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Suicide Squad (2016)
Suicide Squad (2016)
2016 | Action
When it finished (0 more)
Everything? (0 more)
A Mess
I'm a fan of David Ayers work but this film did nothing for me. It felt like DC are still living in the Marvel model's shadow and trying to replicate the success without much luck. Felt more like the Margot Robbie and WIll Smith show than involving a "Squad".
Add to that Jared Leto's Joker which was needless and the film wouldn't have changed without him. All the hype of the media with "Jared Leto sent dead rats to cast members" and it felt like DC were just trying anything to get people to the cinema.
The difference is with how Marvel have approached this is that they have had years of solo films introducing characters and DC going straight in with this mega team up whilst not ever exploring any of the characters.
I really hope DC sort this all out soon as they have some arsenal to play with but just feels like they are trying way too hard right now to play keep up.
  
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
2017 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Probably as good as a Marvel film can get
Finally got around to seeing this. (I am always late to the party since I don't visit the theatre often.)

You will never see me mention stunning visuals (although I just did) as a plus in any movie any more. Gone are the days of being blown away by Jurassic Park, Total Recall and The Matrix. It should go without saying the "visuals were amazing", and filmmakers should be striving higher to making an engaging story with interesting characters and trying to give audiences something they were not expecting.

Having said all that, I did find this film more interesting and entertaining than its predecessor, and Cate Blanchett made a great Marvel vileness. Although I had heard this was a funny film, I wasn't really that impressed (maybe my expectations were too high).

The film suffered from Avenger-itis I thought by wanting to cram too much into one movie. The action scenes and Jeff Goldblum are enough for me to recommend.

  
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
2018 | Action, Animation, Sci-Fi
Great movie, even to a Spiderman purist.
I've always been a purist. I enjoy the classic comics and their stories the most. Just how I was raised and what I grew up with. I know of the Morales storyline, just never gave it much credence. So, I was a little hesitant heading into this movie to say the least. That all aside, this little flick was a lot of fun. A fun, though not original, story leads all the various Spider characters together in a fun ride through Marvel lore. Was also very pleased with the adult overtones to the story while keeping it an animation movie for kids, which so many new cartoon movies do so well these days. In the end, while I may still believe that Peter Parker is the Spiderman, I now have a better understanding and appreciation of Morales and the other variations of Spiderman and their place in the Marvel Universe. Well done, Sony. And, of course, RIP Stan Lee. You will be missed.
  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Over rated and disappointing
Way too much hype for a distinctly below average/bad film. Civil War is by far the better Marvel film. Black Panther (character) was great in a supporting role but he has zero on-screen charisma and fails to carry a film solo. I struggle to see how anybody was entertained by those awful challenge fight scenes and that ludicrous end battle. it was not a good movie. It looked cheap, the characters had no development. It played like low-rent TV show with unnbearably cheesy & clunky dialogue, boring unoriginal fights and god-awful CGI. I didn’t care about the fate of Wakanda because I wasn’t allowed to care for any of the characters in the film. The only consolation was the comic relief provided by Letitia Wright and Andy Serkis. For all the records it smashed and the praise it received, it wasn’t even the best Marvel film of the last 6 months. Thor Ragnarok was a lot more entertaining, genuine and had actual heart.
  
Infinity: Volume 1
Infinity: Volume 1
Jonathan Hickman, Jim Cheung | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
2
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Spring 2018.

Perhaps the best Marvel movie to date was released, a culmination of circa a decade of Marvel movies consisiting of numerous single-character led films and even a couple of previous 'team-ups'. That movie was, of course, 'Infinity War, part 1'.

At around the same time, Comixology ran one of their frequent sales. With a picture of Thanos on the cover, a title called 'Infinity' and being on sale at around the saem time as the movie, I made the mistake of thinking this would share similarities with the plot of the movie.

(No) spoilers: it doesn't.

As others on this site have mentioned, however, it is perhaps well named in that the story seems to go on ... and on ... and on ...

Honestly? I struggled to get through this, finding it hard to 'tie together' the various disparate story-lines; to even really care about all that much about what was happening or who it was happening to.

In short, and for me, this was a massive disappointment.
  
Black Widow (2021)
Black Widow (2021)
2021 | Action
Florence Pugh (1 more)
Good one liners
Not much backstory as I anticipated (1 more)
Confused me a little bit with the timeline at first
Not my favourite marvel movie at all. It wasn’t a bad movie, but I expected much more of a backstory rather than it just being mentioned and seen through a few flashbacks.
The majority of the other avengers have all had their own standalone movie and that has included more of a backstory than this, so I was quite disappointed.
I did love Florence Pugh and felt like she sort of stole the show for a lot of the movie, she had a lot more of the comedic lines and didn’t take herself too seriously which is the thing I love about more recent marvel films (with the exception of infinity war and endgame which weren’t as funny for obvious reasons).
Not a bad attempt, just a little bit of a disappointment after all the hype. I’m just glad I didn’t go to see it in the cinema.
  
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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Moon Knight in TV

May 5, 2022  
Moon Knight
Moon Knight
2022 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
It's bloody wonderful that we're at a point where more obscure Marvel characters such as Moon Knight are getting their own projects.
This latest limited series does a fantastic job of introducing him, and his multiple personalities, in a unique and interesting way. It's definitely something different for the MCU and it's good that Disney+ is providing a platform to explore these quirkier and darker avenues.
Oscar Isaac deserves a whole bunch of credit for his portrayal of essentially two different characters. Both Stephen Grant and Mark Spector are characters that I cared about by the time the finale rolled around.
The overall pacing is the main detriment to Moon Knight. After an intriguing start, it does hit a major lull around the midway point that flirts with boredom on occasion, but a sharp left turn plotwise and a thoroughly entertaining finale save proceedings and then some.

Another enjoyable, if not perfect, series from Marvel Studios then, and a promising set up for Moon Knight to enter the movies as they start to explore some of the darker corners of their properties.
  
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
Following the unexpected and shocking moments from “Avengers: Infinity War”, fans eagerly awaited the next Marvel Studios film for any type of clues as to what will happen next when the next Avengers film arrives next summer. “Ant-Man and the Wasp”, is set before the events of “Avengers: Infinity War”, and finds Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) under home confinement thanks to a plea deal he took for siding with Captain America in “Captain America: Civil War”.

The years of being at home have driven Scott to find creative ways to entertain himself when his friend Luis (Michael Pena) and his daughter Cassie are not around. Scott is nearing the end of his isolation but knows F.B.I. Agent Woo (Randall Park), is waiting for him to slip up and with a possible twenty year prison term in the balance, he is not eager to make any mistakes.

Scott is also on the outs with Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and her father Hank (Michael Douglas) as it is revealed he took the Ant-Man suit and took part in the Civil War without their permission.

Fate intervenes when a strange dream causes Scott to contact Hope who in turn takes a reluctant Scott along with her to get to the bottom of the dream. Scott is naturally reluctant as he is days away from freedom and being discovered out and about and consorting with his wanted former associates would not be good for his eventual freedom.

A shady tech dealer named Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins) and a dangerous new adversary named “Ghost” (Hannah John-Kamen) also complicate matters and force Scott, Hope, and Hank to contend with issues all around them as the race against time on an urgent mission while trying to stay away from Woo and his team.

The film is a bit slow getting started but it does have some great character moments as well as humor around the build-up to the action sequences. The action when it comes mixes some great visual FX with some humor as Hope and Scott jump between everyday items at various sizes to face the threats presented to them. The cast works very well with one another and there are some great moments that will likely become favorites for fans of the characters and Marvel.

The Ghost is a rather interesting choice as an adversary as we do not have an individual bent on conquest, revenge, mass destruction, or accumulating power and wealth. While it may seem odd to have a more down to earth and relatable villain in a Marvel film, it does continue a recent trend of showing of adversaries who are complex, harder to define, and sympathetic much like The Winter Soldier.

There are two scenes in the credits which are very important to the continuity of the Marvel Universe and with “Captain Marvel” due in March 2019, it will likely get fans whipped into overdrive thinking about the possibilities they present.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” is not as epic in scale as some of the past Marvel films, but thanks to a likeable cast and some timely humor, it should keep fans happy until the next chapter in the series.

http://sknr.net/2018/06/27/ant-man-and-the-wasp/
  
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James P. Sumner (65 KP) created a post

Aug 22, 2019  
So everyone's talking about Spiderman. As a huge Marvel geek, I am obviously disappointed there's a chance all the work the MCU has put in could be undone to an extent now that Sony has ended its deal with Disney. The chatter online centres around how awful Disney, Marvel and Sony are because they only care about money and not the fans...

The thing is, those companies didn't get where they're at today by not thinking about money and making smart business decisions. It's a vicious circle. On the one hand, yes, it's the fans that make them the money by consuming the product, but those companies need to money to make that product. I know Disney isn't exactly short of a few quid, but I can kind of see their point here.

When Marvel/Disney first acquired the rights to Spiderman, they were desperate. They didn't actually fully acquire them, they basically rented them in an extortionate deal that saw Sony keep 95% of the profits. Fast-forward a few years and Spiderman: Far From Home grosses $1.1B worldwide. From Sony's point of view, it became their biggest movie ever. For Disney, it was their fourth billion-dollar movie of the year. Knowing they have an excellent product, the Disney/Marvel Finance department said, "Hey, 5% of a billion is WAY less than, say, 50% of a billion. Seeing as we do everything, we should totally ask for more money, right?"

A fair point. However, Sony's Finance Department saw the proposal and were all like, "Hey, did you know, if we give 50% of a billion away, we're left with WAY less than if we only give 5% of a billion away?" This was backed up by Sony's top execs saying, "We still own Spiderman. We're Kings of the world now because we had one huge hit that someone else gave us. They need us more than we need them now. Tell Disney they get the same 5% or they get nothing."

I understand Sony not wanting a 50/50 split when it's their IP, but they need to understand they only made the money they did because Marvel but its name on it. I also think Disney could've negotiated a little. Maybe 75/25, for the sake of not ruining a multi-billion-dollar franchise they've spent 11 years building?

As things stand, the next Spiderman film will be made by Sony and will not be a part of the MCU, although talks between the two companies are apparently ongoing. For me, this is easily remedied by one of three options:

1. Sony stops being greedy and making childish excuses, Disney stops being unrealistic, and they negotiate like grown-ups.
2. Disney pays whatever Sony wants to obtain the full rights to the Spiderman franchise - pretty sure it'll be worth it.
3. Disney just buys Sony to spite them. Because they can. Probably.

People who say these companies don't care about the fans are thinking with their comic book hearts and I get that. But this is all a business at the end of the day. Sony are acting like stubborn bullies here. Disney need to be the bigger person. Whatever amount they have to part with will still be made back twice over, because it's Marvel. What's right for business is also right for the fans - put the MCU franchise first.
     
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
2017 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Funny (0 more)
Cheesy (0 more)
This movie definitely cracked me up. There were scenes I literally LOL'd to. I love the cast and characters, and the story line was innovative and new. The only thing that I noticed as a downfall was that it followed most Marvel patterns and had a tendency to drag on with all its corny glory. No spoiler, but the end drags on in attmpts to invoke emotion and only caused annoyance. But all in all, its a good movie.