The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revealed new characters to invest in (Review)
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was a great episodic experience.
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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.
Spider-Man: Far From Home was such a good movie! (review)
Spider-Man: Far From Home was seriously a great movie. It was on par with, if not better than, Spider-Man: Homecoming. I was engaged during the entire movie. From the student tribute to Iron Man, Captain America, and Black Widow, all the way to the post scene credits, this was an excellent ending to the past 10 years of awesome entertainment that the MCU has provided us.
Some spoilers ahead, no major ones
Peter Parker’s journey from the beginning of the film to the end of the film was very relatable. He mourned Tony Stark through the whole movie and used his school trip as a way to get his mind off things. Peter clearly wanted to regain some sense of normality in his life and dodge the responsibility that Tony bestowed upon him in death.
He tries to express his feelings to MJ, makes up an excuse to Nick Fury for not being able to help fight the elements, and even easily trusts the next father figure he’s introduced to in Quenton Beck.
Peter’s not thinking straight through most of the movie and that’s how he’s taken advantage of. Honestly, Mysterio teaches him a valuable lesson, even though it’s at the expense of a lot of things.
Speaking of Mysterio, Jake Gyllenhaal was excellent in this role! I’m familiar with the Mysterio character, so I already knew he wasn’t really a friend of the Avengers. However, I was almost fooled into thinking Quenton Beck actually wasn’t the con-artist we know him as in the comics and in the animated series.
Watching Quenton Beck turn into Mysterio and finding out his motive was such a good reveal. I never saw it coming. It was really well done. His entire build up was really well done. And the illusion sequences were the best part of the movie.
Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury was on point and the surprising reintroduction of J.K Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson was perfectly annoying. If you’ve played Spider-Man (the most recent video game release) you’ll appreciate that the news broadcasts of the Daily Bugle have been incorporated in Spider-Man: Far From Home as well.
Glad to see both J.Jonah Jameson and the Daily Bugle make their way into this iteration of Spider-Man.
Usually, I get a tad annoyed by adding love scenes into action movies. I don’t understand their purpose and sometimes I feel like they draw away from the important happenings going on. But, MJ and Peter were super cute and awkward. This version of Mary Jane is sarcastic and at least tries to hold her own during situations of trouble. So I liked it.
I want to spoil you! That’s how fun and good the movie was. But I won’t. That’s how good it was!
If you haven’t seen Spider-Man: Far From Home, you should definitely make time to. It’s refreshing and the post-credit scenes will make your jaw drop. I’m excited about the next phase of the MCU, even though we have to wait a few years for it to begin.
Review: Dark Phoenix
Most of the time when I am going to watch a movie or any other type of entertainment, I try not to spoiler myself. This time was different. The story in Dark Phoenix could be considered some type of reboot because in the 2006 movie X-men: The Last Stand we met the on-screen version of Dark Phoenix played by Famke Janssen.
To my surprise, the 2019 reboot of Dark Phoenix played nothing like the 2006 version. I am not sure if that is a good thing. I left the theater thinking, is that how they wanted to end this rendition of X-men?
Spoilers ahead
I won’t go into the movie scene by scene because if you’re curious you should go see this for yourself. However, the lasting impression of Dark Phoenix was less than stellar for me. I don’t know if the directors did this on purpose, but most of the action parts of the movie can be seen in the trailer.
The movie itself had a slow start and when things finally did pick up, Jean Grey was so over the top and confusing. After taking in the Phoenix during a rescue mission in space, Jean just wakes up and is so stimulated that she wants to drink and party.
Okay.
However, she ends up having a meltdown at the sight of fire. This causes her to send a shock wave out, almost kill everyone around her, and then pass out.
Fine.
I understand the Phoenix power is something she can’t control. Her senses are heightened and so are her emotions. However, that does not explain why she is running around for the rest of the first half of the movie like a teenager with an attitude problem.
Jean is extra for no reason the entire time she’s under the influence of Dark Phoenix. Not once did I think, Jean really has no control. It always seemed like Jean was just irritated with people trying to help her, so she would throw a fit.
Example A, she kills Raven or Mystique (whichever name you prefer) while they are having a perfectly normal, non-threatening conversation.
HUH?
Poor Raven. All she wanted to do was stop being in the X-men and live happily ever after with Beast.
Example B, she runs to Magneto’s compound where he is actually living happily ever after and brings the military to his doorstep. And while he’s trying to cover for her, she comes out and tries to kill everybody with a helicopter.
HUH?
Magneto was legitimately trying to save you. Why would you do that?
Perhaps I never truly bought into the split personality in this movie. As I mentioned before, Jean Grey didn’t seem like she was changing personalities. She just seemed annoyed by everything. It was like the Phoenix powers acted on her impulse.
As a result, I was not excited when she went into space at the end and sacrificed herself to rid the world of the dark power. In my head, I was thinking, “You’ve been rude this entire movie, and I’m supposed to feel happy that you changed your mind?”
No.
The most interesting part of the movie:
The most interesting part of the story, which did not get explored nearly enough, was the Beast having an issue with Xavier. Beast was mourning the death of Raven so he called Xavier out for not really caring about the gifted children and using them for self-gratification.
Before her run-in with Jean Grey, Raven also mentioned that Xavier was conceded and only using the X-men as a way to fit in with humans versus protecting the mutants. Raven planned on leaving the X-men but the whole Dark Phoenix thing happened.
After Raven’s funeral, Beast was upset that he didn’t let her leave when she mentioned it. He confronted Xavier about his use of the mutants. He said it’s not the world the gifted children need protection from, it’s Xavier.
That was actually the best part of the movie.
From what I gathered, Xavier is to blame for Jean Grey going off the rails because he didn’t pay enough attention to her while she was growing in power and angst. He was too busy trying to unite the world, which is why he couldn’t calm her down when she eventually went off the deep end.
Sidenote:
Can we talk about how Beast can transform
There was a scene with Magneto and Vuk where he pointed a gang of guns at her and started lighting her up. It was a short scene, but it was exciting and I liked it.
Jean Grey did have a scene before she went out to space where she blew up a few henchmen and they dusted away. That was cool too.
Overall, Dark Phoenix isn’t in the top 20 of the best comic book movies created for the cinema. Maybe this reboot was best left untouched. The X-men have plenty of stories to tell and perhaps in the future, we will get to see them adapted to the big screen.
Opinion: You’re not invited to the X-Men Reboot with Disney and Marvel
Avengers: Endgame | My experience in the theater
Watching Avengers: Endgame was a great experience. I completely understand why the Russo brothers didn’t want anyone to spoil the movie on social media. Still I ended up watching the movie a week after its release and I had to pretty much stay off of Instagram and Twitter to make sure I didn’t have things ruined for me.
One week later, the Avengers: Endgame has passed Titanic as the highest grossing film in history and it’s not hard to see why. The run time of this film is just over three hours and I never checked my watch.
I sat down in a full theater with my popcorn, nachos, and orange drink to watch Hawkeye and his daughter shoot bows at a bullseye and then the rollercoaster began.
I didn’t care to look at people in the seats around me because I was focused. But, it was clear that we all were ready to experience the end of the Avengers journey as we know it.
Everyone was on the edge of their seats. We all gasped when Captain Marvel randomly showed up to aide our favorite heroes. We laughed when the rat happened to be at the right place at the wrong time. We sobbed when Peppers told Tony to go on the mission that could change their very existence.
The room erupted with excitement during the quest for the infinity stones and growled with anger when Nebula couldn’t control herself. We cheered when Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America stood up to Thanos. And we cried when this epic ride concluded.
I don’t think I’ve experienced such an emotional rollercoaster since The Avengers: Infinity War. The best thing about going to see this film, was the fact that everyone in the room was on the journey together. We were all in sync and it made the time we spent together all the more treasured.
Despite knowing that there was no special scene after the credits, we still waited just in case. And when we heard the faint, “clink, clink, clink”, we identified it.
When I found out this would be the end of an era, I hoped for Endgame to be a love letter to the fans. I can definitely say it is.
It felt like a wink to the last 11 years of people dissecting every frame of every movie from Iron Man to Ant-Man. It felt like an acknowledgment to everyone who wanted to know what the heroes did once we weren’t looking. And it definitely was a huge thank you to actors who brought the life and personalities to these wonderful characters.
Best 3 moments in the Avengers: Endgame special look (trailer review)
The entire new trailer opens up the window to what could possibly be the first act of Avengers: Endgame. I assume it’s the first act because I refuse to believe the Russo brothers would waste all the hype of the last year just to put out a trailer. In all honestly, Marvel Studios didn’t even need to release anything else. I’m already invested.
But against my better judgement, I watched the new special look trailer for Avengers: Endgame. There were a few things that hit me my bucket of feelings and I’ve listed them below.
By the way, everything that I mention in this blog is based on the trailer linked below. So feel free to watch it first and then come back to my writing.
If you agree with me, please leave a comment below with the date April 26. Also, if you see something I didn’t catch comment that too!
1: Tony Stark looks at a picture of Peter Parker
At this point, I’ve already cried every time I’ve watched Avengers Infinity War and (spoiler alert) Spidey turns to dust in the arms of Stark. But showing Tony obviously still broken up about the events and the fate of his young protege made me let out a sad sigh.
2: War Machine stating the obvious
Bruce Banner, Thor and War Machine are having a conversation about what to do in response to the Thanos snap. Bruce Banner states the team is short handed and War Machine states the heartbreaking truth when he says all of their friends are dead. I immediately said, “Ouch”. That’s a hard hitting truth.
3: Iron Man vs. Captain America
I assumed from the first trailer that Tony Stark was going to make it back to earth. However, I could have done without seeing the full reconciliation of Captain America and Iron Man. That is a huge plot point isn’t it?
Maybe it’s just the tip of the iceberg so the Russo brothers decided, eh why not.
Either way, I’m pumped and there’s less than a month until the movie hits theaters!