WandaVision: First Impression Review
WandaVision’s first two episodes were quirky and funny. They had the old-school sense of humor that you would expect from a Bewitched and I Love Lucy.
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Who is Moon Knight?
Now that Oscar Issac has been cast as the mysterious new superhero, Moon Knight. It’s time to dive in and find out who Moon Knight is as a character and how he could fit into the MCU as Disney ramps up for a new series on the Disney Plus streaming service.
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3 things I noticed after watching Aladdin (2019) the second time
During this quarantine period, I’ve been rewatching a lot of my old favorites on Disney Plus. I came across Aladdin, the live-action version, several times and skipped over it because I’d been there done that, wrote a whole post regarding the downfalls of remade and revamped movies because of it.
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Outriders release date, Division 2 expansion, Anthem reboot, e3 news + Disney Movies
Headlines for February 10, 2020 to February 15, 2020.
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Studio Ghibli on Netflix, Activision Blizzard with Youtube Gaming + Changes to the Arrowverse
Headlines for the week of 1/20/2020 to 1/25/2020.
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What is satisfying about The Mandalorian? | Season 1 Review
After finishing up the first season of the Mandalorian on Disney Plus this week, I was thoroughly satisfied with how this new character opened up the Star Wars franchise to new adventures.
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Favorite Opinion Posts of 2019
There are a lot of reviews available on this blog site, but there a few opinions that I will argue with anyone about. I’ve listed them below.
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The Mandalorian (2019) based on two epsiodes
The first series released on the Disney+ stream, The Mandalorian, proved to be a treat for Star Wars fans. Before I was able to see the first episode for myself, I heard a lot of good things about the shows practical and visual effects.
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Opinion: What removing Spider-Man from the MCU means for everyone
This week news broke that Sony and Kevin Fiege, the producer behind the MCU as we know it, could not come to a mutual agreement regarding the direction for Spider-Man. As a result, the parties split and Sony resumed full rights of the property.
That’s your headline, Sony is now fully responsible for the next Spidey movie.
Let that sink in.
I recently wrote a post that included praising Sony and Marvel Studios for recreating Spider-Man during a time where reboots and remakes are ofter underwhelming and oversaturated. You can click here for that post. But now, I wonder if this split will remove some or all of that magic.
All of the moments in the MCU, the character building, the crossovers, and the potential are all wiped away.
In a statement released by Sony, Polygon reported that the reason for the split between Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures was due to Disney giving Kevin Fiege more responsibilities that don’t allow him to produce another Spider-Man film.
Much of today’s news about Spider-Man has mischaracterized recent discussions about Kevin Feige’s involvement in the franchise. We are disappointed, but respect Disney’s decision not to have him continue as a lead producer of our next live action Spider-Man film. We hope this might change in the future, but understand that the many new responsibilities that Disney has given him — including all their newly added Marvel properties — do not allow time for him to work on IP they do not own. Kevin is terrific and we are grateful for his help and guidance and appreciate the path he has helped put us on, which we will continue. “
Sony has created the Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield iterations of Spider-Man and they gave up without fully finishing the arcs. Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man gave a fresh, youthful take of the character. It allowed a new generation to get to know him through beloved characters in the MCU like Happy, Captain America, and most of all Tony Stark.
By removing Peter Parker from the components that built him up in the MCU, he’ll rapidly lose his appeal and his universe will have plot holes as well. Especially since Spider-Man: Far From Home was all about Peter Parker accepting Tony Starks legacy.
Sure stand-alone Spider-Man films exist but integrating Peter into the MCU made the property significantly better.
The removal of Peter Parker also harms the MCU. I’ve talked to a lot of my friends since the news broke and we all agree that MCU phase four just got a lot less interesting.
A lot of phase four seems to be geared to space adventures. Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man are the only earthlings left. Everyone else will most likely have space odyssey themes.
Where is the human element going to live?
No offense to Star-Lord, but he lives in space and has spaceman problems.
Lastly, the separation of Spider-Man from the MCU makes Sony look like a total heel. That’s wrestling speak for a bad guy. Why would you ruin such a great piece of entertainment for the fans?
To quote one of my great friends, “the MCU Spider-Man was the only one to break bank”. It is the most successful Spider-Man ever, partially because of the storyline but also because of Tom Holland. People love the innocence and naivety of his version of Peter Parker. That’s what made his addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe so special.
My advice is for Sony and Disney to hash out their problems at a work retreat so they can stop letting business get in the way of something great and entertaining for the fans. Check the twitter hashtag for Sony and you’ll see all of the fans that have been left with a sour taste in their mouths about this corporate decision. What’s best for business isn’t always what’s best for business.
And even with Jon Watts returning to direct the next two Spider-Man films, without the possibility of crossing over with his fellow superheroes, some of what made this version of Spider-Man so special may be gone for good.
A mixed opinion about The Lion King 2019 (review)
Picture it! It’s 1994 and your mom buys you The Lion King. A coming of age story about a young overzealous cub ready to inherit the Pride Kingdom from his father. His inability to be patient and assess situations causes him to get into some sticky situations that his father has to get him out of. His naivety ends up causing the death of his father at the hands of his jealous uncle. And, after years of self-reflection, and a little help from love, he returns to his pride to release them from poverty and begin a new.
That’s the story of The Lion King from 1994 and the “live-action” remake of 2019.
The animated film was amazing all those years ago and still is. Because of that my first instinct was to avoid seeing the remake at all costs.
Why reinvent the wheel, when all you have to do is buy a tire?
At least that was my opinion until I watched the film. The younger generation needed to see this story. The updated rendition carried the same charm and heartbreak with a few sprinkles of originality.
Some things threw me off. Like the clear inflection of the vocal actors, but the lack of expressions on the lion’s faces. But, because this isn’t an animated film per-say, I understand the challenge to add expression. I did appreciate the actors paying homage to the classic, yet adding their personality to the characters as well.
The CGI was great, the soundtrack remains amazing, and the cast did a great job. The tension between Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor)and Mufasa (James Earl Jones) will always be tragic. The ‘Can you feel the love tonight’ duet between Nala (Beyonce) and Simba (Donald Glover) was beautiful. And I can’t forget to mention the hyenas, played by Florence Kasuma, Keegan-Michael Key, and Eric Andre. They were really funny as well.
Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner as Timon and Pumbaa were a highlight of comedy. They started singing ‘Be Our Guest’ from Beauty and the Beast during the bait scene. It caught me off guard with delight.
The Lion King is an epic story and now it can live on for generations to come.
Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (trailer)
October 18th release
Toy Story 4 (trailer review)
For nostalgic purposes only I watched the new Toy Story 4 trailer and I was not disappointed. I’m kind of excited to see legendary characters from my childhood and meet some new ones.
Several moments stood out to me in this trailer. First, the energetic Duke Caboom! He is probably going to be the cheesiest character giving us Elvis, Johnny Bravo, and Evel Knievel all wrapped up in one. Plus, I am already on a Keanu Reeves high from John Wick Chapter 3 – Parabellum so that’s another reason.
Second, Woody is really standing out differently this time around. Instead of being a little jealous and considered Forky, he’s looking out for his new child and trying to get her favorite toy back, even if it is a spork with googly eyes and chenille stems on it.
Lastly, how hilarious are the plus dolls? The scene where they are brainstorming with Buzz Light Year is bound to be one of the best ones in the movie.
See for yourself.
Star Wars Episode IX: Thoughts after panel
Prior to the Star Wars Episode IX Panel today we found out that the Star Wars Saga will take a hiatus. Walt Disney’s CEO Bob Iger spoke with Bloomberg about shifting his focus to the newly announced Disney Plus streaming service.
Iger also dropped the bomb that the Skywalker saga in these films will come to a conclusion by the end of Episode IX due out December 20, 2019. I’m actually okay with this hiatus.
After watching the celebration stream, I’m looking forward to seeing Episode IX. All of the cast that spoke at the panel held JJ Abrams in such high regard, and I think that will shine through in the movies. Plus it’s really exciting that Billie Dee Williams will reprise he role as Lando Calrissian and Ian McDiarmid will bring back unlimited power as Emperor Palpatine as well!
It was nice to have a resurgence of the Star Wars franchise and meet knew characters. As much as it may hurt to let the Skywalkers go, perhaps new stories along the lines of Rogue One are best for the future of the Star Wars Franchise. I’m not suggesting a load of prequels, but stories being told from other perspectives and brand new character introductions as leads without nostalgia characters to boost the story.
Even though I screamed very loud when I heard Emperor Palpatine laugh at the end of the trailer. I also gasped when Ian McDiarmid showed up on the stage after the initial tearser to say, “Play it again”.
I’m a fan.
Read my trailer review by clicking here.
Opinion: Who’s not invited to the X-Men Reboot with Disney and Marvel
I read an article on CBR.com. It just reported on an interview with James Marsden with ComicBook.com.
James Marsden played Cyclops from the first cinematic iteration of X-men in the early 2000’s with 20th Century Fox. In my opinion, it was a better time before this new class took over and the less than thrilling films came out. The new X-men films haven’t done justice to the franchise, if I’m being honest.
Besides Logan and Deadpool, those were works of art. Plus, they aren’t X-men films per-say even though they live in the same universe.
In the interview, Marsden basically said that he is open to reprising his role as Cyclops.
I’d like to see this.
The early 2000’s was a budding time for super hero movies. When you think of X-men, Spider-man, Fantastic Four, and even The Incredible Hulk, you can remember them fondly. They started a new action packed era of cinema.
Hopefully, now that Disney has required the rights to the X-men franchise, they will consider bringing back some of the X-men 2000 characters, especially the actors that really did a great job on their characters.
Maybe in a flashback or reprise… what do you think?
However, seeing the latest films leads me to believe one of two things. Either the actors don’t have a grasp on the character or they don’t have good direction to help them portray the character.
Because of that, I’m looking forward to a complete reboot of X-men in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). I’m sorry, but X-men: Apocolypse was not what I expected and a lot of the characters fell flat.
That’s what leads me to believe the actors need different direction. How was Sophia Turner able to be perfect in Game of Thrones? How was Jennifer Lawrence able to be inspiring in Hunger Games? How was Oscar Isaac so likeable in Star Wars: The Force Awakens?
I’ll leave that question to you.
James McAvoy as Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine were great. The other characters in the new class just left something to be desired.
No offense.
What are your thoughts? Would you like to see James Marsden, Hugh Jackman and other X-men from the early 2000’s reprise there roles?
Do you want to keep going with the current class?
Would you like a complete wiped slate?