shmitty

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 - (4.5 Living Planets) This one does a good job on the dysfunctional family trope. It’s a good idea for a sequel to focus on the relationships between the characters you care about rather than just increasing the spectacle. I liked Ego as the villain except that it kinda kept the film from exploring more of the cosmic universe. I am excited for more of surly teenage Groot. Wife says - It seemed a little long. The over the top violence set to music is all kinds of fun.

Doctor Strange - (3.5/5 Dimensions) Visually this one is fun and it does open up the mystical end of the MCU. But it doesn’t really bring much new the way that say Guardians did for the cosmic things. I think part of the trouble was that most of the MCU movies have a good crew around the lead, but this one was really focused on Strange. He wasn’t really compelling enough on his own and side characters weren’t really given enough space. Although I do like what they did with Mordo. I am looking forward to seeing Strange interact with the other heroes in Infinity War though. Wife says - The arrogant [Asshat] out of his comfort zone is always fun.

Captain America: Civil War - (5/5 Spideys) This movie was the payoff of a whole lotta buildup. It was handled really well, introduced new characters, and advanced the general story of the MCU. Zemo ended up being one of the best MCU villains, glad he’s still around. Also managed to setup the new Spider-man and Black Panther movies. Not as “fun” as most Marvel movies, but a really good show none the less. The big hero brawl at the airport was just pure fan service, comic porn. And I’m totally fine with that. Wife says - I don’t like seeing my favorite characters fighting each other. I did like Natasha’s costumes though.

Antman - (4/5 Mango Fruit Blasts) I like this movie. They made a good choice going with Scott as the hero over Pym. The setup was better and we really didn’t need another story of a scientist building a suit. The shrinking effects are a lot of fun and the fight on the Thomas train set is one of my favorites. Wife says - Michael Pena’s sidekick character makes the movie. “Baskin Robbins doesn’t play”

Avengers: Age of Ultron - (4/5 Maximoffs) This was a lot better than I remembered it being. The characters actions made more sense when watched more closely to their own movies. You could see why Tony made Ultron, etc. It still at times felt more like a string of stitched together moments than a cohesive story though. Wife says - Sad that Black Widow and Hulk didn’t get together.

Guardians of the Galaxy - (5/5 Dick messages) I really thought this was going to be awful when if first came out. Talk about Marvel scraping the bottom of the barrel. Uh, well I was wrong. GotG openend up new creative space for the MCU and showed that you could make an entertaining Space Opera with characters no one had ever heard of. One of the big premises involved using a former pro-wrestler as comic relief. Should have known from The Princess Bride that it would be comedy gold. Wife says - I am Groot

Captain America: The Winter Soldier - (5/5 Falcons) I love this movie and it really holds up to multiple viewings. As good as the first Cap was a capturing the era he was born in, this is just an amazing modern-era Cap story. Biggest surprise was that the directors, the Russo bros, had almost no movie experience before this Their primary work had been comedies like Community! (Which is a favorite of ours) Wife says - Really like it, one of my favorites. Fun to see Cap as a fugitive. “On your left”

I kept asking myself “what was the movie trying to be?” Phase 2+ in the MCU the movies usually had some archetype other than just super hero story. (IM3 = PTSD study, Winter Soldier = political thriller, Ant-Man = heist). Thor 2 doesn’t seem to do that except for maybe going for some of the Game of Thrones style gravity.... it doesn’t work. Anyways, I’m stuck home with the flu so there are more movies in the queue.

Thor: The Dark World - (2.5/5 Realms) Meh? It’s a fine movie I guess, but mostly completely forgettable. The Loki/Thor relationship is awesome as always, but really is just so much better than anything else going on. The main plot just sorta feels tacked on. Definite low point of the MCU. Wife says - it’s a bad sign when the costumes and scenery are the best part. Oh and Darcy, she still loves Darcy. Maybe directors from GoT aren’t the best choice for Marvel movies.

Iron Man 3 - (4/5 Trevors) The movie that kicked off phase 2 of the MCU. Really nice to move past origin stories for a bit. The PTSD/anxiety cost of being a hero seems to be the theme. It also sets up most of Stark’s motivations in the later movies he appears in. Good casting overall and it reminded me that I need to watch Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang again sometime Wife says - It’s nice that they don’t keep rehashing the same thing. I like that they kept putting him up against unique challenges. I know some didn’t care for it, but I can’t see how else they could have brought the Mandarin to the screen

Avengers - (5/5 Quinjets) This movie seemed impossible when it was first announced. But it worked. I’m hit and miss with Whedon as a director, but this was a good job by him of balancing fan service, banter, and big enough stakes to matter. The movie works largely as Loki makes a compelling enough villain to carry the show. Wife says - love the banter and how they paired up the different characters. Oh, and Ruffalo fits the MCU so much better as Banner than Norton

Also, watched on planes: Bladerunner 2040 - Lived up to the hype Cant wait to rewatch Justice League - it was almost fun.

Captain America: The First Avenger - (5/5 Rocketeers) After a brief trip out of the country it’s back to the MCU rewatch Still one of my favorite MCU movies. One of the biggest surprises was that they got him into the costume in a believable way. Wish there had been more time with the Howling Commandos. Evans just nails Cap as a character every time he’s on screen. It’s hard not to root for him. Wife says - I really like the characters. Wish the Agent Carter series had lasted longer.

Nah, arrangements have been made.

Finally have my shipping notifications. They will of course be arriving while I am out of the country.