Ladies and Gents, The INFINITY WAR Trailer is Upon Us!

Well, here it is. After a decade since its inception and almost twenty movies under its belt, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally reached what is essentially its penultimate chapter. Look, I'm aware that there are more Marvel movies planned after this; but, ever since it's been announced, Kevin Feige and company have basically been selling this as the grand finale for most of its top-tier cast members. Naturally, the first trailer we've been given is as epic and massive as one would expect.

Overall, the footage present here all looks cool, even if its structurally identical to a lot of Marvel trailers nowadays. The action looks intense, kinetic and refreshingly colorful. Allow me to elaborate. This movie's going to be directed by the same guys who did Captain America: Civil War and I wasn't keen as that film as the rest of the public. I can't say in honesty that it's a terrible movie; however, it feels like an utterly bland, soulless, mechanical product of a film. Part of that is because I think a similar storyline was handled better in Batman v Superman (fight me!) and it all looked desaturated sludge. Thankfully, this appears to have changed and the Russo brothers appear to embrace the cartoonish insanity of its source material while maintaining some level of narrative weight (hopefully). 

Josh Brolin seems like he's going to be fantastic as Thanos and all the new costumes for the returning players are pretty interesting. My biggest hope for this movie is that it doesn't cop out and undermine any dramatic momentum (like bringing Thor's hammer or not killing off any of the main characters out of fear a sense of finality). Plus, that ending tease is just perfect. We'll see how this all plays out, come May 4th of next year.

JUSTICE LEAGUE Review

Well, it’s finally here. After eons of development and some extremely unfortunate obstacles behind the scenes, Justice League is finally upon us. To say that there’s a lot riding on this movie is obvious and a little redundant; but, I’ll go into it anyway. Considering all of the post-production meddling, tragic circumstances surrounding Zack Snyder’s departure from the whole project months before release and a hefty price tag to the tune of $300 million, its safe to say that this movie was embarking on a steep climb uphill.Now, with all that baggage being mentioned, is the final product good?

Despite what certain critics who shall remain unnamed are saying, Justice League is a relentlessly entertaining comic book movie. Granted, that turbulent series of events up until its release definitely leaves it rough around the edges in certain spots and I’d take an extended director’s cut of what Snyder originally wanted; regardless, its almost a miracle that we have something that’s works as well as this does. Make no mistake, Snyder’s creative touches are still very prevalent and go well with what Joss Whedon had to touch up; but, there are certain changes that do leave the movie feeling a bit lightweight and underdeveloped. The pace is a bit too fast, some of the effects are kind of unpolished and certain moments don’t have as much time to breathe as they should. Nevertheless, Whedon doesn’t kill the flick with his usual impulses of making the thing so snarky that you want to strangle it because it’s so pleased with itself (hence, why I’m so lukewarm on both of the Avengers movies and most of his work in general). Still, this doesn’t prevent the movie from being a blast that works like gangbusters in its best moments. Thankfully, unlike The Avengers, the humor here is quite playful and has an undercurrent of mythic sincerity over weightless facetiousness. It may not be as deep or intellectually challenging as Man of Steel or Batman v Superman; but, it doesn’t need to be and works as a final chapter in a transitional period of these heroes going through cynical/ponderous beginnings into being the hopeful icons of true aspiration that have made timeless since their conception. A lot of this can be seen in how the film uses the return of Superman. I won’t give away too much. For now, I’ll say that he comes back with a bang and Henry Cavill’s charisma is in full swing when he’s back in action. Those who have ignorantly complained about Superman being too mopey should be just fine here. Its good to have you back, Mr. Kent.

Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot are still effortlessly terrific. While Wonder Woman remains as ethereal and virtuous as ever, Ben Affleck’s Batman manages to soften up in contrast to his brutal depiction in BvS and it plays out naturally. Regardless of what the final word on this franchise ends up being, Affleck’s Batman will undoubtedly go down as one of its greatest strengths. Aside from making the surfer dudebro personality work surprisingly well, Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is refreshingly awesome and has some of the best lines in the entire movie. Give it a while and the trite “Lol, Aquaman is the lamest” jokes are going to flame out for a long time. Ezra Miller’s Flash is awkwardly endearing and sweet. It’s amazing how cool they make the Speed Force look. Then, there’s Cyborg. Sadly, he feels like the one member of the team that gets a little underdeveloped; still, newcomer Ray Fisher conveys a lot with what little he’s given and he gets a few moments to shine once the third act kicks in. Everyone else gets the job done without much to say about their performances. Ciaran Hinds isn’t great as Steppenwolf; but, to say that his character is the worst superhero movie villain ever is puzzlingly disingenuous and hyperbolic (especially when you remember that Catwoman and The Amazing Spider Man 2 still exist).

Again, with the exception of what they did to remove Superman’s mustache, most of the CGI is fine. Even though some of it looks pretty cartoonish, I’ll give it a pass because it fits with the visual aesthetic at play here. While it may be a bit too familiar and at times out of place, Danny Elfman’s score is as effective and crowd-pleasing as one would expect. All of the action setpieces are pure, candy-colored kinetic joy. It hits that nice middle ground between chaotic superpowered spectacle and hard-hitting fisticuffs. Of course, all this wouldn’t amount to much if we didn’t like these characters and that leads me to this film’s greatest strength. Everyone in the League works remarkably well off of each other and their back-and-forth banter is hard not to enjoy. It’s also a nice reminder in a post-MCU world that not all team up movies (or movies in general, come to think of it) don’t need an onslaught of previously existing origin films to get us to care about them. I know I’ve already brought up The Avengers a few times here; but, I’ve done so with purpose and what I’m about to say is what makes the two films interesting. In the first of Marvel’s flagship crossovers, most of the film has its protagonists at odds with each other until they realize how they need to settle their differences (which is fine and realistic, but not every movie of this mold should follow this pattern). Here, such petty bickering is put aside because pretty much all the major players are keenly aware of what’s at stake and don’t waste too much time at each other’s throats.



Ultimately, as hackneyed as it sounds, I can say that Justice League is everything I wanted it to be as a comic book fan and as a movie junkie. It gets to why seeing a cinematic adaptation of comic book madness is so fulfilling. It’s not just that it’s throwing a bunch of stuff I recognize on screen. No, its more than that because it can be an epic take of something near and dear to your heart and some of this minutia would look amazing on the silver screen, regardless of whether or not its original or it came from the four color page. Sure, its not perfect; but, no movie really is and it’s those imperfections that both amplify the silver linings and reveal how much effort/care went into the film’s making. I’ve been waiting for this movie for about a decade and it’s definitely worth it. I’d probably go as far to say that I’m a little glad certain critics don’t care for it. It’s just more fun for a specific niche and I’m comfortable in the knowledge that such negativity won’t be able to take away how much of a blast I had with this.

JUSTICE LEAGUE gets a…
BADA$$ out of TEN

This DEADPOOL 2 Trailer is Just What the Doctor Ordered

Earlier this morning, I awoke to the news of a new teaser for DEADPOOL 2 and (if this trailer's anything to go by) it looks like we're in for another treat from Ryan Reynolds & company. Take a look for yourself.

First off, that Bob Ross parody is almost dead-on. Everything from the get-up to the credits to Ross's distinctly inhuman levels of calmness is mimicked to perfection; yet, that immaculate imitation would be for nothing if it wasn't paired Deadpool's signature juvenile wit. Sandwiched in between all that are the remnants of an actual trailer (which, while too brief into fairly critique, looks pretty cool all things considered). Plus, its nice to see they brought back the supporting cast from the first one.

DEADPOOL 2 arrives June 1st next year. Until then, we can savor this fun little teaser as well as this fantastic Norman Rockwell-esque poster.

THOR: RAGNAROK Review

Let's get one out of the way right off the bat: this isn't going to be another review where it can be summed up as "Lol, it was so funny". This isn't to say that the film isn't funny at all (certain moments had me rolling on the floor and laughing until I was out of breath); yet, that isn't its greatest strength. No, the best thing about THOR: RAGNAROK is just how bonkers and mythic it was. While I can't say this is the closest the Marvel Cinematic Universe has come to a full on classic (that distinction belongs to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as far as I'm concerned), this is easily the gleefully out there film in their already expansive catalog.

Outside of eclectic mastermind James Gunn, I thought for the longest time that Marvel would play it safe and mute every visionary creative instinct within the directors they hire for their releases. Thank God I've been proven wrong by the choice of a quirky unknown filmmaker by the name of Taika Waititi (best known for idiosyncratic cult flicks like What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpeople). His outsider sensibilities are very apparent, resulting in a film that's as refreshingly epic as it is amusing. There are shots in this film that would've made Jack Kirby and Frank Frazetta prouder than humanly possible. Its the kind of high sci-fi fantasy that was the bread & butter of dozens upon dozens of amazing heavy metal album covers in the 1980s; yet, that art style seems to have faded away aside from this film and that's a real shame. Speaking of which, this might be the most effective use of a Led Zeppelin song in any movie. Waititi seems to be in tune with the untouched upon fact about how electrifying classic rock tracks are practically tailor made for this kind of adrenaline-fueled action. On the subject of music, Mark Mothersbaugh does wonders with the score here. His hybrid of soaring orchestras and vibrant synth rhythms makes for the best soundtrack work attached to the MCU that isn't from Michael Giacchino. Mothersbaugh channels Queen's score for Flash Gordon and Tangerine Dream's work for Legend in every composition while being entirely its own thing.

The performances here are all top-level stuff. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston retain their stoic charm. Mark Ruffalo still leaves me wondering why we haven't gotten another solo Hulk movie just yet. Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie works as a manically charming drunk who can also be the most manically unpredictable adventurer in the room, similar to Simon Pegg's character in The World's End (only not as dark or R-rated). Cate Blanchett is a thing of beauty whenever she's on screen, showing a respectable amount restraint of amount while not being below just wallowing in mustache-twirling evil from time to time. Karl Urban and Idris Elba bring their usual levels of cinematic gravitas to each of their small moments in the spotlight. As for Jeff Goldblum, he almost steals the whole movie as the Grandmaster. Considering how this is Jeff "Man of a Thousand Uh's" Goldblum in a cosmically fantastical Marvel picture, you better believe that he's as as you'd hope for him to be in this.

Now, I'll talk about the humor. Let me just say how happy I am that this breed of humor is becoming more prevalent instead of the overly self-satisfied snark of Joss Whedon's contributions. This, along with the aforementioned Guardians of the Galaxy films, recognizes the silliness of all of this comic book madness while understanding how much sincerity lies in both the source material and the love for said source material. Although, there is one instance where the devil-may-care indulgence does a disservice to the film's more dramatic moments near the end that happens to be my only major problem with the production. Regardless, its not so tone deaf to a degree where it becomes a deal breaker.



All in all, THOR: RAGNAROK does manage to end the world as we know it while feeling strangely fine. It manages to take countless potshots at the biggest superhero movie cliche known to man while also making the stakes feel tangible and actually suspenseful. Plus, it helps that this sort of nonsense is my cup of tea and its executed with unbridled precision.

THOR: RAGNAROK, naturally, GETS A...
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