Review: Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness

Finally I was able to watch Doctor Strange 2. Due to the pandemic I've been avoiding going to the movies, and sometimes waiting for stuff to come to streaming is... less than fun. Thankfully this was worth the wait. 

 Warning, this post contains spoilers. 

Okay, I'm not going to recap the movie. Either you've seen it, or you've read about it. 

What in the hell was Strange and/or Wong waiting for to go talk to Wanda. Dudes, powerful emotionally unstable witch, and you all just... ignore her? How'd that turn out? 

Raimi's style definitely shines through, especially with the more horrific bits. Probably one of the most visually frightening of the MCU movies, and certainly one with the most named character deaths... Including Strange... twice. 

I was sad at the lack of Loki/Sylvie.

At the end I find myself wondering how dead Wanda/The Scarlet Witch is. With the destruction of the necronomicron, I mean the Darkhold, maybe she can finally move forward? I kinda felt like a good chunk of WandaVision got kinda ignored. And sure, maybe the Darkhold was corrupting her, but... eh. I wanted more of the Other Other Other Stranges, and less of what they settled on for Wanda. 

Still glad I finally got to see it. I give it a 3.5/5. Would have been better to have taken more from What If... and treated Wanda with more understanding.

Iron Fist season 2

Iron Fist - Season 2

Sadly I finished watching this excellent season just as it was announced that Netflix was canceling it and Luke Cage, which kind of put a damper on getting my review written. And it’s a real shame, because this was such an improvement over the first season, especially for Danny, who, let’s be real here, was probably the single worst character to come out of Marvel’s netflix shows. I’m not even just talking main characters here. Danny was a train wreck of a character.

Spoilers below


One thing that the Netflix shows have done an excellent job of is character development. Everyone has a story arc, everyone grows and changes. Danny, after returning to NYC as the Iron Fist goes through a lot in season 1 and in the Defenders. And in season 2 we can see that it’s had an effect. He’s a bit more mature, but still struggling, and a bit afraid of his power controlling him. Like Luke Cage he’s struggling with the gangs, and you can see that he’s very clearly doing his best not to set himself up as the defacto kingpin.

However that hesitancy to use the Fist’s full power is one of Davos’ major issues with Danny. And when he steals the Fist from Danny, he starts using it indiscriminately. Davos is a remarkably sympathetic antagonist, far more in the mold of anti-hero rather than villain. He’s grieving the loss of everyone he’s ever loved, his home, and the feeling of betrayal by Danny. Honestly Davos mirrors Danny’s journey in a way that looking back should have been more obvious to me before sitting down to write this.

Colleen Wing’s journey this season begins with her having put up the sword, and trying to live a life of peace. Hard to do with the Immortal Iron Fist as her live in boyfriend, and she keeps getting dragged back in. There’s also a fun subplot with her family that helps push along the season to its conclusion.

The Meechums… Ho-boy… These two very damaged people both looking to reinvent themselves and going about it in conflicting ways.

Ward is doing all the things you’re supposed to do on the road to recovery, trying to deal with the myriad of issues he has in his life while also running Rand Corp. Except, of course, he’s fucking it up (in part by hooking up with his sponsor).He’s desperate to reconnect with his sister. He’s still incredibly selfish, which Joy is happy to point out, but he’s trying. He is, I think, the most sympathetic character of the series.

Joy, teaming up with Davos, is out to hurt Danny, and wants nothing to do with her brother. Some of the best scenes with her revolve around the dinner at Colleen’s apartment. It was so delightfully forced and awkward. More like a scene out of a comedy of manners than something out of a superhero tv show! It was so incredibly uncomfortable for all of the characters for all of their different reasons. By the end of the season the anger she’d been nursing and the danger she’d been courting have run their course. Where she’ll go from there will be interesting to see. Or it would have if the show hadn’t been canceled.

Joy hired Walker (aka Typhoid Mary) to help Davos steal the Fist. Played by Alice Eve (who I know as Dr. Carol Marcus from Star Trek Into Darkness) she does a fantastic job playing both Mary the sweet artist, and Walker the cold ex-special forces killer. Typhoid Mary is yet another character I’m unfamiliar with, but this version fits in really well with the rest of the street level characters.

Things get really interesting as the season progresses. Danny without his power, Colleen conflicted, Misty pushing Colleen to work with her, Joy getting what she’d planned, and it not working out like she thought… Then things get CRAZY, as Colleen gets the Fist, while Davos ALSO has the fist… and then that ending. Again, just like Luke Cage, the last few minutes of the season put it over the top.

It’s a crime that we doesn’t get to see Danny and Ward out on their quest, see Colleen and Misty cleaning up the streets…

Luke Cage: Season 2 Review

Over July 4th & 5th I watched Luke Cage Season 2. It was really good. You remember in my Jessica Jones post I asked when is season 2 ever better than season 1? Well, this might have been the season.

Spoilers Below!




I found this a much tighter and better plotted season than the first, avoiding the mid season change in badguy. And Mariah makes for a fantastic villain. Not only because she’s such a complex character, but because everything she does, she does for both a love of Harlem, and to legitimize her family name.

Shades was a surprising character for me this season. I remember not really liking him in the first season, and felt he was unnecessary overall, but in season 2? He was one of my favorites. Watching him and mariah interact, watching how he felt as she delved deeper and deeper into… insanity? She was certainly delusional by the end.

I appreciated how this season played with rules and rule breaking. Shades was, in spite of the awful things he did, a lawful character. Mariah had a strong shift toward chaos, and Shades couldn’t abide it. The two of them made a compelling pair.

Bushmaster was a less complex character, yet he still had an interesting story arc of his own. And I really appreciated that he wasn’t particularly interested in Luke Cage, but was completely focused on Mariah Dillard Stokes.

Misty Knight faced her own questioning of her place on the law vs chaos axis, along with dealing with the loss of her arm last season. She had help dealing with that from The Night Nurse Claire, as well as from Colleen and Danny.

And speaking of Danny Rand, he makes an appearance and is blessedly far less obnoxious. It might just be the fact that it’s only for one episode, or it might be that hanging out with the other Defenders (and getting made fun of by them) toned him down some.

The end of the season I think was the best ending of any of the Marvel TV shows to date.

Jessica Jones: Season 2 Review

Over the 4th of July, I powered through 11 episodes of Luke Cage, and then finished up the last 2 of the season the next day, and I finished up Jessica Jones back in June.

Today it about JJ, next week I'll write about LC.

Spoilers Below!



Season 2 of JJ wasn’t as tight as the first (when is it ever?) but was still a solid season. Jessica is a very messed up person for a variety of reasons, the least of which (or maybe just the most recent) is Killgrave’s influence. This season dives head first into the early headfucks that Jessica has to deal with in her life, from her biological family to the adoptive one. Then again, Killgrave isn’t entirely absent either.

The fact that her mother survived the car crash that killed her family, and is powered like her but a homicidal maniac, makes Jessica question her own killings. It comes so easily to her mother, and she shrugs off the guilt. The scientist who made them powered is now her mother's lover.

While all that is going on, Trish is having her own breakdown as she looks for ways to become powered herself. I've got to admit that her storyline was the weakest this season. It just wasn't interesting. Jeri Hogarth is terminally ill, and desperately looking for a cure. Malcolm meanwhile is growing in probably the most healthy way of anyone in the show.

Of the new characters introduced, the new super Oscar and his son are my favorites.

Overall, I enjoyed this season, though it didn’t grab my attention the same way the first season did. It was still better than season 2 of Daredevil.

Infinity War: Initial Reaction!

NO SPOILERS!

Saturday morning (the earliest tickets I could get) I went to my local Alamo and watched Avengers: Infinity War... and wow... that was BRUTAL.

I mean, you kind of expected it to be, but... wow. It went directions I did not expect, and my top 2 predictions, the things I was sure were going to happen, didn't.

And the 2 hour 40 minute runtime didn't feel like it while you're watching it, but after... you felt it after. It never really gave you time during the movie to process. There was too much going on, and when you started to get used to the type of action going on, they'd switch it up, but the near constant intensity of it... You walk out of the theater feeling like you came out of the bad end of a boxing match.

As far as my prediction goes about Infinity War being in the middling tier of movies... It's hard to say after the one viewing, but it's certainly not going to be a movie I revisit frequently. We'll see how I feel about it after it's paired up with Avengers: 4 Infinity War Part 2 May 3, 2019...

Countdown to Infinity War: Final Thoughts

Well, I did it… I rewatched all the MCU movies in anticipation of Infinity War! And uh… I’m glad I’m done*, and that I don’t have to think** about another*** superhero movie for a while****.

Overall it’s been an enjoyable trip through the MCU. The movies hold up remarkably well both individually and as a continuing arc of storylines, and from Best (Iron Man? Winter Soldier? Black Panther?) to Worst (probably Hulk), they’re all still fun movies.

While I hate to pick a favorite, the movie I’ve enjoyed the most has to be Guardians of the Galaxy. It isn’t the best, but it’s the one I like the most, and the one I’m most likely to just randomly put on.

And because no wrap up would be complete without it, I’m going to rank them. Well, categorize them, since actually ranking them is a little too arbitrary. They are listed by release order within each category.


Best MCU
Iron Man
Captain America
Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Ant Man
Black Panther


Middling MCU
Thor
Avengers
Iron Man 3
Age of Ultron
Civil War
Doctor Strange
Guardians vol. 2
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Thor 3 (this may move up in the rankings...)


Dust Collectors
Hulk
Iron Man 2
Thor 2

I expect that Infinity War will likely fall into the Middling category... and with this, I'm off tomorrow to the movies for a noon showing! Wish I'd gotten an earlier ticket...


*Except for Infinity War itself….
**Not counting Deadpool 2 in June…
***Or Ant-Man and Wasp in July…
****But aside from those 3 upcoming movies in the next 3 months, I don’t have to think about comic book movies at all now that I’ve finished my rewatch!

Countdown to Infinity War: Black Panther

So because I got a free movie ticket for my birthday, I went and caught Black Panther again in the theater Sunday morning, since it doesn't come out on DVD till after Infinity War comes out. Amazingly, the theater, even at 9:45am on a Sunday was still around 1/3 full. Granted, it's a smaller theater overall, but I was still surprised. On top of that, the 2 and 6 showings were sold out. Guess I wasn't the only one trying to get my Countdown done...

Now, it's been only 2 months since I last watched it (and reviewed it here) and I'm not sure I have a whole lot else to say about it.

I do want to talk about seeing the movie though. This time, in a half empty theater, was a radically different experience than my first viewing in a fully packed theater. For one thing there was significantly less talking, laughing, and audible reacting to the movie. I'm usually one who enjoys seeing a movie without the peanut gallery making it hard to focus on what's going on on the screen. But it felt so right the first time I saw BP that the lack of it this time felt... wrong.

Aside from that, I still loved the movie, and can't wait to see it again when it finally comes out on DVD.

Next Up: Avengers: Infinity War!

Countdown to Infinity War: Thor Ragnarok

If there's one thing I want out of a movie from the MCU, it's fun. I want to enjoy myself. I want someone to root for, someone to root against, I want to laugh and to gasp. I want to see something in each film that I haven't seen before. Thor Ragnarok delivers this in a technicolor spectacular, which I wrote about before, not so long ago.




I mean, look at this poster! Those colors!!

But beyond that, there's 2 interesting stories going on here. Hela is taking over Asgard, in anticipation of a war of terror across the realms. She easily destroys Thor's hammer (once her own), kicks Loki's ass, and knocks both her brothers off the rainbow bridge onto a literal cosmic trash heap. Then she slaughters the Asgardian army, kills Thor's supporting cast with barely a backward glance, and spars with Idris Elba until the climactic fight at the end.

Meanwhile there's the buddy movie with Thor, Loki, Hulk, and Valkyrie playing around on Sakaar. I love all of the interactions, especially the growth in the relationship between Thor and Loki. Looking forward though... What's going to happen when Thanos shows up? Will Loki try to betray Thor again, or will the fact that he failed Thanos once already forstall that? We'll find out soon...

Then, when it all comes together, we have Thor deciding to end it all... and Asgard is destroyed in fire... and then there's Thanos.

Next up: Black Panther! 

Countdown to Infinity War: Spider-Man Homecoming

I liked Toby McGuire as Spider-Man. I thought he did a good job, and at a time when superhero movies weren't anything to write home about. Actually it wasn't even that the superhero movies were bad, it's that there weren't any. In 2002 the other superhero movie that came out was Blade 2. The excellent X-Men movie was 2 years before... and aside from that, the abomination that was Batman and Robin was back in '97. Looking forward, there's the Aflac Daredevil... clearly not the golden age of superhero movies.

And then a decade later Andrew Garfield slipped on the PJs. And that was... well, repetitive, and not as good.



And when it was announced that Sony and Disney had made a deal for a new Spider-Man? And that we'd be shown Uncle Ben, and "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility" yet again... I winced. I felt my faith in the MCU being tested again. We got an initial tease with Civil War... and... it was good! A wise-cracking kid trying to do the right thing, not actually wanting to hurt anyone. And yet... for the first time... I didn't see Homecoming in the theater. I didn't need to see Peter get bitten by the spider, I didn't need his origin story AGAIN.

Things we never need to see redone in a movie ever again:
Bruce Wayne watching her parents get shot
Baby superman landing in Kansas
Uncle Ben getting shot/Peter getting bitten by a spider

sigh

The shame will stay with me forever.

Because Homecoming was a blast. Once again Marvel took something that could have been awful and turned it into something great. Peter Parker is an honest to god KID, in high school, and it isn't a damned origin story!

What we got is a young Peter, being mentored (remotely) by Tony Stark, testing limits, wanting to do good, to join the Avengers, while Tony wants this 15 year old kid to just... be a friendly neighborhood Spider-man. And like any teen, Peter pushing things too far, and gets caught up in something bigger than he's really ready to handle.

He makes mistakes. He goofs up. He talks too much. He's a little insecure. He has fun with his abilities. Basically, he's everything a young Peter Parker should be.

And let's talk about Vulture. If ever there was a relatable everyman villain for Spider-Man to confront, this is the guy. A different take from the comic books, but one that fits in really well with the MCU. He's utterly believable, and you even want to root for him. Plus, there's the whole Michael Keaton is also Batman and Birdman.

Post Credit Scenes: Cap's PSAs are WONDERFUL!!! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!! Aunt May (Yowza!!) catching Peter in his suit? "What the f-" was great...

Next Up: Thor Ragnarok!

Countdown to Infinity War: Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2

I haven’t watched this installment of GotG nearly as often as I’ve seen the original… In fact I think this was only my 3rd viewing of it. My thoughts haven’t significantly changed much from my first review. The Guardians have clearly been working pretty well together, taking on a variety of jobs, but the togetherness is starting to rub everyone the wrong way. 

One thing I didn’t really touch on in my last review was the Ravagers. These freedom loving pirates get a lot more fleshed out here, and we get to see how they’re loosely organized under a code… a code that Yondo broke, and the consequences he’s faced because of it. And when Yondo lets his guilt over that, and his love for Peter get in the way of his crew and their making a profit... well, he pays an even bigger price. Kraglin, who loves his captain, and wants nothing more than to support him, finds himself pushed too far, and that is enough for the rest of the crew to mutiny. Sadly for Kraglin this ends up causing the death of his friends, as the mutinying crew quickly purges itself of those most loyal to Yondu.

This viewing I found myself really focusing on the action around the main crew. The Ravagers especially, but the Sovereign also. It's amusing to think that a species so hyper engineered ends up acting like a bunch of high school assholes.

Post Credit Scenes - There's a bunch. First, you have Kraglin practicing with the arrow, and accidentally hitting Drax. Then you get the Ravager tribes coming together. I'd love to see a spinoff series or movie about that... teenage Groot in his moody angst-ridden stage, and then Ayesha of the Sovereign having created Adam... Hints at Vol 3? Finally, the Watchers abandoning Stan Lee.

Next Up: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Countdown to Infinity War: Doctor Strange

This is the story of how Tony Stark, sorry, Doctor Stephen Strange, mechanical medical genius became Iron Man The Sorcerer Supreme.

It’s just so easy to get the two of them confused. Both are insanely intelligent, egotistical, self-centered assholes who think everyone is beneath them. Both are victims of their own arrogance. Neither ever actually reaches “humble” in spite of their setbacks.



Visually, this movie is a treat. From the cosmic colors to the kaleidoscoping landscapes to the rich textures of the fabrics used. There’s a lot to see, and every time I’ve watched it, I’ve appreciated the visuals more and more.

The storyline is… Okay. It didn’t really do anything new or exciting, and felt very much like what we’ve seen before. I wish it had pushed things further.

Kaecilius, the antagonist has a fairly clear motivation, if twisted. I kinda feel like this would have been a far more interesting conflict if the focus would have been better placed on the relationship between Kaecilius and Mordo, especially since Strange mostly was… just kind of there. Strange didn’t even want to be involved in the conflict, in protecting the world… He just wanted to heal his hands.

In that way, it kind of reminded me of Big Trouble in Little China. Jack Burton was clearly the bumbling sidekick of the movie, but as the camera was on him, it almost seems like he’s the hero. It’s the same with Strange… he’s just there, in the way, along for the ride, defending himself as needed, while Mordo fights to actually stop Kaecilius.

I did really enjoy a lot of the dialogue in the movie. When The Ancient One banishes Strange to the top of Everest, and Mordo says “Oh, no, not again.” Lines like that can tell you an awful lot about a character.

The back and forth between Kaecilius and Strange makes the movie, regardless of any other flaws.



End Credit Scene: Thor and Strange have a beer! Mordo decides there's too many sorcerers in the world... for... some reason... Not sure I follow that logic.

Next up: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Countdown to Infinity War: Captain America Civil War

At the end of Ant-Man, we got to see Cap and Falcon with Bucky trapped in a giant industrial vice... that scene doesn't show up until about an hour into this 2 and a half hour long movie.

Heroes fighting each other is as common in comic books as variant covers, and it's happened multiple times in the movies already. In the first Avengers movie when Cap, Thor, and Iron Man went at it over who got to deal with Loki? In Ant-Man, when he robbed the Avengers compound and had to fight Falcon? Here we have the Avengers dealing with the fallout of having vaporized an entire city. The UN have voted to... institutionalize the Avengers. Tony feels guilty, and wants to shift any future blame. Cap... can't do it.

And let's take a second to look at that... the maverick playboy billionare is all about joining the system, while the soldier isn't. It's an odd reversal when you think about it, and while it works for the story, and based on the events of all the previous films... but it's still... odd.

Complicating everything is Bucky, who's back as the Winter Soldier, and has killed the King of Wakanda. Cap of course wants to save him, while Tony, Black Panther, and the world at large want to see him either locked up or 6' under. On top of that, you've got Wanda feeling guilty for the people she's killed, Vision trying to figure out what exactly he is, what he's meant to be, and his developing feelings for Wanda, Black Widow is... well, honestly she's as inscrutable as usual, and playing both sides.

Bring in some side trips to loop in Spider-Man (and Aunt May), Ant-Man, and Agent 13 (Falcon and Bucky in the car looking on was my favorite part of the movie).

The big set piece conflict at the airport was really nicely done. Both because it was a well put together fight, but also because you could tell that no one really wanted to be fighting each other. Everyone was pulling their punches, at least a little. It wasn't a fight to put the other guy down for good. On top of that, there was never a point watching that fight that I didn't know who was who or what was going on. Too often movies make combat as noisy and chaotic as it really is, or even worse, just a visual and auditory cacophony (i.e. Transformers).

Overall this installment of The Avengers Captain America is beyond solid. It takes the characters seriously while allowing the humor and silliness of everything to keep it from being an unentertaining allegory of American intervention and it's consequences.

Oh, and the post credit scenes? More Spider-Man and Aunt May!

Next Up: Doctor Strange

Countdown to Infinity War: Ant-Man

So way back when I started this countdown, I talked about how different movies brought other genres into the traditional comic book action grouping?

This is the heist movie.



Let’s just ignore the training montage this time, shall we? I get that they need to learn their powers, but I really do prefer when we get to meet the heroes after they’ve at least started learning about their powers. I get that it’s a way to show the audience what they can do, but… Is it really necessary at this point?

I love… LOVE how Hank Pym hates the Stark family. And how Scott’s first thought at the dangers of what the Yellow-Jacket could do was to call in the Avengers. This is a film that knows it’s part of the greater MCU, but in some ways is a little closer to the street level heroics of Dare Devil or Jessica Jones than the literally out of this world adventures of Doctor Strange, Thor, or the Guardians of the Galaxy. And it’s perfectly okay with that, and embraces it totally, as seen by the big fight between Ant-Man and Yellow-Jacket on the train board.

And I want Luis to narrate everything from now on.

I’m really looking forward to seeing Ant-Man and Wasp. I get why, story-wise, it made sense to keep Hope out of the suit, but it did feel wrong.

Oh, and the post credit scene? Falcon and Cap have Bucky captured… So glad Civil war is next!

Countdown to Infinity War: Avengers Age of Ultron

As much as getting the Avengers together to showcase really big fun fight scenes is, and it is, what really works is the time spent between those explosions. And much like GotG v.2, the fault lines in their friendships are exposed, and then widened by the Scarlet Witch.

While you don’t have Loki kicking around giving sly smiles, you instead get James Spader hamming it up as Ultron, the evil robot created by Tony and Bruce as they tapped into Loki’s scepter. I really enjoyed him and Paul Bettany going back and forth.



But while Ultron was the bad guy in the movie, the conflict really stems from Tony Stark’s willingness to push buttons and just act without checking in with the rest of the team, while Steve has a moral streak a mile wide, and as the team leader expects to be checked in with before anyone does anything crazy… like let a homicidal AI loose on the world. Or abduct the homicidal AI’s next generation creation, and upload your personal AI assistant into it… Little things like that.

Fun twists and turns!
Natasha (aka Black Widow) has her turn with Bruce in this movie. It’s interesting how she, the consummate spy, morphs the most depending on who she’s with in any given movie, and while Banner might not trust himself with her, I’m not sure that of the two he’s trusting the right person. And I have to admit, I kind of hate that fact. It’s right for the character, but…

Hawkeye, though, he gets to pull the biggest shocker. He’s married… with kids! And brings the team to his farmhouse after they fumble in dealing with Ultron. Seeing the team deal with this surprise was a whole lot of fun. Thor pushing the broken Legos under the chair, Cap chopping wood (cause he needs to be useful), Tony fixing the tractor, and then Fury showing up to rally the troops.

And while Fury is the dad/coach figure of the movie, Hawkeye gets to be the older brother for the new members of the team… and point out the insanity of it all "The city is flying ... we're fighting an army of robots ... and I have a bow and arrow," he says. "None of this makes sense."

And for the end credit scene? Thanos, who we’ll be seeing more of soon…

Next Up: Ant-Man

Countdown to Infinity War: Guardians of the Galaxy

Hands down, this is one of my absolute favorite movies. No, not just MCU or even comic book movies, but out of all movies I’ve ever seen, this one is at the top of the list. It’s one of very few movies I’ve ever seen in the theater more than twice, and one I’ve watched… probably close to 20 times in the 4 years since it was released. Not only that, but it’s also one of the MCU movies my bride really loves too! (she thinks most of them are boring)



I was going to link to my original review, but it looks like… I didn’t write one. 2014 was a rough year, so that’s not entirely a surprise.

So, who is this group? A rag tag bunch of assholes. Seriously, these are not nice people. They’re not heroes. There’s the earthling pirate, the raccoon mercenary bounty hunter, his walking talking (sort of) tree bodyguard, the assassin, and the vengeful muscle.

On the flip side, they’ve managed to grab the attention of Ronan the Accuser, a religious fanatic who wants the infinity stone that Peter… sorry, Starlord stole. And while they’re all assholes, they aren’t 100% dicks, so, with the power of friendship, they decide to try to stop Ronan from killing everyone.

Things I love about this movie: It’s goofy, and doesn’t try to hide it. Peter Quill, the abducted human kid raised in space, allows us to see the vibrant wild universe with both a bit of wonder, and also some solid tongue in cheek snippy comments. It doesn’t take itself seriously, even when the situation is serious. It’s fun, and the visuals, dialogue, and music all combine to make it the joyride that it is.

Let’s talk about the music… this 70’s soundtrack is not exactly what I’d call “quality music”! Yet they’re all songs that got a LOT of radio play, and they managed to fit them into the movie in such a perfect way that I can’t imagine it with any other music. And I’ve probably listened to the soundtrack at least twice as many times as I’ve seen the movie.



Things I don’t like: Ronan the Accuser. Like Thanos, I find him childish and boring. But weak 2D villains has been an issue in the MCU, with a few exceptions.

Next Up: Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Punisher

I just finished watching the Netflix show The Punisher, and oh boy... It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that I'm a fan of the MCU, both on the big screen and on streaming. My love lessens as we get to TV bits of the MCU. With that in mind, when they announced a standalone Punisher show, I was intrigued. Everything else that Netflix has done has all been a part of the Defenders storyline, and this would be taking things off on its own direction.

And it did... and it did NOT pull any punches.



And there are LOTS of punches... as well as bullet wounds, stabbing, smashing, kneecapping, and sledge hammering, just to name a few. Plus blood by the bucket full.

All to tell a story of revenge, of... justice? Honestly, it's hard to say. After 13 brutal episodes that took me until this week to get though... It's not a show I'll be revisiting. I am glad that I finished it before Jessica Jones season 2 hit Netflix (today actually), if only by a couple of days.

However, as it is only tangentially related to anything else that's happening in the Netflix-MCU, unless you're a big fan of violence, I'd skip this one.

Countdown to Infinity War: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Programing Note: They've moved up the date of Infinity War by a week!!
Gonna have to squeeze in some extra viewing time!

---

This is one of the movies I've been really looking forward to watching since starting the Countdown. The Winter Soldier is not just a good Marvel movie, but it's a really good spy movie in the same vein as one of those Tom Clancy techo-thrillers, only with super-soldiers!



Seeing Captain Rodgers deal with the world he's in, trying to be a good soldier in an organization like SHIELD... it's not a natural fit. Captain America can be counted on to do one thing in any situation: whatever it is he thinks the right thing is. Working with spies, and running up against that fact over and over... it takes a toll, and inevitably he pushes back against it.

At his side is the ultimate spy, Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow. For the longest time, this was the closest I thought we'd get to a Black Widow movie. According to recent reports, Black Widow will actually get her own movie... finally... But until then, this gives a lot of screen time to Natasha, which she uses to help Cap avoid the agents of a corrupted SHIELD that is being controlled by HYDRA! Not to mention all the asskicking...



Also joining the cast of characters is Falcon, aka Sam Wilson, a retired soldier who helps Black Widow and Cap hide out, and then helps them take out the Project Insight Helicarriers.

And then there's the Soviet asset, the Winter Soldier himself... By now everyone knows it's Bucky, but that moment, when the mask is ripped away, and Steve gets a good look at him? Great moment! Having them have to fight it out? Steve having to try to stop HYDRA while his best friend stands in the way? Wonderful bit of conflict there.

Oh, and while we're on the subject of SHIELD, let's circle back around to Agent Phil Coulson, last seen dead on the floor, stabbed through by Loki... Turns out after he went to visit Tahiti.

Agents of SHIELD came to the air a couple of months before Winter Soldier was released, and there was a weird feeling in the show, knowing that there was something big that was going to happen in the movie, but not being able to tip their hand. Once the movie came out though? Things got really interesting for a while there!

Back to the movie - the scenes with Steve and Bucky visiting the Captain America exhibit in the Smithsonian? Another great touch. All in all, this is one of my favorite movies in the series.

Next Up: Guardians of the Galaxy!!

Countdown to Infinity War: Thor: The Dark World

In the time before there was light, there were the dark elves, and they made evil looking red stuff. Mostly because they were upset about the whole newfangled "light" thing, and wanted to turn them all off. Thor's grandpa told them no, killed almost all of them, and locked away the angry red stuff.

Thor's girlfriend finds it.

The last of the dark elves, the 9th doctor, wakes up, and decides to finish what he started those... 10,000? 15,000 years ago? But first he needs the angry red stuff from Jane, who Thor has introduced to mom and dad. The 9th Doctor attacks Asgard, and kills Thor's mom, doesn't get Jane, but gets away. Everyone is sad. Thor offers Loki (locked up in the dungeon) the opportunity to get revenge for the death of their mom. He takes it, and they do, using Jane as bait. Angry red stuff pulled from Jane and into the 9th Doctor. Big fight, Loki dies, Thor defeats the 9th Doctor, and the angry red stuff... gets collected.

Only Loki isn't dead, only impersonating Odin, and the Red Stuff was actually an Infinity Stone!

As Shakespearean as Thor was, Thor 2 takes it down a few notches, letting everyone relax a little into their roles. Darcy and the Intern are great, and poor Dr. Selvig needs some professional help after having Loki fuck with his brain.

There is very little that is bad about this installment of the MCU, but... If any of the movies felt like filler, it's this one. Thankfully it also has one of the shorter running times, clocking in at a lean 112 minutes. I'm very thankful that they didn't feel the need to bulk it out.

Decent, but at the bottom of my MCU rewatch. Again, not because it's bad, but because it just didn't do anything to lift it above anythings that's come before it.

Next Up: Captain America: Winter Soldier!

Countdown to Infinity War: Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3: Tony has PTSD

How do you come back from Avengers? The closing chapter of Phase 1 of the MCU that was in so many ways incredibly epic and enjoyable. Almost anything that follows up on that high is gonna be... well a come down, if not a let down.

Marvel chose to start Phase 2 by going back to their hit character Iron Man, and show what it was like for him to come down from the events in NYC. And like I said above, it wasn't fun for Tony. How could it be? Nothing he's done has truly prepared him to fight off aliens, through a wormhole, with a nuclear missile. And so we see manic, sleep deprived, panic attack suffering Tony trying to keep himself together. And when The Mandarin arrives, terrorizing the USA, Tony snaps, and challenges him.

Now, this could have been a simple storyline, Iron Man vs the terrorist Mandarin, but instead they gave us some twists. First off, taking Iron Man out. While Tony is chatting with Pepper and an ex-one-night-stand, his house is attacked, and destroyed, and Tony gets the shit kicked out of him. Given that he wasn't anywhere near top of his game, not a shock. And... Tony takes himself away. Small town middle America, where he hangs out as The Mechanic with a fatherless kid, and investigates what's been going on. Turns out The Mandarin used the tech Tony's ex was developing to make super soldiers.

Always with the super soldiers...

Let's pause a minute here to talk about the kid. He was great. The perfect foil to Tony, someone who's impressed, but not necessarily intimidated by this superhero who literally broke into his garage. Ty Simpkins as Harley does an absolutely fantastic job.

Then there's Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin... I remember being so absolutely stunned at the reveal, and about half a second later laughing so hard about it. I love his performance, even now.

It really isn't a movie that stands alone, and would be a terrible jumping in point for anyone interested in the MCU, but as a defining chapter of Tony's life, it's just about perfect.

And the end credit scene? Brilliant!

Next Up: Thor: The Dark World

Countdown to Infinity War: Black Panther

Yes, this isn't in the correct order for my countdown, but on Friday I went to see Black Panther, and WOW...



Yes, there has been lots of hype, and maybe that's turned you off. Maybe you've seen the FAKE reports of white people being attacked? Maybe you've read some racist reviews of the movie.

Ignore the noise, and go see it.

Go now.

It was fantastic.

First off, let's talk visuals, because that's the first thing that's going to grab you. The colors, the prints, the textures, the textiles are all vibrant and eye catching. They're different from anything I've ever seen, and make me want to find all of the concept art and just let it soak into my brain. If this doesn't win major awards for costume design all year long, it's gonna be a crime. And yes, I'm saying that even against the visually spectacular Wrinkle in Time that's coming out soon.

Next up, the story. Wakanda, the hidden technologically advanced kingdom that the world thinks of as a poor 3rd world nation has a new king who has challenges both within and without. To remain a hidden nation, or to open up and help guide the world to be better? It's a timely take, seeing how they weave together the tale of a fictional African nation with the challenges faced by black people everywhere, from the abduction and enslavement of boys and girls on the African continent, to the challenges faced by African-Americans here in the USA... it isn't necessarily a comfortable movie from that perspective.

Killmonger, the main antagonist, is one of the most nuanced and sympathetic villains who (without being too much of a spoiler) causes some serious questioning about who's actually in the right, about what the right thing to do is.

And can I tell you about the women? You know the bechdel test? Forget it. We now have the Wakanda test. Seriously, if the women in future films don't match how awesome, independent, powerful, and beautiful as the women in Black Panther are, it's failed. There is now no longer any excuse filmmakers! Step up! 

Look back up at the poster. See how the women take up a solid 3rd+ of the poster? Each of those women steal the scene from T'Challa and Killmonger every time.

Why are you still reading this? Go see it! I can't wait till I can see it again...