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Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Everything (1 more)
Literally everything!
I wanted a Black Panther 2 to watch the next day!
I almost don't know where to start. This movie hit all of my good feels. The storyline, the cast, the production quality, the attention to detail - all of it is perfect.

Let's start with the storyline: The way they worked all of Wakanda and the Black Panther into their own world was superb. We got to know Black Panther in Civil War and then we take him straight to his own movie. We get this glorious reveal of Wakanda and all of the characters very quickly. From that point forward, it is a huge tie in to the MCU and Civil War along with introducing all of the rest of the new characters.

The cast was astounding. From TChalla to Killmonger, Makia to Okoye and in particular Shuri. There was this blending of established, well-known actors and actresses and some new faces that are going to go on my permanent watch list.

The attention to detail was maybe the part that sucked me in the most. The merging together of various African cultures into one to represent the people of Wakanda was a stroke of genius. The use of language, costuming, and even set dressing from those cultures along with linguistic choices just made me fall in love with the entire movie.

I wanted a Black Panther 2 to watch the next day!
  
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
Seeing Tony stark prove himself without his suit it is a funny film and has some interesting ideas and villain reveal is amusing (0 more)
The true main villain is a let down with his absolutely poor motivation being somewhat repetitive of the previous series especially as we will never see a confrontation between Tony and his archenemy (1 more)
Also having stark quit at the end seems pointless as we knew he was in the next avengers film
Iron man 3 a mixed final film
Contains spoilers, click to show
So here it is the final film of marvel's iron man series with Tony stark unlikely to return due to his death in endgame which means we will never see him fight the real mandarin look for him in shang chi however Downey is his usual great self and stark character arc is nice nod to avengers about him being just as heroic without his suit and his ptsd and the supporting cast are just as great.

The film is a fun action piece and has many hilarious moments.

It's shame the film has such a lame villain the twist while being funny you soon stop laughing that your left with another crap mcu villain something marvel is improving on fortunely his motivation are poor and he is a let down also the film with stark giving up being iron man felt redundant given we knew he was in age of ultron

Overall this still an enjoyable watch and will thrill the family
  
Molly's Game (2017)
Molly's Game (2017)
2017 | Drama
Objectively horrendous but a ton of fun, pretty much what one of those later MCU entries *should* feel like. A lot of fast-talking verbiage and flashiness which every single one of these stylish, ADHD biopics (which, for the record I enjoy incomparably more than the unbearable, cursory ones that get nominated for Oscars) stole from 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘰𝘧 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘵 - which I was convinced I'd never get tired of but I confess is actually starting to get pretty rote here. Like okay do we really need to halt the already legendarily messy and borderline unfollowable plotline so you can describe what the sticker on the fucking cheese platter says? It's also one of those movies where the acting is nice but nobody actually plays a real human (for better [Chastain, Cera, Strong, Costner] or worse [poor Elba]). The dialogue is, as you can imagine, unadulterated Sorkin which leads to some very amusing cringe without the filter this time around. I like it, pretty much a collection of rousing scenes that look and play nice but don't fit together too well (at all) on the whole. Best part is easily those iconic Chastain outfits. A much better poker movie than it is a true story movie, and a lot of the banter is stilted - but worth it entirely for the title character calling Michael Cera (playing a power-hungry real life Tobey Maguire) a "green-screened little shit".
  
The Avengers (2012)
The Avengers (2012)
2012 | Action, Sci-Fi
Best of the Best
I could literally watch this film over and over again. That goes for literally anything in the MCU. I am thoroughly obsessed with the world that Marvel has created and nurtured and brought to the screen - big and small. The detail and the intricacy of each of the stories and the way they are woven together is one of my very favorite things and a huge reason why, I think, they have done and continue to do well.

I can't help but think about Endgame when watching this one and seeing how far we've come since then, but also seeing how many easter eggs are in this film, whether we knew about them or not.

I also love this film because it's the backdrop that created the incredible show that is Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - easily one of my favorites. Phil Coulson is an iconic character and I hope they bring him back in Phase 4. Just because AoS is over, doesn't mean Coulson or literally any of the team has to be. After finishing the show and rewatching this film, there are even more details that they exploited and utilized that just takes it to the next level. It's truly hard to describe.

I really love this film and this universe. The characters, the dynamics, the plots, all of it. I am super biased and I don't even care. I will love this film until the end of time.
  
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
An Exhausting Thrill Ride
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been delighting fans of the comics and thrilling moviegoers since 2008 when Iron Man steamrolled itself onto the big screen in an epic fashion. From the special effects to the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, it was the complete package.

The culmination of all those films through Phase One, Phase Two and Three has come to a head in this, Avengers: Infinity War. It promises to be the biggest, baddest and most epic Marvel movie to date, but is it actually any good? Read on to find out.

Directed by Antony and Joe Russo, the masterminds behind the fantastic Captain America sequels, Infinity War picks up just after the end of Thor: Ragnarok. This starting place seems fitting and not jumping too far ahead of the finale of that film is perfect to reintroduce our beloved heroes.

The cast form one of the best ensembles ever put to screen, though from each of their solo outings, this is really no surprise. Seeing Black Panther, Black Widow, Captain America et al come back together is frankly, a joy and the film works best when there are as many heroes on screen together as possible.

A highlight in this instance is Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange – prepare to jump on the Steven Strange bandwagon. After a relatively lacklustre solo outing, his character pops on the screen and really benefits from the Russo brothers zingy direction.

As is the case with many films involving such a large cast, much of the 149 minute runtime is spent following a few of them at once, each going about their own mission in relation to stopping Thanos and his possession of the Infinity stones. If I count correctly, there are 3 quests going on at once, but only two are really successful.

Special effects wise, this is a $400million movie, so you know what to expect. For the most part, the CGI from Industrial Light & Magic is seamless and really rather beautiful. The motion capture work done on Josh Brolin to turn him into Thanos is exquisite and the end result is a truly menacing villain. Elsewhere however, there are a few corners cut if you look closely enough, but I’ll leave it down to you to try and spot them.

Focussing on Thanos himself, he proves to be a fitting villain for a film this gargantuan in scale. His towering presence and almost demonic sense of entitlement completely does away with the stereotypical Marvel bad-guy problem that the MCU has been suffering with. Obviously helped massively by Brolin’s incredible performance, Thanos is up there with Loki in terms of sheer entertainment value.

Nevertheless, Avengers: Infinity War is not a perfect film and it would be wrong of me to pretend it was. Despite its massive length, elements do feel rushed from time-to-time and cramming 20+ characters into a film was never going to be a slam dunk. Some moments that should have deep resonance really don’t reach the emotion they were clearly intended to do, and that’s because of the film’s need to tie up as much of the plot as possible. Thankfully, from a tonal perspective, the Russo brothers manage to keep the balance almost perfect and it’s a vast improvement over Joss Whedon’s disjointed Age of Ultron.

My biggest issue with the film however, is the ending. Avengers: Infinity War is not a film you come to the end of and applaud. In fact, the main response from the entire screening of the film I was watching was a collective groan as the end credits begin to roll. Despite the promise that Infinity War would work as a standalone movie; it just doesn’t. It’s very much a starting chapter for what comes next in Avengers 4. But we need to wait just over a year for the concluding chapter to arrive in UK cinemas, and that is incredibly infuriating.

Overall, Avengers: Infinity War is a culmination of everything Marvel has been working towards for a decade. In its favour are an incredible cast, that trademark MCU humour and some stunning action sequences but these are offset by an infuriating ending and a lack of emotional heft to the film’s inevitable darker moments.

This may definitely be the biggest movie in the MCU and it’s definitely the 2nd best Avengers movie, but it’s not quite up there with the very best.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/04/26/avengers-infinity-war-review-an-exhausting-thrill-ride/
  
Black Widow (2021)
Black Widow (2021)
2021 | Action
After the MCU rounded up with Endgame I was having Marvel fatigue, I had my issues with the Spider-man movie, and I haven't been thrilled by the TV series that we've been getting on Disney+. I had managed to avoid most of the Black Widow coverage until getting back to the cinema, but even seeing the trailer on the big screen didn't get me pumped for it.

Natasha Romanoff is on the run... rewind the MCU a bit... Black Widow is on the run after the incident with the Sokovia accords. While she's on the move (and somehow invisible to detection despite being an Avenger... on the run) her past catches up with her, and after an awkward family reunion, they have to work together to rectify the mistakes of the past.

So how did this next outing in the MCU go down?

I wasn't mad about, or at, it. It nicely aligned itself with its position in the universe in a way that didn't feel too forced, and finally getting the history that the previous films alluded to... well, it was about time. I was surprised how well it managed to condense her story down and still manage to give enough to help it flow. I'm not sure it's the story I was expecting, or necessarily hoped for, but it was good. (I had assumed that we would be getting more about the inside of the Red Room, and not the results of it on the older recruits.)

Johansson gave a solid performance as you'd expect, she's perfected the role over the years and this performance sat well within the character she'd already developed. But what about the other cast members?

MVP for me was Florence Pugh as Yelena. A little frustrating for me to say, but I said it. The sisterly bond with Natasha was there in spades and she managed to grasp the emotion of the family moments so well. And her comedic timing with the sharp script was magnificent. I was delighted every time I saw her on the screen.

Playing Natasha and Yelena's parents are David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. An amusing pairing, with a very opposites attract kind of vibe. Alexie (Harbour) seems to change a lot from the historical points, and he also gets the comical treatment too, but in a more over the top way than Yelena. He had his moments, though I'm not sure it all landed. Weisz plays Melina, a straight-laced scientist/spy. Together they make an interesting team, but I'm not convinced that Melina would have stood up without Alexie.

My only problem with the case? Sometimes I found it a little jarring hearing those accents. Sure, it's nice to have a big recognisable cast, but listening to those accents from people you know really well from other things was continually off-putting.

I was thankful when the story started to pick up a bit. The beginning felt like a bit of a slog, and I was starting to lose hope. Looking back on it, 2 hours 13 minutes is a lot for what happened. It could easily have tightened up a bit and come in at around 2 hours. (And on the other end of the film, though completely separate to the run time... why put the credit scene right at the end?!)

The benefit of this film when it came to effects is that there was very little out of the ordinary that needed to be done. That meant that everything looked good on screen. I honestly didn't spot anything that stuck out like a sore thumb... or a Thanos henchman... that seems more appropriate given the film's universe. The studio have got CGI down to a fine art at this point.

As I said above, Black Widow gave a nice story to the character, and I can't help but think that they could have given her this before now, and not kicked her out into the sidelines behind the male superheroes. (Well, apart from Hawkeye, poor bugger.) I'm not bothered about seeing this again, which is odd for me as I will usually try and see a Marvel in 3D too. Even odder, because it's basically all that's on at my cinema right now. But I don't feel like I need to go back to try and spot things to link to other films. It feels very inconsequential at this point and, while I enjoyed it, a bit of a letdown.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/black-widow-movie-review.html
  
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
2016 | Action, Sci-Fi
WBs second entry into the DCEU is a messy misstep.
Contains spoilers, click to show
It's the big one that comic fans have been waiting decades to see come to life on the big screen, the one that was infamously teased in I Am Legend, the one that was going to match The Dark Knight Returns, and it's just oh so dissapointing.

After Warner Bros. kicked off the DCEU franchise with Man of Steel, a film that I thought was actually pretty good, I was full of Hope, and couldn't wait to see what they did with all of these beloved characters from years of DC stories.
When it was announced that the sequel would feature Batman in a loose adaption of TDKR, I was even more excited. When it was announced that this film would introduce the core members of the Justice League, I started to become concerned. It just screamed that Warner were trying to catch up with the already established MCU with a single film. It turns out that my concerns were justified.

The absolute biggest problem with Batman V Superman is that it just tried to do too much. And in doing so, creates a messy and often silly narrative.
The set up is pretty good, the opening scene of Metropolis being levelled whilst Bruce Wayne desperately tries to save his colleagues is pretty thrilling. It gives Batman a good, solid reason to want to fight Superman and neutralise this alien threat.
The plot is needlessly complicated when Lex Luthor gets involved (not quite sure what Jessie Eisenberg was going for in his weird portrayal), forcing Superman into a confrontation with Batman by means of kidnapping his mother.
When the big beat down finally arrived, it lasts just a few minutes before they become great friends very suddenly (due to their mothers infamously having the same name).
Not long after this, Wonder Woman is thrown into the mix (because reasons) and then they all fight Doomsday (because why the hell not) effectively cramming six movies worth of material into one very underwhelming and silly movie.
The mind boggles.

The Justice League are introduced though a series of short videos such as CCTV footage etc, and you have to wonder why they even bothered.

It's not all bad though. Ben Affleck as Batman is pretty inspired casting and is actually great. He's older, jaded, and pretty stocky, and his action scenes are ripped straight from the beloved Arkham video games. It's almost like Zack Snyder actually wanted to make a Batman film or something....
Wonder Womans presence is wholly unessecary, but for what it's worth, she's pretty badass, looks the part, and Gal Gadot does a good job of bringing her to life.
I also enjoyed the Knightmare scene hinting at Darkseid further down the line.

Unfortunately, the good parts are wrapped up in shambles. The MCU has been so finely crafted over the years, and it really confuses me why WB didn't take a similar route with the DC universe - a universe that has arguably better characters.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Avengers: Infinity War (2018) in Movies

May 24, 2019 (Updated May 24, 2019)  
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Comic book perfection
It's a moment all comic movie fans have been waiting for - all these beloved characters in one film - and Infinity War delivers on so many levels.

With such a huge roster of well established characters, being played by so many A-List actors, it's an absolute marvel (excuse the pun) how the Russo Brothers manage to pull it off with such aplomb, with every hero being on screen for the right amount of time - it's quite incredible.

On top of all of the reliable heroes throughout, IW also properly introduces us to Thanos, who has been teased several times in the past, and he is a incredibly well realised big villain - you see where he's coming from, he's relatable, and still utterly terrifying and ruthless in how he relentlessly chases what he wants, no matter how much he loses in the process.
The CGI and motion capture used to create him is pretty flawless, and Josh Brolins booming voice completes the package.

The battle scenes are slick and tight and flow smoothly with the rest of the film - the humour is on point throughout - the scenes shared between members of the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy are so so great - it's hard to think of anything I didn't love about IW.

And just to top it all off, IW delivers an absolute gut punch of an ending, delivering the single biggest disaster to happen so far in the MCU.

As far as comic book movies go, I can't think how this will ever be beaten. A true epic.
  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Well cast (0 more)
Moments of cringe CGI (0 more)
Black Panther exploded into the MCU during the Captain America: Civil War and was a breath of fresh air for the franchise. Finally someone to rival Wolverine for fighting skill and claws. This film follows on from there where Prince T'Challa looks to be crowned as the new king of Wakanda. Wakanda has long hidden its true riches and technological worth from the world and is thought of as a nation of poor farmers. King T'Challa must choose whether to continue the selfish tradition or help the world by sharing their natural resources and technology.
The Black Panther is backed up by an excellent cast of sidekicks and helpers as he looks to crack down on illegal trade of Wakanda's vibranium and retain the throne from a worthy challenger.
My main gripe was some of the CGI. Like with Spiderman, I feel at times there is too much detail, eg when flipping over a car his legs sway around like he's in space. To my mind, he would be more focused and all his limbs would be exactly where they need to be. Also in these instances the feeling of which way up is the right way up got a little lost, which shouldn't happen.
I also felt that Andy Serkis was a little under-used in his role as Claue, similar to CrossBones in Civil War.


I am seriously looking forward to Infinity Wars now!


PS - I don't think the post-credits scene is worth the long wait.
  
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Carma (21 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies

Jun 17, 2019 (Updated Jun 23, 2019)  
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
Thanos completes his snap and the world suffers the aftermath (0 more)
Not enough fight scene action for me (0 more)
Thanos show down part two
Contains spoilers, click to show
I absolutely couldn't wait for the conclusion to Infinity War to see how our heroes reverse the snap. Honestly I have to say I read some spoilers before and had an idea of what might happen (not that most of that did) but I can say I was a little disappointed. Full disclosure, I saw the movie 4 times, I didn't plan to but I did. Anyway, while I appreciated the movie working on the core 6 and finishing up their story arcs, I still can't get on board with the total movie "knocking my socks off". There were too little fight scenes for me, too much filler in spots and conversations that didn't move the story line forward for me. Now the end big assemble was exactly what I was looking for but wishing it was a couple more time throughout the movie. The humor was high in this one (I think making up for Infinity Wars darkness) and some points were worth it, others the humor was a little much. I definitely enjoyed Infinity War better than Endgame but I am still a MCU fan forever. I did the culmination of Tony becoming the hero in the end, something he struggled with but had in him from the first Avengers movie in 2012. We see Cap call him out as not falling on the sword for others and in each movie after Tony definitely has his sword moments.