Venom

Venom

Dir: Reuben Fleischer

Cast: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate

       After the way that Sony handled Venom in Spider-Man 3, most comic book 
   fans have been clamoring for Venom film ever since. Venom is based on the 
   popular Marvel anti-hero of the same name & directed by Zombieland director 
   Reuben Fleischer.

     The Plot

      Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock, a mild mannered journalist looking to uncover
   the truth about a shady biochemical lab known as The Life Foundation. The lab 
   experiments on humans using alien slime known as Symbiote.

     One day while sneaking into the lab for evidence, he inadvertently gets infected 
  with the alien slime that lives inside of him and transforms into the creature. Now
  the lab wants it back and hunts him down for it. 

What Did Work

    After a really clunky beginning that deal with his personal life involving his girl-

   friend Annie (Williams), there are some great action sequences. Everything after 

   Venom shows up is much better than the 15 minutes that try and set up the story.

What Didn't Work

   The beginning. I didn't know what kind of movie it wanted to be, a horror, scifi, or 

    even a rom/com? Either way it'd didn't matter. The villain of this movie was just
    forgettable. The CGI was really bad like it was rushed out for the sake of it. I
    personally found it to be really boring as well.

Overall

     This movie is neither good or bad just decent. It is an unnecessary movie made 
   by Sony just to keep the Spider-man rights with them. If Sony Pictures is starting
   their own cinematic universe, they're doing it the wrong way. This is akin to 
   Catwoman that had nothing to do with Batman. Maybe rent this one. 

Grade C-

Ant Man & the Wasp

Ant Man & the Wasp

dir: Peyton Reed

Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lily, Michael Douglas, Abby Fortson,

Hannah J. Kamen, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Pena, Randall Park,

Walton Goggins, Michelle Pfeiffer

(spoilers ahead)

         Ant Man & the Wasp comes right off the heels of an emotionally draining Infinity 
     War. This time around, we find our hero Scott Lang (Rudd) under house arrest after
     violating the Sokovia Accords during Captain America: Civil War. Before his 
     parole time is up, he spends it with his young daughter Cassie (Fortson).

        Scott gets a call from his mentor Hank Pym (Douglas) and his beautiful daughter

     Hope (Lily) looking for Hank's wife Janet (Pfeiffer) who is missing somewhere in

     a subatomic zone called the Quantum Realm.

        A young woman named Ava (J. Kamen) becomes the villain Ghost, and steals
     Pym tech. Pym's former business partner Bill Foster (Fishburne) helps try and 
     cure her of her phasing affliction.

  

        Scott and his former prison buddies band together and stop Ghost before she 
     can get to Janet.

     The Good: The acting was good because the characters played off each other well.
     The shared father/daughter dynamic was handled well so as to not to be forced.
     Pena once again borderline steals the movie with his hilarious performance as 
     the likable Luis.

     The Bad: The plot was quite predictable and the villain was very forgettable. 
     Some of the jokes fell flat and there wasn't enough action to justify a good
     Marvel film.

    Overall: Ant Man & the Wasp was a welcome palate cleanser after the intensity that
    was Infinity War. With Marvel's Phase III saga coming to a close early next year,
    it'll be interesting to see where Phase IV will be going and whether there'll be an
    Ant Man 3 to close Scott Lang's tale. It's a good summer movie to watch but quite
    forgettable one unfortunately.

 Grade: 6/10 (B-)

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War

Dir: the Russo Brothers

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman,

Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo,

Zoe Saldana, Tom Holland, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Karen Gillan,

Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper (voice), Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan,

Pom Klementieff, Benedict Wong & Don Cheadle

       It's all been building to this. Marvel's biggest team up yet and the culmination of 

  eighteen films & ten years in the making. Immediately following the events of Marvel's

  Civil War, The Avengers are no more and our heroes are scattered across the globe

  (and beyond) and this time the stakes they face are high. 

       

(spoilers, proceed with caution)

      After laying waste to a ship full of displaced Asgardians, a cosmic entity named

   Thanos (Brolin) sends his minions to Earth looking for the last gem of his Infinity 

   Gauntlet, a powerful glove that grants the wearer unlimited power if all the stones

   are found. 
                              

       Tony Stark (Downey Jr.), Dr. Strange (Cumberbatch) & Spiderman (Holland) 

    team up to chase after the powerful being into outer space. They then meet up

    with the Star Lord (Pratt) and his ragtag group of alien friends. Thor (Chris
    Hemsworth) and Rocket Raccoon (Cooper) travel out to the farthest reaches 
    of the galaxy to craft a weapon to defeat Thanos.

       Meanwhile back on Earth, Scarlet Witch (Olsen), Black Widow (Johansson),

    Capt. America/Nomad (Evans) and Bruce Banner (Ruffalo) head to Black

    Panther's nation of Wakanda to protect it from the incoming alien invasion. 

    I felt some sympathy for Thanos as he had to sacrifice his adopted daughter 
    Gamora (Saldana) to do what was right in order to maintain balance in the 
    universe. 

                                    (spoilers over)

      I have very mixed feelings about this film. I can't say that I hated or liked it at all.

    I felt like that there was so much exposition going on that it dragged to the point 
    of tedium. The one thing that this movie did right was balance out the comedy
    with the scifi action that happened during slow scenes.

       Certain characters had to be killed off to show that Thanos wasn't messing 
    around. But knowing Marvel's M.O., they'll probably bring them back to life 
    just like they've always done.

       Marvel Studios has done a good job of tying in the previous movies like a 

   chapter in a book. It is also a big undertaking for the exec producer Kevin 
   Feige to bring all the superheroes together in one big movie such as this. 

      It is not the best movie of the MCU but the biggest that they have made. 
   When the credits came up, it left me wanting more hoping it ends on a positive
   not. It seems Marvel painted themselves in a corner and I just don't see how 
   they can continue. We'll find out next summer in 2019.

                                                         Grade: B-

 

Black Panther

Black Panther

dir: Ryan Coogler

Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forrest Whitaker

Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman. Sterling Brown

      Black Panther isn't just another a superhero flick but the first in the MCU to feature a 

  black protagonist. Ryan Coogler, whose critically acclaimed Creed, is the first African

  American director to get his hands on a Marvel megaphone. 

      Shortly after the events of Civil War, T'Challa returns to his home country of 

  Wakanda to become king. But an old enemy, Dr Klaue (Serkis) shows up to steal his 

  homeland's supply of vibranium to sell on the black market. Also showing up 

  is fellow Wakandan Eric Killmonger (B. Jordan) to help him out.

    T'Challa is challenged to a fight by Killmonger where he wins and throws Black

   Panther over a large waterfall to his families horror. His family secretly rescue him 

   and heal him back to health to reclaim this throne. 

    The Good: Despite the sparse action scenes, there isn't much to like about this film.
    The character of Shuri was adorable as Black Panther's tech-savvy sister. Black 
    Panther is a good hero for little black kids to emulate since as don't have one.

    The Bad: The excess CGI is suffocating and the plot felt contrived and nonsensical.

  It dragged the film down to the point of boredom. This was a weak Marvel entry 

  and I left feeling disappointed. The lack of tension killed my enjoyment for this movie.
  The "what are those!!?!!" line was cringe-worthy and will become outdated within a 
  few years. 

   Overall: Despite all the hype this film is getting, I didn't think it was that great. The 

  characters were bland and I had hard time caring about them. 

               Grade: C (7/10)

Thor: Ragnarok

Thor: Ragnarok

Dir: Taika Waititi

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Tessa Thompson,

Mark Ruffalo, Jeff Goldblum, Karl Urban

         The third movie in a series tend to be the worst but this one bucks the trend and

   is easily one of the funniest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Chris Hemsworth

   returns as our favorite demigod who swears to protect his home world of Asgard

   from the evil goddess Hela (Cate Blanchett). 

           Critically acclaimed director Taika Waititi (What we do in the Shadows) takes a

   stab at a blockbuster that draws inspiration from Norse mythology and combines

   the Thor character with the Planet Hulk comic. 

 Spoilers ahead, use caution

          After escaping the pits of Hell, Thor returns to find his father Odin missing 
    from Asgard. He contacts Dr. Strange (Benedicts Cumberbatch cameo) and tells
    him that he's alive in Norway. There Odin gives him some fatherly advice only to
    pass away. When all of a sudden, a black cloud opens up in the sky only to have 
    the evil Hela show up. Together, Thor and adopted brother Loki (Hiddleston)
    fight her only to get separated in the Bifrost.

     

        Thor lands on a trash infested planet called Sakaar where he meets a young

   female warrior, Valkyrie (Thompson) and unknowingly has to fight the big green 

   monster The Hulk (Ruffalo). Meanwhile Hela rules over Asgard with an iron 

   fist. The only way to stop Hela is to fulfill the prophecy and create Ragnarok.

   In Thor's vision, Odin tells him the Asgard isn't just a place but people as long

   as they are protected. 

   The Good: The action scenes along with humor was spot on. Jeff Goldblum's

   Grandmaster was hilarious every time he was on screen. The inclusion of Led 

   Zeppelin Immigrant Song during the fight was the icing on the cake. This film

   was a lot lighter in tone than the depressing Thor: Dark World. This movie 

   featured  alot of colorful backgrounds which is bereft in most blockbusters today.

  The Bad: I thought Hela was too overpowered, killing off characters senselessly

  just for the sake of the plot. The last half of the movie felt rushed and didn't 

  connect well with me. The overuse of horrendous CGI that look like low budgeted

  action TV show. 

  Overall: I went into this movie expecting your typical superhero movie but I was

  blown away about how good it is. On a whole, this is an entire different outing 

  for the MCU. We see a side of the cosmic universe we've never seen before. It's

  what GOTG Vol. 2 should've been,a lighthearted movie that perfectly balances 

  the humor with action.

Grade: B+ (8/10)

Spiderman: Homecoming

Spider-man: Homecoming

Dir: Jon Watts

      Cast: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marissa Tomei, Zendaya,

Laura Harrier, Jacob Batalon

        Spider-man has finally come home to the MCU in this joint venture between
  Sony and Marvel Studios. Newcomer Tom Hollland stars as Peter Parker, a 
  regular teenage boy who lives in Queens, NY with his unusually attractive
  Aunt May (Tomei). By day he goes to school but by night he fights crime as
  the iconic webslinger.

     Acting as the young boy's mentor is billionaire playboy Tony Stark (Downey Jr.)
  who checks on him from time to time and offering him advice. But the eager
  Avenger wannabe soon finds himself in over his head. 

        

      Michael Keaton, whose career is going through a resurgence, plays a salvager 

  named Adrian Toomes who finds alien tech leftover from the battle during 2012's

  The Avengers. When his salvage business gets shut down, he is left with no job.

  The only way he can support his family is by pocketing the alien tech and trades

  it with local criminals. With some spare tech lying around, Adrian becomes

  The Vulture and turns to a life of crime.

  

      Now it's up to Spider man to not only stop The Vulture but to also prove 
  himself worthy of being an Avenger to Tony so that he can hang with them. 
  An unknown director named Jon Watts directs this reboot from Marvel Studios.

   The Good: I liked that it didn't have to retell the same story of Peter getting bit

  by a radioactive spider, it just jumped right in as soon as he got his powers. The

  action scenes were fun to watch along with the funny interactions between Peter

  and his best buddy Ned (Batalon). Making Keaton's character with a blue collar
  background made hist portrayal of the Vulture more relatable than most Marvel
  movie villains. The trailers made this Spider-Man feel very generic but I was
  pleasantly surprised how it turned out in the final product.

  The Bad: Zendaya is pretty much a pointless character who just adds filler to the
  movie with a quip here or there. The decision to change the ethnicities just for 
  diversity's sake didn't sit right with me but somehow it worked without it
  becoming a stereotype. 

  Overall: It's a fresh take on the Spider man character that brings him back to the 

  fold in the MCU. The tone of this movie is a stark contrast to the moody version

  that Andrew Garfield's take lacked. But just as Peter has some growing up to do,

  so does this young franchise. 

Grade: B+ (8.5/10)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

           

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Dir: James Gunn

        Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillian, Bradley Cooper &

   Vin Diesel (voices), Kurt Russell, Pom Klementieff

   some spoilers ahead

       At some points during the GOTG 2, Gamora (Saldana) shoots a refrigerator sized 

  cannon while Yondu (Rooker) slaughters alien men with a whistle controlled arrow.

  But no weapon can control the cuteness that is baby Groot, a tiny tree that dances 

  to ELO during the opening scene.

      Marvel's favorite band of cosmic heroes are back in this sequel from 2014's

  surprise hit. This time, Peter Quill's (Pratt) lineage is explored and learns who

  his father may be.

      

      After fighting a ginormous alien, the team is attacked by a race of golden

  skinned aliens called The Sovereign. They are after valuable batteries that 

  Rocket Raccoon (Cooper) stole from them. Our heroes make the jump to 

  hyperspace where they crash land in a forest world. There they meet a middle

  aged man (Russell) claiming to be Peter's dear old Dad. 

      Hot on their trails are the Ravagers, a group of intergalactic pirates who raised

  Peter since being abducted as a boy. Silently working with the Guardians is
  their disgraced leader Yondu (Rooker) who vows revenge against the men
  who ousted him. The muscle of the group, Drax (Bautista) is treated like comic
  relief with funny quips.

     This movie felt like a step down from the original probably because this scifi

  flick is more story driven than action oriented. Each character is better fleshed
  out and we get to learn more about them. The plots themselves are contrived
  while the humor felt forced making the jokes fall flat. The touching scene made
  me want to cry hard. 

     Russell's subplot smelled awful alot like another well know space opera that

  explored the father-son dynamic. But they did it better and it was more believable.
  This story was watered down and contributed little to the MCU. The first one was
  so good because it had heart and characters that we've never seen before. Perhaps,
  next time James Gunn can return to what made the first GOTG movie so great,
  a sense of fun and adventure. 

     Grade: C (7/10)
Baby Groot: A

Logan

Logan
Dir: James Mangold
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Dafne Keen, Boyd Holdbrook,

      

        When the first X-Men movie was released seventeen years ago, Hugh Jackman 
 became a star and household name. It ushered in an era of superhero movies and 
 changed the landscape of the summer blockbuster. In Jackman's final and most 
 famous role as Wolverine, he finds himself tending to his mentor Professor X 
 (Patrick Stewart) whom he must hide from society. 

        Along the way, he takes in Laura (Dafne Keen), a genetically engineered little 
 girl with powers just like Logan's. Together they go on the run from an sinister 
 corporation rounding up mutants from experimentation purposes. Little Laura 
 spends most of the movie as mute and unleashes her inner monster when threatened.

        

       The serious tone in this movie makes you forget that it's a comic book movie. It

 touches on one's mortality when mutants have died out. Logan's body is also dying 

 and must need injections to keep him healthy.

      Although the movie was pretty violent in nature, it is deserving of it's R rating.

 It is a well acted movie with likable characters that you can relate to. It is not only 
 only one of the most gritty superhero movies, it's also one of the best. Despite the 
 slow pacing of the film, Jackman's run as the Wolverine ends off an a high note.

                                             Grade: A (9/10)

Dr Strange

Doctor Strange

Dir: Scott Derrickson

      Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen,

Tilda Swinton

       At a time when superhero movies have reached their peak comes the most trippiest

  since Inception. The popular Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Stephen Strange. He

  plays an arrogant neurosurgeon whose hands become mangled after a nasty car wreck.

       Travelling to the far East to repair his broken hands, he meets the Ancient One

  (Swinton). In order for his hands to heal, he has to learn the mystical arts and paths

  to alternate dimensions. He gets help from another sorcerer Karl Mordo and they

  must stop another evil sorcerer (Mikkelsen). The gemstone that Strange wears

  in his necklace helps him travel through dimensions.

      This move was painfully average with its mediocre story and forced humor. The

  visuals during the dimensional travel scenes were top notch as they were ripped

  straight from the Strange issues drawn by the famous Steve Ditko in the 1970's.

      The best scene was when the sorcerers were bending the buildings & streets while

   Strange was fighting them.

       Strange's backstory felt rushed and poorly done in the time frame given. The evil

  villain like most Marvel movies was utterly forgettable. Strange's love interest 

  (McAdams) was dull and contributed nothing to the overall plot.

      Despite the MCU releasing three movies a year, it almost feel like superhero 

 movie fatigue is setting in. It's not a bad movie just passable at best. This film 

 may feature the bells and whistles but it lacks the proper story to make this movie

 even better. It's my least favorite Marvel movie.

Grade: C (6/10)

Deadpool

         

Deadpool

Dir: Tim Miller

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Gina

Carano, Leslie Uggams, Breanna Hildebrand

       Taking place in the X-Men universe, Deadpool is based on character of the same

  name. Ryan Reynolds stars as Wade Wilson, a hitman who one day gets diagnosed

  with terminal cancer. Upon learning this, he volunteers himself to be a guinea pig 

  for a shady organization that can cure him but for a price. In doing so, it disfigures

  him and turns him into a wisecracking assassin.

       

       With the help of two X-Men (Colossus & Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Deadpool

  goes on a killing spree looking for the Francis (Skrein), the man who permanently 

  scarred him for life. 

       Despite the graphic nature of the film, some of the 4th wall breaking jokes were

  utterly hilarious. It's a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and had a good message

  about accepting someone for who they are. 

      Deadpool was stuck in developmental hell for a decade and it's a movie 

 worthy of your time. It's easily one of my favorite superhero movies of the year.

   Grade A (10/10)

Captain America: Civil War

Captain America: Civil War

Dir: The Russo Bros. 

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, 

Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Chadwick Boseman

   In the new movie, Captain America: Civil War, the government wants to put restrictions
  on the Avengers after causing many innocent lives lost due to defending the Earth from
  sinister forces. 
      Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) supports this cause along with other super powered
individuals.Captain America (Chris Evans) has conflicting ideas about it while trying to
protect his best friend Bucky from having to answer for his crimes while brainwashed by 
the evil organization, Hydra.
     Bucky goes on the run after being framed for the murder of Black Panther's father by
a mysterious man with a hidden agenda. We also get to see what happened to Tony's 
parents long before he became Iron Man.
      While the movie is long, sadly it suffers from the third movie syndrome.The action
scenes are few and far between. The plot felt dragged out almost to the point of boredom.
I felt that there were too many plots going on while trying to set up other films to come.
       The surprise villain of the film was mostly forgettable, looking nothing like his
 comic book counterpart. 
       The good parts of the movie were the funny one liners and the introduction of 
Spider Man. The battle at the airport was pretty fun to watch. This felt more like 
Avengers 2.5 than a Captain America movie. This is my favorite MCU movie 
of the year.
       I had high expectations for this movie but felt it didn't live up to it.All in all it 
was pretty mediocre just not as good as CA: The Winter Soldier.
  

Grade C (6/10)