the high school student trying to juggle his Spider-Man problems with his high school life, which was one of the best eras of comic book Spider-Man the movie gives us a look at what the world looks like post-Endgame and how weird it is for everyone if you've seen the trailers, you
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- I watched Far From Home while I was… far from home.- great movie, lots of fun, and the stakes are a lot higher than the Vulture just stealing some tech off Tony Stark- basically a story of Peter Parker the high school student trying to juggle his Spider-Man problems with his high school life, which was one of the best eras of comic book Spider-Man- the movie gives us a look at what the world looks like post-Endgame and how weird it is for everyone- if you’ve seen the trailers, you know who the “villain” is and you have