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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WandaVision Series Finale – Spoilers | Podcast Ep. 1
Please have a listen to our debut episode of Boldcanon the Podcast as we talk about the series finale of WandaVision on Disney Plus!
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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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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.
Opinion: Fantastic Four (2015) in retrospect is a sci-fi horror film
After watching Dark Phoenix, I was not blown away by the story and felt that certain story arcs should have been explored more to help with certain character development. I wrote a full review about it here.
I don’t feel like I was overly critical because I’m a glass half full kind of person. So even though I wasn’t blown away, I’d never say Dark Phoenix was bad. I just figured that the reboot may have been wrong for this point in time.
I mean this is an era of superhero movies that evoke tears! This is an era where people rewatch and rewatch until every easter egg and theory has been explored. Some times, the type of connection that fans have with a film could cause it to be re-released in theaters only one month and some days after the initial release.
Cough cough, Avengers: Endgame.
Dark Phoenix didn’t evoke that.
That being said I decided to go back in time to 2015. To a time when the world saw a reboot of another story about the Fantastic Four.
Previously, in the 2005 version, it was a story about 2 scientists, a researcher, an astronaut, and a pilot journeying into space to experiment with cosmic energy against the better judgment of certain party members. They get caught in a storm that turns them all into superheroes. Right away three out of the four participants use their powers for good, the fourth one eventually comes around and the Fantastic Four save the day while the fifth powerful being goes rogue.
The film was light-hearted enough. No real consequences that interrupted the flow of the world. Plus at the end of the day, the Fantastic Four stood victorious and all was well.
Cool.
Now that we’re up to speed, let’s look at the most recent reboot.
Reviews for Fantastic Four ( 2015) weren’t the best. In fact, if you google the film you’ll see mostly negative reviews. But I watched it for myself four years later and I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve been thinking about this all wrong.
This isn’t a whimsical story about superheroes. This is a sci-fi horror film!
Think about it.
Five teenagers who are under supervised with chips on their shoulders use their expertise in science to create a portal to an unknown planet. They have no respect for authority, barely get along with each other, and of course, there is a love triangle involved.
The lack of supervision gives them time to set up an exploration of the unknown planet and when they arrive there is an unknown entity waiting to pounce.
Student number one gets crushed by rocks, student number two is burned alive, and student number three is presumed dead after falling off a cliff into an acid lake.
While trying to bring their ship back,, student number four gets infected due toa blowback blast causing her to go into a coma. And student number five seemly gets away without an issue until he realizes that he is permantly deformed.
Student number five flees after the four surviving members of his group are captured by a private sector of the government. Pleagued by guilt due to the cost his friends have paid he leaves them to be experimented on by the government.
Eventually, the student who fell into the acid lake comes back when the adults, who weren’t paying attention in the first place, try to revisit the unknown planet. His skin is charred and he is unrecognizable. He’s seeking revenge. He’s being bent on death and destruction. He is no longer a human and now his only goal is to kill those who left him behind and destroy the earth by sucking it into a black hole.
See doesn’t that sound good?
Granted the end of the movie sees the four other teenage students band together to destroy the threat but, some horror films have happy endings too.
So next time Fantastic Four (2015) is on TV watch it with new eyes and tell me what you think.
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.
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?
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!
Avengers: Endgame | Is it April 26 yet?
If you weren’t pumped for the climax to the last 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) before, you should be now. Marvel Studios released new posters of the survivors and the fallen from Avengers: Infinity War.
I can’t lie, I cried a bit during the happening of the previous installation and I was in my feelings when I realized I had to wait a full year to find out it’s conclusion. I’m honestly not thinking past Endgame even though Spider-man: Far From Home comes out in July. I’m just not there yet.
Are you feeling as excited as I am to see the climactic ending? Maybe Endgame will act as a true beginning to the next saga. Perhaps it’ll be a love letter to the past decade while still putting over the next generation.
There will be a full review up on this blog when the time comes. Until then, feel free to keep dropping photos and trailers Marvel. I’m all for it!
Avengers: Endgame comes out April 26. There’s 1 month left. Take a look at this feature released by Marvel Studios on twitter (click the tweet below) and view these awesome posters to hold you over.
